The Church is Spirit Led - Acts 19: 1-7

This past week in our Evangelism study, the group entered into a conversation about what we are teaching other’s about the faith. Are we teaching them the basic truths - the things that matter most - about the grace, love, and saving act of Jesus Christ, or are we dwelling on other less important things? Paul is asking the same thing of the disciples he comes across in today’s scripture passage - have you been taught the basic truths and have you been baptized by the Holy Spirit. 

Paul had a reason for asking a question like this of the disciples he encountered. Apollos, a Jewish evangelist who proceeded him to the area, only knew about the baptism of John. The one who was teaching others didn’t have a grasp on the basic truths yet. Eventually Priscilla and Aquila head Apollos speaking and pulled him aside to speak to him about the work and power of the Holy Spirit, but not before he had already converted people and baptized them in the name of John. 

Sometimes we can be like Apollos, quick to teach others from our overflowing passions, but not all of our facts are straight. Substituting our words in for God’s. Apollos understood the importance of Jesus, but not the purpose of baptism or what it means to the Christian movement. He doesn’t even know about the connection between Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Like the evangelist, our heart is in the right place, but we don’t do justice for the others whom we are leading and teaching. Therefore, Paul had to re-teach these disciples that the baptism of John, the one of reptenance, looks forward to the arrival of Jesus Christ, the messiah. But now the messiah has come and has left behind the Holy Spirit to lead believers along their faith journey. Thankfully, the people of Ephasus understood instead of being caught up in the confusion and were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit came upon them. With this baptism Paul is making the statement that the church is truly a Spirit filled movement. 

This passage implies that the difference between the baptism of John and that of Jesus Christ. For John’s baptism is focused on the turning away from evil is almost entirely self-driven. In contrast, the baptism of Jesus Christ is marked by the Holy Spirit and the gifts and grace it brings. Unfortunately, there are still Christians today that underestimate the meaning of the Holy Spirit in their lives following baptism. They look for a baptism like John’s - one that is marked by the forgiveness of sins, which is very important, but then overlook the power of the Spirit in their lives. Forgiveness and cleansing are only the first steps and marks of a Christian life. For the Holy Spirit is given to all Christians to give them power and gifts to be used for the body of Christ - signs that we are initiated into a new age that is spirit lead. 

For the past few weeks we have been primarily focusing on the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the lives of the church. We have been repeating week after week that the Holy Spirit is the chief actor not only in the lives of the early church, but in our lives today. We keep repeating that because for too long the Holy Spirit has been overlooked and forgotten. For too long Christians haven’t been able to point to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and thank God for the powerful Spirit blowing through them, transforming them. And when we cannot acknowledge the Spirit in our own lives, how can we ever hope to help others understand how the Spirit is working in their lives. How will we ever be able to spread the message that the life God has gifted us with in Christ is about more then forgiveness, it is about power and transformation!

On those occasions when we do remember the Holy Spirit, we feel that it is docile and delicate, like the dove often used to represent it. But the Holy Spirit is many things, and above all, the Holy Spirit is the force leading the church forward through the ages. The one who is equipping us for the task of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. 

This past week, myself and three others spent time pouring over the membership information for the parish. As I was leaving the meeting I was struck by what the information, especially the baptism information represents. If you were baptized - you are equipped and called to ministry. What is your gifting from the Spirit and how are you using it? Are you living a life worthy of the calling you’ve received, like the apostle Paul urges in the message in Ephesians? Calling and gifting is not just for the ordained and not just for pastoral ministry - it is for each and every one of us. Paul lists several different calls and gifting of the Spirit - apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers - and he doesn’t even name them all. And each and every one of us needs to rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit to show us how to best use our gifts for the mission and message of the body of Christ - for there is one body lead by one Spirit!

All too often we want to ignore what the Holy Spirit is leading us to do. We come up with excuses - its too hard, its not for me, its too risky. But brothers and sisters, the Spirit calls us to do risky things with our gifts. If Paul wouldn’t have risked asking the disciples he came upon in Ephesus about the baptism they received they could have missed out being lead by this beautiful and mysterious spirit. If we only tell people about a baptism for the forgiveness of sins, we aren’t being honest about what the Spirit demands, yes demands, of each of us. For with great gifts comes great responsibility. Are you living into the responsibility of the gift you have been given, or are you shaming the spirit by denying your gifts or not using them? Are you following the prompting of the Spirit or are you doing only what feels comfortable?

Brothers and sisters, it is time to mature in our faith. It is time to stop giving simple answers or not the full story, like Apollos did. It is time to set aside the propensity to dismiss and ignore the Holy Spirit that has plagued the church for so long. Now is the time to listen. Now is the time to be lead. Now is the time to use our gifts for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For some of us, that may mean praying for God to reveal to us exactly what our gifting is. For others, it may mean taking the bold step of embracing our gifts and using them. And for others, it may mean that we need to stop doing some of the things we are doing that are not aligned with our gifting from the Spirit, to create space for someone with that gift. 

The Spirit has given us a powerful treasurer to be used for the great mission of Jesus Christ. Are we going to risk using the treasurer to the best of our ability, together? Now is the time. Amen.