The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord

Notes for a talk on 21 January 2007

Nehemiah 8: 1-3, 5-6, 8-10
1 Corinthians 12: 12-31
Luke 4: 14-21

A glorious set of readings comprising the essentials of being believers:

In Luke 4:
Acting in the power and guidance of the Spirit - Jesus, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news .."

In 1 Cor 12:
The unity of the Body. Paul's marvellous image of the parts of the body each playing their part in harmony in the unity of the whole. We are all united in the body of believers under Christ - no matter what our tradition, our liturgical practice, our forms of worship. Those who believe in Jesus are united in one body.

The diversity of gifts and ministries: apostles, prophets, teachers, workers of miracles, gifts of healing, helpers, administrators, speakers in tongues, and interpreters - we need them all, and they should all be found in a lively, healthy, part of the body that is fulfilling the mission.

In Nehemiah 8:
And the example of the body acting together in unity in the OT story of Ezra. All the people assembled to hear the word of God. Learning together. They hear the Word and their response is worship. Not worship of the great teacher or leader, not worship of the book,

And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. ... Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. (NIV)

So I noticed the following lessons in these readings:

1. moving and acting in the anointing of the Spirit
2. the unity of the Body of Christ
3. yet the diversity of its members each with their part to play in harmony with the others and under the headship of Christ
4. the diversity of gifts of the Spirit
5. the teaching and receiving of the Word as a body of believers
6. the response to the Word - worship

What can we learn:
We are to follow Christ's example. Receive the anointing of the Spirit. He promised the Spirit would be sent to his followers and we read of that promise being fulfilled in Acts 2. In the power of that anointing we announce the Kingdom. The Spirit is the key to fulfilling the mission of spreading the scope of the Kingdom.

That is echoed by Paul in 1 Cor 2:

So it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (NIV)

And Paul is very clear about the role of believers:

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (v27) (NIV)

Each of us is now a part of the Body of Christ. We each have a role to play in the Body, a task to do, part of the mission to fulfil. We have inherited the mission of Christ and we should fulfil it following Christ's example - in the anointing of the Spirit.

The Word of God is alive. God speaks to us through it. He challenges us. He reveals His holiness and His glory. We should be open to responding as His Spirit touches us through the reading and teaching of His Word.

How can we apply these lessons:

1. moving and acting in the anointing of the Spirit
Seeking and nurturing the anointing of the Spirit. We have all been prayed for at some time or another for the anointing of the Spirit, at baptism, at confirmation or in a specific prayer for baptism in the Spirit such as during an Alpha course. We believe the Spirit of God dwells in us.

We have to maintain and deepen our relationship with the Spirit through prayer, through listening, through obedience, so that it becomes a deep lively relationship, and so that we give the Spirit dwelling in us room to move and to act through us. Then we will experience, the anointing of the Spirit of the Lord upon us and we will be able to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour, preach the Good News, give sight to the blind, set the prisoners free ...

2. the unity of the Body of Christ
This is a sensitive one that we have to consider carefully following our experiences with the leadership and community at TCE. We have to catch this vision from Paul that all in the Body are united under the headship of Christ. So our unity is in and through Christ. I think that means that those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord are part of the Body, part of the unity, they are all our brothers and sisters in Christ. Very early in the history of the church the need was felt to be able to define the essentials for being part of the body. One of the ways found for doing that was the formulation of statements of the faith summarised in what we know as creeds. It is God who judges who is in and who is out. But I think a rule of thumb by which we can operate is to treat as brothers and sisters in Christ all those who believe the essential elements of the traditional creeds of the church.

3. yet the diversity of its members each with their part to play in harmony with the others and under the headship of Christ
A major part of Paul's image of the body and its parts is the diversity - the diversity of function of all the parts - working together to form a fully functional body. So I think we must accept great diversity in ways of expression and acting out being Church, being part of the Body of Christ. There are many many ways of expressing and acting out our belief. If we are to fulfil the mission and proclaim the Kingdom, preach, proclaim, set free, bring sight, in all corners of the earth, in all corners of this region, then there has to be diversity in ways of doing it in order to reach people, communicate with them, and bring them the relief and wholeness that God promises for them.

Nevertheless, the diversity is within the unity of the Body. Things can't get so diverse that they go over the boundaries of the Body. Everything remains subject to Christ, under His reign and authority as King of the Kingdom.

4. the diversity of gifts of the Spirit
Another aspect of diversity emphasised by Paul is in the diversity of the roles and gifts given by God to enable the body to fulfil the mission.

²⁸ And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹But eagerly desire the greater gifts. (NIV)

Are there ways in our group that we can be more specific in identifying the gifts each one has received or could receive? Are we making full use of the gifts available? And could we be doing more as a group than meeting for worship twice a month, so that our gifts are activated in the service of God's Kingdom?

And note that at the end of the chapter we read Paul is already starting the introduction to the next chapter:

And now I will show you the most excellent way. (NIV)

And, of course, Chapter 13 is about love - love - the most excellent way, love - the that must underpin and penetrate everything we do and say. Love smooths the way of diversity. Love ensures that any sharp angles between members of the Body are smoothed, so that we function in harmony within the Body.

5. the teaching and receiving of the Word as a body of believers
Turning to the points I picked up from Nehemiah. An essential part of our life together as members of the Body is teaching and study of the Word of God. This is distinct from our individual personal Bible study. It is something that is an integral part of our Sunday meeting, just as we are doing now. Our monthly men's breakfast fellowship is also doing it.

But I think we should consider whether there are other ways we can share in systematic study of the Bible together.

6. the response to the Word - worship
And then we noticed in Nehemiah the response of the people to the Word of God - worship, and tears (v 9).

Are we open to that? For my part I think my approach to the Word is too analytical. I want to be careful, precise and conforming to evangelical, reformed, charismatic (or whatever) theology. But intellectual analysis does not help us move into worship as a response to hearing the Word of God. "He who has ears, let him hear." said Jesus. I think he was referring to our "spiritual ears". The ears that communicate with our spirits rather than our intellects. So that when our spirit recognises the Spirit of God, we respond as the Jews did hearing Ezra expound the Word -

the people all stood up. ⁶ Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. (NIV)

And then they celebrated with a party -

They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.
⁹ Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
¹⁰ Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

"This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Amen

Closing
Words of the song 'The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord' by Andy Park

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon you
Because He has anointed you to preach good news
The Spirit of the Sovereign God is upon you
Because He has anointed you to preach good news

He has sent you to the poor
This is the year
To bind up the broken-hearted
This is the day
To bring freedom to the captives
This is the year
And to release the ones in darkness

Chorus:
This is the year of the favor of the Lord
This is the day of the vengeance of our God
This is the year of the favor of the Lord
This is the day of the vengeance of our God

VERSE 2:
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon us
Because He has anointed us topreach good news
  The Spirit of the Sovereign God is upon us
  Because He has anointed us to preach good news
  He will comfort all who mourn
  This is the year
  He will provide for those who grieve
  This is the day
  He will pour out the oil of gladness
  This is the year
  Instead of mourning, you will praise