"Is The Christ Jesus' Spirit"

Where have you recently seen the Spirit of Christ at work in your community?

Have you ever felt the Spirit of Christ that is in you longing to come to the forefront of your life, when?

Sunday May 28^th 2006

Readings:  Acts1: 15-17, 21-26 Psalm 1 VU pg 724,   1 John 5: 9-13,  John 17: 6-19

According to the Christian Gospels, God clearly declares that Jesus is the chosen one, the anointed, God’s beloved Son.  Jesus comes out of the waters of baptism, only to be set afire as the spirit comes upon him and God declares “This is my Son whom I love, with him I am well pleased” Matthew 3: 16-17.  Then again at his transfiguration Matthew 17:5 in a voice from the heavens God declares once again listen to his Son, take His words to heart and follow Him.   You see as the scripture passage from 1 John tell us it is God who declares Jesus and gives him authority over all things.  It is God who gives Jesus the power to save humanity from itself through the act of salvation.  Jesus entire existence and ministry is only confirming what God has done for us though him, as God declares Him to be the Son of mankind.  According to the scripture passage this morning anyone who believes in God has his testimony in his or her heart.  Let us consider this statement then:  As Christians not to believe in God’s Son makes the God of our scriptures out to be a liar.   God also is the one who promises us life eternal, and this life according to the promise can only be found in the Jesus, The Christ.  Some preachers and teachers of the scriptures might point to eternal life as a life to come at another time and in another place.  Well I believe them to be mistaken.  I believe that God is talking about a life that begins right here and right now with Jesus.  You don’t have to wait until your dead to enjoy the first fruits of the eternal spirit which lay within.  The first step is the acceptance of the one given the authority to save souls and take you into the future and it begins right here right now.  Jesus is not just a mystical figure, a figment of some writer’s imagination, Jesus is a real person human yet eternal and Jesus is just as alive today as he was before his crucifixion and resurrection.  He is alive in Spirit, and comes to us in the spirit of the Christ.  When you take Christ into your heart the Spirit comforts you, consoles you and heals you.  The Sprit listens to you and is speaking to God on your behalf right at this very moment.  Do you have trials and tribulations in your life, are you sick, depressed, unemployed, are you in need of someone to love you unconditionally, Jesus does.   Believe, pray and ask for whatever you need, ask it in his name, and Jesus will act on your behalf.  Now, that just might mean that you don’t get what you want.  Remember that wants and needs are not the same folks.  Sometimes we want that bigger piece of pie or we want our cake so we can eat it too.  Now the person that is praying for the pie or cake isn’t going to be too happy especially if God fulfills your prayer with a diet plan.

Where can you find the risen Christ actively at work today?  Well you can find the spirit of Jesus, The Christ, with the rich, the proud, the religious and the powerful people of our world but it is often very difficult to see the Christ in them because humility and there need for God is minimal.  More obvious is the spirit of Jesus can be seen nearby revealing their folly as they try to detach or distance themselves from the poor, the marginalized or the oppressed peoples of their world?  If however we were to take the risen Christ into hearts, making us aware that we are spiritually poor and in need of our Creator who has provided and is providing for us, the spirit of Christ will become visible in our acts of generosity, compassion and social justice issues in our world.  It is the Christ within that becomes the crusader for inequality, the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed.  The Christ within becomes a healer for the sick, at path for the lost, and a comfort to the dying.  We become aware that it is not me but the spirit of Christ in me that is the advocate.

Where poverty, injustice and oppression prevail Christianity has the opportunity for revival because this is where you will find the Christ centered spiritually poor at work.  There, among the inequality, the physically poor and oppressed, this is where you will find the spirit of Christ working at its best.  Christ is much harder to find among the rich and powerful and affluent neighbor hoods of any country.  Could this be the main reason why the pews of the Christian Church in Canada, the United States and Europe are emptier than you once were?  Could it possibility be that much of the social justice and poverty work being done by some Christian groups does not include the power of the risen Christ?  It is possible that we think this work can be accomplished without the activation of the spirit that lay within.  That we can do this work on our own?

Where are you in your search for Jesus?  Have you found and claimed him for yourself.  From the Gospel of John this morning we find Jesus affirming in prayer to God the work of those who have found and accepted him, those who have accepted the message and have carried it, in his name, to others.  Let us take a moment today as we give thanks for the many people who have given of themselves, ignited the spirit or carried the message to us in any way. Those who have taught in our Sunday school, bible study, or have acted as lay leaders, those who have carried the message in acts of kindness to neighbors.   All those who have served with compassion for others in any way.  Those who have helped in the feeding of the poor and the oppressed, those who have fought for justice.  All have been carries of the way of Christ, let us give thanks this day for them.    Let us pray.