This day was really strange. For a change I did not sleep during the sermon. If you think that is something unthinkable then hold on, what is even more shocking that the speaker was Pastor H. Mathew. For those who are following this sunday stories of mine, you already know my not so comfortable relationship with his sermon. I guess one should always expect the unexpected. Anyways here goes what he had to say. The reading for this day was taken from Galatians: 5: 16-26
We live in a world where we come across plenty of things which we cherish. On the other hand we may come across thing which we wish we never had to face. We as people are busy being so are the others who we may meet. Their could be plenty who need guidance of the Lord. Sometimes some of us may feel the absence of the guidance of the Lord. In this busy schedule, the spiritual life also needs its place and presence. So their is a need to be busy in spiritual life too. In such fast paced world whenever we feel tired their is Jesus to carry us on his shoulders. (Psalm 46:10) The presence of the Lord is required in our life. And we also require to have the holy spirit present in our bodies.
Anecdote: Jesus goes t his temple to find out that it has been taken over by all the things deemed unholy in God's sight. So he got angry overturned all such activities to make the place as it should have been i.e. to be a place of worship. We need a place where people can come together in the presence of the Lord. We need to be still in His love and give time to the Lord. In the passage read to day there are three C's which needs to be considered and notice.
1)Conflict: In the passage we see that the two nature mentioned i.e. wicked and spiritual are in conflict. They are in constant battle. Sometimes we succumb to the powers of evil then we need more time to bring out and harness the spiritual power within us. What are the fruits of the spirit? Love, kindness, peace...all of them constitutes the fruits we are talking about. These are the nature and the character of the holy spirit which helps us in defeating the evil within us. These factors are the spiritual fruits which will keep us healthy spiritually.
2) Crucified: Those who belong to Christ have crucified the sinful nature with passion and desire. When we are crucified in the holy spirit then the holy spirit dwells in us. Baptism in the the church symbolizes the death of us and us being raised in the Lord. (Romans 8:6) Mind of sinful man is death but mind controlled by spirit is peaceful...
Anecdote: Sadhu Sundar Singh. After he accepted Jesus he became a great witness of the Lord. With Christ he said it was like being in the ocean of love.
3) Conform: Conform to the way of the spirit. Since we live in the spirit we should keep it in step with the holy spirit. We need to walk along the holy spirit. We should not lead a spiritual life at the superficial level. Within us we need to conform to the callings then only we will experience the spirit dwelling within us continuously. Someone pointed out that one is paint and the other is stain. Paint looks good and is on the surface and can be removed. Stain goes deep inside the fabric and need effort in its removal. Likewise the holy spirit goes deep within us to clean us from the stains of evil.
Anecdote: A young artist was dissatisfied with his creation. He thought of taking the paint brush of a famous artist and then may be he will be able to do better job. Somehow he got hold of the brush and carried on painting. But still he was not happy. Then a friend of his said it is not the masters brush but the masters spirit is required.
So we need to inherit the nature of the Lord and be in the holy spirit to enjoy its fruit and replenish it periodically.
Then he closed summarizing the sermon.
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