Anointed by the Spirit

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 2nd of February, 2025.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Evangelist Francis Chan calls the Holy Spirit the Forgotten God.  We talk about God in His three persons, and we mention the Holy Spirit in some of our rites, sacraments, readings, and prayers.  But most of the time, aren’t we’re focused on the first two persons, God the Father and Jesus the Son?  And don’t we often refer to the Holy Spirit as “It”, rather than “He”?

But the Spirit is God, and is as powerful as God.  When God created the earth, His Spirit was right there, hovering over the face of the waters.  And it was the Spirit who breathed life into the dry bones in Ezekiel’s vision.  He joins with our spirit to give us life.  He is due the same honor and respect we give God and Jesus.

Throughout mankind’s history, God has sent His Spirit to assist specific people for a certain amount of time.  But it was not until Jesus returned to heaven after His earthly task was completed that God sent His Spirit to live within any of us for as long as we draw breath.  Our only requirement for this great gift is to repent of our sin, to believe in Jesus as God’s Son and our Christ, and to follow Him.

But before then, as I mentioned, the Spirit only came on what we might call specific missions.  One of those more notable missions was when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptizer in the River Jordan.  When Jesus rose from the waters, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove and God announced to all in earshot that Jesus was His Son.  And then the Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness where He spent 40 days fasting and being tempted by Satan.

Please listen and follow along as the Apostle Luke tells us what happens next in verses 14 through 21 of the 4th chapter of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

--Luke 4:14-21 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, You anointed Your Son Jesus with Your Holy Spirit, empowering Him to do miraculous works in Your name and to Your glory.  This is the same Spirit You sent to live within us, to guide us and help us and be our constant Companion.  Thank You, Father, for so wonderful a gift!  And thank You for empowering us by Your Spirit to continue Jesus’ work on earth.  But Father, too often we don’t think about Your Spirit within us, even when we think about You.  And sometimes we don’t listen when He tries to tell us what to do so as to please You.  And too many times we hesitate to share the Gospel and make disciples as Jesus commanded.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Help us be better servants of You and our Lord, and better homes for Your Holy Spirit.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying time.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

A gentleman by the name of Brian Powley once noted that,  “Any of us more than twenty-five years old can probably remember where we were when we first heard of President Kennedy's assassination in 1963.  British novelist David Lodge, in the introduction to one of his books, tells where he was: in a theater watching the performance of a satirical revue he had helped write.  In one sketch, a character demonstrated his nonchalance in an interview by holding a transistor radio to his ear.  The actor playing the part always tuned in to a real broadcast.  Suddenly came the announcement that President Kennedy had been shot.  The actor quickly switched it off, but it was too late.  Reality had interrupted stage comedy.  For many believers, worship, prayer, and Scripture are a nonchalant charade.  They don't expect anything significant to happen, but suddenly God's reality breaks through, and they're shocked.”

The Holy Spirit can do that to us sometimes - slap us up-side the head to get our attention.  He has all the power of God and can do mighty works.  He can even do those works through us if we let Him.

Mr. Powley also makes an indictment against many of us Christians.  We treat worship, prayer, and even scripture as some sort of charade, a dance where we nonchalantly go through the steps.  In his play, “As You Like It”, William Shakespeare claims that “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players”.  Sadly, too many seem to agree with that.  But we Christians have a specific mission to carry out, and we have God’s very own Holy Spirit within us to help us do just that.  So let’s get off the stage and set ourselves to our task.

God anointed His Son Jesus with His Holy Spirit, empowering Him to preach the Gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to recover sight to the blind, to set at liberty all those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.  Another way to read that last part is to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, or the year of the Lord’s blessing.  God sent Jesus as a blessing to us.  And once Jesus left us to return to heaven, God sent His Spirit to live in us and continue that blessing.  A blessing we certainly never deserved.

Oh, by the way, this passage occurs in Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown, where He grew up and the people all knew Him before His true identity was revealed.  They marveled at His words here, and asked among themselves if this wasn’t the Jesus they knew.  This led Jesus to utter the now famous line, “no prophet is accepted in his own country”.  And then they turned against Him, accusing Him of blasphemy, and forced Him out of the city and would have pushed Him off a cliff but instead He merely passed through their midst and went His way.

There was a time when Peter and John were arrested by the religious leaders for preaching and teaching about Jesus.  Well, this was really just one time of many, that I’m speaking of.  The chief priests and elders decided to let them go, but with the warning that they no longer speak nor teach in the name of Jesus.  Otherwise, there will be serious consequences.  Listen to how Luke describes their reaction to this ominous warning from the chief priests, as recorded in the 4th chapter of his Book of the Acts of the Apostles, verses 21 through 31…

23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

‘Why did the nations rage,

And the people plot vain things?

26 The kings of the earth took their stand,

And the rulers were gathered together

Against the Lord and against His Christ.’

27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

--Acts 4:23-31 (NKJV)

The Holy Spirit went to work immediately.  Note that this occurred after the Pentecost, when the Spirit descended on the disciples there in Jerusalem.  But now He was really making Himself known, first by shaking the building and then by letting the disciples feel His filling presence.  And ignoring the warning of the chief priests, they went out and spoke the word of God with boldness.

If we ask for His help, and let Him work through us, we too can boldly serve our Lord.  The trouble is, I don’t think we truly and fully believe that the Spirit can help us do anything.  So many believers just consider the Spirit as an afterthought, if at all.  They have forgotten that He too is God, with the power of God, living right here within us, the same power that Jesus wielded to do wonders and miracles, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead into new life.

Family, we have been filled with the Holy Spirit.  We have been baptized by the Holy Spirit.  And we can be emboldened and empowered by the Holy Spirit, just as were the disciples.  Throughout the ages, people have been anointed by God’s Holy Spirit and blessed in these ways to do the work and carry out the will of the Father.  And so have we.  Let’s get out there and act on this blessings.  In the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, our Master and our Savior.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to save us and redeem us of our sin.  And thank You for giving us the undeserved but most wonderful gift of Your own Holy Spirit to be our Guide and constant Companion.  Father, we admit that sometimes we don’t think of Your Spirit as God.  Or even if we do, we don’t treat His as Your equal in all things.  Too often we just can’t fully believe that He can help us do the same marvelous things Jesus did, and by that doubt, we fail to act.  Please forgive us these times, dear Father.  Please help us be more fully aware and trusting in all three of Your Persons.  Help us utilize the power of Your Spirit within us to show Your love to others by giving of ourselves in their service, in Your service, just as Jesus did.  And please help us share our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  Help us pave the way for Your Spirit to do His work on them.

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what comes our way.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You were baptized by water and by the Holy Spirit there at the Jordan River, and You promised we would be baptized by the Spirit as well.  You said You would ask our Father God to send His Spirit to be with us always, and You did just that upon Your return to the throne.  Our loving heavenly Father granted Your request as a gift to all those who accept You as Lord and Christ.  We are truly blessed by this gift and we thank You for fulfilling Your promise.  But Jesus we don’t always act like we have the full power of God residing within us.  We don’t always listen to His guidance or follow His directions.  And we seldom ask for His help.  Please show us how to make better use of the Spirit within us.  Remind us of what we have been given, and why.  

Holy Spirit, please help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing God’s love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to Jesus.

And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.