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The Wild Goose HEAVENLY FATHER, MAKE THESE WORDS MORE THAN WORDS, AND GIVE US THE SPIRIT OF JESUS… THIS MORNING, I INVITE YOU TO GO ON A WILD GOOSE CHASE WITH ME… TO THAT END, LET’S GO TO ITALY… WHERE THE TRUE STORY IS TOLD OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GATHERING IN AN ANTIQUE SHOP FOR AN AUCTION… ONE OF THE ITEMS IS AN OLD DUSTY VIOLIN… THE ACTIONEER TELLS THE CROWD IT’S A RARE STRADIVARIUS AND WORTH A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY… THE AUCTIONING BEGINS… NO ONE BIDS ON IT… THERE IT SITS UP FRONT, LOOKING SORRY AND OLD…THE AUCTIONEER IS ABOUT TO GO ON WHEN JUST THEN, A MAN ENTERS FROM THE STREET, TALL AND THIN WEARING A VELVET COAT . HE WALKS TO THE FRONT OF THE SHOP, PICKS UP THE VIOLIN, DUSTS IT OFF… HOLDS IT TO HIS EAR… REACHES FOR THE BOW… AND AS HE DOES, A MURMUR GOES THROUGH THE CROWD… IT’S PAGANINI… FOR THE NEXT FEW MINUTES, THE MUSICIAN HOLDS EVERYONE IN A STUNNING SPELLBINDING TRANCE, A BRILLIANT VIRTUOSO PERFORMANCE. AS HE STOPS…. THE PEOPLE START CLAMORING FOR THE VIOLIN AS THE AUCTIONING GOES FORWARD… PEOPLE FIGHT EACH OTHER TO OUTBID… FINALLY THE VIOLIN SELLS AT AN UNBELIEVABLE PRICE… THINK ABOUT THAT STORY FOR A MINUTE, THINK ABOUT YOUR OWN LIFE… HAVE THERE BEEN THOSE MOMENTS IN TIME WHERE YOU FELT YOU HAD NOTHING TO OFFER? YOU WERE DRY, TIRED, SIMPLY GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS… OUTWARD APPEARANCES LOOKING PRETTY GOOD, BUT INSIDE, DUSTY OLD DRYNESS… AS INDIVIDUALS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO FEEL THIS WAY, SO CAN CHURCHES.. BEGGING FOR A NEW BREATH, A NEW WIND TO FLOW THROUGH THEM! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY AS A CHURCH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE GIFT OF WHAT WE CALL, THE GIFT OF PENTECOST! A CHURCHY WORD THAT SIMPLY MARKS THAT DAY WHEN JESUS SENDS THE HOLY SPIRIT TO LIGHT A FIRE AND START THE MUSIC PLAYING FOR THE DISCIPLES. YES, PENTCOST, THE MOST AMAZING SUPERNATURAL DAY OF THE CHURCH YEAR! IN FACT, OUR WILD GOOSE CHASE NOW TAKES US TO JERUSALEM, THE PLACE WHERE EARLIER BEFORE THE RESURRECTION, JESUS SAYS TO THE DISCIPLES GO, AND THERE YOU WILL FIND SOMETHING AMAZING… THEY OBEY…AND JESUS ISN’T KIDDING! IN THE MIDST OF THEIR INNER SADNESS…ALL OF A SUDDEN… A FIRE FORMS ABOVE THEM, AND THEN AS IF A WIND PUSHES IT DOWN, THE FLAME BREAKS INTO 120 PARTS AND RESTS ON EACH OF THE DISCIPLES! EVERYONE IS FILLED TO THE TOP OF THEIR HEARTS BY THE HOLY SPIRIT! YOU SEE JESUS HAD LEFT THEM TO GO TO HEAVEN…. BUT HE DOESN’T LEAVE THEM ALONE. THE WONDERFUL STORY IS TOLD OF JESUS GETTING TO THE PEARLY GATES, AND THERE MEETS AN ANGEL… THE ANGEL SAYS WHO IS GOING TO TAKE CARE OF ALL THE PEOPLE NOW THAT YOU’RE HERE? JESUS ANSWERS…I HAVE LEFT IT ALL TO 12 MEN WHO ARE TO TELL THE WORLD ABOUT SALVATION. THE ANGEL LOOKS BACK, INCREDULOUS…! DO YOU HAVE A BACK UP PLAN? JESUS REPONDS, THERE IS NO BACK UP PLAN. JESUS GIVES US THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR THIS REASON, TO DO HIS WORK ON EARTH! HERE’S HOW IT WORKS… AS THE HOLY SPIRIT RESTED ON EACH OF THEM, THE DISCIPLES ARE GIVEN AMAZING GIFTS TO DO THE WORK THEY HAD BEEN GIVEN TO DO TO GROW THE KINGDOM! GIVEN SUPERNATURAL GIFTS… THE AMAZING GIFTS OUT OF CORINTHIANS, THEY WERE GIVEN THE GIFTS OF:
THESE ARE THE SUPERNATURAL GIFTS TO GIVE THESE GUYS THE TOOLS NEEDED TO CHANGE THE WORLD! IT WAS AN ELECTRIC TIME! THE LORD TAKES THEIR DRY SADNESS AND BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO THEM! INCREDIBLE MUSIC WAS BEING PLAYED AGAIN, CHURCH GREW!! BUT… WHAT HAPPENED? WHERE IS THAT ENERGY TODAY? WHERE IS THE SUPERNATURAL TODAY? WHY ARE WE OFTEN NOT SHOWING IT? I BELIEVE IT IS BECAUSE WE FALL INTO THE TRAP OF THINKING… MY FAITH IS ABOUT A RATIONAL TRUST IN JESUS, WITH A DESIRE TO BE GOOD AND OBEDIENT, YES, EVEN ORTHODOX! PERIOD… BUT PENTECOST TELLS US THERE IS SOMETHING MORE! SOMETHING MORE, BECAUSE FOR TOO LONG OUR EMPHASIS HAS BEEN ON THE NATURAL, NOT THE SUPERNATURAL GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT… IN TODAY’S READING FROM CORINTHIANS, WE FIND THOSE SUPERNATURAL GIFTS….. HEALING, PROPHECY, ETC.. LATER ON, WE FIND THE NATURAL GIFTS… GIFTS LIKE SERVANTHOOD, TEACHING, ADMINISTRATION, ETC… IN OUR DAY AND AGE, IT’S VERY EASY SIMPLY TO POLITELY IGNORE THE SUPERNATURAL GIFTS IN ORDER TO SAY, WELL, I’M A FINANCIER MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, AND THEREFORE I MUST HAVE BEEN GIFTED IN THAT AREA. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOD GIVEN TALENTS, AND GOD GIVEN SUPERNATURAL GIFTS! YES, WE CAN OFTEN EXERCISE THOSE NATURAL GIFTS, BUT THEY OFTEN DON’T REQUIRE THE KIND OF DEPENDANCE ON GOD THAT THE SUPERNATURAL GIFTS DO! PAUL WANTS US TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE GIFTS WE’VE BEEN GIVEN ARE GIFTS OF UNMERITED ENDOWMENTS…. NOT PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS… ANGLICAN PRIEST, MARK STIBBE WROTE A BOOK RECENTLY CALLED: KNOW YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS… IN IT HE WRITES: THE CHURCH CANNOT BE FULLY OR FREELY THE CHURCH WITHOUT THE PRESENCE AND OPERATION OF THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. HENCE, OUR WILD GOOSE CHASE TAKES US BACK TO SCOTLAND WHERE THE ANCIENT CELTIC CHURCH SYMBOLIZED THE HOLY SPIRIT NOT AS A DOMESTICATED AND POLITE DOVE… BUT AS A WILD GOOSE! THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A WILD GOOSE, HENCE OUR WILD GOOD CHASE! THE PHRASE ISN’T USED HERE AS A HOPELESS JOURNEY, BUT ONE WHERE WE ARE COMMITTED TO SOMETHING THAT LIKE A WILD GOOSE, CAN’T BE CONTROLLED! THAT’S WHAT PENTECOST IS! ASKING THIS WILD GOOSE TO FLY THROUGH OUR HEARTS… SO WE CAN COME ALIVE IN FAITH! SO OUR DUSTY VIOLINS CAN BEGIN TO PLAY MUSIC TO CHANGE THE WORLD! IT’S MESSY AND UNPREDICTABLE! I REMEMBER ON MY GRANDPARENTS FARM IN NORTH DAKOTA, ONE OF THE FIERCEST MEMORIES I HAVE OF THAT FARM IS BEING CHASED BY A WILD GOOSE! I RECALL RUNNING FOR MY LIFE AND ONLY ESCAPED THE WRATH OF THE GOOSE ONCE I JUMPED INTO THE BACK OF A PICK UP TRUCK! NOW ITS BEEN SAID WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF 2 DANGERS WHEN DEALING WITH THE WILD GOOSE… THE FIRST, IS CHARISMANIA, WHICH IS AN UNHEALTHY AND OVER EMPHASIS ON THE SUPERNATURAL GIFTS… AND CHARISPHOBIA, WHICH IS A FEAR OF SUPERNATURAL GIFTS… HAVING SAID THAT, I TRULY DO NOT BELIEVE THAT IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH TODAY WE RUN THE RISK OF CHARISMANIA, PROBABLY MORE CHARISPHOBIA! I’VE GIVEN YOU A LIST IN YOUR SERMON NOTES THIS MORNING… LOOKING AT THE RANGE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS, THAT FLOW FROM SUPERNATURAL TO NATURAL… THEY ARE ALL IMPORTANT…ALL GIVEN BY GOD… BUT WE MUST RESIST THE URGE TO CUT OFF THE GIFTS WHEN THEY BECOME TOO SUPERNATURAL! KNOWING THAT SPEAKING IN TONGUES IS AS CREDIBLE AS BEING A SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER… AGAIN, GIFTS OF THE WILD GOOSE THAT SOUND RADICAL IN OUR DAY, BUT THEY ARE GIVEN TO US TO BE USED, IN FACT, ONE OF THE TESTS I ASK MYSELF EACH DAY IS THIS… WHAT AM I DOING, THAT IF GOD WEREN’T WITH ME, IT WOULD FALL FLAT ON ITS FACE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN YOUR MINISTRY THAT IS SO OUT OF THE BOX! SO DIFFERENT AND OUT OF CHARACTER FOR YOU THAT IF JESUS WERE NOT WITH YOU, IT WOULD ALL FALL FLAT ON ITS FACE!
OUR WILD GOOSE CHASE NOW TAKES US TO LONDON, WHERE I HAVE BEEN FOR THE LAST ‘5’ DAYS. I MADE MY ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE TOA CHURCH THERE THAT 20 YEARS AGO WAS DEAD. A CHURCH THAT ISN’T EVEN VISIBLE FROM THE MAIN STREET… A CHURCH TUCKED AWAY AND IN THE SHADOWS OF A LARGE ROMAN CATHOLIC ORATORY… BUT THE WILD GOOSE BEGAN FLYING THROUGH HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, AS ONE BY ONE LEADERS EMERGED WHO WERE WILLING TO LET THE HOLY SPIRIT FLOW THROUGH THEM IN WAYS THAT EVEN TODAY, THEY ARE AMAZED BY. THESE YEARS LATER, HOLY TRINITY ISN’T A CHURCH, AS MUCH AS IT IS A MOVEMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT… YES IT’S WHERE THE
BUT MORE THAN ALL OF THAT, THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO MANIFEST ITSELF IN SUPERNATURAL WAYS… AND EACH YEAR AS I ATTEND THEIR INTERNATIONAL WEEK CONFERENCE… I AM WITNESSING A BODY OF PEOPLE THAT ARE GROWING, WHERE MINISTRIES ARE SPREADING, LIVES ARE BEING CHANGED, BECAUSE IN THIS ANGLICAN CHURCH THEY ARE LETTING THE WILD GOOSE FLY! THAT BEING SAID, LET’S COME BACK TO ALL SAINTS’ CHEVY CHASE… INTO THE VERY DEPTHS OF YOUR HEART AND MINE… AS WE ASK.. LORD JESUS, THROUGH THIS WILD GOOSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHAT GIFTS HAVE YOU GIVEN ME THAT ARE LATENT? WHAT MUSIC HAS BEEN DESIGNED FOR ME THAT I DON’T YET KNOW ABOUT? HOW CAN WE DISCERN WHAT GIFTS THE LORD HAS FOR US? STEP ONE, REMEMBER WHERE BISHOP SALMON SHARED WITH US THAT THE FIRST DUTY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS TO GIVE US GOD’S EYE SIGHT, THAT WE MIGHT SEE ANY SIN THAT NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH IN OUR LIVES… THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS OF US SIN SO WE CAN THEN EXPERIENCE THE FULLNESS OF THE LOVE OF JESUS! AND SO THE FIRST STEP IS TO SAY COME HOLY SPIRIT… SHOW ME WHAT I NEED TO REPENT OF… WHAT NEEDS TO BE UNLOADED HERE TO MAKE MORE ROOM FOR THOSE GIFTS IN MY LIFE? COME HOLY SPIRIT LIVE IN MY HEART ANEW, SHOW ME WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE IN MY LIFE! THEN, PRAYERFULLY LOOKING AT THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT…. USING THAT WORKSHEEET… KNOWING, BELIEVING THAT THESE GIFTS ARE MEANT FOR YOU, AND NOT JUST FOR THOSE EARLY DISCIPLES IN THAT ROOM… OR CLERGY, MONKS AND NUNS.. BUT TO ALL OF US… FURTHER, THEY AREN’T GIVEN JUST FOR SELF FULFILLMENT! BUT GIVEN SO THAT TOGETHER WE CAN GROW THE KINGDOM OF GOD! YES, BELIEVING THEY ARE FOR YOU AND ARE FOR TODAY… REMEMBER, YOU CAN’T HAVE WHAT YOU DON’T BELIEVE! THIRD…AS YOU READ THEM, ASK YOURSELF, WHICH ONE MAKES MY HEART SING? WHICH ONE, OR WHICH ONES MAKES MY HEART SKIP A BEAT? HAVING IDENTIFIED THEM, THEN HAVING THE COURAGE TO DO 2 THINGS… PRAYING LORD, GIVE ME THAT GIFT! REMEMBER JAMES WHEN HE SAID YOU DON’T HAVE BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T ASK! I THINK OF A MAN NAMED JACK DEERE… HE WENT DOWN THAT LIST AND COULDN’T GET HEALING OFF HIS MIND. HE FELT A NUDGING TO LOOK INTO THAT GIFT… HE STARTED BY SAYING… LORD, GIVE ME A HEALING MINISTRY! GIVE ME THE CAPACITY THROUGH YOUR SPIRIT TO HEAL YOUR PEOPLE. HE CONTINUED BY WRITING DOWN ALL THE PEOPLE HE KNEW TO BE SICK, AND HE PRAYED FOR THEM EVERY DAY.. THEN, HE TOOK THE BIG RISK OF JOINING THE HEALING MINISTRY AT HIS CHURCH… AND THE LORD BEGAN MAKING MUSIC THROUGH HIM! THIS GUY WAS A BUT THE LORD USED HIM BECAUSE THE MAN WAS BOTH WILLING TO TAKE A RISK… AND WAS COMPLETELY DEPENDANT ON JESUS! ARE YOU WILLING TO TAKE RISKS MY FRIENDS?
CONSIDER HOW SAD IT WOULD BE IF YOU GAVE 3 AMAZING GIFTS TO A BEST FRIEND, THEY OPEN THE GIFT, BUT NEVER EVER USE THEM! USING THOSE GIFTS ON A REGULAR BASIS! DOING SOMETHING YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU COULD DO… KNOWING THAT IF JESUS WEREN’T WITH YOU, YOU WOULD SURELY FAIL! NEXT, STUDYING THE GIFTS! GOING DEEPER THAN THE 2 LINE DESCRIPTION.. STUDY THAT ONE, OR THOSE THREE THAT MAKE YOUR HEART SING! GOOGLE THEM, GO TO A CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE AND STUDY THEM, SO YOUR MINISTRY WILL THRIVE! PULL ONE OF THE CLERGY ASIDE SO WE CAN MENTOR THAT PROCESS WITH YOU! THE NEXT STEP IS REALIZING THAT EVERYTIME YOU USE A GIFT, A PART OF YOU GETS DRAINED AND IT IS VITAL TO CONTINUE ASKING FOR A DEEPER INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AND IT MEANS THAT WE MUST CULTIVATE FRIENDSHIPS WITH PEOPLE WHO SEEM TO EMBODY THOSE GIFTS THAT UPLIFT YOUR HEART! I LOVE THAT PROVERB, PROVERBS 27, WHERE SOLOMON WRITES: AS IRON SHARPENS IRON, SO ONE MAN SHARPEN’S ANOTHER… A WEEK AGO TODAY AS I HEADED TO LONDON, I WALKED BY A BOOK IN THE AIRPORT THAT CAUGHT MY EYE. A BOOK ENTITLED: HOW TO BE A CEO DAD WITHOUT BEING FIRED BY YOUR FAMILY! IT MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN TITLED… HOW TO A PASTOR WITHOUT BEING FIRED BY YOUR FAMILY! WITH A TITLE LIKE THAT I JUST HAD TO TAKE A LOOK! IT WAS A BOOK ON THE DANGERS OF BURN OUT, I BEGAN READING IT ON THE PLANE AND BEFORE LONG, TEARS BEGAN STREAMING DOWN MY CHEEKS AS I REALIZED HOW DRY AND TIRED I WAS… HOW SPENT I FELT, HOW MUCH I NEEDED TO GET AWAY, AND NOT JUST AWAY, BUT TO GET AWAY TO A PLACE WHERE ONCE AGAIN FRIENDSHIPS THAT CENTER AROUND THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT COULD BE CULTIVATED! FOR ME, THAT PLACE IS HOLY TRINITY BROMPTON… I REMEMBER THIS PAST WEDNESDAY MORNING, OOH, HOW I WISH ALL OF YOU COULD HAVE BEEN THERE… IT WAS A POWERFUL TALK CALLED: FROM VISION TO ACTION…, AFTER THAT RATHER AMAZING TALK, THEY DIDN’T STOP THERE, THEY THEN HAD SOME WORSHIP TIME, THEY DIDN’T STOP THERE! THEY THEN HAD ALL THE CLERGY FROM AROUND THE WORLD COME UP… SEVERAL HUNDRED RECTORS, WE ALL CAME UP, AND THE CONFERENCE CROWD OF ABOUT 1200 PRAYED FOR US, I COULD FEEL STREAMS OF LIVING WATER BEGIN FLOWING AGAIN IN MY SOUL ALONG CREEK BEDS THAT HAD BEEN DRY OUT OF SHEER EXHAUSTION…. LIKE WATCHING THE FUEL GAUGE IN YOUR CAR GO FROM ‘E’ TO ‘F’ IT WAS ABSOLUTELY ARRESTING… I’LL NEVER FORGET IT. CULTIVATING FRIENDSHIPS WITH PEOPLE WHO SEEM TO EMBODY THOSE GIFTS THAT UPLIFT OUR HEARTS! THAT PERSON, THOSE PEOPLE WHO YOU SAY, I WANT WHAT THEY HAVE! GET TO KNOW THEM, YOU CAN’T DO THIS IN ISOLATION! REMEMBER, ALL SAINTS CHURCH WILL NOT BE FULLY OR FREELY ALIVE WITHOUT BOTH THE NATURAL AND SUPERNATURAL GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AT WORK IN YOU! AND THE GOOD NEWS MY FRIENDS, IS THAT WHEN WE DEPEND NOT JUST ON NATURAL TALENTS, BUT SUPERNATURAL GIFTS, YOU WILL SEE MIRACLES HAPPEN.. AND PEOPLE AROUND YOU WILL COME CLOSER TO CHRIST, AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL BE BUILT. MY FRIENDS, THE MOST AMAZING THING ABOUT CHRISTIANITY IS THAT IT IS ALIVE! THE MOST AMAZING THING ABOUT CHRISTIANITY IS THAT IT BREATHES THROUGH US, AND BRINGS OUR DEAD BONES BACK TO LIFE! THAT’S MY PRAYER THAT WE, HERE IN 2007 WOULD EXPERIENCE A NEW PENTECOST NOW! THAT AS THE FIRE FELL FROM THE CEILING THAT DAY, THAT WE TOO WOULD EXPERIENCE A DEEPER ANNOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THAT THESE WALLS WOULD CONTINUE TO COME ALIVE, OUR HEARTS DANCING, OUR FEET JUMPING! SO, LET’S TAKE SOME TIME NOW, TO LET THE HOLY SPIRIT, THAT WILD GOOSE, MANIFEST ITSELF OVER US, COME HOLY SPIRIT, LET YOUR GIFTS BE DISTRIBUTED TO YOUR CHURCH, RIGHT NOW LORD PLANT IN US SUCH FIRE THAT EVERYTHING IS MELTED AWAY EXCEPT FOR THOSE GIFTS YOU ARE CALLING US TO UNWRAP …
LEAVE A FRESH A PICTURE OF WHAT YOU WANT US TO BE AND DO… SEND THE FIRE OF PENTECOST ON YOUR CHURCH, REVIVE, RESTORE AND RENEW US LORD. IN JESUS NAME, AMEN. The Wild Goose: Sermon Helps
Great Summer Time Reading on the Holy Spirit:
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