The Ministry of the Holy Spirit III - Living Grace Fellowship

Wednesday 11/18/13

Topic: The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Series – The Fear of the Lord:

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit.mp3

Key Text: Matt. 12:20

Amos 3:3

John 15:1-7

John 16:8-11

The ministry of Jesus, became the ministry of the Holy Spirit and subsequently – OUR ministry. This is called the ministry of reconciliation.

We began this week with brief review and then started talking about reconciliation. To purchase mankind back from sin and death and restore them to righteousness and life was what Jesus accomplished on the cross. The action of being reconciled is what the ministry of the Holy Spirit is today. To reveal to all mankind that their sins no longer separates them from the God Who loves them. Just like Christ, God – in the person of the Holy Spirit is pleading with the world and our siblings in Christ to be reconciled to Him. For the lost this reconciliation is into initial relationship. For the child of God it is to deeper communion and co=partnership with Him in His Kingdom.

2Cor. 5:17-21
(17) “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
(18) Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
(19) that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
(20) Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
(21) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Have you ever felt an inward compelling to lead someone to the Lord or to restore or deepen a brother’s communion with Him? THAT was the Holy Spirit at work within you – whether you did it or not. The desire came from Him.

Php. 2:13
(13) “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

As we were discussing this, we began to talk about our joint-partnership with the Holy Spirit in this ministry of reconciliation. This led us to John 15 and our inability to do anything apart from Him. At this point a question came up about another verse which on the surface seems unrelated, but it is not. It is found in Matt. 7:22,23…

(22) “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
(23) And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'”

This is an interesting verse and it causes many Christians unnecessary concern, for it is referring to those whom Christ NEVER at any time EVER knew, which cannot be referring to a child of God.

However…

Abiding in the Vine

The above question prompted me to address the nature of our union life with and in Christ. The need to bear fruit as a result of our active reliance upon Him and His inner workings in us. Many do not believe nor teach it, but the scriptures are clear – If we fail to abide in Him, we are cast off as a branch.

Who are the branches? Those who are IN Him.

Who are IN Him? Those who have believed into Christ and are subsequently “branches”.

There are all kinds of creative interpreting of these verses, but in reality there is only one understanding that does not require us to ignore any of the surrounding facts. This is a hard teaching, but it is necessary.

I hope you will listen with a heart to learn and ask questions in our comments area if you have any.

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!