The reading from which the sermon is based today is Luke chapter 3, verses 21 and 22.
and Luke chapter 4, verses 14 to 21.
And let's read together the Word of God.
Now, when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
the heavens were opened.
And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven,
You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.
In chapter 4, verse 14.
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee.
And a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.
And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up.
And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day,
and he stood up to read.
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.
He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind.
To set at liberty those who are oppressed.
To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
And he rolled up the scroll, and he gave it back to the attendant,
and sat down.
And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
And he began to say to them,
Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
This is God's holy word.
Well, I want to say a huge thank you to Corey,
and to you all for your warm welcome this morning.
It's such a privilege to be back here again today.
Both Una and I love, love the opportunity to come and worship with you.
And so many of you are such dear friends to us,
and many of you we have not met and got to know,
but it's such a joy to see you here,
and to get to know you as well.
So thank you so much for this opportunity.
It's such a privilege to be here.
And we're going to turn back to Luke chapter 4.
And let me just read these verses that are on the screen.
Jesus came to Nazareth, where he'd been brought up.
And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day,
and he stood up to read.
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.
He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he's anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
Over the summer, you've had a series called Encounters with Jesus,
and I was delighted to be part of that series back in July.
Today we come to the end of this series,
and we're just going to ask the question,
what's the most important counter of all?
Who is that encounter with?
That's what I want us to think about
as we look at God's Word together today.
But I need to explain that my sermon's not really going to follow the normal pattern.
My sermon's actually going to be very, very short.
My sermon's only going to be 10 minutes long,
but my introduction's going to be about 20 minutes long.
So it's going to be lots of introduction,
then super short sermon at the end of it.
Hopefully it's all going to make sense.
This is the target that we're trying to get to,
the most important encounter of all.
Now when I was here serving as assistant minister,
I was alongside Derek Lamont.
Many of you will know Derek.
He served here for over 20 years,
and Derek and Katina had a wonderful ministry,
blessed by the Lord.
Derek has many, many amazing gifts for ministry.
One of Derek's gifts is that he was very, very good at making up words.
And that rubbed off on me,
and I am going to introduce you to a word
that is going to form the basis of the big, long introduction that I'm going to give,
and I hope it's going to help us answer our question
about the most important encounter of all.
And the word I've made up is the word anointianity.
Okay?
So you're going to learn today all about anointianity.
It's a weird-sounding word.
Let me tell you what it means.
Well, it's just an alternative for the word Christianity.
And the reason I've made up this version
is because the word Christ in Greek
is the word that means anointed one.
So Christ is a Greek word.
It comes from the Greek word for anointing,
which is the word chrio.
And so in Greek, Christ and anointed,
it's more or less the same word.
It's exactly the same word family.
And you actually see that very clearly in the Bible.
Let me put up an example verse.
It says,
It is God who establishes us with you in Christ
and has anointed us.
Now, I'm just picking this word to show you the similarities
between the two Greek words.
We've got Christ and anointed.
If I put the last wee bit of that verse up in Greek,
I'm not amazing at Greek,
but I can read it out,
and you'll be able to hear what I'm trying to get at.
If I read the last few words,
the second half of that verse in Greek,
it says,
So, Christ on Christ,
Christ on anointed.
There you go.
It's the same word.
You can see that I'm not making it up.
I did make up the word,
but I'm not making up the connection.
And so all of this is telling us
that when we think about Jesus,
when we talk about Christianity,
behind all of that lies this concept
of being anointed,
and that's why we can call
the Christian faith anointianity.
And I hope that this is going to be helpful for us,
because in all of this series
and in everything that we do,
we're thinking about encountering Jesus.
But who exactly are we encountering?
And what is it that is so important about it?
Well, let's try and think about that together.
Jesus of Nazareth is known throughout the whole world
as Jesus Christ.
And that word Christ is not a surname.
It's actually a title.
So we could just as easily say Jesus the Christ.
And as I said, it's a Greek word.
It means anointed one.
The Greek word is the equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah.
So you'll hear these words related to Christianity.
Messiah, Christ.
All of it means anointed one.
It's all referring to the same thing.
It's telling us that at the heart of who Jesus is,
and at the heart of why Jesus has come,
is this whole concept of being anointed.
What does that mean?
And why is it so important?
Well, the explanation for it all
comes in the Old Testament.
That's where the roots of this lie.
And being anointed is connected to three key roles
that appear again and again throughout the Old Testament.
And these roles are prophet, priest, and king.
And you see, if you look in the Old Testament,
that for each of these roles, prophet, priest, and king,
an individual was anointed for the task that was given to them.
So I'll pop some examples up onto the screen.
Prophet, you can see Elisha anointing.
Sorry, you see king.
Sorry, I put the wrong verse there.
You see Elisha being anointed to be prophet.
And yes, sorry, I'm reading it wrong there.
So you see that there's an anointing of the king
in the first verse,
and an anointing of Elisha as the prophet.
The instructions given to Elijah.
Priest there, Exodus 40.
Aaron and his sons, you shall anoint them.
And then you see Saul being anointed to be king.
So we see this throughout the Old Testament.
Anointing is associated with these three roles.
Prophet, priest, king.
And each of these was crucial in the life of Israel
in the Old Testament.
So what did a prophet do?
A prophet functioned as God's spokesperson.
So a messenger who communicated the word of God.
And often that was to issue warnings.
And alongside those warnings would come an offer of salvation.
The priest functioned as the people's representative before God.
And so they would serve in the temple.
They'd offer sacrifices.
They would intercede on behalf of a sinful people.
And the king functioned as God's vice regent.
Or to use the imagery that comes up a lot in the Old Testament,
the king functioned as an under-shepherd.
Given responsibility, delegated by God,
to care for the people.
So a king stood under God, over the people.
Exercising care and protection.
So you've got all these things fitting together.
A prophet spoke from God.
A priest came to God.
And a king reigned under God, over the people.
These three roles were crucial in the Old Testament.
But the big emphasis of the Old Testament
is that all three of these failed.
So the prophet's messages fell on deaf ears.
The people didn't listen.
The elaborate sacrificial system of the temple
was actually never able to take away the people's sins.
And the king's constantly failed.
And by the time you reach the end of the Old Testament,
God has stopped sending prophets.
The temple has been destroyed.
And the king has lost all his power.
And instead, God's people are under the rule
of foreign empires who have conquered them.
So the story of the Old Testament,
always remember this,
the story of the Old Testament
is not a story of success.
It's always a story of failure.
And it's meant to be a story of failure.
Because all the time,
the Old Testament is telling us
that we need something more.
That the prophets, the priests, and the kings
we've got just now
are not what we really need.
And that's why the Old Testament
is also always looking forward
to the coming of a Savior
who's going to be all three of these things.
There's the anticipation of a prophet
being raised up.
This is Moses speaking.
God will raise up for you a prophet like me
from your brothers.
You shall listen to him.
There's the expectation of a priest,
of a great high priest
who will be able to serve forever.
You see that in Psalm 110.
And there's great anticipation of a king
who will be wonderful counselor,
mighty God, everlasting father,
the prince of peace,
and of his government.
There shall be no end.
And so the Old Testament
is looking forward
to a prophet that's going to come,
to a priest that's going to come,
to a king that's going to come.
And actually, as you get
to the very end of the Old Testament,
you see that there's a recognition
that all three of these roles
are going to be combined
in one individual.
The prophecy of Zechariah
is fascinating for that.
I can only give you
a couple of wee snippets,
but if you do read
the prophecy of Zechariah,
look out for the ways
in which it will combine
prophet and king,
or priest and king.
And you see examples here.
I'll just read the first one
because I'm already going
to start running out of time.
My introduction is going
to be even longer
than I planned.
It says,
Thus says the Lord of hosts,
Behold the man whose name
is the branch,
for he shall branch out
from his place,
and he shall build
the temple of the Lord.
There's priestly language.
It's he who shall build
the temple
and shall bear royal honor.
There's kingly language,
and shall sit on the ruler
on his throne.
There's king language again.
There shall be a priest
on his throne.
The council of peace
shall be between them both.
Same emphases
in Zechariah 9,
and throughout that book,
prophet,
priest,
and king combined
in the one person.
And of course,
you know who all of this
is talking about.
It's all fulfilled
magnificently
in Jesus Christ.
And so,
when Jesus speaks
about him being anointed,
there is a ton
of Old Testament theology
behind that term.
And it's telling us
that he is the one
in whom everything
that the Old Testament
is looking forward to
finds its fulfillment.
And the rest
of the New Testament
confirms this again
and again and again.
A good example
is Hebrews 1.
Sorry that it's
a long passage,
but let me just whiz through it
because you're going
to see all three.
Long ago,
at many times,
in many ways,
God spoke to our fathers
by the prophets,
but in these last days,
he's spoken to us
by his son.
There's prophecy,
prophet.
He appointed
all things
through whom
he also created
the world.
He's the radiance
of the glory of God,
the exact imprint
of his nature.
He upholds the universe
by the word of his power.
After making purification
for sins,
there's priestly language.
He sat down
at the right hand
of the majesty on high.
This is pointing us
towards kingly language
and that gets emphasized.
I'll skip out the bits,
but you'll see
at the end of the sun,
it says,
your throne,
O God,
is forever and ever.
There's king language.
Prophet,
priest,
and king,
all fulfilled
and accomplished
in Jesus.
So, you need to remember
these categories.
Maybe you've known them
a long, long time,
but they're so important
to the whole concept
of Jesus' identity
as the Christ.
He's prophet,
priest,
and king.
And the reason
they're so important
is that it's these offices
that come together
to enable Jesus
to serve
as the mediator
between God
and humanity.
Now, that word mediator
is a big,
big theological term
for us.
It's so important.
It's what Jesus does.
So, he's the prophetic revelation
from God.
So, information,
communication,
revelation from God
comes to us
through Jesus.
He's the priest
who gives us access
to God.
So, you can see
both directions
at play here.
And he's the king
of God's kingdom.
So, every aspect
of our lives
is under his rule.
And, of course,
the reason why Jesus
can do this,
why Jesus can be
the mediator
between God
and humanity,
is because he is God
and he is one of us.
And that's what's captured
again in the New Testament.
There's one mediator
between God and man,
the man,
Christ,
Jesus.
That's what makes
Jesus unique.
Only he can fulfill
these roles.
The prophets,
priests,
and kings
of the Old Testament
failed.
And,
the false prophets,
false priests,
and temporary kings
that humanity
has chased after
and put their hope
in throughout history
have failed.
Only Jesus
can fulfill
these roles.
But,
what's even more
important to recognize,
maybe,
is that Jesus
doesn't just take up
these roles.
He takes them
to a whole new level.
Because,
Jesus doesn't just
communicate on God's
behalf as a messenger.
No,
Jesus' very words
are the words of God.
When he speaks,
God speaks.
And,
Jesus doesn't just
offer a sacrifice
on behalf of the people
like the priests did.
Jesus is the sacrifice
on behalf
of his people.
people.
And,
Jesus doesn't just
rule with a delegated
authority from God.
He is the one
who has all authority.
He is king of kings
and lord of lords.
And,
these roles,
prophet,
priest,
and king,
are so important
for understanding
Jesus as we look
at him in the gospel.
All the different people
we've seen encounter
Jesus are meeting
the great prophet,
priest,
and king.
And,
in Jesus' ministry,
you actually see
what we could call
a progressive intensification
of these roles.
And,
so,
Jesus the prophet
engages in a ministry
of proclamation.
And,
so,
he goes around
preaching,
teaching more
and more
and more.
And,
that message
is accompanied
by miracles
which function
to attest
the authenticity
of what Jesus
is saying.
Jesus the priest
sets his face
towards Jerusalem.
And,
so,
as you go through
the gospels,
you discover very quickly
that actually the whole
of these gospels
are focused
on Jesus reaching
the cross
when he's going
to accomplish
the great work
of atonement.
And,
then,
the whole of the gospels
culminate
in Jesus rising
from the dead
and in the resurrection
we see Jesus the king
rising from the dead
with unstoppable power.
The king has conquered.
He's victorious.
He rules over all.
And,
so,
what he was anointed
to accomplish
becomes his perfect
finished work.
And,
maybe the best summary
of this comes
in one of the most
famous Bible verses
of all
when Jesus said,
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life.
No one comes
to the Father
except through me.
Jesus the priest
is the way to God.
It's through him
that we get to God.
Jesus the prophet
reveals the truth
from God.
And,
Jesus the king
gives us eternal life
in his kingdom
and there is no other.
No other mediator
between God
and humanity.
No one comes
to the Father
except through him.
Now,
there's loads more
that we could say
about this.
These are massive
theological topics.
I'm only halfway
through my introduction
so we've got to
keep moving forward.
In all of this stuff,
why is this all
being placed
under the framework
of being anointed?
Like,
why is anointed
the thing that God
wants to do
in revealing Jesus?
Well,
I think there's two,
at least two reasons
why this is so crucial.
First of all,
we need to recognize
that the Bible's,
that anointing
is the Bible's way
of saying it's him.
Anointing is the Bible's
way of saying it's him.
In other words,
it's a key mark
of identification.
Now,
we still do the same thing.
We just don't use oil.
We use other stuff.
So,
when somebody wins
the Olympics,
we anoint them
with a gold medal.
When you become
the captain
of a football team
or a sports team,
you get anointed
with an armband.
And when you're
the bride at a wedding,
you get anointed
with a dress
that no one else
is wearing.
And all of these
are ways in which
we say it's him.
It's her.
Anointing identifies
who we are.
And the key point
with Jesus
is that when it comes
to finding answers,
when it comes
to finding hope,
finding healing,
finding purpose,
finding truth,
finding eternal life,
the anointing
of Jesus
as the Christ
is all there
to tell us
it's him.
it's him
that we need.
He's the one
that we've been
waiting for
and it's telling you
that if you look
past Jesus
or if you look
somewhere else,
you're making
the wrong decision.
You're picking
the wrong one.
And alongside
that mark
of identification,
the Bible
also associates
anointing
with power.
You see that
in Acts 10 38.
There's just a summary
about Jesus.
It says,
God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit
and with power.
He went about
doing good
and healing all
who were oppressed
by the devil
for God was with him.
Jesus,
the anointed prophet,
priest,
and king
has the power
to accomplish
everything
that he came
to do.
His power
is unlimited.
It's unstoppable.
It is completely
effectual
in accomplishing
everything
that God the Father
wants him to do.
So that means
that the gospel
doesn't just say
it's him.
The gospel also says
it's him
and he's done it.
He's done everything
that is needed.
And all any of us
needs to do
is rest on him
and his perfect
finished work.
Now this is so important
because there are
many people
who,
when it comes
to the big questions
of life and truth
and salvation,
many people look at Jesus
and think,
it's not him.
And they'll look
somewhere else.
They'll pick
a different option.
And all around us
that's what people
are doing.
People are looking
for wholeness
and completeness
and answers
and truth
and stability
in other stuff.
Lots of people
will look at Jesus
and think,
it's not him.
There's another problem
that people have
that I think
maybe more of you
might have.
It's not so much
that you look at Jesus
and you think,
it's not him.
It's more that
you look at Jesus
and you hear
that he is a savior
and you know
that he is the Christ.
You don't doubt that
and you think
about salvation
and then
you look at yourself
and you think,
he's not going
to do it for me.
So I know it's him
but he won't do it.
Or maybe you think,
I know it's him
but he actually
can't do it
because I've made
too many mistakes.
I've stuffed up
too much.
Maybe you know
it's him
but you just think
he can't do it
for me.
That is never true.
That is never
ever true.
And this whole concept
of being anointed
is proving that.
It's telling you
it's him
and it's telling you
he can
and it's telling you
he will.
No one
who ever comes
to him
will be cast
out.
Now,
my introduction
is almost over
and then we need
to start our
five minute sermon.
there's loads
loads more
that I want
to say about this.
I had wanted
to say a wee bit
about
the baptism
of Jesus.
That's a great
example of
how you see
God,
Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit
all working
together
in this
anointing.
And so
let me just
summarize what I was
going to say
very, very briefly.
In the baptism,
do I have it on the screen?
It's there somewhere.
There we go.
There's the baptism.
I just want to say
what you have here
is you have
God the Father,
God the Son,
God the Spirit
united in this
concept of anointing
because you have
the Father
anointing.
You have the Son,
the anointed one,
and you have
the Holy Spirit,
the oil of anointing
that empowers
and enables Jesus
to accomplish
his ministry.
So you have
the anointer,
the anointed,
the anointing.
You see the same
passage here.
God anointed Jesus
with the Holy Spirit
and with power.
The anointer,
God,
the anointed,
the Son,
the anointment,
the Holy Spirit,
the anointing,
and it's all
telling us
that God,
that God
is utterly
determined
to accomplish
his purposes
of salvation.
And it's beautiful
that it ties in
with the baptism
because in the baptism,
Jesus was identifying
himself with us,
saying that he's
come alongside us
in order to help us.
It's teaching us
that the triune God
is fully invested,
wholly involved,
and utterly committed
to your salvation.
There's a ton of stuff
I missed out.
Just,
I'll come another time
and do that bit
of the sermon.
I want to get to
the question
that we started with.
Introductions over
sermons about to start.
We've got five minutes.
What's the most important
encounter of all?
Or really,
the question I really
want to ask is,
who's that encounter with?
So you've seen
Jesus encounter Nicodemus,
you've seen him
encounter the woman
at the well,
you've seen Jesus
encounter Peter
after his failure,
and the passages
that we read,
you've got Jesus
at the baptism,
there's tons of people
watching him,
you've got Jesus
at a synagogue,
his whole hometown
is watching what he's doing.
There are loads and loads
of people encountering Jesus.
What's the most important
encounter of all?
Or the real question
I want is,
who is that encounter
with?
I think you know
what I'm going to say.
You.
The most important
encounter of all
is Jesus' encounter
with you right now.
And that's what
the whole of the gospel
is about.
That as our new week begins,
as we gather publicly
to worship,
Jesus is calling you
to come to him,
to come and encounter him,
and to meet with him.
And I want to say
that that's the most
important encounter
of all,
because it is the most
amazing encounter
of all.
And I'm going to just say
two very short things
in our five-minute sermon
at the end of our
ridiculously long
introduction.
The two things I want
to say is that
encountering Jesus
as the anointed one
means that our needs
are met,
and our possibilities
are transformed.
Our needs are met,
and our possibilities
are transformed.
In terms of our needs
being met,
theologians over
many centuries
have connected
the threefold office
of Jesus,
the anointed one,
prophet, priest, and king,
they've connected that
with what they've called
the threefold misery
of humanity.
And they've summarized
that under three headings,
which are going to sound
very depressing.
Ignorance,
guilt,
and tyranny.
Now,
these are the kind of words
that sound instantly
offensive,
but they're very important
theological terms,
and the truth is
these are the things
you and I encounter
every single week
of our lives.
And so,
ignorance,
we find that offensive.
We think that's,
and it's a horrible thing
to say to somebody
you're ignorant.
And I don't mean it
in that kind of
insulting way,
but just as a concept,
not knowing things,
not knowing everything,
not knowing the whole story,
that is something
we encounter all the time.
So,
sometimes we receive it
from others.
People judge us
when they don't know
what's going on
in our lives.
We see people
that we love
walking down
a terrible path.
We can see it,
they can't.
And often,
you'll find people
speak with supreme confidence
when all the time,
you know,
they're just making it up.
They're talking rubbish.
And so,
we'll sometimes
encounter ignorance
among others,
but maybe even more so,
ignorance is something
that we struggle
with ourselves.
Because how often
do we find ourselves
saying,
I don't know what to do?
We're facing a situation
with studies
or with work
or with family
and we think,
I don't know what to do
in this situation.
I don't understand
why this is happening
to me.
I did not think
it would turn out
this way.
That's all part
of that theological category
of ignorance
whereby we just
don't know everything
and we can't
understand everything
and we can't
hold it all together.
And maybe,
maybe the worst of,
worst encounter
we can have
with ignorance
is when we're hurt
by people
that we thought
we knew
and then we realize
we didn't.
Guilt,
again,
we don't like that word,
but we can't escape
its shadow.
It's like,
it's just,
it's like,
it's just always there,
just niggling at us.
The mistakes that we've made,
the regret that crushes us,
that consciousness
of our sin,
and that no matter
how many times
we try to be a better
version of ourselves
and to put things right,
we can't escape
our sense of guilt
before God.
And maybe we can mask it
and lots of people
are trying to mask it,
but the whole reason
we mask it
is because it won't go away.
And tyranny,
that's another unpleasant word,
another inescapable
aspect of life
this week.
We live in a broken world.
We've got hearts
that gravitate
towards bad choices.
And we've got,
we've got bodies.
All of you in here,
and many of you
maybe very,
very,
very much know this
right now,
the tyranny
of a body
that is getting old
and that you cannot beat.
And it's all
pointing us
towards
the merciless power
of sin and death
and how that power
has been a brutal
oppressor
of humanity
ever since
our first parents
fell.
And theologically,
this is the plight
of humanity.
Experientially,
this is what you and I
experience
every single week.
That's why life feels
like it doesn't make sense.
That's why there's
always a negative voice
in your head
accusing you of failure.
That's why death
and illness
wrecks people's lives
and all too often
we feel
completely helpless.
These are our
greatest needs.
All of them
are met
through the
anointed one,
Jesus Christ.
All of them
are met.
So Jesus,
the prophet,
brings truth
and light
and clarity
and knowledge
in a world
that's full
of confusion
and lies
and deceit.
The priest
cleanses
all your guilt,
all your sin,
every mistake,
all your scars
are healed,
all your mistakes
are forgiven,
all your regrets
are forgotten
and Jesus,
the king,
breaks the tyranny
and power
of death
forever.
And he rules
at the right hand
of God today
to defend
and protect
his people
forever
so that death
can never
harm you
again
if you are
trusting in
Jesus.
If you are
a Christian
or if you
become one,
that power
of death
cannot get you.
All it can do
is send you
to Jesus
where you will
be with him
forever
in paradise.
We desperately
need a prophet
to teach us,
we need a priest
to atone
and intercede
for us,
we need a king
to rule
and defend us
in Jesus.
You've got it all.
you've got it
all forever.
And is that
not everything
that you crave?
We crave truth,
we long
for forgiveness
and we're
terrified of
dying.
Anointianity
is such a
cool word
because it's
reminding you
that Jesus
deals with it
all.
Our deepest
needs are met.
And last of all,
all of this
is telling us
that in Jesus
our possibilities
are transformed.
So remember,
one of the key
aspects of this
whole concept
of being anointed
is that Jesus
is anointed
by the Spirit.
Through that
anointing,
he's able
to accomplish
all that God
has sent him
to achieve.
And he did it
and now he's
exalted
at the right hand
of God.
So Jesus
was anointed
to do an amazing
work,
he's done it.
Died,
rose,
again,
ascended,
he's at the
right hand
of the Father,
he's done
an amazing
work.
But the big
question is this,
has that work
stopped?
No.
That work
goes on.
And how does
that work
continue?
It continues
through his
people.
It continues
through his
church.
It continues
through you.
And that's
where we see
that there's
such a beautiful
teaching in the
gospel whereby
the risen
Christ,
the risen
anointed
Christ,
what does
he do
now?
He anoints
us with
his Holy
Spirit.
The same
Holy Spirit
that dwells
in him
dwells in
us.
That Holy
Spirit is
poured out
on you.
When you
become a
Christian,
the Holy
Spirit comes
to dwell in
you,
and as you
go on as a
Christian,
Jesus keeps
pouring his
Spirit into
you,
why is he
doing that?
He's doing
that to
empower you
to accomplish
his purposes.
Jesus has
made you
an anointing.
He's made
you a
Christian.
By faith,
we're united
to the
anointed
Jesus,
and when
that happens,
all our
possibilities
are transformed
because we're
no longer
slaves to sin.
We're no
longer paralyzed
by guilt.
We're no
longer blind.
We're no
longer living
by ourselves.
We are
indwelled by
the Spirit
so that we
can be led
by the Spirit
and bear
the fruit
of the Spirit
and witness
for Jesus
in the power
of the Spirit.
You'll remember
that when Jesus
died on the
cross,
the curtain
of the temple
was torn
in two.
Now,
at one level,
that was
beautifully
symbolic of
the fact that
the cross
means we
have access
to God,
but the
tearing of
the temple
doesn't just
allow access,
the tearing
of the temple
curtain also
allows outpouring,
and the Holy
Spirit is poured
out on His
people so that
they can serve
Him and that
He can accomplish
His purposes
through Him.
What does that
mean?
It means that
this week is
exciting for what
God can do
through you as
His anointed
people.
So what's the
most important
encounter of
all?
Right now.
who's that
encounter with?
It's with you.
If you're a
Christian,
you've come
here this
morning to
be renewed,
refreshed,
recharged,
and empowered
to go and
serve Him.
And if you're
not yet a
Christian,
or if you're
not sure,
the most
important moment
in your life
is right now.
because Jesus
is saying,
I want you
to be mine.
I want to
meet every
need that you
have.
I want you
to trust me
and follow
me.
I want you
to be an
anointing as
well.
Amen.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
we thank You
that You
are the
perfect
prophet,
the perfect
priest,
the perfect
King.
We love
You,
and we
thank You,
and we
want to
live for
You
through the
power of
Your Spirit
that You
have so
graciously
poured out
on us.
Help us
all to see
and understand
more of
just how
amazing You
are,
and of
just how
much You've
done for
us.
Amen.