John 3:1-12, 16

^{There was one of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish Council, who came to Jesus by night. 'Rabbi,' he said, 'we know that you are a teacher sent by God; no one could perform these signs of yours unless God were with him.' Jesus answered, 'in truth, in very truth I tell you, unless a man has been born over again he cannot see the kingdom of God.' 'But how is it possible', said Nicodemus, 'for a man to be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother's womb a second time and be born?' Jesus answered, 'In truth I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born from water and spirit. Flesh can give birth only to flesh; it is spirit that gives birth to spirit. You ought not to be astonished, then, when I tell you that you must be born over again. The wind blows where it wills; you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from, or where it is going. So with everyone who is born from spirit.'} 

^{Nicodemus replied, 'How is this possible?' 'What!' said Jesus. 'Is this famous teacher of Israel ignorant of such things? In very truth I tell you, we speak of what we know, and testify to what we have seen, and yet you all reject our testimony. If you disbelieve me when I talk to you about things on earth, how are you to believe if I should talk about the things of heaven?} 

^{…For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not die but have eternal life.}
 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! I appreciate all your thoughts you've been offering me about last week's sermon on the Holy Spirit, and I'm very happy to continue that series this week. One of you came up to me after the service and said that early in the service he was looking at the parament here, this triangle, that means the Holy Trinity.  Yes,  he thought,  I know that symbol. Father, creator; the Son, Jesus, who wins us salvation; and the Holy Spirit. I wonder what that Holy Spirit idea is about. And lo and behold, that was our topic of the morning. We both got goose bumps over that one.

I want to continue this discussion with you. I feel so propelled to do this. God has placed this upon my heart, and I want to share it with you: the positive power of the Holy Spirit, Part 2.

You know, dear friends, when we think about getting in touch with God, the first thing we think about is Jesus Christ. And I think it's like this – Jesus Christ opens the door to God for us, but the Holy Spirit opens the door of us to God. Looking to Jesus takes us to the Father, but the Holy Spirit is the part of God that does something in us, that makes a positive change in us, that has an effect on us and how we feel and what we do.  That's why it's important that we get in touch with what it means to be in the Holy Spirit, to have the Holy Spirit with us.

Jesus is our flow to God, and the Holy Spirit is God's flow to us. So as you find things changing in your life, as you find positive differences in your life because of your relationship with God, this is the action of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was talking about this in the scripture this morning. He said, "Nicodemus, you must be born again, you must be born anew, of water, the symbol, and the Spirit, the holy energy of God." The Holy Spirit is God's powerhouse at work in us, making a positive difference in our lives. I'd like to examine that together with you today from three avenues.

When we talk about the Trinity, we talk about three persons in one God, three aspects of one God. Yes, we could talk about that. John, may I use you as an example? John, you are a doctor, yes? And you are also a professor, yes? And you are a father and a husband and a friend? All of this, wrapped up in one person, and there are many more facets and aspects to you. So it is with God – creator, Father, Son, redeemer, and Holy Spirit, the energizer.

The Holy Spirit is a VIP. What is VIP? A very important person of the Holy Trinity. When you think of the Holy Spirit, think of this – V, Vitality. Wherever the Holy Spirit goes, there is vitality, energy. Something exciting takes place, in a quiet way or in an exuberant way. The Holy Spirit is active in the Old Testament. Check it out with me. Turn to Psalm 47, please. "Clap your hands, all peoples. Shout to God with loud songs of joy." You bet! Does that say, "Stay absolutely still, ye peoples. Never smile. Sing low"? No, my friends, it doesn't say that. And you are a spirit-touched congregation. You know how to clap your hands. You know how to sing beautifully and strongly. And that's the way it should be.

Let's jump down and take a look at verse 5. "God has gone up with a shout. Praise the Lord with the sound of the trumpet. Sing praises to God. Sing praises. Sing praises to our ruler, sing praises." Sing, shout, be exuberant for the Lord. One of the first hallmarks of the Holy Spirit is vitality. We need it in our faith, in our prayers, and in our church, don't you think? When you go to pray, pray with the anticipation that the Holy Spirit is going to fill you with energy, that something positively good is going to happen to you as a result of your prayer. Vitality is the first step.

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been to a service in a black Pentecostal church? Have you ever seen it? What do you think of that? People are shouting "Amen" and "Hallelujah". Sometimes they tremble. Sometimes they fall to the ground. What do you think of that? Is that excess? Is it unnecessary?

My friends, may I invite you to consider that something special is happening there? It's something that those of us who are not part of that tradition ought to look upon with reverence and respect and inquisitive awe, because the Holy Spirit is moving in that tradition in remarkable ways. Maybe it isn't exactly our tradition, but boy, do we have something to learn from it. We have something to learn from the minority practices of the Christian faith.

Last Sunday night I was at a Korean Methodist church over in East Brunswick . I heard Dr. Robert Schuller preach there. The music was heavenly. I couldn't understand a word, but I could tell the music was heavenly. At one point, the congregation raised their hands in Spirit praise. I had never done that before, but it felt good. We have something to learn from the black tradition, from the Korean tradition, from the Hispanic tradition. It's wonderful stuff. Let's be open to the infilling of the vitality of the Spirit.

Second point, I of VIP, Inspiration. The Holy Spirit inspires us with heavenly ideas. Let me ask you this – did you ever have the experience of being still, and in the stillness having the feeling that something is telling you that you ought to do this or not do that, or call this one or help this one, or help this mission or ministry or project? What's telling you to do that? I know that there are those who have said to me, "Pastor, I feel moved that I want to teach. I want to make a positive difference." You know who's telling you that; it's the Holy Spirit. Inspiration is part of what the Spirit does.

Divine intelligence, divine insight – when you get the divine ideas, that's God working in you through the Holy Spirit. Many years ago I went to Paris and took the subway to the Louvre Museum . I don't know whether it's still like that, but in the subway stop there were art treasures. There were beautiful treasures. One of the treasures on the wall was a carving of a man in robes writing in a book. There was a dove sitting on his shoulder, whispering in his ear. The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. And it was Evangelist writing the Gospel. The Holy Spirit still inspires us today, with holy ideas.

Next week we're going to talk about new life through dreams and visions. But the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to do something wonderful, something that's a blessing, is God at work in us.

And the third aspect, P of VIP, is the positive, powerful Presence of God. When you sense the presence of God, you have been touched by the Holy Spirit. Let me ask you this – do you remember a moment in worship that just transcended, that just floated, wherein you were just aware of the presence of God, the nearness of the Lord, the fact that there's more to life than just what we can see and what we can touch? Then you've been touched by the presence of God. And that's what the Holy Spirit does. The positive, powerful presence, when you know that the Spirit is loving and respectful and kind, and greater than anything you can describe, then you know that you've been touched by the presence of God.

Do you know someone who's been through such grief and been comforted unexplainably and able to live triumphantly? They've been touched by the Holy Spirit of God. I was touched by the Holy Spirit this week. I was in a clergy meeting with my brother and sister colleagues in the district. The district superintendent said, "I want you to get into groups of three and four and tell about a good spiritual experience from the summer." So we did. And then she said, "Okay, now what I want you to do is to hold hands and pray for the person on your left." So we held hands, and the person who prayed for me happened to be my mother's pastor when she was a member of a church down in South Jersey . He prayed for me in an intense, powerful way, and tears came to my eyes, and I knew I was touched by the Lord's Spirit through his words. I wonder if you've had an experience like that. It's the Holy Spirit at work in you.

And it's available to you everyday, and all God is waiting for is an invitation. Say, "Lord, come on in. Work in my life. Fill me with vitality and inspiration and your Holy presence, and I will be blessed indeed." That is my prayer for you. May it be so in an ever-increasing way, because God loves you. I do, too. Have a blessed week, my friends. Amen.