Let's be clear.
Contrary to some
conspiracy theorists,
Christianity is not about
brainwashing.
You are not being
controlled by the Holy Ghost.
You can still do
what you want to do
but you have to bear
the consequences of what you do.
This is true
wherever you are.
St Paul states the facts.
Those who curse Jesus
are separate from the Spirit of God.
Those who bless Jesus
and call Him Lord,
sincerely and willingly,
are united in that Holy Spirit.
Indeed,
the point of a sermon
is to present you
with the truth
and you are free to criticize it,
accept it or reject it.
But if a sermon
presents Jesus as our Lord and King
and encourages you to worship Him
then you can be sure
that the Holy Ghost is at work
in both you and the preacher.
It's your job, then,
to listen out for what the Holy Ghost
is saying to you
which may not necessarily
be the words spoken to you
by the preacher.
If you love God,
then you must keep
His commandments
because His commandments
will give you precisely
what you want.
But you have to do it.
You can't lean back
and let the Holy Ghost
do all the work,
otherwise there is no you
involved in your life.
God has created you
to be a free agent,
reflecting His own freedom
in your life.
So you are not controlled.
[PAUSE]
And you can be whatever
God has created you to be.
The point St Paul is making
is that whatever gifts
or abilities God has given us
be it in administration or teaching, preaching or prophesying,
they come from the same Spirit.
It means that
whatever lies behind
our ability
is linked by the Holy Ghost
to every other member
of the Church.
It is the Holy Ghost
that threads us all together
and knits us into one Church
not just regardless of who we are
but because of who we are
and because of Who God Is.
So,
to curse Jesus,
to reject His death
to reject His commandments to love
to call good evil and evil good
cuts the thread
that links us to the Church
to each other
and to God.
[PAUSE]
By the choices we make
we can be cut off from the Spirit
and we can be rejoined to the Spirit
but the Spirit never leaves us
while we bear the image of God Himself.
It means we need to be critical
of what we hear in our pulpits
in order to hear how Christ is
proclaimed Lord
and how that truth is
to be lived truly in our lives
with sincerity.
We are free to become perfect,
the best version of ourselves
we could ever wish or hope to be.
The Way to that perfection is Christ.
And our travelling companion
is the Holy Ghost in Whom
the whole Church cries out
in one voice saying,
"Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father."
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