SERMON TEXT
Titus 3:4-7
INTRODUCTION
When I was young, listening to music was a big part of our family dynamic. I have very vivid memories of seeing my parents’ CD collection neatly lined up on the shelf. Mom and Dad liked to listen to a lot of things, but smooth jazz was a staple genre in the house. So Dad would push the button on the Sony, the tray would extend, and the five-cd-carousel would spin as it jutted out, revealing which discs were currently in rotation. He would take a disc out, replace it with something, push the button again to retract the tray, push play, and the dulcet tones of Geoge Benson would fill the family room over the hi-fi speakers. If they wanted to discover music they would listen to 94.7 The Wave, and I would sit there on the couch and listen to Kenny G, Lee Ritenour, Candy Dulfer, Earl Klugh, and Larry Carlton. And so my love for music began at a very young age. When I was in college I played bass for the gospel choir, and I fell in love with the genre. So now that’s in rotation at our home. One of my favorite albums is called The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin, a live gospel album recorded in the year 2000.
OUR TRIUNE GOD
There are three pillars to trinitarian theology. First, there is monotheism. We worship one God. We do not worship three Gods; we worship one God. Two, God is three persons. God exists in three persons. And lastly, each person is fully God. How do we skate the accusation that we are not monotheists and that we actually worship three gods? To properly represent the trinity, we must understand the distinction between being and person.
A human retains both being and personhood. This time, a bidirectional confirmation of existence occurs when you shake a person’s hand. A very unique experience transpires when you look another human in the eye, so much so that it is bound up in the fabric of our socialization. Too much eye contact is creepy, too little eye contact communicates a lack of care or concern. Our senses serve to confirm the existence of the other person and we can interact with one another. A human, therefore, is one being and one person.
THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Bible also describes for us various appearances of the Holy Spirit. When the Lord was baptized by John, the Spirit of God descended like a dove coming to rest on him. When the great flood covered the earth and the wrath of God submerged the great mountains and every man, woman, and child suffered a watery grave, the ark floated atop the surface and weathered the storm. The tides beat against the bow of the ark, the current pulled the lumbering ship whichever direction it willed, the rains buffeted the upper decks, and yet those who were in the ark were protected from God’s anger. And so the symbol of Christ emerges, pictured through a wooden barge. As people of faith, we see ourselves in the family of Noah, hunkered down inside the hull, while the ark of Christ takes the full brunt of the waves and is battered by the wind and the tempest. When the wrath of God subsides and Noah peers out the window, feeling the sun on his face for the first time in 40 days he sees nothing but water. 150 days later the gopher wood beast comes to rest on the mountain of Ararat and Noah releases a black raven out of the window. An unclean bird that feeds on carrion. Similar to the vulture, the scavenger doesn’t have to search long before it finds a food source floating on the surface. And so the black bird, a symbol of death, does not return to Noah because it had all the sustenance it could ever want. Noah releases a 2nd bird, this time a white dove, who has a diet of seeds and grains. And the bird returns. He tries it again and this time the bird returns with a promising result, an olive leaf sticking out of its beak. He tries a third time. and this time the bird does not return. The waters had receded and the bird no longer had to rely on Noah for sustenance. And so the dove symbolizes a new beginning. God, out of his regret for ever having made humans wiped the face of the earth from its wicked inhabitants. The flood waters, which dominated the planet for over a year, finally relented. Like a bear coming out of hibernation, Noah and his family step out of the ark onto dry ground.
THE HOLY SPIRIT’S ROLE IN REDEMPTION
In 597 BC, the son of Buzi who was born in Judah was transported to Babylon along with the rest of the Jews. A judgment of exile had come upon the Israelites. The prophet Ezekiel, whose name means “God will strengthen” was God’s messenger to the Jews while they were in captivity. The prophecy communicates a message of hope for the jews that were in captivity 2500 years ago. In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a decree is made and the Babylonian exile is finally over. The Israelites can return home. And the Holy Spirit worked in the heart of the jews to return to God, to forsake their idols, and to walk in His statutes. And so we learn that the Holy Spirit is a catalyst for change, the type of change that can only be described as a miracle.
THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
At one time, God’s presence filled the tabernacle through the form of a cloud. But in these latter days, our body being the temple of the Lord, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts. What beautiful furnishings and renovations have been undertaken to make the abode of the Holy Spirit fitting and proper. He cannot dwell in filth. He sweeps our hearts, shines light in the dark corners and clears the cobwebs so that He can set His mind to work. Speaking first, He is the comforter. Jesus says, “But when the comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”