Do You Believe In Miracles (Acts 19:8-12)?

Presented to Maxwell Meighen Centre, 21 April 2016, by Captain Michael Ramsay

About me:

Hello, I am Captain Michael Ramsay. My wife and I have 3 daughters: two are in high school and one is in kindergarten. We are blessed to be Corps Officers at 614 Regent Park. We have been here for almost a year now. And it was very interesting when we first found out that we were going to be posted to 614 Toronto because we actually came into the work – we became Officers – out of 614 Vancouver. We were part of the group in the very first year of 614 Vancouver blessed by God with helping Steven Court and Danielle Strickland get that ministry up and going. So it is kind of neat to be back at a (albeit different) 614 after all of these years.

Now, I was actually born and raised in Victoria, BC and I didn’t join the Army until I was almost in my 30s. I took teacher training at the University of Victoria and spent most of my working life as an international business person in the field of education, prior to God calling us to Vancouver’s DTES as urban missionaries and then to the greater Army world as Salvation Army Officers.

Since that time we have served God in the Army in Winnipeg’s North End and Stoney Mountain Penitentiary, in Northern Saskatchewan – in Nipawin and Tisdale – and in Southwest Saskatchewan running a myriad of ministries including a large justice ministry – court work, alternative measures, transition through incarceration, etc. – and the primary feeding programs for all of Southwest Saskatchewan. We were also blessed to be used by God to set up the very first rural chaplaincy program in the province. It was exciting.

We have seen many of God’s blessings in all of those settings; we have already seen some in this area and we look forward to seeing even more as God works in the hearts of everyone here.

Today I want to read to us from Acts Chapter 19.

Acts 19:11: The Miracle

Acts 19:8-12:

8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

Do miracles still happen?[1]

There was a fellow who decided to go parachuting with his friend. As neither of them had ever been parachuting before they needed to be trained. They spent the day at the airport studying wind trajectories, physics, the speed of acceleration of a free falling object, as well as what to do if your parachute fails to open. The one friend did not understand it at all and even when they practiced with a mock parachute, he didn’t get it. He couldn’t even get the mock parachute to work. He didn’t get it.

Then they went to the plane. Flipping a coin to see who would go first, the friend lost and was supposed to jump first. Discovering, however, at about 850 ft in the air that he was afraid of heights, he convinced his companion to jump first.

They were jumping from 3000 ft. As this was their first jump, cords were tied to their parachutes so that they would open automatically upon exiting the plane because you never know if someone new will be able to pull the cord to release the parachute or not. The companion climbed out on the wing (as he was supposed to) jumped, counted to five (as they practiced), looked up saw that the parachute had opened beautifully and enjoyed one of the most peaceful experiences of his life noticing the miracles of God’s creation while drifting to the ground on this perfectly windless day.

The friend, emboldened, does the same: climbs onto the wing, jumps, counts and looks to see the parachute; he reaches to grab the steering toggles on his parachute…they aren’t there. His parachute isn’t there (most of it anyway). It isn’t working. He has to take it off his back and pull the emergency chute all the while following faster and faster towards the ground. As he pulls the cord, he prays: “Lord, please save me.” He pulls the cord, looks, and the emergency chute didn’t open properly either. It isn’t catching any wind. It isn’t slowing him down. He falls beneath the trees towards the power lines and highway below.

It is at this time that the Lord’s hand reaches out and actually lifts the parachutist up in the air, opens his parachute and gently sets him on the ground without a scratch. This is a true story; I am that parachutist.

Miracles do happen.

When have you experienced a miraculous encounter with our Lord?

Miracles do happen because God is real and there is even more to this story too:

When I was without a parachute and about to pull the emergency cord, I prayed. Now, I was a smoker back then and when I pulled my emergency cord, I remember praying, “Dear God, if you save me I’ll quit smm… - never mind just please save me!” And He did. And I knew that as He did the first thing that I would want after I landed would be a cigarette. And it was, so it was a good thing that I didn’t make the vow. (I did eventually quit smoking; but that’s an unrelated story.) I know that God takes covenants, oaths, and vows very seriously and I didn’t make one then that I wouldn’t keep.

Mind you, as an Officer in The Salvation Army now, I don’t smoke anymore anyways – God has delivered me from that addiction, just like he has delivered me from other addictions and just like he can deliver you from anything. Honestly, truly, when I was a Salvation Army soldier serving on Vancouver’s DTES I saw people actually cured of AIDS, actually cured of cancer, actually cured of diabetes. I have seen people delivered from demons. I have seen entire lives transformed – sometimes in deliverance from these things and sometimes in being given the ability to live through these things so that they can be used to help others who must themselves live through the very same things.

That is a key point of Christianity, I think. Life is hard and life is going to be hard but when God is with you, no matter how bad it gets, it will be okay because you will never be alone. God is with you… and when we really need it, when we are really at the end of our rope, and there is nothing you can do, more often than not I think we will find God opening the parachute of our life and placing us firmly on the ground on salvation.

Let us pray

   

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[1] This section is based on the article by Captain Michael Ramsay, Do Miracles Still Happen? Nipawin Journal (September 2008) On-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com/sasknews.htm#miracles

John 20:19-23: Breath of God

Presented to Corps 614 Regent Park, Toronto; 03 April 2016 
by Captain Michael Ramsay

Today we will be speaking about the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. You did so well on Palm Sunday on our quiz that I have another one for us today. Let’s see how we do. [Answers below, before footnotes]

1)      When is the first time the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God shows up in Scripture?

a.       Genesis 1:1

b.      Revelation 2:4

c.       John 1:1

d.      Acts 2:4

2)      When is the first time the Holy Spirit is specifically mentioned contending with a multitude of people for their salvation?

a.       Genesis 6:3

b.      Isaiah 9:6

c.       Matthew 1:23

d.      Acts 2:4

3)      When is the first time the Bible openly talks about specific people having an indwelling of the Holy Spirit or a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit?

a.       Genesis 41:38

b.      Judges 2:7

c.       Matthew 1:18

d.      Acts 2:4

4)      What book in the Bible is an anthology of separate incidents of the Holy Spirit personally empowering people for salvation of themselves and others?

a.       Exodus

b.      Judges

c.       John

d.      Revelation

5)      When is the first time the Holy Spirit shows up chronologically in the New Testament?

a.       Matthew 1:18

b.      Mark 1:8-10

c.       Luke 1:15

d.      John 1:32

6)      When is the first time the Holy Spirit is recorded as being poured out to people after the resurrection of Christ in the New Testament?

a.       Matthew 1:18

b.      Mark 4:35

c.       John 20:22

d.      Acts 2:4

John 20:19-23: This is a really interesting passage. It is mentioned in the liturgy for many Christian churches. It is in the same chapter as the Resurrection, which every Christian church celebrates at Easter, and yet for some reason people in the 21^st Century Church often skip over this chapter and think that the Holy Spirit first shows up in Scripture in Acts 2 or that He first enters peoples lives personally in Acts 2 or that He first shows up to empower people for salvation in Acts 2 or that He first shows up in the Christian Church in Acts 2.[1] None of this is technically true[2] (unless, of course, Acts 2 is simply Luke account of John 20 here, which it could be).[3] God, the Holy Spirit is part of our life and our world at the creation of the world and God, the Holy Spirit is still apart of our life at the creation of the church and beyond.[4]

This week I have spent a lot of time contemplating the Spirit of God. We have just finished reading the Gospel of John as a congregation and I have spent a lot of time looking at articles, commentaries and resources about the life and role of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John. Let me share with us a little of what struck me this week.

First, John Chapter 1: John 1 is known as one of the great trinitarian pericopes in the Bible. What does trinitarian/trinity mean? (3-in-1). Right off the top in John’s Gospel, John tells us that Jesus is God and God is the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is Jesus. John then goes on in this very same chapter, Chapter 1 of his book, to mention the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus as a dove at His baptism (1:33) and from that point on it is really interesting to look at what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit.

I have handed out a few verses for some people to read aloud, which I will ask you to do shortly but first I have another question. John uses the Greek word ‘Paraclete’ to refer to the Holy Spirit. Does anyone know what ‘Paraclete’ means? (One who is a comforter, an advocate, and/or who comes alongside). Jesus throughout this Gospel – and especially during his farewell discourse –repeatedly promises that the same Spirit of God that descended upon Him, that is within Him and that has been with God since before the creation of the world, that same Spirit of God that is in everything and that God has poured out at pivotal times in salvation history, will be our Paraclete, our comforter, our advocate.

Today we have given a number of people verses in John about our Paraclete, our comforter, our advocate, the Holy Spirit. If you have one, please read it aloud now for all of us to hear:

·         John 3:5, 'Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the [Holy] Spirit.'

·         John 3:34, 'For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the [Holy] Spirit without limit.'

·         John 7:38-39a: Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this He meant the [Holy] Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.

·         John 14:17: the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and in you.

·         John 14:26: But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

·         John 15:26: When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of Truth who goes out from the Father—He will testify about me.

John has a lot to say about the Holy Spirit that is really important for us to understand today. To recap, John says:

·         The world can’t accept the Holy Spirit (John 14:17), and

·         Without the Holy Spirit no one can enter God’s Kingdom (John 3:5), but

·         Those who serve Jesus will receive the Holy Spirit (John 7:38), for

·         God gives the Holy Spirit without limit (John 3:34), and

·         The Holy Spirit will empower you to tell people about Jesus (John 15:26); so that they can be saved unto eternal life and be a part of His Kingdom forever.

The word for ‘spirit’ both in Hebrew and in Greek has the same range of meanings. What does the word ‘spirit’ mean? (Wind. The word for wind and the word for spirit in each Greek and Hebrew and in each the OT and NT is exactly the same. Hebrew, ‘Ruach’; Greek, ‘pneuma’; we can even think of God, the Holy Spirit as the Holy Wind or the very Breath of God.)[5]

This is exciting because in Acts 2 we have the Spirit coming like a wind to empower us to share the gospel;[6] In Genesis 2 (cf. Ezekiel 37) and John 20 we have God breathing His Spirit into, onto or over people. Genesis 2:7, at the creation of mankind, records, “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” The psalms (104:29) even tell us that if that Spirit of God is removed from us then we will all die. And John here in our passage today draws on that same imagery as he tells us about the coming of the Paraclete.[7] John 20:21-23, Jesus says to his disciples, probably many more than ten, eleven or even twelve of them; reading Luke into this, possibly even the people who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus are present with this crowd:[8]

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

The Holy Spirit is given here so that we can share the Good News with the World, just as Jesus did. And what is that Good News? That Good News is that, John 3:16, for God so loved the whole world that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life... in His Kingdom to come.

I have a short story for us today and then we will conclude our time here. I love everyone here and as I have been getting to know all of you more, I love you even more. I am getting to know and love the city and I am even beginning to learn about baseball as we have a great team here. But one thing that I have missed here – because I was new or for whatever reason – is ‘leading people to Christ’, being there when they receive that gift of salvation and eternal life from God. Honestly, it had been weeks and months and I was starting to wonder if it might become a year even without my having the joy of celebrating with someone as they accept the forgiveness of sins and the eternal life (where none of what we have done before – no matter how bad – even matters anymore). I even brought up this at one of our staff meetings, asking people when the last time any of us have had the joy to be there when people accepted God’s gift of forgiveness of sins. I was starting to be sad about this because I know there are people are suffering through the struggles of this life alone when they don’t need to; we all can rest in the Spirit and enjoy the comfort of the Paraclete; we can each ask Jesus to come into our life and be saved. This all was in the back of my mind as I was preparing for today. I was sad.

In the front of my mind this week was the Holy Spirit and the fact that the word ‘spirit’ means ‘wind’ or ‘air’ or ‘breath’ and that as we receive the Holy Breath, we can be saved in everything both now and forever.

And then the phone rang. I was told there was a man in the Toronto General Hospital who had a terminal respiratory illness. He was going to die from not being able to breathe the air, the wind. I was told he might not live until tomorrow. I was told he needed a minister and I was told his family wanted a Salvation Army Officer there. I was told he might be ready to accept forgiveness for his sins and receive eternal life. I ran downstairs, I told Patricia and Monica, asked for prayer and John drove me over the the hospital, he prayed and I headed upstairs to see the man and his family. And to make a long story short, this man who was dying of a lack of breath, accepted the Breath of God, the Holy Spirit and received eternal life; so that even as he dies, yet shall He live. This man accepted eternal life, God’s Holy Spirit, even on his death bed. Praise the Lord!

What about us here? Is there any in this room who have never asked Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit to come into our lives? Are there any of us here who our dying of an eternal respiratory disease? Are there any of us here who are going through and the struggles of life without being a Christian, without taking hold of the comfort God offers? Is there anyone here who hasn’t prayed to receive the Holy Spirit yet? If so, you don’t need to wait until your death bed; you don’t need to wait until your dying breath; you can accept forgiveness for sins and live forever today.

Is there anyone here who has not asked God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus into their lives yet? Would you like me to pray for you? If so come up to the front here and we will pray for you.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com

Answers to Quiz:

1)  (a) Genesis 1:1 – Right in the beginning of the Bible: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

2)  (a) Genesis 6:3: Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

3)  (a) Genesis 41:38 mentions the Moses as having the Holy Spirit in him and Exodus 35:30-32 speaks about the Holy Spirit being with Bezalel son of Uri, many more example follow throughout the OT.

4)  (b) Judges

5)  (a) Matthew 1:18. Matthew 1:18 records: ‘This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:8-10 first mentions the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus at his baptism. Luke 1:15 speaks about the Spirit in terms of John the Baptist "for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born." John 1:32: John 1:1-18 implies the presence of the Holy Spirit at creation but – like Mark – first mentions Him specifically descending on Jesus at His baptism like a dove in 1:32.

6) (c) John 20:22

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[1] Cf. Gary M. Burge, ‘John’ in NIVAC Bundle 6: Gospels, Acts. NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, Mi, Zondervan: 2000), 70911-70934

[2] Cf. Rodney A. Whitacre, John (IVP NT Series: IVP Academic: Downers Grove, Illinois: 1999), 482

[3] Gary M. Burge, ‘John’ in NIVAC Bundle 6: Gospels, Acts. NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, Mi, Zondervan: 2000), 70952

[4] Cf. John Kistendahl, ‘2^nd Sunday of Easter: John 20:19-31: Exegetical View’ in Feasting on the Word Year C Vol 2:Lent through Eastertide, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown, ed. (Louisville, Kentucky,  Westminister John Knox Press: 2000), 14135

[5] Gregory Robbins, ‘2^nd Sunday of Easter: John 20:19-31: Exegetical View’ in Feasting on the Word Year C Vol 2:Lent through Eastertide, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown, ed. (Louisville, Kentucky,  Westminister John Knox Press: 2000), 14176

[6] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Acts 2: Scene 1. Presented to each the Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 12 August 2007, Swift Current Corps 23 May 2010 and 17 May 2015, and Corps 614 Regent Park Toronto 04 October 2015. On-line:http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2015/05/acts-2-scene-1.html

[7] Gerard Sloyan, John, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching,  (Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox Press, 1988), 225

[8]Cf. William Hendricksen, John (New Testament Commentary: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, Michigan: 2007), 460

Week 46: John 10:5: Faithful

Devotional thought composed for TSA Devotional Book, June 2015. Presented to River Street Cafe, 15 April 2016 by Captain Michael Ramsay 

Read John 10:1-5

In the scriptures we have often been compared to sheep. In contemporary shepherding we are also comparable to sheepdogs. Shepherd Jared Epp showed us a number of ways at Beaver Creek Camp one summer:

* The sheepdogs know their master’s voice;

* The sheepdogs learn their master’s signals;

* The longer they serve the good shepherd the more they get to know him;

* The sheepdogs have a job to do;

* Their job is to herd the sheep to the shepherd;

* The nature of the sheepdogs is such that if they were left completely to their own devices they would quite likely kill the sheep;

* When they follow the shepherd not one sheep needs to be lost.

This is a lot like us as Christians. We are the Lord’s sheepdogs. We have been tasked with the great commission to proclaim the good news to the world so that whosoever will may be saved. If we try to do this on our own we will fail and some sheep will inevitably perish. However, as we turn our eyes and our ears toward Jesus – the Good Shepherd – as we listen to his direction and follow his lead, he will use us to bring the whole flock safely home to be with him. As this is the case it is my prayer that we will all be faithful sheepdogs.

Are you working for the Lord as a sheepdog works for the shepherd? How are the attributes of a sheepdog of salvation reflected in your life of serving the Lord?

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[1] Based on the article by Captain Michael Ramsay, We are Sheepdogs.  Sheepspeak (August 24, 2009) On-line: http://renewnetwork.blogspot.ca/2009_08_01_archive.html#3592587213509775337 

Week 41: Leviticus 26:34: Green Space

A devotional thought composed originally for Swift Current TSA Devotional Book, June 2015.Presented to River Street Cafe, 22 April 2016, Earth Day.

Read Leviticus 26:31-35

"As people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), we have been entrusted with the care of the earth's resources (Genesis 2:15). Stewardship requires that we use these resources in a manner which ensures the well-being of present and future generations. God's instruction to 'subdue' the earth and 'rule' over every living thing (Genesis 1:28) cannot be interpreted to justify abuse or disregard for any life, not only human life. The privileges granted require our accountability to Him and one another" (TSA Canada Position Statement).

God cares about the environment, the land itself. He lays out some important commands concerning it (specifically relating to Palestine; Lev. 25, 26) in a part of Scripture that is – interestingly enough - known as the 'Holiness Code'.

We are directed that the land itself shall enjoy its Sabbath rest (Lev. 25:2, 26:34,35) just as man is commanded to (Exod. 20: 8-11, Deut 5:15), and as God did (Exod. 20:11, Gen. 2:3). If we, as 'tenants' of His land (Lev. 25:23), fail in our responsibility to carry out this duty to take care of the land, then the owner of the land -who cares about His land- may remove us from it.

He did remove Israel from the land as it neglected its environmental responsibilities: "He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. The land enjoyed its Sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfilment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah" (2 Chronicles 36:20-21). When Israel neglected the land, the LORD held them responsible. The land is the LORD's. He cares about His land and therefore so should we.

Given that God cares about His land and given the finite resources of our world, its expanding population, and the impact of industrialization, we each need to accept responsibility for the environment by taking practical steps to regenerate and conserve God's creation.

One of the very first things God commanded humanity – Genesis 1:28 – was to take care of this world that He lovingly created. It is important to God and therefore should be important to us.

This is a big part of our Christian witness. Can we call ourselves servants of Christ if we neglect the first responsibilities God ever gave us? How can we show our love for God by taking His commission to look after the earth seriously?

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[1] Based on the article by Captain Michael Ramsay, What is My Responsibility to the Environment? Nipawin Journal (September 2008) On-line: http://sheepspeak.com/sasknews.htm#environment

Week 4: Mark 3:35: Inclusion

A devotional thought presented originally to Swift Current Men’s Prayer Breakfast, Thursday 09 October 2014. Presented to the River Street Cafe, 08 April 2016

Read Mark 3:20-22; 31-35.

Jesus is portrayed here as almost a workaholic. He is working late and he takes his work home; his work right now is casting out demons and he has a lot of work to do. It is dinnertime. He comes to a house to eat but there are so many people that he just keeps working: he and his disciples don’t even take time for a meal.

His family is worried about him. They are no doubt worried because he’s not eating anything. He is not taking enough time for himself. He is not taking time to relax. He is just working without a break. Is it any wonder that his mother and brothers, throw up their hands when they hear all of this and say, Verse 21,“He is out of his mind” – “he’s crazy!”

Jesus’ family decide it is time to take charge and make him rest. (The Greek word here KRATESAI is the same one used when the authorities ARREST someone. This is what his family is doing.) They are so concerned about him that if Jesus won’t take care of himself, they will take charge of him because, as they understand it, “he is out of his mind” (V.21).

“He is demon possessed,” the teachers of the Law say. “He is [even] possessed by Beelzebub…the prince of demons,” So this is interesting. Both Jesus’ family and the religious experts agree that Jesus is not acting normally here. He is out of his mind; he is demon-possessed. And again, in this crazy scene, we can probably understand what they are each saying to some degree, can’t we?

Jesus understands and he answers both the teachers and his biological family. The interesting part is that even though the Pharisees and Jesus’ family’s motives may be quite different, both are attempting to interfere with the work of God. Mark directly compares the actions of Jesus’ family who love him to those of his enemies who will be looking to destroy him. He shows here that they are both doing the same thing: they are getting in the way of the work of God. Thus Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and he denies his own mother and brothers.

I think this might be quite convicting for us as well. In our own lives, are there times and ways when – even though we mean well – we wind up opposing or obstructing the work of God and risk denial as much as Jesus’ own mother and brothers? And conversely, Mark 3:35, Jesus encourages us: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” What are some ways that it shows in our lives that indeed we are a part of the family of God?

www.sheeepspeak.com

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[1] Based on the sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay, Mark 3:20-35: The Family of God. Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Salvation Army on February 17, 2008. On-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2008/02/mark-320-35-family-of-god.html