August 30, 2026
Sermon – The Promised Spirit
Scripture Ephesians 1: 3-14
Reverend Betty Jo Sims
Invocation
Gracious Lord, Sometimes You call us through burning bushes, telling us to go free a whole people despite our insecurities and fears. Sometimes You call us, and we do not understand the full meaning of the call, the ways our families, friends, and communities may resist the good news and us as messengers of it. Sometimes You call us to a path that is harder than we think we can handle, asking us to trust that You will provide what we need. Lord, help us accept your call on our lives.
Beloved, God’s call takes many forms. Sometimes it feels as natural as breathing, and sometimes we want to run as far away as we can. But take assurance in this: You are not alone. God is with us, and God’s call can be trusted, because no matter where it leads, God is there.
Lord, help us accept your call on our lives and to trust that what you equip us to do is what you call us to do as members of the Body of Christ.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
Scripture Ephesians 1: 3-14
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
This is the word of God for us, the people of God ….
Thanks be to God.
Let us pray –
Pour your Light, Holy Spirit of God,
into our hearts and minds.
Help us to know more clearly
and grasp more fully the Good News of Jesus.
And help us then to know how to share it.
Lord, Speak to us this day, revealing to us your truths. empower us to do all that is good.
May we be receptive to Your guidance as you
Open our minds to your message, Amen
“The Promised Spirit”
A 4 year old boy was visiting his aunt’s home.
She was pregnant with her first child and she allowed him to place his hand on her belly and feel the baby kick. His little face scrunched and said, "How does the baby get out of there?" She wanted to keep it simple so she said, "The doctor will help." His eyes widened in amazement as he exclaimed, "You’ve got a doctor in there, too?"
Of course, she did not have a Doctor inside.
To get that kind of help she needed to
· get into her car
· drive down to the Hospital
· wait in the ER Room
· … and even when they got her into a hospital bed, she’d still have to wait until the BABY decided to come out.
It would be so much easier for pregnant mothers if the doctor WERE in there helping out.
The Bible tells us that God believed our lives as Christians would be so much easier if He were inside us helping us out.
So let’s talk about God’s presence inside us.
When we became Christians, God placed His Spirit inside of our hearts. We do not have to go to a special building. We do not have to wait in line.
We do not have to wait for… anything.
If we need God, He is there right inside us.
We do not have to go to a church building, or a cathedral, or a prayer closet to get in contact with God. We ARE the temple of God. He is always with us (and in us) whether we are at home, work
or play. He is always there.
Now Ephesians chapter one tells us that this Spirit was “Promised”. Way back in the Old Testament, God promised that the day would come when God would put His Spirit INSIDE of His people.
And in Ezekiel 36, God promised “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a
heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Then, when Jesus came, He also promised that we would receive His Spirit.
In John 14, Jesus said: “the Counselor, 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.
And Jesus said: “I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will
send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” THIS was the Holy Spirit that had been promised.
Now, the reason the Holy Spirit was promised was because God had not ever given His Spirit quite like this before.
You see… back in the Old Testament, God would place His Spirit on and in people to guide them and
strengthen them and teach them.
In I Samuel, we are told that the Holy Spirit came upon King Saul and his men. And when that happened, they were able to prophesy.
In the book of Judges, we are told that there were times when the Holy Spirit came upon Samson to give him strength to deal with the Philistines.
But no matter how many times God’s Spirit came upon people, or was in people – nobody in the Old Testament ever got what you and I have. God’s Spirit had not yet been given as it HAS now been given to those who have become children of God.
Ephesians tells us that when we became Christians, we “… were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession…”
No other people had ever had that privilege. But we have been marked. We have been sealed.
God placed His Holy Spirit inside you and me to say: this man or woman belongs to ME!
It’s kind of like when a couple gets married.
They hold hands, light a candle, exchange vows… But one of the central ceremonies of a wedding is when they exchange rings. That ring declares to everyone: this Man or woman belongs to me.
When I gave my ring to my husband, I was declaring he was mine. Many people have talked to my husband. And many people have walked with him.
But he was mine. Hands off. He belonged to me and me to him.
In the same way, God has placed His Spirit inside you and me to say to everyone: you belong to God now. Do not mess with this child of God, because you belong to Him. His Spirit inside you is also His assurance that He is coming back for you one day.
Ephesians 1:14 says God’s Spirit “is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession— to the praise of his glory.” His Spirit is His Guarantee that, when He comes back, He is coming back for you and for me.
By giving us His Spirit, God is telling us, “I will never leave, I will never forsake you. You are mine.
I WILL come back for you.” So obviously, this placing of His Spirit inside of us is a big deal to God.
And I got to wondering… why do it this way?
Why bother to put His Spirit inside of us. God could have marked us any way He wanted. So, why do it this way? Why put Himself inside us?
I thought about that for a while and I came up with three reasons that made sense to me. They may not be the ONLY reasons God did it this way, but I think they are valid.
1st – He wants us always to with Him. If our Faith is not on the inside of us - if our relationship with Jesus is something that is only on the outside – it might get misplaced or mislaid. It might even just … rub off.
God doesn’t want our faith to “rub off” and get worn away. He wants His Spirit INSIDE of us so that our bond with Him does not become some casual thing. He wants our relationship with Him to be intense and personal.
2nd – He wants to be with us all the time because He knows we need Him. This is a hard world. Everyday life is tough. And too often we feel like we are alone in the decisions and challenges we face. God never want us to believe we are alone and abandoned.
That is one of the comforts of God’s Spirit being within us. He loves us enough to give us the freedom to fly our own course. It’s that free will thing. But because His Spirit is inside of us, we
can have confidence because God is still there with His hands on us. God never leaves us or forsakes us… because He is always inside of us.
3rd – God wanted to be inside us so that we would realize our faith is more than a “religion”. Christianity is more than a religion… it is a life empowering relationship. All other religions are based on the idea that the more rules we follow the more righteous we become. In other words: Rules change us. Rules make us better people.
And to some degree that is true.
That does work… kind of.
As long as we agree with the rules, as long as we are in the mood, as long as we WANT to obey the rules, rules can make us better people.
But, by contrast - when God placed His Spirit within us - He did so, in order that His Spirit could change us on the inside.
Galatians 5 says that when we walk by the Spirit - when we allow God’s Spirit to guide our lives - then our lives change. When God’s Spirit is in control of our lives, we live a certain way:
“… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control...”
Now you may have had ALL those characteristics before you became a Christian. But when God’s Spirit entered into your life, it began to fine tune those traits – to hone them into a finer reflection of the God you serve.
So then… how then do I get this Spirit of God? Romans 8:9 tells me if I do not have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in me – I am not saved.
And Ephesians 1 tells me that the Spirit is the mark, the guarantee - of my salvation. So, the Spirit is given to me when I first become a Christian.
But God requires faith, repentance of sin, and baptism of us as our acceptance of His free gift.
But here is the cool part – when we sign the contract… so does God. He signs the contract by placing His Spirit inside of us. And make no mistake – His signature is far more important than ours is. For His signature is the mark of His ownership of us.
Can we make these work for us?
Food for thought
In the name of the Father,
the Son, And the Holy Spirit. Amen.
PASTORAL PRAYER
Christ Jesus, our teacher and our friend, we have not listened for your word amid the clamor of words all around us. We are more pleased to repeat familiar tunes than to listen for new melodies and strange harmonies.
We try harder to defend what we think we know than to reach for that which is beyond our grasp. We are slow to trust, afraid of the unknown. we are cautious to hear and do your will.
We pray for hearts to pay attention to the cries of our neighbor and to resonate with your Spirit. Silence us and instruct us until we learn afresh to sing the songs of faith, hope, and love.
There is no greater joy in the heart of God
than the moment when a child opens
to the gift of forgiveness. God’s Spirit reaches out to assure us that we are welcome in Christ.
We give you thanks for those who have taught us the faith—parents, grandparents, pastors, teachers, friends, and saints who have shown us what it means to follow Jesus. May we remember their witness and imitate their faith, keeping our eyes fixed on Christ, the One who is faithful in every generation.
Holy God, shape us into a church where love is practiced, hospitality is offered,
suffering is shared, faithfulness is honored, and generosity flows freely. May our words and our lives proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, and may everything we do bear witness to his unchanging love.
We offer ourselves to you this day—our homes, our work, our relationships, our resources, our joys, and our burdens. Make us instruments of your grace in our community and throughout your world.
Now, hear our prayers and answer them as you know is best for us, We know that those who call upon your Name rejoice.
Help us as we pray for these …..
our police officers, EMTs & firefighters, all in our military service & their families, our nation, our church, all unspoken prayer concerns, Victims of the wildfires and floods,
people of Ukraine & Russia, the Middle East, Cuba & Venezuela, all victims of violence
And others we carry in our hearts ……………
Give us a new peace this day. Help us to pray and listen for you.
Now may we boldly pray together the prayer
you taught us - - saying
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us, not into temptation
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.