Timothy J. Clarke - The Power of One Demand: Love

We continue this series that we began some weeks ago, and we’ve been involved and engaged in it now throughout the month of May, entitled «The Power of One.» So far, my friends, in this series, we have looked first at what we called the power of one desire. We listened to David, that sweet psalmist of Israel, that king anointed and appointed, taken from the sheepfold to the palace. As David says, «One thing have I desired of the Lord, and that will I seek after.» Then we saw this Syrophoenician woman, this African mother who had one determination, and that was to see her child healed and delivered—one desire, one determination.

Today, Deacon Skelton, on this Pentecost Sunday, I want us to look at what I’m calling the one difference. I am convinced, beyond the shadow of any doubt and without any fear of successful contradiction, that I do not stand in any way under threat of violating the truth when I say that the coming of the Holy Spirit is one of the most seminal events in the life of the church. In fact, I would argue today that the coming of the Holy Spirit, the giving of the Holy Spirit, the falling of the Holy Spirit, is the one thing that makes a difference in the life of the believer like nothing else can.

Now, I know some of you are saying, «Wait a minute, Pastor! What about the birth of Jesus? What about the crucifixion? What about the burial? What about the resurrection? What about the ascension of our Lord?» And all of those are seminal, powerful, and meaningful, but none of them carry the weight in your life and mine that the coming of the Holy Spirit does. Here’s why: those are events that happen outside of us; the Holy Spirit happens inside of us. The coming of the Holy Spirit, the giving of the Holy Spirit, the imparting and the imbuing of the Holy Spirit is one of the greatest, most seminal, and most significant events in the history of the world.

Now, it’s important, before I go further—and I need to teach this because there’s so much lack of clarity about the Holy Spirit—it’s important for us to understand that the day of Pentecost is not the beginning of the Holy Spirit. If you’ll allow me, I’ll argue my case here. The Holy Spirit falling on the day of Pentecost is not the origin of the Holy Spirit any more than the birth of Jesus in the manger of Bethlehem is the origin of Jesus. Jesus has always existed. John tells us in his prologue, «In the beginning was the Word (the Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God, and without Him was not anything made that was made.» Jesus has always existed, and in like manner, the Holy Spirit has always existed.

We are told that in the morning of creation, when God stood out in the middle of nowhere on the platform of nothing and spoke worlds into existence, He was not there by Himself. Can I argue today? Here it is: you know the Bible; I just quoted to you the prologue of John. «In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Logos, and everything that was made was made by Him; without Him was not anything made that was made.» That is the pre-existent, eternal Christ. But Genesis 1:1—are y’all still with me? —says «In the beginning,» and it sounds just like John. Does it not? «In the beginning, God (Elohim, Yahweh, Jehovah) created the heavens and the earth.» The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Here it is, «And the Spirit of God"—y’all aren’t ready for me. I brought a bazooka; you brought a peashooter. Now, in the beginning, God (Elohim, Yahweh) stood in the middle of nowhere on the platform of absolutely nothing, stepped into chaos, and created cosmos. And did it—oh, I feel a preach coming on—did it with nothing but the sheer weight, power, and authority of His Word. He spoke it, He said it, and it came to pass. Stars started twinkling, flowers started blooming, cows started moving, pigs started oinking, birds started chirping, the sun started shining, and the moon gave its pale light to the darkness of the evening—all because God said, «Let there be,» and there was. In the midst of the darkness of cosmic chaos, the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep.

Y’all missed it! God the Father, the Creator, is there. How do I know? Ask me how I know! Because the Bible says so! Because as part of the crowning creation process, God, after making everything that is, then says, «Let us make man in our image after our likeness.» How much time do y’all have today? Because I’ve got more message than you have time. «Let us make man"—Adam, man. Let us make man. Now, I will get in trouble, but I promise you it will not be my first or last time getting in trouble. That term «man,» brothers, don’t get too happy, does not only refer to gender specificity. There is no doubt, there is no doubt that God made Adam first, which makes a man a male.