Divine Service. Pentecost. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider. unedited

Transcription

1 Divine Service Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider Pentecost unedited Date Sunday, 24 May 2015 Place / Country Lusaka (National Heroes Stadium) / Zambia District apostle area C. Ndandula Text Revelation 22: 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! Hymn O enter Lord thy Temple (472) Apostles District Apostles: all Apostles: 224 Called to assist District Apostles Barnes, Tshisekedi, Ehrich Ordinations Official acts Languages Chinyanja at altar; simultaneously into German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Swahili, Malagasy in Zambia and into an additional 18 languages in Europe Relay Attendance 70,683 at National Heroes Stadium 1

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3 Dear brothers and sisters here in the stadium and in the connected congregations, first we will listen to a Bible reading. For this year s Pentecost we will hear a passage from the prophet Joel and another one from the first letter to the Ephesians. Bible reading And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2: 28 29). For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3: 14 21). My dear brothers and sisters, and dear guests, it is a great joy to celebrate this Pentecost feast here in Lusaka in Zambia. Nearly all Apostles from Africa are present. And yesterday we praised and thanked God for His grace, because God has blessed His work here in Zambia and in Africa, and the work has had a wonderful development on this continent. Thousands of congregations are connected with us all over the world. And our wish is to share with them our joy. May they feel the joy in Christ that lives in our hearts here in Lusaka. I am aware that in some places, in some hearts, there might be a hint of sadness, when brothers and sisters look at the African continent and see that there are so many children of God here. Some may be a little sad, thinking, Why do they have such a blessing in Zambia and we are such a small number? It is a fact that in many other African countries there are far fewer members. That is the case also in Europe. And sometimes the membership is even on the decline. And then one could be sad, thinking: What is wrong with us? My dear brothers and sisters, think of the history of the church. It began in Jerusalem with the pouring out of the Spirit. And then the church began to grow. After a certain time there were more Christians in western Asia than in Jerusalem. And one could have thought, Oh, did Jesus lose the battle in Jerusalem? Now there are more Christians elsewhere. And then the church developed in Europe. And there were many Christians, and later on many New Apostolic Christians, in Europe. Did Jesus lose the battle in Asia? Today there are more New Apostolic Christians in Africa than in Europe. What is wrong with that? We have to keep in mind that for God such notions as countries, borders, or tribes are not relevant. Paul said, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3: 28). All of these notions do not matter for God. What is important is that those who are called by God answer this call, believe, and remain faithful until the end. That is important. Don t let these thoughts hinder our joy in Christ. 3

4 In Africa and some other countries some are sad because they have to live their faith in very difficult conditions. Because of the great number of children of God, for instance, they cannot afford to have well-fitted church buildings. Sometimes they have no buildings at all and lack the most basic material in the church. And when they look at Europe or at South Africa, they are sad, They have such wonderful churches, and we have to live in such difficult conditions. I can understand these thoughts too. But, brothers and sisters, don t forget that the material conditions are not important, not decisive for salvation. What is decisive is that those who are called, answer this call, and believe and follow Jesus and remain faithful until the end. We do not want all these considerations to hinder our joy in Christ. Our joy in Christ is based on our trust in God. And the stronger our trust in God is the bigger our joy in Christ is. Apostle Paul once wrote the following to the Corinthians. We find it in chapter 10, verse 13, But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. My dear brothers and sisters, that is a wonderful description of the trust in God. We trust in the faithfulness of God. Temptation here means all the tribulations we have to go through. And God is faithful and promises us in all the tribulations we have go through, I will make you a way of escape. What is this way of escape? That is not a wonderful or a spectacular miracle. This way of escape is the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in the church. That is the way of escape God prepares for us. Pentecost is the feast of joy of the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in the church. My dear brothers and sisters, let us trust in the power of the Holy Spirit. That is the basis of our joy in Christ. The Holy Spirit is present and active in the church. The Holy Spirit is present and active in the church of Christ. Wherever the doctrine of Jesus and His Apostles is preached, wherever the gospel is proclaimed, the Holy Spirit is at work. Wherever in the church of Christ the gospel is proclaimed, the Holy Spirit is present and active. And we trust the power of the Holy Spirit. The gospel will be proclaimed until the end. By the end of the kingdom of peace, all of mankind will have heard the good news, the gospel. Don t worry, trust in the power of the Holy Spirit. The gospel will be announced until the end. The Holy Spirit is active in the church of Christ through Holy Baptism with water. The Holy Spirit calls man remember our Bible text to, Come to God! And when man believes in Jesus Christ, in the church, he can be baptized with water. And then this Holy Spirit, through Holy Baptism, calls them, Come, enter the church of Christ! Come and become part of the body of Christ. For the activity of the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism with water, God provides the baptized with the strength they need to fight the battle against sin. That is the power of the Holy Spirit in baptism. He provides the Christian with the strength he needs to fight the battle against sin. We do not need to obey the evil one. We have the strength needed to fight the battle against him. We are no longer slaves of the evil one. We have the power to resist and to say, No, I don t need to become a tool of the evil one. In James it says, Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4: 7). And that is a joy in Christ that every Christian, every faithful Christian, can experience, because through baptism with water he has received the strength he needs to fight this battle and to resist the Devil. The power of the Holy Spirit comes to its full expression through the Apostle ministry. Jesus has sent His Apostles to call the souls elected to become part of the bride of Christ. Together the people who are elected are to become part of the royal priesthood. And once again, let us trust the power of the Holy Spirit. All those who are elected by God to become part of the bride of Christ will be called by the Apostle ministry, will be sealed by the Apostles, and the bride will be prepared. There is absolutely no doubt about it. Let us trust in the Holy Spirit and His power. Then we can feel the full joy in Christ knowing that, whatever happens, the bride will be prepared by the Apostles. 4

5 We can experience the power of the Holy Spirit in Holy Communion. The Holy Spirit calls us through Holy Communion, Come and enter the fellowship of the Risen One! The power of the Holy Spirit makes it possible that Jesus is present in the congregation celebrating Holy Communion. And this power is not dependent on the number of people gathering for Holy Communion. We can experience the presence of Christ in Holy Communion in the congregations in refugee camps as well as in the wonderful churches all over the world. One can experience the presence of Christ in Holy Communion in a small congregation in Australia and in a big one in Zambia or Cape Town. The power of the Holy Spirit is not dependent on the number of people gathering. Whenever children of God celebrate Holy Communion, Jesus is present through the Holy Spirit. That is the foundation of our joy in Christ. And then it says here, And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! So the bride of Christ is mentioned. The bridal congregation is characterized by her love for Christ. The bride loves Christ. The faithful long for the fellowship with Christ. Their first wish is to be with Jesus. That is why they pray and plead, Please come! But interestingly it says, The Spirit and the bride That is also a characteristic of the bridal congregation: the souls belonging to the congregation of the bride are full of the Holy Spirit. Their thoughts, words, and their actions are guided by the Holy Spirit. There is no difference. These souls are full of the Holy Spirit, so they say the same thing as the Holy Spirit. We have heard that the Holy Spirit tells everybody, Come, God loves you! And those belonging to the bride are full of the Holy Spirit. So they say as well to everybody, Come, God loves you. Come as you are. God loves you, and I love you too! Whoever you are, I want you to be saved. Filled with the Holy Spirit the bridal congregation calls everybody, Come, God has forgiven you, and so have we. Can this call be heard in our congregations? Come, God has forgiven you, and so have I! Where the souls are full of the Holy Spirit, one can hear and see that on account of the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to tell our neighbour, Come, I have forgiven you. The bride is longing for unity and reconciliation, and because the bride wants to become like Jesus Christ, she looks for those who have left the fold as Jesus did. The bride calls those who have left the flock, Please come back! Maybe you have been disappointed by one of us, we beg your pardon. Please forgive us. But come back to Jesus! Dear brothers and sisters, these are a few thoughts for this Pentecost feast. We do not want some sad thoughts to hinder our joy in Christ. We can experience the power of the Holy Spirit, and we trust this power because it will be proclaimed until the end. We have the power to resist the Devil, and I wish all of us can experience the joy of saying no to the evil one. The bride will be gathered by the Apostles and will be prepared. Thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit we can experience the presence of Jesus when we celebrate Holy Communion. We want to be full of the Holy Spirit. Out of love for Jesus we ask Him, Please, come! We call our neighbour, Come to God, He wants to forgive you. And we tell our neighbour, Please come back, forgive us. That is my wish That is the wish of our heavenly Father! not my wish, my wish is not important for all of us. Amen. All the District Apostles and the Helpers are present, as well as many, many Apostles from Africa. For sure, I cannot call up all of them, just a few. Maybe the first one could be your neighbour: District Apostle Barnes from Cape Town. And now we will listen to the children. District Apostle Barnes: Dear brothers and sisters here and all those who are connected with us, I am very thankful to have you as my neighbours. It is always nice to have neighbours who are rich and well off. And I can 5

6 see and feel that we are well off here in this beautiful arena. And during the serving of our Chief Apostle prompted by the Holy Spirit we have become richer. And this wealth is a spiritual wealth. And with this spiritual wealth we can pay everything. We can express our love for one another, as Jesus expressed His love for us and as Jesus sacrificed for us. We can also do likewise for one another. It was so beautiful and touching when I was invited by the Lord through the words of our Chief Apostle, Come! God loves you. Come! He forgives you. And then he added and I think that was the most beautiful for me And I do also! I thought, How beautiful! I have so many brothers and sisters, and they love me so much that they forgive me. Dear brothers and sisters, what a beautiful feeling this creates in every congregation. When we are together in such a great number it is easy to get lost and become anonymous. But the invitation we have received today was a personal one, Come, God loves you! How can I then resist? How can I then hesitate? In the English language we have this well-known saying, He who hesitates is lost. And I think it applies very well spiritually today. If we are going to hesitate, we stand a good chance of losing out. And we do not want to lose out. The invitation is to be victorious. And Jesus said, Come, I invite you! You are mine. And if we respond like the young Samuel did, Speak, Lord, we hear! it is inevitable. Nothing can stop it. We will become a blessing, filled with the Holy Spirit, here on earth and in the kingdom of God. Amen. Let me be honest. All the District Apostles are praying now, Please, tell the Chief Apostle not to call me up. And you know why? Here behind the altar it is just impossible to hear the preaching. You get nothing behind there. So actually they have no idea what I have said! But now, let us experience the power of the Holy Spirit. Maybe one of the District Apostles from Congo can serve us. This is District Apostle Tshisekedi. And we will listen to the choir. District Apostle Tshisekedi: Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, as a neighbour it is something very special to be here in Zambia, to share this special blessing with our Chief Apostle for this special divine service of Pentecost here in Africa. Our Lord gives us the possibility to experience the power of the Holy Spirit. The Chief Apostle told us that it is very important for us to fight against the evil one and that God will give us everything that is necessary for that. We received the gift of the Holy Spirit when we were sealed by an Apostle. Now it is our task to allow the Spirit to work in our soul. Through the Spirit, God will provide us the strength needed to resist temptation and to fight the evil one. Let us pray and tell our Father that we want to become like Jesus. The gospel tells us how Jesus was, and the Spirit gives us the power to act according to His example. Amen. Now we have had a District Apostle working in the south of Africa, another one working in Central Africa, and now let us listen to one working in the north-western part of Africa: District Apostle Ehrich from Germany. He works in many parts of West Africa. 6

7 District Apostle Ehrich: Dearly beloved brothers and sisters, our Chief Apostle always tells the truth. And it is true that you understand nearly nothing behind the altar. So it is always important for us as ministers to read the Divine Service Guide before the divine service. And I am sure my colleagues did that as well. But we understood a little bit of what our Chief Apostle said. He said that there was a lot of joy in our hearts and souls in expectation of this special festive event. Many things have happened behind the scenes. Our brothers and sisters here in Zambia worked very hard. They supported their District Apostle and the helpers that this wonderful divine service and this weekend could be organized. And I can say that they did very well. And we in other parts of the world looked forward to this wonderful feast of Pentecost as well, and today we came together and have enjoyed the divine service. This morning I looked into Holy Scripture, and I read Matthew 7: 21: Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. To experience such a wonderful divine service, to praise His name in the congregation, to worship Him is comparable to saying, Lord, Lord. But what should be the outcome of the divine service? That we do the will of our heavenly Father more and more. And that is what He told us today through His first servant. Focus more on the power of the Holy Spirit. This power is contained in your soul. You have received the power of the Holy Spirit. Focus more on the love of God. You have received this love of God. And in all circumstances your heavenly Father will be with you. And let us focus more and more on the day of the return of Christ. Let us focus more on our faith. Let us focus more on our tasks in the work of God. Then this divine service will have a blessed outcome for every one of us. That is what I wish for you, for me, and for all the children of God around the world. Amen. My dear brothers and sisters, we have now heard about the power of the Holy Spirit. And for the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is present in the celebration of Holy Communion. Sure, we cannot see Him with our eyes. We need to believe it. But our soul can feel it through the Holy Spirit. And now, knowing that Jesus is present in our midst, what can we tell Him? I think we feel the need to thank Him. Let us make out of this celebration of Holy Communion a feast of gratitude. We thank Jesus for His love and grace. We thank Jesus for the blessing He has poured out into His work of salvation. Let us really express our gratitude over Jesus in this celebration. Brothers and sisters here and in each and every congregation, let us profess our trust in the power of the Holy Spirit through this Holy Communion. We trust His power: He will finish the work in this and in yonder world, in your soul and in my soul. And then let us use this celebration of Holy Communion to tell Jesus our resolution: we want to enter into communion, into fellowship with Jesus. And we want the Holy Spirit to be more and more powerful in us. And that is just great when Jesus can see, My brothers and my sisters want to be prepared. They want the Holy Spirit to be more and more powerful in their hearts so that one can hear more and more of His word. Come as you are, I love you! Come, I have forgiven you! Please, come back to Jesus. To prepare our souls for the forgiveness of sins and Holy Communion, let us sing together the first verse of the hymn, See I spread my arms in yearning. Celebration of Holy Communion 7