2. 1. Marked with a Seal Ephesians 1:11-14 p. 1079

3. Good News... Rakesh RamasingaMortimer Macdonald

4. 1. The Spirit Built the Church  Latourette: “The Story of Christianity”  Jesus left behind a small, confused group of people  At Pentecost the Spirit came and everything changed They became bold They performed miracles The church spread – e.g. Thessalonika (Ac 17:6-7) Their testimony was not just information They were enraptured by their new life in Christ

5. 1. The Spirit Built the Church...  Paul appealed to experiences of the Spirit (Gal 3:2f) A totally natural and expected part of the Christian life.  This term: recover this normal and essential part of Christian experience.  The Holy Spirit built the church – He still does.  Eph 1:13 “... marked in him with a seal...”

6. 2. The Mark of Ownership  Start of School: We put their names on everything.  Ancient world – purchasers marked items with a seal. It was the mark of ownership  Paul uses the same imagery (Eph 1:13-14) Those who belong to Christ – the Holy Spirit lives in them. He is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance We are co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17)

7. 2. The Mark of Ownership...  Do you believe the Holy Spirit lives in you? Rom 8:9 – it is not possible to belong to Christ and not have the Spirit.  Anyone who wants the Spirit simply has to come to Christ.

8. 3. The Spirit & the Love of God  We have not yet received all that is ours in Christ. Our inheritance is still to come.  How do we live in the meantime?  We all want to know God more deeply God’s love is poured into our hearts through the Spirit (Rom 5:5) He makes God’s love real in our experience.

9. Living it...  Living in a secular society Supernatural is considered irrelevant or non- existent. Ascribe everything to chance or our own efforts Lost a sense of God at work in the world (Jn 5:17) Break out of secular mindset – probability of God at work  Be attentive to the Spirit God is doing stuff around you all the time Prayer: “Lord, what are you doing?”