Howdy Well today is Trinity Sunday as you may
have noticed We do this each year and it's an
opportunity to know a little bit more about God
and for Trinity University to get some free advertising
So but one of the things that's wonderful about
this Sunday is that while each time that we celebrate
it We learn just a little bit more about God.
We also realize that everything that we've already
known about God is still amazing and beautiful
and gives us the hope that we truly have. You
see, this is a day that the church sets aside
each year to celebrate one of the most mysterious
and foundational aspects of our faith. That God
is one, yet three persons. Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. Christians have long tried to explain
the Trinity. St. Patrick used to have his three
-leafed clover. And he would show that the father,
the son, the spirit are all each different parts
that leaves that are there, but they're all the
same clover. And there have even been times where
people would take the idea of water, the living
water, and show the three persons as ice, liquid,
and vapor. All water, different aspects of seeing
it. One that I'll oftentimes use is the idea
of thinking about a person and that who they
are, the words that they speak, and the way that
those words affect and shape the world are all
one being, but expressed in different ways. See,
all of these are just metaphors and metaphors
go only as far as metaphors go. Trying to understand
who God really is. But as helpful or as flawed
as our analogies may be, the purpose of the Trinity,
this idea that we share, it's not to fit into
something that we truly can fully explain. The
Trinity is how God has revealed himself to us.
It isn't about what makes sense to us on our
own, it's about who God is. and how God has chosen
to show himself in history, in scripture, and
ultimately as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But
you see, the world doesn't understand. See, in
John 8, we see Jesus in the middle of a heated
exchange with the religious Establishment I'm
sure none of us have ever had a heated exchange
with people I'm sure at all and there's never
been anything like this at all You see Jesus
tells them he honors his father and he is doing
the father's will He offers them eternal life
if anyone keeps my word. He will never see death
and their response Aren't we right in saying
you're a Samaritan and demon possessed? I'm sure
that nobody in today's world ever calls anybody
else names or ever assumes that they're much
better at knowing what God wants than anybody
else. But you see, the Son of God, standing before
them, offering them life, and they think He's
crazy. Why? Because Jesus didn't match their
expectations. He wasn't conquering Rome. He wasn't
seizing power. He wasn't affirming their cultural
pride. Instead, he revealed a God who serves,
who suffers, who saves through humility. Instead
of giving them the Messiah they wanted, he was
giving them the Messiah that they needed, the
Messiah that he truly was. And when Jesus finally
says before Abraham was, I am, they know exactly
what he's claiming. That he is God. And they
pick up stones to kill him. And this would make
sense for those who aren't open to seeing God
for who he really is. This is what happens when
we meet the true God though. God's ways are not
our ways, so we don't easily follow Him. It is
not easy at all for us. Without listening to
the Spirit, we can't recognize Him. How often
is it that the Spirit is trying to convict us,
and because it doesn't make sense what the Spirit
is saying, then we push Him away. Without trusting
God's ways in Christ, we won't accept Him. Instead
of realizing that God was truly doing these things
in the Savior right in front of them, they instead
wanted to hold on to what they were expecting
and hoping for. The things of God are not naturally
grasped by human logic or power. They're only
received by faith through the Spirit, if we're
willing. See, we need to remember what we learned
about last week with Pentecost. See, the disciples,
they're proclaiming the gospel in every language.
Some people, they're amazed. Wow. Not only is
it that I get to hear it in my own language,
but the gospel, it's fulfilled. How wonderful
this is. But you see, others just mock them.
They must be drunk. I don't understand them,
so clearly whatever they're saying must not be
worth listening to. Peter stands and says, no.
What you're seeing and what you're hearing is
the fulfillment of God's plan. And he tells a
story that God the Father attested to everything
Jesus is through the miracles he did. Just look
at him. He allowed him to be handed over to death.
for you God raised him from the dead who does
that and He exalted him to his own right hand
who else would be worthy of this honor and then
Peter and then he says Jesus now exalted poured
out the promised Holy Spirit from the Father
upon those who are sharing the Good News in every
language. What you see at Pentecost is Jesus
sending the Spirit after having been sent by
the Father Himself. The Father sends the Son,
the Son pours out the Holy Spirit, which is truly
from the Father. The Trinity is fully at work
here. The Father plans and raises. The Son obeys
and reigns. The Spirit is poured out and empowers
and all of this leads to Peter's conclusion that
he shares with them. Let all Israel be assured
of this. God has made this Jesus whom you crucified
both Lord and Messiah. You cannot be the Lord
over David and the Messiah greater than David
as a mere descendant of David. Okay, the descendant
of David, there's no way he could be David's
Lord or the Messiah who is greater than David
just by being the descendant of David, but you
can when you are also the Son of God. Now, I
know we get into the weeds and all of this, but
the thing with the truth of the Trinity is that
each part exactly as God has given and shown
are necessary to know who God truly is. As difficult
as all of this may be at times to understand,
we cannot substitute what is easier to understand
for what is actually true. I'm going to pause
for a moment with that. I think I may have told
you all this example, but it's really relevant
for today. See, in my mind, I've always thought
that it'd be great to be better at baking, not
all of us naturally do it all the time, just
saying. And also some people are a little bit
better than I am. But, you know, for me, I was
thinking, you know, it'd be great if I could
make brownies and not have to have it as a box.
I can figure out the ingredients, can't I? I'm
sure, I'm sure it's doable. But as I was going
through all these things and looking at what
was in my fridge, I realized something. I didn't
have any eggs. Rumor has it you're supposed to
have those for brownies, but I thought I had
read somewhere in the back of my mind, I was
25 at the time, and I was thinking, I think you
can substitute mayonnaise for eggs, can't you?
Except I didn't have mayonnaise, I had Miracle
Whip. I'm like, that should be good enough, right?
That's what I have. And so I did. I put them
in there. By the way, don't do that. Just don't
do that. But you see, just to be honest, the
brownies, they came out a little strange, offensive
even. They looked like brownies and they smelled
like brownies. But one bite told you something
wasn't right. And the previous church where I
was working at, never trusted anything I brought
for them to eat ever again. See, that's the thing
about what happens when we try to substitute
one person of God for another or worse, when
we try to replace one person of God with something
of our own choosing. When we leave out the Father's
holiness, the expectations of what it is to do
what is good and right, When we leave out the
Son's grace, mercy, and forgiveness knowing that
all of us are flawed. When we leave out the Spirit's
transformation, getting stuck and just staying
where we are and ignoring our need to grow in
the way God would desire. If we leave out any
part of God, then we end up with a version of
faith that does not feed the soul. It confuses,
It offends and it even repels. See, the world
notices when we as the church, when we promote
a version of God, too much like what others would
expect or promote. They can tell it doesn't taste
right. When we offer judgment without mercy.
When we offer spirituality without truth. When
we offer accountability without love. The gospel
can only nourish and bring life when it includes
the entirety of God. And that's why when the
people ask Peter what to do, what does he say?
Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
and you will receive the Holy Spirit. See, baptism
brings us into the life of the Trinity of God.
We are baptized in the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit and from that point
forward We are called to live not by what makes
sense to the world Not by power or by might or
control, but by love fellowship prayer mercy
by the Spirit sayeth the Lord now some of you
were baptized as you were children and Whenever
we see those who are adults and they're baptized
and they're asked directly, do you repent of
your sins? But even when we've been baptized
as children, we are still meant to repent each
and every day. Because Peter very clearly later
on writes in his first epistle, Baptism is not
the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge
of a clear conscience toward God through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. You are called
to repent, to clear your conscience, and to then
follow the Spirit of God because He fills you.
This is not just looking at the Father sending
the Son, but also remembering that the Spirit
is ours as well. Every day should be another
time when you repent of where you've been and
desire to pursue Christ with your life. Because
without this, then our view of God is wrong.
In Acts 2, 42, we were hearing that the fruit
of the Spirit's work was that the believers were
devoted to the Apostles' teaching They were devoted
to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and
to prayer. That's what spirit -led community
looks like. Is that what we have been looking
like? Not domination, not fear, but shared life
rooted in the whole truth of who God is. His
Word, His Spirit. If we look at our lives and
what we stand for, And we can't see all three
of the persons of God in our lives. If we cannot
see at all times all three of those persons,
then we're worshiping the wrong God. We say it's
God, it's not God. If we see God as only the
judge but not the grace and mercy, then we're
wrong. If we ignore our own need to repent and
think that we can somehow follow God, by pretending
that we're already in the right, then we're wrong.
If we see faith as a series of statements just
to say yes to, but then we ignore the need to
follow God, to follow His Word, to follow His
Spirit by faith each and every day, then we're
wrong. Without the true fullness of all of God,
then we will always be proclaiming the wrong
God to the world. Because the living water that
we've been given, it's not just looking at Jesus,
it's looking at all of God. How do we then bring
true refreshment to a thirsty world? There are
the times whenever you have a glass of ice water
on a hot day And you know that part where you
know that they had just dropped the ice cubes
in there and the vapor is just coming right off
You can tell it's fresh. You can tell it has
just come out. It has just been flowing It has
just been living You can see the ice You can
feel the vapor rise to your face. You drink the
water and you're refreshed The Father is solid,
unchanging, foundational. The Son is water that
we drink, and as He enters into us, He has also
been poured out for us. The Spirit is the vapor
that surrounds and awakens and enlivens us, reminds
us of who we are. You need all three for living
water. Because together, the Father, the Son,
the Holy Spirit refresh. Together, they bring
life. That's what the world needs from us. Not
substitutes, not shallow imitations, but the
real thing and all of it. The whole truth, the
full God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So as
hard as it may be sometimes to understand, may
we worship Him, walk with Him, and share Him
fully with the world around us. Thanks be to
God.