Sermon at Grace Episcopal on 7-26 by Scotty Schaefer.

Lynette had written a sermon earlier in the week, but decided to re-write it on Saturday afternoon. She couldn't complete the message because she had a hard time breathing. The title was based on a song called "Wait and See" that she had planned to play at church Sunday Morning.

At 4 AM on Sunday she awoke very short of breath and spent 10 hours in the emergency room. Scotty read her partially completed message at church and then added what she told him on the way to the hosptial. As of 7-29-09, she is still pretty sick. Your continued prayers are welcomed and appreciated.

Here is Lynette's mesage

He's not finished with me yet

I don't know if it strikes you as much as it strikes me, but it seems everywhere I turn the Body of Christ, here on Molokai, is under heavy spiritual attack. Not just at Grace, but also at different churches there seem to be many people who have been assaulted by busy schedules, by finances, by the flu, by threatened layoffs, and by contention between friends and family. I mean it's so bad that for some of us who were actually doing pretty well, the devil had to go and cut off our water for a week!

This is not the first time we've seen an onslaught on the Body of Christ. And it's not unexpected. We've been warned in the Bible that these times would come and we've been told to be prepared. But as one of my dear friends has said, "I know these trials are supposed to purify me but I don't like being refined!" Usually I recognize it, I pray, and physically I power through. But something else hit me this time.

This time when I called on my body to respond, I couldn't respond physically. The cold I had in June had turned into bronchitis. In fact the more I pushed, the more my body broke down. I found my self in the emergency room on Thursday evening getting steroids, antibiotics and other medicines with names that are unpronounceable to help me breathe. And as I told Dr. Kelly after one of my treatments, "Breathing really is a good thing!"

Being unable to physically meet the challenge was frustrating, but it also got me to turn to the Lord in prayer and made me think of things from a different angle.

As I prepared for Kamuela Hanapi's services I was reminded that, "Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone -But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear him." (Psalm 103)

Ant it got me thinking, "What if I knew I only had a small time left with my children. Would I have regrets? And what would I tell them?" So naturally I shared this with Scotty. And I asked, "If you were to suddenly die right now, would you have any regrets?" His answer was immediate; "My only regrets would be that I didn't give you all the passwords to our websites and our accounts."

Now I was expecting something much more profound from him. I was expecting DEEP and philosophical. Instead he gave me light and funny.

But then I heard that when I left church yesterday, to go home and rest, that the new bathroom in the hall was locked. Apparently no one knew where I had put the keys. Suddenly my husband seemed brilliant. So if I'm taken from you suddenly, you need to know that the new keys to the bathroom are in the small drawer next to the sink right across from the bathroom door. Repeat after me "The keys are in the small drawer next to the sink." I don't want my legacy to be that I left you with the doors locked and no one knew where the keys were.
One day Jesus asked His disciples "who do you say that I am?" Peter declared "You are the Christ, the son of the living God."
Jesus told Peter, I tell you that on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you lock on earth will be locked in heaven, and whatever you unlock on earth will be unlocked in heaven.
When it comes to God, He doesn't make us climb through the window. He gives us the keys to unlock His power and His strength, even when we're under attack.

So here are some keys that the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus. Turn with me

Ephesians 3:14-21 (ESV) For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith-that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

I break this down into 3 keys.... 1.being strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit. 2. Being rooted and grounded in love, and 3. Being filled with the fullness of God.

These keys are used to open the arsenal when we are being false cracked. These keys get us to the weapons we need when we are under attack. And even more importantly, these are the keys open the doors that have prevented us from fully experiencing the love of Jesus Christ.

Think about what these open locks mean. How would your life be different if in every confrontation you were not filled with anger but with the fullness of God? No co-worker could dis you. And if anyone started yelling at you, you could just turn and say, "Go get 'em Lord!" Bam! They would be hit with the love of Christ right between the eyes.

And what about when those fears hit about finances or layoffs? What about the times when you can't sleep or when you want to get up and go, but find out that somehow your get up and go got up and left? How would you be if you were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit in every situation? You would know that your Father in Heaven owns the cattle on a thousand hills and He has promised to take care of your needs if you seek Him first. And you could just roll over and say, "Lord, hit me with your jumper cables and give me a jump start. "

And when you are facing an uncertain future and you are unsure which way to turn, how would it be if you were grounded and rooted so that you co
When you're facing things at work or in your family, would it help to have the keys that would unlock the Holy Spirit?

At this point, the written message stopped...Here is an outline of Lynette's additional comments-

I see an image of an engine and a transmission. The Holy Spirit is the engine and what we do is the transmission. We have to engage the Holy Spirit so that His power can move us forward. The transmission cannot move on its own power and the engine will not move the vehicle forward unless the transmission is engaged.

This is not a "works" doctrine. Rather, it recognizes that what is important that we "do" things to engage with the Lord: Bible studies, prayer, and serviing Him. When we are engaged, then the Holy Spirt can unlock us from the barriers that keep us from moving forward in the Lord. And what a great life we would have if we were to be able to use His keys to unlock the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives......

GO GET 'EM CHURCH! USE THE KEYSGOD HAS GIVEN US AND ENGAGE THE HOLY SPIRT!

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