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ARCHBISHOP MAKES IMPASSIONED PLEA FOR DEEPER FAITH AND LOVE
By David W. Virtue
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO-(4/21/2004) Dr. George Carey made an impassioned plea to several hundred orthodox Episcopalians today urging them to a deeper faith, more godly living and a steady walk with God.
“Spiritual power is the mastery of life which is God’s ambition for each one of us,” said the former Archbishop of Canterbury. “The work of the Holy Spirit is to bring us closer to Jesus Christ.”
In the second of three sermons delivered on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians as part of a three-day conference put on by the Colorado-based Anglican Communion Institute, the Evangelical Archbishop said not only do we have a faith we must hold without fear or compromise, but we must go deeper into that faith as debtors of God’s grace.
“God’s power in daily living comes from a steady walk with Him,” said the Archbishop who is expounding on the third chapter of Paul’s Ephesian letter. “St. Paul assumed we should know God’s power in our daily lives. Reading the apostle enlarges our minds and makes us aware of the Trinity in the life of every Christian. We should all want to be more powerful Christians,” he said.
“If the last century was the century of ecumenism this century is the century of the Holy Spirit. This Pentecostal Spirit movement is generally constructive but has some negative effects. But the Holy Spirit brings people together and does not divide us,” he said.
In a reference to the current travails going on in the Anglican Communion, Carey said that what the church lacked was not money, not numbers, not greater theologians, but people on fire for God. “God cries out for better people. God is looking for excellence and quality,” he said.
Looking back on his own life, Carey said he didn’t at first love the church, but he saw that Christ loved it and he came to love it. “The church has many wrinkles, but it is love that drives her to be different. I want to know Christ’s power in her love.”
“The foundation of the church is grounded in love. Love is the best foundation, and it is typically the work of the Holy Spirit. I want to know Christ’s power in her love. You may be disappointed with our church, but we are no better than anyone else if we don’t love. We are always demanding our rights but Paul says that Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
“I have a big vision of other faiths, but I am held together by Christ who is at the center, the Omega point of my life.”
Carey said was possible to rise above the present situation in the Anglican Communion. Paul’s understanding of the power God could unlock the hidden potential in each one of us. The power that is in us can accomplish that, he said.
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