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As a testimony (1:44) 

The Reverend Richard Coles is a Radio 4 staple. His sultry tones brighten up many a slumbering Saturday morning with warmth and light in equal measure. His establishment credentials are unusual, however, as it is his partnership with Jimmy Somerville in the 80s pop band The Communards, rather than his role as a country clergyman, that gives him kudos in radio world. Recently though he has been more public with aspects of his personal faith, explicitly talking about being filled with the Holy Spirit, not in the very visible way often desired (or disliked), but in a quiet inner depth of experience.

Throughout the New Testament the infilling of the Spirit and its visible manifestation are seen as signs of God's activity. It is intriguing therefore that when Jesus wants someone to show his healing publicly he chooses a very traditional form: offering the sacrifice decreed by Moses. It seems that Christ wasn't fussed about the type of worship but about the source of worship. As God says to Samuel, 'People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.' 







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