Lesson 48 – When the Spirit Upholds

Psalm 51:12

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit."

    While confession of sin and relief from feelings of guilt are important in our lives, David understood the next step in cleansing involved the restoration of his relationship with God.

    Sin is like that. It strains our relationship with our Lord. Even when we confess our sins, there is still healing that needs to occur, and the Spirit is the key to this restoration. This rift is like that which occurs in any friendship when one has wronged the other. Even when the offending party seeks forgiveness, the scars of the hurt often remain and need to be worked through. As sinners, not only have we pained the heart of our Lord, we've scarred our own hearts! We need the Spirit's restoration.

    David shows us that joy can replace our scars by the presence of the generous Spirit. I love this concept. My God is generous towards me, even as a disobedient sinner!

    Generous tells me that God's grace is bigger than any of my sins. Generous says that God is more than willing to restore me to the joy of our relationship when I seek his presence. Generous describes God's unlimited effort to love me with all of his heart, even when I've forsaken his love.

    Think about it. The Spirit in your life stems from God's generosity towards you. The one who holds everything in the palm of his hand has chosen to be generous to you and me. O, the glories of God's love.

    Of course, generous doesn't mean we've got the right to take for granted God's presence in our lives. Until our hearts are grieved as much as God's is over our sins, we're really not in a position of where we can be restored.

LORD JESUS

I too want to be restored and held by your generous Spirit. I beg you to help me return fully to the joy of your presence in my life. Amen.

Lesson 47 – When the Spirit Cleanses

Psalm 51:10-11

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take You Holy Spirit from me."

    Staring into his own heart, no longer running from the guilt of sexual sin and murder, David cries out in anguish to the Lord. "Create in me a clean heart, O God!" David understands that on his own, his heart condemns him as a sinner.

    Like David, every believer faces the filth of sin throughout life. Every time we choose disobedience to our Lord, we become dirty. Every time we push God aside and chase after the lusts of our flesh, we are stained. Every time our emotions cause us to sin with our words, our fists, or our eyes, we are washed in the ugliness of immorality. Worse yet, we know we are failures, even feeling it in a very real and literal way, just as David did.

    In sin, believers need to be cleansed, washed, and made pure again. David understood that spiritual cleaning comes with the touch of the Spirit. Without the Spirit, he was hopelessly lost, even as a man of God. Without the Spirit, we remain overwhelmed by the stench of our sins.

    Of course, as God's seal of grace upon us, the Spirit never leaves the heart of a believer. Still, in some way the Spirit becomes anemic in the face of unconfessed sin. We no longer feel the presence of God in us. We feel alone, since God is hiding his face. We begin to understand and see the hurt that our actions cause to the heart of the Father.

    Like David, we need to free the Spirit to cleanse us by crying out in repentance and forsaking our sins. Only then, will the Spirit work to create in us a steadfast Spirit, held in the arms of the Lord.

LORD JESUS

Help me to see the effects of sin on our relationship. Give me a heart to forsake them and embrace instead your continuous presence. Amen.

Lesson 46 – When the Spirit Breaks Bonds

When the Spirit Breaks Bonds

Judges 15:14

"When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands."

    Ever wish you had super hero strength? I sure do, and not just when a little boy. Just think about the good you could do with unlimited power! Let there be no doubt about it. With the Spirit on his side, Samson possessed that strength which has no bounds. Even ropes were no match for him, and neither were the thousand men who tried to bring about his arrest. With the Spirit's touch, Samson was able to break all bonds.

    I think it a fair analogy to suggest that the Spirit has always been in the business of breaking the bonds that try to hold us. Of course, I'm not talking about physical strength, but those bonds which stem from sin. While Satan would lead us into sinful disobedience so as for all of humanity to suffer eternal consequences of death, with the Spirit on the side of the believer, even this seemingly permanent bond is broken. With the Spirit's touch, we are set free from the power behind every bond which would hold us in death.

    Believers sometimes find themselves so deep into sinful practices they wonder if freedom is even a possibility. We identify these ropes that bind as habitual sins. You know these by now, with many of these related to sins of a sexual nature. The good news is that even these are not match for the Spirit within us. Sure, the road to recovery may be long as we shed the physical effects of sinful practices, but victory is possible with the Spirit on our side. Just as Samson received super human strength to break his binds, so does the believer who is surrendered to the Spirit's touch. With God on our side, sin's bounds are no match to victorious living.

    Does that mean we'll never sin? Certainly not, for we all know that when sin's temptations are laid before us, we too often choose to push aside the Spirit and voluntarily be bound by the pleasures of a season. But that's not the way it has to be. With the Spirit on our side, we can break those bonds, just as surely as Samson broke the ropes that bound his arms.

LORD JESUS

May I always remember to turn to you instead of the sin that desires to bind my life in every way possible. I believe your Spirit within me is truly the only way to be set free. Amen.

Lesson 45 – When the Spirit Uses Anger

Judges 14:19

"Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave the changes of clothing to those who had explained the riddle. So his anger was aroused, and he went back up to his father's house."

    The troubling passages concerning Samson continue to haunt me. This time, with the Spirit on him mightily, Samson gives in to anger and takes revenge on the men of Ashkelon. Surely this was a selfish move on his part, even a sinful act. What good can come from acting in anger to kill and steal? How are we to understand this touch of the Spirit upon Samson's life?

    Let's settle this point first. We must come to the conclusion that God's hand led Samson to take this action, even if we can't explain it to our satisfaction. There is just no other way to read the text. With the Spirit at the helm, Samson kills thirty men in anger. Does that trouble you as much as it does me? It should. The taking of any life is a serious thing, even when it is God ordained. Life is precious and I'm unsettled in the face of every death, even when it involves the enemies of God's people. I'm particularly unsettled when death is ordained of the Spirit.

    We must also conclude that God had a righteous reason for moving Samson to anger and what would seem to be murder. For some unnamed reason, God chose to judge the Philistines through Samson. As Israel's deliver, God stepped in, using Samson for this purpose. Maybe he did it because of persecutions. Maybe God grew tired of their idolatrous worship. Or maybe even there was something specific in the town of Ashkelon that caused God to move.

    For whatever reason, we must conclude God acted for the sake of righteousness. That I the only way the Spirit acts in the world today--never for the sake of sin, but always the sake of righteousness.

    It doesn't take long for most to rightly conclude life is not fair, at least in any sense of our understanding. This is where faith comes to play. When it comes to the touch of the Spirit in our lives, God always moves in a righteous way to accomplish his ends. Our job is to affirm God's decisions as a matter of unwavering faith.

LORD JESUS

May my heart never be tempted to question your righteous plan upon the world today. May I look to you for answers, and even when none is given, may I always trust in your plan. Amen.

Lesson 44 – When the Spirit Comes Mightily

Judges 14:5-6

"So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done."

    Once again, a very troubling passage. Here is Samson, seeking after a woman he had fallen for from the enemies of the Lord, one in whom his parents were not pleased. Here is Samson, going through the vineyards, apparently in secret since his commitment to God was to avoid grapes and their products as part of his Nazarene vow to be set apart for the Lord. Ultimately, here is Samson, using his great strength to kill a young lion with his bare hands.

    I certainly don't understand why the Spirit of the Lord moved mightily in the disobedient Samson to give him this strength to kill the lion. If I had been God, I'd let the lion have the victory! In pitching a fit to his parents for the woman of the Philistines, Samson had shown his true colors. In slinking through the grape vines, he was playing with the fire of disobedience.

    As I pondered why God didn't judge Samson, I kept coming back to God's grace. While Samson didn't deserve the filling of the Spirit, in his grace, God apparently chose to give him another chance to be proven faithful. That's what grace is all about--a second chance where none is deserved. That is the mercy of our Lord.

    Even as born again believers, you and I know we're not worthy of God's grace. We're like Samson in often choosing to be disobedient, chasing after sins in secret, not wanting anyone to know. But these are not hidden from the Lord, and the only reason we come through unscathed is because of the Lord's great mercies. God chooses to give us another chance to be faithful, not withholding the touch of his Spirit from our lives.

    As a pastor, I'm often awed that God would use me in spite of my sins. But that's the way of our Lord. Loving a sinner such as I.

LORD JESUS

I ask for your forgiveness for when I've chosen the path of disobedience. While I'm not deserving of your mercies, I thank you for not withholding your Spirit from my life. Amen.

Lesson 43 – When the Spirit Begins to Move Upon Us

Judges 13:24-25

"So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Estaol."

    Everyone remembers the tragic story of Samson. He is one born in a miraculous way, in answer to the prayers of a barren woman. Here is a young man and set aside to serve the Lord throughout all his days, and blessed of God in great physical strength. Even today, every little boy dreams of being as strong as Samson, ready to take on the world's enemies with super hero powers.

    But Samson was also one who ultimately embraced sinful ways, turning his back on a life committed to God, only to return once again at the end of his life in a tragic death after suffering for his disobedience.

    Four times we in Judges where the Spirit of the Lord comes upon Samson. These come almost always before Samson does some mighty deed as God's deliverer among the people of Dan. On this first time, notice the specific nature of the Spirit upon Samson. There can be no doubt of the place where the Spirit reached out and touched Samson's life. It was at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Estaol.

    This always God's way with the coming of the Spirit. He comes upon us at a very specific time and place, sent of the Father at the request of the Son. The first time we experience the Spirit is when God begins to woo us to himself under conviction for our sins. This weighty, heavy hand of the Spirit upon us calls us to repentance before God, and ushers in salvation for everyone who believes.

    With our salvation, God gives the Spirit as new life within every believer, converting the soul in rebirth and marking us as a people of the Lord, guaranteeing our inheritance through the ages with Christ.

    Finally, the Spirit also moves on us as he did here with Samson. This is the coming of the Spirit in power, to be used of God to accomplish something in Christ's kingdom.

    Notice there is no indication Samson sought this touch of the Spirit in his life. He didn't cry out for it in prayer or fasting; he didn't seek after the Spirit to bless some ministry dream; he didn't fall down before the Lord in humility until God blessed him with a display of his presence. Rather, it was in God's timing and place that the Spirit came upon Samson.

    While every believer needs to be open to a touch of the Spirit's power, we should be content to leave that filling to Christ's time and place. Instead, our role is to be willing, prepared to be used of God, living in obedience to the Scriptures. Paul describes us as becoming a vessel fit for honor, a servant in the kingdom at the call of our Lord.

LORD JESUS

May I always be open to your presence, so as to know the moving of your Spirit upon me. May I humbly submit to your presence, following you in sacrificial ministry for your honor and glory. Amen.

Lesson 42 – When the Spirit Uses a Scoundrel

Judges 11:29

"Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah."

    The whole story of Jephthah is a very difficult one. Here is a man born of a sinful union outside of marriage. He is a man who is described as a leader of thugs and thieves. Here is a man who refused to come to the aide of his family unless they made him ruler. Tragically, he even kills his daughter in tribute to a God-provided victory over the Ammonites.

    I'm confused. This is just not the way it should be according to my understanding of God's ways. God couldn't use a man like this!

    Most have it in mind God blesses the obedient and curses the disobedient, with Jephthah falling squarely into this latter category. But that's not what we see here. "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah." God chose to use a scoundrel of the highest order to accomplish his will. It wasn't a holy man God used, but one whom we'd never let in our homes!

    Still, I see several implications from this account for today. First, God still uses scoundrels to accomplish his will, even when judging the church. We're in no position to look at the instrument arrayed against us and make a judgment as to whether this vessel is used of God or not. We can't tell by looking at the character of the vessel in opposition to us whether it is of God or not.

    After the terrorists attacks of September 2001, some preachers were criticized for declaring this tragedy was from God. While I can't say for sure, we're wrong if judge an act by simply looking at the character of the players and deciding God couldn't have had a hand in it. They might just look like Jephthah, but still be the one touched of the Spirit!

    Also, we need to understand that even a touch of the Spirit won't prevent us from exercising our will to sin. Even when under control of the Spirit, we may be like Jephthah, pursuing sinful passions. While I'm thankful God moves forward his kingdom even when I choose sin, I'm embarrassed of my own weaknesses, even as a vessel of God's choosing.

    Finally, it should be evident we need to be careful of what we promise to dedicate to God. He does expects us to keep our word in our promises. If Jephthah was committed enough to keep a promise to sin, surely we should be holy enough to keep our promises of obedience.

LORD JESUS

May your Spirit lead me as your instrument of serve. Keep me from presumptuous sin. Steer me according to your will. And protect me from evil. Amen.

Lesson 41 – When the Spirit Trumpets

Judges 6:34

"But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him."

    As a young man, I had a short lived dream to play the trumpet. You understand the attraction to a sixth grade boy—a shiny brass instrument with only one way to play it—as loud as I could blow it. What could be better than a trumpet? Don't feel too sad for me when I say that dream passed away. It was replaced with other instruments and a life-long enjoyment of music.

    Unlike me, Gideon had a trumpet, but he hadn't been about the business of blowing it. Like the rest of Israel, he cowered in fear against marauding Midianites and Amalekites, roaming bandits who came upon the land at God's beckoning to ravage Israel's crops and livestock. Judges tells us that once Israel committed again to follow after the Lord, God chose for them a deliverer. You've guessed it! God chose Gideon, just another young man with the same fears as everyone else, living with a silent trumpet.

    Of course, God saw more in Gideon than our human eyes would have noticed. He saw that Gideon was distressed by the nation's worship of Baal and was willing to take action against idols even when caused his neighbors to grow angry. God understood Gideon would be a willing leader of warriors once he got over his fears. God knew Gideon would respond with blows of the trumpet once the Spirit touched his life.

    And that's exactly what happened. With the Spirit's touch, Gideon blows his trumpet, summoning his people to battle. Although Gideon would twice put out the fleece to test God's presence, in the end, he moved out at God's command to rout these enemies.

    God is calling some of us to the trumpet today. The question is, will we set aside our fears and lead others to face whatever battle needs to be fought? Will we step up to the plate and take our swings? Many times, believers are paralyzed with fear, failing to blow the trumpet to lead our churches in even relatively safe battles, simply because we've not acknowledged the presence of the Spirit in our lives.

    That's not God's way. He sends the Spirit. We blow the trumpet not because we desire to lead, but because the Spirit bid us. And always, not matter the outcome, the battle belongs to the Lords.

    May your fears give way to trumpets!

LORD JESUS

May your Spirit fill me with the courage to call others to join me in the battles you have for us to fight in your kingdom. Amen.

Lesson 40 – When the Spirit Raises a Judge

Judges 3:9-10

"When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel."

    I've always been somewhat intrigued by the book of Judges, for there are no others like them in position or power over the course of Israel's history.

    Who were these men and women who served as the judges of Israel? How were those chosen, how long did they serve, did their service overlap with each other? What did they do to be recognized as judges? Were they anointed by the nation, were they elected in some manner? Were these judges like those of our courts today? Were they Israel's spiritual leaders or did they keep themselves to civil matters?

    While we can't reliably answer these questions, we can know for sure some things about these judges. For example, for most of the judges, we are told they were raised up by God to be a deliverer. We can safely assume all served in this like manner, even in those instances where we're told little about a specific judge. Also notice what the Scriptures say about Othniel. He served as judge when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. At the touch of God's Spirit, Othniel is empowered and equipped to serve as Israel's deliverer.

    The point to grasp today is to understand God is still in the business of raising up people whom he uses to serve his purposes. Man or woman, boy or girl, the Spirit touches believers in power when God desires to use us in his service. No matter where we go, or what we're called to do, we never go it alone, for the presence of the Spirit comes upon true servants of God as we're surrendered to God's purposes.

    God may not decide to use you as a deliver, but you can be sure his Spirit will come upon you when you're being used as an instrument in Christ's kingdom.

LORD JESUS

I invite your Spirit to come upon me as you lead me into service in your kingdom. May I never step out alone, always leaning upon your presence. Amen.

Lesson 39 – When the Spirit Teaches

LUke 12:12

"For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

    Maybe you've never thought of the Spirit before as a teacher. I certainly hadn't. Sure, he is the promised comforter, a guide for every day of life, an interpreter of the word, and God's presence in my life, but I never noticed before that he is also a teacher, though when I stop and consider it, this really shouldn't have come as a surprise. After all, one of the primary images we have of God is of Jesus as a teacher. There is no reason for the Spirit not to be likewise.

    In this text, Jesus warned his disciples they would face persecutions for his sake, even having to stand before high and powerful officials. Certainly history bore this out, but to these young men, Jesus told them not to worry about what they would say in defense of themselves. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be there to teach them what they need to say just as they needed his guidance.

    As a preacher, I wish Jesus would have extended this same promise to my feeble efforts at sermon preparation. If only the Spirit would teach me exactly what to say the very hour I stand to preach! Of course he does so to some extent, with the Spirit guiding my mind and mouth as I share from God's word, but this primarily comes only after I've put in my time in preparation. The Spirit is not promised as a shortcut for laziness on my part. That'd be like praying for help on a school test when you've not studied. Surely that is a misrepresentation on how God interacts with his children.

    So why this special dispensation for the disciples when they would face persecution? Was this promise just for the 12, or is it made to every follower of Christ thereafter? While I really can't answer these questions with much confidence, we can know for sure that the Spirit still teaches. We just need to be ready to be good students, with our listening ears on, our minds ready to receive the instruction, and hearts ready to obey.

    For believers, the Spirit's touch still comes as a teacher, and with God choosing the subjects, you can bet they will always be relevant!

LORD JESUS

I invite the Spirit to teach me. I commit to being a good student, ready to take notes, ready to make application, and ready to share your words with others. Amen.

Lesson 38 – When the Spirit Comes Upon Request

Luke 11:13

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

    How much more indeed!

    I love to buy things for my wife and kids, especially things they ask for. It gives me great joy to know I've not only met their needs, but I've exceeded them to the point of joy. Jesus says it is this same way also with God. He loves for us to ask, and he loves to give.

    Whenever we read this passage in Luke, along with preceding verses, we're drawn to the "asking, seeking, knocking" text that seems to say That God will give us whatever we ask for if we're persistent enough in our prayers. I'd surely like that and have already got my list ready whenever God wants it. Most of us do, and our prayers reflect our selfish desires.

    However, Jesus clarifies his teaching in this verse by linking good gifts to the Spirit's touch. In terms of asking, God gives the good gift of the Spirit to those who ask. Of course, we're puzzled by this, with passages clearly teaching every believer is already sealed by the Spirit. Why do we need to ask again? What gives?

    The answer lies in the filling of the Spirit. Every believer has experienced the up and down emotions of sometimes feeling close to God and other times far apart. At times, we're filled full with the Spirit's presence, and other times, it seems we've sprung a leak and God is nowhere to be found. It is at these times of emptiness that we need to ask the Spirit to fill us. The promise is clear. God wants to give you the good gift of the Spirit and all we have to do is ask!

    Don't let this concept bother you in anyway. God is pleased when we get up every day and cry out for a filling of the Spirit. Not only is this not a second filling of the Spirit as some teach, but it is a daily thing. And it gives God pleasure to seek after his touch.

LORD JESUS

May your Spirit fill my heart full so that I bask daily in your presence in my life and in your church. Amen.

Lesson 37 – When the Spirit Causes Rejoicing

Luke 10:21

In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to bases. Even so, Father for so it seemed good in Your sight."

    Everyone I know wants to find real, lasting joy, me included, so I ask, when does the Spirit cause rejoicing in the life of a believer? There's a hint for us in this passage. Notice that Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit when he came to agree with the Father in prayer. Could it be that simple? Could simply aligning my will with the Lord's in prayer bring about joy in my heart? I think so.

    The Spirit touches a believer unto rejoicing when we prayerfully agree with God's outlook for goodness in what he is doing in our life and in this world. Even in this text, where it is hard to understand why God would hide truth from humanity, Jesus finds joy in the Spirit as he agrees with God's intent that is was good to do so.

    Surely it is the same in our relationship with God. Even when times are confusing, or we can't see good from what God is allowing to come into our lives, when we simply agree with God that his actions toward us are good, we're touched by the Spirit and caused to rejoice in our hearts. It appears to me that the trigger for this rejoicing is the act of prayer. Not a petition for what we want, but rather a coming to the Father and telling him you agree with what he is doing, because everything he does is for good.

    In this day and age when we're programmed to find joy in life's successes, accumulations and even adventures, it is best to look back to finding joy in a Spiritual way, claiming our belief in God's goodness. Join me in trying this formula the next time life is getting your down. Claim God's goodness as your own and see if it doesn't bring about a touch of the Spirit unto rejoicing.

LORD JESUS

May my heart be inclined to agree with you as to the goodness of what you are brining into my life, even when it is beyond my understanding or does not line up with my ideas for goodness.. Amen.

Lesson 36 – When the Spirit Anoints to Ministry

Luke 4:18-19

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

    So much doctrine in such a short passage. Here's the scene. Jesus is chosen to read aloud in a Sabbath synagogue service, and in what could only be described as the providential timing of God, that day's reading was from the prophet Isaiah. After he is finished, Jesus sits down. Every eye in the room was upon him. What would this young prophet and preacher of God have to say? Would it be controversial? Would it set the town in an uproar?

    It didn't take long to find out. In verse 21, Jesus simply says, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." And the people marveled. Maybe God had not forgotten Israel after all.

    Not one to shy away from truth, Jesus' words are that of claiming to be the promised Messiah. From Isaiah, the Jews knew the Christ would be anointed by the Spirit's touch to preach the word, heal broken hearts, deliver freedom to the captives, mend the sick, defend the oppressed and even make the people acceptable to God after millenniums of wondering if God still cared.

    Don't let anyone tell you Jesus never claimed to be God, for Israel understood that only one from God could come and make such a claim to be the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. From an anointing of the Spirit, Jesus claims to be the one of such a ministry.

    The Holy Spirit's touch has always been required to accomplish ministry unto and for and from the Lord. The anointing of God is what makes it possible to fulfill the plans God has for our lives. Just like Jesus, we too are anointed of God to be the people he would have us be, serving within and without of the church.

LORD JESUS

May your Spirit be upon your church for ministry, that we would be empowered to serve you and each other according to your will and for your glory alone. Amen.