Lesson 154 – When the Spirit Gathers

ISAIAH 34:16-17

"Search from the book of the Lord, and read: Not one of these shall fail; not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them. He has cast the lot for them, and His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line. They shall possess it forever; from generation to generation they shall dwell in it."

I sure hope not to stretch things a too far in seeking to learn about the Spirit's touch from this passage. Isaiah writes of the Spirit gathering wild animals to live in Jerusalem as the city would be abandoned during the time of God's judgment by the Babylonian empire. No longer would people dwell in Zion, but those of the animal kingdom would move in. God spoke it, and Isaiah proclaims that it will be so.

The lesson I see here for us is this. If God controls the lives of even the animal world, gathering them into a new home, how much more so is he also in touch with those who are his own through faith in Jesus Christ.

Isaiah tells us that just as God commands the nightly cries of the jackal, the fearful hiding of the ostrich, the scattering of wild goats about the foothills, arrow snakes and their slithering young, and even high-flying hawks, so also his Spirit gathers me along the paths he chooses for my life.

We also see that the Spirit is God's instrument of completing his will. When God speaks, it is the Spirit which brings about God's will. In perfect obedience in the God-head, the Spirit is always at work to bring about the will of the Father.

My prayer is this would also be so in our lives--that when God speaks, we'll be so moved by the Spirit to join him in doing this will. May the Spirit gather us as he chooses for the glory of the Lord.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the faithfulness of your Spirit in gathering people to be obedient to your will. May I willingly follow after you in this gathering. Amen.

Lesson 153 – When the Spirit Is Poured Out on High

ISAIAH 32:14-15

"Because the palaces will be forsaken, the bustling city will be deserted, the forts and towers will become lairs forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks—until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest."

Talk about a place in ruin—the best homes are abandoned, streets are empty, wild animals are roaming around—a ghost town by all indications. While this is a description of God's pending judgment on Israel and its capitol city, Jerusalem, penned by the prophet Isaiah prior to the Babylonian captivity, it is also a vivid picture of the heart of believer who tries to go through life without the blessing of the Spirit upon their life.

Just as Israel abandoned the Lord their God to go their own way after idols, unrighteous living, and a lifestyle which took God for granted, so too have many believers turned from their Lord today. And just as God would judge Israel, so too will he judge us by withholding the active presence of His Spirit.

Many believers find themselves in what can only be described as ruin. Not only is life getting the better of them, they suffer the consequences of sin and no longer seem to find the Spirit through pray. No doubt, this is God's judgment on his church--the withholding of his blessings upon us and the presence of his Spirit in power.

But in this text there is also a promise to the Lord's own. When we turn back to the Lord, he pours out his Spirit and brings restoration. That's what I want in my life, and that is my prayer for the church today—that the Spirit would be poured out upon us in power, causing us to hunger and thirst for our Lord, and to be the church God would have us be for his glory.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for pouring out your Spirit upon the church and in my life. May we be faithful to you and be ever mindful of the joy of your presence. Amen.

Lesson 152 – When the Spirit Is Left Out of Your Plans

Isaiah 30:1

"Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord. Who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin."

I dare say this is one area believers find themselves in just as much hot water as did Israel more than 2,800 years back in history. Whenever we make our plans by our own counsel, leaving out the Holy Spirit, we are adding sin to sin, regardless of the wisdom of our decisions.

Let me explain. Planning as an exercise in itself is surely an amoral thing. Exercising the brain to figure things out is not a moral exercise at all, but a use of the skills the Lord has made possible and we've learned to use over time. But the trouble begins when a believer begins this exercise in planning without God's input. By leaving the Spirit out, we let God know we're not really interested in His wisdom nor direction.

Of course, none of us go around intentionally leaving God out, but quite frankly, neither do we go out of our way to seek the Lord's guidance, especially when we think we've already got things figured out. Don't believe it, just check out the content of your prayers. Most of the time, we only go to God when we think we need his intervention. The rest of the time, we've got things covered by our own ideas.

In Israel's case, the nation figured they had no chance against a stronger enemy, so they decided to bring in Egypt by treaty to help secure their borders. But in doing this, God says they added sin to sin. Not only were they trusting in one other than God alone for their security, it turns out that the attack they were under was of God's judgment. Essentially, Israel was going against God's will in resisting their own invasion. Sin became more sin when they failed to consult the Spirit.

Oh so often we do the same, deciding almost without thought to resist every trouble, push off every sacrifice, or agree to any direction which we perceive to bring more comfort in life. We automatically base our decisions on what is best for our families, career success, and our futures.

Instead, we're to seek the wisdom of the Spirit's touch. This gives God the glory in our life and will save us from adding sin to sin.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the availability of your Spirit to direct my life. May I remember to take counsel of you in every aspect of my life. Amen.

Lesson 151 – When the Spirit Is Commended

2 Corinthians 6:4-10

"But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God; in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."

How confident are you that your life is rightly lived for the glory of Christ? Can you say with any certainty that you've fought the good fight for the Lord and are ready to receive a crown of righteousness? How have you done with the Spiritual gifts the Lord has given you for his glory in the kingdom?

Most of us aren't so confident in assessing ourselves, but Paul must have been fairly certain, since he commends his own life to the church at Corinth as an example of one living rightly in the faith.

In this rather long list of how his life was lived for Christ, Paul points to the Holy Spirit, almost in passing. But he understood that in the midst of all we may do for out of love for our Savior, being filled with the Spirit is a primary concern. For it only by the Spirit's touch that we are empowered for the life the Lord lays out for every believer.

While you may not feel worthy of being lifted up as an example to any other, every believer has this one thing that people need. We have the Spirit living within us. As such, we need to be a people who call others to look to the Spirit, for in the Spirit, we find our salvation and power for living.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for your Spirit in my life. May I faithfully lift up your presence to a lost and dying world. Amen.

Lesson 150 – When the Spirit Is a Guarantee

2 Corinthians 5:4-5

"For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that morality would be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God. Who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee."

Here we're promised that the Spirit's touch is God's guarantee our bodies will one day be changed by God. We'll be transformed from death unto life, just as we've spiritually already been changed when the Spirit rebirthed our souls at the point of faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul describes this change in our bodies in two ways. First, as believers, we are those who are being further clothed. We're now clothed in our mortal bodies, and one day we'll put on immortality. Being further clothed describes the sense in which we are already clothed, but in the resurrection, we'll be reclothed. A body will remain, but it will be changed. Just as with Jesus in his resurrection, our bodies will become new, though still our bodies.

Next, Paul describes the transformation of our mortal bodies as being swallowed up by life. In this sense, death is completely overcome by life. That which was death is now part of that which is life in Christ. In another epistle, Paul says that death is swallowed up in victory. It no longer has the same meaning for the believer.

For the believer, this promise of a new, physical life in Christ, brings hope. Every time we experience the discomforts of this life, whether of disease, injuries, old age, or any number of trials, we need to remember that the Spirit's touch is our guarantee of something better to come--the transformation of our bodies in Christ.

While we can't realistically go through life ignoring our pains, just remember that the best is still to come!

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the guarantee of your Spirit, promising immortality in the place of mortality. Amen.

Lesson 149 – When the Spirit Faces Rebellion

Psalm 106:32-33

"They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went will with Moses on account of them; because they rebelled against His Spirit, so that he spoke rashly with his lips."

You probably remember the background of this psalm, how Moses let his anger get the best of him as the children of Israel grumbled against God's provision. In the end, Moses claimed the glory of God as his own, bringing the miracle of water from the Rock without giving honor to God. Ultimately, God righteously judges Moses, not allowing him to enter into Canaan with the rest of the nation. Always seemed a little harsh to me, but in this case, God chose to withhold further grace from Moses' life.

But what you might not recall is the truth which is pointed to in this verse. The sin which Israel committed that day was not simply of forgetting the faithfulness God had already provided to them in food and water and protection through the years, but was the sin of rebellion against God's Spirit. In God's eyes, their grumbling was a matter of rejecting his very presence among the nation, for when we are aware of the Spirit, we can be sure God provides for his own.

I suspect many of our sins cut deeply into God's heart, for when love is involved, hurts are magnified, even those belonging to our Savior. When we sin against God, even in our grumbling, we are doing more than simply violating God's moral laws. Instead, we are rejecting God's very nature.

Of course, rebellion is a heinous sin, fully worthy of God's judgment, needing to be cut in the bud before it spreads throughout the church. And God's sure judgment will come, and in it, we need to return to the Lord. In doing so, our prayers need to be as David often voiced, asking the Lord not to withhold his presence.

As rebels, we live in danger God will leave us alone in the desert, causing us live in thirst until we turn our hearts back to God. This is what a loving God does…whatever it takes to bring us back to a dependence on him. While this is never an easy thing, in the end, it causes our lives to be conformed to the image of Christ.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for your Spirit among us. I'm truly sorry for rebellion against you in my life, as I've often grumbled against you even when receiving your provision. Instead, I ask for my delight to be in you. Amen.

Lesson 148 – When the Spirit Transforms

2 Corinthians 3:18

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

As believers, we all know in our hearts that we are yet to be what God will one day make us, but even now, with the touch of the Spirit upon us, we are already in the process of being changed into the image of Christ. This is the sanctification of the believer to the body of Christ.

Paul tells us this change comes about as we gaze upon the Lord with unveiled face. Simply put, as the Lord reveal himself and invites us into the presence of his Spirit, his holiness overtakes and changes us. During this transformation, God's glory in the Spirit is reflected from our faces, much like the light of the moon reflects the sun.

When Moses would enter into the tent of meeting to know the Lord, he would come out with a glow which reflected the glory of God, such that he had to cover his face so the people would not fear. Oh, that you and I could reflect so much of God's glory that people couldn't help by see Jesus in our lives. Oh, that we would could remove the veil of sin which hinders us from a daily relationship with Christ, so that his glory would be upon us. Oh, that we would so reflect Christ that the reality of his being and his salvation would be undeniable.

Of course, the only way to reflect God's glory is to spend enough time Christ so that his glory wears off on us! We do this by communing with the resurrected Lord come to us as the Spirit. As the Spirit abides with us, and we abide with the Spirit, God's glory is upon us and we are transformed into the image of Christ.

My longing is for the church of Jesus Christ to know revival in our hearts, to be changed to be a people reflect the glory of God.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for both the honor and responsibility of reflecting your glory to a dying world. Help me to remove every veil in my life which might hide your glory, bringing revival to my life and to your church. Amen.

Lesson 147 – When the Spirit Is Liberty

2 Corinthians 3:17

"Now the Lord is Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

No longer bound by the Old Testament law, believers in Jesus Christ now live according to the Spirit's touch on our lives. While we're no longer governed by the creeds of the law, we are now bound to a more complete understanding of God's moral law as revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.

Of course, this means we must be a people in touch with the Spirit's voice. One of the reasons we do not just ignore the Old Testament is that those laws, even those applying only to Israel, help us understand God's enduring will for his people. While the law was never intended to spell out all of God's will, it does give a glimpse into God's mind. With the coming of the Spirit, we receive a more complete understanding of the mind of Christ living within us.

So what is this liberty spoken of in this text? What liberty do we now have as those under the Spirit and no longer under the law?

I believe it means a couple of things to the church today, to include freedom from the penalty of death which comes when we try to get right with God only by following the law. Under the law, everyone comes up short. Everyone needs to be set free from death's grip through faith in Christ. This is what grace is all about--setting aside the law so that we can know the freedom which is ours through God's great mercies.

But just as importantly, we also experience a new freedom, that of God being able to speak to us individually at any time, and in any way, about any topic, through the inward dwelling of the Spirit. Before, God only spoke through the law and by selected human representatives. No longer. Through the Spirit, he is free to speak to every believer, Spirit to spirit.

Most of us will freely admit the Bible simply doesn't cover every topic we need for life, but what it does is point us to the Lord's heart, a heart we find when we commune with the Spirit. This then gives our God freedom to speak into every matter of our lives. So really, the freedom is not ours to go our own way, but the freedom of the Spirit to direct our paths!

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the freedom from sin which comes in you and the freedom of your Spirit to speak your will into my life. May I always be both thankful and mindful of both of these freedoms, and may I not abuse them, either by willingly turning to sin since I know I am forgiven, or by refusing to seek your voice in life's matters. Amen.

Lesson 146 – When the Spirit Is More Glorious

2 Corinthians 3:7-11

"But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of the condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had not glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious."

That last sentence is a pretty good summary of the point Paul is making to those holding to the fence of morality built over the centuries around the Old Testament law. While the law was glorious, it has passed away with the coming of Christ, leaving a ministry even more glorious in its place.

In today's vernacular, Paul says, "Why settle for a hotdog when you can have a steak?" The latter is surely superior to the first, and while there is nothing wrong with a hotdog, it doesn't match the glory of the steak. And while the Old Testament law was glorious in its purpose of revealing God's heart and point to our need for salvation, with the coming of the Savior, we need reside in the more glorious ministry of the Spirit's touch on our lives.

While most of us don't find ourselves looking back into the Old Testament law much beyond the Ten Commandments, we must remain wary that we aren't holding on to other edicts other than those given by the Spirit's ministry in our lives. Whenever we come up with our own list of things one must do or must not do to be honoring to Christ, we face these types of dangers.

While these lists of does and don't are often for the good, and may even be of the Spirit's will, the danger is that we'll hold on to these so tightly that the Spirit is no longer be able to truly direct our lives. Once we have the list, we quit looking to God, since we've heard it all already.

Also, with our list in hand, there is the danger of wrongly judging ourselves right in terms of our relationship with God. In reality, it may be that all we've done is mastered God's will for us at one moment in time, with the Lord's heart now wanting us to draw even closer to him as a more mature believer. But thinking we're already right with God, we fail to hear the Lord's voice calling us to a higher plane of intimacy with the Savior.

There is also the danger we'll begin to think more highly of ourselves than we should, judging that we've arrived with God because of conforming to our lists. This is the tendency to judge ourselves based on man's standards of morality, forgetting that the true test of morality is of the Spirit, and more often than not, we have failures of the heart which are not really seen by others.

Finally, I readily see a danger of thinking that God's specific will for my life applies equally to others. When we do this, we often find ourselves looking down on others when they are not yet been led in the same direction by the Spirit. Every believer needs time to hear from the Lord and grow in their faith, and we'd do well to give the Spirit room to work out his grace in their lives.

Sure, there is a lot of room for equal ground when it comes to the Spirit's ministry in our lives, for God will not contradict his revealed word nor lead his people into sin. Regardless of the freedom which is ours in Christ, there are things which should not be compromised, but let's let God reveal these to us in his time and by his Spirit.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the more glorious ministry of your Spirit, leading believers to know the direction of your heart. We give you this freedom to speak to our spirits, committing our lives to following after you. Amen.

Lesson 145 – When the Spirit Is Sufficient

2 Corinthians 3:4-6

"And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

I like this promise. With the Spirit's touch, we're made sufficient ministers of the new covenant of grace by faith through Jesus Christ. For without this touch, we're not sufficient within ourselves as spokesman for our Lord.

Every pastor knows they are not sufficient for the task before them. We're not sufficient in loving others with the love of the Savior, for humanity and all its vices get in the way. We're not sufficient to rightly preach the gospel, knowing our own attitudes and inadequacies obscure the message. We're not sufficient to lead the church to follow after God's will, for we find we're often off course in our own lives. We're not sufficient to model faith in action, for even daily we stumble in our own beliefs. Most of us spend time wondering if we somehow missed God's will when we agreed to take on our current church assignments, keeping an eye out as to what might be next.

So what then are we do in the face of all these insufficiencies?

We are to rely on the Spirit to give us sufficiency, not born of ourselves, but of God. You see, our Lord not only delights in using our broken lives for his glory, this is his specialty. What better way is there for God to be recognized for his grace than to see it in action in the life of an insufficient servant? When something is done through a broken life, you just can't help but praise the Lord for anointing.

I'm always shocked when asked to fill out a recommendation for a parishioner to attend seminary. Quite frankly, if the person already excels at everything laid out in the many pages of questions presented for response, they wouldn't need seminary at all! And guess what, none of us are sufficient in these things. We need every opportunity to experience the Spirit's touch to be made sufficient for God's glory. For the young preacher, that means going to seminary, even before they've got their religious act together! The Spirit's touch is for those who need sufficiency, not for those already in the zone for the Lord!

For the church, this means we need to learn to turn over our inadequacies before the Savior, pleading for a touch of the Spirit to cover our shortfalls for God's glory. This means a heart of brokenness which rightly agrees with our Lord that we can do no things rightly in the kingdom without the Spirit.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for specializing in covering our inadequacies. In my life, may your Spirit come through, removing any opportunity for my own glory, giving it all to Christ. Amen.

Lesson 144 – When the Spirit Writes

2 Corinthians 3:2-3

"You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart."

The church is an epistle of Christ, with God composing his tome upon our hearts by the touch of the Spirit. As new creations of Christ, we've been made living epistles, revealing the heart of the Savior for the world.

What an honor it is to be one on whom the Spirit has written the story of God's love. What an honor it is to be one on whom the Spirit continues to write the story of God's mercies. What an honor it is to be a part of the church of Jesus Christ, filling the pages of a chapter of God's history, all with the intent of giving God the glory due his name.

In the epistle written upon your heart, others should see the hand of Jesus Christ. For not only does the Spirit identify us as Christ's own, the epistle which is your life is to be read by others, revealing Christ's undeserved mercies.

May we submit our lives to be a ready surface on which the Spirit can write God's epistle.

May we lay open our souls for the Spirit's compositions, being ready to be changed at a moment's notice.

May we wipe clean the stains of repeated sins for which our Lord has died, giving the Lord a clean slate from which to work.

May we sit still long enough for the Spirit to compose God's will upon our hearts.

May we turn fully to the Spirit, inviting him to write Christ's epistle on our hearts, so that our lives would reflect the work of the author.

May people only have to take a quick look at us to see the writing of Christ upon us and glorify his name.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you writing your name upon my heart, and even now, I invite your Spirit to compose your will upon my life forever. Amen.

Lesson 143 – When the Spirit Rests

Isaiah 11:1-2

"There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."

This is one of the Bible's great prophecies concerning the coming of Christ. In it, we find the promise of the Spirit resting upon the coming Savior, even before God reveals the name of Jesus.

Of course, the rest referred to here is not related to the cessation of work, but describes the dwelling of the Spirit in power upon the promised Messiah, much in the same way the Spirit rests upon every believer. In his humanity, Jesus needed the Spirit just as much as us, for it is the Spirit which defines a relationship with God.

This prophecy tells us that where the Spirit rests, he brings wisdom and understanding. Literally, where the Spirit is, God's thoughts are revealed with an understanding of God's will. Where the Spirit rests, he brings counsel and might, directing our paths and bringing God's victory over sin'w power. Finally, where the Spirit rests, he brings knowledge and Godly fear. With the Spirit in us, we rightly come before Christ in reverence and humility, rightly declaring him to be God.

As believers, much of our lives should be filled with discovering and embracing the Spirit's presence in our lives, for only with this touch do we fully enjoy our new life in Christ.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the resting presence of your Spirit, first in Christ and then upon every believer. May my life be lived in an embrace of your presence, seeking to know you more and more. Amen.

Lesson 142 – When the Spirit Guarantees

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

"Now, He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."

This is one of my favorite doctrinal truths—God's guarantee of the eternal security of the believer.

As believers, God establishes our salvation in Christ, redeeming us through the Lord's sacrifice. As believers, God anoints our lives in his holiness, covering us with the glory of our Lord. As believers, we're sealed by God with the Spirit's touch, marked as God's very own.

All in all, this all sounds pretty secure to me. God is sovereign over humanity and his will is to bring us fully to himself without losing any to the deceiver.

The concept declared here is that of God's earnest. The giving of the Spirit into our lives in the here and now is God's declaration of his intent to fully bring us to himself in eternity.

While we use this same concept when it comes to pledging funds towards a major purchase, say for a house, we give ourselves an escape clause. We can back out simply by giving up the earnest money. But God didn't give himself this same option. Simply put, the cost of the earnest is too great—the giving of Jesus Christ for our sins.

While we know in our hearts we're not worth this great price, God the creator differs with our opinion. God created us for a friendship with him, and the Spirit's touch brings about this relationship in our lives.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the security of your Spirit in my life, bringing a guarantee of a life with you. Amen.

Lesson 141 – When the Spirit Creates

Psalm 104:30

"You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth."

While this verse specifically applies to the psalmist's praise of the Lord in terms of creating and sustaining the largest creatures of the seas, it also reminds us all life comes by the Spirit's touch. When it comes to the physical, our God is the master artist.

While we rightly value human life above others, and rightly so, since we are the only ones of God's creation made in his image, we'd do well to remember to also praise our Lord for the variety of life he's given. As Christians, we should be a people who go out of the way to see and be amazed at the magnificence of the Lord in the many aspects of his creation.

Unfortunately, many Christians are labeled with a reputation of so living for eternity's future that we ignore all God entrusted to us on this planet. While this reputation may be well-deserved, we need to turn things around so to be those most sounding the alarm for ecological conservatism.

As the church of Jesus Christ, we should be the one leading the charge for a return to environmental values. We're the ones who have a restored relationship with God, still charged as Adam and Eve in the Garden to husband the garden. We're to be the stewards of God's creation, and that includes valuing animal and plant life for more than what they offer in terms of food, enjoyment, sport, and other purposes.

While I'm certainly not calling for a movement towards valuing animals and plants as being equal with humanity, I think there is a long way we can go towards becoming a people who praise the Lord for all aspects of his creation.

As stewards, we recognize the trust God has given us as his agents in this life. We value what God has given us. We refuse to waste his resources. We live with hearts grateful for creation.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for your creation and the blessings they bring to my life and the picture they give of your magnificence. Amen.

Lesson 140 – When the Spirit Unites

1 Corinthians 12:12-14

"For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact, the body is not one member but many."

Not only are believers made one with Christ through the touch of the Spirit, we're also made one with each other as we live spiritually in the body of Christ. Every believer is equally the body of Christ, for the Lord's Spirit lives equally within each of us as the Lord's temple.

In a brilliant illustration, Paul points out the wholeness of the physical body. While it has many parts, some of which are very visible, and some which are fairly well hidden, it is still only one body, though of many members.

It is the same within the church. While we are many members, some seen and some not seen, we are still one body, united according to the Spirit's touch. Just as a body part without the rest of the body is of little use, surely a Christian without life within the rest of the body of Christ, the church, is equally helpless in the kingdom.

As a part of the Air Force, we've found that just about anywhere we go in service to our nation, we immediately feel at home when we discover others who are also members of the body of Christ. No matter what our differences, we are united in Christ, with the Spirit drawing us together.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for both the diversity and the unity of your body, the church of Jesus Christ. May we seek out these differences and celebrate them in you. Amen.

Lesson 139 – When the Spirit Profits

1 Corinthians 12:7-11

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another, faith through the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing through the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all things, distributing to each one individually as he wills."

This has always been a comforting passage for me. God's word affirms both that believers do not determine their own gifting of the Spirit, either by works or request, and the profit of every Spiritual gift for the benefit of the church. Spiritual gifts were never intended to be about the individual believer, but instead the church as a whole.

Any teaching which lifts up one Spiritual gift over another is misplaced. When we elevate the status of one gift over another, we essentially say we know better than God's sovereign will in determining which gifts to give to a particular church at a particular time.

Notice that every gift is given for the profit of all within the church. They are not provided so one feels closer to God, or to show others spiritual maturity or growth in Christ, or to claim a blessing others have not experienced, or even to demonstrate God's power. Instead, Spiritual gifts are given to each believer for the profit of others within the church. These may or may not draw one closer to Christ or be in demonstration of God's power, and certainly, the presence or absence of a Spiritual gift cannot be used to validate one's relationship with Christ.

Likewise, no Spiritual gift is intended to be hidden or tucked away for another time in life. Instead, when the Spirit reveals a gift in our life, we must step out and faith and endeavor to use it for God's glory within the church. This is how our Lord has ordained it and how we must exercise our gifts in obedience.

The longer I pastor a church, the more I realize that God assembles the local church together just the way he intends it to be. Our inclination is to pray for evidence of certain gifts, but the better way is to pray for the Spirit to be at work, leaving the manifestation of Gifts to our Lord.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the profit of your Spirit within the church. May I help others see how God has equipped them to serve your church and help them to use these gifts for your glory. Amen.

Lesson 138 – When the Spirit Is Diversified in Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:4-6

"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all."

Believers have always struggled with the idea of Spiritual gifts. How are we to judge ourselves when we don't receive the same gifts as another? Is there a hierarchy of gifts within the church reflecting God's pleasure with us on an individual basis? Why do some Spiritual gifts seem more prominent than others? What about a believer who can't identify their gift?

While we may not easily answer these questions, there are some things we can know for sure. Paul makes it clear that all Spiritual gifts are equally of God, just as all kinds of ministries are of the same Lord and all types of activities are directed by the same God.

Within the church, we're not to compare each other's gifts in an attempt to judge our spiritual maturity. That's just not the way it is with the Spirit. Instead, every gift is given according to God's pleasure, not as a reward for our own spiritual prowess, but according to God's perfect will.

Of course, factions creep into the church whenever believers begin to compare the Lord's gifts, with some even puffing themselves up when compared to another. That is not the way it is to be within the church. We all share equally in the Spiritual gifting of our Lord.

While there is but one Lord and he has given one Spirit, know that the Spirit's touch in our lives will be manifested in many different ways.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the Spirit living within the heart of every believer. May we rejoice in the gifts you've given to us and never compare our gifts with another in a way to give ourselves glory. Amen.

Lesson 137 – When the Spirit Says Christ Is Lord

1 Corinthians 12:3

"Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit."

Here's the bottom-line. It is only by the Spirit's touch that one declares Jesus as Lord. It is only when the Spirit testifies to our heart the truth of Jesus Christ, and our heart accepts this truth, that Jesus reigns as Lord in our lives.

Of course, Christ is Lord whether we accept this truth or not, but know that it is only by the Spirit's touch that can accept Christ as Lord over your life. This is the grace of God upon us.

Over the past 20 centuries since the time of Christ, there have been many faiths which claim to be of God, though rejecting Jesus as Lord. Paul makes it clear that no one who truly has the Spirit of God in them rejects Christ as Lord. You simply cannot embrace God the Father without also claiming Jesus.

A person's position concerning Christ is the pivotal decision of a life-time, and one that has for eternal consequence. A person either accepts Christ as Lord, or takes a chance on the Bible being false.

Which choice will you make? Will you testify with the Spirit that Christ is Lord, or will you go your own way, cursing the one who took your sins and died in your place?

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the Spirit which testifies to the truth of Jesus Christ, causing men and women to declare you as Lord. May I also be faithful to echo the words of your Spirit, declaring you as Lord in my community. Amen.

Lesson 136 – When the spirit Inspires

1 Corinthians 7:40

"But she is happier if she remains as she is, according to my judgment, and I think I also have the Spirit of God."

There have always been some who have questioned the canonization of the books which make up our Bible, with part of this questioning applying to some of Paul's epistles. While most would agree with the preponderance of his writings, there are a few passages which cause disagreement. Invariably, these come into play when Paul says he is writing something which is his opinion and not a direct command of the Lord.

This passage is one of those areas. While it deals with the authorization of remarriage following a spousal death, Paul's teaching is that it would be better if the person remained single rather than remarry. However, Paul admits this is his own judgment, but then appeals to also having the Spirit's touch upon his life.

If we are to accept Paul's teaching here as of God, then we must appeal to Spiritual inspiration. Whereas God left men to write most of the Bible in their own words, inspiration admits to the guiding hand of the Spirit in determining that the recorded word would be as God desired it to be. With that in mind, it is difficult to reject even those passages which seem to be opinion.

I for one have decided to trust that my God is big enough to have preserved his word just the way he wanted it. This allows me to trust every recorded word. I believe that God's Spirit was at work when the words were written, and his Spirit is still at work in our lives to cause us to trust his Bible.

The alternative is simply not a good one. If we are forced to pick and choose which words of the Bible were inspired and which ones were only of man, we'd constantly live in disagreement and confusion. By trusting in the Spirit's inspiration, we can rest in the truth of God's word and not lean on man's understanding.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank your inspiring presence, breathing your life into every word of the Bible you've given us. Amen.

Lesson 135 – When the Spirit Makes a Purchase

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

Once again, the Bible is clear. We no longer own our own bodies, for Christ purchased us by his blood on the cross of Calvary and made oour lives his living temple.

The implications of this are not too hard to see. In all ways, we are to give God glory by the ways we treat our bodies. This applies not only to sin, but also within the ordinary events of life.

Of all peoples, Christians should be most concerned about treating our bodies as a temple. You know, watching what we eat, what we bring before our eyes, where we go, what we do, etc. As God's temple, we do not go through life alone. We make this journey according to the touch of the Spirit who now owns us and dwells within us.

One way to look at this is according to the concept of a bond servant. We are the ones, like a bondservant, who have willingly sold our lives to another. We are now living solely according to God's mercies, acting our thankfulness in our bodies for so great a salvation.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you sending your Spirit to make me fully yours. I willingly give up my life for your will. Amen.

Lesson 134 – When the Spirit Saves

1 Corinthians 6:11

"And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

This verse gives us a vivid word picture what salvation through faith Jesus Christ means for the believer. By the touch of the Spirit, God changes us from the way we were. Once we were on the path which was not of the kingdom of God, but now, according to God's grace, the Spirit changes our souls to make us new in Christ.

According to this verse, three doctrines define the life of the believer. These are three things we receive from God, not because of righteousness in our life, but because of God's great mercies in sending the Spirit. Clearly, no one is deserving of God's grace.

First, believers are those who have been washed. Simply put, we are made clean by the Spirit's presence. No longer is our life contaminated by sin's stain. Our sins are removed, just as surely as if they have been washed away. This is a cleaning that only God can give.

Second, believers are said to be sanctified. Again, this rings true to washing, but also carried the idea of healing. It is not just that our sins are scrubbed away, but with the Spirit's touch, we are made well. This is a supernatural healing of God, and its only possible where the Spirit dwells.

Finally, we've been justified. A believer's relationship with God is made right because they inherit Christ's holiness. Our relationship is restored so that it is just as if we had never sinned. With the Spirit's presence within, we no longer need to hide in guilt. Instead, we're invited into God's presence.

There is certainly no need to be intimidated by doctrinal terms, for in these terms, we learn the truth of our salvation. Too often, people try to be right with God on their own terms, when all we need to do is look to what our Lord has already told us.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the Spirit's work in my life and in the life of your church to make us all new in Christ. Amen.

Lesson 133 – When the Spirit Dwells in Your Temple

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are."

You've heard it said before. "What I do to my own body is no one else's business. If I want to hurt myself, no one gets hurt but myself."

Sure, on a physical level this might be true, you are only hurting your own body, but God's word is clear. Believers cannot claim that their bodies belong to themselves alone.

Paul's epistle to the church at Corinth tells us our bodies belong to God, with the Spirit dwelling within the body of every believer. Therefore, we are God's house, the place he calls home. When the Spirit reaches out and touches the one of faith, God moves in and takes up residence. And what a home it is, transforming us from what we were before Christ to a temple of holiness.

While even temple built to honor the Lord God Jehovah, the temple which is the body of Christ remains. After our deaths, we'll too be resurrected as Christ, continuing to be the spiritual body of our Lord. We're the permanent temple of God who dwells with us.

That puts a new perspective on how we should treat ourselves and each other. These bodies we call our own instead belong to the Spirit. Beware. What we bring before our eyes, or put into mouths, or where we go when we walk, all affect our relationship with Christ. Don't get caught joining the Spirit with sin through your body.

LORD JESUS

Lord, once again, I thank you for your abiding presence in my life and in your church. May I treat my body with reverence because of you, not worshipping it, but making it a fitting home for my Lord. Amen.

Lesson 132 – When the Spirit Is Gathered

Job 34:14-15

"If He should set His heart on it, if He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust."

Talk about a direct contradiction to today's theories concerning man. According to Biblical truth, we are not just part of the evolutionary chain, somehow ordained to continuously be improving through the means of natural selection over millions of years.

While Elihu had his theology of suffering wrong, and even heard about it from God, there is certainly nothing wrong with his theology concerning man. All of humanity exists and remains in existence only by the Spirit's touch. Through the Spirit's breath upon us, God gives and sustains life by his life.

One of the puzzles concerning the origin of man is trying to figure out where all this energy comes from which makes up life. Even the most fantastic of theories, to include the Big Bang, don't tell us where energy comes from. Even more importantly, where does life come from?

Molecular biologists can only explain in general how the energy is used by our cells for our well-being. Doctors make it their profession to manipulate the life that is already there to bring about bodily healing. Philosophers pontificate about the importance of life, but when all is said and done, no one can explain life's origin and sustainment.

That's because life can only be explained by the existence of God and His Spirit which gives life. Literally, God's breath becomes our breath. God's life is given for our life.

This truth concerning physical life reminds us the spiritual life which God yearns to give. While physical life is given by grace to all, spiritual life only comes to those who come to faith in Jesus Christ.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for the life giving breath you give to animals and humanity. Thank you for touching us in this way and then offering a new life in Christ. Amen.

Lesson 131 – When the Spirit Teaches

1 Corinthians 2:13-14

"These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned."

How can I be sure that my sermons are of God? How can I know that my ministry is pleasing in God's sight? How can I know if my words are according to truth. Every preacher wonders those things, and Paul gives us an answer. We can know we've met God's will for our sermons when the words we speak are according to the Spirit's touch.

A trustworthy servant of God speaks not according to his own opinions, or in accordance with feelings, or inward thoughts, but speaks as taught by the Spirit. Only the Spirit leads us rightly to know spiritual matters which we can then preach to our congregations.

It's a good thing God does this for us, for without the Spirit living within, the things of God are simply foolishness and we'd never choose to say them. They are either too childish to really be the path to heaven, or we find them too fantastic to be believable. Either way, without the Spirit's testimony, or teaching, we cannot receive the things of God, and neither can those who come under our preaching.

I'm sometimes asked how one knows if he has the faith needed for salvation. I think the answer is also given to us here. If you've been drawn to spiritual things by the Spirit and are willing to receive the truth of God's word, you've been give the teaching you need by the Spirit for salvation.

So whether a preacher who speaks the things of God, or a layman in the pew, seeking to please God through faith, we can both know the things of God through the Spirit's teaching.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for teaching my heart the things of your heart through the Spirit. May I faithfully receive and preach these things as you reveal them to me. Amen.

Lesson 130 – When the Spirit Reveals and Searches

1 Corinthians 2:9-12

"But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' But God has revealed them to us through his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God."

If you've been reading this blog for any period of time or are somewhat familiar with your Bible, it should be clear by now that God speaks to us through the Spirit. Without the Spirit, we'd have no real communication or fellowship with God.

Likewise, we'd know little of God's love for us without the Spirit. Paul tells the church at Corinth we can't even dream up the things God has prepared for his church. But the Spirit can, and with him, it isn't a matter of dreaming, but knowing.

You see, the Spirit searches the heart of God the Father, seeking out and discovering the deep things of God, things we could never know on our own. These things are then revealed to us according to God's determination as to what we need to know.

Of course, we can't understand, nor need to understand all the deep things of God, so surely we only learn a little. But that little is enough to burn the love of God into our hearts, so that by the Spirit's touch, we are drawn into an eternity with Christ.

As believers, we can know the deepest love of God for us, discovering truth as we experience the touch of the Spirit.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for revealing the love of the Father through the Spirit. May I open my heart to knowing this love as you speak to my spirit through yours each day. Amen.

Lesson 129 – When the Spirit Demonstrates

1 Corinthians 2:4-5

"And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

Paul writes about one of the primary goals of preachers who seek to honor their Lord…that our preaching not be about us, but instead be solely about what the Spirit's demonstration of God's power through us. Otherwise, the pressure on preachers to convince others to come to a faith in Christ would be an overwhelming task, and most certainly one at which we would all fail.

Quite frankly, I'm more than a little humbled to think about God speaking through me by the Holy Spirit. I'm certainly not worthy to be used as the Lord's voice, and I can assure you I never am as prepared as I should be when I stand to preach. Of course, that's why we have to be surrendered to the Spirit's touch. Otherwise, there would be no fruits in our ministries, or those fruits would be limited to our own abilities.

While not all believers are preachers, this concept of being used in a demonstration of the Spirit's power is one which applies to all Christians. Our God delights in taking the life of one surrendered to the Lord's work and using them in a means which can only be explained by a supernatural outpouring of the Spirit. As believers, we need to be constantly telling ourselves that our ministries are not our own, but belong to the Lord, inviting the Spirit to work through us.

Likewise, we need to learn to get out of the Spirit's way, even while being used of God. Of course, that isn't as easy to do as it is to write about. Our egotistical selves are always trying to rise to the forefront of our ministries. Sure, we like it when others praise our abilities and have to wrestle against thinking about how others are viewing us, even as we are speaking out for the Lord, even when under the leadership of the Spirit.

For Paul, he had to watch his words lest they got in way of the Spirit. That would be a good practice for all of us.

LORD JESUS

Lord, I thank you for choosing to work through my life. I invite you to remind my heart at all times to get out of your way so that your powers are demonstrated through my humility. Amen.