1 Corinthians 2.4-5 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,
but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might
not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. – St. Paul
I think we have two options when it comes to the Holy
Spirit: accept Him, or deny Him. I think the Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood
and underutilized Person of the Trinity. I think the Holy Spirit confuses people
as much today as back then. He is not
the Author of confusion, but we are confused about Him. We’re confused in our perception of Him as predictable, or willy-nilly. He, in fact,
holds us together.
Yesterday, I sat with my friend Benny and we talked about
ministry and why it is that faith and power seem to be so lacking in our day.
Benny works with “at-risk” youth and tries to connect them to Jesus by building
relationships with them, and giving them practical skills to use in everyday
life. He holds camps to help kids disconnect with their ‘norm’ so that he can
teach them and show them about Jesus. What Benny desires is a demonstration of
the Spirit’s power not only to renew, but also to transform.
We talked about why it is that so many kids seem to start out well but end up so poorly. They seem to want something different in their lives, yet they keep returning to what it is they know: living life by reaction. They aren’t being led by God, but by the willy-nilly whims of their own mind.
Benny talked about leading them to see the Northern Star of life: Jesus Christ. The
North Star is out there, and it is the star by which we earthlings determine
the location of everything else. Jesus desires to be ‘in here,’ (point at your chest) on the throne of our heart, to lead
us to where He calls us to be. The inner beacon, the inner compass, is the Holy
Spirit. He is the divine GPS in our lives.
It is by the Holy Spirit that we see evidence of God’s
power and presence, because in us, He is God’s power and presence. The Spirit
is neither predictable nor willy-nilly; He is
the Presence of God in our daily lives and practice. We don’t seek Him above
God: He is God; In Him we live, move
and have our being.
Paul said he demonstrated the Spirit’s power. He did this
for two reasons: 1) to demonstrate
the presence of the Holy Spirit, and
2) to differentiate between that of
God, and that of man. Man, in all his glory is fatally weak. He may sound good
and look good, but he is broken and untrustworthy. God is his only hope. The
presence of the Holy Spirit is his only credibility. To proclaim change without the presence of the Holy Spirit is all man
has: his proclamation. Without the Holy Spirit, he has no proof.
His words may sound good, his actions may look good, but
without proof he is just one more huckster in the arena of life trying to
control and persuade men. The presence of God’s Spirit doesn’t make me God; I
am made genuine if I cooperate with His power and presence within me. Said the
Apostle Paul: My message and my preaching
were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the
Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on
God’s power. We either trust men, or we trust God.
Father, fill me
afresh today with Your Spirit in all I do. May my life be a demonstration of
the Spirit’s power within me. Amen
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