Camping for an upgrade -- Acts 2

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 Ac 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Chapter one of Acts leaves us with a huddled group of Jesus' closest friends and relatives, waiting obediently for something--or Someone that Jesus promised would not only replace His own presence, but would enable them to broadcast the news of how all men could return to their rightful place with God. Soon world changing power was coming in the form of a Person, the Holy Spirit.

Like people in the 60's camping at Canaveral to see history rocketing into space, or( in our day), shoppers camping for days to be the first to own the next new iphone, God's "early adopters", the apostles, were camped together for the arrival of this Person of the Trinity.

What did Jesus tell them about the Holy Spirit that kept them in a room for a week, waiting? 

  

Jesus had first told the Jews celebrating Feast of Tabernacles that He could offer them unquenchable, living water for thirst souls.(John 7:37-39)  Luke the Author notes Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit.  He had also made mention of this soul-fulling water to the woman at the well in John 4. 

But at the end of his life,  he begins to unveil the mysterious member of the Godhead that would soon take His place on earth. He taught about the Holy Spirit during one of the most intimate times He had with his disciples--the Passover dinner talk  recorded in John 14-16

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 He explains the coming transition in John 14:15-17, 25 &26

  "If you love Me, keep My commandments.

  "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--

  "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

  "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.

 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Later in the evening He describes the Holy Spirit some more:

 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

 "And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 

 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;

 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;

 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.  ( John 15:26,27; John 16:7-15)

Reading these statements over carefully, we can learn why the disciples were to eager to wait for this promise of the Holy Spirit.  

The word Helper has a deeper meaning in Greek  Parakletos:  an intercessor, consoler, advocate, comforter. It is like Jesus asking the Father to send a lawyer, prayer partner, therapist, guidance counselor, and a warm comforting blanket for each believer in one package.

Image: Marvel 

I kind of think of how Jeeves in  the Iron Man suit does everything for Tony Stark: power, flight, logistics, weapons, communication, and personal advice.  The Holy Spirit's mission is to take Jesus and wrap us inside His nature, running all the "app"s of His Spirit inside our renewed spirits. 

Watch how Jesus describes the Holy Spirit's mission:  He is our personal trainer and teacher. He reminds us of what God and others have said.  He is truth and guides to finding truth, He communicates what God the Father is saying to us.  He glorifys Christ, taking our focus off of our problems and putting it on the One who can solve them. He is the transfer conduit of Christ's nature, forming Him in us.  

Next time.  I want to talk about how the Holy Spirit is activated and deactivated, and why we are given this powerful gift.  In the meantime, if you do not have this gift of the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to ask God boldly for His Gift of the Holy Spirit.  He is anxious for you to open it! 

A week of waiting -Acts 1

I'm going to go through the book of Acts with my church this month, so join me if you wish.  I don't pretend to be an expert, but I do believe that the solution to our nation's problems (and the world) is a revival of the kind of Christianity that is found in this book.

The first thing I noticed in Chapter 1 is that Jesus was with his disciples for 40 days after His Resurrection, explaining the kingdom.  40 days!  I wonder what He said?

photo: fiveruk

The second thing I noticed is that the disciples were told to wait for the Promise of the Holy Spirit.
Some things about Him 1.  Jesus had to leave first (Jn 16:7)
                                       2. The Spirit would be a Comforter when Jesus left.(Jn 14:14:16)
                                       3.The Spirit would give them power--(Lk24:48)
                                       4.The Spirit would testify of Jesus ((Jn 15:26)
                                       5.The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (Jn 15:26)
                                       6. The Spirit would teach all things (Jn. 14:26)
                                       7. The Spirit would bring all things back to our remembrance (Jn 14:26)

So the Spirit that Jesus sent from the Father brought everything that Jesus was to them:
Comfort, the Power that did miracles and gave Jesus the stamina to endure the cross, A constant stream of Jesus' words, revelation of Truth, (Jesus said I am the Way, Truth and Life) Jesus the teacher, and a reminder of everything Jesus said or did.

The Spirit brings us Jesus--all He is and deposits Him inside our souls

So what did they do in the seven days?  What did they wonder?  They had asked if Jesus was setting up his earthly Kingdom and Jesus.  His answer was:  Never mind that, wait for my power and then get to work. They had seen Him leave-- which must have wrenched their heart enough to have angels come and tell them --Jesus is gone from earth--wait for the Spirit.

What did they do?  They prayed.  They prayed about what was to come.  They prayed to prepare another witness to do the job Jesus had told them to do.  They did not run out and start witnessing, they did not go their separate ways. It might have looked like it was all over, Jesus had left. But, they waited--and prayed.

I like to fix stuff, I like to make a list--put forth some effort, look up ideas on the Internet--fill up my time getting things done.  Waiting is frustrating.  But waiting plus prayer--that is what filled this week for the nucleus  of the church. Preparing for 300% growth.  Preparing for a life of power.

Waiting and prayer.  Power doesn't come without fellowship with the Lord.  His Spirit breathes on us when we pray.  Waiting seems like doing nothing, not trying.  It is foreign to our flesh.
Praying can seem vain.  But with prayer and waiting--we are prepared to see God work in new ways.

Questions to ask:
1. What am I waiting for?
2. What do I pray about?
3. Is there a gap between these things?
4. Do I have frustration because of something I am trying to make happen rather than wait and pray about it?
5. Is there any time in my life where I saw God use waiting and praying in my life?

Wait:  The word for "wait" in Acts 1:4 means "to stay around for".  For the disciples, it could seem like everything is over.  Their 3 year exciting ride with Jesus ended when He ascended.  Peter had already tried to take up fishing again before Jesus left!  It begs the question --why should we hang around?

Sometimes there are things in our lives where it feels like Jesus has left us.  We are just looking around but the old thrill is gone.  Or maybe it has gotten tough and making a quick exit seems like the best option.  Jesus said, "hang on, hang around--the best is coming." "Stay together, stay in prayer, don't give up."  God is about transforming us IN situations that seem empty.  God is also about transforming SITUATIONS if we wait and let him change us.   Get ready, pray and wait.

Zombie Christians Isaiah 1

So I am starting Isaiah--a book that mirrors the entire Bible in it's construction and it's duel messages: God will destroy evil, now is the time to seek His salvation.

In Chapter 1 I am confronted with Isaiah's audience.  Although they regularly offer sacrifices and keep the law's prescribed feasts and requirements, they have meddled with idolatry to such an extent that they are equal to the wicked Sodom and Gomorrah.  Sodom and Gomorrah's wickedness was so extreme (including homosexual rape) that God destroyed these towns in a sudden shower of fiery explosions.

Isaiah's comparison with Sodom and Gomorrah should have been shocking and humbling.  But the amazing thing is that these people are so content with living in a superficial faith practice and a fully pagan life, that they don't even recognize their hypocrisy.   They are the walking "spiritual dead"--just look at how Isaiah describes them.

 Isa 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.
 Isa 1:5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.
 Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment.

Here is a nation of people who think their offerings make them ok with God but they are rotting away with sinful lifestyles!  God says there is nothing that will stop their rebellion--like Zombies they keep going back more and more for the pleasures of idolatry that are destroying their souls. 

God promises He will deal with them in judgement, but He also pleads with them to "come and reason with Me".  Looking into the dead eyes of a church that finds Him "boring" and "irrelevant" in the light of entertainment and social issues, God is seeking for a glimmer of recognition that will transform a "zombie" into a living, repentant, faith-filled follower. 

His Master's Voice --How God Talks To You: Part 3

Sorry it has taken so long to continue this series--  As I mentioned before, this post is part of a recap of a sermon given to us at River of Life by Emily Vallar a few weeks ago.  She talked about how God talks to you.  I am back again with the third "voice" that speaks to us, the Voice of God, the Holy Spirit.

The voice of the Holy Spirit is many things--

He is the voice of Comfort:   Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.
  Joh 15:26 And when the Comforter has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of Me.

The word for "comforter" here means--"an intercessor, consoler:--advocate, comforter."
Notice the Holy Spirit is teaching us all things, and bringing what we know to mind while He brings peace and comfort.  He is "testifying" of Jesus--putting our focus back on the Lord and off ourselves.

The Voice of God, the Spirit can bring conviction and correction along with that same comfort:
 Joh 16:7 But I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send Him to you.
 Joh 16:8 And when that One comes, He will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment.
The word for "convict" means--to confute, admonish:--convict, convince, tell a fault, rebuke, reprove.
Just as a loving Father would train and correct His children for their own growth and safety, the Holy Spirit will point out things that we need to change.  No loving parent would let their child run wild without any discipline or training.

Here are some other quick aspects of the Voice of the Lord:

He can speak in stillness and quiet:  Ps 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

He instructs us, doing so in the context of a relationship:   Ps 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

He teaches us in His ways, that often don't make sense to our natural reasoning:   1Co 2:13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
 1Co 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The Holy Spirit reveals things to us that we could not know:    1Co 4:5 For this reason let there be no judging before the time, till the Lord comes, who will make clear the secret things of the dark, and the designs of the heart; and then will every man have his praise from God.

The voice of the Holy Spirit is usually gentle, quiet, bringing peace and order, not confusion and anxiety.  The Voice of the Holy Spirit reveals the true issues in our heart and the truth we need to change.  He brings comfort and rest, conviction and revelation.

I will share more next time on ways we hear the Voice of the Lord.  See you soon!

His Master's Voice-- How God Talks to You Part 2

I started this series yesterday on how God talks to you, based on a message I heard at Church from a Guest speaker, Emily Valler, who is preparing to be a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) medical missionary.  Her message really spoke to me so I am summarizing it here so you can be blessed as well. She shared three sources that speak to us and seven ways God speaks to us.  Yesterday I covered the way the Devil speaks to us.  Please go back and read that if you can, it will help you know when you are under attack.

Today I am writing about the second source she described as speaking to us--our own fleshly human soul.  She quoted  "Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"  The word for "deceitful" means "to rise up, crooked, deceitful, polluted"  The word for "wicked" is frail, feeble, melancholy, desperate, incurable, sick." The fact that the verse ends with "who can know it?" tells that our capacity to understand truth with our own reasoning is flawed.   How did that happen?










The human mind became corrupted by sin--we can not trust our human logic.  Emily shared the story in Genesis 3:1-6 of how Eve was tempted by the devil, true, but he appealed to what her natural senses told her and obscured the command of God with the instincts of her own flesh.    Here's the story below.

 Ge 3:1 ¶ Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
 Ge 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
 Ge 3:3 "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
 Ge 3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.
 Ge 3:5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
 Ge 3:6 ¶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Notice that the Devil appealed to her own power of reasoning--she could decide for herself better than God.  He appealed to her desire for power, independence, wisdom and pleasure.  This is the nature of our flesh--it craves autonomy from God and prefers reasoning over God's truth.

This fleshly voice seeks comfort and pleasure--such as when people use drugs or food for comfort rather than the comfort of the Lord.
This fleshly voice would rather figure out a plan and then pray for blessing instead of seeking God for what He wants.
This fleshly voice says, "we cannot possibly pay tithes til we can afford it" even though God has promised blessing if we obey.
This fleshly voice says " I can not forgive--what they have done is so evil, even if in light of Christ's sacrifice and forgiveness, God promises freedom and healing.

Gal. 5 sums up the nature of the flesh and the motivations that will continually speak to us from our own soul:.
 Ga 5:17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
 Ga 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
 Ga 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
 Ga 5:21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
This is a picture of our flesh in a nutshell--how do we avoid listening to the voice of our own flesh that seeks its own power, pleasure and comfort?

  Ga 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.--We who have been born again have the real power and nature of Christ in us.  He is also speaking to us and we choose to hear his voice above all the others we are bombarded with. More on this tomorrow.     

His Master's Voice---How God Talks to You--Part 1

I usually put in this blog things that I discover on my own in the Word.  But Saturday I heard a message that I thought was so helpful, I thought I would summarize it here.  It's something that I really need right now since my sister, Chris, passed away.  Death, especially sudden death, throws you into a storm of emotions and thoughts.  This message really gave me the tools I need to sort out my thoughts and find out which ones to focus on.

The guest speaker at our church was Emily Valler--an ER trauma nurse who is leaving everything to become a YWAM missionary.  Her topic was:  How God Talks to You. She identified three sources that speak to our soul, and then seven ways that God speaks to us.

The first source she identified was the way the Devil speaks to you.  She said the voice of the Enemy will bring Obsession (a thought you can't get away from), Condemnation(feeling like there is no way out, hopeless) Discouragement (lack of courage and strength) Guilt (guilt should go once it is confessed and repented of--the Enemy's guilt will not relent) Shame (a feeling of being unloveable or unworthy).  The voice of the Enemy will be pushy--urgent and demanding.  It will make you feel as if there is no room for error or mercy for mistakes.   The voice of the Enemy will question and contradict scripture.  He will twist what people say, and isolate you.

I hadn't started writing down her scripture references at that point in the message but I did find one on my own:   1Pe 5:8 ¶ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
 1Pe 5:9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
His primary attack is to speak into people's minds and get them away from the love of God.

Emily stated that we need to be aware that we have an Enemy, acknowledge that he has demonic forces who seek to destroy us.  If we know we have an enemy, we can learn to recognizet his warfare against us and learn to reject it.

This message is so good, and so helpful because I don't aways consider WHY I feel down or discouraged or examine my thought process to see if in fact I am thinking true things.

I am going to share the rest of the message in installments because it is so good!  

Safety in Joy

 Php 3:1 ¶ Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

Chris died a week ago.  The picture of my mind, of seeing her on the ground, touching a hand that was so smooth and cool, brushing her hair--her face, peaceful, surrounded by leaves in her front yard.  I said good-bye--I wanted to freeze that moment.  I wanted to tell her more.  I wanted to tell her how much I admired and even envied her.  I wanted to rewind things and stop by for more beers, stay longer at family gatherings, I wanted to look her in the eyes so many more times. In my mind,  I am still standing there, next to her peaceful body, wondering what she would do.

I can try to fill some of her steps, but not her shoes.  I see part of her shining light coming out in new people in new ways.  Other's stepping up. Finding undiscovered strength that she had poured into them.

Joy is not lack of pain.  Joy is not lack of lack of sorrow.  Joy is knowing that pain and sorrow is not the ultimate victor.  Joy is not a feeling--it is raw strength to get through.  When your joy is a side effect of knowing Christ--it is pressing against the pain, whispering that He who is greater can conquer the grief.  He can transform it, but he does it secretly, in the background.

The safety in Joy is that it comes from outside you, comes inside you through a close relationship with Christ.  It has a life of it's own, warring against the infections of dispair and depression and hopelessness.  It is a part of God working inside you, working against the grief that threatens to engulf you.

I choose to rejoice in the Lord.  I choose to be grateful for Chris in almost 48 years of my life.  I choose to take up her example of blessing, her example of using her talents without fear or doubt in order to make things better for others.  I choose to Bless the Lord because dispite what I feel and see, He is good and will set in place all I need to overcome, and to see her one day.

I love you, Chrissy-poo. See you soon.