In the Spirit...Boiling Over

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

Last Sunday, we talked about the original language in this verse characterizing "zeal" and "boiling over in the Spirit." That is a pretty powerful image, isn't it? Today we continued to look at that.

Boiling water produces steam. Steam produces energy that, in turn, moves machinery and accomplishes what might otherwise be impossible.

The Holy Spirit in us is that same kind of energy. It is a force that puts weight to our words, power in our actions, and effectiveness in our prayers.

When I consider that, I think of the power of a single candle in a darkened room. A tiny candle has the power to overtake that darkness. We have the power to be a sea of candles in the dark world, shedding light on darkness.

We cannot put our hope in politicians, laws, economic policies, human goodness, or education. None of these can change the basic problem of the world--darkness.

Jesus told us that we are the light, you and I, and together with the "boiling over of the Spirit" within us, we can make a difference!

To do that we must stay plugged in to the Source. We must remember that without Him we can do nothing, but with Him we can do EVERYTHING that He asks of us!

Thoughts? Share with me by posting a comment!

Be Faithful

I Thessalonians 5:19-22 "Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil."

We continue our discussion of Paul's instructions to a church that was anticipating the return of Christ. I find it fascinating that the church at Thessalonica may have been experiencing the same issues that we grapple with today.

On Sunday, for comparison, I noted that Paul had been concerned about the worship that was occurring in Corinth. This is evidenced in I Corinthians 11:17 where he told them "In the following directives [those where he talked about the Lord's supper and the spiritual gifts, among other things] I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good."

Wow! Some pretty strong words. The church at Corinth was into the "free flow of the gifts of the Spirit" to the point where it had become unedifying and disorderly. He was telling them to do things in an orderly manner and rein it in a bit. Their meetings were not edifying the members and were downright disrespectful of some. They were out of control in "doing whatever they felt like doing."

Yet in I Thessalonians 5:19 Paul instructs the church, "Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt." So which is it? He appears to be telling one group to rein it in, and another one to allow the Spirit to flow.

Perhaps it is best understood in light of his next words of instruction. Verse 20 says, "Test everything." Maybe the problem in Corinth was that the things that were happening in their meetings had not been "tested" to see if they were truly born of the Spirit. When we read the first letter to the Corinthians, it is pretty apparent that the church meetings were out of control. I have to believe that things that are truly of the Spirit of God will be orderly and not chaos-ridden.

So if we examine his exhortation to "not put out the Spirit's fire" and to "test everything," we must conclude that he is not suggesting that they have a "free-for-all" worship style where everyone is doing his thing and promoting himself. He is saying to let the Spirit flow, but make sure that it is of the Spirit and not of the flesh.

We tend to put out the Spirit's fire when we decide for ourselves what is okay and not okay, with no biblical basis. Often it is decided based on our traditions or our comfort zone. What Paul is encouraging is for us to allow the Spirit to do what the Spirit will, making sure that whatever is occurring lines up with the scripture.

A pastor whom I greatly admire once said, "God is God and He can do what He wants." I absolutely agree with that, but with a caution that let's make sure it is born of God; that is, test everything.

Paul's next instruction is so practical, it is almost one of those "no-brainers," yet we human beings somehow manage to mess up even the most basic things, so Paul takes the opportunity once again to remind the church. Verse 21a and 22 say, "Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil."

Like I said, a no-brainer, right? But seriously, when we examine our lives, are we holding on to the good? How many times each week do we make a choice not to hold on to the good, but instead to follow the lies of satan and compromise that which we say we believe? We must be settled and firm in our faith, and then adhere to it when going through our day. When we give in to temptation, we have (even if momentarily) let go of that which is good.

If we are holding on to the good, it is the best way that I know of to avoid every kind of evil. The two go hand in hand, don't they?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! Please feel free to post a comment!

The Holy Spirit Overcomes

Sunday we talked about overcoming through the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostle John writes that "every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the anti-Christ, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and, therefore, speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them." (I John 4:3-5)

We, my friends, are overcomers through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. We must not fear the spirit of the anti-Christ, but we must instead resist it. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) How do we resist the enemy who is the spirit of the anti-Christ?

First, we must understand that we cannot do it in our own human strength. The apostle Paul writes about Christ's overcoming, decisive victory: "and having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:15) Remember, it is important for us to acknowledge our dependence upon the Holy Spirit for the power to overcome, walking through each day relying upon Him for strength and wisdom and discernment.

Second, we must know the truth. How? We must know the word of God. This does not mean, of course, that we must have the entire Bible memorized. But we need to study the word and absorb the word and apply the word each day, so that we find God's word central to all we say and do. It is essential for the word of God needs to be our compass and the truth of God's word the light that guides our path. "Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105)


Finally, we must be aware of all the voices out there that are the spirit of the anti-Christ. We must never forget, friends, that the spirit of the anti-Christ often speaks to us in sweet, gentle tones that we find soothing and attractive. The spirit of the anti-Christ usually will weave in just enough truth in what is being said, that unless you are careful to know the word of God and to listen to the Holy Spirit within you, it is possible to be deceived. So while you must not fear, you must be vigilant and hold fast to the truth.

"Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life." (Proverbs 4:13)

"Be always on your guard and stand firm in the faith." (I Corinthians 16:13)

"Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position." (II Peter 3:17)

"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away." (Hebrews 2:1)

Questions to ponder:

1) Do you test the spirits by holding what you hear up to the word of God to determine whether it is of Christ or of the anti-Christ?

2) Do you listen carefully to see if what you are hearing is all true or if it has a bit of truth? Do you ask yourself if things line up with the word of God?

3) Do you feed on God's word, so that when the lie comes along you will recognize it?

4) Have philosophies and thinking of this world seeped into your worldview? If so, how has that happened and what will you do to correct it?

Talk to me! I love to read what you are thinking and see how the Sunday teaching challenges you.

The Holy Spirit: Teacher

When our kids were growing up, we spent a fair amount of time teaching them something (tying shoes, catching a ball, the alphabet, setting the table, etc.). Usually that went pretty well. They were all smart kids, and were eager to try and learn new things. There were times, however, when they would either not listen or would think they already knew something or had a better idea of how it should be done. For us, the "teachers" it was sometimes frustrating and sometimes comical.

After trying and trying to do some new skill their own way, they were more than willing to settle down and listen to instruction from parents who knew very well how to do that skill. I often thought how much time they could have saved all of us if they would have been willing to just listen and learn.

On Sunday we talked about the Holy Spirit being given to us as our Teacher. We talked about how He instructs us and in so doing helps us avoid significant problems in our lives.

There are two parts (at least) to this equation. The Holy Spirit teaches us. That is His part and He is faithful to do His part. He is the Spirit of Truth (John 15:26) and what He teaches us is important in our journey of learning to resist temptation to sin and and become what He desires for us to be. We can rely on Him, because He guides us into all truth (John 16:13).

The Holy Spirit's part is teaching. Our part is learning what He teaches. How do we learn? Well one of the obvious answers to that question is that we need to listen, and then we must obey. The Holy Spirit is in us if we are in Christ, and so He is along with us on our spiritual journey. If we listen, we will hear Him teaching us what is the right way to be, think, act, rest, stand, pray, and on and on.

The question is, are we listening? Just as my kids sometimes didn't listen and only let me teach them after finding that doing it their way didn't work so well, sometimes I think we do that with the Holy Spirit. When we find ourselves messing up it may be that the Holy Spirit is talking and we just aren't listening. We need to, like the psalmist, have a burning desire to learn truth.

Psalm 86:11 "Teach me your way, oh Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name."

Do you want to know how to walk with God and please Him? The Holy Spirit is your teacher. Listen, and learn!

The Holy Spirit: Intercessor

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Romans 8:22-27

I remember when our daughter, Tricia, was three years old and she got a really bad case of the flu. She had a high fever that stayed at about 103 degrees for several days. She coughed and had a runny nose and her little body ached from head to toe. Beverly spent hours every day trying to bring her fever down and comfort her--offering her juice, giving out doses of Tylenol, spooning chicken soup into her mouth, and giving her cool baths. Nothing seemed to help.

Probably the hardest part of it was her sitting on our couch and crying and saying over and over, “I’m having a hard time. I’m having a hard time.” She knew she was miserable, but she didn’t know what she needed. She only knew she needed something and was wanting someone to figure out what she needed to feel better. Unfortunately, in this case, the flu just had to run its course.

When I think of the Holy Spirit being our Intercessor, I think of why we need an Intercessor. The Bible talks about all of creation groaning (Romans 8:22) and how we don’t know what to pray for. (Romans 8:26) I don’t know about you, but I can relate to that.

There have been so many times in my life that I have been in a situation that had so many facets that I literally felt confused and overwhelmed. I could hardly hold onto a thought long enough to finish that thought, and I felt like all my options had merit, but also some serious complications. I had no clue what was the best way to go to solve the problem. I didn’t know how to pray or what to ask for, and honestly there were times when I had little strength to pray except to send up a flash prayer, saying “HELP!”

While there were times when I didn’t know what to pray, there have also been times that I thought I knew EXACTLY what needed to happen in a given situation. So I would pray asking God to do what I thought He should do. Thankfully, I look back on those situations where he didn’t give me what I was asking for and realize that God in His wisdom chose to not answer those prayers in the way I wanted.

The term “Intercessor” means “pleading on behalf of another,” but it also has the aspect of “intervening.” (Romans 8:27) When I think about not knowing what to pray for or even misguidedly praying in a wrong way, it is encouraging to know that God in His wisdom has provided an Intercessor who will not only plead on my behalf but also will intervene for me. I can imagine Him literally stepping in and telling God what I really need and maybe rescuing me from myself! That is grace, isn’t it?

So talk to me. In what areas of your life are you struggling? As you walk through the tough times in your life, do you ever feel confused and not know what to pray? What are your thoughts about the Holy Spirit interceding for you—pleading on your behalf? Do you find that comforting and encouraging? Is it helpful to know that you have the Holy Spirit to intervene as well? Does this passage also raise your awareness of the need to pray according to God’s will? Does it give you new thoughts about God’s love for us and his compassion for our groanings?

Post a comment! I’d love to hear your thoughts!