The Gift of the Spirit
Pastor Dan spoke on the work of the Holy Spirit this past Sunday. He shared about a time that he accompanied his wife, Julie, to a doctor’s visit. It was an important visit and, as Julie’s husband of many years, he and Julie shared mutual concerns and interests that they wanted to address together with Julie’s doctor.
As the visit commenced, not once did the doctor acknowledge Dan’s presence. Dan would ask his important questions and the doctor provided no answer, failing to even acknowledge that a question had been presented. The doctor only and exclusively spoke to and with Julie. The entire experience left Dan and Julie feeling unsettled, dismissed, and disrespected. Dan continued in his sermon to draw a correlation between his experience of being ignored to a Christian’s lack of interaction with God’s Holy Spirit. Striking were his comments that we often acknowledge the Father and the Son; praying to the Father in Jesus’ name. And yet, we seldom ever or never speak of or to the third person of the Trinity, the One Whom dwells within us, the Holy Spirit.
Consider the following except from “The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
The gift of baptism is the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit is Christ himself dwelling in the hearts of the faithful (II Cor. 3.17; Rom. 8.9-11, 14; Eph. 3.16). The baptized are the house where the . Holy Spirit has made his dwelling. The Spirit is the pledge of the abiding presence of Jesus, and of our fellowship with him. He imparts true knowledge of his being (I Cor. 2.10) and of his will. He teaches us and reminds us of all that Christ said on earth (John 14.26). He guides us into all truth (John 16.13), so that we are not without knowledge of Christ and of the gifts which God has given us in him (I Cor. 2.12; Eph. 1.9). The gift which the Holy Spirit creates in us is not uncertainty, but assurance and discernment. Thus we are enabled o walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5.16, 18, 25, Rom. 8.2, 4), and to walk in assurance.
What a gift the Holy Spirit is to us! How essential He is to our sanctification and transformation! To ignore Him would be a tragedy for the believer and disciple of Christ. Recently, while reading 1 Samuel 16: 1-13, I began to ponder my Christian ministry and goal setting. Reading this passage in the light of Dan’s admonishment illuminated so much about the passage and how God works in and through us as we respond to His call on our lives. There are times that my attempts to discern and adhere to God’s instruction while working to accomplish the work that He has given me to do feels a lot like Samuel’s experience.
Long story short; Samuel is admonished by God for mourning the failure of King Saul, he receives an assignment from God, goes to Bethlehem as instructed, gets excited about the first son that he sees while forgetting that God would identify His new king, and then proceeds to go through each remaining son, one by one, until at last he asks the question, “Is there anyone else?” Ah...there is. And finally...“mission accomplished”. It is interesting to me that God chose not to shorten Samuel’s selected process to accomplish the goal. God could have said,”Go to Bethlehem. You will find David shepherding sheep in “so-and-so” pasture. Anoint him as King.” God provided the “A” and the “Z” of His plan. But God did not provide Samuel with the “B” through “Y”. Why did He not do that? It certainly would have been more practical and efficient, right? Instead, Samuel goes to Bethlehem, invites Jesse and his sons to a religious service, gets hyped by the first son he sees, learns that he’s erred and that he’s wrong in his selection while receiving a lesson from the LORD regarding the human tendencies to allow human characteristics to cloud Kingdom-vision.
Samuel then proceeds to evaluate all remaining sons as they are presented one by one and rejected one by one. Trusting the LORD’s assignment is achievable, Samuel inquires if there are any other sons remaining. And he finally arrives at the correct son, David, who had to be fetched from some distance away from the occasion and gathering. I don’t know the answer to the question, “Why did God allow such a simple work to unfold in a seemingly inefficient and painstaking way?”. I am positive that there is an answer for the LORD was present throughout the experience and He spoke to Samuel at specific points along the way. Maybe Jesse needed to see all of his sons reviewed and rejected prior to his youngest, David, being selected. Maybe Samuel needed his own heart checked since he was recently admonished for mourning God’s rejection of Saul and admonished again for nearly anointing the wrong son as the new King . Maybe the leaders attending the gathering needed to learn something through their presence at this important event.
Maybe all of these things and more are the reason. Again, I don’t know. What I do know is this: Samuel did not stop until the work was completed. He knew what he was there to do. He did not know how long it would take. He did not know how the work would take shape. He DID know what the end result was supposed to be. And he spoke to and listened to the LORD. He received instruction. He asked questions. He gave instruction. Whatever it took to accomplish the goal, he did it while remaining in conversation with the Spirt of God through the process of seeking, knocking, and asking.
So what mission are you on for God? Are you enduring and trusting the process while keeping your eye on the goal and your ears attuned to the Spirit of God? Are you strategizing as you encounter circumstances that appear to thwart the goal? Are you seeking to receiving what the LORD has in store for you through the challenges? The delays? Will you remain committed though you may not immediately see the finish line? Will you endure and trust experiences that may not appear to be achieving anything tangible?
I remind myself each week that, while I am participating in the work of God, I am being instructed, tested, and developed in seen and unseen ways while having the privilege of advancing His faithful work on earth, in others, and in me. He has equipped us in every good and necessary way to see it through. Let us ensure that we acknowledge the Holy Spirit, that we answer His questions, obey His voice, and work with Him in blessed cooperation and surrender.
~ Jason Lanier serves as the Worship & Arts Pastor at LIFE Fellowship and is a co-founder of A Cause For Tea.