Wednesday: The Guidance of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God’s powerful Agent who pours out the love of God into our hearts (Romans 5:5), leads us into a true saving experience (John 16:7-11), guides us into all the truth (John 16:13), and empowers us to fulfill the gospel mission (Acts 1:8). Because it is the Holy Spirit who counteracts the degenerating work of Satan, it is no surprise that Satan tries by all means to distort our understanding of the nature and work of the Holy Spirit. While some deny His personality, others emphasize the gifts of the Spirit over His transforming power.
Read Acts 8:4-24. Simon the sorcerer of Samaria wanted to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit without being regenerated by the Spirit. How is this very same attitude still being manifested in our day?
Copyright Kevin Carden @ GoodSalt.com
The children of God are those who are being guided by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14) into all the truth of God’s word (John 16:13, John 17:17). Jesus warned in clear terms, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23, NIV). This means that the Holy Spirit never guides anyone away from God’s Word — which He Himself inspired — but rather always leads us into conformity to that Word.
The same Holy Spirit that guides us into all the truth also empowers us in leading others into that wonderful truth (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8). While fulfilling our sacred mission, we have His special assistance. So, morning by morning, we must kneel before the Lord and renew our vows of consecration to Him. If we do this, He will grant us the presence of His Spirit, with His reviving, sanctifying power.
We must, however, be open to His leading by making conscious choices, every day, to do what we know is right and avoid what we know is wrong. That is, only by seeking, in our God-given strength, to live as we should, will we be open to receiving that power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, which God promises us.
| Why is it so important, morning after morning, to pray ourselves into an openness to the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives? |
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There is a lot of rhetoric about the Holy Spirit that is just plain wrong. Listening to some Christians, it would seem that they think of the Holy Spirit as though it was some sort of magic wand that you wave when you want something done.
I like to think of the Holy Spirit like the lane detection system on my car that I mentioned in yesterday's comment. It gives me a gentle reminder that I need to stay in the lane. It does not coerce me. When we were driving back from Queensland after our last trip up there to sort out my father-in-law's estate we were pretty tired, both physically and emotionally. We usually take turns driving, so after I had driven through Brisbane and the Gold Coast I handed the steering wheel over to Carmel. She drove for about 15 minutes and then she got a nudge from the car to tell her she was going out of the lane. She quickly realised that she was having difficulty maintaining concentration. She had not gone to sleep, but she was in a state that meant it was unsafe for her to drive.
In many respects, the Holy Spirit is a gentle force, like the car's lane detection system. It alerts you but does not coerce you. You are the one that has to make the "freedom of choice" decision. And as with the car's safety system, you ignore its warnings at your peril.
There are two passages of scripture worth reading in the context of this discussion. the first is 1 Cor 12, which talks about the "manifestation of the Spirit". The overriding theme is the diversity of skills and abilities and their cooperation. It is no accident that the following chapter is devoted to the true meaning of selfless love.
Then in Gal 5: 22,23 we have:
Again there is this sense that with the gentle influence of the Holy Spirit we work together in love and understanding towards one another.
One of the articles which I have kept note of would answer today‘s lesson‘s question and partly that of yesterday. I quote (author unknown):
I find it encouraging to focus on the last sentence.
Looking for wisdom is something for those who realize happiness is not in material things. Possessions don't fulfill the soul. To be truly wise it is necessary to disconnect from the visible world, because true wisdom comes from the unseen, from a spiritual perspective. If intellectuality were the way to go, humanity wouldn't be in this constant fall. The key is in the Spirit! That's the answer we should really strive for!
Let's continue to ask for the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to be given us for discernment and wisdom TODAY!
Hi, JC. I can certainly appreciate your emphasis on our reception of the Holy Spirit as the primary source of wisdom. That said, I've had to stop and think about your statement that "intellectuality" is not "the way to go." If by this you mean that we cannot rely on a well-developed intellect to ever guide us aright, I can agree wholeheartedly. It often seems that some of the best educated and smartest theologians are astoundingly capable of getting things very wrong!
However, if I were to take your statement literally, it would seem to suggest that there is no value in the development of our minds. Personally, I am more inclined to agree with the words of Seventh-day Adventist pioneer Ellen White.
Perhaps it is best for us to become as brilliant as possible, by God's grace, and then rely fully on Him for our understanding. What do you think?
Thanks R.G. I meant that intellectuality alone, without the guidance of God's Holy Spirit is not enough to "save the world"... humankind has achieved such a high technology but is incapable to stop the planet's nature downfall.
Hello, J.C. – I agree with you that asking for the Spirit to reveal to us the things that are spiritual is essential in a Christian’s walk by faith. How else would we become aware of the finer nuances between acting selflessly and selfishly. Wisdom is not knowledge, it is understanding rightly.
We know that 'wisdom' in and of itself will not be able to make the difference between acting wisely and foolishly, unless it is accompanied by a humble and willing heart which desires to live according to the revealed understanding of the Will of our Maker. Wisdom by itself is neither good or bad; how it is applied is what makes it acceptable or unacceptable. Solomon is a good example to this point – very wise, but often acting foolishly at the same time.
Thank you, Brigitte. I'm sure that when Solomon acted foolishly he was not acting according to the Spirit, even though he was super wise. Again, human wisdom does not mean much comparing to God's.
"I never knew you" is nullified by letting the Holy Spirit guide us into the joy of the Lord. We will thus hear those beautiful words, "enter into the joy of your Lord." And "come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of the world."
Matthew 25:21,23,34.
Being open to the Holy Spirit, is letting Him guide us into truth, doing what is right, and following Christ every day.
Amina, what a great analogy. Thank you for sharing. I'm very grateful for everyone who gives input on our weekly lesson, it helps us to understand and gain perspective.
The Berean Standard Bible:
(ESV)Paul states:
Upon believing we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. This implies that our ears and eyes have been opened, now being able to receive and perceive the wisdom inherent in the Truth of the Word of God. To those who cannot ‘hear or see’, God’s wisdom/understanding which was/is revealed to our heart and mind is considered foolishness.
From when we first believed, seeking the Spirit to guide us on our walk by faith through the perils of this life, we look to share our 'having been found'. From then on, wisdom and understanding are coupled with compassion to benefit those still walking in darkness, undergirding all that we deem important to engage in.
Our body with all its faculties has now become the temple of the Spirit to reveal the Glory of God in all we do. Humbly keeping our heart and mind, eyes and ears tuned to understanding and doing the Will of God instead of ours, is all those who love God with all their heart can do.
I found today's lesson somewhat judgmental. While I'm sure it is true that some people want the Spirit's gifts without the change of the Spirit and I might even be able to predict who those people are, I really can't without being judgmental. I have known some very spiritual people in other churches and many preachers in other denominations are doing good work. Yes, it's true that at the end, Jesus will tell some supposed followers, "I never knew you", we generally can't tell who those people are.
We may have "the truth" but I hate the way we're smug about it. Sadly, I don't think Adventists as a whole are any more filled with the fruit of the Spirit than any other church. We might not look like Simon the sorcerer, but we may not be so different.
I'm kind of troubled by the final paragraphs that suggest that we must consecrate our vows each morning or we won't be given the Holy Spirit. Does that mean that if I have a bad day and rush off without praying or don't pray the right prayer in the morning, that the Holy Spirit won't guide me? Don't get me wrong, I feel we should dedicate our day to God, but I hate the thinking that God abandons us the moment our walk with Him is less than ideal. That is quite depressing, because I know I have some bad days.
Christina, I don't believe the Holy Spirit "abandons us" if we don't ask Him to guide us every single morning. But I do think our hearing of His voice is much duller when we do not make that conscious commitment each morning. Our hearing also becomes duller when we do not regularly spend time allowing Him to speak to us through the Bible.
I don't believe the Holy Spirit *ever* abandons anyone. When people do not listen to Him, their hearts become so hardened that they no longer hear Him. At that point, they have committed the "unpardonable sin."
While the one paragraph may not be totally clear on this, the author begins the next paragraph by saying, "We must, however, be open to His leading by making conscious choices." We need to be "open," or we don't hear. To be "open," also means to make conscious choices.
Lastly, I understand that it is not the individual good deeds or bad deeds that determine our destiny, but the direction in which we are headed. The minister in the pulpit may be harboring pride that is slowly separating him from God, while the drunk on the sidewalk may get up and humbly give His life to the Lord. Thus the minister may be heading for destruction while the "drunk" is on his way to heaven.
The idea that "Only by seeking to live in our God-given strength to live as we should will we be open to receiving that power of the Holy Spirit in our lives...." This seems contrary to me to what Jesus said in Luke 11:13 that God is more willing to give us The Holy Spirit than Parents are to give good gifts to their children and that all we have to do is just "ask" The Father for this. This is like saying that God expects us to be righteous before He will place His "Robe of Righteousness" on us. It sounds like "righteousness by works" before God will then grant us The Holy Spirit to then further help us to live for Him and for others.