Although it carries with it a lot of responsibility, it feels great to be in control. Go ahead, admit it, you like to control things in your life. So much of our life is following someone else's direction so when we have things we are the boss of it feels good. It feels so good that we forget that we are always suppose to take direction from the Holy Spirit in all matters of our life. Many times we show that we like being the "master of our own destiny", failing to even check with our Father on his will for us. Yet, when things go terribly wrong because we have made wrong choices we turn to him hoping he will bail us out.
Somehow we need to make some changes in our thinking and perspective in life or we are going to remain ineffective Kingdom workers. The reality of it is we do not get to tell our Father what part we are willing to play or what jobs we are willing to do, which is great as far as I am concerned. I have been in the boss's position for the great majority of my working life and it comes with a lot of responsibility. I find it to be of great relief when I seek the Father's will and direction because my responsibility becomes a simple matter of obedience. When I am involved in the Father's work I am aware that the choices and responsibility belong to him, and he always provides direction. There are so many times that I begin to pray over people and the Spirit takes over, filling my mouth with Words and my mind with images to bless and encourage the people by speaking into a place I knew nothing about. He has done this and similar things with me whenever I remain sensitive and obedient to him
I think that we sometimes forget that we represent Jesus in this place and we have been promised that the Spirit will equip us with what we need. One of the greatest things he provides is the words to speak. These are not our words, or carefully crafted speeches or prayers, but words that fill our mouths from the Spirit. Jesus had warned and promised his disciples:
Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. (Matthew 10:17-20)
I don't think we trust Jesus, especially in this matter. I don't think we believe him. I think we think that this does not pertain to us. I praise God that Peter did not think like this when he stood and addressed the crowd after receiving the Spirit. A simple fisherman who stood before thousands of people but who spoke through the anointing of the Spirit, and conviction fell on thousands that day.
We have turned the Church into a house of strategy instead of a Holy Spirit anointed powerhouse. We make all of our plans of how to plant churches, using techniques proven in the business world, and so we build our small business based on religious needs and we sell our product. We sell our product. We become nothing more than a salesman instead of the Holy Spirit filled, powerhouse of God's anointed words that bring convict to the hearts of men. We are too busy filling our mouths with our own words, relying on our own wisdom. We forget Paul's words to the Corinthians:
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 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 men's wisdom, but on God's power. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)
Do you see why Paul chose to rely on the Spirit? "So that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." We need to stop controlling the Kingdom and leave Jesus to be the boss. We need to stop rehearsing our words and practicing our actions. We need to start trusting what Jesus promised and just step out there in faith, trusting he will give us the words to speak; words filled with his anointing and not our wisdom. It may not be the most eloquent thing you have ever said, but it will be the most powerful, and it will provoke change. Are you brave enough to give it a go? More importantly, do you love him enough to let go; to let go of the control and let Jesus be the boss who you trust with your life and all other things that are important to you? Let's start doing things right again. Let's leave Jesus to be the boss.
2 comments:
Paul, I really enjoy your blog posts. I find that the Holy Spirit often leads in such creative and radical ways, and so unlike what we would do if we were in charge. I think this is evident in Scripture. Following God is literally like belonging to an alternate reality, living in a world that doesn't fit us, where we will always feel like aliens. Because we are.
Sometimes, the only time I really feel like I belong here is when I am in the midst of nature, God's creation. Personally, I think that is why people so often go to nature for vacations and to relax. Even unbelievers find peace and life in the midst of God's unadulterated creation.
Allowing the Holy Spirit to be Himself thru us in this world is difficult at times, and too often not understood or even encouraged by those around us (sometimes even other Christians).
That is why I appreciate your posts. You continually call your readers to a place of deeper faith and trust in God, to more radical surrender, to joy. Thanks so much for taking the time each day to share God's word with us!
Kelly Robichaud
Enjoyed this post. thanks for sharing.
Post a Comment