Are You Filled?

We know and we believe and we profess in our faith the Blessed Trinity – God in three Persons. Yet, in our conversations about God we tend to emphasize the first two Persons of the Trinity more than the third. We frequently begin our prayers with the words “Our Father,” and end them with “In Jesus’ name.” How often do you hear a prayer addressed to the Holy Spirit? Perhaps the reason for this is that “Father” and “Son” are easier to visualize; but “Spirit” (especially the King James translation “Holy Ghost”) is less personal and more mystical. But the Holy Spirit is a Person. The Spirit is God Himself, energizing, leading and communicating with us day by day.

The Spirit guides us by opening our understanding when we read the Bible (John 14:26; 16:13), interpreting its message in a new and fresh way each time we read it. The Spirit guides our prayer lives, compensating for the inadequacies we feel when we attempt to commune with God (Rom. 8:26–27).The Holy Spirit infuses the life of a Christian with spiritual energy, turning our potential for loving others into reality (Rom. 5:5), strengthening faith, cultivating assurance (Rom. 8:16). We cannot do anything, we can never be productive in our Christian life if we are not filled with the Holy Spirit.

All believers possess the Spirit (1 Cor.6:19, Rom.8:9). You do not have to ask for the Spirit. He is in you and has been in you since the time of your salvation. You just have to be “continually filled” with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:8). Being filled with the Spirit is not a one-time experience. Being filled means continually letting the Spirit of God, who is already in you, control you, to be totally under His influence.

How can that happen? You surrender your will, your mind, your body, your talents, your time, your treasures – every area of your life – to the control of the Holy Spirit. To be Spirit-filled is to be Christ-conscious. It means living every moment as if our Lord Jesus Christ is beside you. And you let Him guide your choices as you go on your everyday life.

True joy is the inevitable result of being Spirit-filled. All people like to be happy, to feel good. There is nothing wrong with that. God also wants joyous, excited and uplifted people. The problem lies in how this joy will be generated. Things of this world can bring you momentary happiness. But true joy can only be acquired if you allow the Holy Spirit to fill you. Are you filled?

References: The Keys to Spiritual Growth. John MacArthur. Lighthouse Books, 2005; and www.lifeway.com

What? Why? How?

Imagine yourself to be one of Jesus’ disciples just minutes after Jesus ascended to heaven. The past 2 months have really been an emotional roller coaster ride. After spending three years with this man, you were convinced that He is the Messiah, the Savior, but He had to be unbelievably crucified. You were still not over this depression when you found out that He had risen! Yes! Indeed! He is the Messiah! You have just spent forty wonderful days with the risen Christ! Now that you are expecting Him to finally restore the kingdom to Israel, He’s gone! You are still staring dumbfounded into the blank blue sky where Jesus was lifted up moments ago, defying the laws of gravity. Then the angels came and asked, “Why are you still staring into the sky?”

Why? Why does He have to leave again?

This is because His redemptive work is finished. He had also succeeded in changing a group of unreliable followers into fearless evangelists – those eleven men who had deserted him at death, would now proclaim Him with intense force that would reach the ends of the earth.

If you read through the Gospels, you will see that He had planned this from the beginning. He had been hinting at His departure right from the start of His ministry. (John 6:62; John 13:1; John 17:13; John 20:17) It was obvious for all but the clueless disciples. He had said during the Last Supper, “It is for your good that I am going away.” He had to depart in order to transfer His work to other bodies – our bodies – the new body of Christ. The mission that God assigned to the Son, the Son was now entrusting to the disciples – to us. Our work? The Great Commission – “Go therefore and make disciples of ALL nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” Matthew 28:19-20 NASB

This commission was repeated in Acts1:8 “…and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” How did the fumbling disciples succeed in this seemingly difficult task? The disciples could not do the work on their own. They had to wait for the coming of the Spirit a few days after Jesus had ascended.

Our Christ had sent a helper – the Holy Spirit to work in us, so that we might succeed in this unfinished work. We are not truly left alone. He has promised in Matthew 28:21,”I am with you always, even to the end of age.” Jesus is still doing His work in this world (through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit). Only now, he teaches and works through us – the church. You can see it working throughout these past two centuries, and will continue to do so until the day of His appearing again.

We will not be able to do the work Christ commissioned us to do of we do it on our own efforts. We need to tap on the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit. We need to turn it on – with regular prayer and Bible reading and daily devotions. Only then, can we get the energy and the guidance to continue Christ’s work on earth.

Ten Started Out, One Came Back

Are you familiar with the story of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed? Their story can be found in the 17^th chapter of Luke, starting at verse 11. As Jesus was passing by a village in between Samaria and Galilee, the ten lepers begged for healing. Jesus just told them to show themselves to the priests. It may seem like a strange command because lepers were quarantined and isolated from ordinary people. But the lepers obeyed. They started out in an act of faith heading for the priests. And as they went, they were cleansed. Ten of them were cleansed but one turned back, “glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him.” And Jesus said “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine - where are they?” He said to the leper who returned, “Stand up and go, your faith has made you well…” In Greek, it says, “your faith has saved you.”

Ten got healed, one got saved. It is a wonderful story for one but it is a tragedy for the other nine. It illustrates that how ugly ingratitude is, being unthankful...How is it that these people could so quickly forget the very one who was the source of their cleansing? Perhaps because it is the sin of fallen man. It is the very nature of men to feel unsatisfied with what they have. But ingratitude should not characterize God’s people. We can understand that nine lepers who didn't know God could be thankless. We can understand a world of thankless people. But it is hard to understand a thankless Christian when we know what the Lord has done for us. Take note that Jesus was looking for the other nine. God expects us to have a thankful heart. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 gives a very brief command, “In everything, give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ.” This is what God desires from us.

Therefore, as Christians, when you are disappointed and feel depressed and you fuzz and fume and complain and feel stressed out with every little problem in your life that does not turn out the way you want to, you are sinning against your Creator and Savior. You ought to be overwhelmed with God’s bountiful grace, your heart overflowing with thanks, your mouth shouting with praise for the glory of God.

As believers, we know that God is at work in our lives. So, whatever happens to us, whatever may come into life should be treated with joy and gratitude. We ought to be thanking God for every large blessing, every small blessing, every small goodness, every large goodness, every good time and every bad time, every little thing, every little challenge that God gives us.

Just like the Psalmist, everyday you should be able to “enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and Bless His name. For the Lord is good; His loving-kindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:4-5 NASB)

Alien

What do you think would happen if an alien being really did visit our world - how would the world react? You don't have to wonder; someone from another world did visit planet earth, & we responded by crucifying Him. It's not that Jesus was strange - He looked like any other man; it's not that He was out of step with the culture - He came as a Jew to Jews.

Jesus Christ wasn't the problem. He embodied true humanity & united it with the essential nature of God in one perfect Person. The problem was in a world of sinful men that would not accept a visit from the Creator. Jesus didn't compromise Himself or His teaching to the world of men, & that made them angry.

Jesus' integrity to God's character & God's truth really frustrated the Jews - He wouldn't line up with their system of works & self-righteousness. He rejected their interpretations of the Law (Matthew 5:21-48); He rejected their superficial & hypocritical righteousness (Matthew 6:1-18); He rejected their love of money (Matthew 6:19-34). He just wouldn't cooperate with them - To do that would require compromise, & Jesus was the epitome of integrity.

Integrity to the truth & integrity to godly character - that's what should characterize you if you are a follower of Jesus Christ. Integrity is the badge of every true believer. That badge might bring you into conflict with the world, because the world is characterized by compromise.

Your Christian testimony is tied up to your complete devotion to God's Word as the highest authority - no matter what the consequences may be. God draws the elect into the kingdom through Christians who prove to be different from the world - who reveal their true allegiance by their commitment and obedience to God's standards.

Those who maintain a life of integrity will be blessed by God. It is the way we represent Christ on earth as His ambassadors. We identify with Him by standing apart from the world, not compromising God's truth or His character in how we live our lives, in how we conduct ourselves in His church. And when we identify ourselves with Him here on earth, He will confess us before His Father in heaven and will one day receive us to Himself.


Adapted from The Power of Integrity (c) 1997 by John MacArthur.

What does it take to run for Christ?

“…forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal. ...” Philippians 3:13-14

Make up your mind to do it. When we decide to follow Christ, all else becomes secondary. Some things we give up entirely -- sinful lifestyles, unhealthy habits, unholy relationships. Other things we place on the altar of God’s will, saying, “Lord, these are for Your service.” There may be sacrifice and hardship, but remember that the Lord wants to give you “a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Make up your mind to pursue Christ with all your heart. “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Stick with the training. We need to know the rules of the game, so study your Bible every day. And we need to develop our spiritual muscles, so exercise every day -- exercising godliness, self-control, and righteousness. We intentionally apply the truths we find in our Bibles to everyday life. We say “no” to other opportunities and demands in order to make room for Christian activities. We wake up early on Sunday mornings and go to church. We wake up early through the week to have our morning devotions. We seek opportunities to serve the Lord. We love. We forgive. We exercise faith, trusting God when things go badly in life. We memorize Scripture so that we can offer others an encouraging word.

The Bible says, “Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next” (1 Timothy 4:7-8).

Run for the prize -- persevere. Don’t give up. Have you tried repeatedly to have your daily quiet time? To trust God with that anxious care or weakness? Be determined, and sooner or later you will work through to victory. It’s time to say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) and then begin to run the race with endurance (Hebrews 12:1). Get back into shape. Be swifter, higher, stronger for Christ and His Kingdom.

“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Corinthians 15:57 NASB

Excerpted from: On the Way to the Finish Line by David Jeremiah, www.lifeway.com

O Magnify the Lord!

Some years ago, a sociologist accompanied a group of mountain climbers on an expedition. Among other things, he observed a distinct correlation between cloud cover and contentment. When there was no cloud cover and the peak was in view, the climbers were energetic and cooperative. When the gray clouds eclipsed the view of mountaintop, though, the climbers were sullen and selfish.

The same thing happens to us. As long as our eyes are on His majesty there is a bounce in our step. But let our eyes focus on the dirt beneath us and we will grumble about every rock and crevice we have to cross. For this reason Paul urged, “Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up and be alert to the things going on around Christ – that is where the action is. See things from His perspective.” (Col 3:1-2 MSG)

Paul challenges you to “be alert to the things going on around Christ.” The Psalmist reminds you to do the same, only he uses a different phrase. “O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together.” (Psalms 34:3)

Magnify. What a wonderful verb to describe what we do in the chapel. When you magnify an object, you enlarge it so that you can understand it. When we magnify God, we do the same. We enlarge our awareness of Him so we can understand Him more. This is exactly what happens in the chapel of worship – we take our minds off ourselves and set it on God. The emphasis is on Him.

“Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.”



Excerpted from : The Great House of God, by Max Lucado, W. Publishing Group, 1997, pp 161-162

Design

God created humans who have free will. This means creatures who can go either wrong or right. If a thing is free to do good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata – of creatures that worked like machines – would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him & to each other.

Of course God knew what would happen if they used their freedom the wrong way; apparently He thought it worth the risk. The better stuff a creature is made of, the cleverer & stronger & freer it is – then the better it will be if it goes right, but also the worse it will be if it goes wrong. And well, it did go wrong. Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors the idea that they could be “like gods” – could set up on their own as if they had created themselves – be their own masters – invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history – money, poverty, ambition, prostitution, war, classes, empires, slavery – the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.

The reason why it can never succeed is this. God made us; invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on gasoline & it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness & peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.



Excerpted from: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, Macmillan Publishing Co.,1952 pp. 37-39.