15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. – John 14:15-17
Meetings
I don’t know about you but I am no fan of meetings. I know they have their place (at least theoretically), but most of the time I would rather be anyplace but in one.
Maybe it is just me but it seems like keeping focused in a meeting is next to impossible. Even with an agenda it often feels like every meeting is deja vu all over again. The same topics are brought up (even if not on the agenda), the same complaints are expressed (always without solicitation), and the same actions are taken. None.
OK, so maybe I’m exaggerating (just a little), since the Continental Congress did produce the Declaration of Independence as a result of their meetings, but personally I often found them as productive as flogging a dead horse. No matter how much flogging is done, the outcome is determined. In other words, if nothing is going to change why waste the time?
Time for Change
Whether or not you agree with my assessment of the value of meetings, I hope you will agree with me on one thing. For most of us that call ourselves Evangelical, our way of thinking about the Person of the Holy Spirit needs to change. Rather than flogging a dead horse, I believe it is time for a paradigm shift for many of us when it comes to our thought (or lack thereof) regarding the Holy Spirit.
Everything we as individuals and collectively as a Church hope to accomplish in this fallen world can only happen by the enablement of the Holy Spirit. Without Him our wisdom is folly and our strength is a stumbling block.
We need to come to grips with the fact that we are completely dependent on the Holy Spirit. But before we get to the work of the Holy Spirit, I want to spend one last study with you about our need for a vital, living relationship with Him.
Thrice Loved
As Christians we often talk about the love of God the Father quoting John 3:16 as our favorite proof text. In the same manner we like to take comfort in the love of Christ that manifested itself in His sacrifice of His own life for us while we were His enemies (John 15:13, Eph. 5:2). In contrast, how often do we talk about the love of the Holy Spirit? Don’t we owe our salvation to the love of the Holy Spirit as much as we do to the love of the Father or Son?
Listen to Paul’s words to the Romans.
30 “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf” – Romans 15:30
Have you ever seriously pondered the love of the Spirit? Scholars are not in complete agreement as to whether Paul is referring in this passage to the Spirit’s love towards Believers or the love He instills in us, but regardless of how you may interpret this passage the fact remains: As a child of God you are loved by the Holy Spirit.
Further, Paul tells us that it is through the Holy Spirit that God’s love is poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5), and Love is the foremost fruit of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Believer (Gal. 5:22). The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of divine love. A love that is relentless.
Heaven’s Hound
In 1893, Francis Thompson published a poem entitled, The Hound of Heaven. Using an analogy of a hound hunting a hare, Thompson illustrated the persistence of God chasing after a fleeing soul. No matter how fast or far the hare may run, or the efforts he may take to hide, the hound never gives up on his pursuit. Divine grace will not be thwarted.
When you were running away from God blinded by your sins, do you know who was pursuing you? The Holy Spirit. Time was irrelevant in His pursuit. Days and months and years passed but the Holy Spirit never gave up on you. Despite the sinful paths you ran down, the Holy Spirit kept up the pursuit regardless of the grief your sinned caused Him. Like a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24) He would not give up on you.
When you came to the end of yourself, it was the Holy Spirit that revealed your true condition. It was the love of the Spirit that opened your spiritual eyes to expose you as a sinner. It was the Person of the Holy Spirit that enabled you to place your faith in Christ. If not for the love of the Spirit manifested in His patient relentless pursuit, you would still be condemned for an eternity in Hell.
Let me ask you again. How often do you consider the love of the Spirit? Perhaps we would all be wise to meditate on it and then thank the Holy Spirit for His love and what He has done for us.
Sweet Fellowship
As humbling as it is to consider what the Holy Spirit has done in regards to our salvation, there is more to consider. Listen to what Paul wrote to the church at Corinth.
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. – 2 Corinthians 13:14
When was the last time you heard a sermon on the fellowship of the Holy Spirit? Do you know what it is like to have daily communion with the Spirit that dwells within you? It is the privilege of having eternal life.
Forgive me for repeating myself. I don’t like flogging a dead horse. But as I have so often said, it is imperative for our lives as individual Christians and collectively as a Church that we have a proper understanding of the Person of the Holy Spirit. He is not just a commodity. He is much more than a power. He is God living within us loving us with a perfect divine love and desiring fellowship with us. Every moment of every day.
God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all love us with an everlasting love. They decided to make man in their image. Each of them had a role in our salvation. All of them want their love reciprocated. Don’t waste your time, surrender it to the Spirit and enjoy His fellowship. It is why He tirelessly pursued you.
I’m putting the whip down. Meeting adjourned!