Posted:
“Under His Influence – The Design” by Pastor Mark Balmer; 8/1-2/09,
Message #MB383;
Daily Devotional #1 - “Holy Spirit Who?”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): I grew up in church, so I have always known about the Trinity. I knew, believed, and understood about God and Jesus, but was a bit sketchy on understanding the Holy Spirit. I knew He was there as a helper to me, but I never called on Him for help.
I have to admit that, during all the years I never called upon Him, I felt as if something was missing. I would call to Jesus or God for help, but never the Holy Spirit, and I truly believe it is because I didn’t really understand what part He played in the Trinity except for the fruit of the Spirit. So, who is the Holy Spirit, and why should we live under His influence?
It wasn’t until reading and studying 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 that it clicked. …The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thought of man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. We know the thoughts, attitude, and mind of men/women because we ourselves are men/women.
It comes easy for us to identify, sympathize, and relate to each other because our minds are alike; however, we do not have the same mind as God. Why? "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8) God is not human like we are, so our inner thoughts are going to be drastically different than His. So, who does know the inner thoughts of God, and how do we gain access to His thoughts?
Reread 1 Corinthians 2:11, No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. The only one who knows the inner thoughts of God is the Holy Spirit. And guess what? It is the same Spirit who searches the depths of God’s thoughts that lives inside us, if we are followers of Christ. We have complete and total access to God’s inner heart, if only we call upon the Holy Spirit. Who better to call upon in times of help than the One who understands God fully, the Holy Spirit? Who better to call upon when we are studying the inner thoughts of God, His Word, than the Holy Spirit?
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you. (John 16:13-14)
The Spirit only speaks what He hears, and what does He hear, but the Word of God, which He wants to make known to us. What happens to us when we hear the Word of God? Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) The more we hear the Word of God through the Holy Spirit, who knows the mind of God, the greater our faith becomes, and in turn we long more and more to be under His influence and want to live in His power and truth.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): As I admitted before, it took a very long time to recognize the Holy Spirit as being part of my Christian walk. In truth, I am still learning. It may be the first time you ever heard of the Holy Spirit, or it may be a familiar reminder of your long walk with Him, in either case take time to pray for God to reveal more of His Spirit to you. Ask God to fill you today with the Holy Spirit, so that you may walk under His influence, power, and truth.
Cultivating (Additional Reading): 1 Corinthians 2:10-16
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