We serve a God who is so good, so loving, and so life-giving. It blows my mind. His grace abounds and brings streams of water into my desert. He is constantly the same, but constantly fresh. We, like the angels, stand now with unveiled faces, having the fullness of God before us, yet also having the opportunity to be newly amazed every second as we see new sides of His face and character. Wow. Praise You Father! I choose worship today. I choose Your presence. All honor, power, and glory be unto Your name forever!
I just started a new book entitled Seven Spirits Burning: The Christocentric Operation of the Seven Spirits of God. In it the author delves into the scriptural implications of the sevenfold nature/ministry of the Holy Spirit. Prophetic visions of the throneroom of Heaven found in Revelation and Isaiah mention this reality of the seven (greek "hepta", which translates to either "seven" or "sevenfold") Spirits of God. It's a topic that I've been curious about for a long time, and one that seems to have been largely avoided by theologians. So I was excited to read this book, but as I picked it up, God touched my heart in a different way than I expected. This is an excerpt from the introduction, aptly titled "The Person of the Holy Spirit."
Bible commentator William Barclay is right in saying, “all apocalyptic literature is necessarily cryptic. It is continually attempting to describe the indescribable, to say the unsayable, to paint the unpaintable.”
We may not analytically understand all the archetypes and metaphors of prophetic literature. However, we do have intimate fellowship with the Mystery. The Mystery is a person. And every enigma aims only to draw us into the revelation of Him.
This book is about the operations and personality of Holy Spirit. To understand Holy Spirit, we look at the person of Christ. And in seeing Christ, we see the heart of the Father.
Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. He is not an impersonal force, but rather our Friend, Comforter, Counselor, Guide, Teacher and constant Helper.
As the Paraclete, He empowers us to live a victorious life as believers, doing the work of ministry through us: preaching the gospel, healing the sick, raising the dead and exorcizing the demonic. He builds the Kingdom through us. He quickens us in the many various callings and vocations to which believers attend in the marketplace – whether media, government, education, medical professions, the arts, the financial or technology sector. Whatever secular or clerical calling is yours, Holy Spirit is there creating and moving through your sphere of influence. The Kingdom of God is not about better church meetings. Holy Spirit wants to work individually through you to release the substance of the Kingdom throughout society. He is an artist, longing to paint His love through the medium of your life.
But it would be a grave mistake to believe Holy Spirit is merely a means to some greater end. He is not simply a force that makes you more productive. Not just a mechanical power that helps you to win more souls or build a bigger ministry.
There is no other end except for Him. He is not just an enabler. He is the very Goal Itself. God is not looking for a performance oriented “purpose-driven” church. God is looking for an intimacy-driven church. A Spirit-driven, Glory-driven church that is compelled by love for Him. As a matter of fact, God is the One driving His church, and we are being chauffeured by grace! God is not looking for moral people who do good works on His assembly line. He does not need workers; He wants bridal lovers. There is no other purpose than His Glory. If there is work to be done, then the lovers will outwork the workers.
In new ways today God, I surrender to Your Spirit. Chauffer me with Your grace, Lord. I choose intimacy over purpose. I choose to seek to accommodate Your presence, not unbelief. I trust you God.
Amen
