A year ago I was praying God would fill my support account before the deadline at Launch and wondering how in the world I was supposed to fit my life inside of a pack for an entire year, and now I’m halfway through Month 11 on the World Race!
I’ve learned SO much. It’s been one of the most challenging and beautiful years of my life and (its not even over) this is merely the beginning. Honestly, I couldn’t be more thankful for that.
If you asked me about the top things that I’ve learned on the Race in a spiritual sense I would want you to know that one of the things I’ve learned about is the Holy Spirit and acknowledging this Spirit that is, in fact, dwelling inside of me.
kuala lumpur, malaysia
This year I have read countless scriptures that talk of the Holy Spirit and books that have enlightened and challenged me. Up until this point in my life I thought of the Trinity as the Father, the Son & the “Holy Ghost,” like an unknown object far off in the distance. In church, to my own knowledge, I’d never really been taught of the Spirit and didn't know enough to ask the tough questions. And if I’m completely honest, my time with Jesus and time in scripture didn't look like it does now– not enough for me to recognize what I was missing. And it blows my mind– the tragic neglect of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says in the book of John that the Helper (the Spirit) is better to be with us than Jesus in the flesh. (Whoa!) Jesus walked beside the disciples but the Spirit would actually enter their human bodies.
It’s in this we recognize that He chooses us to be His dwelling place. And we have the advantage of the risen Christ & the Indwelling Spirit.
This power convicts us of sin and guides us into all truth. Jesus tells his disciples that this is better not because it fills in some weakness he had, but because it changes us, impacts our decisions (like a conscience) and enables us to understand the things freely given to us by God.
No matter what end of the spectrum you're on, whether you'd call yourself conservative, charismatic, fundamental or none of the above– lets be real, Jesus talked about how IMPORTANT the Spirit is and we can’t deny that. And I can't deny how the Spirit of God has worked through me this year, spoke, convicted, breathed fresh life and sang over the nations. I’ve read so much about its authenticity in scripture, that there is no way in the world I could deny its existence. Absolutely no way. Its like trying to say the sun doesn’t give light to the earth when I walk outside and see it in its existence. Scripture has transformed my life & heart.
And if there is a major difference between–
what I know
and how I live
I'm missing the point.
There is a desperate need in the church, the body of believers, for the Holy Spirit.
We have to attempt to understand scriptures through exegesis, an attempt to understand scripture & its meaning objectively starting with the text and moving out from there. And not that of eisegesis—importing knowledge by a subjective, preconceived meaning into the text; ie. that of our experiences with others.
goa, india
If I were to have lived on a desert island my entire life and read the bible how different would my life look in reference to the way I lived and understood God? Amply different than that of a modern day church in full swing? Most people live out their faith by what they’ve seen others do as a mere model and not in reference to scripture.
some of my understandings of the Spirit
Omnipotent, all powerful
"Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” Zechariah 4: 6-7
Omnipresent, all present
"Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!"
Psalms 139: 7-8
Omniscient, all knowing
“For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” 1Corinthians 2:11
the Truth
“This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.” 1 John 5:6
“… 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 14:17
Loves
“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
Has a mind
“And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:27
Speaks
“The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue." 2 Samuel 23:2
an example–
"And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you." Acts 10:19
“And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
“‘Go to this people, and say,
“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” Acts 28:25-26
"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness…” Heb 3:7-8
Can be resisted
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” Acts 7:51
When I came to understand and experience the presence of God and His Spirit in my life, I recognized that I didn't want my life to merely be that of spiritual ear wax—things that are not here in the present are things that present themselves as ear wax that clog my ears with my own thoughts and keep my focus off of what God is trying to say and not on what God is doing now.
Why would we need to experience The Comforter in our lives if we were already comfortable?
God wants to see His children stake everything on His power and presence in their lives. We can’t merely “add” him onto our lives, He has to be the one in control of our lives. Once we recognize that you are called to share in Christ’s suffering, death & resurrection, we ultimately recognize our desperate need for Him. Its not simple. It’s a task that requires continual engagement, wrestling & discovering how to live a Spirit-filled life, day by day. Its not always safe or easy, but its worth it.
phuket, thailand
“When we are at our wits’ end for an answer, then the Holy Spirit can give us an answer. But how can He give us an answer when we are still well supplied with all sorts of answers on our own?” –Karl Barth
Even with my imperfect words and incomplete understanding—may the Lamb of God receive the Reward of His suffering.
