The Holy Spirit's Role in Our Lives

Here's a little exert from a paper I'm writing for my Systematic Theology class this semester at Moody regarding the Holy Spirit's work. Let me know what you think:

The Holy Spirit’s work is incalculably essential to not only the sanctification of a believer but in the birth of a new believer. After reading Dr. William Baker’s “The Holy Spirit’s Role in Bringing about New Life,” the role of the Holy Spirit in the new believer’s life has really begun to make sense. I have often wondered what “click’s” in the heart of a person that finally allows them to give their lives to Christ. Dr. Baker writes, “…when we share the Gospel with ‘nice’ people we tend to assume that they will eventually respond positively, whereas when faced with ‘mean’ or ‘bad’ people we tend to doubt that they will ever be willing to hear and respond to our message.” How sad and true this is for us at times because we don’t understand the Holy Spirit and what He is up to!
And yet, conversion happens often at the least expected times and for the seemingly least receptive people out there. What is the deal? I believe it’s because the Holy Spirit is in the business of giving life! He’s the life-giver that keeps on giving!
All over Scripture we see the Holy Spirit’s work in giving life. The Psalmist writes, “When you send forth Your Spirit, they are created (Ps 104:30).” In Job, we find that if God, “should take back His Spirit to Himself, and gather to Himself His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust (Job 34:14-15).” Most notably, however, we discover the Holy Spirit’s foremost role in the creation of Man: “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Gen 2:7; cf Eccl 12:7).”
The above passages are all physical in nature, but the Holy Spirit also gives life spiritually. Jesus states in John 3:6-7, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’” Erickson adds, “The flesh (i.e., human effort) is not capable of effecting this transformation. Nor can this transformation even be comprehended by the human intellect (Erickson 888).” Even more striking is the very next sentence Jesus states in John, “The wind blows wherever it please. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit (John 3:8).”
Of course, Jesus is exactly right. We don’t know where the Holy Spirit is working and it’s ignorant, if not downright childish, to think a “good” person will receive salvation - New Birth - more than a “bad” person will. I believe what Jesus is trying to teach is that just as we have no control over the wind and where it is going, so we have no control over the Holy Spirit’s work. It is the Holy Spirit who supernaturally turns a person from his or her ways of life (in the flesh) into the way of life (spiritually).
Finally, the Holy Spirit’s most profound moment in history came about during the Virgin Birth. Luke records, “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).” The same Holy Spirit that gives physical and spiritual life gave life to God incarnate –our Jesus – through Mary. The same Jesus Christ who the Holy Spirit enables us to come to that gives us eternal life.
I am convinced now, more than ever, that the Holy Spirit is the life-giver who keeps on giving! The ministry implications are obvious - we should be quick to pray that the Holy Spirit would move in our lives, our families lives, in our lost friends lives, in our churches and in the world. We should be quick to pay attention to where the Holy Spirit is working and become a part of His work. So many times we ask God to be a part of our work, when it is His work we need to be asking to be a part of.

Breakthrough Prayer

I am reading a book called "Breakthrough Prayer: The Secret of Receiving What You Need from God." It's a pretty fancy title that peaks your interest, but in my opinion, it's not really a secret - it's all found in Scripture! I really appreciate how Jim Cymbala, the author, uses Scripture to make his points in the book. I also really liked this exert from Chapter 4- Breakthrough Promises:

One Sunday morning, as people gathered to pray at the front of the church after the service, I saw a man motioning to me to come and pray for him. When I asked how I could help, he replied that he was requesting prayer for physical healing. But something about him troubled me. When I asked if he was a Christian, he said, "Yeah, of course, I've been in church almost all of my life."
"What church are you presently a member of?" I countered. "Oh, I kind of just move around as the Spirit leads. I haven't been a member anywhere for years."
For some reason I felt no peace about praying for him. Then I noticed a woman standing a few feet behind him. When I asked about her, he said, "Yeah, that's my girlfriend."
I felt God leading me to ask another question, one that required some boldness.
"Where does she live?" I asked.
"What do you mean, where does she live? I came up for prayer for this problem, and you're asking about my girlfriend?"
I didn't budge, feeling sure God was helping me.
"You know exactly what I mean. Where does she live?"
"Okay, we live together. But God knows I really love her, and we're definitely gonna make it right one day. We have a special relationship that the Lord understands. But forget that - are you gonna pray for my healing or not?"
"Let me get this straight," I answered. "You know the Bible and claim to be a Christian. You're living in fornication with this lady and know that it's wrong before God. And you now want me to ask that same God to heal you while you live this mess? Sir, there's not one chance in a billion that God will answer you or anyone else who prays about it. He would have to violate His Word to hear you. And if He answered you, He would be encouraging your horrible lifestyle."
I'm not sure he heard the last sentence because he walked out in a huff before I finished speaking. I regretted that, but it was better than carrying on a meaningless charade and failing to tell him the trust as it is in Jesus.

Emphasis Mine

The point of this story isn't that God doesn't hear a sinner's prayer. It's that it's easy to ask God for things, but it's much more difficult to adjust our hearts and live according to His Word.

Jim Cymbala states shortly after this story, "Every sin we hide and justify becomes a hindrance to bold, confident prayer to the Father (86)."

Lord Jesus, I know you do not condemn me, but please convict me of anything I have in my heart that needs to be purified. I do not want ANYTHING to come between my relationship to You. I know you love me and hear my prayers. Please give me the strength to not be weak and hide things from You. I confess my sins now________. Thank you for Your forgiveness! I live in the power of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.

Bringing Back Hallowe'en

I just read an article by Jack Hayford called "Redeeming Hallowing." You can read the entire article here. Pastor Kevin sent me the article and I thought it was pretty interesting. Here are a couple of reasons why:

Hallowe'en actually means "hallowed evening" or "holy evening." It's also based off All Saints' Day which was celebrated on November 1st, thousands of years ago. Because it was a day celebrating heroes of the Kingdom and usually associated with fasting, the evening before became a tradition to "hallow." However, instead of a holy commemoration, it has become a time of indulgence and pranksterism and evil. As with just about anything, Satan has a way of turning something holy into something sinister.

I have really been thinking about Halloween quite a bit lately. Maybe I have a vested interest being that I'm a director of students at a Christian Church (and possibly that my wife is pregnant), so I'm trying to find the "balance" between celebrating the day and yet, not getting caught up in all the...well, for better lack of terms...weirdness of the day (have you ever been in a Halloween store? Yikes!).

Hayford makes some really awesome points concerning this. Basically, he writes, "There's obvious need for something redemptive to take place. The Church ought to take a role, not of protest, but of positive action." I agree.

He offers some practical suggestions for parents on how to spend October 31st and "redeem" Hallowe'en:
1. Let the spirit of gratitude begin to fill your heart in preparation for the season of Thanksgiving.
2. Share family stories about how you came to know Jesus. Look together at picture albums and videos. Begin to collect memorabilia of special breakthroughs or family testimony, and decorate with mementos that give honor and commemoration.
3. Make it a special day for the kids. We don't need to deny children fun to verify faith. None of us need to be boring to be godly or unhappy to be holy:
a. Hold a "Jesus Loves You" or "All Saints' Day" party with costumes based on Characters from the Bible or Church history
b. Show an adventure DVD featuring a hero of faith
c. Have the kids create skits of heroic Bible stories (video tape these)
d. Do pumpkin carving
e. Take them on a well-chaperoned trip through the neighborhood, allowing the kids to "trick or treat" as they parade their Bible outfits.

Students: As you go out to celebrate Hallowe'en, remember that you are light in a dark world. When you turn on a light in a dark room, the separation is because darkness flees. The light doesn't asks for permission to brighten the room - it does because that's what it is, light. You are called to be the light of the world (Matt 5:14). No matter what you decide to do this year for Hallowe'en, make sure you are uncompromising in your walk with Jesus and are light on a seemingly dark day.

Too Busy Not to Pray?

I finished reading "Too Busy Not to Pray" by Bill Hybels last week. It's the second time I've read it, but it's the first time I really started trying to implement some of his suggestions into my quiet time. I've really enjoyed the A.C.T.S acronym he suggests. I don't believe this is a new idea, but I like routines and I like what it stands for:

A: Adoration - When we begin praying, we have to remember who we are praying to. We're praying to the Creator of the UNIVERSE who has the POWER to do anything He wants to. Begin your prayers by praising God for who He is.

C: Confession - God wants us to be holy and I have often neglected this part in my prayer life. What I've noticed is it has caused me to examine my life the previous day(s). I do NOT want anything to come between my relationship with Jesus and it's comforting to know He is quick to forgive me.

T: Thanksgiving - Tell God what you're thankful for. Trust me, you can think of quite a bit of things to thank Him for, even in the midst of a trying time. Maybe you could thank Him for the struggle you are going through since you KNOW it will only make you stronger once you're through it.

S: My favorite part! I have a Father in Heaven who desperately wants to bless me! I'm convinced I used to pray like a wimp. I would pray in general terms and never get really specific, because...well, I didn't think it was appropriate. But it is! God knows what we need, but when I look at Scripture it seems like God's power works through prayer. Jesus allowed Peter to walk on water. He could have let all the disciples in the boat walk on water, but only Peter asked. Even James was led to write, "You do not have, because you do not ask (James 4:2)."

There's so much that could be said about this last part, but suffice it to say you can ask your Father in Heaven for just about anything - anything. I understand we have to ask with right motives and that another huge part of prayer is to help us come into accordance with God's will, but don't put God in a box. He's too big to be contained there.

My prayer for you is that God would move in such a way in your prayer life that you wouldn't be able to get away from the thought of prayer for the next week! I pray that just about everything you see or read about is on prayer and that God so thoroughly convinces you to speak to Him daily and often that you begin a life-long habit of dynamic prayer with your Creator.

Would witnessing prayers being answered cause you to pray more? If that's not enough, what else would?

I Sold My Soul on eBay

I just started reading a book called "I Sold My Soul on eBay" by Hemant Mehta. It tells how and why Mehta became an atheist and features his church critiques, including descriptions of his visits to some of the best-known churches in the country. Mehta grew up in a family that practiced Jainism. Jainism teaches the immortality and transmigration of the soul and denies the existence of a perfect or supreme being (Answers.com).

In the first few chapters, Mehta explains how he became an atheist, but as I read a little more about Jainism, it seems he may have been an atheist without even knowing it. Jainism appears to be a very "works oriented" religion where people are reincarnated till the shed their "bad karma" and are liberated to a divine consciousness.

Mehta explains that because his parents and others couldn't give him good reasons as to why they practiced certain aspects of the faith, it led to his frustration and eventual settlement into atheism. He writes, "Instead of limiting religious teaching to matters of what to do and how to do it, tell people why they are saying certain words, performing certain rituals and adhering to certain beliefs (38)." So far I am enjoying Mehta's book and I'm looking forward to his church "critiques."

What do you think about Mehta's statement?
Why is it important to understand why we as Christians adhere to certain beliefs?
If you have questions about your faith, who do you discuss them with?

Newsletters

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to send out a little note about the Youth Newsletter I send out once a month. If you would like to be added to it, please email me at jlandi@ameritech.net. It's got up-and-coming events as well as some other goodies. Let me know if you would like to be added.

Joe

The Process of Sanctification

Sanctification is the process whereby God sets apart a person, place or thing in order that His purposes might be accomplished in them. God sanctifies the tabernacle (Exodus 29:43) and even a day (Genesis 2:3). The process of sanctification in the believer is especially important for us. Basically, it's how God is making you and I more and more holy like Himself. Special Note *If you are expecting sanctification to be like the fast food drive-in, I'm afraid you might be in line for a while.

Check out Philippians 2:1-18. Read it. Meditate on it. Listen to what God is saying.

1. Who makes sure sanctification happens in the believer? (Verse 13)
2. Who plays an active role to "will and to act?" (Verse 13)

I close with a prayer for you as you continue this work with the Holy Spirit:

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Thessalonians 5:23