Category: Holy Spirit (Page 7 of 14)

Holy Spirit Power

November 12, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

I’m in Dallas this week for the Preacher Initiative and ElderLink, both being held at the great Highland Oaks Church of Christ. And what a great week it’s already been. I’ve been blessed to spend a couple of days and nights with my great friend Jason Reeves and his family, I had dinner last night at the home of OLD friends Glen and Becky Burroughs, I’ve reconnected with and been inspired by some of the best preachers and teachers in our church fellowship, and I spent a couple of hours this afternoon with Sally Gary, one of the Church’s most important leaders today. Tonight, it’s dinner with the Four Horsemen and all the wives (except Carrie-Anne who’s in Amarillo) at Kevin and Anita’s new house in Sunnyvale. And then ElderLink begins tomorrow.

Now, the only pressure of the trip besides writing a sermon in the middle of this busy week on the road, comes Saturday when I begin my journey back to Amarillo. There is an empty ice chest in the back seat of my truck. My daughters have told me I cannot come home without a half gallon of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream and a half gallon of Blue Bell Cookies and Cream. I’m not completely convinced I can make this happen. Can ice cream in those paper cartons last for six-and-a-half hours in an ice chest in the back seat? I’m going to be severely distracted over the next 48 hours with engineering in my mind a way to make this happen. I’d welcome your input and suggestions.

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“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” ~1 John 1:1-3

What God has done and what’s doing is real. “We’ve seen it!” the apostle writes. “We heard it, we touched it! It’s real! This is what we proclaim. This is about eternal life. We testify to it and we proclaim it!” As Paul would say, “I am compelled to proclaim the Good News! Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Good News!” Those who experience the salvation of God in Christ, those live in the lordship of Jesus, can’t help but proclaim it.

You’re the same way about a lot of things.

You probably tell your friends when you discover a new soap: “It makes my skin so soft! You’ve got to try it!” You see a good movie and you tell everybody: “Wow! It blew me away! You’ve got to go see it!” You experience a new restaurant and you won’t shut up about it: “Man, we love that place!”

That’s how disciples of Christ are about the Good News of the lordship of Jesus.

Yeah, but I don’t have that kind of personality. I don’t have much Bible knowledge. I don’t have a complete grasp of theology. I don’t have all the answers to all the questions. I don’t have any influence. I don’t have a Christian college education. I don’t have the confidence.

OK. I’ll give that to you. All of that may be true.

But let me tell you what you do have: If you are a Christian, you do have the power of God’s Holy Spirit. You, Christian, have Holy Spirit power. And the reason you have Holy Spirit power is so you can proclaim and so your proclamation will be effective.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ~Acts 1:8

The part we play in Act Five of the Story of God — Proclamation — can only be fulfilled by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is so important. The mission of Jesus is urgent, the Good News must be told. But Jesus wouldn’t let them start until they had received the Spirit. They were prepared, they had been taught, they were witnesses, they were ready. But not without the Spirit. They had to wait for the Holy Spirit. It won’t work without the Spirit. And when the followers of Jesus did receive the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they could not be stopped.

The Holy Spirit’s main purpose is to speak to people about Jesus. Throughout the New Testament, the Holy Spirit fills the disciples with strength to meet special witnessing challenges. He gives boldness and courage. He provides the right words to say and he provides the power to say them.

The disciples had no academic advantages. They had no political connections or financial strength. They had no upper hand in any way. What they had was Holy Spirit power. By that power they proclaimed the lordship of Jesus. And by that power the proclamation could not be stopped.

Peace,

Allan

Holy Spirit Lives

September 26, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

West Texas A&M is celebrating its Homecoming this weekend, which means we wound up at the WT Homecoming Parade in Canyon this morning supporting our Little Middle and her Zeta sisters and cheering for their float. The whole week has been hippie-themed: “Peace, Love, and Buffs!” Perfect for Valerie. She’s always been our flower child.

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The faithful proclamation of the Kingdom of God springs from the experience of a changed life. Transformed lives just explode with Christian testimony.

“Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want… But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” ~Galatians 5:16-25

Our lives will not be changed without the Holy Spirit. I mean changed, radically transformed. Our lives must be different, obviously different, if we’re going to effectively proclaim the Lordship of Jesus.

But I’m not sure about the Holy Spirit. What does the Holy Spirit do in our lives? I have a lot of questions about the Holy Spirit. I don’t feel the Holy Spirit. Are we even sure about the Holy Spirit?

Part of the disconnect for us with the Spirit is our nominal discipleship, our Sundays only Christianity. You don’t need the Holy Spirit to achieve a comfortable lifestyle. Our problem is that our churches are only asking you to come to serves, write a check, be friendly, don’t go to R-rated movies, and don’t cuss.

Well, I don’t need the Holy Spirit to do that.

Listen, you don’t need to be a Christian to do that! If you won’t get out of your comfort zone, why would you need the Comforter?

A changed life is the loudest and clearest declaration that Jesus really is who he says he is and he is really doing what he said he would do. But your life won’t be changed until you submit and start paying attention to God’s Spirit.

Peace,

Allan

Holy Spirit Community

September 25, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

The proclamation of the inaugurated Kingdom of God is expressed through Holy Spirit community. Following the Resurrection of Jesus, God’s Spirit creates a brand new community of all people, all nations, all languages, all brought to perfect unity under the Lordship of the Messiah. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter quotes the prophet Joel:

“I will pour out my Spirit on all people… Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved… Repent and be baptized, every one of you… The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.” ~Acts 2:17-39

The Holy Spirit breaks down barriers between people, he destroys the walls between all people and brings us together in Christ.

“Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace… [he] has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… his purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” ~Ephesians 2:13-18

The Berlin wall was erected by the Soviets to separate East and West Berlin. In Bethlehem today, there’s a 27-foot wall that divides the Palestinians from the Israelis. We know all about dividing walls. Not all of them are physical. There are social and racial barriers. There are gender and economic walls. We’re divided by language and ethnicity and education and politics. But the blood of Jesus brings all of us together and the Spirit of God holds us together so that our unity in diversity becomes an unmistakable testimony to the true Prince of Peace!

We have to practice this tearing down of walls, we have to be committed to demolishing the things that separate us. We must do the very, very, very hard work of reconciliation because it is such a vital component to the Christian witness.

Peter slipped up in Antioch. He was under some social pressures there and he stopped eating with Gentiles. He wouldn’t associate with them in public. And Paul called him on it. He told Peter he wasn’t acting “in line with the truth of the Gospel.”

“You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” ~Galatians 3:26-28

If these barriers have been set aside by Christ — the walls between Jew and Gentile, slave and free, men and women — if these distinctions have been abolished at the cross, then what other barrier can be justified? If God does not show favoritism, if all people are created by God in the holy image of God, if God’s great purpose and goal is unity in his Son, if we are to love even our enemies, if Jesus took the hostility into himself to destroy it forever, on what grounds can we justify keeping in place any barriers?!?

Peace,

Allan

Act Five – Church: The Proclaimed Kingdom

September 24, 2015 / Allan / 2 Comments

The Texas Rangers’ magic number for clinching their sixth division title is “8.” After last night’s clubbing of the A’s, Texas has its largest division lead in more than two years at 3-1/2 games. Texas has won Cole Hamels’ last seven starts, and he’s pitching the getaway game today in Oakland. And then they fly to Houston for this critical three game weekend set with the Astros. As good as Texas has played in September (14-7) and as badly as Houston has played this month (7-14) it’s still going to come down to this weekend series. Going to Houston with the division lead sure helps. Taking two of three from the ‘Stros would just about clinch it.

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Act Five of the Story of God is where all of us are suddenly pushed out onto the stage. The lights come up, the curtain opens, and we’re on the stage with lines to say and parts to play. We’ve been given a role in the Story of God, an important role. This is not just a cameo appearance.

On that first Sunday morning, the women arrive at the tomb to find the stone has been moved and their rabbi Jesus is not there. And the angel says:

“Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'” ~Mark 16:6-7

In other words, look, everything Jesus told you about the coming of the Kingdom of God — in his work, his teachings, his life and death — has all come true! The Resurrection is not just a miracle to show us how powerful God is. It’s not just a way of showing us there is life after death. The Resurrection of Jesus is the decisive event that proves God’s Kingdom has been launched on earth. The Resurrection completes the inauguration of God’s Kingdom. It’s not, “Hey, Jesus is risen, it looks like we all get to go to heaven when we die.” It’s more like, “Hey, Jesus is risen, you’d better get to Galilee and check in; see what he wants you to do.”

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.'” ~Matthew 28:6-7

When Jesus ran into these women at the tomb, he tells them the same thing:

“Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” ~Matthew 28:10

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go… Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” ~Matthew 28:16-20

Jesus is claiming all authority in the universe now belongs to him. And by that authority he commands his disciples to go now and make it happen. Go do the Kingdom work as agents of my authority. Jesus is now enthroned as Lord of heaven and earth. His Kingdom has been established. And now his Kingdom rule is to be proclaimed. Jesus’ ambassadors are told to declare the Good News to all the nations and to call all the territories to allegiance to their new Lord.

“This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms… The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things!” ~Luke 24:44-49

The Resurrection is not a happy ending for the Son of God. Jesus says the Resurrection is the turning point for a brand new beginning. Because of the Resurrection, all the old promises are coming true: the promise of an unshakable kingdom, the promise of God’s holy presence, forgiveness and a restored relationship with the Creator, blessings from God through Abraham’s line for all the peoples of the world.

There’s a new order. New rules. New law. Everything’s brand new for all the nations. The enemy has been destroyed. Peace between God and all people has been established. The good and just reign of the true King of the world has begun. Jesus is Lord over all the earth today, tomorrow, and for ever more! True peace. Genuine security. And Jesus, the King, says to his disciples, “You go tell everybody the Good News!”

In the mid 30s AD, this is what a King does when he becomes the ruler over a new region.

In Matthew, the first words spoken by Jesus following his Resurrection are, “Greetings. Do not be afraid. Go and tell.” Later, that same evening: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” In Mark, the first recorded words of the risen Jesus are, “Go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to all of creation.” In Luke, Jesus says, “The Good News is going to be proclaimed to all nations.” Same thing in John when, on Resurrection day, the King’s first words to his disciples are, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Jesus is Lord. Jesus is now the undisputed King over all the earth. And his messengers, his emissaries, are to go to all the territories where Christ is enthroned as Lord to proclaim the Good News of his righteous rule.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ~Acts 1:8

And that’s exactly what happens. And please notice — this is the main point — they don’t just offer people a new and different religious experience. They don’t just teach about eternal life after we die. They don’t just preach the Resurrection as a miracle that proves how powerful God is. The disciples are commissioned by Jesus to go and tell the world that Jesus, the Messiah, really is the world’s true Lord and to call all the nations of the earth to submit now to his rule.

Act Five. The Proclaimed Kingdom. There is where we come in. We are living today in the unfinished fifth act of the drama of the Story of God. God’s Church was established by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost in order to proclaim to the world the Good News. We are telling all nations that God has come here in the flesh-and-blood of Jesus to establish his rule and to forgive and redeem and restore all the men and women of the earth. We are no longer enemies of God. It’s truly Good News! And we are called to declare it to all the earth.

Now, you are not exempt from this part of the Story. In this Act Five, you are not in the audience. You’re not backstage. You’re not a spectator or a critic. You’re not selling programs in the lobby or reading about it the next day. You are on the stage. You have lines to say. You have a role to play. To borrow from Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society, “The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.”

You must contribute a verse. All of us who have been baptized into the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are commissioned to jump into the Story and proclaim the Good News. In Act Five, following the Resurrection of Jesus all the way through the rest of the New Testament, all the characters in the Story are proclaiming. Church leaders, church members, all Christ followers do the work of evangelism. It’s the number one priority for all disciples. No exceptions. Everything takes a back seat to the proclamation of the Good News. Everything serves the purpose of proclaiming the rule of Christ and the Kingdom of God. That is our role today in Act Five.

What will your verse be?

Peace,

Allan

Torn in Two

September 17, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

“With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” ~Mark 15:37-38

The curtain of the temple was a beautiful and imposing barrier between the people of God and the visible, physical presence of God. The Creator lived in the temple’s Holy of Holies. His glory dwelled there, behind the veil. That’s where God was. And only the high priest of Israel could enter. And he could only go in there once a year, on behalf of the people.

The curtain is described by Josephus as being 80-feet tall, “…a Babylonian tapestry with embroidery of blue and fine linen, of scarlet also and purple, wrought with marvelous skill, woven with the whole panorama of the heavens.”

It was beautiful. Historical. Precious. It was a national treasure. But the curtain was a barrier that separated a holy God from an unholy people. Direct access to the presence of God, to his glory, had always been denied.

But not now. The curtain that shielded God’s glory is now ripped wide open at Jesus’ death. The veil is lifted and now everybody can see the face of God and bask in his glory and love. The barrier between the Creator and his created has been torn away. Religious leaders can’t rope God off from the people anymore. Everybody in the world now has direct access, “through a new and living way,” to a gracious God who has sacrificed so much for our salvation.

No more sacrifices: the Lamb of God has been offered. No more exclusive priests: now all of God’s people are priests and worship and serve together in his actual presence. Even Gentiles are allowed in now. Even women!

This “torn in two” curtain now lets people in. But it also lets something out. God’s glory can’t be confined anymore to a national shrine made of stone and brick. God’s glory now floods the earth. Just like the heavens were ripped apart at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, at his baptism, and the Holy Spirit descended on him, now the temple veil is torn open and the Holy Spirit of God is now freely available to all!

Peace,

Allan

The Holy Spirit to Those Who Ask

July 10, 2015 / Allan / 1 Comment

One last thing about the DeAndre Jordan situation: it has made Mark Cuban a sympathetic figure. Crazy, huh? You know that Jordan has done an under-handed, diabolical, evil thing when it causes me to actually feel sorry for Cuban.

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Now, back to our look at Jesus’ parable in Luke 11 and, today, what I find the most interesting about the story. Our Lord concludes his comments regarding the story with this often-overlooked line: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Wait a second! Holy Spirit? I thought we were talking about bread! I thought this story was about our basic needs, the fundamental necessities.

We’ve seen in this story that God promises to give us everything we need and he promises to answer our prayers when we ask for what we need. Now Jesus closes it out by telling us that what we really need is the Holy Spirit. So ask for it! This is what you pray for: the Spirit. And when you do, God says, “Yes!”

This is not an open-ended teaching here. It’s not a blank check. It’s never been about asking for anything you want. God never promises to give us everything we want; but he always guarantees to give us every single thing we need. And what we need is God’s Spirit. So pray for it.

This is hard for us. We don’t really know how to do this. We know how to pray for sick people. We know how to get our names on the prayer list and how to pray for my relatives and friends of my relatives and for the second cousin of my insurance guy’s mother. Who lives in Kentucky. Yeah, we’re very good at praying for healing. We know how to pray for what we want.

Give me this new job, Lord. Help her fall in love with me, God. Father, get me out of this traffic. We pray for what we want.

Lord, keep my children safe. God, help our church to grow. Father, help our candidate win the election. Lord, help our Wednesday nights to be successful. We know how to pray for what we want.

Jesus tells us to pray for what we need. And what we need, he says, is the Holy Spirit.

What would it look like to pray for the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit convicts hearts of sin, right? Can you pray that? “Father, please convict me of the sin in my life. Please shine a bright light on the sins in my heart, God. Convict me of my sin. Expose it, Lord. And deal with it.” That’s not necessarily what I want. But it’s certainly what I need.

What would it look like to pray for what we need instead of what we want? The Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, right? Can you pray that? “Father, maybe I need to go through some suffering. Maybe I need a season of washing and purifying. I know your Spirit will help me, Lord. You know what I really need, God. Maybe I need to be weak for a while.” Not what I want; maybe what I need.

What would it look like? Jesus calls the Spirit the “Spirit of Truth.” Can you pray that? “Lord, give me your Spirit of Truth. Show me what’s really true in my life, the things I can’t see, the things I ignore, the things I neglect. Show me the truth about myself. And force me to deal with it, God.” Not what I want, but what I need.

What if you went this whole weekend, from this moment through Sunday night, and only prayed for what you really need and did not pray at all for what you merely want? What if you took our Lord Jesus completely at his word? What if you really trusted him with what he says about prayer: that God provides everything we need, that God will answer us when we pray for what we really need, and that what we really need is his Holy Spirit?

What would it look like?

Maybe you’ll need help. Maybe flipping to the “fruit of the Spirit” passage in Galatians 5 could be a good starting place for you. Pray for more of that Holy Spirit character in your own life.

Pray for joy. Not joy because you sold your house or you got the raise. Joy because even though you’re going through a very difficult time, God is mercifully sustaining you. Or joy because the blood of Jesus is washing you.

Pray for patience. Yeah, I know, you’ve heard your whole life not to ever pray for patience. Jesus says pray for what you need, not what you want. It’s the Spirit. Pray for patience.

Pray for kindness. You know that person you’re not nice to. Be specific. Ask the Holy Spirit to break your heart for that person.

Pray for self-control. Part of your life is probably out of control. Part of your life is led by your impulses, your urges and desires, not by God’s Spirit. The way you eat, the way you experience sex, the hours you work, the hobby you pursue — pray for the Holy Spirit to bring those things under his control.

What would it look like?

Peace,

Allan

Category: Holy Spirit (Page 7 of 14)

Holy Spirit Power

Holy Spirit Lives

Holy Spirit Community

Act Five – Church: The Proclaimed Kingdom

Torn in Two

The Holy Spirit to Those Who Ask

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