The Presents of the Holy Spirit
I love presents. I have every video from my childhood of every Christmas and birthday and they reveal pure happiness and joy. Most of the gifts were just toys while other gifts were essentials like clothes or an insulated jacket and a pair of gloves for those cold Denver winters. Sometimes the gift was a well thought out educational tool like the 1/4 scale see-through V8 engine model that took me a week to build (thanks dad!). These gifts were intentional, purchased for my personality and my interests by people who sincerely loved me. I feel that same correlation between God, our heavenly father, and us, his children. Jesus, addressing a crowd in his sermon on the mount in Matthew 7, uses the literary device of an analogy to make a point at how much we are loved by our Father by the gifts that he gives us:
Matthew 7:9–11
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Although this example is in reference to nourishment the underlying theme is that a loving, kind, compassionate parent would not act out of spite or a mean spirit to give their child a rock or a snake when they asked for bread and fish. This is both an emotional and a relational bond. First, the ability for a parent to remember what it feels like to receive something as essential as food from their parent(s) gives them a purpose in providing their child the same token of affection. Second, when the child receives the very thing they cannot necessarily obtain on their own they learn who they can rely on to meet their need. Their behavior was reinforced by learning who to ask, what to ask for, then waited for their need to be met. Sometimes the child doesn’t even know what to ask for:
Romans 8:26
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
According to Jesus’ own words this correlation transfers to the relationship we have with God. If we back up two verses just prior to our parent passage we read Jesus’ words on seeking and receiving:
Matthew 7:7–8
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT |
The first prerequisite to building this relationship with God is acknowledgement. Before we can trust him to meet our needs we have to acknowledge his presence. The writer of Hebrews explains it best:
Hebrews 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Clarity comes in the spotlight of our belief. When God’s presence is acknowledged and we earnestly seek him in the Spirit and in truth it transforms our thinking. Then, in pursuit of his good, pleasing and perfect will (John 6:23–24, Romans 12:2), it’s as though a veil is lifted from our eyes. It’s through this transformation into his image we begin to see the amazing glory that is being revealed (2 Corinthians 3:18). This is not our work, it is the work of God through the HolySpirit revealing the glory and majesty of our heavenly Father. This leads us to the invitation.
THE INVITATION |
Private parties are generally invitation only. We may think we are inviting God when in actuality, it is God who is seeking us out to join Him in worship and celebration. He is preparing the way for us to enter into a magnificent relationship with him. Jesus addresses the issue in the 19th chapter of Luke,
Luke 19:10
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
However, we do have to accept the invitation,
Revelation 3:20
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
This is the fellowship.
THE FELLOWSHIP |
The fellowship is the bonding, the development of a lasting friendship where we value the other with deep sincerity. This type of friendship is more than a feeling. This is a bond of trust with an expectation of fidelity to one’s true character–no matter how flawed–or Holy. If this relationship is going to withstand the test of time purity of intent is the measure of the means. For example, if I have the skill that someone needs in order to further their career they might make an effort to build a relationship with me. This is a cost/value relationship. The cost of getting what they want is absorbed into the value of the relationship. These are surface relationships because they’re not built on seeking the best in the other. The value is in getting what I want. Done.
It may be a value/cost relationship. The value is in having someone to meet my emotional needs by doing things together and making an emotional connection. But, when the cost is too great, like being overwhelmed by the other’s constant need for validation, we might begin to find ourselves feeling smothered and suffocated. Time to run.
What if it was a cost/cost friendship? This bond is built on an agreement that we lean in to the other and the other is not offended. It costs us a little bit of trust. We allow the hidden things that only we know to be uncovered and revealed without fear of retaliation or expected restitution. A friendship based on this kind of trust might lead to pure honesty and costs us our anonymity. What if we allow this friend complete access to who we are in exchange for revealing who they are? That–will cost us everything. This is the message of the cross.
Matthew 10:38–39
38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
THE PRESENT |
Find what? Find it. The journey of the life you know nothing about. It reminds me of the Christmas I got my first guitar. I was 11 years old and I would dream I could actually play. But it was hard. I had no way of knowing the amount of work that would go into learning such a diverse and complex instrument. I had no comprehension because I had no exposure, no experience. I didn’t have a journey. It’s what I believe this gift of the Holy Spirit is all about. It is about getting to the destination but along the way we have to experience life. During this journey God offers us his holiness:
Old Testament — Leviticus 20:26
‘Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.
New Testament — I Peter 1:14–16
14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Our holiness is not the absence of sin in our lives. Every day each of us are enticed to choose our own desires over God’s. It is this conflict and the will to transform our thinking that leads us to holiness. Creating space for our relationship with God eventually fills up the void that sin had once reserved for its own selfish desires. And, the best part, the Holy Spirit has the exclusive advantage of changing us from the inside out. By helping us make good choices and offering alternatives to selfish desires we become more and more like Him in word, thought and deed (Ephesians 2:10). And what are the benefits to this new life of holiness? A basket of life changing fruit:
Galations 5:22–25
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
TIME |
Like any friendship you deem valuable you have to invest time and energy into a relationship. Since God already knows us intimately we need to get to know him by reading his Word, studying his character, being quiet and still, listening, observing, fellowshipping with other believers, and connecting with him through prayer. I am convinced the stuff we are eliminating from our cluttered lives are just distractions from what God really wants to do in your life. He wants to bless you.
Jeremiah 29:11–13
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
I Peter 1: 22–23
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Isaiah 55:6
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
The Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the trinity. It is critical for us to value, nurture and respond to that relationship if our desire is to know him at a deeper level. There’s a great adventure waiting for you if you will step forward and say yes to the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life. Only by transforming your mind and seeking that friendship with the God of this universe will you begin to appreciate and value the presents of the Holy Spirit.
