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The Work of the Spirit

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We may talk about the promise of the Holy Spirit and how important it is to have in our lives. We speak about how great it would be to have the Spirit poured out upon us. But what exactly does the Holy Spirit do? Does He have a part in our Salvation? Or does He just go around handing out gifts—causing people speak in tongues?

Jesus gave a concise description of the Holy Spirit’s work in John 16:7–14. While trying to comfort His disciples after telling them that He would be leaving, He explains to them what the coming Helper will do. He says a lot here, but according to Jesus, the Holy Spirit has two main missions: conviction and guidance.

In verse 9, Jesus says that part of the work of the Spirit is to help us see the truth of sin: that we are outside of a saving relationship with God. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can see the reality of our sin and recognize our need of a Savior. Therefore, the Holy Spirit begins working in our lives before we even start following Jesus! If you love Jesus today, it is because of the work of the Spirit in your life.

He also convicts about righteousness, “because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer.” When Jesus ascended into Heaven, His living example was gone. Yet, today we still ask, “What would Jesus do?” We may not know how He would act in every modern situation, but that’s where the Holy Spirit comes in. We can know what is right because the Holy Spirit will convict us about it.

Finally, the Spirit will convict about judgment, “because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” Satan revealed the true nature of his government at the cross and the lines have been drawn. As a result, judgment has come upon the former “ruler” of this world and his followers. The Spirit convicts us of this and gives us the hope that we do not have to take part in their judgment.

The other major mission of the Holy Spirit is guiding us to all truth (John 16:13). This verse shows the true nature even of the conviction process: to lead us. The Spirit intends to lead us to all that is true. The truth about sin, righteousness, and judgment. The truth about God. The truth about us.

It will not be just any truth, though. Jesus said that “he will speak only what he hears.” In other words, the Spirit will never contradict what has already been spoken. He will not change anything, but will remind us of what Jesus had taught (John 14:26). Some of the truth the Spirit will reveal to us includes what is yet to come. In fact, we have the hope that we have because the Spirit has revealed the glory God has waiting for us (1 Corinthians 2:9–12).

Ultimately, though, the Spirit’s work will result in bringing glory to Christ (John 16:14). The Spirit’s work is not to glorify us. It is not to make us greater in the eyes of others; it is to make Jesus great in our eyes.

This is what the Spirit’s conviction will do. Convicted about sin, we see the greatness of our Savior as the Way. Convicted about righteousness, we see the greatness of our Shepherd as the Truth. Convicted about Judgment, we see the greatness of our Advocate as the Life. The Holy Spirit will help correct all of our inaccurate views of God. The Spirit reveals that God is more loving, more forgiving, more merciful, more awesome than most Christians make Him out to be.

As the Spirit leads and convicts in our lives, Jesus becomes greater, and our love for Him can only grow stronger. Here’s the conclusion of the matter: the Spirit works to draw us to Christ, help us fall in love with Him, and then encourages and enables us to faithfully follow Him.

Thank you, Father, for sending us your Spirit!

Matthew 18:15–17: Church Discipline or Relationship Repair?

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Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

We’ve all experienced being hurt by someone, or hurting someone, as a result of careless words or thoughtless actions. It may be from a stranger, or a family member, or a friend. Maybe even another Christian. But what are we to do when we are truly hurt by another person? In Matthew 18:15–17, Jesus gave us counsel on how to deal with such situations. I have often heard this text used as an example of church discipline. However, I’d like to suggest a different purpose for this counsel: Relationship repair.

This is how it begins: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” (verse 15).

First things first: this is what we do if someone “sins” against us. It is not a generic, “if someone sins” statement. Rather, these are the steps we take when someone has done something to injure our relationship with them. Jesus also reveals the purpose of His counsel right away: to gain our brother back, not to give us opportunity to get restitution or revenge (or discipline).

Interestingly, the first step is for us to go, by ourselves, to the person. This step is often ignored. Typically, we want to wait for the other person to apologize—“He hurt me, he can come to me”—but Jesus tells us to take the first step. We also want to avoid the person entirely if possible. How many times have you complained about how another person has hurt you when you haven’t talked to that individual privately first? (I know I’m guilty of this). Yet, Jesus says that you should first go and talk to them privately about how they hurt you.

But what if talking to them by yourself does not work? “But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses” (verse 16). These witnesses “establish the charges,” so they should be people who have also witnessed the person hurting you. Yet, it is not to gang up on the person—not a lynch mob—but as in the first step, they are there to help you restore the relationship.

“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church” (verse 17a). Not much is said here, but continuing on the idea of the first two, it would appear that this step calls upon the whole church to help in restoring the relationship.

“and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (verse 17b). To many, this means shun them—treat them as outcasts. This statement is why many view the passage as church discipline guidelines. That doesn’t fit the context though. If this was all about gaining our brother, why would Jesus now say we can hate them? Consider this: how did Jesus treat the Gentiles and tax collectors? He ate with them, ministered to them, and befriended them. No, He’s not giving us permission to hate. He’s telling us that if we are unsuccessful in restoring the relationship, we should start over. We are to treat them as someone who needs to know the message of the Gospel.

When dealing with His own personal relationships, Jesus also lived by this counsel. A great example is Jesus talking to Peter after the resurrection (and after Peter’s denial). Jesus went to Peter, not to confront his denials or to get even, but He came to restore their relationship. Three times Peter denied Jesus, three times he was able to confirm his love for Jesus (John 21:15–17). The end result: a repaired relationship.

Matthew 18:15–17 reveals steps towards reconciliation not discipline. Because reconciliation is at the heart of being a disciple (John 13:35). It is our message and ministry: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18, 19, emphasis mine).

Therefore, if one of my relationships has been broken because I have hurt someone, or someone has hurt me (whether it is some unfortunate misunderstanding or purposeful), I have been given the ministry (and guidance) to do all within my power to mend that relationship.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:12, 13).

Heaven: One Man’s Trash, or Your Treasure?

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There is a saying: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” This is especially true when the topic of heaven comes up. While some Christians long for to walk on the streets of gold, many today (including Christians) are not interested in it. Some have bought into the world’s appraisal of heaven: its an empty promise that’s glittery but boring (sitting on a cloud playing a harp while eating cream cheese). Basically, the world sees it as trash.

Of course, Jesus has a different view of the value of heaven. In Matthew 13:44, 45, He shares two important parables on the subject.

The first parable is about a man who happened to find a treasure in a field. It was so valuable he went home and sold everything he had so he could return and buy the field (guaranteeing that treasure, and possibly more, was his). His second parable is about a merchant who was purposefully searching for fine pearls. Then, he found it: the Pearl of great price. It wasn’t just that the pearl cost a lot, but it was worth a lot. So much that the man ran home, sold all he had, and bought the pearl.

Jesus’ point? Heaven is so valuable that if you just bumped into its truth, or fell onto its light, you would give up everything this world offers in order to make sure it was yours. Heaven is so valuable that if you are really looking for what is priceless, and are honestly searching for “fine pearls,” then when you see the value of Heaven, you’d gladly give up all this world gave you in order to make it yours. The world sees heaven as trash but Jesus says it is a treasure and a priceless pearl. Is He right?

Maybe we need a reminder of, or an introduction to, heaven’s glory. (See Revelation 21:3–5 and Revelation 22:1–5. There are many more texts about heaven, but these are a good starting point.) Here’s a summary:

God is going to wipe away every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4). There will be no more sickness or death: no more colds, no more heart attacks, no more strokes, and no more cancer!

The curse will be wiped out (Revelation 22:3). In other words, no more sin: No more stealing, no more lying, no more broken relationships, no more selfishness, and no more terrorism.

We will have new bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51–53): our eyes and ears will be opened, legs and necks and backs renewed. We will run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:31).

We won’t need hospitals, or insurance, or doctors, or nurses. We won’t need police, or congress, or military, or presidents. We won’t need elders, or deacons, or treasurers, or clerks. We won’t need new churches, or seminars, or cooking classes, or VBS. And we won’t need pastors (I’m okay with that).

Jesus will be our High Priest and God will be our God. We will see His face (Revelation 22:4), and will worship Him on the Sabbath with all creation (Isaiah 66:22, 23), and we will live for ever and ever, and ever, and ever (Revelation 22:5)!

Nothing on this earth compares. Nothing. Heaven far outweighs anything we might have to give up here.

But what if the man in the field left the treasure there? What if the merchant just walked on by? What if they had seen it as one man’s trash, but not as their treasure?

One summer, while visiting my grandparents, I bought a pack of baseball cards. Noticing my enthusiasm, my grandpa told me that I could have his cards from his childhood. Of course I accepted. As we searched for his cards, he named off a few cards he remembered having. One caught my attention: Mickey Mantle’s rookie year card (alone worth about $500,000 then). He also had complete sets of cards for several years which would have been worth no less than $1 million. As you can imagine, I began to search harder. After a while, he finally asked my grandma if she had seen the box of his baseball cards. “Oh, those worthless things,” she said. “I threw them out in the trash.” One grandma’s trash…

God has provided a glimpse of the glory waiting for us in heaven, but have you found its treasure? Have you seen its value? Do you want to claim it as yours, or do you just see it as one man’s trash? Remember, every bit of treasure of this earth will just be trash when Jesus comes, but on that day, even the trash of Heaven will be a treasure. Fix your eyes on the pearl, Keep sight of the glory. Claim your treasure… today!

Photo by Tim Bogdanov on Unsplash

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16–18)

Still Following

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One of the more discouraging things a Christian can experience is watching a person reject the Gospel and walk away. It hurts when someone does not want to get to know the God you love. Now imagine how Jesus must have felt when it happened to Him.

It’s a fascinating, yet tragic story found in John 6. The story actually begins in verse 26 with Jesus teaching the crowd about how He would be the Bread of Life. By verse 60, though, it says that many of His disciples considered His teaching to be too hard to understand. Granted, Jesus did mention eating His flesh and drinking his blood (verse 54), so we might be able to sympathize with their lack of understanding. We have the gift of hindsight today to know that Jesus was referring to His sacrifice on the cross and its connection to the Lord’s Supper. Regardless, their confusion as to the meaning seemed to be the last straw for some, since, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66).

These are the same disciples that had seen Jesus perform miracles, heal the sick, and teach many truths from heaven. They had walked and talked with Jesus, but now they only walked away. Why? How could they leave?

I struggled with that question. I had assumed that everyone would choose Him and stay. Yet, Jesus said that few would choose the “narrow road” that leads to life (Him), while many would find and choose the “wide road” that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13, 14). I realized that I was asking the wrong question. This is the question I needed to ask: why did the other disciples stay? In verse 67, Jesus asked the twelve if they also wanted to leave, but they didn’t. When everyone else was leaving, they remained. Why?

The question is not why others leave, but why do I stay? The answer to this is vital. Because if I cannot answer this question for myself, how can I give others a reason to start following (or remain)? I can attend a church every weekend, and call myself a Christian, and even label myself with a denominational name-tag, but why do I continue to follow Jesus when others leave?

If we are only following Jesus because its the cool thing to do, soon it will become uncool and we’ll stop following. If we follow only because of what Jesus can give us, then if He doesn’t give us something we want, we’ll stop following. If we follow only because it’s easy, then as soon as the journey gets difficult, we’ll stop following. If we follow out of guilt, or because we’re forced, we’ll stop following any chance we get. So, what reason would cause a disciple to stay?

Peter’s reply contains the true reason any of us remain: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68, 69). This is why we start following Jesus and the reason we stay following Him: salvation is not found in anyone else. He Is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When we have come to understand and believe this, how can we leave?

There may be many excuses for leaving His side, or rejecting His teachings, or refusing to go further, but Jesus urges us to remain. Jesus asks us to trust Him and stick it out with Him:

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in Him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. … By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:4, 5, 8–11)

Friends, it will become increasingly difficult to follow God. Many do not want to hear His truth anymore, and may even try to pull us from it. So we have to make a choice: leave His side or stay following.

I know Jesus has the words of eternal life and I believe He is the Holy One of God. That is why I’m still following.

Photo by Nathan McBride on Unsplash

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27, 28).

The Power of Your Testimony

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There’s a story told of a man named John Currier who, in 1949, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He was later transferred and paroled to work on a farm near Nashville, TN. In 1968, Currier’s sentence was terminated, and a letter bearing the good news was sent to him. But John never saw the letter, nor was he told anything about it, he just continued the hard work on the farm, without any hope for the future. Ten years went by. Then a state parole officer learned about Currier’s plight, found him, and told him that his sentence had been terminated. He was a finally a free man. Wow. How would you feel if someone had sent you an important message—a message that would change your life—and the message was never delivered? Actually, we have been trusted with such a message: the Good News of Jesus. It is a message that can truly change lives. How faithful are we in delivering it to others?

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Interestingly, one of the scariest things for most Christians about Christianity is witnessing. Just the thought of it makes some people cringe. Of course, fear rises when we have the wrong idea of what witnessing is. In order to rid ourselves of these fears, we must see the Biblical definition. Jesus said in John 3:11, “We speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen.” You can only be a witness of something you have seen or experienced. You can only talk about what you know. God is not asking you to explain all the mysteries of the Bible (who can do that?), He is only asking that you share your experience of Him. This is your testimony, and it is powerful. Acts 1:8 helps us to understand the power in our witnessing. The secret to witnessing is clear: the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave us this promise: “Do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11). Any time Jesus calls us to witness the power of the Holy Spirit is on our side. The Spirit will give us the words to say and will work on the heart of those listening. Truthfully, the responsibility of success is on the Holy Spirit—we just have to be willing to speak. Our job is to be a witness; the Holy Spirit’s job is to do something with our witness. Jesus also said, “you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8, emphasis mine). In other words, our testimony will consist of what we have learned and experienced with Him. We are to share Him with others. This, of course, requires us to walk with Him so we can regularly experience Him. You see, the moment we met Christ—also known as our conversion story—is just the first page in our testimony. Every experience with God since then adds another page. Our testimony grows the more we walk with God. As we study God’s word and learn more about Him, we will be able to share more about Him. This means that our testimony is dynamic. It is not just one moment in history—it will change over time as our experience with God changes. Our testimony will also adapt to fit the needs of the listener: our experience with God during a moment of trial can help someone else going through a similar trial. Therefore, the more we experience God, the greater our witness can be. Being Jesus’ witnesses also means that it doesn’t matter the subject, or the situation, our testimony will always center on Him. Isaiah 43:10 says, “‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.’” This is why our witness is so powerful and valuable. It has the ability to reveal God to someone so they can learn to love Him as well! To whom, then, are we to witness? Acts 1:8 says we would be witnesses “in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” In other words, to everyone! The disciples started in their home town, Jerusalem, and went out from there. It didn’t matter the nationality or background of the person, they were to share Jesus. Likewise, we start right where we are with the people in our lives and then move out from there. Friends, your experience with God, when shared, can be used by the Holy Spirit to give others freedom in Christ. If someone could find hope in your testimony, why would you not share it? If someone could find freedom and salvation from your witness of God, why would you keep quiet? There is eternal power and value in your testimony. Someone needs to hear your experience with God. So tell them!

Too Many Distractions

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During a recent prayer meeting at church, I overheard one of the members stating how difficult life is these days. They suggested that it is much harder for Christians today because of all of the distractions the world offers. It got me thinking: Is this really true? Do we really have more distractions today than others throughout history? Are these distractions the greatest obstacle modern Christians face today? Or is there a bigger problem?

Distractions have existed ever since the beginning. While the things that might distract are different, our ability to be distracted remains the same. We don’t even have to go past the Garden of Eden to find distractions. The serpent distracted Eve with deception, flattery and doubts. But the distractions didn’t end there.

The Children of Israel were easily distracted by the gods of the Canaanites. King David was distracted by a bathing beauty. Nebuchadnezzar was distracted by his success. Jonah was distracted by his hate for a group of people. The Pharisees were distracted by their laws. I think you get the point: people of God, throughout the Scriptures, have regularly faced distractions.

However, a very powerful story about distraction is found in Matthew 14:22–32. It takes place just after Jesus fed the 5,000. He had instructed His disciples to go across the Sea of Galilee in their boat ahead of Him. Later that evening, when the boat was pretty far off shore, Jesus came out to them.

Now, the disciples were already on edge due to the strong winds and waves they had been fighting, so they were not prepared for what they were about to see: Jesus, walking on water. They did not recognize Him (walking on water is not a common occurrence) and were terrified, thinking they were seeing a ghost.

I don’t know about you, but when I’m not sure of what I’m seeing, or if what I’m seeing is scary, my eyes are glued to it. Of course, I know there are people who will stare at a wall, afraid to move their eyes lest that tiny spider disappear (and suddenly appear on them)! In such moments, we will allow very little to distract us. It would have to be something major to make us take our eyes away. Likewise, I believe that, at that moment, the eyes of every disciple were glued on Jesus.

Jesus assured them that it was Him, and that they did not need to be afraid. While this may have calmed their fears some, I think Jesus had their undivided attention even more! In typical fashion, Peter spoke before thinking (I can’t imagine he thought his response through), “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come out on the water with you.” To which Jesus replied, “Come.”

It is amazing to me that Peter did not hesitate. He got out of the boat and walked on the water. We don’t know how far out Jesus was, but verse 29 says that Peter came to Jesus. He walked all the way to Him, but when he got to Jesus something happened. Verse 30 says that Peter saw the strong wind, became afraid, and started to sink. He became distracted. The interesting thing, though, is that the thing that distracted him had been occurring for a while—the winds were battering him throughout the evening, and were gusting throughout his walk to Jesus. So why would they distract him when he got to Jesus?

Peter wasn’t distracted because there was too much wind, he was distracted because he took his eyes off Jesus. As long as Peter had his eyes on Jesus he didn’t notice the wind. Sadly, according to the story, he took his eyes off Jesus when he got to Jesus. Did he become too confident, or maybe too comfortable? It can be easy for us to be distracted when we feel comfortable (or lukewarm—like Laodicea). Regardless, he only noticed the wind when he was standing next to Jesus because he wasn’t looking at Jesus.

You see, there are many distractions these days—there always has been and always will be—but they are not any worse than at any other time in history. We cannot blame them for our struggles. Because, when we are completely focused on something, it has our undivided attention. Which means, distractions are not our biggest problem, our lack of focus is. Maybe we think there are so many distractions today because our focus is no longer on Jesus. It doesn’t matter what took our focus away—deception, beauty, success, hate, self-righteousness, or even comfort—if we do not fix our eyes on Jesus, even the smallest thing will distract us. Therefore, as the beautiful hymn says,

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”