“And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38 NLT)
“But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 AMP)
“For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?” (Hebrews 10:1-2 ESV)
“Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.” (Hebrews 9:14 NLT)
It is beyond my human reasoning, out of the scope of my limited ability to imagine, and deeper than I can fathom, that I have been chosen to partner with my Heavenly Father in carrying out His Eternal Mission. It is equally beyond my ability to grasp that I have been selected to re-present Jesus in the world. I have the Kingdom of Heaven inside me, in which I am already seated at the right hand of my Father. I am a joint heir with Jesus and have been given authority over the enemy and everything he throws at me. I already possess all spiritual blessings, and have at my disposal everything needed for life (physical/material realm) and godliness (spiritual realm). The Truth is that Jesus gave me everything that is His and told me that it was so that I could live an abundant (overflowing, full, whole, in excess) “God-kind” of life. WOW!!
Knowing about all of this may make me want to shout and dance, but what good is it if I never actually experience any of it? How can I share with those in need what I don’t have myself? This gap between what I “know” intellectually, and what I “know” experientially, is where I have spent far too many days. Living in this gap is why at times I have created theologies and doctrines that push what are intended to be present realities into the future. Rather than learn how to partner with the Holy Spirit to translate the pages of scripture into my current life experience, I have moved all the “good stuff” into either Heaven, or the Millennium. That seems to be easier than dealing with the gap. Removing, or bridging, the gap demands faith, and willingness to live in mystery. It requires complete dependence on the Holy Spirit as He challenges me am to stop elevating my senses above my spirit. To see what my eyes can’t see. To taste what my mouth can’t taste. To hear what my ears can’t hear. And to feel what my hands can’t touch.
The gap demands that I set aside my intellect and reasoning for a season and rely completely on the Holy Spirit. The gap requires me to take a risk and trust the current “still small voice” of the Spirit to speak louder than my current understanding of what I have been taught. I must submit my current understanding of the pages of scripture (interpretation) to the teaching (illumination) of the Holy Spirit.
Maybe the toughest step of faith is laying aside the concern of what those closest to me may think when the Holy Spirit moves me in a new and different direction. Most of those who have had the greatest impact on the Church, and the World, like Jesus, were rejected, despised, and considered blasphemous heretics while they were alive. If I listen more to my peers than I do the Holy Spirit, then I will never go where He is leading me today. Playing it safe means that I am out. Only when I stop quenching the Spirit, and allow Him to guide me into all Truth, will I move to the place that my Daddy has for me in fulfilling His Eternal Mission.
There is a place in the center of my Daddy’s design and desire (Will) for me where I am purged of all sin consciousness, fully aware of my true Christ given righteousness, and ready to experience the fullness of life in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. That place is a reality that is more real than the physical reality that dominates my mind and body. It is a place (realm) that is completely present today (not just in the Millennium or Heaven some day). That place will only be manifested and experienced to the degree that I co-labor with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that it was to my advantage that He went back to Heaven because only then would the Holy Spirit move within me and bring with Him the full reality of the Kingdom of Heaven NOW.
Holy Spirit take me where only you can take me. Teach me what only You can teach me. Guide me into Truth as I ponder…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 135: “I am co-missioned with the Father, re-present the Son, a co-laborer with the Spirit, in the fulfillment God’s Eternal Mission” Part 3: Co-laboring with the Spirit