Jesus talked about being “rich with respect to God.” Intriguing phrase, but what did He mean? This is the final segment of a Thanksgiving message. If you missed them, you can find the first section posted HERE . The second section is HERE.
Before I go fix a leftover turkey sandwich, I thought I’d let you know I’m thankful for YOU and all the others who regularly read this blog. And I hope you had a great Thanksgiving Day.
What do many rich guys have in common with toddlers? You can find out in this continuation of the Thanksgiving message posted last time (See Happy + Thanks + Giving).
Have a great Thanksgiving Day tomorrow. I’ll post the conclusion to this message on Friday.
Look it up: “Paper Towel Sniffer” is a paying job. Somebody has to check paper towels are odor-free before they leave the factory. You probably haven’t seen that job on a list of career choices. Or “Dog Surfing Instructor.” Lists of possible careers are not exhaustive; they can’t possibly include becoming a “Water Slide Tester.” The same principle applies to lists in Scripture of “spiritual gifts.” Perhaps you have been asked what your spiritual gift is and are confused. Some say there are only 7 gifts listed in the Bible, so yours must be one of those 7. Others count 12. But when you understand what a spiritual gift really is, it is misguided to limit the possibilities by those few examples.
Here is the clearest definition of spiritual gifts:
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV84))
As the Holy Spirit’s life in a believer grows, He brings about basic changes in their attitude and character. Eventually, these changes are seen externally as “fruit of the Spirit” – love, joy, peace, patience, etc. (See “Recognizing the Holy Spirit in You”). As this process continues, the Spirit manifests or reveals His invisible presence in a more tangible and practical way. He “gifts” each believer with the ability to do something that will contribute to the common good of the community of believers. For example, the Spirit might empower a person to preach. Another person might discover a new aptitude for empathy and use it to counsel those who are hurting. Someone else might come alive with a newly found passion for generosity. I know a man who was gifted by the Spirit with a knack for knowing when a hinge needed oiling or a screw needed tightening.
It is important to understand these gifts are not simply natural talents. The energy and ability involved in using these gifts is derived from the Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit will manifest Himself in a way that enhances an existing natural talent – say, playing the piano – filling this talent with new power and purpose. Other times, His manifestation will enable a person in a completely new way. But the end result is not personally beneficial, but rather, building up the gathered body of believers.
Also notice, from the definition above, the Holy Spirit manifests Himself in “each one.” That means every follower of Jesus eventually is empowered to bless the others. Each gift is essential for the body of a church, no matter how insignificant it may seem to be, just as is true for a human body. If your ankle itches in the night, you really need the giftedness of your toenail, eh? There is no such thing as an unimportant spiritual gift.
If you have trusted Jesus, you have, or will receive, a spiritual gift. What is it? Look for an ability that seems to be powered up beyond your own personal resources, one that is consistent with the character and commands of God, and which contributes to the common good of your church. See if it energizes you and blesses the rest of your church. If so, likely it is your spiritual gift.
Late one night, at the Apple warehouse, a box of new iPhones were engaged in a casual competition to see which one of them was the best. Unexpectedly, one of the phones was connected to a cell phone signal and then to the WiFi. The other phones sensed something was amiss and asked him, “What’s that goofy look on your face; what’s going on?” “I don’t know how to explain what I’m experiencing, but it is almost as though I came to life for the first time.” The other phones considered him weird and ostracized him.
Okay, maybe that didn’t really happen, but it illustrates the problem of answering the question we posed last time (See: Who is in Control?): “How do I know when I have received the Holy Spirit?” If you have received Him, you probably agree it’s pretty hard to find words to describe the experience. But a pretty good start is to say it feels a bit like coming to life in a new way and for the first time.
Some will tell you that receiving the Holy Spirit is always accompanied by speaking in unknown languages, or by falling down and twitching, by hysterical laughter or even barking like a dog. Perhaps all of these things have occurred to some as they received this mysterious and powerful new life, but it is nonsense to insist that everyone will respond in the same way. Paul made that point in an extended argument you can read in 1 Corinthians 12 through 14.
Let me suggest a couple of telltale signs of new life in God’s Spirit. The first one is that you will begin to notice basic changes in how you think, what you see, what kinds of things are most important, etc. You may think to yourself, “Well, that wasn’t like me…” One of the changes I noticed pretty quickly was a desire to read the Bible, when I formerly had found it incredibly dull. That wasn’t like me. The changes might be very subtle, and even more noticeable to others. The night I crossed the line of faith and received the Spirit, when I walked in the front door, my wife looked up and said, “Something is different about you; what’s going on?” I don’t know what she saw or sensed.
Secondly, these changes will not fade over time but, instead, will grow. They are not simply temporary emotional responses, such as what you might experience if you get a promotion, but living and growing changes, as you gradually become more attuned to the life of God’s Spirit within you.
Eventually, the life of the Holy Spirit will produce fruit. Jesus spoke of the difference between a superficial religious experience and one that was genuine. He said, those who genuinely come to new life in Him don’t wither away when trouble comes but continue to grow and produce fruit (see: Matthew 13:1-23). What does this fruit look like? Paul says it looks like this:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” – Galatians 5:22–23 (NIV84)
And you think, “Whoa… that’s not like me!” Notice that these “fruit” changes are external, they impact others around us. The changes and then the fruit grow as the Spirit changes our character and attitudes to more closely resemble God’s.
Eventually, the Spirit gives us new aptitudes and abilities – gifts of the Spirit. And we’ll take that up next time.
P.S. – If you are concerned about your situation and need to run some questions past someone, I strongly encourage you to seek out a local pastor, one who is comfortable with the concept of what it means to be born again.
The water bubbles up continuously, constantly filling and refreshing the pool and then flows out through a hand-crafted, wooden trough, dropping onto a water wheel. The wheel powers the steady turn of an antique flour mill at the Heritage Homestead in Waco, 
Texas.
On a recent visit, I was struck by this nearly silent, steady source of power and reminded of Jesus’ words:
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (Jn 7:37b–39a).
When a person recognizes the Identity of Jesus, the Son of God, and responds in surrender and complete trust, an amazing transformation occurs as His Holy Spirit is given to live forever in his or her soul. That Spirit becomes a Spring of “living water” flowing up from within. He refreshes and cleanses, informs and guides us. He restores our living connection with Almighty God. But this Flow of living water also empowers us to do what we are intended to do. He does so in a silent, steady way. It may not seem like much at first – no screaming machinery or belching smoke – but we can learn to rely on this Source of power, day by day.
Learning to ride a bike involves skinning a few knees. Most kids, after successfully riding a few feet without falling, look up and shout, “I can do it! I can do it!” – that , just before they dump the thing, trying to avoid the neighbor’s dog. Dad runs along beside the bike, shouting encouragement, but he cannot actually teach a child how to ride. He can describe what to do, but balance, the skill that makes bike riding work, has to naturally and gradually emerge from inside the life of the one who is learning. Balance is built in to their system; they just need to learn how to use it.
Learning to follow Jesus is a lot like that. Most of us skin our knees repeatedly in the process. We default to our old habits, which don’t work, and we crash. It can be discouraging. So we say things like, “I should be better; I shouldn’t make the same mistake over and over again.” And the biggie: “Maybe I’m not really a real Christian.” But remember this: Christlikeness, like balance, can be described but it cannot be taught. It does not show up instantly. It emerges gradually as a natural consequence of the Holy Spirit coming to live in the believer. That’s why Paul said this:
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy … being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.(Philippians 1:4–6 excerpts)
If you have followed Jesus by faith, God is going to make the changes in you. He is not going to be rushed in His work. He also isn’t going to quit until you are finished. God doesn’t give up.
So then, if God is going to do the work, what is our part? Should we just passively wait until He makes us to be like Christ? Nope. That would be like waiting for balance to show up before we try to ride a bike. Our part is to pay careful attention to what God is telling us, climb on this new life and try once again to take it for a spin. See if we can get further down the road before the next crash. And don’t sweat the skinned knees. Paul said it like this:
“…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.“ – (Philippians 2:12b–13).
Exorcism can be dangerous, Jesus said, because it can leave you worse off.
“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” – (Matthew 12:43–45)
The problem in this scenario is that the soul of the exorcised person is not filled with another and better spirit. It is merely “swept clean.” It may be “put in order,” temporarily following a set of rules for moral living. But it is vulnerable to spiritual attack. This is the condition of so many who attempt to become morally good by following rules and strict discipline. In Jesus’ day, it was the Pharisees who followed that path. In our day it is frequently those raised in a legalistic church who find themselves in this kind of peril. His or her “house” is “swept clean” but it is “unoccupied.” Take that person out of their childhood environment and plunk them down, unsupervised on, say, a college campus and some very strange and sad things tend to happen.
However, when a person trusts Jesus, He sends His Spirit to live in their soul to guide them and empower them in truth.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. – (John 14:16–17)
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. – (John 16:13a)
This is an essential difference. Their “house,” their soul, is no longer “unoccupied.” It is the reason why the message of Jesus is not merely another religion, doomed to failure, but is genuine, Good News! He gives the Holy Spirit Who lives in our souls and overpowers the forces of evil.
The biggest Swiss Army knife would never fit in your pocket. It is 9″ wide and weighs 2 pounds. It has 141 different tools folded up in it, including a hook dis-gorger and a snap shackle. If you bought it, you might have more room in your pocket though, because it lists for $2100. I suppose this thing is a joke, but before it went to seed, the idea of having one tool with which you could do most things was attractive.
Paul lists a bunch of new behaviors for followers of Jesus to put into practice:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. – (Colossians 3:12-14a (NIV))
That’s quite a list – a nice list, to be sure – but a lot to remember. And, even at that, it is not comprehensive; it doesn’t include everything for us with which to “clothe ourselves”. However, there is a “Swiss Army Knife” of attitudes for Christians, one tool for most circumstances. Here’s the rest of what Paul wrote:
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. – (Colossians 3:14b)
If you understand that love is an act of will with which I put away my self-interest to minister to what you need, all of the attitudes listed in the first passage really are bound together under the one tool called love. Better yet, you will discover that “Love” fits in your pocket. It’s not free however; it costs you, maybe even more than $2100 in some circumstances. But it is a great tool, worth much more than the biggest Swiss Army Knife.
Smartest thing I ever did was take a lesson from an expert in organizing clutter. His name was… let’s see, it’s around here somewhere… Well, anyway, one of his tips was to take two big boxes and label them, “Keep” and “Pitch.” Then, everything you pick up, toss it into one box or the other. I discovered this system only works if you actually get rid of the “Pitch” box.
A similar task confronts those who are given new life through faith in Christ, sorting through the elements of their old nature and new, keeping the new and discarding the old. Paul explained this process as the logical extension of our having “died with Christ” (Colossians 2:20a) and having been “raised with Christ” (Colossians 3:1a – See the previous post, “Refocus”). In a sense, he said, get yourself two boxes, a “Death” box and a “Life” box. Toss the parts for which Christ died and keep the parts for which He was raised.
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”
(Colossians 3:5)
“But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. – ( Colossians 3:8)
New things Paul listed to put in the “Life” box and keep included:
“…compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” – (Colossians 3:12b-14)
Clutter can be debilitating; it feels so free to finally get it sorted and cleaned out. Similarly, the clutter of old habits and attitudes can wear us down and tangle us up with guilt and shame. Instead of fighting that battle, Paul says, drop all that old stuff into the “Death” box and haul it to the dump. Of course it is not entirely as easy as that. You will probably have to repeat the cleanup from time to time (just like you do in the basement closet!). But the boost you experience each time is worth it.
While you are reading this, do not look to your right. Have you messed up yet? “Thou shalt not…” commands have an unintended effect on us: they make us want to do the very things they have forbidden. This, in a nutshell is what makes legalistic religion fail. Rules don’t restrain us, they tempt us.
How much better, God’s plan to restore us by implanting His Spirit to guide us, not by restrictive rules, but by creating in us the desire to do right. And yet, from the earliest days of the Christian church, men have tried to distort this message and turn the church into another religious bastion of rules.
Which led Paul to lament:
Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. – (Colossians 2:20-23)
It is not that Paul believed Christians are not tempted to do sinful things, or that nothing in the world is harmful to taste or touch. But, rather, that attempting to live by “Thou shalt not” rules never accomplishes in us a life in harmony with the ways God intended. But neither does Paul leave us passively waiting for the Spirit to overpower our temptations. Instead, he teaches us to refocus our hearts and minds:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
– (Colossians 3:1-2)
FRESH BREAD OF LIFE 