I was at an event a couple weeks ago with the church youth and had the opportunity to sit in on a 4 part workshop lead by Taylor Brown (formerly of CIY) all about the Holy Spirit. I thought I might share some of what I learned with all of you. Because I will be referencing the Holy Spirit so much I’m going to abbreviate it for now but know that HS is the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:10-11
“10But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives lifebecause of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”
Why is it that when things fall apart, they fall apart so suddenly? Because we are not living under the WHOLE GOSPEL. Yes, the Gospel is the life death and resurrection of Christ but it’s also the HS that He gave to us in place of His Son.
Ruach (roo-ah) in Hebrew means God’s breath.
Genesis 2:7
“7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
Acts 1:8
“8 But 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.”
John 20:22
“22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
We are designed to be a “container” filled with the HS. We were filled with the HS. The problem is that man sinned and now we spend our lives filling ourselves up with sin. All throughout history we have been trying to find something to fill that hole inside of us. Power, money, sex, etc. But then Jesus comes in and he is born full of ruach. He lives a life without sin and says no to tmeptations because there is no hole inside to fill up because it is already full. Filled with the HS the ruach of God.
John 16:7 & 13
“7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
“13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
In Acts we are told we will receive power with the HS in our lives. It is not power by the world’s definition but God’s. We do not need the world’s definition of power. It will not saticfy us or fill that hole inside of us. But God’s power, the power to discern between right and wrong, the power to be forgiven and to forgive, to be a witness to others, that is what’s important. Are you powerful?
How often do we watch the news and shake our heads at all of the crazy and horrible things going on around us but do nothing except talk about it? We are called by God to go out into the world and be witnesses, not to sit at home and click our tongues at it. And yet we call ourselves Christians, meaning Christ followers. How can we say that when we are not actually following Christ’s example? Jesus did not sit at home and shake His head and complain to His family about the world around Him. Why are we?
Are you searching for something? Are you content in your faith? Are you discouraged? Are you bored? Maybe we need to pray and ask God to fill our lives with ruach, to fill up our hunger with Him, to show us the hunger in ourselves and others for the HS so that we might witness to them.
Luke 11:9-13
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[f] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 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 the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
