Come, Holy Spirit

Joel 2:28-32, John 7:37-39, Acts 2:1-21
Pentecost

The Holy Spirit of God shall flow from hearts like rivers of living waters.
The Word, etched in hearts (Jeremiah 31), will flow forth into the world.

I know a few things about the Holy Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit UNITES us in Jesus.  The Holy Spirit of God does not divide the body, but unites us in a common love for, devotion to and willingness to follow Jesus as Lord of our lives.  Regardless of any differences among us, we are united in Agape Love in the following of Jesus' Way, and living the Grace that Jesus gave to us, with others.

The Holy Spirit GUIDES us to Jesus, points us to Jesus, drives us to Jesus.  The Will of God is revealed in Law and Prophets and then in Christ Jesus and the Good News of Agape Love and Grace.  The Holy Spirit acts through the Word and our hearts and minds, to deliver us to the place of Jesus and live in the Way of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit arrives after Jesus departs (in flesh) and INSPIRES us to follow Jesus and particularly what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us in Agape Love and Grace.  It is the Will of God that we should follow Jesus by living what Jesus taught, commanded and showed us as faithfulness to God.

The Holy Spirit EMPOWERS us, beyond exhibiting spiritual gifts that are to glorify God and not edify ourselves.  The Holy Spirit moves within us and stirs within our hearts and minds to find the courage and strength to live what Jesus commanded us to live in a world that lives by a different set of values.

The Holy Spirit SAVES.  We need not work toward the salvation of others and should not revel in anything we have done or take credit for their salvation.  If it has been done, it has been done by the Holy Spirit of God.  Salvation is by Grace through Faith.  Faith is a gift from God.  That gift is nurtured and enlivened by the Holy Spirit of God.  It's not our job.  We either get with the program or stand in the way by our own attitudes, behaviors, misbeliefs and bad theologies/false teachings.  It is all the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is RELENTLESS.  The Holy Spirit never stops working on us to point us to and drive us to the Way of Jesus, to inspire us to live the Way of Jesus, to empower us to follow the Way of Jesus and live out our Salvation, given by the Grace of Jesus, in this part of God's Kingdom, here and now, in Agape Love and Grace.  The messages come as still, small voices, unexpected encounters, lessons soft as a feather or like a two-by-four to the head and/or heart.  The Holy Spirit never quits on us or on the world, and is always bringing us to Christ Jesus.

All that, and I know that when we are truly faithful to God, we exhibit the FRUIT of the SPIRIT:
Agape Love - active commitment on behalf of the other, stranger, enemy, most vulnerable
Joy- deep, abiding joy at finding contentment and serenity in our walk with God
Peace (Shalom, Eireinei for all)- completeness, wholeness, well-being and the peace they bring
Patience- forbearance with others who need mercy
Kindness- words and actions that lift up and do not tear down
Generosity- giving of our abundance toward all having enough
Faithfulness- living what Jesus, Savior and Lord, taught, commanded and modeled for us
Gentleness- kind treatment and mercy, beyond deserving or merit
Self- Control- not controlling others, but checking our own attitudes, beliefs, philosophies, ideologies, principles, words and actions to make them consistent of those with Jesus

If we are not putting those things out in the world around us as people who profess Jesus as Lord and Savior, then it is not the Holy Spirit of God who is inspiring, directing or empowering us, and it is not as "saved" people that we act.  We must "discern the spirits."

When it comes to people who know and love Jesus and love neighbor, what Jesus said is true.  "You will know them by their fruits."  What spirit they are listening to will become very apparent by the fruits that they bear in the world around them.  The same is true for you.

That the Holy Spirit has been relentless with me as an act of the Grace of God in Jesus, I also know.

Pastor Jamie