Approximately two years ago my pastor preached a message during the morning worship service that focused on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When we met together later that day for the evening worship service, I told him that the message he had preached that morning had been one of the best I had ever heard. The power of the message was itself evidence of the truth of the Spirit’s work in the life of the believer. The Helper was clearly seen as He worked through the vessel of my pastor to convey truths about Himself, the Father and the Son.
The scripture we find in John 16:13 was used in the message. The verse states, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” In Psalm 23:3, in reference to God, the psalmist wrote “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake.” Although certainly not limited to these, we see that God would guide us "into all the truth" and "in the paths of righteousness".
Two particular thoughts come to my mind as I hear those words; truth and righteousness. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” And in Acts 7:52, as he addressed the Jewish leaders before he was martyred, Stephen is recorded as saying, “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have become.” The scripture clearly teaches us that Jesus is truth and Jesus is righteousness. The Holy Spirit, the promised Helper, the Third Person of the Godhead, God Himself, would guide us into all that we could take in about Jesus.
As I began to ponder this, I started to have ideas in my mind about guides and guiding. Being someone who enjoys fishing and the outdoors in general, I was quite familiar with the concept of guiding. There are fishing guides, hunting guides, mountaineering guides, whitewater rafting guides, travel guides and the list goes on. One of the things that all of these guides have in common is that they are sought out and paid to help people pursue their passions. The amount of money that someone will pay to pursue a passion that they have for a particular activity will range from less than a hundred dollars to several thousands of dollars. The Holy Spirit guides for free but this ministry that He longs to impart is seldom sought after as we often lack the passion for where or Who He guides to. This is said with much personal conviction.
In Philippians 3:10, the apostle Paul gives us a glimpse into the kind of passion I am referring to. Regarding Jesus, Paul wrote that his desire was “to know Him and the power of His resurrection.” This is the power by which Jesus was declared to be the Son of God. Romans 1:4 states that He was “declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.” Oh, how we could know Him and the power of His resurrection if we only had the passion to do so and earnestly sought the guidance of the Helper.
As believers in Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, we need to understand where the Holy Spirit desires to guide us and the privilege and opportunity we have to be led in such a way. Yes, one day we will know Him perfectly for we will be like Him when we see Him face to face. However, part of the abundant life that we can have now is to be guided into Truth and Righteousness, knowing intimately the person of Jesus Christ. Do you have the passion to go there? Do you have the passion to know Him better and partake of His holiness through closer intimacy with Him? Many can quote the Philippians 3:10 verse referred to above but few find the passion to pursue it. Or maybe more accurately, our lives are simply too cluttered with the things of this world to have our eyes fixed on Him.
Although this Guide’s services are free, they will cost you your thoughts, your ways and your heart. As Paul wrote in Philippians 3:7-8, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ.” The Holy Spirit bids us come; to follow Him as He guides us to Christ.
Father, we need the Helper to prepare us to go where He would lead us; intimacy with your Son Jesus. We understand that you long to guide us into truth and righteousness. Prepare our hearts and renew our minds that we might have a right relationship with you; that like the beloved apostle, we might have a desire to "know Him and the power of His resurrection" . Your magnificent creation has provided us with many wonderful things to enjoy but the greatest pursuit that any of us could ever partake in during this life is knowing Him. "Knowing you Jesus, knowing you; There is no greater thing". Thank you for your desire for intimacy with us and for making provision that it might be so.
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Have you ever listened to the lyrics of a song, the sentiment in a greeting card or the outpouring of a poet’s feelings in the lines of a poem, and thought to yourself, “Wow, I wish I had said that?” I remember felling that way on many occasions during my pre-Christian years, but never in the way that it happened after I became born again in Jesus Christ. Sincere contrition, heartfelt thankfulness and genuine praise to God like that found in places within The Holy Bible touched me more deeply than anything ever before. A perfect example of this is found in a Psalm of David, Psalm 51.
Here, in David’s prayer for pardon after he had gone in to Bathsheba, can be found a true believer’s perfect understanding of how to come to God with respect, humility and supplication. The John MacArthur Study Bible points out that David issues a plea for forgiveness, a proffer of confession, a prayer for moral cleanness and a promise of renewed service. David recognizes his sin, blames no one but himself, begs for divine forgiveness and earnestly wants to do God’s will. O to know and understand in the way that King David did.
Sometimes the prayer of other believers touches me in an incredible and very special way, not just because I too, share those exact feelings, but also because I know that I could not have expressed them so perfectly. There is a scene in the movie, “Amadeus,” when Antonio Salieri, Court Composer for the musically inclined Emperor Joseph of Austria, cries out in anguish to God, “Why did you give me the desire and then deny me the talent?”
Through wise counsel and the mentoring that I have received during weekly men’s Bible studies, I have come to know that Salieri obviously did not know who God is …at all! Unlike worldly song, greeting card and poetic writers who work to impress and gain the approval of man, the prayerfully minded seek only to commune with God, the Father. God’s perfect wisdom does not grade the sincere prayer of a believer. When God’s children seek intimacy with Him through prayer, it is to His ear, sweeter than the lyrics of the sweetest song ever written, deeper than the deepest sentiment found in the finest greeting card, and more precious than the greatest poetic labor of love ever penned.
But you may be asking, why is this so? God’s design inherently levels the playing field because; He created each of us to be exactly the way He wants us to be; He gave us the abilities or “gifts” that we possess; and is “A Guide” by placing His priorities upon our hearts via the Holy Spirit. From these truths, we can safely infer that God values our prayers along side those of King David’s. What an awesome blessing and comfort it is to know that God, through the perfect Love of His Son, Jesus Christ, treasures all of His children equally.
Bob
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