Finding Yourself

So who are you?

The answer to that question defies mere physical description.  It is more than a recitation of accomplishments, degrees, pedigree, career or possessions.  It is a matter of character, and character is a reflection of ones' moral thinking- it is the spirit of who you are and how you act upon the world.  We all develop an unspoken code of behavior.  Some of this behavior is selfish an effort to justify what we want reality to be, other parts are image management, informed by how we want others see us, for some spiritual awareness directs us.

As a young man, I was much too smart for God, no, that was just a psychological crutch for the unenlightened.  Such sophomoric agnosticism is typical in our ultra-independent society so I was hardly alone in my blindness.  It's really quite embarrassing to reflect on this period when I was so falsely self-assured, trying to "find myself".  Intellectually dishonest is the nicest thing I can say about that stage of my life.  Alas, we all struggle through stages of willful ignorance, confused by the uninformed masses and the boldness of the blind.  We learn "to gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard." (Allen Ginsberg).

All of our faux intellectualism is an effort to justify ourselves. Our sciences a facade to explain away what God already knows. Our posturing is an attempt to elude a God and usurp his sovereignty with our own earthbound rationalizations. But we cannot run far or fast enough to evade He who is truly on the Throne.

We don't need to seek out a guru, self-help book or latest fancy of the masses to find ourselves. When we are still and opened, our voice presents itself and comes in tune to the true God. That God is not us, and when our pride is stripped away we can find our place, but we cannot find ourselves for we were meant to be selfless. We are not without our own voice, personality or giftedness but more dependent on each other than we would like to admit.

Learning To Follow the Holy Spirit 6

The Spirit is Freedom

“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) 

David writes...

Restore to me the joy of your salvation; and uphold me with your free spirit.  Psalm 51:12 

Listen to the beautiful picture of the messiah:

The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, because Jehovah has anointed me to announce glad tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and opening of the prison to them that are bound.  Isaiah 61:1-3

That is a perfect picture of freedom.  The Lord is freedom embodied, which makes sense because he is the Holy Spirit of God in human form.

Jesus tells us that freedom is in the Spirit:

The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life..  John 6:63 

Paul writes of Spirit fueled freedom, 

And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Romans 8:2

Paul counsels Timothy that the Holy Spirit gives us freedom not fear:

For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:7 

Paul tells the church in Corinth that living by the Spirit, not the written law is why they are ministers of freedom, "He who made us worthy to be Ministers of The New Covenant, not in The Scripture, but in The Spirit, for The Scripture kills, but The Spirit gives life." (2 Corinthians 3:6) 

Is it hard to understand that the Holy Spirit is for us to be free?  Has religion and rule-keeping clouded your ability to accept - "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)  The human heart without the Holy Spirit cannot conceive of an existence where rights and wrongs and behaving correctly is not the path to Heaven.

Learning To Follow The Holy Spirit 5

To Hear and See God
This thread runs consistently through the scripture that when the Holy Spirit speaks, you are hearing God.  So say, I have never heard God's voice, but they do say, "I feel the Holy Spirit is saying..."  This is a misunderstanding.  To obey Jesus, to follow the Holy Spirit IS to hear and obey the voice of God.  To see Jesus is to see God.
"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.  John 16:13
Even Jesus' disciples found the idea of unity with Father and Spirit to be hard to grasp...
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”  Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?   Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. John 14:8-10

This idea that the Holy Spirit of God can dwell in us, move us and speak through is crucial to understanding Jesus.  It is essential to learning to follow the Holy Spirit... 

"But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.  Matthew 10:19-20

Jesus teaching to abide is a message to allow the Holy Spirit of God to dwell in you

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.   “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  John 15:4-5

Learning to Follow The Holy Spirit 4

Teachability

"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you."  John 14:26

Throughout the bible, the words, "And the Spirit of the Lord came upon _____."  often refers to an unlikely individual.  The Holy Spirit uses the available tool.  Just a few examples... 

Numbers 24:2 "When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him"
Judges 3:10 "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, so that he became Israel's judge and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into
the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him."
Judges 6:34 "Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him."
Judges 11:29 "Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites."
Judges 14:6 "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done."
Judges 15:14 "As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands."
1 Samuel 10:6 "The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person."
1 Samuel 10:10 "When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying."
1 Samuel 11:6 "When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger."
1 Samuel 16:13 "So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah."
1 Samuel 19:20 "so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied."
1 Samuel 19:23 "So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth."
2 Chronicles 15:1 "The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded."
Ezekiel 11:5 "Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon me, and he told me to say: "This is what the LORD says: That is what you are saying, O house of Israel, but I know what is going through your mind."

There is an old Chinese saying, "When the student is ready, a teacher appears."  The Holy Spirit is looking for the fertile soil of a heart prepared to receive. 

1 John 2:27As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
There is no manipulation that makes the Holy Spirit appear or formula to being teachable.  Biblical examples indicate that a soft heart is required but often when the Spirit speaks to us we often recoil or even disbelieve and doubt the source of these whisperings. Do we do this out of  fear or because what we receive is not easy to reconcile to our own views?  Consider Jonah fleeing from taking his message to Nineveh or Saul on the road to Damascus.
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.  Acts 7:51
In Ezekiel, God makes a "new deal", 

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26


"Someone whom God has given a new heart behaves differently. Saul is an example of this in 1 Samuel 10:1 and 9. God had chosen Saul to be the first king of Israel. Saul was a nobody, but God chose him anyway and sent the prophet Samuel to anoint him king. “Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, ‘Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance?’” Samuel made several predictions to prove to Saul that God had sent him, and verse 9 says, “As Saul turned and started to leave, God gave him a new heart, and all Samuel’s signs were fulfilled that day.” The new heart God gave Saul transformed him from an average nobody to the king of Israel. Not only was his status changed, but his entire outlook was transformed by the power of God.
The human heart was created to mirror God’s own heart (Genesis 1:27; James 3:9). We were designed to love Him, love righteousness, and walk in harmony with God and others (Micah 6:8). But part of God’s design of the human heart is free will. That free will carries with it the opportunity to abuse it, as did Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:11). God desires that we choose to love and serve Him. When we stubbornly refuse to follow God, our hearts, which were designed to communicate with God, are hardened. God compares rebellious hearts to stone (Zechariah 7:12). A heart of stone finds it impossible to repent, to love God, or to please Him (Romans 8:8). The hearts of sinful humanity are so hardened that we cannot even seek God on our own (Romans 3:11), and that’s why Jesus said no one can come to Him unless the Father first draws him (John 6:44). We desperately need new hearts, for we are unable on our own to soften our hard hearts. A change of heart toward God requires a supernatural transformation. Jesus called it being “born again” (John 3:3)." (1)

(1) from https://www.gotquestions.org/new-heart.html

Learning to follow The Holy Spirit 3

Preparations

As I write this there is a Category 5 Hurricane Irma taking aim at Florida.  They say it is the strongest storm ever recorded.  People are urged to evacuate. Many are making preparations to ride it out.  This includes gathering many kinds of provisions, reinforcing and securing anything of value, communicating with family, getting important documents and cash close at hand, and prayer.

Lately, I have been feeling unprepared.  When bad things happen, you often don't have a chance to give last minute instructions.  There is no time to save money when your company closes the doors unexpectedly.  How would you cope if your wife announces she's leaving you?   Does anyone know your wishes should you be incapacitated?  Do you know the problems you cause if you don't have a will?  If everyone was without power for 2 weeks, how would you survive?

That nagging at the back of your mind when you hear these questions?  That is not fear.  It's a confirmation from the Holy Spirit to trust God and perform your due diligence as he directs and provides.  As the Arabic proverb says, "Trust God but tie up your camel."

God has given the people in the way of Irma time to evacuate.  Some can't, some choose not to.

We can save for retirement, some choose not to.
We can work regularly at our marriage, some choose not to.
We can assume that the next paycheck will always be there, some choose not to.
We can plan to leave our loved ones to figure out where we put our important papers, some choose not to.

Maybe I should have called this one "Stewardship".

Following the Holy Spirit does not mean we are absolved from responsibilities for preparation.    Being prepared gives us freedom, so long as you don't take your eyes off God and put your trust in provisions.

Learning To Follow The Holy Spirit 2

Learning from Sin

We know that the Law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do. 16And if I do what I do not desire, I admit that the Law is good.  Romans 7:14-16 Berean Study Bible 

John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
Romans 7:19
For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do.
Galatians 5:17
For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to one another, so that you do not do what you want.

"Don't go through your day burning, that's not how the Holy Spirit can teach you."  My words to my son as he recounted an injustice that had him both frustrated and angry.  Turmoil is fertile ground for the enemy, but crisis is often the opportunity for God to get glory.  Beyond our emotion, when there is no hope- God can make a way.

Anger steals your wisdom because it slams the door in the face of the Holy Spirit.

“If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 

When the truth comes into the light, it often comes kicking and screaming.  Especially when it is the truth about our sin.  We are defiant, defensive, incensed, livid, injustice has been done to us.  That is the first reaction.  After that burning fog passes we will have blame, shame at our seething, guilt, recognition of our wrong... But first is belligerence.

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us."  (1 John 1:8-10) Berean Study Bible

Learning to follow the Holy Spirit is clearing our slate on a regular basis.  Examining our hearts and  making amends by admitting our sins.  Can we learn from our sin if we don't confess it, see it for the transgression against God that it is and take actions that align with our convictions?  We should be serious about confession.  Once is just not enough, and neither is rote prayer.  A relationship is an ongoing conversation of reconciliation with the Holy Spirit. 

Learning To Follow The Holy Spirit 1

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16- 25 NIV)

I thirst to follow the Holy Spirit in my life.  As a man of flesh, I fall ignobly short   As a novice I have found it strengthening to mentally recite the words of Galatians 22-23 (which I memorized some time ago) when I am aware of my own temptations.  Most times I miss the clues that I should be on guard and I fail- my flesh having it's way.

At times I hear brilliant things whispered to me that I know are the Holy Spirit, and I am grateful and recognize that this a Divine Word.  Other times I hear and believe I have had a great thought on my own, giving no credit to God.  Worst of all, sometimes I am impatient, angry or selfish and can't hear beyond my own wretched desires.  Lately, I have felt that the Holy Spirit wants to instruct me.  The word that came to me yesterday was Preparation.  It had to do with a panic attack I had over a job situation.  But there have been several crisis situations that have occurred lately that have underscored this Preparation thought this summer.  I won't go into them here and now, but suffice to say, they were game changers.

It came to me in my bed this morning that I must set aside time to meet with the Holy Spirit to set up my day and again at night to review, confess, and learn from my day.  Call it an exercise for an indeterminate period.  I was jolted awake by the idea and compelled to put some ideas down in blog form and it seems this is how I should record my learning.  

Holy Spirit come, guide my day.  Help me turn to you for answers, be prompted into action, and seek your inspiration and creativity.  Express yourself through me.  Form my words, inform my thoughts, and teach me.  Help me to show God's love and wisdom through my life.

Heavy on my heart is the need for confession.  That there are things that have done I need to ask forgiveness for that day.  That I have taken God's grace too much for granted and not learned nearly enough from my sin.  It makes grace cheap.  Part of my hope is that Jesus' sacrifice would move me to be more like him.  I hesitate to use the churchy term "sanctification", but to be "holy because God is holy".   I can't follow God better without addressing obedience (doing what God says)...

15If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—…John 14:15-16 Berean Study Bible 

John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him."
John 14:23
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him.
John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love.
1 John 2:3
By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.
1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,
2 John 1:6
And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments.

Religion is too much work.  God doesn't want slaves, he wants a relationship.  Let's not make this about trying to earn our way to heaven.  Jesus already took care of that.  Do this out of love for God's holiness, Jesus' sacrificial love and being teachable by the Holy Spirit.