The Holy Spirit - Does He Reign or Rain?
The Holy Spirit
You’ve heard this story before. A group of people were outside talking about the Second Coming when someone looked up and cried out,
“He’s Coming now!” As their eyes lifted to see His brilliant cloud, each noticed a letter in their hand, which they opened with great expectancy. Their faces
beamed as they read their own names on Jesus’ personal invitation to heaven. Everyone shared the elation as they began ascending toward the cloud, the weightless sensation causing their hearts to race wildly. No one could believe this was really happening, but they saw the light of God, the angels, and felt every sensation. This was real!
At that moment they looked down and saw one person who had yet to open her letter. Why did she hesitate?
What are some duties and characteristics attributed to the Holy Spirit?
According to the Bible and
Spirit of Prophecy:
•
works
conversion
•
molds
•
sooths
•
brings to remembrance
•
elevates
•
refines
and perfects character
•
sanctifies
•
brings
conviction and repentance
•
melts
our hearts
•
enlightens strengthens
•
brings
the atmosphere of heaven to us
•
shows
the things of God to men
•
gives
gifts
•
grows
fruit
•
works
on human hearts
•
gives
an atmosphere of grace
•
and baptizes with love.
The
Faith I Live ByPage
334
“As we seek God for the Holy
Spirit, it will work in us meekness, humbleness of mind, a conscious dependence
upon God for the perfecting ‘Latter
Rain’.”
Most of the Holy Spirit’s
traits, or gifts, we talked about are bestowed in preparation “for the
perfecting “Latter Rain” – they are part of the “Early
Rain”.
Holy Spirit – “Latter Rain” – From Jesus
Point of View
What characteristics or
roles did Jesus specifically associate with the Holy Spirit and Pentecost, i.e.
the “Latter Rain”?
John
15:26, 27 (The setting was in the Upper Room just prior to Christ’s
Crucifixion)
“But when the Comforter is
come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which
proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear
witness, because ye have been with me from the
beginning.”
o
Spirit if
Truth
o
Testify and bears
witness
o
Comforts
Acts
1:8 (This
was from Jesus just prior to His Ascension to Heaven)
“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.”
o
Power
o
Witness
Parenthetically
•
Nothing in this list of Pentecostal attributes
includes perfection or any ethereal euphoric life to
follow.
•
Even after Pentecost, Peter again denied Jesus. He
was more worried about his reputation when the Jewish leaders caught him eating
at the same table as Gentiles
•
They still had disagreements about member
expectations.
•
Moving on . .
.
Four Manifestations of
the Holy Spirit
in the “Latter Rain”
•
Comforter
•
Spirit of
Truth
•
Power
•
Witness
Let’s look at these a little
more closely…
The Comforter and
The Spirit of
Truth
Paraklatos: The
literal translation of the original Greek means “the One who stands at your
side” - Comforter.
The Comforter is given to
Whom? In order to need a Comforter, in what condition must that person
be?
•
Un –
comfortable
•
The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, ministers to the
un-comfortable.
•
If we are sitting safe and warm in our pew, do we
need a comforter? No . . .
•
What about if we are ministering to our brothers
and sisters in the church – a very important aspect of ministry - but when we
are working within the comfortable safety of the fold, do we need a
comforter? Maybe at times . . . but
it goes farther than that.
The
Faith I Live By Page
333
“Unless we are daily
advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues,
we shall not recognize the manifestations of
the Holy Spirit in the Latter
Rain.”
Does she really mean:
“Unless we are daily advancing in the exemplification of the passive Christian virtues,
we shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the Latter
Rain.”
Most of the Gifts of the
Spirit in the “Early Rain” are passive: love, joy, peace, truth, which are
essential in preparing us to receive. These “Early Rain” manifestations do not
end with any new manifestation, but rather the Holy Spirit’s “Latter Rain “ adds
the elements required of God’s people to close the work before Jesus comes. Active Christian Virtues implies
motion, movement. The Latter Rain gets us
moving.
Active
Christian Virtues
There are many, but which
activeChristian
virtue of the four manifestations of the “Latter Rain”, applying to end times,
do we find in Revelation
22:17:
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And
let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him
take the water of life
freely.”
Sister White also
says:
•
“The Holy Spirit will come to all who are begging for the bread
of life [the truth] to give to their neighbors” (6 Testimonies, pg.
90).
•
On Whom will it come? The ones who keep it for
themselves?
Pew
Warmers
•
Not one of us can afford, at this time in history,
to be pew warmers, sitting back satisfied to collect the truth for ourselves.
•
Sister White continues, “It may be falling on hearts all around
us, but we shall not discern or receive it” (Testimonies
to Ministers and Gospel Workers, Page 507).
Preaching to the
Choir
To some of you, this
devotional is preaching to the choir. You are not pew warmers, but what about
the rest of you? Am I making you uncomfortable? I hope so, because only those
who are uncomfortable will receive the Comforter. No one else needs
Him.
•
Don’t let me lose you here.
This is not a guilt trip. There is good news
ahead
Four Manifestations of
the Holy Spirit
in the “Latter Rain”
ü
Comfort
ü
Truth (the Bread of
Life)
·
Power
·
Witness
Power
A paraphrase from David
Asscherick:
Christ’s
Object Lessons, page
327
I have always heard that it
was when the disciples confessed their sins and were in one accord with each
other that the Pentecost Power of the Holy Spirit Rained. Until this week, I had
missed this one key phrase:
“Not until through faith and
prayer the disciples had surrendered themselves fully for
His working was the outpouring of the Spirit
received.”
Each one had to be
willing to work for him, willingto accept the four manifestations of the Holy Spirit: Comfort,
Truth, Power, and Witnessing for Him.
Full
Submission
•
Before we receive the “Rain, ” He must “reign.”
That means if God brings us the opportunity to spread His Word
through:
o
Preaching– we
preach
o
Giving to the poor – we
give
o
Helping in a soup kitchen – we serve
soup
The Comforter Can Do
Anything
What are some things that
inhibit people from doing God’s bidding, that is, sharing God with others,
either from up front, in sacrifice, the soup kitchen, or one on
one?
•
Fear
•
Ego (image of
failure)
•
Lack of confidence (in ourselves or
God)
•
Ignorance of the
Bible
•
Lack of
eloquence
•
Disinterest
•
Does the Spirit have the power to resolve those
issues? Of course, but not if the issue isn’t surrendered to Him.
•
Sometimes the primary reason the Spirit calls us
to do something isn’t for the benefit of others. Rather, it is for our benefit,
so we can see the POWER of the Holy Spirit, building our faith in spite of our
own infirmities.
II Timothy
3:4-6
Again, until this week, I
always thought this text referred to apostate, worldly Christian leaders:
“Lovers of pleasures more
than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:
from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses . .
.”
Could this be talking about
me?
•
“Lovers of pleasures (comfortable pews) more than
lovers of God;
•
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power
(“Latter Rain” Power) thereof: from such turn away.
•
For of this sort are they which creep into houses
(house of God?) . . .”
Saying
“No”
Sometimes we have to say no
because we can’t be in two places at one time, or some other legitimate reason,
but have you ever thought of it like this . . .
•
When
we say “no” simply because we
are
uncomfortable,
are
we denying the power of the Comforter? (pause)
•
If
we say “no” because we are
uncomfortable,
and we do not allow
the Holy Spirit to
comfort, to what conclusion can we come about our faith and/or our
surrender?
•
The Spirit must Reign
before we can receive the Rain. No
surrender - no Power.
•
“It
may be falling on hearts all around us,
but we shall not discern or receive it”- but we’ll look good!
Four Manifestations of
the Holy Spirit
in the “Latter Rain”
ü
Comfort
ü
Truth (the Bread of
Life)
ü
Power
·
Witness
Witness
Act 1:8 “And you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth.”
•
Why didn’t Jesus just say to all the world? He had
a reason for being very specific. We need to know exactly who He means so we
neglect no one – for our sake and
theirs.
o
Jerusalem– close people,
family?
o
Judea –still members but maybe not be quite as
close
o
Samaria – those who know the truth but don’t keep
it – backsliders, non-active
members
o
Ends of the earth – that’s everyone
else
Our
Privilege
Individual by individual, as
we recognize our need to be used by Him, as we demonstrate our full surrender by
stepping out of our comfort zone, we will receive the “Latter Rain” – the
Comforter. God will use us to share the truth with power as we witness for Him
to the entire world, beginning right here at home, and we
will be comforted.
Four Manifestations of the Holy Spirit in
the “Latter Rain”
Comfort ~
Truth ~
Power ~
Witness
You May
Say
•
“That’s all great and grand with you, Cindy. You
can speak up front. How do I receive Comfort when I am scared to death to speak
to anyone about Jesus, much less to more than one person or to people I don’t
know? I can never find the right
words.”
•
Important questions . .
.
My
Story
I was fully surrendered to
God as demonstrated by giving up every spare moment of my life, and some
not-so-spare, to write a book that God was calling me to write. I did this for
two years straight. While researching my publishing options
I realized that at some point
I would have to speak in public. Suddenly I had this overwhelming feeling
of rebellion. Christ dug deep and exposed a hidden trait I hadn’t surrendered,
which greatly surprised me.
I was willing to surrender
my life, my time, my pleasure, but there were limits. I was not going to make
myself uncomfortable – NO! There are two things that I just don’t do even for
God: sing in public and speak in public.
It’s not that I just “didn’t
not want to do it,” I refused “to His
face!”
Quick Genetic History About
Cindy
o
Father –72 years of age, lives in a 32 foot RV,
drives only to Shari’s for lunch, to church, and to His friend’s house to feed
the squirrels.
o
Mother –her psychology testing showed she could
live for fifty years alone on a deserted island and be very happy.
Are you getting the picture
here of me? I am definitely a chip
off the ole block!
Friends?
o
Up
until fairly recently, I went home
from church drenched in sweat from the anxiety of socializing – with my
friends.I enjoyed people and put up a good front, but inside I was a anxious
disaster.
o
If
I reacted that way to people who were my friends, how would I react to being up
front speaking to strangers?
If I had to speak in public,
I was done with the book and two years of my life was waste, but wasted it would
be, because there was no way I was going to speak in
public.
God
and I Had a Little Chat
I argued and I cried. I
refused again and again. For three days, I begged to be released from what God
might be calling me to do – and then I remembered . . .
Gethsemane
Finally,
I claimed His promise in John
15:7 “If ye abide in Me and My
Words abide in you ye shall ask
what ye will and it shall be done unto you.”
I couldn’t pray for
strength. Strength was not was I needed. It would not meet my rebellion or alter my
direction – away from God at that moment.
I would not pray for strength.
Instead I asked, or rather
told.God that He would have to change me, to make we want to do
what He was asking, and then I knew the strength would be there.
I fell on my knees and with
utterance only the Spirit could understand, and I acknowledged the sin in my
rebellion.
The
Awakening
God knows that we as humans
often need to learn from literal experiences, a failure, an example, a real
experience with emotion and sensation in order to appropriately respond. He
couldn’t really come to teach me, so he chose another way.
The next night, God shared a
dream in which I touched, saw, and felt His coming. As I was ecstatically
ascending to the cloud toward Jesus, seeing the splendor, feeling the
weightlessness, absorbing the elation, I looked back at the one remaining person
still opening her envelope. I will never forget the indescribable look on
her face as she read her letter of denial.
I awakened from the dream,
my heart pounding as one who had just seen an angel, but my chest hurt from the
intense anxiety at the loss of that one woman.
I was changed! I went to bed
rebellious to speak in public and awakened begging God the opportunity – any
opportunity, any sacrifice, any calling. From that point forward, nothing would
stop me from doing everything in my power to reach her or any other, and I have never looked back.
A
Miracle
•
If you find yourself resistant to the Lord’s
calling I appeal to you: come boldly before His throne and
plead not for the strength to
conquer your fears but for His
Spirit to change you, to possess you . . . in such a way that you cannot help
but serve Him in any capacity He desires.
•
Your answer may be miraculous . . . or not. But I can promise you this:
Desire
of Ages Page 200
“When we have asked for His
blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we
havereceived it. Then we are to go about our duties
assured that the blessing will be realized when we need it
most…God will do for us “exceeding abundantly ” “according to the riches of
His glory ”and “the working of His mighty power.” Eph 3:20
16; 1:19
AND…
“When we give ourselves
wholly to God and in our work follow His directions
He makes Himself responsible for its accomplishment. He would not
have us conjecture as to the success of our honest endeavors. Not once should we
even think of failure. We are to cooperate with One who knows no failure.” COL
363
True Evidence of the Holy Spirit’s
Reign/Rain
•
As mentioned, we know by the disciple’s experience
that the “Latter Rain” will not be an effervescent euphoria or instant
perfection of character.
•
Rather, the “Latter Rain” will be
manifested by the demonstration of our full and complete surrender to do
whatever God is asking, no matter our discomfort. And our reward will be
complete as the Comforter is poured out upon us, in turn making us comfortable.
Faith
It isn’t just believing, it’s acting, and I, a rebellious recluse, am
living proof that the Comforter can work through anyone if we just . . .
surrender
Appeal
This may be uncomfortable;
it may even be painful, but are you willing to truly surrender all to Him – even
your desire for comfort? Are you
willing to just start small and let your faith in the Comforter grow slowly as
He demonstrates His power?
If
you are too uncomfortable to accept that, will you plead with the Spirit to
change you, to transform you so that you WANT to give Him control over those
things in His service that make you uncomfortable?
If
either applies to you, and if you want Him to reign in
you, so that His Spirit will rain on
you, just take a quiet moment right now to tell Jesus, “I want the ‘Latter
Rain’. I want to submit to work in any capacity You’ve called
me.”
Prayer of
Commitment
Our Dear and Most Precious,
Most Glorious Heavenly
Father,
Forgive us for denying the
power of the Comforter. Forgive us for our lack of faith in you. And our
Magnificent Lord, we claim your promise to send us the Comforter without
measure. We ask you for His truth, His power, and His witness, and we claim your
promise in John 15:7 that “it will be done unto us.” We praise You that “We can
stand erect and fearless in the presence of earthly monarchs because, [with the
help of the Comforter,] we have bowed low before the King of Kings.”
We
ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus, Amen.
Song
of Commitment
Come, Holy Spirit, We Need
You
Come, Sweet Spirit, We Pray
Come, With Your Strength and Your
Power
Come, In Your Own Special
Way.
You’ve heard this story before. A group of people were outside talking about the Second Coming when someone looked up and cried out,
“He’s Coming now!” As their eyes lifted to see His brilliant cloud, each noticed a letter in their hand, which they opened with great expectancy. Their faces
beamed as they read their own names on Jesus’ personal invitation to heaven. Everyone shared the elation as they began ascending toward the cloud, the weightless sensation causing their hearts to race wildly. No one could believe this was really happening, but they saw the light of God, the angels, and felt every sensation. This was real!
At that moment they looked down and saw one person who had yet to open her letter. Why did she hesitate?
What are some duties and characteristics attributed to the Holy Spirit?
According to the Bible and
Spirit of Prophecy:
•
works
conversion
•
molds
•
sooths
•
brings to remembrance
•
elevates
•
refines
and perfects character
•
sanctifies
•
brings
conviction and repentance
•
melts
our hearts
•
enlightens strengthens
•
brings
the atmosphere of heaven to us
•
shows
the things of God to men
•
gives
gifts
•
grows
fruit
•
works
on human hearts
•
gives
an atmosphere of grace
•
and baptizes with love.
The
Faith I Live ByPage
334
“As we seek God for the Holy
Spirit, it will work in us meekness, humbleness of mind, a conscious dependence
upon God for the perfecting ‘Latter
Rain’.”
Most of the Holy Spirit’s
traits, or gifts, we talked about are bestowed in preparation “for the
perfecting “Latter Rain” – they are part of the “Early
Rain”.
Holy Spirit – “Latter Rain” – From Jesus
Point of View
What characteristics or
roles did Jesus specifically associate with the Holy Spirit and Pentecost, i.e.
the “Latter Rain”?
John
15:26, 27 (The setting was in the Upper Room just prior to Christ’s
Crucifixion)
“But when the Comforter is
come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which
proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear
witness, because ye have been with me from the
beginning.”
o
Spirit if
Truth
o
Testify and bears
witness
o
Comforts
Acts
1:8 (This
was from Jesus just prior to His Ascension to Heaven)
“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.”
o
Power
o
Witness
Parenthetically
•
Nothing in this list of Pentecostal attributes
includes perfection or any ethereal euphoric life to
follow.
•
Even after Pentecost, Peter again denied Jesus. He
was more worried about his reputation when the Jewish leaders caught him eating
at the same table as Gentiles
•
They still had disagreements about member
expectations.
•
Moving on . .
.
Four Manifestations of
the Holy Spirit
in the “Latter Rain”
•
Comforter
•
Spirit of
Truth
•
Power
•
Witness
Let’s look at these a little
more closely…
The Comforter and
The Spirit of
Truth
Paraklatos: The
literal translation of the original Greek means “the One who stands at your
side” - Comforter.
The Comforter is given to
Whom? In order to need a Comforter, in what condition must that person
be?
•
Un –
comfortable
•
The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, ministers to the
un-comfortable.
•
If we are sitting safe and warm in our pew, do we
need a comforter? No . . .
•
What about if we are ministering to our brothers
and sisters in the church – a very important aspect of ministry - but when we
are working within the comfortable safety of the fold, do we need a
comforter? Maybe at times . . . but
it goes farther than that.
The
Faith I Live By Page
333
“Unless we are daily
advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues,
we shall not recognize the manifestations of
the Holy Spirit in the Latter
Rain.”
Does she really mean:
“Unless we are daily advancing in the exemplification of the passive Christian virtues,
we shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the Latter
Rain.”
Most of the Gifts of the
Spirit in the “Early Rain” are passive: love, joy, peace, truth, which are
essential in preparing us to receive. These “Early Rain” manifestations do not
end with any new manifestation, but rather the Holy Spirit’s “Latter Rain “ adds
the elements required of God’s people to close the work before Jesus comes. Active Christian Virtues implies
motion, movement. The Latter Rain gets us
moving.
Active
Christian Virtues
There are many, but which
activeChristian
virtue of the four manifestations of the “Latter Rain”, applying to end times,
do we find in Revelation
22:17:
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And
let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him
take the water of life
freely.”
Sister White also
says:
•
“The Holy Spirit will come to all who are begging for the bread
of life [the truth] to give to their neighbors” (6 Testimonies, pg.
90).
•
On Whom will it come? The ones who keep it for
themselves?
Pew
Warmers
•
Not one of us can afford, at this time in history,
to be pew warmers, sitting back satisfied to collect the truth for ourselves.
•
Sister White continues, “It may be falling on hearts all around
us, but we shall not discern or receive it” (Testimonies
to Ministers and Gospel Workers, Page 507).
Preaching to the
Choir
To some of you, this
devotional is preaching to the choir. You are not pew warmers, but what about
the rest of you? Am I making you uncomfortable? I hope so, because only those
who are uncomfortable will receive the Comforter. No one else needs
Him.
•
Don’t let me lose you here.
This is not a guilt trip. There is good news
ahead
Four Manifestations of
the Holy Spirit
in the “Latter Rain”
ü
Comfort
ü
Truth (the Bread of
Life)
·
Power
·
Witness
Power
A paraphrase from David
Asscherick:
- the Holy Spirit is not
a Power for us to use, but rather a Powerful Personage of God that uses us . . .
- . . . which brings us
to submission. To get the power, we must let the Spirit use
us.
Christ’s
Object Lessons, page
327
I have always heard that it
was when the disciples confessed their sins and were in one accord with each
other that the Pentecost Power of the Holy Spirit Rained. Until this week, I had
missed this one key phrase:
“Not until through faith and
prayer the disciples had surrendered themselves fully for
His working was the outpouring of the Spirit
received.”
Each one had to be
willing to work for him, willingto accept the four manifestations of the Holy Spirit: Comfort,
Truth, Power, and Witnessing for Him.
Full
Submission
•
Before we receive the “Rain, ” He must “reign.”
That means if God brings us the opportunity to spread His Word
through:
o
Preaching– we
preach
o
Giving to the poor – we
give
o
Helping in a soup kitchen – we serve
soup
The Comforter Can Do
Anything
What are some things that
inhibit people from doing God’s bidding, that is, sharing God with others,
either from up front, in sacrifice, the soup kitchen, or one on
one?
•
Fear
•
Ego (image of
failure)
•
Lack of confidence (in ourselves or
God)
•
Ignorance of the
Bible
•
Lack of
eloquence
•
Disinterest
•
Does the Spirit have the power to resolve those
issues? Of course, but not if the issue isn’t surrendered to Him.
•
Sometimes the primary reason the Spirit calls us
to do something isn’t for the benefit of others. Rather, it is for our benefit,
so we can see the POWER of the Holy Spirit, building our faith in spite of our
own infirmities.
II Timothy
3:4-6
Again, until this week, I
always thought this text referred to apostate, worldly Christian leaders:
“Lovers of pleasures more
than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:
from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses . .
.”
Could this be talking about
me?
•
“Lovers of pleasures (comfortable pews) more than
lovers of God;
•
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power
(“Latter Rain” Power) thereof: from such turn away.
•
For of this sort are they which creep into houses
(house of God?) . . .”
Saying
“No”
Sometimes we have to say no
because we can’t be in two places at one time, or some other legitimate reason,
but have you ever thought of it like this . . .
•
When
we say “no” simply because we
are
uncomfortable,
are
we denying the power of the Comforter? (pause)
•
If
we say “no” because we are
uncomfortable,
and we do not allow
the Holy Spirit to
comfort, to what conclusion can we come about our faith and/or our
surrender?
•
The Spirit must Reign
before we can receive the Rain. No
surrender - no Power.
•
“It
may be falling on hearts all around us,
but we shall not discern or receive it”- but we’ll look good!
Four Manifestations of
the Holy Spirit
in the “Latter Rain”
ü
Comfort
ü
Truth (the Bread of
Life)
ü
Power
·
Witness
Witness
Act 1:8 “And you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth.”
•
Why didn’t Jesus just say to all the world? He had
a reason for being very specific. We need to know exactly who He means so we
neglect no one – for our sake and
theirs.
o
Jerusalem– close people,
family?
o
Judea –still members but maybe not be quite as
close
o
Samaria – those who know the truth but don’t keep
it – backsliders, non-active
members
o
Ends of the earth – that’s everyone
else
Our
Privilege
Individual by individual, as
we recognize our need to be used by Him, as we demonstrate our full surrender by
stepping out of our comfort zone, we will receive the “Latter Rain” – the
Comforter. God will use us to share the truth with power as we witness for Him
to the entire world, beginning right here at home, and we
will be comforted.
Four Manifestations of the Holy Spirit in
the “Latter Rain”
Comfort ~
Truth ~
Power ~
Witness
You May
Say
•
“That’s all great and grand with you, Cindy. You
can speak up front. How do I receive Comfort when I am scared to death to speak
to anyone about Jesus, much less to more than one person or to people I don’t
know? I can never find the right
words.”
•
Important questions . .
.
My
Story
I was fully surrendered to
God as demonstrated by giving up every spare moment of my life, and some
not-so-spare, to write a book that God was calling me to write. I did this for
two years straight. While researching my publishing options
I realized that at some point
I would have to speak in public. Suddenly I had this overwhelming feeling
of rebellion. Christ dug deep and exposed a hidden trait I hadn’t surrendered,
which greatly surprised me.
I was willing to surrender
my life, my time, my pleasure, but there were limits. I was not going to make
myself uncomfortable – NO! There are two things that I just don’t do even for
God: sing in public and speak in public.
It’s not that I just “didn’t
not want to do it,” I refused “to His
face!”
Quick Genetic History About
Cindy
o
Father –72 years of age, lives in a 32 foot RV,
drives only to Shari’s for lunch, to church, and to His friend’s house to feed
the squirrels.
o
Mother –her psychology testing showed she could
live for fifty years alone on a deserted island and be very happy.
Are you getting the picture
here of me? I am definitely a chip
off the ole block!
Friends?
o
Up
until fairly recently, I went home
from church drenched in sweat from the anxiety of socializing – with my
friends.I enjoyed people and put up a good front, but inside I was a anxious
disaster.
o
If
I reacted that way to people who were my friends, how would I react to being up
front speaking to strangers?
If I had to speak in public,
I was done with the book and two years of my life was waste, but wasted it would
be, because there was no way I was going to speak in
public.
God
and I Had a Little Chat
I argued and I cried. I
refused again and again. For three days, I begged to be released from what God
might be calling me to do – and then I remembered . . .
Gethsemane
Finally,
I claimed His promise in John
15:7 “If ye abide in Me and My
Words abide in you ye shall ask
what ye will and it shall be done unto you.”
I couldn’t pray for
strength. Strength was not was I needed. It would not meet my rebellion or alter my
direction – away from God at that moment.
I would not pray for strength.
Instead I asked, or rather
told.God that He would have to change me, to make we want to do
what He was asking, and then I knew the strength would be there.
I fell on my knees and with
utterance only the Spirit could understand, and I acknowledged the sin in my
rebellion.
The
Awakening
God knows that we as humans
often need to learn from literal experiences, a failure, an example, a real
experience with emotion and sensation in order to appropriately respond. He
couldn’t really come to teach me, so he chose another way.
The next night, God shared a
dream in which I touched, saw, and felt His coming. As I was ecstatically
ascending to the cloud toward Jesus, seeing the splendor, feeling the
weightlessness, absorbing the elation, I looked back at the one remaining person
still opening her envelope. I will never forget the indescribable look on
her face as she read her letter of denial.
I awakened from the dream,
my heart pounding as one who had just seen an angel, but my chest hurt from the
intense anxiety at the loss of that one woman.
I was changed! I went to bed
rebellious to speak in public and awakened begging God the opportunity – any
opportunity, any sacrifice, any calling. From that point forward, nothing would
stop me from doing everything in my power to reach her or any other, and I have never looked back.
A
Miracle
•
If you find yourself resistant to the Lord’s
calling I appeal to you: come boldly before His throne and
plead not for the strength to
conquer your fears but for His
Spirit to change you, to possess you . . . in such a way that you cannot help
but serve Him in any capacity He desires.
•
Your answer may be miraculous . . . or not. But I can promise you this:
Desire
of Ages Page 200
“When we have asked for His
blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we
havereceived it. Then we are to go about our duties
assured that the blessing will be realized when we need it
most…God will do for us “exceeding abundantly ” “according to the riches of
His glory ”and “the working of His mighty power.” Eph 3:20
16; 1:19
AND…
“When we give ourselves
wholly to God and in our work follow His directions
He makes Himself responsible for its accomplishment. He would not
have us conjecture as to the success of our honest endeavors. Not once should we
even think of failure. We are to cooperate with One who knows no failure.” COL
363
True Evidence of the Holy Spirit’s
Reign/Rain
•
As mentioned, we know by the disciple’s experience
that the “Latter Rain” will not be an effervescent euphoria or instant
perfection of character.
•
Rather, the “Latter Rain” will be
manifested by the demonstration of our full and complete surrender to do
whatever God is asking, no matter our discomfort. And our reward will be
complete as the Comforter is poured out upon us, in turn making us comfortable.
Faith
It isn’t just believing, it’s acting, and I, a rebellious recluse, am
living proof that the Comforter can work through anyone if we just . . .
surrender
Appeal
This may be uncomfortable;
it may even be painful, but are you willing to truly surrender all to Him – even
your desire for comfort? Are you
willing to just start small and let your faith in the Comforter grow slowly as
He demonstrates His power?
If
you are too uncomfortable to accept that, will you plead with the Spirit to
change you, to transform you so that you WANT to give Him control over those
things in His service that make you uncomfortable?
If
either applies to you, and if you want Him to reign in
you, so that His Spirit will rain on
you, just take a quiet moment right now to tell Jesus, “I want the ‘Latter
Rain’. I want to submit to work in any capacity You’ve called
me.”
Prayer of
Commitment
Our Dear and Most Precious,
Most Glorious Heavenly
Father,
Forgive us for denying the
power of the Comforter. Forgive us for our lack of faith in you. And our
Magnificent Lord, we claim your promise to send us the Comforter without
measure. We ask you for His truth, His power, and His witness, and we claim your
promise in John 15:7 that “it will be done unto us.” We praise You that “We can
stand erect and fearless in the presence of earthly monarchs because, [with the
help of the Comforter,] we have bowed low before the King of Kings.”
We
ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus, Amen.
Song
of Commitment
Come, Holy Spirit, We Need
You
Come, Sweet Spirit, We Pray
Come, With Your Strength and Your
Power
Come, In Your Own Special
Way.
