08/25/2022
In talking with some believers they say that although they believe in God, He never seems to reveal Himself to them in the way that others claim to, that they don’t feel they are experiencing Jesus fully, or that as hard as they pray they just don’t feel like they have received the Holy Spirit. This frustrates them, and they ask… what am I doing wrong? How can I experience the fullness of Jesus? What must I do to hear God speaking to me, or to receive the Holy Spirit? My answer can be different depending on the person, but it always contains one observation… stop looking for God in the world, and start looking for the world in God.
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”
Psalm 19:1-2 ESV
God spoke creation into existence through a few carefully chosen words, and ever since He created man, and man became privy to the facts regarding creation, we have been trying to define Him, place Him in a box, and understand who He is by those few words, and that one act of creation. Despite the grandeur of creation, and its expansiveness, this is futile. Trying to understand who God is by His creation is just as impossible as trying to understand who Bach was by listening to His music, or who Michelangelo was by gazing up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Their creations give us a glimpse into them, but they always fall far short of allowing us to actually know them. It is the same with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. We can see them in part, and yet we still fall short…
““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 7:21 ESV
So how do we come to know God, experience the fullness of Christ, and receive the Holy Spirit? First of all, we need to stop trying to use the world to measure them, know them, define them, and receive them. When we finally realize that loving the world is counter to our faith…
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
1 John 2:15 ESV
That doing good deeds or being a moral person is not actually experiencing Christ, nor His fullness…
“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:17-19 ESV
And that receiving the Holy Spirit is not something we earn, but is a gift, and doesn’t necessarily come with a flash of lightning, but like a gentle Holy Kiss… a gift from God.
“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:38 ESV
If we do these things then we will begin to talk with God, know Jesus, and realize that the gift of the Spirit has already been given us, and gently laid within us. We will begin to hear God everywhere; experience Jesus in everything we do, and say… and, receive the understanding, guidance, and prayers of the Holy Spirit.
God wants to use His creation to teach us about Himself, and not the other way around. Jesus is not contained in the miracles He performed… He is the miracle itself… God’s love. And, we don’t receive the Holy Spirit by sweating, and wailing, in fervent prayer, but as a gift from God because we believe, have faith, and are baptized.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
John 3:17-18 ESV
Are we ready to set creation aside, and begin to see the creator? Are we ready to have our divine hearing and eyesight healed? Are we ready to see the world through our faith, and not our faith through the world? If we do this then we will realize that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were, are, and will always be, in us.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for revealing yourself to us, loving us perfectly, and completely, through Christ, and helping us to understand, and know you better through your Holy Spirit. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God and creator. Praised be your name for allowing us to bear your likeness, and for loving us as you do. Merciful are you who gave your only begotten Son that we might be redeemed, and wrested us from the grip of sin and death by his obedience to your will. Your grace abounds, and is sufficient for us. Your Holy Spirit leads us in divine understanding, and in our conversations, prayers, and walks with you. Wash us in the blood of Jesus, and make us worthy and pure in this way. Call out to us as we follow Him home to you, and judge us worthy of your Son’s sacrifice. Seat us at your table as your children, and take pleasure in each of us for all eternity. Hear our praise, our worship, and feel our loving adoration within it. You are our Father, Abba, and God… Holy, Holy, Holy, are you who has loved us, loves us, and will love us forevermore.
“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
2 Corinthians 13:12-14 ESV
Rich Forbes