Holy Engagement (2/13/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Eph 1:13-14.

The Holy Spirit has been given to us as a pledge. Just like an engagement ring is given in pledge of getting married, we as the bride of Christ receive the Holy Spirit from our Lord Jesus. The Spirit is given with a promise of full redemption to come and full acceptance into citizenship in heaven. According to our English dictionary a pledge is either a formal promise to do something or something given as security to guarantee the fulfillment of an obligation. If we remain faithful and true to our Lord, he's obligated to fulfill his promise.

Verse 13 says we're "marked in Christ with a seal." Ownership demands an investment, and Yahweh has made that investment in our lives. His investment is the presence of the Holy Spirit. We don't look at marriage as a matter of ownership, but we must consider it when we think about our relationship with our Father in heaven. We do have a parallel in 1 Cor 7:4 where it tells us the husband's and wife's bodies belong to their spouse. It's not that either has bought the other, but that we're sold out to being with our marriage partner. Jesus purchases us with his blood when we seek salvation, and then invests the Holy Spirit in us to seal the deal.

In the first century people signed letters by placing their official seal on them. It was simply a bit of wax that was placed on the document and the writer would then place his signet in it to make an impression. It's where we get the word signature from. By pressing his ring into the soft wax, the writer proved and verified the letter was authentic.

The Holy Spirit is Yahweh's seal on us, his mark, the thing that verifies we're truly born again and part of his family. He sets us apart from the world and marks us for our protection from evil spiritual forces. The Holy Spirit brings us security in this fallen world. When a couple gets engaged there's usually a sense of security which builds within the two people. They're no longer wondering if they should ask or whether the other will accept, they're now planning a wedding and a life together.

When Yahweh comes into our lives we have something exciting to look forward to. We have eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. When we arrive we'll have the marriage supper of the Lamb of God to prepared for us. This will be the most amazing wedding reception in the history of mankind. All the saints of our Lord God Almighty will be seated together with their Savior enjoying the richness of his table. Our preparation is ongoing as we walk in this world. Eph 5:27 shows us what the end product is supposed to look and be like. "To present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

We can know we're going to enjoy that great feast because of the deposit of the Holy Spirit placed in our hearts. If we're walking with our Lord, daily spending time with him in prayer and his Word, we can know with certainty that the Holy Spirit's presence is within us. When we deny our own selfish desires and give our Lord proper "face-time," we gain confidence in his promise. When we deny him any intimate contact, how can we expect him to marry us at his return?

In verse 14 we see that the Holy Spirit "is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance." This deposit guarantee was a common first century practice. The word meant a pledge to purchase property, a down payment. And when they gave down payments they were committing to buying the property, not just putting it on hold to consider the deal further. The act of giving a down payment was thought of as the beginning of the process of purchase, not just so the property would be held while the buyer considered other purchases.

Yahweh has invested part of himself into every Christian's life. Jesus shed his blood and died for us, and now the Holy Spirit abides in us. This investment is expected to produce results. Jesus said in John 16:13, "When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own, he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." We're expected to pay attention to what the Spirit is speaking to us, and he's speaking to all of us on a daily basis. And based on what he's speaking to us, our Lord expects obedience and faithfulness.

It's such a simple idea. Yahweh wants to speak to his people. The Body of Christ is made up of people who are all filled with the Holy Spirit, thus they have the presence and power of God Almighty residing in their lives. The presence of the Holy Spirit inside the heart of all believers is our direct link to Heaven. The Spirit wil guide us into truth, helping us avoid the lies of the devil and the deceptions of this world. The Holy Spirit wants to use us to bring necessary and essential encouragement to one another. Yahweh's guarantee is the Holy Spirit in us, abiding and speaking the will of the Father.

When we get engaged to Jesus by asking for him to take away our sins and cleanse us, we're also asking for him to lead and guide us for the rest of our earthly lives. This is a great and marvelous privilege. People who don't have Jesus as their Savior have to rely on very poor substitutes for Yahweh's prophetic Word. They're stuck with their finite minds, their five senses, and their worldly knowledge. Christians have a direct connection with Yahweh right inside their very being. How great is that?

After we get engaged there are some things we need to do to maintain our intimate relationship with our Father in Heaven. If we want to experience the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit we must:

1) Desire to be led by the Holy Spirit. If we desire to be led, Yahweh certainly wants to lead us. Desire is our biggest issue. People who refuse to be led, or don't choose to give it much thought, seldom realize how much the Spirit wants to help them. People who are true seekers of Yahweh's wisdom will receive the help they ask for. There are many choices we have to make in life and they'll be much easier when our Lord is allowed to help. Big or small issues doesn't matter, trusting our Lord does.

Sometimes Yahweh leads us through open doors. Sometimes he takes us around obstacles. Sometimes he confronts us with a closed door. Sometimes he nurtures us through a difficult situation. The key question is: What is the Spirit saying? When we acknowledge our Creator in our daily lives we'll be given the right course of action every time. When we obediently follow those directions even when we don't exactly appreciate what we're being told to do, we put our desire to follow our Lord on display for all to see and be blessed by.

2) Listen. Rev 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:29. 3:6, 3:13, and 3:22 all say, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says." It's extremely important for us to listen to the Holy Spirit as he speaks to us. Think about it. It's important enough for our Lord to say this same thing to all seven of the churches he's sending messages to through John. Why? Because it's possible for us to have ears and not listen. It's not about the physical act of hearing. It's about actually paying attention to what's being said.

We can all look back at mistakes we've made in the past and give thanks to Yahweh for his grace in redeeming us from our bad choices. We all have "if only I'd prayed first" failures we can remember. We all need to learn this little prayer: "Lord, let me be sensitive to your voice. Let me have a hearing ear." We all get deaf to Yahweh's voice from time to time. The only way to overcome our weakness is to work at listening, to make the effort to hear what the Spirit's saying to us on a regular basis.

3) Ask specifically. James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God." The Lord of all Creation wants to give us some of his heavenly wisdom. He'll gladly share his understanding and knowledge with us, if we just ask. Be mindful of asking with a right heart and intention or he may ignore your request. Of course, just a couple of chapters later James also shares with us, "You do not have, because you do not ask God." Yahweh doesn't resent us asking for things we need, especially wisdom.

But in general we need to be more specific in our prayers and requests. Generic prayers for others or healing or whatever usually means we're being lazy or we're really not invested in seeking solid answers for these prayers. Be as specific as you can in praying for the burden or desire Yahweh has placed in your heart. Ask him for big things. Ask him for little things. Even ask him for the in-between things. And if what we're asking for was truly placed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, that's a prayer that will definitely be answered.

If you're a born again Christian you're wearing a divine and supernatural engagement ring. What do the ladies who get engagement rings do with them? They show them off, of course. Show off your engagement ring. Let people know about the great God who loves you so much. Let the demonic world know that you're stamped and sealed as a child of Yahweh. They can already see the supernatural seal, but they need to be convinced that we're serious about acting in accordance with the indwelling Spirit of God.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Right Function (2/6/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading John 15:5-8.

Why does a light bulb need electricity to function? Because it's designed that way. If you separate the light bulb from the electricity it can't do what it was designed to do. The light bulb is a wonderful invention, but it's very precise design limits its usefulness. Without electricity there is no need for a light bulb. It was invented to take advantage of the power already available. It would be absolutely stupid to invent it without electricity.

Why does an oil lamp need oil to function? Why does a television need an antenna, cable, or satellite dish to function? Why does a car need gasoline to function? Because they're made that way. Think about cars. We pay a lot of money for cars that won't run without the ability to fill our tanks with gasoline. We spend a boatload of money for something that needs something else to move. Just just like a light bulb without electricity is useless, a car without gasoline isn't any good.

Why does man need his Creator in order to rightly function? Because we were made that way. Separate mankind from his Creator and what have you got? You've got nothing, because without the act of creation none of us would be here. At best you have a man or a woman, but they're unable to behave right because there's no user's manual. Man isn't an animal, but none of us is truly human without the presence of Yahweh. When we reject our Creator we're being foolish. The one who gave us life is the one who knows best how we're to live.

Our world tells us we're insane or at least unsophisticated and unintelligent to believe that we need the presence of Yahweh to live rightly. The insanity is actually believing that we can function well without him. Our Designer says we need to access him daily to rightly function. So those who believe themselves to be extremely intelligent for rejecting the presence of their Creator turn out to be the certifiable idiots. The scriptures tell us we're a branch in need of the life-giving flow of our Creator's presence. A branch separated from the tree can't survive because it no longer is connected to its life source.

Think about how often we try to help Yahweh improve and perfect us. When we don't feel like we're meeting our own expectations, we try to make personal improvements. But all we're really doing is trying to control our circumstances, attempting to set the conditions for our personal advancement. This only results in a life of ongoing frustration. We can't change our world to make it our personal utopia. We may fool ourselves or delude ourselves into thinking that we've manipulated everything to our advantage, but none of us can control the world like Yahweh.

Part of the Good News is that perfection is being handed to us for the asking. When we accept Jesus into our lives through faith we begin the process of perfection. The personal adjustments we make don't get us to this perfect place. Heb 10:14 says, "By one sacrifice Jesus has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." Jesus already did what was necessary for us to be perfect. Through his sacrifice we can be presented to the Father as holy, without blemish, totally free from condemnation or accusation.

Suppose you were able to buy the Mona Lisa from the Louvre and you brought it home. One day as you're admiring it on your wall you think to yourself, "Maybe I can make this painting a little better." So you set up an easel, get some paint and brushes, and you begin dabbing on the painting trying to make improvements. But there's no way that any of us non-talented painters can make this masterpiece better. The minute you add something of your own to Mr. da Vinci's work, you rob it of value, not raise its value. The master's work is perfect as it is. There's nothing more any of us can do to improve the painting. And imagine what the art world would think or say if you attempted to do something like this.

In the same way, we're not in our right minds when we try to improve on Yahweh's handiwork. There's nothing we can add or take away to improve on our Creator's work. When we think or believe that we have a better idea about anything compared to Yahweh, we're being foolish and ridiculous. We already have everything we need to live right in this world and to be filled with joy and peace. We only need to trust that our Creator has already provided all the resources and instructions necessary for us to be truly happy.

Salvation is about getting mankind back to their Creator, not bringing Yahweh down to us. Salvation is about restoring us to our true humanity, returning us to the condition Yahweh intended us to live in. Without Yahweh inside of us we're not truly human because we're designed to be in direct contact with him. We can't live the life he intended us to live without being directly connected to his life force, the source of energy necessary to live as we were designed to live.

Yahweh has already given us all we need to function properly. We have his Word, which is our user's manual. Debugging instructions are already provided within its pages. Things like James 4:10. "Humble yourselves before Yahweh, and he will lift you up." None of us has a better plan, so we need to trust him without reservation. The Bible wasn't only written to an ancient people. It was written to Yahweh's creation. The instructions still work. The directions are still valid. Because it's still dealing with created humanity.

Yahweh has also given us the living presence of his Holy Spirit. Because our minds don't work right without spiritual illumination, our Designer gave us this special feature. When we become attached to him through salvation, he gives us direct wisdom and understanding through the Spirit. Part of the Spirit's work is to "teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said" (John 14:26). But probably what we need the most is found in John 16:13. "The Spirit of Truth will guide you into all truth."

How can we do any better than what our Creator has already done? He's given us everlasting Truth and the Holy Spirit's help to access whatever we need. The Spirit is available 24/7 to help us make right choices. We definitely think too highly of ourselves when we reject our Creator's user's manual and his provided technical advisor. We appreciate good service with products that fail. Having someone come to our home to fix what's broken or the ability to talk to a representative who can guide us to solutions is something we long for. Yahweh has given us a 24/7 service representative who can answer all our questions in the Holy Spirit.

The picture Jesus used to explain this concept to his disciples was the Vine and the Branches. We have to be connected to Jesus to receive his life-giving flow of spiritual nutrition. If we don't produce the kind of fruit Jesus expects, we'll be cut off and thrown into the fire. Without nutrition from Jesus, we're spiritually dead and not allowed to remain attached to the vine. We're instructed to "remain" in our Lord. This means we abide in him, we dwell in his presence. If we remain in him we find a permanent abode.

If you're struggling, filled with doubt or fighting your sin nature, remember that you can't rightly function without Yahweh's presence. We all need to work at drawing closer to our heavenly Father. We all need to work at following his instructions without making our personal adjustments to them. We all need to be in daily communion with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Don't try to operate outside of being fully connected to your Lord. There's no right functioning without Yahweh's direct involvement in our lives.

Blessings & Peace, Mike