“…And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times…” Judges 13:25
Dear Ones:
When the Spirit of the Lord moved upon the “face of the waters” in Genesis 1:2, there was not only that action of the Spirit, but the resulting reaction of creation. When the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon in Judges 6:34, he was enabled, empowered to lead the Israelites to victory over the Midianites and the Amalekites. When Saul of Tarsus, after meeting the Lord on the road to Damascus, received sight for his blindness, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit, he was a changed man. His motives and means by which he lived, were drastically altered. What is the common thread of thought in these situations concerning the Holy Spirit, the Eternal Spirit? It is that, God works BY His Spirit, and that when He does so, whether with regard to the physical world, or in the heart and soul of an individual, there is change. There are effects. As Jesus said, “….The wind blows where it will, and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell where it comes from, and where it is going: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.” (Jn. 3:8) What is the Lord Jesus communicating to us here concerning the presence and work of the Spirit? The first thing is: HE MOVES, HE WORKS. There is nothing more certain than that the Holy Spirit is moving, working in our world, and in the hearts of men. Secondly, there are EFFECTS. The effects are as certain as Him moving. “You hear the sound thereof.” Now, this does not mean that we will hear the wind blow when the Spirit of God moves, works. But, it does mean that change will be seen, a change that is only attributable to the Spirit of God. “So is everyone that is born of the Spirit.” The question then becomes to us: If the will of God is that we be filled with the Spirit, then what is my vision, and corresponding faith, with regard to what He desires to be and do through us? After all, Jesus did say, “All things are possible to him that believeth.” (Mark 9:23)
How important is it that we grasp the necessity of being absolutely dependent upon the Spirit of God for His fullness, and for His enablement to love and serve God? In John 15, the Lord Jesus spoke of this necessity: “Abide in Me, and I in you. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me and I in him, bringeth forth MUCH FRUIT, for without me ye can do nothing.” (Jn.15:4,5) What is He declaring here? First of all, He speaks of our union with Him, and His with us. When we come to Christ, the Father put us IN HIM. We were put in the Vine. We are the branches of that Vine. The same life that flows through that Vine must flow through us if we are to bear fruit. And so, we begin with what IS, and that means, we not only “realize” that we are in this union with Christ, us in Him and He in us, but that we are called to “believe wholeheartedly” that this is true. Secondly, it means that we are no longer “independent.” On the contrary, we choose practically to be independently dependent upon Christ by the Spirit for all things, and at all times. In this life on earth, we will never be perfectly able to accomplish this, but we can know the reality of this experience more and more. In the measure that we are led by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, kept by the Spirit, and living in fellowship with Christ by the Spirit, we shall produce much fruit. The “Wind” will blow, and there will be the effects. And those effects will be for the glory of God, for they will be by the Spirit.
Dear Father, Give us to realize what it means to be one with Thy Son, and enable us to BE the branches that we are, dependent upon the Lord Jesus at all times for all things. Then the effects of Thy presence and blessing will be seen, known, and heard. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad