What do you do when the going gets tough? What do you do when things are way different than you thought they would be? What do you do when your plans are changed?
In John 6 some of the disciples of Jesus deserted Him when He began to relate His physical death to their eternal life and in the confusion some left Him. Here is how John recorded all of this in John 6: 61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.” 66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”
68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God. 70 Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.
Jesus emphacized the impact of the Spirit in our lives and in verse 63 said the following: 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. He was trying to wean them from trusting their human efforts and take them to a whole new way of thinking and living that was going to be a life led by the power of the Holy Spirit. We still have trouble with that today, don't we? We say, "I love you, Jesus, and I give my life to You" until..... The truth of the matter is, "The more we rely on the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the more we begin to think and live like God wants us to. This is called following the will of God, and it can get a little scary, but it is still the most necessary thing to do when living a Christian life.
There are many "spirits" at work in our world, and the only way to keep in tune with the one true Spirit of God is to be filled all throughout your day. Paul wrote this about being filled with the Spirit of God. Ephesians 5:18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Alcohol is one of the physical "spirits," and Paul alerts us to the fact that we would be following the wrong spirit when we get "drunk" on any kind of alcohol. The reason I don't drink alcohol is because of the very fact I only want to be controlled by the true Spirit and not a weak alternative. If you drink alcohol, that's your thing, but keep in mind we are warned to seek the leadership of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to fill us again and again. When you receive Jesus by faith, and He forgives your sin and makes you that new creation, then you have a new seeking function that is to take over in your life, and He is the Holy Spirit. I cannot understand why Christians run from the power of the Holy Spirit, and some are even embarrassed to mention the Holy Spirit because of our world's impact on their thinking. The very battle we fight as a believer is a spiritual battle, and I need the Holy Spirit's power to fight that battle for me. Earlier in Ephesians 5 Paul writes this: 15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
I may be a little slow, but it seems to me that I need to be thinking in spiritual ways to live this abundant life, and when thinking in those terms, I yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit Jesus gave me at the time of my conversion. If you don't know much about the Holy Spirit, I would highly suggest studying the Holy Spirit in God's Word, and everything will suddenly make sense to you. You will learn about the Holy Spirit convicting you of your sin (you may have a problem with that one if you are living in disobedience), and you will learn about a peace that we cannot even explain. You will also get a holy boldness in how you live your life, and you will not be ashamed of the Holy Spirit. One tough one for you might be that the Holy Spirit will not allow you to "play church" anymore, and you will be very focused on serving God as an individual, regardless of how others say they live for Him. You will no longer be a "fake" Christian who is "churchified", but you will have a very personal walk with God. I believe that is awesome, so don't shy away from that because Jesus will become so much more real to you than just trying to live your faith through some denomination or religion. Just saying.....
If you have a problem with all of this, you may be like so many others who were satisfied to live the "fake" religious Christian life. I am not satisfied with living that life, and I will not succumb to living that kind of lifeless life. Only Jesus. Only Jesus. Only Jesus. When Jesus turned down the screws on the reality of following Him, some of those close to Him said I'm Outta Here. What say you?
Today's Message,
David Warren
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