Believe for It, page 7
The Holy Spirit allows us to know God better by opening the eyes of our hearts. Before salvation, our hearts are blind to the things of God. But the Holy Spirit gives us our spiritual sight, allowing us to be filled with His hope and view the riches and power we have in Him. This is sometimes a very different reality than what we see in the world around us. Realizing we have access to the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is a game changer. The success of our mission is not contingent on our own strength or resources—far from it. As we allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the things of God to us, we can more easily join Him in what He is doing in the lives of those around us.
The Holy Spirit guides the believer into truth. We have already established that the spirit of the age is one of chaos and deceit. We live in a world that encourages us to embrace and speak our own truth. It tries to convince us that there are many truths and many ways to God. But among those many competing voices, Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). This declaration can sound harsh to our modern ears. How could there be only one way to God? But this is our Savior’s claim, and part of the role of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into absolute truth.
Jesus told His disciples, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the 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” (John 16:13).
The next generation is in desperate need of God’s truth. Our world is in a state of confusion, where many voices claim to be the truth and it can be difficult to spot the deception. I like to picture an airplane being guided down onto a runway by air traffic control. Like the voice in the pilot’s headset, the Holy Spirit gently guides us to a perfect landing onto the runway of God’s truth. That’s why 1 John 4:1 tells us to “test the spirits” to discern which promptings are from the Lord. The lies shouted by the culture may surround us, but we can depend on the Holy Spirit to direct us to God’s truth so we can guide others to that same truth.
The Holy Spirit intercedes for us and helps us in our weaknesses. Nothing showed me my weakness more than being a parent. From the moment my son, Alvin III, was placed in my arms, I felt the full weight of my inadequacy to raise this little human, both physically and spiritually. As that baby grew into a precious little boy, a spirited teenager, and an intelligent and strong-willed young man, I needed even more of the Spirit’s help to rise above my shortcomings as a mother and guide him to the truth. And then came Ashley, a completely different little human, with a different personality and set of needs. And she tested me much more than my son, bless her little heart, so the Spirit had to give me wisdom to guide her down the path He had for her.
Throughout my life I have faced moments when I didn’t know what to do or the right decision to make. Scripture tells us that in those moments, the Holy Spirit pleads with the Father on our behalf, helping us fall into line with God’s will.
Romans 8:26–27 offers these words of comfort: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
In our mission to pass on faith to the next generation, we will face moments when we have no idea what to do. When my son moved to Australia to get space from us and do his own thing, my husband and I had to let him go and entrust his path to the Lord. But as I prayed for God’s will to be done in Alvin’s life, the Holy Spirit, knowing all the hearts involved, and the mind of God, joined me in my pleas. What an extraordinary gift God offers us through His Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit does the work of salvation. While God calls us to be diligent in teaching the next generation about who He is and what He has done, the Holy Spirit is the true Hero here. The Spirit works in people’s lives to draw them, save them, and transform their lives. We can do none of those things. Romans 8:11 tells us, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”
Realizing that the Holy Spirit does the work takes the pressure off. We can work as unto the Lord in freedom and joy, knowing that He is the One Who does the work. This is good news because He can do so much more than we ever could. Paul lends some perspective when he addresses the believers in Corinth, who had been engaging in squabbles over which teacher was greater—Paul or Apollos. Paul chides them in 1 Corinthians 3:5–9, saying,
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
I love how this passage illuminates both sides of the equation. The work matters. As coworkers in God’s service, we are accountable for the planting we do or do not do. But at the end of the day, God does the work. He makes things grow. We can leave the results in His capable hands and trust the Holy Spirit to do His thing.
Salvation is just the beginning of the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of a believer. Sanctification is an ongoing process of turning from the sinful acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16–21) and keeping in step with the Spirit in order to bear good fruit (Galatians 5:22–25). The Holy Spirit also distributes spiritual gifts to believers (1 Corinthians 12:7–11), is a seal for their salvation (Ephesians 1:13), and convicts the world of sin (John 16:8).
A NEW WAY TO LIVE
The day of Pentecost described in Acts 2 must have been a sight to behold. Scripture says that as Peter and the other apostles were together, a sound like that of a violent wind filled the whole house where they were sitting: “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (3–4). Hearing the sound, a group of God-fearing Jews from every nation who were staying in Jerusalem gathered to find out what was going on. They were shocked to discover they could hear the apostles speaking in their own languages. Peter preached the gospel, and three thousand people believed and were baptized.
This dramatic scene happened about ten days after Jesus had left the earth. During the forty days following His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples and more than five hundred people, giving them “many convincing proofs” he was alive, and preaching to them about the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:6). Jesus instructed them not to leave Jerusalem until they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4–5). Before he ascended into heaven, He charged them to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Ten days later, the Spirit showed up. Whew! Does the Holy Spirit know how to make an entrance or what? Although the Spirit is always working behind the scenes, He can be flashy when the situation warrants.
The Holy Spirit didn’t quietly sneak in while the apostles were asleep. There could be no doubt that this was it, that this was the advocate Jesus had promised. I love the diversity described in these passages. God-fearing Jews from every nation were present—Africans, Asians, and Middle Easterners, along with others. Many who received the Spirit that day would return to their own parts of the world, setting in motion Jesus’s commission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Another thing I love about this narrative is that Peter quotes the prophet Joel speaking about the generations:
In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17–18)
This speaks loudly to the fact that the Holy Spirit is for all believers, both young and old. There is no junior Holy Spirit. Through His Spirit, God will use all generations to reveal Himself to the world. I hope you are starting to grasp the great gift the Holy Spirit is to us in our quest to pass on faith. We simply cannot do it without Him. Here are three ways the Holy Spirit helps us pass on faith to the next generation.
The Holy Spirit gives us revelation and discernment to work with individuals. One of my biggest regrets as a parent is that I sometimes employed a one-size-fits-all method of raising my children. My parents’ way of doing things had worked for me and my siblings, so I just tried to replicate what they had done. However, my son and daughter were two very different people with different personalities, needs, and motivators. I wish I had invited the Holy Spirit more into the process of raising my children and relied on Him more to give me wisdom for parenting each individual child.
In some ways, my grandson, Wyatt, is a sweet do-over. As I teach him about God, I seek the Holy Spirit for what my grandson’s spirit needs. When he is upset, instead of looking for behavior modification, I seek to bring the peace of God into the situation. As I invite the Holy Spirit into our interactions, He gives me insight to lead my grandson in a godly direction.
When you look at the day of Pentecost, the Spirit provided for each person to hear the message in his or her own language, providing them a personal encounter with the Savior. The Spirit can help us assess our audience—whether a child, a grandchild, or a young person we mentor—and give us specific wisdom and insight on how to share His truth with that person.
The Holy Spirit creates opportunities. Part of passing on our faith to our children is being aware of teachable moments or opportunities to engage with spiritual truth. Sometimes these openings occur in mundane settings such as sitting at the breakfast table or riding in the car. Other times, the Spirit may provide something more unusual to set the stage for an important spiritual conversation. When my children were teens, there were many times the Holy Spirit would prompt me to sit down and ask one of them a series of questions to make sure they were doing well beneath the surface. Sometimes I felt the urge to go to their bedroom and check a few drawers. In those moments, I discovered things I needed to address that I would not have known had I not followed the Holy Spirit’s lead.
I love the story of Philip and the Ethiopian recorded in Acts 8. The apostles had gone out to different regions to preach the good news, cast out evil spirits, and heal people. One day an angel of the Lord comes to Philip and tells him to walk down a specific road.
Have you ever experienced these kinds of detailed instructions? An inner voice that tells you to go talk to a particular person or go back inside a building? I’m reminded of a story my grandmother shared with me many years ago. One night as she was walking home, the Holy Spirit prompted her to go a different way than her usual route. She later found out there had been a man with a knife walking on the path she would normally take. The Holy Spirit used her obedience to possibly spare her life.
In this case, Philip starts down the road and soon comes upon an Ethiopian eunuch, who happens to be a treasurer for the Queen of Ethiopia. The man had recently been in Jerusalem to worship, and he was on his way home. As he travels, he is reading the book of Isaiah, the prophet, when lo and behold, Philip just happens to come along. Then, “the Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it’ ” (8:29). When Philip gets close to the chariot, he overhears the man reading Isaiah and asks if he understands what he’s reading. The Ethiopian admits he doesn’t and invites Philip into his chariot to explain the passage to him.
This is my favorite part: Philip uses the passage the man is reading to tell him the good news about Jesus! Next, they drive by some water and the man asks to be baptized. Philip gladly obliges. And lest we forget the Holy Spirit made this whole thing happen, verse 39 reminds us: “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.”
That’s what I like to call a divine appointment. It ended with rejoicing and pizzazz! More than that, it ended with someone being drawn into the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit specializes in such non-random appointments. As we ask the Helper to give us opportunities, our eyes will be opened to the assignments He is providing every day. I like to start the day by asking, “Lord, what divine appointments do you have for me today? Help me keep in step with You.”
The Holy Spirit empowers us and gives us words to speak. Have you ever watched a group of improvisational actors perform? They are incredible. They can take a suggestion from the audience and come up with a complex scene on the spot. I love to improvise with my singing, but I’m baffled by those who can act out entire scenes without preparation. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit empowers us to be spiritually quick on our feet.
Jesus even advocated for spiritual improv when he gave these instructions in Luke 12:11–12: “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Even in the most challenging or tense conversations, the Holy Spirit gives us the words to say. When I think back on some of the more difficult discussions I’ve had with my children, I can see how when my heart was right, the Spirit gave me exactly the right words to say. In fact, sometimes I’m surprised at what He said through me. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, we don’t have to be great theologians or orators to effectively guide our children through the truths of God’s Word.
Growing up Pentecostal taught me at a young age the power of the Holy Spirit. I saw it when I sang that first solo and eyes in the audience filled with tears. I saw it in how He guided me through my career, continually leading me to opportunities to use my gifts and proclaim His name. I saw it when my children submitted their lives to Christ, and He changed their hearts in ways I could never have imagined, even as their mother. I saw it when I felt supernatural comfort in my darkest moments. And I saw it when He called my husband, Alvin, and I to start a church and He blessed that body beyond what we could have dreamed.
We plant the seeds, but God makes them grow.
The work is important, yes, but we must understand the necessity of the Holy Spirit. He’s not optional—not if we want to have peace and hope and power in our lives. The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and he comes every day. He never stops showing up. But neither does the Holy Spirit. He is always there, providing power and help to the believer. We plant the seeds, but God makes them grow.
QUESTIONS to CONSIDER
• Which aspect of the Holy Spirit is most meaningful to you? Examples are help, presence, guidance, intercession, empowerment, and so on.
• Talk about a time when you felt the Holy Spirit’s prompting. What happened?
• How does our call to “work as unto the Lord” coincide with our dependence on the Holy Spirit?
CHAPTER
• six •
POURING FROM A FULL CUP
When I was growing up, I was taught two ways to address any problem in life: the Word and prayer. My parents instilled in me that the Bible contained the answer to every problem, and the prayer of the righteous could be wielded to bring about help and deliverance in any situation. They weren’t wrong. God’s Word does contain insight for every circumstance, and it does lead to blessings in the believer’s life. In fact, Joshua 1:8 promises that as we meditate on the Word and do what it says, we will be “prosperous and successful.”
Growing up, the two-step program of reading the Bible and prayer made sense to me. More than that, it worked! Not only did I watch my parents draw their strength from these basic Christian disciplines, but by God’s grace, within the support of my Christ-centered family, I grew into a strong, whole person. What my parents and those in their generation gave me was the ability to live life from a place of being whole. I’m thankful they pointed us to Scripture because that foundation has fortified me and pulled me through many difficult times; I understand not everyone has that. While I took it for granted, I have come to realize my trauma-free, Christian upbringing is not the norm.
When Alvin and I started Nashville Life Church, we encountered brokenness on many different levels. A good number of the people, young and old, who flooded into the church had experienced trauma or abuse. Some of them had never seen an example of a healthy relationship, let alone a loving marriage. We quickly realized we were dealing with some heavy issues within our congregation, including trauma, anxiety, depression, addiction, and other mental and emotional health struggles. Still, we believed that God’s desire for each person was wholeness and healing.
God is into wholeness. We have already discussed the aspects of passing on the faith in Deuteronomy 6, but look at verses 4 and 5: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” This passage is called the shema (pronounced “shuh-MAH”), a Hebrew word that means listen, hear, or take heed. Moses delivered the shema, which became a daily prayer for the Israelites, just before he told them to pass God’s commands down to their children. This was to be their heart posture as they taught the next generation about Him.
The passage begins by saying, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” God is whole. He is One. He sets the perfect standard for wholeness, and our wholeness is found through Him. Next, the Scripture commands the people to love God with all their “heart, soul, and strength.” (Jesus famously repeated the shema in Mark 12:29–31, adding that the second commandment was to love our neighbor as ourselves.) When we’re healthy and whole— body, soul, and mind—we are able to love God and others with all we are. If I want to love God with all my heart, there is no room for unforgiveness, bitterness, or self-loathing. If I desire to love Him with all my soul, I must allow for my soul to be cared for. And loving God with my strength isn’t only about physical strength; my mental and emotional strength also matter. To love God fully and pass that on to others, I must constantly invite Him to heal and renew my heart, soul, and mind.
