The one thing I am finding is that there aren't many songs about the Holy Spirit in the C of C repertoire! This is not surprising considering no one I know ever heard sermons preached about the Spirit, either. I think we were all just too afraid to tackle the subject-- if we couldn't explain it, then we preferred to just leave it alone!
Anyway-- I have been on a quest to have a better comprehension of Him since my mid-20s... I am hoping this study challenges me in ways I have never thought about Him before.
Some points I liked from this week's lesson:
- 1 Corinthians 12:13- "we were all made to drink of one Spirit"; 1 Cor. 12:30- "All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?": Beth used these two verses to show that having the Spirit dwell in you does not equate to having the ability to speak in tongues, etc. Many often say that having the Holy Spirit requires this gift. Her point is that speaking in tongues may be a gift from the Spirit, but that not all of us will have this gift. "No matter how you feel about the gifts of the Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues are not the same thing" (Moore, pg. 37). I think this is one of the major reasons we have shied away from teaching on the Spirit; We can't explain tongues, prophecy, and healing so we altogether ignore His gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and faith (vs. 7-9).
- John 16:7-11: 7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. One of the ministries of the Spirit is to convict or reprove. Whenever we have felt the burden of reaching someone who is lost or correcting a believer from sin, we must remember this is not our job-- it is the Spirit's role. We can only be instruments used by Him in the process. No arguments we make or testimony we give is effective apart from the Spirit. The only power we have is intercessory prayer on his/her behalf.
- "The spiritual life will never come 'naturally'" (Moore, pg. 48). We have to make a deliberate choice to yield our spirits to Him each day. Surrender must be a daily choice.
Of course, there were many more challenging ideas this week. The best part is that it has me thinking about the Spirit and His role in my life.
The Spirit is slowly becoming less of an "It" and more of a "He" to me! Thank You, Lord!
2 comments:
Amy, it was great to meet you (again) at Zoe after all these years since Lipscomb. I appreciate your heart for worship and the time you all put into the praise team. The worship at the conference was truly a blessing.
You mentioned in your post a lack of songs about the Holy Spirit. You are right. There is one that you would love - "Rushing Wind" by Dennis Jernigan. I would love to hear a Zoe version of that!
Jeff Nelson's praise team recorded it on the Opening Windows CD years ago.
So great to see you, too! Thanks for the tip-- I think we looked at that song several years back, but decided against doing it. We try to record new stuff-- or things that others haven't attempted yet.
It is a great song.
Have a blessed week! :)
Post a Comment