It is hard to believe that we are already only a week away from leaving Vietnam. Our time here has been unlike any other country we have been in. The city of Da Nang is beautiful, safe and full of activities to do. This has been the most I have felt at home as far as living conditions go since I have been on the race. It has been comfortable and because we do not have many ministry obligations here it has felt a bit like vacation rather than mission work I must say. I am very grateful for this time to recharge physically and have recently been going to the gym again for the first time in 6 months. Exercise was an integral part of my daily routine at home so it was difficult to give that up. It has been nice to be back in the swing of things. However with all this being said it has felt a bit like it has been a battle of spiritual attrition. With all the creature comforts comes just as many distractions. Without intentional plans and mentorship from strong leaders on a daily basis it has been difficult to stay focused solely on the Lord and seek him on a daily basis as intentionally as I did when I was stuck on the side of a mountain with no WiFi, tourist attractions or other forms of distraction. Recently I have been reading a book called Ablaze for God by Wesley L. Duewel and it has really encouraged me and has been teaching me a lot about recharging and seeking strength from the Holy Spirit when we go through seasons of spiritual stagnation. I wanted to share some of the things I have been learning from this book with you all.
One revelation that I have received has been that just because I have at times felt very empowered by the Holy Spirit that does not mean that I can put it in cruise control and expect that I will continue to receive the power of the Holy Spirit. No matter how skilled of a speaker or teacher I am or how much I know about the Bible if the Holy Spirit is not covering the work that I am doing and empowering my words and actions they will not yield the fruit that the Spirit can produce. We see this clearly illustrated in the life of King Saul. At first the Lord selects him to become kind of the Israelites and to lead them. However later in life Saul is disobedient to the Lord and offers a sacrifice before his teacher Salomon arrives. The result of this disobedience is that the power of the Holy Spirit leaves Saul and immediately a great change is evident in him. He begins to be tormented by a bad Spirit sent from the Lord and even becomes jealous of David to the point of attempting to kill him numerous times. This story clearly illustrates that the Spirit can be on you and covering you at a certain time and later be far less prevalent and almost leave you entirely should you be disobedient or deny God. At the root of this issue is pride after having received the benefit of the Spirit and starting to think we can do it on our own. Gal 3:3 talks about exactly this issue. “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
So if we can not expect to have the fullness of the Spirit despite our choices and actions how can we maintain as much of the power of the Spirit as possible? We must continue to seek being empowered by the Spirit and we must ask God to continue to pour the Holy Spirit into us. He is the source of all things including the power of the Spirit working in us and through us. This is why we hear Paul so frequently boast about his sufferings and say things like “when I am weak, then I am strong.” In moments where Paul is brought low and found to be in difficult circumstances he can not conquer on his own he is forced to rely on the Holy Spirit to bring him through his trials. In most of the books Paul writes in the New Testament it almost seems like he would rather be in a miserable situation simply because it causes him to rely on the Spirit and thus he is filled with the Spirit time and time again. How badly do we desire to have the Holy Spirit in us? Would we choose a life of trial and tribulation just so that we could be filled with the Holy Spirit? I know for myself I often prefer comfort and peace even at the expense of distance from God. I feel as though this desire is changing in me however. Having started this experience with such a closeness to God and to the Spirit and I can tell you first hand that it does indeed feel better to be empowered by the Spirit than it does to be living in the level of comfort I can create on my own. Surely the comfort and peace provided to us from the Lord surpasses the comfort we can make for ourselves. So despite the level of comfort I can obtain on my own I must continue to seek the power of the Holy Spirit, nothing can replace that. As Duewel says in his book “We can not minister today in yesterday’s power.”
Lastly I realized that even Jesus performed all the miracles that he did from a place of dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit. Although this makes perfect sense it was not something that I ever considered or even thought about. Jesus is part of the perfect trinity so wouldn’t he naturally have the same power as omnipotent God? I think that He does but I also think that in coming to earth He was perfectly human and thus lived a life to display the example of how we must rely on the Spirit to do great works in us and through us. In Acts 10:38 it says “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” So if Jesus needed the power of the Holy Spirit to perform His ministry while He was here on earth, how much more do we need the power of the Spirit in order to do ours?
Unlike Jesus we are all human and therefore we make mistakes, become distracted and go through seasons where we are further away from the Spirit than we hope. Sometimes this comes out of neglecting personal time with our Father in heaven and sometimes as was my case we just forget to ask for a renewal of the Spirit everyday. This book and time here in Vietnam has been a great reminder to me that I must continues to seek a renewal of the Holy Spirit each and everyday. That I must be intentional about my actions and disciplines if I desire to live in close community to the Spirit in a sustained long term way. It is also incredibly encouraging to know that if I am to receive more of the Spirit I will do so by going to my Father and asking that He reveal more of the Spirit to me and teach me how to live my life according to His will. God is a good good father and as such He gives great gifts. I am looking forward to spending more time seeking His wisdom and guidance to receiving more of the Spirit and having him reveal more truths to me.
What an awesome message on the Holy Spirit Tanner. Thank you for sharing this. Our pastor recently shared how the Holy Spirit only joins us when Jesus is at the center of what we’re involved in. That’s why you’re experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in your ministry around the world, because Jesus is at the center of your daily living and goals as a group. Looking forward to purchasing this book as well!
Love you and praying for you and can’t wait to see you back at the gym in a few months!