June 7, 2016
In the realm of physics, an all-encompassing theoretical framework that fully explains and links together all physical aspects of the universe is called a theory of everything. It’s also called a master theory, ultimate theory, or final theory. Here’s my theory of everything: the answer to every prayer is more of the Holy Spirit.
Stop and think about it.
Need to make a critical decision? You need the spirit of wisdom and revelation. Need the right words for a business proposal or marriage proposal? The Holy Spirit is our teleprompter—He gives us the right words at the right time. Or do you need a little love? Well, that’s the first fruit of the Spirit. So what you really need is more of the Spirit. The same is true with joy, peace, patience, and every other fruit of the Spirit. Need to overcome addiction? You need the last fruit of the Spirit—self-control. Of course, that is an oxymoron, because it doesn’t come from you. It’s the Spirit who manufactures it. So it’s really Spirit-control.
Whatever it is you need more of, you need more of the Holy Spirit. And for the record, the Spirit of God doesn’t just want to fill you. He wants to stretch you—to increase your capacity!
If you feel like your life is in chaos, the Spirit of God is hovering—just like He did at the dawn of creation. He specializes in bringing order out of chaos, light out of darkness, beauty out of nothingness.
No matter what problem you face, the Holy Spirit is the solution.
Here’s what I know for sure: I need the Holy Spirit more today than I did yesterday. And I need as much of Him as I can get. Or maybe I should say, I need to yield as much of me as I can to Him. When we do that, the Holy Spirit doesn’t make us any better than anybody else. He makes us better than ourselves! He gives us wisdom beyond our knowledge, power beyond our strength, and gifting beyond our ability. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we become better than our best effort, better than our best thought. We become the best version of ourselves possible.—Mark Batterson
You have to have the Holy Spirit, which people recognize as something great. You kind of swing with the drama of it and sort of fit in with it and ride the crest, but you have to remember it is not you; it’s something divine, the Holy Spirit, so people recognize they’re not seeing you—they’re seeing the Lord.
He makes the difference between lifeless clay and the alive, pulsating, energetic body of a human being! It’s the breath of God, the anointing and power of God that makes the difference. Without Him, you’re nothing. You’ll fall flat as a flounder.
One of the biggest dangers you have is to begin thinking it’s you. It’s God’s anointing. If He withdraws it, you’re just as flat as ever.
What good is the furnace when its fire goes out? It’s cold and dark and useless. It’s still there—just no fire. Let the furnace go dead cold and dark, and the whole house grows cold, and that’s what has happened to some churches. The fire’s gone out, so the whole house has gotten cold.
It’s not the furnace, remember; it’s the fire. A bonfire in the back yard of fallen leaves and broken twigs and trash will do more good out there uncontrolled and give you more heat and light and warmth than this mechanical genius, the furnace, this mathematical perfection, without fire. It’s marvelous, but without fire it’s not as good as the bonfire of trash out in the backyard. It’s the anointing that counts! As my grandfather used to say, “If you’ll just get on fire for God, the world will come out to see you burn.”
I think you can even be anointed and Spirit-led in driving a car. You’re thinking and praying about your driving and asking God for wisdom, and He can inspire you. Anything you do—washing dishes, taking care of babies, no matter what it is—you can do it in the Spirit. If you’ve got that divine anointing, it makes every little task wonderful! You’ve got to have a glory in the thing you do, an everlasting glory that’ll carry you through.
People not only have to see you, but they’ve got to see Jesus coming through you. But if it stops dead with you, they’ll just go on and figure it was a waste of time. “Not by (thy) might not by (thy) power, but by My Spirit,” saith the Lord.1 Jesus said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life.”2
Whatever you do, you’ve got to have the Spirit. The body without the spirit is dead.3 So is every song, every sermon, every witness, every book, every picture, every task, whatever it is, without the Spirit. But the Spirit can make anything glorious!
You’ve got to have a glory in the thing you do! The Spirit can turn it on, no matter what it is or who it is, and give it glory and glamor and life.—Beauty, joy and life and heat and everything. You name it. It’s the Spirit that makes the difference.—David Brandt Berg
Self-improvement—it’s a hot topic this time of year, but the term means different things to different people. Some folks equate it with being healthier, getting a better-paying job, or pursuing a college degree.
But for Christians, the goal is always to become more like Christ, though we often go about it in the wrong manner. Scripture memorization, Bible study classes, and serving others are all wonderful ways to grow in faith, but if we want to truly improve ourselves, we should turn to the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence is essential for our inner transformation, and we’ll never develop godly character and behavior apart from Him. This old flesh of ours is predisposed toward selfishness and sin. Only as we yield ourselves to the Spirit will He begin to express the life of Christ through us.
Instead of embarking on your own self-improvement program, why not work on discovering who God created you to be? You can be confident that the Spirit will come alongside to help in the transformation. But remember, He will not force you to change. The only way you’ll experience your full potential in Christ is by cooperating with Him.
…The reason many Christians feel defeated is because they don’t understand what the Spirit has come to do in and through them. Instead of relying on Him, they’re trying to live the Christian life in their own strength. However, self-reliance is a guarantee of a fruitless life.
Remember, what the Lord desires is a display of Spirit-produced fruit, not self-sufficient achievements. Human beings are capable of amazing accomplishments. We can preach sermons, teach Sunday school, feed the poor, and minister to the hurting in our own strength. In fact, entire churches can function without any help from the Spirit. But that’s not what God wants. The work He has for us is supernatural and requires a corresponding power to accomplish it. None of us is adequate for the task, apart from the empowerment of the Holy Spirit as He works through us. This was true even of Christ’s disciples: until the Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, they weren’t ready for the job of spreading the gospel.4
…We all need the Spirit’s power for every aspect of life. Anyone can live “a normal life,” but Jesus calls us to live supernaturally in such a way that we display His character in everything we do. Without divine empowerment, how are you going to become a godly parent or spouse, forgive someone who has hurt you deeply, endure suffering without bitterness, model Christlike character in the workplace, or demonstrate patience and kindness to cantankerous people? The fruit of the Spirit isn’t pumped out with self-effort.5 All our striving and struggling to become better Christians will never produce a godly life. The only way to attain that is through the power of the Holy Spirit.—Charles Stanley
Published on Anchor June 2016. Read by Jerry Paladino.
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