Posted in 2Corinthians, John, Psalms, Romans

The Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17

Scripture is clear that one day the kingdom of God will come visibly on earth, but for now the way it comes is to human hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. If you and I want to live and grow in the kingdom of God we must look not to what we can produce in ourselves, but to what God wants to do in us through His Spirit.

The kingdom of God is righteousness in the Holy Spirit. It is appropriate that this is listed first as there will be no joy or peace unless there is first righteousness. The way into the kingdom is through righteousness, not our own, but the righteousness God provides for sinful humanity by the cross of Jesus Christ. The main sin that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of is not believing in Jesus as their Savior. (John 16:9) When we come to Christ our sin becomes His, and His righteousness becomes ours. “He made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2Corinthians 5:21) Once we are in Christ the Holy Spirit leads us continually away from self righteousness and into the fruits of true righteousness only He can produce. 

The kingdom of God is peace in the Holy Spirit. Jesus said “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 14:27)  The world only gives you peace when every circumstance in your life is peaceful and under control. Jesus can give us peace through the Spirit in the midst of outward troubles and strife. It is called “the peace that passes understanding” because people that understand your situation can’t believe you have peace. True peace doesn’t come through being in control, but by trusting the One who is in control!

The kingdom of God is joy in the Holy Spirit. You can do your Christian duty and make your children do theirs on your own, but no one can truly delight in God or in their Christianity apart from the Spirit’s touch. “In Your presence is fullness of joy…” (Psalm 16:11) Happiness depends on what’s happening in your life. Joy is much deeper, and depends on your relationship with God no matter what’s happening outwardly.

Posted in Luke

The Surprise of God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:11-13

At the beginning of 1996 a group of leaders from the church I was at went to visit the revival in Toronto. Every one of us was dramatically touched by the Holy Spirit, but it all left me a little confused. People were shaking and falling, laughing and crying, and there was prophetic ministry as well as extravagant acts of worship that were more than I was used to.

Although I enjoyed the presence of the Holy Spirit, I questioned the Lord about the need His people have for safety. It was then that the Scripture above came to my mind.

I had gifts for my children in the car to bring home and surprise them with. They would be thrilled about the gifts even though they didn’t know what was in the packages. Their safety was not in knowing everything they were getting, but in who was giving it to them. They knew me, and they knew I would never give them anything that could hurt them. I knew they would close their eyes with smiles on their faces, and let me place the gifts in their laps. No fear at all, only anticipation for something good from their father. The Lord spoke clearly in my spirit, “You (church leadership) have sought to keep My people safe through control, and you’ve taken the surprise out of church.”

To me, the number one problem of the church in America is boredom. We are so scheduled and so concerned that everything runs efficiently, we can easily miss the interruption God may want to bring. God wants us to ask for the Holy Spirit again and again so that He can put fresh gifts in His children’s laps, reveal His great love, and draw hearts to intimacy. I believe God wants churches and lives that require more than man’s best effort. He wants us to always be looking for His surprises!

Posted in 1Corinthians, 1Kings

The Spirit of Revelation

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God.” 1Corinthians 2:11b-12

In all of our seeking of God we must always remember that any progress we make is not because we’re good seekers, but because God is a generous, and merciful revealer. If we don’t keep this posture of deep humility, spiritual growth will stop simply because God resists the proud, even if they are His children.

We need to develop a close friendship with the Holy Spirit if we want to seek God in a way that we will find Him. When you fully trust Christ for salvation the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your Spirit. You are, according to the Bible, born again. You have a capacity to know God, hear His voice, and experience His love that an unbeliever doesn’t have. But the key is learning to live more and more by, and with, the Person of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you.

He will speak to you through the Scriptures, so devote time each day to reading. He will speak through circumstances if you will only listen. He will speak through whoever’s speaking and church friends, so make church a priority. He can also speak in a number of supernatural ways according to the Bible, including: dreams, visions, trances, and through angelic visitations.

Many people wish God would speak louder, but that is not usually His way. When Elijah was waiting to hear God a tornado came, but the Lord wasn’t in the wind. Then an earthquake came, but the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. Then a fire, but the Lord wasn’t in the fire. It was in a still small voice, a whisper, that God spoke to him. (See 1Kings 19)

If a person yells they can communicate to you from far away. But if they whisper, you have to come very close or you won’t hear them. That’s what God wants more than anything else, you and I to draw near to Him.

Posted in Ephesians, John, Luke, Zechariah

Being Filled with the Holy Spirit

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18

The greatest need of Christians today is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Not as a one time event, but each and every day. The literal Greek would read, “be being filled with the Spirit.” How can we be filled with the Spirit?

First, by recognizing the need. In Zechariah 4:6 God says, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts.” God’s work does not go forward by human strength, will, or cleverness, it requires the operation of His Spirit. We must be convinced this is true, or we will not sincerely seek the Spirit’s filling.

Second, we must be thirsty. John 7:37-39 reads, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me (Jesus) and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, who those who believed in Him were to receive.” God wants a river of life flowing out of you and me to bless this hurting and dying world, but it starts when someone is thirsty enough to receive. Are you thirsty for more, or content with what you have? Our hearts are created to thirst for God, but many seek to quench that thirst with stuff, alcohol, entertainment, human relationships, or fill in the blank. If these other things have dampened your thirst for God ask Him to forgive you, and tell Him you want to thirst for Him again.

And finally, we must ask. Jesus said, “If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” (Luke 11:13) The Amplified Bible brings out the Greek tense, “to those who ask and continue to ask Him!” This is not a one time asking, but a continual relationship of dependence. As our cars regularly need to be refilled with gasoline, and our bodies regularly need to be refilled with food, so our spirits need to be regularly refilled with the Holy Spirit.

The main reluctance Christians have about asking is that they don’t feel they’re good enough to be filled. While God may lead you to repent of areas before He fills you, He wants you and I to know that His Spirit is a gift, not a reward for good behavior. In fact, He starts off this wonderful promise by alluding to his own disciples as “being evil.” He’s saying that our sinfulness is not preventing Him from pouring out His Spirit, rather the Spirit’s filling is actually the solution for our evil. No one washes up before taking a shower – that’s the point of the shower!

Posted in Acts, Ephesians

Grieving the Holy Spirit

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

You and I can make the sweet Spirit of God feel sad about how we’re living. Although all people can resist Him, no one can bring grief to Him like the children of God He indwells. In a similar way, no can hurt you as much as those who you are closest to. How and when do we grieve the Holy Spirit?

One way is by allowing hatred to fill our hearts, and slander to fill our mouths. The verse immediately after the one quoted above says: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” (Ephesians 4:31) God loves, and Jesus died for every person you know and don’t know. When we treat others harshly it hurts God and He takes it personally. Jesus said, “whatever you do to the least of these, you are doing to Me.” When we accuse and tear down each other we are actually doing the devil’s work for him. He is called the “accuser of the brethren,” who accuses people to God day and night. When we do the same we are participating in darkness, even if in our opinion the accusations are true. God alone has the right and the purity to pass judgment on others. If you want the Holy Spirit to hang out near you, then learn to be loving and kind in your words. Seek to find the best in others and try to encourage them.

We also grieve the Holy Spirit when we ignore Him or limit what we think He can or should do. Jesus said to His disciples: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be My witnesses…” (Acts 1:8) In Acts 2 we have the initial pouring out of the Spirit and then the rest of Acts tells how they changed the world through the Spirit’s power. Many Christians today seem to be slightly afraid of the Holy Spirit because they’ve heard of the experiences of others that sound scary. Yet God’s plan today is the same as then. He wants to partner with ordinary people to do extraordinary things through the power of His Spirit. God wants to speak through us, heal through us, and bring His gifts through us today. When we say “no” to Him, or try to dictate to Him what He can and can’t do through our lives, we grieve the Spirit.

Search your heart and ask God how you may have grieved the Holy Spirit. If you have, ask for the forgiveness He offers us through Jesus, and tell Him you want to walk close to Him again.

Posted in Ephesians, John, Luke, Romans

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.”  John 16:13-15

The Lord’s vision for the church was not based on His disciples’ abilities, but on the ability of the Spirit who would indwell them. Nothing has changed today. God’s vision for your life is way beyond your own personality and gifts – you and I were created to have the Holy Spirit indwell us, speak to us, empower us, and guide us. Without the Holy Spirit’s presence, we are like cars with no gas in the tank. They may look nice, but they aren’t going anywhere.

The Holy Spirit is a Person, not a force. We don’t refer to Him as an it, because He is an intimate personality who Jesus says “hears,” and “speaks.” In other places we find the Spirit rejoicing (Luke 10:21) and grieving. (Ephesians 4:30) He is a Person who feels, communicates, and wills.

He is the Spirit of truth. He will convict us of our deception, and will always bring us back to being real. Sometimes we think God wants us to put our religious best forward when we come before Him. Nothing could be further from the truth. He wants us to be gut wrenchingly honest with Him, so that He can truly forgive us, and truly fill us with His power. If we fake it before God we end up with an empty heart. 

Not only will the Holy Spirit tell us the truth about ourselves, He will also bear witness to the truth of the Scriptures and to the Person of Jesus Christ who is the truth. He wants to disclose to us all that Jesus has for us, and guide us in the way we should go. None of us are qualified to be in charge of our own lives. We don’t really know ourselves, we don’t know the future, and we don’t know what other people are going to do to affect us. God, who knows all, invites us to live beyond mere “common sense” as His children. “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God.” (Romans 8:14)

Posted in Hebrews

Treadmarks

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the Word of God … Imitate their faith.” Hebrews 13:7

I was late for a pastor’s cluster being held at a nearby church, so when the way into the parking lot was blocked by cones, I decided to drive around them even though it meant going over the grass. No one was watching, I thought, but as soon as I had maneuvered my vehicle to the other side of the cones, the worst possible person appeared in the parking lot as if by magic. It was a maintenance person from the church who was a friend of mine from the past. I rolled down the window and told him how sorry I was for ignoring his cones. He was genuinely upset.

“Do you know what happens when people sneak around the cones?” he asked.  Not waiting for my reply he continued, “It leaves tread marks in the grass that encourages others to do the same thing. How are we supposed to get people to do the right thing when even the leaders don’t do it?”

I told him how sorry I was and asked his forgiveness which he gave (I think). After he left I just sat in the car and let God deal with me. This small event was a picture of my life at the time. I had become very busy running from one meeting to another; meetings at church, meetings with family, meetings at school, meetings with pastors… I didn’t seem to be able to stop. What was being cheated was my private time with God where I don’t prepare sermons or plan anything, but only worship and enjoy Jesus for His own sake. I still prayed, because I needed God to help me with all of my responsibilities, but I had lost the first love, that delight that finds its reward in who God is and not in what He can do for me.

No one else noticed except my wife and the Holy Spirit. I could continue on in this way and fool most people, but it was clear to me that if I did it would lead to more and more compromise in private that would leave tread marks which others would certainly follow. But I had a choice. It wasn’t too late to stop, I felt the Holy Spirit say. I just needed to acknowledge my sin and seek a new passion for God.

What about you? Are you leaving treadmarks of compromise that pave the wrong path for those following you? It’s not too late to repent and give a better example.

Posted in Luke, Psalms

Friend of Sinners

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“This man is the friend of sinners.” Luke 15:2

The speakers at a Power & Love conference a few years ago empowered us with messages of God’s love and the worthiness of Jesus, so that we could be sent out and demonstrate His power and love wherever we went. We were taught to be unafraid of people and unapologetic in our approach to them. “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live it.” (Psalm 24:1) Everyone we meet was created by God, redeemed by Christ, and is borrowing air that God gives them to stay alive. We don’t need to feel like we’re trespassing when we ask them if they’d like prayer.

I approached one woman who was walking with a limp in Panera and asked her politely if I could pray for her. She was upset: “I have my own religion and I’m offended by you and think that you should ask people before praying in the future!” I didn’t feel like it was my place to point out that I had asked, so I just smiled at her and told her to have a nice day. It’s okay to experience rejection for Jesus’ sake!

The day after the conference, my wife and I were walking near our house when I spotted a woman through the pine trees who was sitting on her back porch smoking a cigarette. I raised my voice to say, “Hi, how are you?”  She replied, “I just moved here to be close to my mom because my two brothers have died in the last six months and I lost my job in Chicago.”

I led the way through the trees up onto her porch. I told her how sorry I was and that God loved her even though these bad things happened and we wanted to pray for her if that would be alright. She was more than willing. As we prayed, tears started to come as the presence of God rested on her. When the prayer time was over and we had invited her to church she was amazed. “Think about it, I just decided to come out here and you were walking past at exactly the right time.” 

Jesus is the friend of sinners. Let’s open our eyes and our hearts and not be afraid to bring His love and power to those around us.

Posted in Romans

More than Conquerors

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we face death all day long: we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:35-37

Bruce and Athena Jarman are pastor friends of ours in Montevideo, MN. They adopted a two year old Chinese boy named Judah who came to them with deformed feet. China had a one child policy at the time, so if parents didn’t like the child they birthed they could choose to put them in a state orphanage and try for another child that might be more acceptable to them. Because of Judah’s deformity, his parents didn’t want him.

Bruce and Athena did. They set their love on this little guy and at great expense brought him back to their home in Montevideo. After much prayer for a physical miracle, they felt God leading them to a different plan. Judah had to have both feet amputated and was fit with prosthetics.

Bruce assured his wife that when he gets older and understands all the facts, he will agree with the decision. But there was no way to explain at the time. 

When we “love God and are called according to His purpose” none of our suffering is wasted. It is accomplishing some purpose in us for the glory of God and the good of mankind even when we can’t possibly understand how. One day, when we get all the information, we will agree with God’s dealings. For now we need to hold on to His great love in the midst of circumstances He’s allowing. Nothing can separate us from His love!

Posted in Mark

Embracing Our Cross

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul?’” Mark 8:34-36

Jesus went to the cross for our salvation. We must go to the cross for our sanctification. This is a painful and difficult process that requires our participation. We must take up (embrace) the cross for God to do His transforming work in us. When we resist the cross, we change very little over time even though we are Christians. Maybe an illustration will help to understand this.

When my mom reached 80 she began seriously considering moving to an apartment which would require her to sell her house. To prepare the house for a sale she thought that a new dining room floor would be nice because the old one was visibly faded. This change would require minimal cost and could be done fairly painlessly.

Then she brought in a realtor and asked this woman, who was a trusted friend, what she thought needed to be done. Getting a new floor in the dining room would be a good start, this woman advised, but really, all the floors needed to be changed. And not just the floors, but the counters, the cupboards, the appliances and the lighting. All of this would be very expensive, but this woman, who was the professional, felt these things would be the minimum changes needed to get the house ready for a sale.

The realtor didn’t demand these changes, but only recommended them. The final decision belonged to my mom because she’s the one who would have to pay the price. 

God wants to change us for our good and His glory but He won’t do it without our participation. He brings difficult circumstances and difficult people into our lives so that they will help us see what is left undone in us. When we embrace the cross by trusting God and asking for His grace in the midst of our trials, His beauty begins to replace our ashes. We can’t change ourselves any more than my Mom could rip up flooring and lay tile, but we can invite Him to do whatever it takes.

Let’s embrace our cross and let Him do the difficult work of change in us. We’ll enjoy the results and so will everyone around us.