Holy Spirit – Person, Purpose and Presence – “Remaining and Responding in the Spirit”
Acts 2:1-13, 1 Corinthians 12 – 14
We are concluding our short teaching series on the Holy Spirit this week.
During these past three weeks I have been reminded of two clear commands in the Bible: pursue love and to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. Because spiritual gifts are given to help us love one another.
The Spirit doesn’t give us gifts for our oohs and aahs. He gives us gifts so for the glory of Christ we are able to pursue love through serving one another. This way no one can think that he or she is not needed or that he or she doesn’t need anyone else (1 Corinthians 12:15, 21).
Love is the aim of spiritual gifts. So if we neglect any particular spiritual gift, if we don’t earnestly desire and pursue them, we will neglect some aspect of love and so fail to glorify Christ. We need the Spirit’s empowerment to strengthen those of us who follow Jesus and help others who do not yet see, meet, experience and accept Jesus’ love.
So what do you do when you really want something? You don’t wait around for someone to deliver it nicely packaged, fully assembled, and ready-to-use. You go looking for it. You start asking questions of knowledgeable people. You read and watch and listen to a lot of information. Then you step out and do something about it.
Here are a few places to start in your earnestly desiring spiritual gifts:
The Bible. Soak in 1 Corinthians 12–14, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4. Read the book of Acts over and over until it fuels your desire to experience the reality of the kingdom you read here.
Pray. As you desire the fullness of the Spirit and seeing the kingdom of God advance, your discontent and desperation will drive you to pray the kind of prayers the Lord loves to answer.
Consume Sound Teaching. Fuel your desire by increasing your knowledge. Type “Spiritual Gifts” into your Google search box and add names like Sam Storms, Wayne Grudem, and D.A. Carson. They skilfully handle the Word and are personally experienced in the spiritual gifts.
Meet a Need. Taking steps for the sake of Christ to love others whose needs extend beyond our capacities puts us (and them) squarely in the path of God’s grace.
