Holy Spirit Guides Us
OPENING PRAYER:
Dear Father, as I come to you, I confess that I can lack confidence in my ability to walk with someone as a brother or sister in Christ. Often, I do not know what to say or do in my own life, let alone feel the strength to walk alongside someone else. Because I know that you have called me to do this, I ask for insight and encouragement today from Your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:
‘What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived’
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.[c] The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2 (NIV)
REFLECT:
If you know your Bible at all, you know of the apostle Paul. Here was a man that lived his life courageously and sacrificially in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of the 27 books in the New Testament, at least 13 are attributed to his authorship, including the one written to the people of Corinth that has our verses for today. Now, that’s the guy we need to walk alongside those that need to come to Christ or want to grow in their faith, right? Certainly not me. However, since Paul is not around now, surely it is the pastors and leaders at church that should fill this need? What do they need me for? What do I have to offer? What am I going to be able to say that will make a difference?
What Paul shared was “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (verse 2 above). In other words, Paul shared what he knew about Jesus. What about your personal “testimony about God” (verse 1 above)? That’s what Paul did. You see Paul understood that it was not about his words, or persuasive speech or his wisdom, but rather about what the Holy Spirit inspired him to say or do. For 40 + years I have walked with many different people that God has brought into my path. I can honestly testify that the words that have made a difference in their lives were rarely my own thoughts or ideas. What made a difference were the words the Holy Spirit was speaking through the Word of God or through my being there at a time when the Spirit guided me to just go. When we have the Spirit of God in our lives, he directs us what to say and when to say it. He speaks the “mind of the Lord” (verse 16). It is not our wisdom (there are many much wiser) but rather the “things God has revealed to us by His Spirit” (verse 10) that are powerful and effective.
APPLY:
God desires to use each one of us to help others live the Christ-filled life. He does not do it without giving us everything we need to do this. We must be willing, not perfect. We must take the step, not be hesitant. We must ask, listen, and obey, not have it all together. As Paul did, we bring our “weakness with great fear and trembling” (verse 3) and see what the Spirit of God does. Way cool! Step out there. I want to hear all about it.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Dear Father, today I am willing, though inadequate. Work through me. Use me to make a difference. Teach me how to hear and share the Holy Spirit’s thoughts and wisdom – your thoughts and wisdom. Today I also thank you for the pastors, staff and those who serve at Pathway Church. Give them an extra measure of your grace and peace today. I ask all of this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
CONTINUED READING:
Luke12:12; John 14:26; John 16:13
WORSHIP: