Wineskins Contributor・07/29/20

Humanism and Holy Spirit are antithetical to each other. If you don't believe in the operation of the Spirit today, you are left to do things on your own. You are left to do things by your own power, your own ability.

Many of us have come to accept that the Spirit never stopped working. That is a BIG change for some of us. We believe the Spirit is operating. That is a step up from deism (that God is uninvolved in the world today) or humanism (that we have to do things on our own). But does that go far enough? Is it enough to teach on the Holy Spirit, preach on the Holy Spirit, be open to mention the Spirit in our prayers on Sunday...but not actually rely on the Spirit?

I don't think so...and neither (probably) do you. The Holy Spirit is not a topic. The Holy Spirit is not academic any more than your wife or husband are academic. The Holy Spirit is a Person.

How much does the Holy Spirit affect the leadership of God's people? Are we seeking the Spirit's guidance? Or is the Spirit's involvement only hypothetical and more philosophical than it is practical? What would it look like as Christians first and as Christian leaders second to actually lean into the Spirit's help, power and guidance in our day to day live and in the way we lead and minister to people? It would radically change the way we operate.

We would lose control.

And that would be the best thing that could ever happen to God's people because we never really were in control. To operate as if we are is to operate on a false premise and it is a dead end.

There is a big difference between talking more about the Holy Spirit and actually relying on the guidance of the Spirit. I believe our churches, by and large, are more open to talk about the Holy Spirit. But what, in reality, is the actual impact of our view on the Spirit? Is it purely academic? Or is it practical?

Let's make it practical. Read. Everyday.

I am so glad we made the move to more openness to the Spirit. Let us press that to the next level - to rely on the Spirit in our lives and in our decisions. When we do that our conviction level about what we are doing will elevate to a higher level of importance because our plans and ideas will no longer just be out of our own thinking but out of God's help and guidance.