The Holy Spirit – Our Inheritance

Pottery, Sculptor, Potter.

“ ‘In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy. Acts 2: 17&18 (NIV)

I have been in many styles of churches throughout my life. From Catholic to Charismatic. We have all seen video clips of people falling on the floor, shaking uncontrollably, or dancing like a mad man  all in the name of Jesus, and many of us have been witness to a reverent service with monotone preaching and rows of elders asleep in the pews.

So you understand, I am sure, the varied responses to God, from stoic and religious,  to bizarre. All worshiping the same God, all seeking the same goal – salvation.

I have heard so many people talk about tongues, and prophecies criticizing that they are a  thing of the past, or it was for the day of pentecost only, when the Holy Spirit fell. These ‘anti-charasmatics’ believe anything resembling pentecost is of the devil or of the flesh.

Then on the other side, we have Charismatics, we call “Holy Rollers”,  who become so addicted to the ‘Holy Spirit’ they will travel great lengths to experience a jolt and the bigger the ‘jolt’ the better and they just seem to live in la la land

Why is there such a discrepancy within the Family of Christ? Who is wrong? Who is right? 

I once attended a service mixed with people who knew nothing about the Holy Spirit and people who were chasing each other around  trying to get one another to fall down by touching them with the power of God.

I was very bothered by what was going on. Not because I felt it was evil, I still knew God’s presence was there. However, I was disturbed by the lack of reverence for the Holy Spirit these people were displaying, and the non believers were terrified.

I went home asking God a lot of questions.

I have been in churches and prayer meetings where it got silly, and the presence of the Lord was so strong I couldn’t stand. My faith is dry without the manifested presence of God, even when laughter fills the room and I can’t stand, it’s awesome!  It’s real, it’s biblical and IT IS for today! Acts 2: 17 says so!

So I am not in anyway saying what these Holy Spirit taggers were experiencing wasn’t real, it was very real and I believe it was very much God.

But I was still bothered and I needed to understand something from God, “Why Lord,  would you continue to ‘show up’ when no one is taking you seriously.” or in the opposite case, “if everyone is ignoring you and terrified?” 

and this scripture came into my mind…

“ ‘In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy. Acts 2: 17&18 (NIV)

I knew God wanted to say something about who HE is, so I kept asking.

“But why? Why would you pour your spirit out on ALL the people, not just the ones who receive it with humility?”

“Why do some people deny your presence and others gloat in it?”

and  I felt the Lord tell me this….

When a father divides up the inheritance to his children, he gives it in love, fully, no strings attached. What they do with their inheritance is their doing or undoing.

If you have ever received an inheritance from a loved one, someone who portioned or divided their estate amongst the family –  then you will understand when I say that often divisions rise up when inheritance is poured out. It’s just human nature to judge how others use their portion, whether they invested it, hoarded it or spent it, it was still given.

But, despite how it is received or spent, it will never revoked. That’s the love of a just father.

God began to show me his heart..

I am not a withholding God, I will never  withhold my love or my presence, ever.   I am willing to be rejected, ignored, mocked, but until the last days,  I will continue to pour out my spirit to ALL my sons and daughters, even if they aren’t honouring me in doing so.

I pictured the prodigal son who the bible said “waisted all that he had” and how his father embraced him fully when he finally came to his senses. His love never left even though his son had wasted all that his father had given him. Jesus used that parable to show the heart of God toward us. 

The Holy Spirit is our inheritance on earth, and how we chose to accept it (Him) is the cost God is willing to pay.

As I was seeking God with these questions and was reading the bible I came across Jesus’s warning of the unpardonable sin.

I wanted to ignore it, but it kept calling me back…

 “There’s nothing done or said that can’t be forgiven.

But if you deliberately persist in your slanders against God’s Spirit,

you are repudiating the very One who forgives.

If you reject the Son of Man out of some misunderstanding,

the Holy Spirit can forgive you, but when you reject the Holy Spirit,

you’re sawing off the branch on which you’re sitting,

severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives. 

Matthew 12:31/32 (MSG)

I read this and realized the severity of what God was saying. How His sons and daughters spend their inheritance is their doing, or undoing. But if they deny it all together, saying “you’re not my Father –  so I can’t accept it” , or “You’re not my God – this came from evil”. Then they will be cut off from the family. 

It’s a harsh warning and it’s for today, we must be very cautious what we say is or is not from the Holy Spirit, even if we don’t understand it, or see it misused.

So how do we make sure that WE receive the Holy Spirit with humility? 

Understand that the Holy Spirit is the presence of God, and the presence of God cannot be put into a box.

His presence can come like thunder

After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back. Job 37:4 (NIV)

His presence can come in a whisper

After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1Kings 19:12 (NIV)

How do we reverently resound to the whisper or the thunder?

 

We behave as if God just showed up, because He has!

We would fall down, weep, laugh with joy, dance, or sit very still. Each has their own response to their father. However, I know we wouldn’t mock him, or say “get behind me satan!”, or ignore him and move onto what WE had planned.

How do we receive the Holy Spirit?

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

I hope this devotional today will spark the beginning of us seeking God’s presence and thanking Him for his gift to us. 

Read past devotionals

When it all goes wrong Part 2 – Exodus

Why God Leads Us The Hard Way Part 1 –  Exodus

Hagar was a Bondwoman

Trusting Our Hopeless Soul to God

Walking Through the Wilderness

The Temptation of Comfort

Running back to God

Childlike Faith

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