Fresh
Dimensions II: Aligning with the will of God
Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
and Timotheus our brother Colossians 1:1
Paul
was an Apostle called to preach the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ and
plant churches among the gentiles. He knew who he was in Christ and his
mission. Pause and think how Paul, who
previously was Saul an enemy of believers, became the apostle Paul. His own answer
was - by the will of God. He declared
that he was an Apostle by the will of God. He wasn’t just appointed by man or
benefitted from chance. He did not just seek
profit or self-interest but to fulfill what God willed and to please him. If you do anything by the will of man you will
be let down by man. But when you follow the will of God you can be sure and rest
in his provision and security. God’s will is an impenetrable covering in life.
‘How
can I know God’s will?’ is a frequently asked question. The simple answer is by
following the Holy Spirit. As many as are led by the Spirit they are the sons
of God. To fulfill your God-inspired plans in 2017 you need to cultivate an
intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Three
benefits the Holy Spirit brings to your pursuance of God’s will.
1) He reveals the will of God. He leads to all
truth and glorifies Jesus Christ. That way he sanctifies believers. The primary
work between the time one believes in Jesus (justification) and when one comes
to the end of earthly life (glorification) is sanctification. Sanctification is
the process by which the Holy Spirit (Jehovah Makkadesh) transforms lives to
the will and character of God – the image of Christ. He sanctifies by revealing
the will of God. The Holy Spirit reveals and implements the will of God. The will of God is holiness[1]. The
will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect. Anything outside or separated
from God’s will is unholy. Anything set apart for God is holy.
Whatever
God says and will is put into action by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, therefore, follows the will of God to bring it to pass. He is the revealer,
establisher, performer, enforcer, and executor of God's will. Wherever the will of
God should be done expect the Holy Spirit to appear. The believers’ prayer ‘thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ required the Holy Spirit to come. That is why
Jesus said it was good for him to go so that the Holy Spirit would come. In Genesis
1 the Holy Spirit hovered over the void that existed then - a sign the will of
God was about to be done. When God declared his will, whatever he spoke the
Holy Spirit brought into being.
That
is why Jesus left two complementary resources to his disciples - His word and
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will take you to the word of God and the word
will take you to the Holy Spirit. That is why true worshippers shall worship in
spirit and in truth.
The
word of God expresses the will of God and is the operative ingredient of the
Holy Spirit. When God speaks the Holy Spirit goes to action. When the word is
believed the Holy Spirit takes action in favor of the believer. The Holy Spirit
watches over God’s word to perform it. He makes sure it does not go back to God
without accomplishing its purpose.
2) He leads the way in the will of God. He provides
direction and guides on the way. He answers the ‘how’ question. Jesus is the way
and his great commission is the mission.
Jesus did not leave behind a map, a formula but a person, the Holy
Spirit. He did not leave us alone as orphans. Cultivating an intimate with the
Holy Spirit is the key to following God’s will. Be thirsty, welcome him by faith, listen and cooperate.
Empower him with tools of God’s word richly dwelling in your heart. Be prayerful,
word full, and obedient to his voice and abide in his way. Offer your body as a living
sacrifice. Be in a daily walk with him. What worked yesterday may not work
today. Things permissible to others may not be acceptable to you. He may pause,
accelerate, and turn. You, therefore, need to be in tune with him. He will help
you make godly decisions when faced with choices - should I or should I not. Going
deeper in following the Holy Spirit takes you higher in experiencing him. If
you lose the way the Holy Spirit will patiently reroute you where you should go
if you allow him to lead you.
3) He equips for the will of God. His
will is an abundant life of fruitful service. The Holy Spirit empowers such
a life in the work of God. He equips for a powerful life of witness (Acts 1:8).
He enables the powerful life. He gives supernatural abilities.
Jesus is the
model of life and ministry. He said as
my father sent me so send me you. His ministry was radically empowered when he
was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18). The Holy Spirit raises a standard
to match every need and challenge for life and godliness. The whole bible
speaks of the amazing work of the Holy Spirit. The spirit gives life and
service capacities. The Spirit of the
LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding/revelation, The
spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the
LORD (Isaiah 11:2). For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but
gives us power, love and self-discipline (2 Tim 1:7).
May
the unfailing will of God, established in heaven, be done in the following
areas of your life: ministry, wealth creation, career and employment, financial
wellness, promotion, learning and school, relationships, marriage, parenting, all
health and nutrition, as well as material needs. Because the will of God is about to be done in
your life the Holy Spirit is ready to implement it as soon as you embrace him
and believe the promises of God.
Message by Kurai Chitima
[1] Holiness summarizes all God’s attributes
= perfection, completion, without limitation, without blemish, without
ignorance, all seeing, no failure, nothing exposed, nothing missing, without
beginning, without end, lacking nothing, nothing impossible and all loving.
No comments:
Post a Comment