Grace on Display

~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

There comes a day
When a man falls down
In his hand he holds
his bruised and broken crown
It usually comes to his dismay
For he was proud in sin
Throughout his day

His false throne in his kingdom remains vague
As he cries his thoughts are disruptive, haunting and plagued
And Satan stands above claiming the day
Before the Light comes into play

But the scene changes quickly when he chooses to say
The name of the great Redeemer
Who washes the sin away

Jesus Christ The Lord
The Creator of the clay
Has changed his life forever
And it’s to whom he must obey

In his current state
He knows he cannot stay
For he has been shown
The Truth, the Light, the Way.

The cost was heavy, but it was He whom chose to pay
So that we could walk in the light
As God’s grace on display.

Holy Spirit Thoughts and Reflections Pt. 1

~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

After teaching out Francis Chan’s BASIC series on the Holy Spirit last night I’ve been in some deep prayer and thought about who the Holy Spirit is and how God uses the Spirit in us.  Lately, I’ve been exploring Shai Linne‘s Lyrical Theology Pt. 1 and he has some deep insight into the theological aspects of the Holy Spirit.

Take a listen here:

Lyrics:

Chorus

You gave us breath, you gave us life
Opened our eyes to see the Christ
Holy Spirit we worship You
Spirit of God we worship You

Now you live inside of us
You help us serve the God we trust
Holy Spirit we worship You
Without You we can do nothing at all

Verse 1

(tim)
Spirit of God, in ourselves we’re lifeless
So we ask You now for Your powerful help to write this
God the Spirit, we worship Thee
You’ve been one with the God the Father and God the Son for All Eternity!
One in Your Substance, One in Your Honor
Spirit–You are the love between the Son and the Father!
Spirit –You’re the Creator whom we are praisin’
Plus You’re God’s personal agent of re-creation!

(shai)
We see You at creation hovering over the face of the waters
You were faithful to order the waves and their borders
We spread death- the type to contaminate earth’s inhabitants
But You’re the breath of life that animates the inanimate
You filled Your servants with skill, knowledge and intelligence
To build the tabernacle where God and man could fellowship
Where the undeserving elect could serve You with reverence
Behind the curtain- Your essence, a picture of worship in heaven

(tim)
You revealed in Your Word- it says in, Ezekiel 37
Breath of God–You’re the Worker of Resurrection!
To raise from the grave the depraved and enslaved
A new race You’ll create through Christ, the perfect Servant-Shepherd

(shai)
Speaking of Christ, we can see Him in shadows and types
The prophets, kings and judges You empowered to battle and fight
You even had them write it down- the ultimate story
The sufferings of the Christ and the subsequent glories

Chorus

Verse 2

(tim)
Holy Spirit, for Your deeds we are stunned, in awe
Like how in the virgin’s womb You conceived the Son of God
Then when He was baptized within the Sea
On Messiah You descended to empower His entire ministry
Empowered His miracles He displayed that amazed men
Empowered Him to overcome temptations of Satan
To be the Firstborn from the dead of God’s New Creation of saints
From the grave You have raised Him- so You’ll raise them
Jesus promised You’d send His thoughts
You’re the anointing oil flowing from the King’s head at Pentecost
Down to His body, His kingdom You spread across
Making effectual the message of the precious cross!

(shai)
The book of Acts is not about the acts of the Apostles
But the acts of the Holy Spirit impacting with the gospel
Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria to Africa
Empowered your servants like Stephen when they were massacred
Ananias and Sapphira lied to You
So you put them both to death to show the church what a Holy God can do
You set apart Paul and Barnabas for the work of missions
You worked in the church’s division over circumcision
You take Christ’s objective cross work and vindication
And then apply it to the elect through regeneration
You saved us from the lake of fire, make us like our great Messiah
Graciously You take us higher- praise to You, our Sanctifier

(Chorus)

Verse 3

(tim)
You’re the Author of Scripture and its illuminator
Our God-given picture to see the Ruling Savior
Your thoughts are in-scripted on our hearts with conviction
And You’re the Father’s provision who renews our Nature

(shai)
With our nature renewed, now by grace we pursue
Conformity to the Savior through the faith that’s from You
The fruit You produce is proof that Your people are real
Directing our thoughts to Jesus when our evil’s revealed

(tim)
You reveal our evil and the mercy of the cross
And You seal Your people and ensure that none are lost
Spirit of Adoption, You disperse His love abroad
Within our hearts and spirits so we’re sure we’re sons of God!

(shai)
And with that blessed assurance, we’re set for the warring
We’re kept by Your warnings and we’re prepped for endurance
You provide gifts- even miracles assuredly
But fruit is a better gauge of spiritual maturity

(tim)
You unite us to Jesus so we can die to lust
Spirit of Christ- You’re the presence of Christ in us!
(You) already began His resurrection life inside of us,
so when He returns, by Your might we’ll rise from dust

(shai)
In Revelation, we see Your presence before the throne
Forever You will help us to reverence the Lord alone
You’re the source of all life and yet Your story’s precise
Amazingly, You do it all for the glory of Christ!

Chorus

 

Without going through and unpacking this bit of lyrical genius I think looking right back into scripture will provide some deeper insight into what the Bible presents as the Holy Spirit.

Warning: The rest of this writing is scripture based.  If you are looking for some level of what I think or what a certain denomination presents, you aren’t going to find it here.  We believe that the scripture is infallible and sufficient for our understanding.  What you are about to read may press your current beliefs or how you were raised.  Let the Holy Spirit guide your heart through the scriptures that are being presented and it is my prayer that my writing is driven by the Holy Spirit and that in turn you will find wisdom and understanding in my words.

Selective OT Old Testament Scriptures on the Holy Spirit:

The Holy Spirit as an agent in Creation:

Genesis 1:2 2 The earth was bwithout form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

As we see in Genesis 1:2 God presents the Holy Spirit right after he creates the Heavens and Earth.  We can derive several things from this passage.  First, God didn’t create the Holy Spirit.  He created the heavens and the earth and the Holy Spirit was with God and is God.  The idea of the Trinity is one of the few things in the Christian faith that we have to take on faith, because it can’t be explained by our limited knowledge.  I will eventually write on the Trinity but at this time we know that the Holy Spirit existed with God.  Second, the Spirit is an entity that comes down to the Earth.  It’s important to acknowledge this simply because the we see throughout the Bible the the Spirit falls on people and indwells in them.

 

Psalm 33:6 6  By pthe word of the Lord the heavens were made,  and by qthe breath of his mouth all rtheir host.

Ezekiel 37:1–10 The Valley of Dry Bones 37 dThe hand of the Lord was upon me, and ehe brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;1 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, f“Son of man, gcan these bones live?” And hI answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, i“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, jO dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause kbreath2 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 lAnd I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and lcover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, mand you shall know that I am the Lord.”  7 So I prophesied nas I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, oa rattling,3 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and …

1 Samuel 10:9–13 9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came to vGibeah,4 behold, a group of prophets met him, oand the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? wIs Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man of the place answered, x“And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, w“Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

 

The Holy Spirit source of inspiration and power:

Ezekiel 11:14–21 Israel’s New Heart and Spirit 14 And the word of the Lord came to me: 15 q“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,2 the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, r‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet sI have been a sanctuary to them for a while3 in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: tI will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, tand I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, uthey will remove from it all its vdetestable things and all its abominations. 19 wAnd I will give them one heart, and xa new spirit I will put within them. yI will remove the heart of stone from their flesh zand give …

Ezekiel 36:22–32 I Will Put My Spirit Within You 22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: yIt is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, wwhich you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 zAnd I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. aAnd the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 bI will take you cfrom the nations and gather you from all the countries and dbring you into your own land. 25 eI will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from fall your uncleannesses, and gfrom all your idols hI will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you ia new heart, and ia new spirit I will put within you. iAnd I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 jAnd I will put my Spirit …

Obviously, we are going to go very deep with this study.  My prayer is that you will continue to read and reflect on the passages above and contemplate not only the theological underpinnings of this study, but it’s practical application in your life.

 

Join me in some converstation about what we read here.  You can follow me on Facebook and on Twitter and we can continue to press into the gospel.

Also check out this Podcast called ‘The Helper’ which happen to spring up this morning.  God is good. Justin Buzzard does a wonderful job preaching out some practical aspects of the Holy Spirit.

Fear of the Lord

~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

As we read the scripture we find that God has unchangeable characteristics and works in ways that we can’t fathom. The fear of The Lord, like in the passage that’s highlighted focuses us on the fact the God is sovereign and that we should not only focus on his unwavering love, but on his ultimate and unbridled power. I think we can start in

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 ESV)

And recognize that nothing started before God, hence he is the creator of all. That power alone is nothing short of awesome. We couldn’t exist without the Creator and with that mindset and a reverent fear we start to take “us” or our selfish wants, desires, and egos out of the walk with Him.

We can also pull out several passages in scripture that show God as the judge and again sovereign ruler over all such as

and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning. But the sonsof Korah did not die. (Numbers 26:10, 11 ESV)

Where we see God open up the earth, swallow the disobedient Israelites as a warning to the rest as they proceed through the wilderness. Two things with this passage, God is showing what happens when you step away from him and want to be a slave to something over than his rule, the Egyptians in this case. And two that He continues to show grace by not destroying the sons of Korah. We can also we that God offers multiple opportunities and is not quick to anger but will be the judge in His time.

The argument then goes to…. That was the Old Testament God, but as we see in

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part ofit and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold theland for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. (Acts 5:1-11 ESV)
God strikes down two people in the beginnings of the first church in acts.  There is lots here but for this discussion I think that it shows that God didn’t change throughout thescripture.

I think that if we truly visualize the description of God in several key texts we can also see that we would be so blown away by Holiness and Majesty that our natural reaction would be to fear The Lord, just as Isaiah did in

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:1-5 ESV)
And John did in
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. (Revelation 1:12-18 ESV)
Both men of God trembled at his feet. I think that if we had that experience we would have a better understanding of why fear is the beginning of all knowledge. If we chose not to have a reverent fear of The Lord I feel like we start placing ourselves above Him, not truly embracing his complete and perfect power, his Love and his Holiness.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8 ESV)