Sleep on This: Come Holy Spirit
Good evening, friend!
Do you remember the Inauguration Day windstorm? January 20, 1993. At the time, we lived on a one-acre parcel of land with beautiful Doug Firs on the back property. By the end of the day, we had 22 fewer Doug Firs…and a slightly smaller garage on one side! If you’ve ever lived through such a windstorm, you know the awesome power that was at work…one of the few times you can use that adjective, “awesome,” properly!
How awesome must that first New Testament Pentecost have been? Acts 2.1 says, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”
A “mighty rushing wind.” And like my trees, they were knocked off their feet. Not literally…maybe… but when they got this first taste of what life would be like living in the constant presence of the Spirit of Jesus, it changed them. Forever. And the world. Forever.
It’s hard for us to imagine what it would have been like for lovers of God, pre-Pentecost. There has always been a Holy Spirit; He is the eternal third member of the Triune God. The Old Testament tells us that the Spirit would come down from time to time and suffuse certain servants of God with divine power. But then, after a task was completed, the Spirit was taken up again. Up, down, up, down. God’s presence among his people was powerful…but fleeting.
Until New Testament Pentecost. Besides our salvation through Jesus, the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift ever given to us. In fact, you might say that WAS the salvation of Jesus because it is the Spirit of Christ living in us that brings power, forgiveness, inspiration and the courage and ability to do his will. Pentecost meant that THIS TIME when the Spirit came, he would stay. We live in the era of the Sticky Spirit! He will always be with us, thanks be to God!
Which is not to say that we can’t use more of him! Right now, especially. As I shared yesterday, I am sensing a DEEP need of the wisdom, the guidance, the clarity and courage that only comes through a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. Literally, I am on my knees in the morning with my wife, asking for more of the Holy Spirit for me and for the church I am privileged to lead. That’s YOU!
Only the Spirit of Christ can lead us through this time. Only the Spirit of Christ can redeem what the Devil means for evil. Only the Spirit of Christ can unite his Church when all the forces around us would seek to divide. Only the Spirit of Christ can do these things.
Would…you…please…pray these words right now: “Come, Holy Spirit.” Open your hands, lift them to the Lord and beg, “Come, Holy Spirit.” Breathe out deeply…breathe in deeply, and repeat, “Come, Holy Spirit.” Who knows…maybe the Lord needs to clear out a few things in YOUR backyard in order to make room for the new thing he wants to do in you. And through you.
Lord, as I lay me down to sleep, I pray that most audacious of prayers: Come, Holy Spirit! I invite you, the Spirit of Creation, the Spirit who hovered over the face of the deep, the Spirit who raised Jesus from the Dead…and pray for THAT Spirit to fill me to overflowing. May I awake in great power and anointing! Amen.
PS—Don’t forget our Prayer Walk around our business communities this Sunday at 1:00 pm. Watch tomorrow’s blog for more details.