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What a thrill it is to "flow
in the Spirit." You feel that what you are doing is worthwhile; you feel
authenticated, you feel loved; you know you are a part of something very
important—the kingdom of God.
It happens to me when I am
preparing a sermon, witnessing to an unsaved person, helping my wife clean the
house, doing the shopping, or anything else in life that is either necessary or
a blessing to people.
You feel this when visiting a
sick person or resisting temptation; when you walk to work or do work in the
office. It is a 24-hour-a-day possibility.
What does it mean to "flow
in the Spirit?" It is moving along with Him, keeping in step with Him, and
missing nothing He may want to do through us. The joy of flowing in the Spirit
is equal to anything God may ever do for us and in us.
This is what Peter and John were
doing when they were walking toward the temple one afternoon but were
unexpectedly stopped, only to see the healing of a forty-year old man who had
never walked.
Acts 3:1-10
3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that
is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.
3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple,
he asked to receive alms.
4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from
them.
6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I
give to you. In the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his
feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with
them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the
people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the
temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what
had happened to him. English Standard
Version (ESV)
There are two questions
that emerge:
o Why were these disciples led at this particular time to administer healing to this man?
o How did they know this man would suddenly be healed?
As to the first question, have
you ever wondered why Jesus Himself did not heal this man? After all, Jesus
walked in and out of the temple—right past this beggar—countless times over the
previous three years. Why didn't Jesus heal him?
For all I know, Jesus wanted to
heal the man long before the man received his healing at the hands of Peter and
John. We don't know whether this is true, though we only know that Jesus went
past him without healing him. Why not?
Believe it or not, Jesus was not
His "own man," He said so: "I
tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he
sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does"
(John 5:19).
Jesus took orders from the
Father. Everything Jesus said was mirroring or repeating what the Father
granted to be said or done. Jesus may well have wanted to heal the man at the
Gate Beautiful. Perhaps the Father said to Him, "I'm saving him for Peter and John." What we do know is
that the man was not healed until this point.
God is sovereign, and a missing
note in teaching and preaching today is this very aspect about God. The
sovereignty of God refers mainly to His will and power. God has a will of His
own—independent of His creation—and that will needs to be affirmed and honored
for whatever He does or does not do
Exodus
33:19 And he said, “I will
make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to
whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. (ESV)
In other words, God the Father
was behind the decision not to heal this man during Jesus' days on earth, but
equally behind the reason Peter and John were the chosen instruments to grant
healing at this particular time.
And yet there is to be seen an
equally important teaching regarding the Holy Spirit: He too does only what the
Father tells Him to do. Jesus and the Holy Spirit in this sense are identical
because both the Son and the Spirit carry out the Father's wishes and nothing
more.
All that Jesus ever did, and all
that the Holy Spirit ever does, is sovereignly orchestrated by the Father in
heaven. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit "will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears"
(John 16:13). This goes to show that the Holy Spirit, like Jesus, does not act
independently but does only what He hears from the Father.
The Holy Spirit was sovereignly
at work, carrying out the Father's will, when Peter and John came upon this man
at the temple gate. That is the only explanation for the healing at that moment
in time and not before.
But now to the second question:
how did Peter and John know that this man's time had come and that the Spirit was willing to
perform this wonderful miracle?
Answer: they had the joy of
flowing in the Spirit. It was not Peter and John's idea to stop and address the
lame man; it was the Spirit's idea. This man's time of healing had come. They
were privileged to be part of the Father's plan at such a time as this.
Peter and John were enjoying
sweet fellowship with the Spirit and with each other. They were keeping in step
with the Spirit, and so they did not miss what God was prepared to do. It gave
them real joy to be involved in this miracle.
Flowing in the Spirit means to
honor God's "no" as well as His "yes." Paul and his
companions were "kept by the Holy Spirit" ("forbidden,")
from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
Acts 16:6 And they
went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the
Holy Spirit to
speak the word in Asia. (ESV)
To flow in the Spirit is
to have such an intimate relationship with Him that you recognize what He wants
you to do.
Paul and his companions walked in
the Spirit because they also knew His ways. God lamented of ancient Israel, "They have not known my ways"
Hebrews 3:10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They
always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ (ESV)
God wants intimacy with us, and
there is no greater joy than to keep in step with the Spirit. To flow in the
Spirit is to learn God's ways, style, gentleness, indignation, impulses, manner
of doing things, and His way with people.
In other words, flowing in the
Spirit is doing what pleases the Holy Spirit and what He prompts you to do. 
Would you want to have a
deeper relationship with God?
God has made it possible
for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in
your own life by receiving His Son, Jesus Christ, and have eternal life.
Say the following
prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have
separated me from you.
I am truly sorry. I
now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to
you.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was
resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and
reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank you that according to your Word,
I am now born again.
Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do
Your will for the rest of my life.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.”
“Shepherd of My Soul” Marty J.
Nystrom
lyrics
Shepherd
of my soul I give you full control,
Wherever
You may lead I will foll-ow.
I have
made the choice to listen for Your vo-vo-ice,
Wherever
You may lead I will go.
Be it
in a quiet pasture or by a gentle stream,
The
Shepherd of my soul is by my side.
Should
I face a mighty mountain or a valley dark and deep,
The
Shepherd of my soul will be my guide.
Shepherd
of my soul Oh You have made me whole,
Where'er
I hear You call how my tea-ars flow.
How I
feel your love how I want to se-rve
I
gladly give my heart to You O – Lord.
Be it
in the flowing river or in the quiet night,
The
Shepherd of my soul is by my side.
Should
I face the stormy weather or the dangers of this world.
The
Shepherd of my soul will be my guide.
Adapted from Pure Joy by R. T. Kendall, copyright 2015, published by
Charisma House. This book will show you how to receive and keep the pure joy
only the Holy Spirit can bring. Balancing both basic principles in the Word
with their practical applications, R.T. Kendall unlocks the key to maintaining
an open, unhindered, joyful relationship with the Holy Spirit and continually
flow in Him. To order your copy click here.
This week ask the Lord to
teach you how to flow in His Spirit by doing what pleases Him and what He
prompts you to do. Seek the intimacy that puts you in step with Him. Stay tuned
to His voice and continue to pray for opportunities to reveal His love and be
used by Him in supernatural ways. Ask the Lord for more laborers for His
end-time harvest. Pray for those victimized by terrorism and those suffering
for righteousness sake. Remember Israel and our allies as you pray for our own
nation and its leaders. Pray for God's will in the upcoming elections (John
16:13; Heb. 3:10; Matt. 6:9-13; Matt 9:35-38).
Draw closer to God.
Experience the presence of the Holy Spirit every month as you read Charisma
magazine. Sign up now to get Charisma for as low as $1 per
issue.
Dare to go deeper in your
faith. Our "Life in the Spirit" devotional takes you on a
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