Rest on Us

Rest on Us

by | Jun 18, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“As the Spirit was moving over the waters

Spirit, come move over us”

Rest on us, Maverick City Music

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Genesis 1:2:

In the beginning – before the foundations of the Earth was laid – God had us in mind.

Fearfully and wonderfully created in the secret place of a mother’s womb, God has knit together a destiny blueprint for each of us – hiding deep within us potential and purpose.

But many of us find ourselves in a state of emptiness, formlessness and darkness – not yet having truly come into being.

It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:2: for ‘waters’ is ‘mayim’,

The word ‘mayim’, although unrelated etymologically, sounds a lot like our English word ‘mayhem’ – defined as violent or extreme disorder and chaos. What is even more interesting is the fact that the Hebrew ‘mayim’ comes from the root ‘mem’ which is also translated as chaos.

The world is, much like in Genesis 1:2: in a state of emptiness, formlessness and darkness. As a result many of us, our worldview being shaped by the world instead of the world being shaped by our worldview, are in this same state of confusion, desolation and chaos.

But God hovers over the waters – He hovers over our chaos seeking to bring it to order.

He wants to turn the hollowed out earth of our hearts into hallowed ground.

Paul writes the following in his second epistle to the Corinthians: ”Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here!”

In the Old Testament the Hebrew word ‘mayim’ is also used to represent, symbolically, the nations – the peoples of the Earth.

God hovers over His people – seeking to bring them to order. To reform. To restore. To make His creation new again.

This act of reformation and restoration takes place through the indwelling of His Spirit – His Spirit coming and resting on us, dwelling in us.

Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:16, 1 Peter 1:2)

It is not enough for us to just call on the name of Jesus – how could it be? Calling on the name of Jesus is just the beginning. 

We need to open up our hearts and let Him do His work in us. He calls us to come as we are – unwashed and broken – but not to stay as we are. He wants to transform us. He wants to bring us to that place where we can see the fulfilment of His finished work in us. He wants to bring us to the place where we can see the fulfillment of the promise He has placed in us.

God created each and every one of us with a purpose and a plan. He placed within each of us promise and potential. 

This being said, we are born into the ‘mayim’ of the world – into the chaos of the world – and come to Christ void, formless and out of darkness. We call on Christ and He pulls us out.

This is where His finished work in us begins.

This is where our physical reality starts catching up with His spiritual reality. It has all been ordained – the plans He has for us – it has already been paid for – the healing, the deliverance, the restoration. 

It’s like getting a ticket to a concert.

There is a Kingdom experience that has been made available to each of us. The ticket has been bought by the blood of Christ. We enter into this experience through the door of His sacrifice, but that doesn’t mean we know where to go after that. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is how God ushers us to our assigned seats – that place from which we get to see God’s story for His children unfold – a story written, produced and directed by the Creator of the Universe.

He calls us out of the chaos of the crowd and into this Kingdom experience.

He calls us out of the chaos and into newness.

And all we need to do is accept the invitation. All we have to do is open up to Him today.

We do this, very simply, through prayer, spending time in His Word and in fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters. Through the practice of spiritual disciplines we open up to Him, inviting Him to rest on us, to work in us – to be made manifest through us.

All it takes is a yielded yes today. A want and a willingness to seek Him, to see Him, to experience Him.

All it takes is a want and a willingness to accept the ticket that Christ paid for and show up. To say ‘here I am, Lord!’.

And as we do this – as we commit to Him and let Him in we will see our chaos be brought to order, we will see God speak light into our darkness and breathe life into our dry bones.

Prayer: Lord, today I invite You to come and rest on me – come and do Your work in me. Through Your Holy Spirit, lead me deeper into Your Word and Your will for my life. Through Your Holy Spirit, awaken in me a greater need and love for fellowship. Ignite in me, through Your Holy Spirit, a fire that drives me to pray and to seek You in all things so that I might ultimately see You in all things. Guide me in using my time productively, help me redeem my time so that I might experience the fullness of Your Kingdom unfolding around me. Lead me away from the things of this world, and deeper into the heart of the Kingdom. Bring me out of chaos and into order, out of darkness and into light – and let me become an agent and ambassador of Your Kingdom Come in the world around me. In Jesus Name. Amen.

 

Same God

Same God

by | May 24, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“You moved in power then
God, move in power now
You are the same God
You are the same God”

Same God, Elevation Worship

“I the Lord do not change.”

Malachi 3:6a, NIV

Everlasting and unchanging – eternal, infinitely faithful and true – from generation to generation… God does not change. There is no shadow of turning with Him. As He was, so He is and so He will be forevermore and beyond.

He is the same God who split the seas for Moses, the same God who made Jericho’s walls tumble down – the same God who helped a teenage boy defeat a giant.

He is still the same God who provided manna and quail in the desert, made water flow from the rock – He is still Jehovah-Rapha the Healer, El-Roi who sees us, Jehovah-Jireh our Provider and Jehovah-Nissi the One who fights for us.

He is still the same God who revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. The same Jesus who loved the sinner and cleansed the leper – made the blind to see and set the captive free – He is still the same Jesus!

Hebrews 13:8: says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.

The face, grace and embrace of God – the Right Hand stretched out, never too short to reach us in our time of need. The same Jesus – Yeshua – the very Word of God made flesh. The Heart of God made manifest.

God is not a man that He would lie. His love for us does not diminish, is infinite and without bounds – oh how He loves us!

The same God, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End and Creator of the universe is the One – Almighty, Omnipotent – spoke at the dawn of Creation and there was light.

Through the indwelling of His Spirit – the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead – He wants to speak light in your darkness.

He wants to be your Beginning.

He created you, purchased you salvation – redeemed you from sin and shame – you are double His!

He is the same God who moved in power then, and He wants to move in power now through His Holy Spirit living and active in our lives. He is still the Mighty Conqueror – our victory – and the Prince of Peace – the River of Living Water, the Bread from Heaven.

He wants to move in our midst. He wants to move in your life. He wants to move in your ministry – this ministry that we all share – the ministry of reconciliation.

He wants to empower us and enable us to be His witnesses in our Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria – and even to the ends of the Earth. He wants us to be His witnesses in our homes, at our schools, our places of business, our communities – to expand His Kingdom wherever we might go.

All it takes from us is a “metanoia” experience – a turning of the heart and the mind towards the things of God. A shift in our thinking, the realisation that God is who He says He is.

He is not a man that He would lie or change His mind. God intended, from the beginning, to walk with us. This has not changed. Let us turn our hearts and our minds toward Him. Let us give Him our full attention.

When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit we turned from God. There is no shadow of turning with Him. Let us turn back to God.

He is the same God who moved in power then, and He wants to move in power now – here in our midst. In our homes, in our churches, in our communities. Revival is waiting.

All we need to do is become willing to let Him have His way – to surrender to His loving and careful Hand so that He may mould us, form us, guide us and lead us – so that the blueprint of what He had in mind for us might be restored.

Let us turn our hearts and minds – the totality of our lives – over to Him.

Prayer: Jesus, have Your way in me. Come and flood my life with who You are. If there is any doubt or double-mindedness in me, let it be stripped away, burned away by the fire of Your Holy Spirit. Come and move in my life and through my life as I surrender all I am and all I ever will be to You. Let Your Kingdom come. Let Your will be done – in and through my life – in Jesus Name. Amen.

King of Kings: Pentecost Fire

King of Kings: Pentecost Fire

by | May 24, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“And the church of Christ was born
Then the Spirit lit the flame
Now this gospel truth of old
Shall not kneel, shall not faint
By His blood and in His name
In His freedom I am free
For the love of Jesus Christ
Who has resurrected me”

King of Kings, Hillsong

“ Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. “

Acts 2:2-3, NIV

The Church can be defined as an assembly – a coming together. The older Greek roots of the word ‘church’ refers to the place where this congregation takes place – in the Lord’s House.

Christ came, showed us the way, was crucified, resurrected and ascended to the Right Hand of God. After this the disciples assembled – congregated – gathered together in the upper room and waited upon the Lord.

This last week I’ve been seeing, in my mind’s eye, wood being placed like in a fireplace. 

This is what the disciples did. They came together – assembled like wood – in the fireplace of the upper room.

And the Lord sent His Spirit like a flame of fire. 

And we have seen, over decades and centuries, the Lord igniting fires – and in some cases re-igniting fires. And we are in need, as the church, of a spark to set us alight again.

We need revival. 

The fire was lit on Pentecost – but as with any fire, the ash eventually starts suffocating the flames. 

The ashes of tradition, philosophy and bad theology have suffocated the flames of that Pentecost Fire in us – but the Gospel Truth of old will not faint and will not be snuffed out. 

Under the ashes are the red hot embers of Truth waiting to be fanned into flame again.

Under the ashes are the red hot embers of a church waiting to be fanned into flame again.

Sometimes it is necessary for us to add kindling to the fire, to add fuel, for the fire to burn again.

Let us shake off the ashes that suffocate the fire – and let us present ourselves as wood in the fireplace of the upper room waiting for the Spark of His Spirit – let our hearts be the kindling, let our lives be the flame.

Let us become a people of prayer once again – let us assemble and congregate in our Father’s House and wait on Him for fresh fire.

He is faithful.

The Fire of the Holy Spirit kept the steam engine of the Church going in even the darkest times – through persecution, in the face of famine, nakedness and sword – and gave momentum to the propagation of the Gospel and expansion of the Kingdom.

The Fire of the Holy Spirit enabled the church to be a light in the darkness leading the lost back home – a source of warmth and safety to those who had been alone and stuck out in the colder fringes of society. 

The Fire of the Holy Spirit is what purifies us, like silver and gold in a furnace – the Fire transforms us, conforms us more and more into the image of Christ so that we may be the light that the world needs.

 Let us come together. Let us be assembled like wood in the fireplace of prayer. 

 Let us seek the Lord like never before. 

 I want to urge you to find like-minded brothers and sisters to pray with. Let our churches become houses of prayer. Let our homes become altars unto the Lord.  

 Let us pray together and set the world ablaze.

 Prayer: Lord, come and set Your church alight. Come and pour out fresh fire. As we turn to You in prayer Lord, come and heal us. Come and restore us. Help us shake off the ashes of old and be renewed, restored and revived – so that we may be Your light in a dark and dying world. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Spirit of God: Paraklétos

Spirit of God: Paraklétos

by | May 10, 2024 | Devotionals, Worship Reflections

“We thirst for Your presence
Send down Your rain
Here in this moment, a holy embrace”

Spirit of God, Phil Wickham

“15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

John 14:15-18, NKJV

What a powerful thought: “I will not leave you orphans; I (ME, MYSELF – Jesus) will come to you.”

The Holy Spirit is Jesus alive in us.

Jesus says, comforting the disciples, that the Father will send another Helper. The word Helper here is translated from the Greek ‘paraklétos’ which can also be translated as ‘advocate’ or ‘attorney’.

An advocate presents evidence.

There have been many ‘helpers’ from the Old Testament to the New – evidence of God’s presence in the world. In the Old Testament God would appear to Abraham (Gen 18:1-15), Jacob (Gen 32:24-30), and Manoah and his wife (Judges 13) and Joshua (Joshua 5:13-15). He would appear to Moses and speak from within a burning bush (Exodus 3:2-10). The Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, would see Him as the Fourth Man in the Fire (Daniel 3:16-28) – and all of Israel would see Him as a Pillar of Cloud and Fire  (Exodus 13).

Besides these ‘theophanies’ there were of course also dreams, visions, prophecies, miracles, signs and wonders – other visible manifestations of God’s glory and presence.

In the New Testament God Himself steps down from His throne in Heaven to walk in our midst – the ‘paraklétos’ in flesh and bone. Evidence of God With Us. 

In talking about the Holy Spirit Jesus talks about yet another ‘paraklétos’ – and insists “I will come to you.”

A common misconception, especially in our South African context, is that the Holy Spirit is somehow a different being altogether – completely distinct from Jesus. Biblically we should understand that there is only One seated upon the Throne – and He is the same One enthroned within our hearts, seated there through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. 

Jesus was the ‘paraklétos’ – providing evidence of God WITH us.

The Holy Spirit is the ‘paraklétos’ – providing evidence of the same God IN us.

The Holy Spirit is Jesus alive in us.

The proof of His presence. The Holy Spirit is our comforter in times of sorrow, His presence is a balm to the broken heart. 

He is our guide, helping us navigate the storms of life by reminding us of His Word and making it come alive in us. 

If Jesus was, while walking the Earth, the embrace of God made flesh – then the Holy Spirit is the very breath of God breathed into our lungs, the resurrection power of God in our lives.

The Holy Spirit is the resurrection power of God – working not only in us but also through us. In understanding the Holy Spirit correctly, as the Spirit of Jesus – the Spirit of the Living God – in understanding the Oneness of the Godhood and our communion with Him through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, our understanding of our Kingdom purpose is not only enlarged but also becomes more practical.

If the Holy Spirit is Jesus alive in us – the presence of God living and active in our hearts – then the next step is Jesus alive THROUGH us as we become His hands and feet, the tangible evidence of His presence in the world around us.

The Holy Spirit is the ‘paraklétos’ – providing evidence of God IN us but also becomes the ‘paraklétos’ – providing evidence of the same God THROUGH us as His hands and feet, all the more visible as we become more and more conformed to the image of Christ:

“18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Through His presence IN us we become His presence IN the world.

Prayer: Lord, as I contemplate Your glory, transform me ever more into what You would have me be. Let me do, all the more, what You would have me do. Through Your Holy Spirit, Lord, empower me to be Your presence in a broken world, Your light in the darkness – so that others might see You in me and through me. Come breathe in me and through me, O Lord. Let Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, here in our hearts and lives. In Jesus Name. Amen.