The Gospel of John Lesson 70 (04-13-14) John 16:7-11 continued

The Gospel of John Lesson 70 (04-13-14) 

Lesson 70 – John 16:7-11 continued: 

In considering these passages and the work that the Holy Spirit is engaged in when dealing with man’s heart concerning his need for the Savior it is difficult to tell who the Spirit is dealing with and how He is dealing with them when viewed on a surface or superficial level. Most of the work that the Holy Spirit is involved in concerning man’s heart and his condition is below the surface, not easily discernible or detectable to the casual glance or an undiscerning eye. It is like looking at a body of water, what you see is the surface, but who can tell if there are any fish below that surface or if there is any activity below the surface of the water.

So it is with the heart of man. It is not easy to know what is really going on in man’s heart at any given time and if perhaps God is at work wrestling with someone that is near you, under the surface, revealing to them their need for the Savior.

It is interesting in reviewing and looking back at the process that the Holy Spirit uses to bring someone to Christ that on the surface an outsider would never know the process and the progress that is occurring in their journey toward the Savior. Even the person involved in the Holy Spirit’s work often is not fully aware of the wrestling and dealing that is going on down in their heart with God.

In Matt. 16:17 when Peter made that great statement witnessing that Jesus was indeed the Christ, Peter thought that he had come to this realization all on his own. But, Jesus told him different. Jesus told him that it was the Father that was dealing with his heart and that the Father had revealed this to him.

And, yet, we are called to enter into this mysterious process of the Spirit being used by Him to further His work and assist those involved in His work to come toward Him. So, somehow we must become aware of what God is doing so that He may also lead us in being a part of what He is doing. We must develop techniques or methods that probe below the surface to give us a better idea of where the Spirit is truly at work. 

Since it is the Holy Spirit’s job to deal with our world in the way mentioned in Jn. 16:7-11 it is a practical approach to test what appears to be His work with probing questions or engaging activities or actions to see if the Spirit is truly at work in the lives of those around us. Again, you cannot tell if the fish are biting or even if they are there if you do not throw out bait or look for signs of their interest, testing the waters for activity so to speak.

So it is with spiritual things. In our daily casual conversations and encounters it is most often impossible to know or detect if a person or even a larger environment including many people are hungry and awaiting a spiritual conversation or encounter unless we probe the situation with offers for spiritual conversation or engagement. Using conversational questions, offers or actions along the lines of the Holy Spirit’s workings and activities can reveal if the Spirit is at work in a situation or conversation.

In doing so, a response can be very revealing. Often we are surprised at who is actually interested in spiritual things. More times than not, it is not the person that you initially thought would be spiritually hungry. Quite often it is someone to the left or to the right of that person that you initially thought was God’s focus. Or, it may even be more than one that is receiving God’s dealing and attention at that time.

By using these spiritual promptings in questions, statements or offers of involving them in activities associated in some way with God and His Church their interest or non interest in further and more directed conversation and activities concerning the Spirit’s work can be discerned. Remember the Spirit does not necessarily think or work like us. Jn. 3:8 Our focus and interaction needs to be along the lines of the working of God’s Spirit found in these passages, Jn. 16:8-11, joining Him and looking for what He is doing.

How important is this discussion? How serious do we take this? Sharing our faith is not an option; it is a directive and command. Our passage here in John is directly connected with the Great Commission concerning approach, method and execution in fulfilling that commission.

In Matt. 28:19-20 Jesus tells or commands His followers to go to all nations and neighborhoods and teach and share His message and precepts with them. Jesus also again reminds His followers in Acts 1:8 of their purpose in being left on earth during His absence telling them that they are here to do more than just exist, but that we are to be His witnesses to the world around us making our presence and perspective known to them that we are His followers and that He is calling all who will to come.

It is interesting that these verses imply active engagement and not just a passive witness. It is true that in Matt. 5:14-6 we are told to let our life shine before those around us, but in saying this Jesus is not telling us to be passive. We are told to go and engage the world, not in mortal combat, but in compassionate and intentional encounter, sharing the forgiveness and hope that we have received. In vs. 8-11 of John 16 we see directions for the practical application of bearing fruit in obeying the Great Commission, joining the Holy Spirit where and how He is at work.

So, why is it that most of us are content to sit on the sidelines and take the position of being involved in church routine and ritual and not be actively involved in the Great Commission? What happens between our conversion and our practice?

It would be too easy and I believe inaccurate to just say that most believers just get comfortable and do not care. Yes, it is true that comfort and complacency do play a big part in our tendency to be content to be a spectator and not be actively involved in the game. And, it is easy to get derailed in life by the cares of this world. But, I also believe that that these are not the only reasons for not being as actively involved in the Great Commission as we should.

There are those who we must give them credit for trying to reach out and make an honest attempt in serving God attempting to fulfill His command of going to those around them. However, so often our attempts appear to be unproductive or at best of little success, and, we must be quite honest, often we give up trying because to us it appears like nothing is happening or we just cannot make sense of the results or lack thereof. Jesus’ disciples were pretty much at this same place in this passage…pretty much totally confused.

Jesus tells them here in John chapter 16 that working with the Spirit is not going to be easy. His work is mysterious and to us what God sees as making perfect sense quite often from our perspective makes little to no sense to us at all. In this chapter Jesus tells His disciples to be open to learning the ways of His Spirit and be open to learning new ways and methods of reaching the world with Him instead of for Him.

Romans 12:2 reminds us to be willing to renew and change our way of thinking translating into different actions and approaches that we would not think of on our own. To be productive we must join the Spirit. But, first we have to find Him. Nothing happens that has eternal value without God’s Spirit. He is the Key to the Great Commission and our success in our efforts. And, it is not like He does not want to be found. He is not hiding from us. He is looking for, and at times, waiting for us to join Him.

So, what is the practical application of looking for the Spirit and His work so that we might identify His work in action that we might join Him? Well, we all must intentionally develop activities, words, phrases and a lifestyle that attract attention and further investigation from those that the Spirit is dealing with. We must make offers to those around us along the lines of the Spirit’s dealing found here in this passage. This can be along the lines of a comment or question like, “Do you go to church” or “Have you ever gone to church” to asking them if they would like to join you on a church or Christian activity like a church sponsored hike or coming to your small group or going with you with some other people from your church for something like a bike ride. Remember God’s Spirit will be prompting them toward spiritual things if He is at work at that time in that situation and the right question or invite at the appropriate time will often reveal if God’s Spirit is at work at that time.

Over the years I have found that some approaches work better than others for me when looking for where the Spirit is at work. It must be said that what works for one and at one time may not work for another. So, we must either by trial and error or by research and attempted application learn how God’s Spirit can use us best. Sometimes we need not ask or say anything to get the response that we are looking for, but that by something that they are already doing or saying it may reveal their spiritual search for God.

I remember one time while in my office, walking into a treatment room and finding one of my patients and his son, and, the son was sitting in a chair reading one of the daily devotionals that I leave out for patients to take. At first I had messed the significance of this. It wasn’t until later that I had realized the spiritual significance of this and that possibly I could have made some kind of inquiry that may have led to a spiritual conversation. Too late I realized that God was at work at that moment to some degree that I may have missed an opportunity to join Him.

Be creative. To find where the Spirit is at work and join Him we must therefore think like Him. However, our attempts to learn which approaches work best for us are most productive when we test them out based on the facts that God is indeed at work around us and that He will work on the basis of His three objectives found here in John 16:8-11.

Unfortunately we do not have time to discuss all of the methods that could be used to find and assist the Holy Spirit in His work, but we do know that God wants us to be part of His work, so we must be actively involved in the Great Commission. Unfortunately many of us have become comfortable or preoccupied with the things of this world and have not investigated and applied our calling to be actively involved in the Great Commission. There are methods and callings, but make no mistake, all are called in some fashion and in some way to participate. So, we must test out the Spirit with a willing heart looking for how we can be best used to accomplish our part of God’s Great Commission. Let’s get going! Today is a good day to started learning the Spirit’s ways and joining Him in His work.