For the past year or so, I’ve been really seeking a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit.  Intellectually, I’m sure I could accurately describe the person of the Holy Spirit from a biblical perspective.  I am also quite aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life.  There can be no other explanation for the transforming work that the Lord has done and continues to do in my life.  I am a changed person because of the presence of the Holy Spirit.  I also know that I cannot possibly understand the true meaning of the scriptures without assistance from the Holy Spirit.  What I’m looking for, I suppose, is more of an experience of the power of the Holy Spirit.  I want more of a relationship with the person of God that has chosen to dwell within me.

As I embark on this voyage into ministry, I realize that I am going to have to rely solely on the power of the Holy Spirit to do anything effectively.  I am only beginning to understand the gravity of that realization, though.  It means that everything I’m good at, all of the “gifts” that the Lord has given me, they’re nothing compared to the power that’s necessary for successful ministry.  Look at the apostles… they were fumbling fools at the feet of Jesus, and yet when they were filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, they went on to perform “greater works” (John 14:12).

I want the kind of power that the apostles were given to do ministry.  I can imagine that only by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit will I be able to truly be the hands and feet of Christ on earth.  I’m aware that I’ve jumped into murky waters here.  I know that the “cessationist” versus “continuationist” debate rages on, and that both sides claim biblical support for their positions. I’ve learned that the biblical debate centers on 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 and Ephesians 2:20, and with my limited understanding of exegesis, I tend towards the continuationist side.  I’m quite aware that I’m heading to a school that’s quite firmly entrenched in the strong cessationist perspective.  I’ll also be facing opposition for my belief on the ordination of women, though that’s a whole other topic for discussion.  I think that the bottom line is that I’m a bit more open minded on the intentions and methods that the Lord uses.  While I agree with the bulk of Reformed theology in general, and I subscribe to the principle of Sola Scriptura, I feel that this understanding must also accompany an experiential relationship with the Lord that has captured my heart.

Because I don’t currently possess any of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, it might be easy for me to believe that those gifts did indeed pass away at the end of the apostolic age.  After all, when I was baptized as a believer a few years ago, I also then received the Holy Spirit.  I do believe that I received some specific spiritual gifts right then, notably faith and teaching (and maybe others).  I don’t seem to have received any of the gifts of supernatural power, though.  So, should I conclude that because of my personal experience, I ought to dismiss the possibility of the continuation of the gifts of power entirely?

The implications of such a stance would be huge for me.  First and foremost, I would have to believe that some of my trusted friends who claim to possess some of the miraculous gifts, most notably speaking in tongues, are either delusional or deceptive.  I’d have a hard time making that conclusion, especially when those friends have devoted their lives to spreading the gospel and the ministry of the church.  They work in Jesus’ name.  They also seem to be the folks that earnestly rely most heavily on prayer and seek the Lord’s guidance in their daily walks.  Am I to conclude that some of the biggest prayer warriors I know are frauds?  I cannot.

Thus, my search for the power of the Holy Spirit continues.  I’m curious to learn what some trusted scholars have discovered, particularly Sam Storms, Wayne Grudem, and Jack Deere.  I plan to seek the counsel of some of those trusted friends and well as doing my due diligence academically.  I will continue to pray for the Lord to reveal to me His true intentions for the work of the Holy Spirit in my life and how he wishes for me to utilize the gifts he’s given me.  Finally, I thank the Lord for what appears to be answers to some of the prayers that I’ve been praying on this matter.  He’s led me to some wise counsel and he’s opened my eyes to some real opportunities for growth.  Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness.

Whoa!  I have been so busy that I haven’t blogged in over a month.  During that time, I have learned a lot about something that’s not always pleasant to think about.  There is this whole other world out there, or perhaps it’s just another dimension.  I’m talking about the spiritual realm.  Most of us feel the forces of the spiritual realm from time to time, but for the most part, we tend to ignore it.

The spiritual realm is most apparent to believers, and possibly to those dabbling (or swimming) in the occult.  What most of us spiritual folks don’t realize is that there’s a massive battle going on all around us, all the time.  This is spiritual warfare.  It’s the classic good versus evil plot, except it’s real, and you and I are part of the story.

Nothing I’ve read (aside from the Bible) paints the picture better than The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.  It’s a fictional written dialogue between a junior demon “Wormwood” and a senior demon “Screwtape”.  We see an example of a purely spiritual discussion like this in Job 1:6-12, though that conversation is between God and Satan.  More on that later.  Anyway, The Screwtape Letters is a thought provoking, eye-opening example of the cunning, opportunistic, and ruthless nature of the enemy.  This book really helped me understand better the nature of the force we’re up against as believers in Jesus.  As I read it, I often found myself saying “wow, I didn’t imagine that the devil would do that.”  Well, he does… and his henchmen have been assaulting me relentlessly lately.  I’m picturing their strategy meetings… “Let’s attack that Jason guy, he’s been really stressed out lately.  Let’s make sure he has no time to pray and let’s see if we can get him to argue with his wife.  After that…”

Practically, what this means for us is that we need to be on guard. The enemy attacks in a number of different ways.  His classic target is, of course, our weak points.  He loves lies, anger, busyness, stress, fear, and despair.  The enemy also loves to bolster our doubt in God, our pride, our envy, and our insatiable need to succeed.  Not all of the enemy’s tactics are apparent, though.  Often he’ll use half-truths or he’ll give us a sense of false hope.  He’s the biggest fan of self-reliance… no doubt he invented the notion.  His method of attack can also vary greatly, more than we care to know.  He seems to have direct access to our minds, and he manipulates our thoughts.  Shockingly, he can also use our loved ones to deliver his lies (2 Corinthians 11:12-15).  That means that at some point, YOU were probably used to achieve the enemy’s agenda.  Scary, huh?  It’s anything to weaken our faith, especially if our faith is not very strong.  For this reason, new Christians should guard their hearts and be vigilant (see Romans 16:17-20).  The enemy has you high on his target list.

The enemy also loves to get involved when we go through the difficult times in our lives.  I can easily provide testimony to that effect.  These are the times when we must put our faith and trust in the Lord that His way is the best; His way is perfect.  If we’re not strong in the Lord, the enemy swoops in and sows the seeds of destruction.

The enemy, the devil, Satan, or whatever you prefer to call him, is an extremely powerful spiritual force.  He should not be taken lightly, and he (and his forces) should especially not be ignored.  It’s better to know what we’re up against and do something about it rather than to ignore our problems in hope that they’ll go away.  We do that a lot, don’t we?  The good news is that God is MORE powerful than the enemy.  Back to the Job reference… notice that Satan is conditionally granted permission to attack Job.  The Lord is indeed sovereign!  Nothing falls outside of the Lord’s control, not even Satan.  Thankfully, He has also given us the Holy Spirit to aid us here on Earth on this perpetual battleground (2 Thessalonians 3:3). Our greatest weapon in this battle is prayer.  The enemy HATES prayer.  All we have to do is to ask the Lord for His help, and He provides.  All things considered, it’s not even a fair fight.  God has already won, and He will continue to have His way with the enemy for the rest of eternity.