OF AGENDA AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
If you want to maximize the power of God in your life and ministry, if you really want to see the Spirit of God working at His best, you really have to make up your mind to be quite flexible and open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Lots of people prefer a particular schedule / structure. We all do, really. Human nature tends towards that angle. Au contraire, establishing a sound and working relationship with the Holy Spirit requires an open mind. Some of us assume that the Holy Spirit is a creature that is quite easy to predict. Well, wake up and smell reality. ‘Cause the only thing predictable about the Holy Ghost is His unpredictable ways. Don’t believe me? Ask Philip.
25 After testifying and preaching the word of the Lord in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. And they stopped in many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the Good News to them, too. 26 As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he did, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” 30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah; so he asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I, when there is no one to instruct me?” And he begged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. 32 The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. 33 He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Was Isaiah talking about himself or someone else?” 35 So Philip began with this same Scripture and then used many others to tell him the Good News about Jesus.
36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” (37* Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”) 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the city of Azotus! He preached the Good News there and in every city along the way until he came to Caesarea. (Acts 8:25-40 New Living Translation)
Does that seem to you like someone’s day went the way he might have envisaged? Does it sound like his agenda for the day was followed letter by letter, word for word, line by line? Did you get the feeling he even planned (or chose / want) to meet with the eunuch? Doesn’t it seem more like divine appointment than Philip’s agenda? Seems like when and where Philip lost control of how his day went, that was the point the Holy Spirit took control in a marvelous way, you see? Here we have an example of how the Spirit of the Lord works through people in ways that are unexpected; ways that are unanticipated; ways that are somehow out of schedule / structure. Philip found himself in a situation where he had to respond - without any preparation – to a situation that was not on his agenda for the day. Thanks to the urging of the Holy Spirit.
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ (John 3:8 New King James Version)
Remember the fellow called Abram whose name was changed by God to Abraham? The difference between ‘Abram’ and ‘Abraham’ is that the latter cannot argue with God. Abraham is God’s ‘yes-man’. It is not that he did not have the free will to go against God’s will. It just happened that he was a ‘new’ creature in God. The spirit in him had been renewed. Hence, he was keen on the things of God than anything else. He was willing to go all the way for God – and beyond. He was willing to go beyond the call of duty for God. You can’t expect the same from him when he was Abram. Here is a hint of what is being pointed out:
“But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it” (Numbers 14:24 New King James Version - NKJV). For more on “My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully”, click on OF INDIVIDUALS AND ATTITUDE.
Abraham will say ‘Yes’ to anything God tells him including taking his only son Isaac – the promised child – out to be offered as sacrifice. As hard and uncomfortable as this expectation was, Abraham did not object. He obliged. Mr The-Spirit-Leads-I-follow.
In Luke chapter 4, we read about how “Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (v.1 NKJV). More often than not, I hear people brag about how they are born again, how they are spirit-filled, how they’ve been attending a place of worship before someone (or someone’s parents) was (were) born. That, of course, is religious history. Let’s cut to the chase: No matter how loaded your spiritual resume (profile) appears, it is no substitute to being lead (not just full / filled of) by the Holy Spirit. This aspect of the teaching is fully explored under FULL OF THE HOLY GHOST, LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
When you stick to your own agenda in the work of the ministry, what you see is what you get. And really, don’t expect way too much from a God whose Spirit you are not all that willing to cooperate with. Come to think of it, some of us will rather do things in order to conform to the teachings and norms of our different places of worship, or to suit the leadership style of our favourite or preferred man / woman of God, or to be in line with the traditional values that are inherent to our daily life. In the work of the ministry, avoid being rigid with your agenda for the service. It is nice to have what can be called a semblance of format but surely not a rigid format that cannot be easily influenced or modified at the discretion and guidance of God's Spirit. Otherwise, we will claim we have ministries and attend services but who runs the agenda? Or whose agenda do we run? Whoever's agenda you run will reflect in the kind of result or fruit that is evident in the ministry. Have a semblance of format for your services but please give the Holy Spirit the right of way. He is the boss. He makes the difference between having abiding fruits in abundance (Matthew 7:15-20), and sheer redundancies. That’s the Spirit that brings & breeds life into your ministry. Without his direction and leadership, the place of worship is reduced to a mere social gathering where
"Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. ......." (Isaiah 54:15 NKJV)
And before you know it we have begun
"...........having a form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:5 NKJV)
Why? His presence? Yes. His leadership? No. Ever attended a religious gathering that felt more like visiting a cemetery? You can just feel the spiritual deadliness. Talking about abundance of theological statements yet devoid of sound anointing and power that comes only from the Holy Ghost. Talking about a seemingly mouth-watering dish that does not contain any salt. You see someone who claims to be a Christian – a believer in Christ Jesus - and you can’t even tell the difference between them and those who are unbelievers. Seems more like a social gathering in a religious context. Of course, what pleases the powers of darkness more than seeing the body of Christ reduced to a mere religious club? One way to avoid this kind of odd situation is by ensuring that whenever the Lord is talking to you through his Holy Spirit, you listen! And endeavour to obey. Do not hesitate to venture into the path of obedience. For more on “......... "What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better than offering the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22 NLT), click on CHOICE OF A LIFE PARTNER: LET GO AND LET GOD HAVE HIS WAY. Also, WHATSOEVER HE SAYS TO YOU, DO IT!
This isn’t just about fasting, praying, tithing, etc. After all “Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. 22 On judgment day many will tell me, ‘Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized (by the Holy Spirit).’ (Matthew 7:21-23 NLT)
But I warn you — unless you obey God better than the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees do, you can’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven at all! (Matthew 5:20 NLT)
9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. 11 The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery, 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.” (Luke 18:9-14 NLT)
Philip understood the importance of fellowship and working with other believers. After all, he was with Peter and John “testifying and preaching the word of the Lord in Samaria”. Quite noteworthy is Philips understanding of the significance of partnership with the Holy Spirit (as highlighted in the scripture taken from Acts 8:25-40). Based on directives from above, Philip had to break away from Peter and John so he could “Go south down the desert road”. The desert road? How convenient! Of all the routes in the world, why the not-so-desirable desert road? What is this? A prayer walk? This isn’t like a journey to a crowded shopping mall. If the road was deserted, what were the likelihood of meeting anyone? Anyone ever thought of the security risk involved in walking down a desert road? Well, can you remember someone telling you in the past that what man considers a disappointment may actually turn out to be God’s appointment.
“........ and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the queen of Ethiopia.” You know the rest of the beautiful story.
Father in heaven, we thank You for the opportunity you’ve given us to share this moment together. We thank You, and we praise for You are the KING of Kings and the LORD of Lords. You are the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. We pray, O LORD that this message of your word will not stand against us in the last days. Let the words come alive in our hearts and become reality in our lives so that our lives can be transformed. Renew the spirit of our minds and enable us to establish a firm and ongoing relationship with Your Spirit. So that we will be able to do that which You want us to do, and be what You want us to be. Lord, please, help us overcome all obstacles that can stand in the way. We worship you Lord. Thank You Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You Father. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen.
************* WORD ON THE STREET ***************
Eavesdrop:
I don't believe my success depends on my ability to block others, or ability to put clogs in the wheel of progress of others. Fact is, "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." (Psalms 121:1-2)
God bless.
Yours
Adekunle Majek’
H I A F E M
Of impact, quality & excellence
That’s the Spirit!
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