Taking Off Our Heads Or Reconfiguring Our Hardened Drive

Taking off Our Heads Or Reconfiguring Our Hardened Drive

We are so incredibly full of information and well meaning things, with today's access to info from around the world and every conceivable thought at our fingertips, literally.

We think and therefore we believe we are informed.

But if we approach God only at an intellectual level, we will miss him completely. (Is55.8, 9) We will put ourselves in the same place as the Jewish leaders with all head knowledge and suffer with a legalistic mentality.

The word of God clearly states that He is Spirit, and we must come to him worshipping (adore, honor, respect, revere) in spirit and in truth. (Jn4.23, 24)

It also says that we are made in his image. (Our image, Gen1.26, 27)

We are to become spiritually balanced in our, “human be-ing”.

We somehow miss this step in his plan for us and try instead to reach him by our judgments through our many considerations based upon reason and logical thinking therefore becoming religious.

Every known religion has built its basis or foundation upon a work or action employing the strength within the person or by self imposed religious practices of constraint, restraint, abstinence, inflicted pain, extreme poverty, meditation, spiritualism, restriction and rules and on and on into nirvana.

Eastern religions have covered the mystical or mysticism, overwhelming us with the practice of enlightenment in numerous forms, yet again only leading to another realm of emptiness.

But here within this life “in Christ”, lay a great mystery of all that is going on within us through Holy Spirit.

How much time and devotion have we applied to get to KNOW the very person of the trinity who holds our redemptive process to a more fulfilled life in Christ in his hands?

Have we counted Him as a treasure worthy of our pursuit?

Nicodemus when confronted by Jesus statement, “You must be born again”, was totally confused as this New concept was completely foreign to him and he had no parameters with which to apply these strange sounding words? A mystery indeed… and then Jesus added; “To be born from above.”

He has a complete lacking in his theology, a missing component; that of the Spirit to interpret the words of Ezekiel, which he knew quite well.

That he was to have “a New Heart, and a New spirit”, a dimension he had not considered necessary to capture the life God would desire, and coming from the teaching of this man Jesus, who he knew was from God. (Jn3.5)

These leaders knew well the scriptures which spoke clearly of The Christ and they also knew that Jesus could not have performed the miracles had God not been with him, and were afraid to confront him for fear of the people; not God.

Our minds (much like them) are well trained, filled beyond full, with every conceivable imagination, from the artistic, scientific, logic, a wealth of info from innumerable authors, great thinkers of our time and throughout history.

The Greeks, Romans, Persians and many others all shared in influencing mankind with both admirable and not so desirous philosophies, which continue to shape much of our thinking today.

We have to decide of which mind and spirit we are about.

There has never been a generation like the one we now live in and are watching our children and grandchildren enter. We live on the very edge of discovery and or devastation at every level and in all sectors of society globally.

So why do we need to consider our “Spiritual component” as Christians?

Let me suggest that this will be the supplementary part within our lives that will prove itself to be the most necessary link to complete our journey into the heart and mind of God.

We cannot afford to forget the parable of the ten virgins. He who has ears to hear…

Spirit Walk and Talk

Within Christendom there are innumerable slices of religiosity but not necessarily spiritual pie, and each slice standing upon one letter of writ or another. Much like the Corinthian church when Paul had to rebuke them for their childish behavior… “Saying, I am of Paul, Apollos, Cephas, Christ etc…” We (as they) also name the names and flaunt our flags.

So as long as we agree with these divisions we strengthen the forces of this world and actually can become part of the problem by further spreading the virus we are trying so desperately to extinguish.

No single denomination has an exclusive on Holy Spirit, although many would want you to believe it. Then again there are those who do not entertain Holy Spirit as a needed part of their spiritual endeavor. Holy Spirit speaks for himself and he speaks to those who will listen and gives them gifts.

God is no respecter of persons. (Be cautioned not to think too highly of yourself!)

The Apostle Paul was the one who brought to us all the beauty, power, intimacy, prophetic insight, power in action and not words; teaching us about Holy Spirit and his work within each of us. Jesus introduces us to him but Paul came to really know him and share him with us. He also successfully taught and demonstrated about Holy Spirit to the many intricate, complex, sophisticated and culturally different peoples.

What was his secret? (Search the scriptures and find out)

The Power Generator of Life

Consider the mind and spirit likened to an electrical grid. There is always power flowing from the power station directly to the recipients.

There will be areas where this power needs to be increased or decreased along the grid, according to the need.

Now when we are in our home we have no problem flicking the switch and believe the light will illuminate the room. We have faith in the system and unless there is a failure with the bulb, fuse, breaker, power line in etc., everything will work.

We get the voltage necessary for the light and toaster and so on. Other appliances may require more voltage which is arranged at the junction panel and special wiring, such as the dryer and stove. These things we understand and take for granted.

Let me suggest that we take the Spirit of God for granted. God has given us the person of the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. (Jn.14.17, 15.26, 16.13)

Why? We needed a powerful resource from God to assist us to live and be Christ like and a regulator for the power of God to be present in our spirit and for that same power to pass through us and touch others with the gifting of the Spirit. Notice I didn't say mind, because we simply cannot comprehend God with our mind. Remember He is Spirit and Holy Spirit is obviously spirit. (1Cor2.9-16)

Now we made a choice of acceptance, or were persuaded (convinced) with our mind and heart to trust what we are hearing or reading as the truth. Our ‘spirit’, which was cold, sleeping or in a state of constant flux, suddenly receives a revelation and now joins with the heart and mind to express “new life”, that it had not known before. Thus enters the “Spiritual experience”, and our inner eyes are opened. Now this experience needs to be “grounded” in the word of God so we will not lose what we have been given; but it cannot stop there.

Proper teaching will be the solidifying component so we receive and keep distinct balance. God gives freely to us three living, active, powerful resources from himself to marry with our three distinct components of body, soul and spirit.

Earlier I mentioned our imagination as part of our make-up. Some believe we can have an overactive imagination when it pertains to the things of God. This can become dangerous ground and has messed up more than a few people’s lives.

God initiates the person of the Holy Spirit, who is a subjective share of himself, to be joined with us who are also a part of him. (Made in his image)

Then Jesus, who is also the fullness of God, given to us in the form of a flesh man, is the viaduct to God. (Way, Truth, Life)

No problem, right?

Big problem, we are still using our “old mind” as the chief principle for understanding the things of God. We want to control the thinking and imagination and bypass the spirit and our intuitive nature. This was the original nature of Adam and Eve that died because of sin, but is now resurrected in Jesus.

God has wired us for his glory to reside within, so what's the problem? Mostly because, the Word is Spirit breathed, and we are still trying to respond with the old mind and not a ‘renewed mind’ or the mind of Christ, through the Spirit who is now to be residing within us. (See Rom12.2, Transformed and Renewal)

We, still possessing our free will must continue to make the choices of how Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God the Father and the Word relate to us.

His Spirit, His power is available, perfect, complete, on line, then there must be a wiring malfunction. Let me illustrate:

(1) The wires are not connected to the panel. (Unbelief quenches all or any Spirit input Ps10.4)

(2) Wrong, bad, or old wiring and needs a change. (Renewing of the mind and our spirit Rom12.2)

(3) The main switch was never turned on. (Failure to want God’s input, rejection Ps55.19)

(4) The people inside the house are in rebellion that the power even exists. (Constrained to their own motives, self autonomy Rom1.21, 2Tim3.1-5)

(5) The people have turned on the power and all the lights but live in denial and fear of the dark. (Unwilling to accept the truth 2Tim3.5)

(6) The people believe that they have created the power by their own means and doing and that is all there is to it, enjoying it for themselves for the moment because it might be gone tomorrow. (Works mentality, Pride in Performance Ps28.5, Pr16.5, Jm4.6)

(7) They are living outside the grid and stealing the power and hiding from everyone but believing that they are justified. (Controlling and holding others under their control Pr1.31)

Paul writes to us in most of the books of the New Testament about Holy Spirit and his action and also how "to live, walk, talk, participate and pray in the Spirit."

We have an obligation to the Spirit and to stay in step with him. (Rom12, Gal5.25)

He is not an, ‘it’ nor just, ‘the’, he is a person, a distinct personality of the God head. We must get to know everything about him and what he desires to do within us. We alone make this choice in our journey.

So, God might say something like this to us; "Take off your head and let me replace it with one that I have made especially for you; one that thinks my thoughts and is joined to me, one that is readily made to accept Spirit downloads and wired to receive my power more easily and completely." (Like debugging and reconfiguring your computer’s hard drive and adding New Software)

Why don't we want to believe it?

Perhaps we enjoy our religiosity, Phariseeism, our Denominational position, our casual Christian lifestyle, being complacent and don’t want to be bothered with really knowing more about God, and Holy Spirit than we already know or presume to know?

Or, perhaps it’s because we are extremely proud of what goes on inside our head?

__________________________________________________________________