John 6:62-63
62What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
Have you ever wondered why sometimes the “Christian” advice or council you seek and receive from someone doesn’t seem to pack the power and punch it needs to really speak to you? When we are seeking to hear from God we need Words that will cut through our own understanding and bring life into our circumstances. We need words that will release our hearts from the heavy weight of our burdens. We need Words that will refresh and wash our soul. We need Words that will electrify and jolt our spirit with the power to break us free and release us. Have you ever gone to speak with another believer or gone to church to hear a Word from God placed in the mouth of the preacher. And this is what you heard “I would like to talk to you today about 3 practical steps you need to take to _______. “ Or when you sit down with a close friend and explain the place you are at and they tell you “I had a time once when I ______” or “I once knew someone who was dealing with the same thing and they _____” And you know what? Your pastor or friend is right and their advice and council is very practical. However, God did not intended for us to live according to the practical or He would have said so. Practical is good! To be prudent in our decisions and choice is very good! But God told us in Romans Chapter 8 that we are to live according to the Spirit. And if we live just according to the flesh or lean our our carnal intellect to walk through this world we will never truly live as God intended. God's wisdom is what we need. God's wisdom imparted to us through the Holy Spirit must be received by our spirit.. For those who are living according to the Spirit are always seeking to hear from the Spirit. Why? Because it goes beyond just practical advice or the 5 pratical steps to living a Christian life and making right choices. We are created to live by our spirit not just physically by our bodies and intellect. We were created to need a continual impartation of divine power flowing to us and in us from God. It was this power that Paul was very aware. Paul even communicates to the Corithian church that it is by the Spirit and power that they received the Gospel. 1 Cor 2:4-5 “4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. So then we are expecting that the person who is speaking to us are in the proper place, position, already prepared and tuned in to receive from the Holy Spirit the life and power we need to receive from God. So I must contend that advising and assisting Christians to live a more practical life is not the essential method that will transform them spiritually or supernaturally. It also is not the essential method of supplying the power we all were created to require to live a life in the spirit. We need power. God POWER! Flowing to us and then flowing in us and through us. There is so much good advice to be gain from our brothers and sisters in Christ that is true. Advice has the ability to warn us, lead us, and guide us in our choices and in truths that are extraordinarily beneficial to us. But that is the point. They have the ability but not the power we need. And wisdom alone from the experiences of others is exceedingly valuable to us. But that is point. They are valuable but not powerful. Practical does not equal power-filled. Child rearing is a great example. Women who have never experience child birth and child rearing can receive the benefits of those mothers who have gone before them. Sound practical advice can be good. However, there are millions and I mean millions of books with practical advice but each one gives you the opposite advice then the other. One tells you that rocking the baby is not good and another tells you it is. What the mothers needs to hear is God telling her what she needs to hear to give her the power for her baby. When God speaks to us His power penetrates us. We need to hear from God because it is the true source of power our spirit needs to live in Christ. It is the power that will raise us in power and newness of life. Seek the Words from God. Seek the power of God. Seek Life. Seek Jesus Christ our Lord!!! When Jesus Speaks their is Power in His Words and Their Is Life In His Words.
