Shallow Living From The Deeper Life
October 4, 2011
Through out my years as a pastor, I’ve heard people warn against the possibility of manipulating the work of the Holy Spirit. What they are usually referring to is that we must be careful not to try to orchestrate God’s working but, instead, allow God to move as He desires. I whole-heartedly agree. However, in my experience this type of thinking is too often a spiritual sounding excuse to justify laziness.
Early on in my ministry as a pastor, I was very much an adherent of the “deeper life” movement. I learned much during these years about the need to be filled and led by the Holy Spirit and about the need to guard against doing things in the power of “the flesh.” But I gave myself to this idea to such a degree that I got out of balance. I was so concerned about doing things in the power of the Spirit and avoiding doing things in the power of the flesh, that I often found myself doing nothing.
The correction I needed came to me through a book that I think every Christian ought to read, Real Evangelism, by Bailey Smith. In this book, Smith takes on the excuses Christians give for not trying to reach people for Christ. In a chapter, “Shallow Living From The Deeper Life,” Smith speaks of the fact that if one really wants to deny the flesh, then he should be willing to do the work necessary to reach out to people in the name of Jesus. He contends that to take time to visit with people about Jesus, to risk rejection from others because of your faith, or to put forth the energy necessary to carry out evangelistic events, is all contrary to our natural desire to codle and comfort the flesh. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is to say “no” to the flesh, which wants us to simply be idle, and instead put forth the effort necessary to obey the Great Commission.
Paul tells us in Galatians 5:25, “let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Believe me, as I have learned more about what it means to walk in the Spirit, you will find yourself being very busy at times, because there is so much for us to do in partnership with the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the last thing you will be when led by the Spirit is idle. Instead, you will be busy seeking to lift up Christ. After all, isn’t that what Jesus said would happen when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)?
Besides, last time I checked, the Holy Spirit is the sovereign God of the universe. Which means that even if I tried to “manipulate the Spirit,” I will find that is impossible, for God will only do what He wants, no matter what I try.
So what I have settled on is that I seek to look to the Spirit, learn from the Spirit, love by the Spirit, and live by the Spirit, trusting that if I am right with God, His Spirit will put things on my heart that He wants me to do and then I seek to obey. I would encourage you to also seek to learn to “keep in step with the Spirit,” and be prepared to “get busy for Jesus!”
