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The Same Spirit



              Jesus knew the experience of the Spirit of the Lord resting on Him as He has made possible for all Christians today.  When He preached at his home church, He read from Isaiah 61:1-3: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  The chapter goes on and on filled with hope and restoration from the Spirit of the Lord.  It is really good stuff—beauty from ashes kind of descriptions.  Believe me, if you could actually conceive of the gifts of the Spirit available to you while living in a chaotic world, you would only want God’s Spirit in you too.
              Well, that is exactly what you are given as a Christian.  The very Spirit of the Lord rests on you.  The authority, power, wisdom, everything Jesus had.  Isaiah specifies what the Spirit of the Lord gives when he prophesied about Jesus, the Messiah.  In Isaiah 11:1-3a he writes:  A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. 
              This same Spirit we recognize in Jesus is the same Spirit Jesus sent to rest upon all Christians.  The Spirit of the Lord drives us to tell of the good news, comfort the brokenhearted, visit prisoners with good news of true freedom, tell of God’s favor for all people, comfort mourners, recognize ours and others true beauty.  The Spirit leaves us with joy, and fills our souls with praise.  The Spirit gives Christians the fruit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, reverence for God and a true delight in God.  All of this spiritual bounty is available to all Christians. 
              There is no doubt that Jesus walked in the Spirit of the Lord.  How else would He have patience to teach that motley group of twelve disciples knowing that one would eternally fail while the others would barely stay around to receive the Spirit.  All the storms He sent them into, the answers He gave, and the way He outwitted the smartest people on the earth were used to teach them.  They learned their lessons eventually.  Jesus never gave up or questioned if each one was wrong for the job of changing the world.  After the eleven remaining disciples received the Spirit of the Lord, they had the understanding, wisdom, counsel, might and courage to die in their quest to entrust the Good News to faithful Christians who would do the same, generation after generation, until the time that God knows there is no hope for faith to develop in humans on the earth.  When the world returns to the days of Noah, the end will come.  So how do you pass along the power of the Spirit to the next generation?  How do you empower them to hold back the effects of the fall? 
              The best Christian work you can do is to let the Spirit of the Lord use your life, your realm of influence, your hands and feet to proclaim the truths of His word.  You have the very same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead living in you (Romans 8:11). 
              The same Spirit that empowered Jesus to live perfectly inside the darkness of the world’s confinement will empower you to do the same.  If you let Him. 
Copyright © 2019.  Deborah R Newman  www.teatimeforyoursoul.com  All Rights Reserved. 

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