Jesus intentionally crossed into wild Gadarene country to demonstrate the Spirit's power. Click to enlarge.By Neil Earle
Jesus intentionally crossed into wild Gadarene country to demonstrate the Spirit's power. Click to enlarge.Mark 5 is one of the most riveting chapters in his most riveting gospel.
In this chapter Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee to land among the rough country of the Gerasenes, about 5 miles southeast of the Sea.
There he met a poor man possessed by 6000 demons (since he called himself Legion – a Roman unit of 6000 men). He would wail and howl and cut himself among the tombs. Jesus confronted the man and the demons were expelled. The former victim ended up sitting at Jesus’ feet healed and in his right mind.
How did Jesus do this?
Was he magician as some far-out critics contend?
Peter spoke of Jesus in Acts 10:38 “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how hw went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.”
God was with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. That was how he did his miracaulous works. All throughout the Bible the Holy Spirit is associated with marvelous, uplifting power from God. In his last night on earth Jesus personalized what the disciples and Old Testament prophets had seen as a powerful force. He used a word that describes the intimacy that characterizes the God-head – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The word in English translates as Comforter, Helper, Advocate. Parakletos in the Greek – literally “one who goes alongside to help.”
Oh how we need that power in our lives.
If we’re not facing some stark health or financial emergency, even the sheer monotony of our scripted lives can get to us. Pollster George Barna described it as “get dressed, fight the traffic, work your shift, answer texts and e-mails, fight the traffic again, endure checkout lines, discipline the kids, pay bills, take care of the yard, exercise, maybe watch a little TV, …then hit the sack and hit the repeat button seven hours later” (Maximum Faith, page 3).
There must be more to life than this.
The Holy Spirit as a gentle dove – a favorite subject of preachers across the centuries.There is. The Christian life is the call to high adventure – to be light and salt and ambassadors of Christ in a world seemingly out of control. But to live it we will need more and more help as the stresses and strains of the age close in upon us.
Here is where the Holy Spirit as Friend and Counselor and Comforter comes in.
Just what does the Holy Spirit do in our day-to-day Christian lives?
Here are some things to remember.
First, the Holy Spirit grants us access to the heavenly places. You may be sitting in your living room reading this right now but Ephesians 2:8 tells us that we are also sitting in the heavenly places. Yes. Jesus cleared the way for us by his thrilling resurrection and ascension to heaven – to His God and our God (John 20:17). He is there literally and we are there too but “in the spirit,” in a biblical phrase. Though we may be there vicariously right now and more fully on the day of our death we are still given daily, life-giving sustainable access to the Father in heaven and Jesus at his right hand.
Only the work of a spiritual entity such as the Comforter could carry this out for us. This may seem hard to believe but… we Christians can’t be like Nicodemus who disbelieved Jesus when he told the man "you must be born again." Jesus was using spiritual – but very real – language. So is Paul in Ephesians 2:8. This escorting us to the heavenly places is carried out by the all-powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit. Listen: “…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have access by faith into this grace in which we now stand” (Romans 5:2).
Thank God – every time we pray we step into the heavenly places through the power of the Spirit, the same power that put to flight 6000 demons.
Second, we can understand Scripture in more depth and dimension. The Bible of course is the Christian’s companion but we can see its lessons much deeper through the; lens of the Spirit. “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit… (Hebrews 4:12). That’s for sure. Mark Twain said the difference between the right word and the wrong word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. Some words stand out in their passage through Scripture. One such word in my reckoning is “loving-kindness” in the King James Version. Psalm 51 is David’s heartfelt prayer after his monstrous sins against the family of Uriah the Hittite. David prays beseechingly, “Remember me according to thy loving kindness, O God” and “take not thy Holy Spirit from me.”
Modern versions render this Hebrew word “hesed” as “steadfast love” but that is a bit cold and mechanical compared to the martyred William Tyndale’s splendid translation, “loving-kindness.” Yes, the Bible pierces us with deep meaning when activated by the Spirit which searches the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:9). It is the Spirit that leads us into all truth, and that allows us to see the richer dimensions of these words penetrating to our inner selves and encouraging us to know and feel that God is with us, inside us and living though us. As Jesus said, “The words I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63).
Realtionships are in trouble today but the Spirit is ready to help.Third, the Holy Spirit allows us to bear fruit continually. I enjoy the exercise of asking a church group or Bible study to list on a board nine attributes from the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Remember them? Love, joy, peace – who doesn’t want more joy? More peace? What about the King James word "longsuffering?" Are there people in your life at work, at school at home who make you “suffer long?” Here is where the Spirit moves alongside to help to give us wise strategy and wisdom to know how to navigate in this complicated world of office politics, family quarrels, and communication breakdowns. Sometimes we feel like retaliating but something inside restrains us. A scripture comes to mind or a word from a friend or a sermon in church. That is the Holy Spirit coming from inside us, prompting us to say and do the right thing. Now that kind of fruitage in our lives makes God well-pleased. And the flow of wisdom and compassion has been started from God himself who “sheds abroad in our hearts” the peace-loving, peace-making breezes that blow from the divine wind of the Spirit.
Fourth, the Spirit gives us a faith to share with others. Acts 1:8 shows Jesus sending out the twelve disciples “in the power of the Spirit” to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. There is no doubt about it, many people today are “turned off” from the churches and Christianity by bad personal experiences. Well, here is our chance. If a bad experience turned people away, maybe a good example can get them to reconsider. We never know how our personal example at work or at school or in the apartment complex can affect other people.
We were hosting a big convention in Calgary once when a man with a hard-working background came up at the end and said something like – “I never thought ministers had to work hard for a living but after seeing your team in action this week I have a different impression.” That’s the kind of witnessing that pays off – not just in word but deeds. When we yield to God’s Spirit and allow him to work through us, then God the Father is well-pleased and the blessings begin to flow towards us.
Fifth, I am able to forgive. Oh, this is a big one isn’t it? No doubt there are people who come to mind when we hear the word forgive. Whether an estranged mate, a bitter child or sibling, a domineering boss or whatever our daily trials, conflict is built into the human lot. But the Holy Spirit can come in gently, soothingly like a healing balm, a restorative ointment. “A merry heart does good like medicine" it says in Proverbs or “ointment” in Psalm 133:2. We can extend the analogy to the Spirit’s ability to blot up and absorb hurts and cuts and insults and (in time) even abuses perpetrated upon us. A Lt. Gruter served years as a POW at the “Hanoi Hilton” in North Vietnam in the 1970s. Coming from a Christian home he knew he had a way to cope with his menacing interrogators and tortuters. “I prayed for three months to forgive them,” he told Diane Sawyer on ABC, “and it worked.” They could do nothing to him because he was above them, he intimated.
He was. He was in the heavenly places where God the Forgiver lives and dwells and from where he sends that healing presence we call the Comforter. The Spirit is clever and agile and clears away the dross and dust from our lives and allows us to see clearly, to see that ultimately no one escapes the judgment and overruling power of God. Judgment is His, not ours! Holding on to hatred and grudges staunches the flow of God's Spirit in us. This is why Paul advised the Ephesians: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:30-32).
Nothing is dearer to the gentle Holy Spirit’s disposition than traits such as kindness, compassion and forgiveness. These are his stock in trade and he has lots of those to give – an inexhaustible supply, in fact. Ask him for them, he will not let you down.
Finally, the Holy Spirit leaves behind him full assurance of salvation. One of my favorite texts for years was 2 Timothy 1:7-8 which says God has not given us a spirit of fear or anxiety or depression, but a spirit of power, of love and a sound mind. That is still a good verse to rest upon in the rough and tumble of life. God knows how hard it is to live the Christian life in a world, hell-bent it seems on going the other way. Take him at his word. Rise to the challenge Jesus laid out in Luke 11:13, “how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
Oh, how we need the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. Oh, how good to know God longs with a parent’s love to give more of His Spirit to us.
Thank God for his inexpressible gift!