“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Luke 11v13 [TNIV]
Be the Anchor: Go in the Same Spirit
You want to be strong for someone? You want to give/be hope for another? Then be the Anchor.
You need someone to be strong for you - to pour strength and hope into you? Find an Anchor.
The past bunch of weeks we've been exploring ways to be an Anchor, and to let Jesus be our Anchor. This message wraps up this series with this final thought: the Same Spirit that made Jesus an Anchor in his day is the Same Spirit that can make us an Anchor in our day.
Wherever we go in life, as a follower of Jesus, God wants us to go in the Same Spirit which he placed upon/within Jesus. And when you think about how hard it can be at times to do/say/think/go the way of Jesus in everyday life, the need for that Same Spirit becomes obvious. Jesus tries to make it clear: when you ask for the Same Spirit, God will be glad to give it. It's almost as if the whole point of the Lord's Prayer is to direct us toward the need and availability of the Same Spirit.
When you need the right word to say...or the strength to keep your mouth shut so you don't say the wrong thing; when you need inspiration to get up and do the right thing...or a prick of the conscience to avoid doing the wrong deed. When you need direction, revelation, reminders - the Same Spirit that shaped the way of Jesus will shape your way. Everyday.
A lot of Christians don't know much about the Holy Spirit, the Same Spirit that was at work in the days of David and Daniel and the Disciples. The Apostle John spends some time teaching about the Spirit, but Luke spends lots of words telling stories about what Jesus did through the Spirit.
The invitation to you and I is to want the Same Spirit to go with us into every conversation, every scenario, every dark place, every interesting opportunity. This Same Spirit makes good possible in an enduring and redemptive way. This Same Spirit, if you want Him, gives energy and insight, inspiration and direction for furthering God's work in you and through you. Who wouldn't want that?
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