Spirit Of God My Teacher Be Showing The Things Of Christ To Me

Spirit of God My Teacher Be Showing the Things of Christ to Me (Eph. 1:17,18)

Illustration: I remember walking to church one winter evening to preach on the words, "He will glorify me" (John 16:14), seeing the building floodlit as I turned a corner, and realizing that this was exactly the illustration my message needed. When floodlighting is well done, the floodlights are placed so that you do not see them; in fact, you are not supposed to see where the light is coming from; what you are meant to see is just the building on which the floodlights are trained. The intended effect is to make it visible when otherwise it would not be seen for the darkness, and to maximize its dignity by throwing all its details into relief so that you can see it properly. This perfectly illustrated the Spirit’s new covenant role. He is, so to speak, the hidden floodlight shining on the Savior.

1. The Holy Spirit teaches us by enlightening the mind of the simple, ignorant and naive who are not fully aware of the gaps that exist between their professing ideals and their living realities. Paul wrote, "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he called you." (Eph. 1:17,18)

Illustration: Any of us more than twenty-five years old can probably remember where we were when we first heard of President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.

British novelist David Lodge, in the introduction to one of his books, tells where he was--in a theater watching the performance of a satirical revue he had helped write. In one sketch, a character demonstrated his nonchalance in an interview by holding a transistor radio to his ear. The actor playing the part always tuned in to a real broadcast. Suddenly came the announcement that President Kennedy had been shot. The actor quickly switched it off, but it was too late. Reality had interrupted stage comedy. For many believers, worship, prayer, and Scripture are a nonchalant charade. They don’t expect anything significant to happen, but suddenly God’s reality breaks through, and they’re shocked.

Brian Powley.

Application: Ask the Lord to let you become more teachable so that you will not error on the side of being too simple, ignorant or naive or your responsibilities to grow up into all ASPECTS in Christ.

2. The Holy Spirit reveals hidden things as He did to Simeon that others may not understand at their level of spiritual maturity. Dr. Luke wrote,

"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout... It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God saying, ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." (Luke 2:25-28)

Application: Ask the Lord to reveal hidden things that will allow you to broaden, lengthen and deepen the quality and quantity of your ministries.

3. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins by pointing out areas in our life where we are not living up to Christ’s standards of commitment. Jesus said, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, but do not do the things that I say?" (Luke 6:46)

Quote: Charles Ryrie, a famous teacher from Dallas Seminary said, "God’s glory is His reputation. To live for God’s glory means to live so that God’s reputation is enhanced (heightened in quantity and quality) and not diminished in any way."

Application: Ask the Lord to help you to be more responsive to the ways that the Spirit convicts you of the inconsistencies between the ideals that you profess and the reality of your lifestyle, relationships and attitudes.

4. The Holy Spirit is the only one who is capable of giving people complete, broad and deep understanding of truth without any equivocation. Paul wrote, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him - but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit." (I Cor. 2:9,10)

Application: Ask the Lord to show you what is necessary for you to fully obey and conform to the image of Christ emotionally, socially, mentally, interpersonally, spiritually and in your ministries.

5. The Holy Spirit gives His anointing as a direct result of our surrender to the Lord’s controls. Paul wrote, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature...Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." (Gal. 5:16,24)