Here are four eclectic thoughts on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of a born again believer. They are, the relationship between being led and  hastiness. The relationship between integrity and being led. How the Holy Spirit leveled the playing field for mankind. And finally, the importance of the group or ‘body’ mentality in the church.

Eclectic Thought One: On Hastiness and Being Led By the Spirit

To Hurry and To Be Led Do Not Make A Good Couple.

Proverbs 19:2 (ESV)
2 Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

• Haste means to rush or to hurry.
• According to this verse, you can miss it big time if you get in a hurry.

Proverbs 21:5 (ESV)
5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

• If you understand that you can become poor by being too hasty in financial areas, shouldn’t that slow you down?

Isaiah 28:16 (ESV)
16 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

• The enemy, at times, would desire to push you into making quick decisions on major issues.
• Now of course, we are referring to walking by faith here not procrastination.
• Here is a general rule of thumb to help protect you against hasty decisions; ‘if it’s God today, its God tomorrow.’
• Have you ever heard a minister say, “It’s better to be too slow that to be too fast?”
• Mark it down God is an eternal being not bound by time constraints.
• Sometimes God waits until tomorrow before He acts on the problems of today

2 Chronicles 20:1–4 (ESV)
1 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:14–16 (ESV)
14 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel.

• The enemy of Judah, the problem we could say, was out there ‘today’ but note what God said, He said ‘Tomorrow, go down against them!!!’
• Jehosaphat and all of Judah had to wait and trust God today, in order to get to the victory that was tomorrow.
• The hasty part comes when we try to do something today instead of waiting until tomorrow.
• Here is what it looks like in actuality.
• You are praying, you are trusting Him and because of that He is setting things in motion.
• He is lining people up.
• At times, He is moving people, promoting people out of the way.
• He is maneuvering situations.
• He is changing laws and policies.
• He is moving the pieces on the chessboard of your life.
• These things take time because there can be many steps involved.
• Then He has to move you so that you end up in the right place at the right time.
• The enemy will try to move you to do something early in the game.
• But the Word of God at times is ‘wait until tomorrow’.
• Faith says, ‘It’s no sweat, we can handle this tomorrow’.
• We will handle it tomorrow by waiting on God’s timing today.
• We do not need to be hasty today.
• If you are in a place where your emotions are highly active, by all means wait until all of that settles down.
• Making no decisions of consequence when you are emotional is a good rule of thumb.
• So, that is eclectic thought number 1: To hurry and to be led do not make a good couple.
• Here is eclectic thought number two:

Eclectic Thought Two: Being Led Means Always Following Integrity

Being led and following integrity do make a good couple.

• Since God is love, He will never lead you to do anything that would not be in love.
• There are some areas that you do not have to seek after a specific leading. Because integrity will make the call.
• Integrity will guide you.

Proverbs 11:3 (ESV)
3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.

• God is a God of integrity.

DEFINITION: in•teg•ri•ty (în-tèg¹rî-tê) noun
1. Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. See synonyms at honesty.
2. The state of being unimpaired; soundness.
3. The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.

• Integrity speaks of honesty
• One fellow said…

Integrity is like virginity–once you lose it, it is gone for good.

• I agree with this statement to a certain extent but not 100% because integrity can be restored it just takes a long time and the ‘long-time’ process must be respected.
• It has happened in peoples marriages – someone is unfaithful.
• Can integrity and honesty be restored to an extent where each one ‘trusts’ the other again?
• Yes, but it takes a long time and a great amount of walking upright day in and day out.
• Integrity is not restored in fulness by saying “I am sorry”.
• Integrity speaks of wholeness

ILLUSTRATION: Japanese House that Stood
Frank Lloyd Wright was given the impossible task of building the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. No comparable construction job ever before had been undertaken. With patience he laid plans for the immense building in the land of earthquakes and terrible tremors. After carefully reviewing the situation, he found that eight feet below the surface of the ground lay a sixty foot bed of soft mud Why not float the great structure on this and in some way make it absorb the shock of the earthquake? After four years of work amid ridicule and jeers of skeptical onlookers, the most difficult building in the world was completed and soon arrived the day, which tested it completely. The worst earthquake in fifty-two years caused houses and buildings all around to tumble and fall in ruins. But the Imperial Hotel stood because it was able to adjust itself to the tremors of earth. – Arthur Smith

• This house stood because it had structural integrity. It was whole, it was complete even with pressure applied to it.
• When we talk about the integrity of God we are saying, …
• ‘Is God’s Word whole?
• Is it complete?
• Can we put pressure on it and will it hold?’
• Eclectic Thought Number three:

Eclectic Thought Three: The Holy Spirit Levels the Playing Field

He Who Looks at the Spirit in the 1st Century Will Learn Valuable Lessons about Social Class.

• First Century ranking in society
• Let’s look at the historical background of the first century.
• Did you know…?
• In the first century, almost fifty percent of the population were slaves.
• Some scholars set the ratio higher, as high as 85-90% (Hawthorne, Martin, & Reid, p. 881).
• Eighty percent of the population consisted of farmers barely earning enough to get by.
• Only a small percentage, fewer than 5%, had any wealth.
• (I was reading a Bible reference book this week that put that number at 3%).
• This group included imperial rulers, military higher-ups and the elite religious clan.
• Sadducees, for example, made vast fortunes in land and the religion of the Temple. Their monetary schemes brought Jesus displeasure on
• them (Matthew 21:12).
• Basically, you had a two-class society; there was no middle class.
• The rich controlled the courts guaranteeing their wealth for generations to come (Fee, 701).
• Pretty gloomy if you were part of the 97%.
• But then a wonderful thing happened.
• There came the sound of a rushing mighty wind! (Acts 2)
• The Spirit of God came from heaven to earth and began to indwell men that had accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.
• He indwelled the 97%.
• He indwelled the 3%.
• He indwelled everybody that called on the name of the Lord.
• What does the presence of the Holy Spirit in those first century believers show?
• It shows that everyone is equal.
• The same Spirit that will fill a person of social status; will also fill a person with no status.

Acts 17:26 (KJV)
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

• God made everyone of one blood after the flesh.
• His desire is to make everyone of one Spirit after the spirit.

Galatians 3:26–28 (ESV)
26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

• The poor, the 97%, got the same witness, got the same leadings, got the same help from the Helper, the same comfort from the Comforter as
• The rich did in the first century.
• The Holy Spirit leveled the entire playing field.
• Everyone is the same.
• Mark this down, don’t ever forget it…
• God is never impressed with a person’s celebrity status.
• He is not impressed with their bankroll.
• He is not impressed with any of the colossus undertakings of man
• God the Father is impressed with only one thing, His Son Jesus Christ and all of His family (which is you)!
• So then the days of feeling inferior are past.

Eph 1:6 (KJV)
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

DEFINITION: (Gr.) ‘accepted’ 5487 charitoo from 5485; to grace, i.e. endue with special honor: KJV– be highly favored. 1) to make graceful; charming, lovely, agreeable 2) to peruse with grace, to compass with favor 3) to honor with blessings

• According to this definition, an accepted person is:
• Graced,
• Endued with special honor,
• Compassed with favor,
• And, honored with blessings.
• You may look at yourself and say not so

ILLUSTRATION:
A farmer once put his mule in a horse race and his friends said to him, ‘Silly, that mule can’t run with those thoroughbreds.” The farmer said, “I know it, but you have no idea how good it makes him feel to be with all those horses.”

• There may be times in life where you are tempted to feel like a mule but the reality is that you are one of God’s honored thoroughbreds full of grace, stature and blessing.
• There is no reason whatsoever for inferiority.
• What else can we learn from 1st century life?
• Eclectic Thought Number Four:

Eclectic Thought Four: The Holy Spirit and the Corporate Body

He Who Looks at the Spirit in the 1st Century Will Learn Valuable Lessons about Group Identity.

• They had clear distinctions between groups and clear group boundaries.
• Individuals were fiercely loyal to the group and found their identity primarily in belonging to a group. (Fee, 702)
• Notice these New Testament distinctions:

Family Group

Luke 5:10 (ESV)
10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

Village Group

Luke 18:37 (ESV)
37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.

Social Group

John 3:1 (ESV)
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

• In the 1st century, your identity was a group identity.
• You were known by the group.
• You were identified by the group.
• In the ancient Mediterranean world, an individual would feel responsible primarily to the group for his or her own actions, destiny, career,
• development, and life in general. The good of the whole was of foremost concern. (ibid)
• Look at this verse from the Bible.

John 11:50 (ESV)
50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

• This was not a flowery poetic statement made by the high priest.
• No, this is the culture of the 1st century.
• They thought group first, individual second.
• America is completely opposite.
• America is an individualistic society not a group society.
• American’s think individual first, forget about the group.
• Pastors deal with this all the time.
• Church members don’t like what’s going on.
• They leave never thinking how their departure affects the group.
• Its selfishness.
• The grouping in the first century is a reminder of the corporate nature of Christianity.
• It is a reminder that we are a body of Christ.
• The Spirit is the one who ties us all together.
• That is why it is important to be led in and be led out.
• You don’t violate the group when you do that.
• We have talked about. The Spirit of God upon, the Spirit of God within, and now let’s talk about the Spirit of God among.

The Spirit of God Among

• Mark this down, no matter how anointed a single person maybe, the impact of the group is much greater.
• Jesus proved this.
• He had the Spirit of God without measure but yet He said, that we, this New Testament group would do greater.
• That principle is still true today, for we have seen individual people anointed by the Spirit stand before the crowds and we have seen what
• the Spirit will do through that one person but I am well convinced that the individual anointing is not Gods best.
• God’s best is the group thing.
• Hear the Word on this matter.
• When they were all assembled together, the house shook!
• When they were with one accord in one place, then there came the sound of a rushing mighty wind.
• As they ministered to The Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said.
• When Jesus returns riding on a white horse, whose coming with Him? – the ‘they’, the group! The armies of God.
• It is a group thing. It’s a body thing. It’s a corporate thing.
• That is what Christianity really is.

Call to Action:

Since these thoughts on the Holy Spirit are an assortment of thoughts, a single call to action is a challenge. What if we put it in this way. Have you made a decision to become a life long learner on all things God? If so , then the ministry of the holy Spirit, your personal Comforter, helper and leader and teacher should be of utmost importance to you.

Question: What Holy Spirit taught lessons have you learned at His hand? how did those lessons alter your life? Please leave a comment in the section below.

________

References

Fee, Gordon D., and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., eds. . 2011. “The Eerdmans Companion to the Bible.” In. Grand Rapids, MI, Cambridge, U.K: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.