“…the Spirit helps us in our weakness.”
~ Romans 8:26 (NIV)
If the Holy Spirit did not exist, would you even notice? Would your experience of daily life in Christ be much different? I wonder. The late Dr. A. W. Tozer, prolific author and pastor, said, “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.” I don’t know exactly where Dr. Tozer got those startling percentages, but I sure know where he got his argument. It probably isn’t good to generalize, but I truly suspect most of us in the church today do not depend on the Holy Spirit as we should. We are neither aware nor reliant on the power and presence of God. And because of that, we are far weaker and less effective than we should be.
Martha Garrett told a humorous story about the Spirit in an old Christian Reader magazine years ago. She said, “My daughter's station wagon coughed and choked all the way to the Christian bookstore in the mall. While we stood at the bookstore counter, Connie moaned, “I'm not sure we can make it home in the station wagon. If only Dave had driven the station wagon and left the Dodge Spirit for us!” At that moment she glanced outside the store and happened to see her husband, Dave, rush by on his way to a restaurant next door. “Dave! Dave!” she called from the doorway. “Help! We need the Spirit.” The clerk came to the counter just at that moment. Thinking she had just overheard a devout and desperate prayer, the clerk’s opened wide--until Connie and Dave exchanged car keys.”
We do need the Spirit. And we need the Spirit desperately…
We’re going to be studying the Holy Spirit in our worship together for the next couple of months. We’re going to study the first six chapters of the book of Acts. We will use the spiritual experiences of the first century church to challenge ourselves with tough questions about our own experience of the Holy Spirit. Please make a point of being here for this important conversation. And on those Sundays when you can’t be with us, be sure to get a tape or manuscript copy of the message. This series, like all our studies together, matters deeply.
May the Holy Spirit invade our hearts and our fellowship in the coming weeks!
Amen.
