“And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave the same gift to them as He gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
- Acts 11:16-17
Who am I to stand in the way of the Lord? In the previous week, I had an amazing opportunity to go backpacking with a group of middle schoolers and help them draw close to God. What a blessing it was. The one week was the climax of 2 months of work for me, though it needed 6 months of work.
Through the whole process is a temptation to make the trip, the plans, and the details about me or the hard work it takes to put this on. Or to go the easy route and neglect the spiritual priorities of the week. As I shared with the students, what’s more, important than our hiking and our campsites being ready is our quiet time with God.
All around us, things are calling for our attention and to neglect our spiritual responsibilities. Ads pop up left and right with an item we merely thought about purchasing. News stories dominate our thoughts as tragedy strikes all around. The to-do list drags on as our energy levels plummet. Pretty soon we leave no room, no time, no space for the God of the universe.
Who am I to let something stand in the way of God in my life?
The Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit is truly a gift for all. It’s grace made manifest to bring change in our lives to make us more like Christ.
In Acts 10, we saw the Holy Spirit descend on Gentiles. A household of Romans believed in the message of Christ and the Good News of Salvation. Before Peter could even finish sharing it, the Holy Spirit fell on them all. Another Pentecost-like experience and these Romans were now part of the New Covenant.
Before their baptism in the Holy Spirit, they were outside of God’s promises. For God’s promises of salvation, though always intended for all, was limited to Jews. In Acts 11, we see that tension. As the Jews question Peter on why he would eat and dwell with Gentiles, a practice that would break some of their rules of the Law.
Peter defends the situation by sharing how the Holy Spirit led him to enter. Resulting in the baptism of the Gentiles with the Holy Spirit, well beyond the water Peter was possibly going to use later. For the Holy Spirit will always have greater grace than the water that acts as a symbol.
The Church has been gifted.
The great thing is that it’s not up to us who has received this gift! We don’t get to determine who is in or out of this group known as God’s people!
Some Jews in the early church wanted to, they misunderstood the grace of God, and we today often act like gatekeepers or goaltenders who block people from receiving the grace of God as if we are perfect!
God’s grace, His gift, is not self-obtained but freely offered.
Does that mean we go on sinning? NO! But we abide ever deeper to the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out. Does this mean we can ever be blameless? Potentially, but that is not the end in itself! The end, the goal, what we strive for in being filled and gifted with the Holy Spirit is closeness to Christ.
The pursuit of righteousness looks more like following Christ in everything than it looks like being known as a saintly person. I’m convinced that if someone ever were to be blameless, we would never know it because they are that righteously humble, we misjudge them, and see flaws when there are none.
Let us not concern ourselves with the righteousness of others, but instead seek after how God’s gift is alive and at work in others and ourselves.
Who am I to stand in the way of the Lord?
Worship Time:
Take some time now and worship along to these songs:
· Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli
· Breathe on us by Kari Jobe
After this time of worship, take a few minutes and meditate on how God has been at work in your life lately.
Final Blessing:
Let us not stand in the way of God, but always be following suit the Holy Spirit who may be at work in ways we never would. Let us be sensitive and step into situations well out of our comfort zones so that we might be aligned to God’s kingdom work. This is not a demand or law but a gift we are given to freely join in what God is doing in us and around us.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with your in every step, every breathe, and every heartbeat of your journey.
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