“Pastor, I was really touched when you said…”
One of my favorite parts of pastoral ministry is hearing how Scripture, sermons, Bible studies, and blog posts are shaping the lives of people in the congregation.
A common occurrence in these conversations is when someone tells me I said something in a sermon that I did not actually say. What happened? Usually, it’s not because the person was inattentive. Rather, the Holy Spirit was at work, using the preached Word to bring biblical truth personally and powerfully to that person’s heart. Through the Word of God, the Spirit helped make a personal connection or a theological revelation to expose sin, offer comfort, or deepen understanding.
Unfortunately, much of evangelicalism seems to fall into two unhealthy extremes regarding the work of the Holy Spirit. Some emphasize spiritual experiences so heavily that they become vulnerable to emotionalism or even fraudulent manipulation. We don’t have to look far to find people who have falsely claimed prophecy, miracles, or direct messages from God.
On the other hand, many evangelicals are comfortable speaking of the Father and the Son but become hesitant or uncertain when speaking of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, however, was not standoffish about the Spirit's work among his people.
On the night before His crucifixion, he shared with his disciples, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning” (Jn 15:26-27). The Helper is the Holy Spirit. God the Son is sending the Holy Spirit who comes in obedience to the direction of God the Father. When believers bear witness about Christ, the Holy Spirit is working silently and invisibly through their words.
Jesus continues, “[I]t is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (Jn. 16:7-8). Jesus “going away” is to our advantage because while Jesus was on earth he could only be in one place at one time, but the Holy Spirit carries on Jesus’ ministry all the time over all the world! The Holy Spirit brings conviction, repentance, and transformation. He is the cheat code to living the abundant life.
We’ve all heard the work of the Spirit misused: “The Holy Spirit told me,” a manipulative Christian leader may say in order to give personal opinions an appearance of divine authority. Such claims must be tested. Yet we must not allow counterfeits to make us dismiss the authentic work of the Holy Spirit. He convicts; he illumines our minds; he enlightens our eyes to understand and apply God’s Word.
My co-lead pastor, Greg Lavine, often says, “I’ve never heard God speak audibly to me alone, but I’ve often heard him speak audibly to me through other people.” God certainly uses believers to encourage, correct, comfort, and call one another back to Christ. Paul agrees, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). Of course, every word of counsel, encouragement, impression, or claimed spiritual insight must be tested against the authoritative Word of God. Do we have a God who finished communicating to us nearly 2,000 years ago? When John put his pen down, God’s mouth did not shut.
The author of Hebrews presents mutual exhortation as an important safeguard against sin and unbelief: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:12-13). Likewise, Paul urges believers to use their words to strengthen one another: “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thess. 5:11).
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of congregants at New Life who have shared dreams and visions with me. I’ve been so encouraged by those with these gifts who desire to use what God may have given them “for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). They have humbly shared their dreams and visions as something that might be considered for the care and protection of the church, and on at least two occasions, that has proven to be so.
The Holy Spirit is active in the Church today! Let us not allow those who manipulate or counterfeit the Spirit’s work to blind us from the authentic and glorious movement of the Spirit of God within his people. Every impression, dream, vision, and word of encouragement must be tested by the authoritative Word of God; yet we should remain humble, expectant, and receptive to the Spirit’s exhortation, encouragement, and guidance. May we have ears to hear Him.
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