The World Needs You Now.

If you’re reading this as a Child of God through faith in His Son’s finished Work, and you’re wondering, “What’s next?” or “Is this it?,” I can tell you what’s missing.  You need to be taught; and you need to be trained.  Taught the Word of God and given a solid foundation in the Scriptures, and trained in the realities of spiritual warfare.  So, your mission is to become a Disciple, a Student, an Apprentice of Jesus, the Master.  We become such by making the Word— Living and written— the overriding priority in our scale of values.  We find a teaching shepherd, and a Community of Faith with a hunger for the Word of God and a passion for His People, and we soak our souls in Truth and Grace.

Now, if this is you and you’re saying, “I’ve done that.  I’ve listened, I’ve learned, and I’ve been doing both for years ...and still,” it’s time for you to get your backside in the Ballgame {Yeah, I’m talking to you!}.  It’s time to stop riding the pine and looking for a more comfortable pew.  No more ‘Barca Lounger for Life, Baby!’  It’s time for you to serve, to put your God-given gifting into action.

Remember, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man [or woman] who is actually in the Arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly ...who comes short again and again ...but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy Cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat” {Theodore Roosevelt, 1910}.

“Therefore, my Family of Faith, since we have confidence, courage, boldness to enter the Most Holy Place [the presence of our God] by the blood of Jesus [His sacrifice in our stead], by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His Body [Matt. 27:50-51], and since we have a Great Priest over the House of God, let us draw near to Abba in order to worship Him with a true heart in the full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [With the Blood of the Lamb, like the altar in ancient Israel.] to cleanse us from a guilty conscience [Something the blood of animals could never do!] and having our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold to the straight line of the Hope we profess [The Return of our King], for He who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to incite one another toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, gathering as One in the Presence of Grace, as some are presently doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching,” the Day of Christ Jesus’ Return {Heb. 10:19-25 RR Exp}.

Are you hearing the Word of the Lord in the Letter of Hebrews?  We’re to sharpen, stimulate, stir each other up toward the actions of love and its natural offspring, good deeds.  Are you seeing this?  The world— especially the Body of Christ within it— needs you to step up... with character, conviction, and courage, to show up and be seen, to bring the Kingdom of God to bear on a million different circumstances.  And we need you now, not ten years from now.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

The Spirit and the Word— Part II.

There are five essential works of the Holy Spirit in regards to the Word of God.  We’ve seen the Spirit’s works of revelation and inspiration.  The next is:

III. Preservation.  1 Peter 1:25 tells us “the Word of the Lord endures forever.”  Only the realities of inspiration and preservation can explain the existence of the Scriptures today.  The Bible is one book with one Message {if I can summarize it to its most succinct}: the revelation of Man’s Redeemer and his relationship with this Redeemer.  But to make this one book the Holy Spirit caused sixty-six individual books written in three languages by more than forty authors over a 1,500 year span of Time to be brought together as a single unit with two complete canons.  And to this very day, 2,000 years after its completion, the Bible continues to be the most widely distributed book ever written.

Only Abba could undertake the preservation of His Word... and He’s promised to do exactly that.  According to Psalm 119:89 the Word of God will be preserved in Eternity: “Your Word, LORD, is Eternal; it stands firm in the Heavens.”  And it will last forever, “Long ago I learned from Your statutes, that You established them to last forever,” v. 152.

IV. Illumination.  In John 16:13 Jesus said, “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the Truth.  He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.”

To ‘illuminate’ means- cast light on; make clear; enlighten.  Only the Spirit of Truth can cast light on the Word and make it clear to you and I.  By himself, man is blinded by Satan and unable to understand divine truth, including even the Gospel of Grace— 2 Corinthians 4:4.  1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and [Notice!] cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”

In the work of illumination, which is His teaching ministry, the Spirit makes the Word both comprehensible to our minds and applicable to our needs.  Whether the Spirit will open our eyes when we study depends on our attitude when we approach the Word.  This is why it’s essential for our souls to be in a stance of surrender to the the Spirit of God; that is, influenced by His presence and His power as we study the Word.

V. Interpretation.  2 Peter 1:20 says, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things [or events].”  To ‘interpret’ means- explain, or tell the meaning of.  The apostle Peter makes it absolutely clear there’s only one correct interpretation of any passage in the Scriptures ...and that’s Scripture’s own interpretation.  Only by applying the laws of hermeneutics— rules of systematic study— can any student discover the correct interpretation of any passage.

So, while there’s only one interpretation, there may be numerous applications, ways in which a Scriptural truth, a divine promise, or a holy precept may be used in someone’s life.

So, here they are.  Revelation, inspiration, preservation, illumination, and interpretation— the five works of the Spirit in regards to the Word.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously