Who is Leading?

“For those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”  (1 Samuel 2:30b)

 

God was speaking through a prophet at the time to Eli as he was allowing his sons to serve as priests while being contemptuous towards God.   It said about these two sons, Hophni and Phinehas,  that they were “worthless men.”   They had a form of godliness in the way they dressed and their positions, but they completely lacked a heart for God.  1 Samuel 2:12 says, “They did not know the Lord.”

 

We see something similar earlier on under Aaron.  In Leviticus 10:1-3, Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, are contemptuous and entitled and then offer strange fire on the altar to the Lord and were struck dead. 

 

As a result of Hophni and Phinehas, the ark of the covenant was captured and taken to Ashdod.   This was part of the Promised Land that the Israelites couldn’t ever conquer at the time.  Ashdod means oppressor, ravager, inclination and theft.  And their god Dagon, looked like a fish and the name means to multiply and increase.  

 

It is a great picture of the worldly way, that people following their inclinations to oppress, ravage and steal from others in their efforts to try to get ahead, multiply and increase.  And while this was what the people of that area were full of in Ashdod, even their false god, Dagon, fell before the Lord.  Because they realized that Lord of the covenant was more powerful and His hand was on them to cause affliction and oppression out of wrath, they sent the ark back to the people of God.

 

The Lord had also raised up Samuel to be the next judge under Eli. Samuel served the Lord faithfully all his days.  He called the people to return to the Lord with all their hearts and put away their foreign gods and be devoted in their relationship.   Under Samuel, we see God move in tremendous power, thunder against the Philistines and throw them into confusion so they were defeated.  

 

But as Samuel became old, his sons, Joel and Abijah, struggled the same as Eli’s sons.  It says that they did not walk in the way of the Lord but turned aside after their own gain.  They took bribes and perverted justice.  Because of this, the people ask for a king to judge them.  The people wanted to choose to be like other countries in having a king lead their battles.  They were tired of these priests coming up in the lineage that were corrupt and entitled.  

 

They thought having a king would fix the problem, but it only created a whole new set of problems.  As they were warned, kings would be fallible humans as well.  They would make demands of the people rather than sacrifice themselves for them.  They would be far from perfect and could lead the people astray. 

 

But, because of their demands, the Lord gave them Saul—a humble man who that thought of himself as least.  He was so insecure about himself that when he was chosen, he hid in the baggage.  Saul started out well but eventually got off track.  He began to see how power got him what he wanted so he looked to secure it.  And, he continually made wrong choices in seeking to please people.   He was not seeking a relationship with the Lord but to use the Lord to be seen by the people and hold to power.  Eventually the Lord left him. 

 

God began to raise up David underneath Saul.   But being insecure, Saul also became jealous and threatened by David and tried to kill him.   The difference between Saul and David was their heart towards God.   Saul let his insecurities drive him and David was led by his love for the Lord.   Because of Saul’s insecurities, desire to please people and hunger for power, it drove him further away from the Lord and eventually made him insane.  He ended up killing all the priests and spending his time and energies chasing down David – the one who could have saved his life in battle.  As a result, him and his sons died in battle. 

 

Saul, in letting his insecurities and thirst for power lead, was trying to control and lead the Spirit.   He told all his men to fast while fighting the Philistines because he was wanting to manipulate the Lord in giving him the win.  And when the Lord did not show up in Saul’s timing, Saul went ahead anyways.   In these choices, along with the many other jealous, envious, and controlling choices he made, he quenched the Spirit.   

 

On the other hand, because David was a man after God’s heart, he was promised he would always have someone from his lineage on the throne, and ultimately, Jesus came from his lineage.   While David had power as a king, he stayed in a place of humility with the Lord.  While he made some terrible mistakes and was led of course occasionally by temptation/sin, he always came back to this humble place of seeking the Lord first.  

 

As we all see and know from these examples, the Lord is with those who are with Him.   He honors those who reverence Him.  Our whole lives are meant to be walked out with God.   He was not initially planting us in His garden as much to tend it as to walk with Him in the cool of each day.   He was calling for fellowship.  Tending the garden was not the end but the means to give us purpose in something we could do together with Him.  

 

Cark Pinnock, in his book, Flame of Love: A Theology of The Holy Spirit, notes that the purpose of life is a transforming friendship and union with God.   And we are given the Spirit to bring us into intimacy with the Father through the Son, who shares His divine sonship with us.  [1]

 

Outside of right relationship with God, everything goes awry.   Even righteousness, as we see with the Scribes and the Pharisees when God comes back onto the scene to draw people onto Himself and establish His church, was not the end goal.  Their example demonstrates that those who were focused on righteousness as their end goal, missed the boat all together.

 

 Jesus came and lepers were cleansed, the deaf could hear, the lame could walk and the righteous were offended that the poor were receiving the gospel.  They didn’t think the poor were deserving enough.  Their self-righteousness led to judgement and pride.   Instead of getting excited for the work the Lord was doing, they accused the Lord of having a demon.

 

There are all these examples where religion gets in the way of genuine relationship.  Whether it is desire to control, insecurity or fear, lusts of the flesh, pride, desire for possessions or power, anything that stands in the way of the Lord is a hinderance to that relationship.  

 

In these examples, rather than making room for the Spirit like David did, they tried to manipulate or control the Spirit.   In this and the previous example of quenching the Spirit, it was out of a place of desire for control. Pinnock makes the pointed remark that, “The church and its leaders belong to the Spirit—the Spirit does not belong to them. They are subject to the Spirit, who is not under their control.”  [2]

 

The big question then is: Who is leading?  Are we following with a humble hunger and thirst to have the Lord lead and guide us or are we leading with the expectation and hope that the Lord blesses what we are doing and causes it to flourish?   

 

As we see from above, the Lord causes His work to flourish when we join in it with Him.  It is not meant to be about our work flourishing as we invite Him into it.  We are meant to be led by the Spirit, not carrying him into our battles like a sentimental rag doll, hoping he will bless us, and then putting Him back in some dusty room where He is out of the way.

 

Pinnock makes that point that, “Any church that denies the Spirit freedom to lead us is quenching the Spirit and stands in danger of becoming a lifeless and self-glorifying church.” [3] That seems like such a powerful and true statement.   The Holy Spirit is not going to bless our work but His work through us.

 

Pinnock goes on to advocate that Paul, in 1 Cor. 14:40 is speaking an order of service that allows prophecy, tongues, revelation and knowledge to flow freely is commended over an order that clamps down on such things [4While I think there is merit to this, I am cautious as it feels like an overstatement.

 

Stopping for a story here about letting the Spirit lead:  I have been sick for six or seven weeks.  I am not sure how it happened but like most who become ill, the first thing I turned to is medication to help.   I took everything I could to alleviate the pain and symptoms as it hit me like a Mac Truck.  I prayed for it to end as I only just wanted to feel better. But when it did end, I got a hanging cough after 3-4 weeks of being ill. 

 

As this cough was deep and kept me up most nights, I went to the doctor, had a x-ray, blood tests, and even an ultrasound but could not to get any real help of what was going on.  Finally, I prayed earnestly and I asked God.  When I looked it up on google, something came up right away about your thyroid absorbing too much iodine and it creating a cough.   I felt Gods confirmation that this is what I was dealing with. It suddenly made sense as they said my blood test showed hyperthyroidism.   Iodine is used to speed up the metabolism and it turns out, as I had been on a diet, that all my food was filled with iodine.  I was getting way too much. 

 

So when I cut out the iodine, I started to finally get better from this deep cough.   Then before fully recovering, I got a terrible head cold.  It was so bad that I could barely breathe and my ear completely closed off so I was deaf in one ear.  I took everything I could to help and it only seemed to make it worse. 

 

I got a doctor who gave me some really good practices to follow and they helped but I was still not getting better and deaf in one ear.    Then, laying there, I thought of a friend who followed just what her doctor told her and died of cancer.  I thought of another friend who stood by faith, not listening to her doctor, and died of cancer as well.  Then I thought of a third and fourth friend who both asked the Holy Spirit for guidance.  Both of them had various sorts of medical treatments but navigated through them and came out fine.   It finally dawned on me that what I was missing was asking the Holy Spirit for His guidance.  It wasn’t about the medicine but being led.   In my case, the minute I asked if I should take the medicine, He told me to stop and I would be better that day.  He also told me that my ear would begin to open by that afternoon.   And both have been the case!  I am so much better and I am no longer deaf in one ear!  

 

The moral of the story is this:  It was not the practices that were good or bad, it is all the matter of who is leading.   I would like to add this argument to what Pinnock is speaking about in letting the Spirit guide us. We cannot follow rules but need to follow the prompting of the Spirit.   If we pray in tongues because we are following a rule to not quench the Spirit, we are just as off-course as if we do not pray in tongues because we are afraid to offend others. 

 

Pinnock points out that the Spirit comes in liturgy but also in other possibilities we want to embrace, treasure and cultivate in the church.  We need to be careful not to close-down or refuse anything the Spirit has designed to enrich the life and mission of the church.  We need to remember that we are not in charge, He is.  [5]

 

Three areas that Pinnock points out are important to be open to corporately: prophecy, healing, and deliverance.  We are not to judge or weigh His gifts but embrace and treasure them, seeking guidance on where and when they are to be used.  They are not for us to pick through and toss out the ones we are uncomfortable with but hold all with a sense of reverence and wonder, inviting His leadership.   [6]

 

We are in the age of the Spirit equipping and leading the Church. Pinnock notes that God’s kingdom has arrived in the power of the Spirit (speaking of Pentecost) and all are able to prophesy and see visions. [7]   We want to make room for this so that the Church begins to grow and flourish what the Spirit has for them. They will follow the example that is provided to them.

 

Pinnock writes about the Church and openness to the Spirit, “The best-case scenario is God’s manifested presence coupled with unrestricted human openness.  The worst case is the withdrawal of God coupled with human indifference.”  [8]

 

Pinnock mentions that some communities can come under the control of traditions and doctrinal strongholds and are unable to get themselves free from it [9]. One example may be where a service always follows a specific order and practices that the Holy Spirit is no longer guiding.   People become afraid to change as it may upset someone and cause them to leave so they let these practices soak up the service.  However, in this environment, people are learning to be traditionalists rather than followers of Christ who are led by the Spirit. 

 

We see this come up in a discussion Paul has with the church about praying in tongues.  Rather than following the Spirit related to the gift of tongues, they were making it central to their church service.   Paul tells them that they should consider others when they gather corporately and not pray in tongues without interpretation so people can understand.   He also tells them to earnestly desire prophecy above tongues as it is a corporate gift (where tongues is meant for personal edification).  

 

We need to remember Galatians 5:25, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” And walking in the Spirit, we are summoned to a transformative friendship with God that leads us to share the gospel with others.   Witnessing becomes part of our relationship in being led. [10]

 

 Pinnock points out that the gifts are essential in witnessing to others, being led by the Spirit and open to the full range of spiritual gifts.   He notes that renewal is a greater openness to the Spirit where God’s presence becomes more real, there is an increase in power to witness, and an embracing of the manifestation of the gifts. [11]

 

The end game according to Pinnock, is God’s plans to elevate humanity to a life with God.  It is one that grows gradual over time, in intimate relationship and union, where our identify is found in our relationship with Him and we are richly immerged in this divine life.   One where openness and self-emptying become regular practices.  [12]

 

Making my last point, emptiness is key to being filled with the Spirit.  If we carry all kinds of the world in our heart such as insecurity, envy, slander, arrogance, malice, and greed, we are going to make wrong decisions when it comes to being led.   Not only do we need to surrender and let the Spirit lead, but He will first take us by the way of Kidron Valley to drop off all the excess garbage.  We must ruthlessly detox from rather than entertain those things that will lead us off course or we may end up like Saul from the OT or the Pharisees from the NT, trying to murder the very people God put in our lives to make our way.  

 

Lord, we often look for rules and ways to help define our actions and guide our behaviors.  However, You are seeking so much more.  You are asking for relationship and for us to be led by Your Spirit in all we do.  Be the light on our path and guide us in Your ways.   Help us to empty ourselves from all that hinders our walk with You.

1-12.  Pinnock, Clark H.  Flame of Love: A Theology of The Holy Spirit.  InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Il. 1996.