Talking Smarts with John and Solomon

Weaving together quotes of a famous one and The Famous One

John Calvin said, “There is no worse screen to block out the Spirit than confidence in our intelligence.”

Solomon said it like this in Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

Smarts. Intelligence. These are all good things. Surely it is better to be with them than without them. But wherever we find ourselves on any scale of intelligence matters far less than the role we assign to it. The key to putting our intelligence to its best use, regardless of how we may measure it, is by properly answering the question, “What goes first?”

 

Intelligence Goes First

One thing we can all agree on (can’t we)? God is smarter than us. Here are my answers to a quick test. See if yours are similar:

Has the intelligence to… God Me
Create billions of galaxies each containing billions of stars Able Not able
Create a planet perfectly suited for life Yup Nope
Program a perfect genetic code for all life on earth (DNA) Done it Still working on it
Divine a perfect plan and purpose for [insert your name here]’s life Has it all under control Still can’t quite figure out what it is though He’s told me what it is a hundred times (or more) by now

When we put our intelligence first in line, we limit ourselves to a mere fraction of what is available to us. We screen out a far greater intelligence contained in the Holy Spirit. It’s like racing on a bicycle instead of driving a Formula One racecar. It also closes out an eternal perspective. Our intellect can only deal with the things of this world. If we were only living for this world that might be fine, but we must remember that we are created in God’s image, and thus our existence will extend into eternity. That which seems wise to the world is often, if not always, foolish from an eternal perspective. So… we must adopt a different answer to our question…

Spirit Goes First

When we allow the Spirit to be the primary guide for our thoughts and actions, we are able to approach things intelligently, eternally, gloriously, in a way that fits into God’s grand plan. If we attach our intellect, at whatever level we have it, to the Spirit as it moves us, then we fully leverage God’s wisdom and allow our intellect to be one of the tools He uses to achieve glorious things through us.

Have the Spirit First and the Bigger Picture

Let’s not overlook a fundamental parameter to the “Spirit Goes First” plan—you have to have the Spirit! We secure this awesome Holy Spirit through a personal relationship with God, made possible by His grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus has to happen first before we can put the Spirit first. Without Jesus, we only have our intelligence to work with. If you’re not sure you have the Spirit, check out For God So Loves You to see how you can make it so. Faith in Jesus not only secures God’s smarts, it’s much bigger than that. Faith saves you for His Kingdom for all eternity. The Spirit’s wisdom is only a small slice of the benefits of faith.

Jesus Is With You Always

Sometimes the promises of God bump up against circumstances or conditions that seem to erase them or render them unkept. In these cases, one of two things has happened – we have understood God’s promise within the limits of this world or we have understood God Himself within the limits of this world. In both cases we are mistaken and this causes us to miss out on so much God has for us.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this:  I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT)


When He was crucified, they thought He was gone. They were a scared, dejected, scattered lot. And then He rose from the dead. He was back! They worshipped Him and He taught them many things. Soon after He told His disciples that He would always be with them, He left again! (see Acts 1:9) Following the coming of the Messiah was a bit of a roller coaster ride. Let’s go back through the ups and downs to get us ready to discuss our passage.

He came! (see Luke 2:1-18)

Just as the prophets foretold, the Messiah, Jesus, was born in Bethlehem. Angels announced His birth, and the news spread that the Messiah had come.

He left (see Matthew 2:13-15)

Mary and Joseph took Jesus and fled to Egypt to escape the danger of King Herod’s jealous wrath. They remained in hiding until Herod died and eventually made their way to Nazareth where Jesus grew up in obscurity in Galilee.

He came again!

About 25 years later, Jesus, now an adult, was proclaimed as the Messiah and baptized by John the Baptist. God’s voice proclaimed from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) During the next three years, Jesus taught, gathered disciples, performed miracles, and established His authority as the promised Messiah. The Messianic roller coaster hit an epic high point when Jesus entered into Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9)

He left again (see Matthew 27:26-50)

In just a few short days, Jesus was flogged and executed on a wooden cross as a criminal. The roller coaster hits the lowest of lows.

He came again! (see Matthew 28:1-10, Matthew 28:18-20)

Three days after being buried in a rock tomb, His followers discovered that He had risen! He was alive! It was during this period that Jesus delivered the promise that is in our passage – He would always be with them. The disciples must have thought, ‘Finally, the roller coaster ride is over.’ But, alas, it was not. Soon after Jesus made His promise. . .

He left again (see Acts 1:1-11)

Jesus was giving His disciples important instructions when all of a sudden He rose up into the sky and disappeared into a cloud. They were stunned! They just stood there, looking up, not knowing what to do or say. I’d forgive them if they were a little confused.  Jesus took His place at the right hand of God in heaven and seemingly reneged on His promise to always be with them. Jesus’ last instruction to His disciples holds the key to understanding how He was going to keep His promise. He told them to stay in Jerusalem until God sent what He had promised – the Holy Spirit.

Let’s get off the roller coaster for a minute and discuss an important concept:

The Trinity

There is only one God, the Creator of the universe. God also exists as three unique persons. The triune (three-in-one) nature of God is a hard concept to grasp. It defies the ‘either-or’ requirements of the laws of physics that prohibit three people from also being one person or vice versa. Let’s remember right off the bat that God, as the Creator, is not bound by the limits of the universe He created. We would never argue that an auto designer must be bound by the limits of the car he designed. The designer, as with God, must be outside of the limits of that which he designs by definition. Some illustrations are used to help explain how God can be three persons and still be one person. While none can completely satisfy, consider this one:

The chemical compound H2O can exist in three unique forms – solid as ice, liquid as water, and gas as water vapor. Each is fully and completely H2O yet each has its own unique characteristics. So it is with the three persons of God. Each is fully and completely God, yet each is unique in their own right – God the Father and Creator, God the Son and Redeemer, God the Holy Spirit and Helper.

So how did Jesus fulfill His promise to ‘be with you always?’ while also residing in heaven at the right hand of God? He sent His other person – the Holy Spirit.

Now back on the roller coaster. . .

He came back! (see Acts 2:1-11)

On Pentacost an amazing thing happened. The promised Holy Spirit came upon the believers waiting as instructed in Jerusalem. With the sound of a mighty wind and with the appearance of fire, the Holy Spirit settled in among them. They were instantly transformed. Jesus was with them again in the person of the Holy Spirit! They poured into the crowded streets preaching the Gospel, miraculously in the many different languages spoken by those who were there. And so it is today. Jesus is with each believer in the person of the Holy Spirit bringing along with Him, His transformative power. And it gets even better because…

He is more than just ‘with us’

When Jesus is with us, He is within us. The very person that has the power to create the universe, overcome the grave, and teach us the truth is the same person that resides within us when we make Him our Savior and Lord.

[If you’re not sure Jesus resides within you, click here and learn how to be absolutely sure. It’s too good to pass up.]

You see, Jesus is more than just an almighty bodyguard that walks with each of us, He is the very person that walks in each of us. The apostle Paul put it perfectly when he wrote, “. . . I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20 NIV) Jesus can never be separated from us because He resides within. It doesn’t get any better than that! So what are we to do with this Good News? Jesus tells us in this passage – tell others about Him!  Make disciples, baptize,  and teach. It’s hard work but Jesus knows we can do it – after all, He is within each of us! That’s the truth.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, for I am within you. Remember My three persons – baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, for I am within you. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you, for I am within you. And be sure of this:  I am with you always, for I am within you, even to the end of the age.”

That’s the YouTruth – Jesus Is With You Always.

Yours Is Not a Timid Spirit

Satan loves it when we are too timid to witness to others. It makes his job so much easier when we choose not to share the Good News with someone who does not yet know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Satan knows that God did not give believers a Spirit of timidity and fear. And it makes him shudder. What empowers Satan is when the believers themselves forget that.

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord.”

2 Timothy 1: 7-8a


God did not give believers a spirit that is timid or fearful. Satan knows that. When believers remember that they have been given a spirit of power, love, and discipline, Satan shudders because he knows what he’s up against – Fire!

Fan the Flame

In our passage, Paul encouraged Timothy to ‘fan into flame’ the gift of God. Paul did this because he knew Satan fights with fire. So we must fight Satan’s fire with a fire of our own. God’s gift was delivered in a mighty way on the day of Pentacost.  With the sound of a violent wind and the appearance of tongues of fire, the gift of the Holy Spirit arrived. This fire turned Jesus’ disciples from discouraged, shaken men into powerful witnesses who poured into the streets preaching the Good News in many languages. Thousands were saved (see Acts 2:1-41)! It is this same fire that we too as believers have received. This fire contains the power, love, and discipline that strikes fear into Satan. But only if we use it!

When firefighters are battling wildfires, they often have to set ‘backfires’ to stop its progress and ultimately extinguish it. So it is when we are fighting the fires of disbelief, apathy, and untruth set by Satan. Our backfires are our testimony to the truth, empowered by the fire of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus commanded us to light them, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19a)

The Spirit of Power

The very power that created the universe, that raised Jesus from the dead, that empowered His disciples to witness to crowds in languages they didn’t even know, is the same power that dwells in each believer in the person of the Holy Spirit. (see Ephesians 1:19-22, Acts 2:1-41) Enough said!

The Spirit of Love

Witnessing to non-believers is an act of utmost love. Though we may hear many arguments to the contrary, such as “who are you to tell me what I believe is wrong?” or “who are you to force your beliefs on me?” Christian believers who take their call to witness to others seriously, may often be called out as intolerant, bigoted, narrow-minded—not descriptions associated with a loving nature. Let’s clear this up by using this analogy: If we were to see someone running toward the edge of a cliff, what should we do? We should do anything we can to stop them. That would be a loving thing to do, wouldn’t it? Of course! Simply standing by while they run off the edge and plunge to their death would be a hateful thing to do. Would it matter that this person did not believe that a cliff edge was there? No! Should we allow them to continue along in their belief or should we tell them the truth before it is too late? A Christless eternity separated from God is a horrible, terrible fate. Jesus Himself described it as ‘outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (see Matthew 24:51).’ It is like running of an eternal cliff edge. We are called to use the Spirit of Love to warn non-believers that the cliff is there and that Jesus is The Way to keep from tumbling over its edge. To do anything less would be hateful, indeed!

The Spirit of Discipline

Witnessing is not often easy. Christian witnesses face skepticism, confrontation, and hate. Some witnesses in extreme situations are ostracized, face violence, or even death. Jesus told us it would be so (see John 15:18-19). It is much easier to avoid such unpleasantness. Thus, we can see that the easy way out is the way of timidity. Discipline is the ingredient that allows us to do what is loving and right when easier, more expedient options are available. Even better is that the spirit of discipline God gives us  allows us to draw upon His very power to do what is loving.

“A” vs. “The”

God did not give us a spirit that is timid. So let’s not act like He did! God not only gave us ‘a’ spirit of power, love, and discipline to witness with, He gave us ‘The’ Spirit of Power, Love, and Discipline. And let’s use it to fulfill all that we are called to do in our time on this earth: “Love God, and love our neighbor.” Our testimony to the truth we have come to know is our loving gift to a dark and hurting world, filled with dark and hurting people. That’s the truth.

I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God. For you have not been given a timid spirit. You have been given the Holy Spirit! You have been given the Spirit of Power. You have been given the Spirit of Love. You have been given the Spirit of Self-Discipline. You are called to use this gift of God to testify about your Lord.

That’s the YouTruth. Yours is Not a Timid Spirit.