When the Spirit Intervenes

Intervene (def) - come between so as to prevent or alter a result or course of events. I know, so many of you may read what I write about the Holy Spirit and think "David is really out there on this one!" You may be right. But I don't think so. If we ignore the movement of the Holy Spirit, (the true movement) we are putting our God in a box He will not fit in. When I pray for something it is my desire to "pray in the Spirit" and many times that happens and I see God move in amazing ways. Paul wrote this to the church at Ephesus in Ephesians 6:18 With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit. At the time of his writing that verse Paul's request was for them to pray in the Spirit specifically for those who were sharing the gospel. They didn't have to wait for 40 days to go by to pray in the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is accessible at all times. Praise God!

When people pray, the Holy Spirit will intervene and change the course of an event, or person, or situation, so it is vital to trust the Spirit when this happens. We all know that King Saul was after David because he was very jealous of God's anointing on his life. Saul was constantly trying to kill David and thus take care of his problem. In 1 Samuel 19, David has gone to be with Samuel, the Prophet, and Saul finds out about it and sends soldiers to get David, in order to kill him. The soldiers try to get David three times, but they were overwhlemed with the Spirit in the presence of the Lord, and Samuel, and David. Saul becomes frustrated and goes to this town called Naioth, and on the way Saul is filled with the Spirit and it causes him to repent. 1 Samuel 19: 22 Then he went to Ramah himself and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23 So he proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; but the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

Another time the Spirit intervened in a situation was on the road to Damascus and Jesus met Saul and blinded him, and then called him to ministry. Acts 9:3 Now as he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do.” 7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. When Jesus intervened it was as Saul was traveling to arrest and kill more believers of The Way, He totally changed Saul's life direction and Saul became Paul and an apostle of Jesus. The Spirit of God did that when He intervened and changed Saul.

What has the Spirit of God done in your life? Probably more than you know or understand. It can be a simple thought, or total change of direction, or a sincere call to new life. If we spend time in prayer and ask, seek, and knock, the Spirit will do "something." Jesus sent the Spirit to help, so why would we doubt the Spirit when He actually does something. The Spirit is God! A.W. Tozer writes “If the Holy Spirit should come again upon us as in earlier times, visiting church congregations with the sweet but fiery breath of Pentecost, we would be greater Christians and holier souls….”

You can call me crazy for trusting the Holy Spirit, but He is my life source for wisdom, understanding, and at my core I cannot live without His direction. Just sayin. One more thing the Holy Spirit does is "convict" me of my sin. I don't have to get some human to show me what I am doing wrong, because the Holy Spirit is very faithful to show me when I am wrong. It is imperative that I respond when the Holy Spirit intervenes in my life in this way, and that means God is moving and showing me how to live and walk in my faith. There are only two ways and one is the "flesh" and the other is the "Spirit." I choose the Spirit, and I hope you do too. The Spirit saved David's life and called the Apostle Paul to service, so I'm thinking following the Spirit is very important. JUST DO IT!

Today's Message,

David Warren