Daily Devotional
Word of the Day
Put Aside Worldly Wisdom
Pastor Scott
Sunday, January 30, 2005
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"Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."
(John 14:17)
"If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter..." (John 14:15-16). Jesus relates the person of the Holy Spirit to obedience to the commandments and love of His lordship. This great treasure of the Person of the Holy Spirit--His gentle voice speaking to us, His incomprehensible wisdom manifesting in us--is not something that He will lavish upon you to make life easy or to give you great capacity to succeed in life, but to affect the kingdom of God. The person of the Holy Spirit manifests Himself for the sole purpose of glorifying Father in the name of Jesus Christ.
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter [one of the same kind], that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither [has experienced] knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (14:16-18). The world has no knowledge of His presence. They can't understand the wisdom that we live by. We are admonishing you to receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a free gift; it is to everyone that believes. What keeps us from receiving the Holy Spirit? "The world cannot receive Him." Don't mistake what I'm saying. If you have been seeking the Lord, seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but you haven't received at this time, you may think, "Am I still in my sins? Am I not regenerated?" That is not what I'm saying. What I am saying is that you are approaching it with a worldly wisdom, thinking you have to understand this or earn this. It is a free gift. You don't have to comprehend it. If in simplicity you will come to the Father, He will baptize you in His Spirit according to His Word.
Put aside all merit, put aside all understanding, put aside all fears. If you ask your Father for bread, you won't get a stone; for fish, you won't get a serpent. How much more shall those that ask Father for the Spirit receive the free gift (Luke 11:11, 13)? In speaking about the infilling of the Holy Spirit, put aside all worldly wisdom, all natural understanding, all attempts at comprehending. "Should I; shouldn't I? How do I? Is something wrong with me?" Put all of the worldly wisdom aside. The world cannot receive the Spirit of God. Put yourself into the realm of faith now. As a little child prepare to receive what God has for you today.
Those of you who are asking Father to fill you, there is only the one thing you need to understand. It's a free gift; you can't earn it. But you do have to pursue it, and you do have to do your part. Let worship pour out of you, begin to speak, and the Spirit will give you the words to speak.
Father, we believe that each one who seeks will know Your presence and Your fullness in these next days--not weeks, not months--that are ahead as they press in to know You and hunger for Your power and Your anointing. For the free gift is unto all. The mandate to be witnesses in Your name is upon us, and we ask You to equip us now for that in Jesus' name.