The Holy Spirit THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias,...to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:17.
John the Baptist had been given a particular message of preparation. He had been sent as the forerunner of Jesus, to prepare, as much as possible, the people of his day to accept Jesus when He came. If you have ever studied John's mission and message, you have perhaps wondered at the sort of person that he was. No one would consider John the Baptist to be a diplomat! He came with the spirit and power of Elijah--who had met people at the top of Mount Carmel and demanded. "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, then follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). John the Baptist was not soft-spoken. He didn't mince words. He uttered scathing rebukes. He called the people a generation of vipers.
Have you ever pondered the message of John the Baptist, and wondered why he used such a hard-hitting approach? Our evangelists usually try to come on a little more tactfully. But not John the Baptist. He was used by the Holy Spirit as a sword to cut deeply for the purpose of preparing the way for Jesus to enter. "God does not send messages to flatter the sinner. He delivers no message of peace to lull the unsanctified into fatal security."--The Desire of Ages, p. 104.
There are times when the Holy Spirit cuts deeply today. The Holy Spirit doesn't spare our feelings or try to make us feel comfortable, but cuts deeply into our souls with the burning message of conviction. He works to make us painfully aware of our shortcomings, our hypocrisy, of our lack of trust in God. He points out our sin, our selfishness, and our lack of concern for the things that really count. His first purpose is to convince us of our deep need of the salvation that God has to offer, that we might be motivated to come for that salvation. It is only those who are sick, and who know that they are sick, who are willing to seek the help of a physician. And it is only those who are sinners, who know their condition as sinners, who are willing to come to God for the salvation that He has provided.
Today, when we feel the sword of the Spirit cutting deeply into our complacency, we can be thankful that He is alive and well, still doing His work of bringing us to Jesus to find healing and rest.
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias,...to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:17.
John the Baptist had been given a particular message of preparation. He had been sent as the forerunner of Jesus, to prepare, as much as possible, the people of his day to accept Jesus when He came. If you have ever studied John's mission and message, you have perhaps wondered at the sort of person that he was. No one would consider John the Baptist to be a diplomat! He came with the spirit and power of Elijah--who had met people at the top of Mount Carmel and demanded. "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, then follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). John the Baptist was not soft-spoken. He didn't mince words. He uttered scathing rebukes. He called the people a generation of vipers.
Have you ever pondered the message of John the Baptist, and wondered why he used such a hard-hitting approach? Our evangelists usually try to come on a little more tactfully. But not John the Baptist. He was used by the Holy Spirit as a sword to cut deeply for the purpose of preparing the way for Jesus to enter. "God does not send messages to flatter the sinner. He delivers no message of peace to lull the unsanctified into fatal security."--The Desire of Ages, p. 104.
There are times when the Holy Spirit cuts deeply today. The Holy Spirit doesn't spare our feelings or try to make us feel comfortable, but cuts deeply into our souls with the burning message of conviction. He works to make us painfully aware of our shortcomings, our hypocrisy, of our lack of trust in God. He points out our sin, our selfishness, and our lack of concern for the things that really count. His first purpose is to convince us of our deep need of the salvation that God has to offer, that we might be motivated to come for that salvation. It is only those who are sick, and who know that they are sick, who are willing to seek the help of a physician. And it is only those who are sinners, who know their condition as sinners, who are willing to come to God for the salvation that He has provided.
Today, when we feel the sword of the Spirit cutting deeply into our complacency, we can be thankful that He is alive and well, still doing His work of bringing us to Jesus to find healing and rest.
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