What Is The Spirit Saying?
Isaiah 11 v 1-9 tells us that when by Jesus, the love of God reigns all over the earth, then the whole Creation will live as God first planned, in perfect harmony, in His Peaceable Kingdom. Paul says in his letter to the Romans (Ch 8 v 18-25), that animals are waiting for mankind’s transformation into the knowledge and love of God in Jesus, before this happens. Waiting for us to, by word and by deed, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to every Creature” (Mark 16 v 15).
The Holy Spirit is vitally important to the Christian experience and understanding of God. It’s through the Holy Spirit that we’re able to relate to God and have moral consciousness. This is the Spirit of Truth that Jesus speaks of in John’s Gospel when talking to His disciples at the Last Supper. “When the Counsellor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness to Me” (John 15 v 26). This was what He promised would be a source of power, inspiration, and guidance for them. It’s the same Spirit that’s described as coming at the first Pentecost in Acts 2 v 1-4.
This is the account of how the Holy Spirit, in the form of a great wind, startled the disciples as they met together. It filled them with power and joy, bringing about a great change in them. When Peter explained to the crowd what had happened, he quoted from the prophet Joel, “In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out My Spirit upon ALL flesh [that’s kol basar, not just human flesh which would be besar adam], and your sons and daughters shall prophecy, and young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams”. To limit the appearance of the Holy Spirit to this one occasion however, is to miss the fact that the Holy Spirit has a long history. The link between what happened at the first Pentecost and what is happening now, whenever we see acts of love and mercy being shown to humans and to animals, is that they’re all signs of the activities of this same Spirit. There are basically five ways in which this power can be recognised:
Firstly, the Holy Spirit has a long history. At Creation, “the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1 v 2). The power of God’s Spirit everywhere, can influence our lives. The writer of Psalm 51 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right Spirit within me. Take not Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51 v 10-11). Jesus received the Spirit Himself at His Baptism (Mark 1 v 10). Paul taught, “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit which dwells in you” (Romans 8 v 11).
Secondly, the Holy Spirit acts with power. Paul says, speaking of Jesus, “The Lord is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3 v 17). John says in his Gospel, “God is Spirit” (John 4 v 24). The writer of Psalm 139 says, “Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?” (Psalm 139 v 7).
Thirdly, the Holy Spirit is unpredictable. Jesus replied to Nicodemus, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit… The wind blows where it wills, and you will hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3 v 5-8).
Fourthly, the Holy Spirit is a gift. God’s Spirit comes not as a reward, but freely, and can be given to anybody. We have to want and then wait for this freely given power to descend upon us, giving us courage, endurance and patience when needed.
Fifthly, the Holy Spirit has a moral effect upon us. Paul lists some of these changes which the Spirit can bring upon us in the fruit of the Spirit: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5 v 22-23).
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2 v 7).
In the book of Revelation, God is speaking to the 1st century Church, but He could well be saying basically the same things to the 21st century Church.
Those who read the prophecy and heed its words are guaranteed a special Blessing (Revelation 1 v 3). We might read what God says to us, but how many of us actually heed His words, especially about caring for His whole Creation?
The book begins by describing itself as “The revelation of Jesus Christ” and this revelation was given by God to John, who was told to write it down and send it to the churches.
In His letter to the church in Laodicea, Christ presents Himself as “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s Creation” (Revelation 3 v 14), meaning He is God, the originator of the whole Creation, “He is the image of the invisible God … for by Him all things were created” (Colossians 1 v 15-16).
His message to the church is “… because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3 v 16). Jesus would prefer His people to be either frozen or on fire. There is no in-between. He says that if we are not going to be hot, then He would prefer us to be cold, not lukewarm (Revelation 3 v 15).
A mere lukewarm appreciation of Christ being the Lord and Saviour of the whole Creation and of His death and Resurrection, simply detracts from their real meaning, and confuses those who look on. Better icy indifference or even active opposition than to insult Him by saying we believe in His cause, and yet live out our lives that, by their indifference, nauseate Him.
Enthusiasm is an essential and important part of Christianity, and without it the Christian faith becomes dry and mechanical. Perhaps if we lived nearer to the heart of our faith we too might be accused, as were the early disciples, of being “drunk and mad”!
Jesus has the right to issue a strong command, but instead He tenderly appeals to them to hearken to His words; “I counsel you”. It is because He loves us that He rebukes us (Revelation 3 v 19).
In my blog post, ‘Seven Words From The Cross’, I used Warner Sallman’s painting, ‘Christ At Hearts Door’, to illustrate Revelation 3 v 20, “Here I AM! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.” The picture shows the Risen Jesus knocking at the door of our heart. Christ likens the human heart to a dwelling. Each one of us has the right, if we so wish, to refuse admission to the very God who made us. He will not break down the door. He will stand and knock … and knock again, appealing for our permission to enter. This could perhaps be used to represent the heart of the secular animal welfarist, who doesn’t understand in whose name he/she carries the cross they bear!
Another possibility is that the passage could represent the Risen Jesus knocking at the door of His Church which has a self-satisfied lukewarm congregation that doesn’t notice that He has left! Is there any picture more compelling than Christ standing at the door of His own Church seeking re-admittance?
But then I was given another vision – this time of the Risen Jesus knocking at the door of His Church which has a well-meaning, but human-centred congregation, who are so taken up with the concerns and comforts of our own kind, they are indifferent to the suffering of His animal creation! Most fail to seek out cruelty-free products and many just don’t want to know about legalised animal abuse, thus limiting His Lordship to that of humankind only.
To be half-hearted and not proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of the whole Creation is to be so distasteful to Christ that it nauseates Him. As Selwyn Hughes, author of the Bible commentaries, ‘Every Day With Jesus’, once said, “We must either throw the door of our lives wide open to Him or we firmly slam it shut in His face. There must be no prevarication.”
At the end of each of His messages to the churches Christ exhorts them to hear what the Spirit is saying. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3 v 22). This need to pay attention is emphasised because we are such bad listeners. We hear the words but don’t get the point. To hear what the Spirit says and not apply it to ourselves is one of the greatest tragedies that can befall us in this age. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen!
Thank you for reading! Your thoughts are welcome!
~Roslyne Smith
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Originally published on May 24, 2014