Humility leads to surrender. If we don’t have it, we risk becoming a Pharisee or a heretic (false teacher). The Pharisees knew the scripture, the tradition, the pomp and circumstance, but still missed Christ John 5:39-44.
“39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.41 I do not receive glory from people.42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
In comparison, false teachers changed and twisted scripture to their liking (2 Peter 2).
The reality is what’s in a man’s heart is the hardest thing to get uncovered.
Life, rejection, hurt, our flesh, pride, and disappointment (among other things) have trained us to guard those secret places found in our hearts.
The problem is that once a wall is up, it blocks everything and doesn’t let anything permeate. The walls attempt to block the bad without realizing it can also stop the good.
This can lead us to skim over the requirements of a reciprocal relationship with Christ and miss receiving God in a personal way. We think we do because we say we do, but that’s not how it works. Otherwise, the Pharisees would have got it right. It’s not our own knowledge and bible study. That can lead us to believe all types of stuff and form idols that look similar to Christ but are not the fullness of who Christ truly is.
So, how? How do we balance living a life like Christ?
Fast answer. We surrender to the Holy Spirit. We say yes to what He teaches and how He leads us through scripture—leaning on Him for revelation and interpretation. That’s the difference between all other forms of creation and God’s children. Relationship, connection, communication, worship, praise, obedience, love, faith, closeness, honesty, trust, exercising our faith with action. LIVING LIKE CHRIST lived under the instruction of God the Father.
It’s too much to get into but consider this…
If the disciples who walked with Christ didn’t understand all He said until it was revealed to them by the Holy Spirit, how much more will we need to yield to the Spirit’s teaching and leading?
We can hear it with our natural ears and think we have listened spiritually. However, until we receive from the Spirit, we have limited understanding and remembrance. Let’s look at scripture to support this.
John 14:26-29
26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.
John 16:12-14
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
We can not get Kingdom understanding without the Holy Spirit. The disciples didn’t remember the scriptures or prophesy written about Jesus in the Old Testament Zechariah 9:9 until Jesus was glorified. We see this during Jesus’ triumphal entry with the palms and praises after the raising of Lazarus.
However, there is evidence when the Holy Spirit steps on the scene. There is power, boldness, and vibrancy.
John 12:16
16 “His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.”
Here’s more. Think about the tomb and how they reacted when they found Christ gone from where they placed him John 20:1-10.
20 “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.”
He told them countless times, but they still didn’t remember, thus unable to RECEIVE it though they believed. I found that odd. Wouldn’t they have celebrated the resurrection of Christ? At that moment, shouldn’t they have started sharing the Gospel? No, they had a moment of belief and went home the same (John 20:19). They didn’t have the power, which revealed their limited understanding and memory.
However, there is evidence when the Holy Spirit steps on the scene. There is power, boldness, and vibrancy.
Why explain all this?
We as Christians (Acts 11:19-26) must know we can’t believe if we haven’t received Christ first.
Duh?! You already know this, right? But we can’t simply say things out of our mouths with no evidence or proof. I know we live in times when that is considered valid. However, in the Kingdom family, your life (actions), heart, and words have to align AND represent the fullness of Christ – with evidence. (The fullness of Christ is another topic!)
John says this in John 1:10-12 which shows us why the Pharisees missed it and how we can too.
10 “He was in the world, and the world was made th
rough him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
The Pharisees weren’t His children. They were simply His creation. Don’t get me wrong, from the beginning of time, God has longed to dwell with us. He’s been restoring that brokenness ever since Eve and Adam broke it. He longs for the Pharisee’s hearts to be restored, but God is a gentleman. There has to be the humility of surrender. Therein lies the issue of getting to the heart of man.
It’s a combination of closeness and love through obedience and surrender on our end, and the power of the Holy Spirit revealing, working on our heart, interpreting, correcting, leading, and reminding us of the Word found on paper and is the person of Christ. That keeps us on the narrow road that only belongs to His children.
Behind those walls we’ve built around our hearts, the stoney ground will begin to be laid. It will trickle into our thoughts, spill out from our mouths and express itself in our attitudes and agreements. Without the Spirit, we will soon become Pharisees and heretics.
As we move closer to Easter this week. I pray we move closer to surrender through and through. I pray we have an encounter with Christ that proves we are children of God. I pray that every idol we have built that, from a distance, looks legitimately like Christ, but upon closer inspection, you find it’s not the truth of Christ that it is knocked down in our hearts. I pray we move closer to humility and surrender. Let’s use the privilege of the opportunity to self-examine given to us by the grace of God.
Praise God; we can be restored and transformed. Praise God; we have a Savior that loves us so profoundly that we can dwell in His presence and have a relationship with Him.
John 20:21-22 reminds us of these truths; we are no different than those we see in scripture. The disciples couldn’t grasp the fullness of Christ or share the Gospel until they received the Spirit of God.
John 20:21-22
21 “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Christ says to come and not to harden our hearts. This is required for the truth of our hearts to be revealed. We have to refrain from talking ourselves into thinking we believe. There has to be evidence. There are so many false teachers—too much misinformation. But without the Holy Spirit, we can all miss the heart of Christ.
Praise God for the remedy! Praise God this Easter that if we do miss it, we can repent. We can confess. We can pray. Praise God; we can be restored and transformed. Praise God; we have a Savior that loves us so profoundly that we can dwell in His presence and have a relationship with Him.
I asked my little kids why they believed what I, and their dad tells them. They said, “We know you have more experience, and we know that you will do what you say.” I said that’s true, but why do you believe us? They looked puzzled. I had to remind them of this simple answer. We live together. You talk to us all the time. We take care of you. You know and trust that we will care for you because we live together daily, so you’ve come to know us.
That is what God wants with us! Relationships, not rituals. He wants more than creation; He wants children. We have too many moments and not enough encounters with the Spirit.
Praying we all pause to consider if we have received Christ and if we have proof in our lives to support that confession. Is it a relationship or ritual? Are we children or simply creations?
