Display case of His glory
For most of my life, the topic of the person and work of the Holy Spirit was quietly mentioned but not emphasized in the churches I attended. As I look back at those churches, I believe it was because there was fear of what could happen if the church emphasized the Holy Spirit. There are churches that do have problems because they overstate or over emphasize only certain works of the Holy Spirit or actually claim things that are not theirs to claim or are biblically inaccurate.
In these churches, divisions arise, people are hurt and discouraged and false doctrines arise. Yet, when we fail to recognize and rely on the person and work of the Holy Spirit we cut ourselves off from the very power of God promised to us by Christ Jesus in John 14-16. We find ourselves operating in our own strength and our own wisdom.
Let me remind you from Sunday that the person of the Holy Spirit reminds and teaches us of what Christ taught. He encourages and comforts us. He prays for us. He will convict us of sin. He will do all this for the purpose of bringing glory to the Son through us. He is the seal of our redemption and the guarantee of our salvation. He gifts us specifically according to His will with gifts to build up the church, and He empowers us to accomplish all that God purposes for us. And He has taken us residence in us, the temple of the Holy Spirit purchased at a price.
So everywhere you go, He goes. So everywhere you go you are perfectly prepared to bring glory to our Savior and Lord. I believe it was DL Moody who said that God has so much to show the world of His glory, He needs only display cases in which to place it. Are you a display case for the glory of God wherever you go? At lunch today I finished an excellent book by Jen Wilkin called Dust to Dust: Aging Wisely in an Anti-Aging World. (I highly recommend it to you!) She shares a poem often attributed to Teresa of Avila that encapsulates and challenges us with this idea of us being the display cases of God’s glory.
Christ has no body but yours,
no hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
no hands, no feet on earth but yours,
yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Lastly, I have heard it said long ago that you and your life are the only Bible, the only representation of Jesus, many in this world will ever know. May the one others read be led, directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit for the glory of God.
Pressing On…
Ron Tipton, Senior Pastor
