By: Pastor Matt Young
So, our last two weeks, we’ve looked at two rhythms of life to live missionally: Blessing and Eating. These rhythms are more focused on the communal aspect of missional living.
Our third habit is still communal, but the person we are listening to is different than those who we have been blessing and eating with.
This third rhythm of listening is specifically developing a regular rhythm of listening to the Holy Spirit.
REVIEW: THE TRINITY
Many of us in Christian circles have heard about the doctrine of the Trinity: that God is three-in-one. Three persons, one God, each person sharing in the same divine substance. What that means is that God is not three gods who think the same way, nor is he just one god who has three personalities or masks that he wears. Rather, mysteriously to us, he is three-in-one or Triune.
We have heard of the persons of the Father and the Son. But some of us get a little confused or apprehensive about the Spirit or we get way too excited about the Spirit.
Some of the reason for that, I believe, has more to do with our lack of knowledge about the Spirit’s ministry. We get the Father’s ministry, the creator; we get the Son’s ministry, the redeemer; but the Spirit’s ministry is often clouded for us.
In sort, the Spirit’s ministry is to apply and actualize the ministry of the Father and the Son. In salvation for example, the Father makes the plan and elects his people to salvation, the Son accomplishes the mission of salvation through his life, death and resurrection, and the Spirit applies the benefits of salvation to believers.
So while each person of the Trinity has ministry tasks, they are all sharing in the same work together.
HEARING GOD
So when we talk about hearing from God, we listen to God through the word (that is the bible) by the Spirit and in prayer.
There isn’t anything spooky or mystical about listening to God. By listening to God through the word by the Spirit, what we are doing is we are quieting our own hearts and minds to be open to the leading of the Spirit in our day to day lives.
Bruce Demarest, one of the professors at the seminary I attended says this in his book Satisfy Your Soul,
“A quieted heart is our best preparation for all this work of God… meditation refocuses from ourselves and from the world so that we reflect on God’s Word, His nature, His abilities, and His works… So we prayerfully ponder, muse and “chew” the words of Scripture… The goal is simply to permit the Holy Spirit to activate the life-giving Word of God.”
So we must develop a missional rhythm in our lives of regularly listening to God if we are going to live on mission with God.
BUT WHY?
The reason why we must listen is because we need what the biblical writers call “Wisdom.”
You and I don’t live in a world that cherishes or seeks after wisdom. We look for fast answers and quick fixes that gratify our flesh, that sinful aspect that still lingers around in us.
And the reason why we need wisdom is because life is not black and white. Thankfully, there are lots of choices that have a clear moral or immoral choice.
But there are a lot of areas in life that are more grey, which requires Spirit-led discernment.
When we engage with people by blessing them and eating with them, we will be faced with two polar opposites, which Michael Frost talks about in his book.
We will be faced with judgmentalism and withdrawal on one side and licentiousness and gluttony on the other. Discernment is using Spirit-provided wisdom to find the middle way.
CHRISTIAN DISCERNMENT
So how do we discern?
1) Identify the clearly immoral choices
Find the poles and think about the ways in which you might get sucked into either end. Look at the scriptures and identify those places where scripture restricts our behavior and motivations. Then pray for wisdom.
2) Play out in your mind what the middle way looks like
If you have not imagined in your mind’s eye what the middle way of discernment looks like, you probably won’t be able to identify it in the moment. So meditate on the Word and listen to the Spirit as you think about what that middle way looks like.
3) Get trusted and more mature brothers or sisters involved
Bring some of your thoughts to your grow group or gospel community (small groups). Make sure you play our scenarios for them and walk them through your reasoning logically and biblically. And then pray together for wisdom.
HOMEWORK
So the homework for this week is pretty simple.
I want you to choose a time and place this week where you will actively listen to the Spirit for 3 hours (in keeping with our pattern of 3’s).
During that time, walk through steps one through three above concerning a situation you might find yourself in as you engage with people who don’t know Jesus and his love.
Have a great week!