March 2000 Table of Contents

Ministry Focus
So, What Do You Really Want?

By Dan Burgess

"So, What Do You Really Want?"

Some might say, "You know, if I just had a little more money…not a fortune, mind you but just enough to take care of some outstanding stuff and get ahead a little." Some might say, "If more people just knew who I was. I mean, I don't want to be a superstar or anything but it would be nice not to have to find subtle ways to establish my credentials with people all the time." And someone might say, "If I only had some power, some real influence, I wouldn't have to live in this labyrinth of red tape all the time."

I'd say to all of them that what they're asking for is not what they really want. What they're focused on are things that they believe will get them what they want. I've been thinking, of late, about the number of years that I've been focused on the means rather than the goal. I came to realize that the things I really want are the same things that all of us really want. We don't really want money, fame or power. Those things have another set of inherent problems all their own. I know some people who have those things. I even know some people who have all those things. But in every case, they didn't find what they really wanted in those things.

Money can't buy the peace of mind that we feel financial security will bring us. Fame won't bring us the love we really long for. And the power to bend others to our will won't bring joy to our lives.

No... real love, joy, and peace, as well as patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are the things that appear in the life of one who is controlled by the Holy Spirit. And I believe that those nine "fruits" that manifest themselves in the lives of those who have unconditionally surrendered control of their lives to the third person of the Trinity are the ultimate goals we're all striving for. We've just been deceived as to the means whereby those goals can be obtained.

We find what we really want when we surrender control of our lives not when we try to take it. When, at the Spirit's direction, we give, not only financially but in every other way, the fruit of our labor brings peace. When we humble ourselves and think of others as better than ourselves in the "fellowship of the Spirit" that's when we experience the love and comfort of Christ (Philippians 2:1-3). And when we die to ourselves and surrender to the will of the Father, revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, we find real joy.

What I'm saying is that what we all long for in our innermost being is placed there by God Himself. Eugenia Price once said, "My need is the most glorious possession I have outside of Christ Himself." The Enemy lies to us as to how those longings can and should be met but the longings and the proper means to fulfill them are gifts from God. And all of these things are revealed to us and made manifest in us through the work of the Holy Spirit.

I began to wonder why the Church always seems to be at odds with one another in some way over the Holy Spirit. Then, at the Spirit's direction, I began to think about the situation from the viewpoint of the Enemy's camp.

If, from the Enemy's point of view, he can make our Comforter…our Guide into all truth... our Source of power and our Intercessor a controversial figure, wouldn't the controversy disrupt God's perfect plan for His beloved children? Or if the Enemy could cause one part of the Body to focus exclusively on only one aspect of the Spirit's work and another part on another and thereby separate brother from brother, wouldn't that disrupt God's purposes as well?

As the Holy Spirit has begun to reveal himself to me I'm absolutely stunned by the frequency with which He appears in my Bible. And the fact that I never saw Him there before would tend to give credence to my speculation about the Enemy's plans. I guess I just read over His name and moved on because I felt if I were to study Him I just might find myself in a controversial position. And we all know that in Church work, you can't afford to be controversial. Well, OK, Jesus was controversial but He was God. I'm ashamed to admit that it seemed to conveniently slip my mind that Jesus was also supposed to be my role model when it came to things that might force me out of my comfort zone.

Have you thought recently about what the Bible says about the work of the Holy Spirit? I was given a great book by my co-worker Judy Bradford, because, as she said, "it's all about exactly what you've been talking about lately." She's right. The book is called "They Found the Secret" by V. Raymond Edman. It's a collection of stories about twenty people, some famous and some not so famous, who found what the author describes as the "exchanged life."

Dr. Edman states many times throughout the book that whereas the circumstances in each story he relates vary drastically one from the other, the process whereby each individual came to find "the secret" proved to be remarkably similar. At one point he states it this way, "The deep dealing of God with His children varies in detail but the general pattern seems much alike for individual cases. Into each life there arises an awareness of failure, a falling short of all that one should be in the Lord; then there is a definite meeting with the risen Savior in utter surrender of heart, which is indeed death to self. There follows an appropriation by faith of His resurrection life through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. As a result there is realized an overflow of life likened by the Lord Jesus to 'rivers of water.' (See John 7:37-39)."

So, what is the function of the Holy Spirit in the life of those of us who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus? Dr. Edman quotes John Allan Wood who pointed out twelve specific functions of the Holy Spirit when he was asked, "What is the grand secret of holy living?" He replied: "It is to obtain and retain the perpetual presence, fullness and illumination of the Holy Ghost. 'He shall abide with you for ever.'

1. He will subdue your lusts and propensities. 'Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.'
   
   
2. He will impart liberty. 'Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.'
   
   
3. He reveals the things of Christ. 'He shall receive of mine and show it unto you.' 'He shall testify of me.
   
   
4. He presents the truth of God and the things of God to the mind. 'The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.' 'Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.' 'But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.'
   
   
5. He imparts light and wisdom. 'He will guide you into all truth.'
   
   
6. He sustains in the hour of affliction. 'I will not leave you comfortless.' 'I will send the comforter.'
   
   
7. He imparts the virtues of a holy character. 'The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.'
   
   
8. He gives the witness of adoption and salvation. 'The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.'
   
   
9. He imparts the divine image-the heavenly signet-to the soul. 'Ye are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.'
   
   
10. He is the source and author of all love to God. 'The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.'
    
    
11. He is the source of strength and success. 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.'
    
    
12. His presence and work make the soul a temple, sacred to the service of God. 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?'"

As I look down that list, it occurs to me that these are the things that have been missing from my Christian experience. These are the very things that I have felt a longing for. Consequently these are the Scripture verses, books, and overall input that God has brought into my life of late.

In his conclusion to the book, Dr. Edmon once again points out the path that will lead us to the "exchanged life."

1. Awareness of our need is followed by an
   
   
2. Agony of soul as we begin to understand what it is that will be required of us. Hunger and thirst are not pleasant experiences but the contemplation of dying to ourselves produces fear in our hearts. We wonder if anyone, even God, will love us enough to always do what's best for us. The glorious truth is that He loves us better than we love ourselves. And I even believe that He's a far less demanding Lord of my life than I was. At that point God's desire is to bring us to the point of wholehearted, unreserved
   
   
3. Abandonment to the Savior. (Romans 12:1,2) Then, and only then, can we move beyond the longing to the an actual
   
   
4. Appropriation by faith of the Holy Spirit to fill life with the presence of the Lord Jesus. What follows our acknowledgement and appropriation of God's presence and power by means of His indwelling Spirit is
   
   
5. Abiding by faith in the Savior. (John 15:4,5) It's then that the "rivers of living water" that Jesus talked about in John 7:38 begin to flow and the old life you controlled turns into a life of
   
   
6. Abundance that is lived under the Spirit's control. And that life becomes one of constant
   
   
7. Adventure as we simply follow the Shepherd's leading, not only because we know His voice but also because we've learned by experience that our faith in His ability to lead us is well placed.

I'd encourage all of you to study the person and work of the Holy Spirit for yourselves. Set aside any preconceptions you might have and allow the Spirit Himself to guide you into all truth. After all, aren't love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and spiritual comfort the things you really want?

One last thing... I'd feel a whole lot better about all the things I've borrowed for this article from Dr. Edman's book, "They Found the Secret" if you'd all go out and buy a copy. But, beyond making me feel better, I think it will do even more for you.

If you'd like to contact Dan, you can reach him at P.O. Box 210201, Bedford, TX 76095

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