Help us to believe, LORD. We are from the earth and our minds are filled with the things thereof. We have a hard time accepting your testimony because it is outside our realm of experience. Our cup is too full already. You word is different than that which we are accustomed to hear. No one ever spoke like you (cf. Joh. 7:46). We need to hear the difference like the Thessalonians hear it, so that Paul can say of us, "And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe" (cf. Thes. 2:13).
Yet we must obey God rather than men. And if we are to obey we must first listen. If we only listen to things of the earth we won't be able to obey you, Jesus. We need to see you exalted at the right hand of the Father "as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins." We must listen even when we hear things that sound harsh. If we are told, "you had him killed by hanging him on a tree" we must not shut our ears. Earthly minds turn away. But we must look on him whom we have pierced. Only if we do not turn away do we find repentance and forgiveness of sins. Only if we look and listen do we recognize in you our leader and our savior.
The Holy Spirit is a witness of all of these things for us. He convicts the world of its sin and shows the way to the righteousness (cf. Joh. 16:8).
Jesus, the Father gives you everything. And you are open to all he gives. His gift of the Spirit is not rationed in you. The truth you give us is complete and whole. We are not to pick and choose. We are not to turn when it doesn't suit us. We can only receive eternal life when we receive it on your terms. The world may give us strict orders to stop teaching in your name, to stop thinking about your name, or to stop acting in your name. The world promises life on our own terms if we just stop making a big deal about your name. But if we neglect your name and your word we close ourselves to what you want to do in us. We close ourselves to the life you want to give.
LORD, in spite of ourselves we find our hearts closed this morning. We find that your name marks only parts of our lives. We find areas of our lives where you do not yet reign. We find parts of your truth that are hard to hear. The severity of sin is so great that to fix it you had to suffer pain and death. We don't really want to know that. We are nice. We don't want to see you in pain let alone be the ones who cause you pain. Yet if we reject this knowledge we reject the grace it carries to change us and make us new.
The Father's gift of the Spirit is not rationed in you LORD. You long to give us more of the Spirit, too. You long to witness to the full truth of the gospel in our hearts by the Spirit's power. You desire to fill us with the Spirit without measure. The only limits are the ones we impose. Open our hearts! Let us show the world that God is worthy of all of our trust.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
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