When we study and memorize God’s word without a teacher to provide understanding we cannot fully digest its meaning or its relevance in our life. I have been told from my youth that “experience is the best teacher”. It is true that with experience as my teacher the lessons I learn are unforgettable, but they are usually the most painful. Experience is mostly trial and error and that doesn’t really give us understanding. Pete Seeger put it this way, “Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don’t.” There must be a gentler teacher than experience.
There is! I John 2:27 reminds us, “But you have received the Holy Spirit and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know and what he teaches is true – it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.” I love the drawing that shows Linus from the Peanuts cartoon holding a Bible and saying, “There is no better teacher than the Holy Spirit and no better text than God’s word.” It isn’t enough to memorize the 23rd Psalm; we must get to know the Shepherd personally. Our personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit will open up the scriptures to our understanding and much, much more.
Warning! With understanding comes added responsibility. Once we know God’s will we must act on it. “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (James 4:17) Thankfully, the Holy Spirit not only provides understanding but gives us the desire and the strength to act on what we have learned. (See Philippians 2:13)
Some of you may have seen a video that went viral on Face Book last year with more than 22 million views. It is a woman sitting in her car with tears streaming down her cheeks telling about her encounter with the Holy Spirit. She stopped at the super market to pick up a few things for work and saw a homeless man on a bench trying to keep warm. As she entered the door she heard God’s still small voice within her say, “He likes bananas.” So she bought some bananas, found some high protein foods to go in his backpack for later then headed to the deli to buy him some fried chicken, but God told her no chicken just food for later. She pleaded that he really needs something hot to eat but the Holy Spirit told her “I didn’t tell you to buy chicken.” So she followed His promptings, checked out and handed him a bag containing her purchases for his backpack. As he thanked her a woman behind her said, “This must be your lucky day. I bought you some fried chicken.”
As Christmas approaches we find it easy to tell others that God sent His son into the world. John 3:16 helps us explain Jesus’ mission to provide eternal life to all who believe by dying in our place and then rising from the tomb. But have you ever had trouble explaining to others the working of the Holy Spirit within you? All we really need to do is listen for and follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit; become the answer to someone’s prayer by providing exactly what they need and then share that personal experience. There is no better way to understand and explain how the Holy Spirit teaches, guides and prompts us to action.