Good News, the Chariot's Coming

[HKHaugan]

That is the title of a song we used to sing at campfire meetings. It was a rouser and everyone joined in. It got us to look forward to the next day and every day we were in camp. In a way it was a theme song. Think about what a chariot is and then who drives it. Visions of ‘’Ben Hur’’ may lurk in your memory. Keep it there for a moment.

Last time we tried to make it clear that faith is a given in us. The question is not whether human beings are faithful. Rather the question has to be, what is their faith centered in, who’s driving it? Where anyone’s faith leads depends on its focus, its function and its fuel. Because each of us is a self-conscious ‘I am’ our focus has to be personal, our function personal and our fuel personal. We are persons, individuals and each is unique. In order for us to find personal direction we need a person outside to provide it. That is how we are built. Our primary needs are personal and interpersonal. Everything else in our experience proceeds from that point. Personal fulfillment is our deepest quest. Only faith in a ‘someone’ and not a ‘something’ is the only guarantee that we are on the right track. Our faith is our propulsion system. The three major aspects that make up who we are---mind, heart and spirit---are our personal, interpersonal and faithful and motivational chariots. We think, we are relational and we have a spirit that moves them. Who is the driver?

Faith drives the chariot of the mind. Faith in the mind of Jesus is the set of reins for organizing our thinking. The thought process finds its outlet through faith in the way Jesus thinks about life. What we believe is what our mind concludes is the logical way to live. We may think a thought but it takes faith to pursue it to its conclusion. It takes faith to discipline the mind to pursue its full development. We have to allow the Holy Spirit to discern within us what spirits are at work in the world around us. The Spirit of truth separates the good from the evil, the right from the wrong and the devil from Jesus. Jesus gives us His Holy Spirit to fuel the mind.

Faith drives the chariot of the heart. Faith in the heart of Jesus sets the relational course for us. A person may want to negatively avoid conflict or positively confront its source. Emotional strategy may be determined in the mind but the heart decides its solution. The heart processes what the mind believes. That heart process takes trust. Emotional control may consist of outburst or cautious consideration but trust drives both. Trust is the fuel for raising in us anger at sin and evil, joy at the Lord’s work in our heart, sadness for the condition of the world around us and fear when we know we are on the wrong track. As we read the teachings of Jesus we see a heart for people. Sympathy, gentleness, affection, hate, calm, passion, rage, timidity are defined by Him. They are handled as we yield trusting His heart to guide us through the minefield of emotionality. Here again His Holy Spirit comes to define, build and energize relationships.

Faith drives the chariot of our spirits, our souls. Inspiration is only as effective as the faith undertaken to act on it. Before Jesus the devil had unleashed all kinds of spirits in the world to fuel his agenda to distract every human being from God. They are too many to list but a few need exposure like, fear, greed, pride, anger, hate, rage, manipulation, lust, covetousness, control and deceit. When Jesus came He revealed there is but One Spirit in God and that is the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit bringing us the many facets of the personality of Jesus to share naming a few like His grace, love, kindness, self-control, sound mind, mercy, forgiveness and joy. They are the fruit of the One Spirit of God working in those who have faith in Jesus.

What a relief to know the Holy Spirit is the One Spirit of Jesus and His ministry to and for us. Inspiration is the work of the Holy Spirit. Notice that the word inspiration ‘spires within,’ in-spires. Some spirit will inspire us because the devil sends a host of them to seek entrance in our lives. The way to make sure it is the Holy Spirit inspiring us to action is to see His work in Jesus in Scripture. The Holy Spirit is not a thing, a tool or a force but a person whose task is to bring the person of Jesus as the inspiration into the mind and heart. When we have faith in Jesus it is the Holy Spirit working His presence in the mind and heart. He is the personal gift Jesus promised us before He was crucified. The Holy Spirit is the gift of God who brings the presence of Jesus into our hearts and who completes who we are in Him as mind, heart and soul.

There are three kinds of faith people, thinkers, empathizers and activists. The first are conceptual and find the need to put things in a logical position. The second are feeling and sensitive to the hearts of others. The third are motivated to action, putting into practice what they believe.

When I say three kinds I don’t mean that each is devoid of what the other has. Rather we are a blend of each but each weighs in more heavily in one of those areas. Jesus is the perfect balance of the three. His balance of mind in the principles of Scripture brings Him to letting them guide His heart decisions that the Holy Spirit energizes to action. So we become part of His spiritual Body knowing we offer one another who and what we are and endowed to be in Christ. We believe Scripture and look to be taught. We are led to heart people to grow toward and with each other. We are led to spiritually gifted people whose consciousness of the spiritual dimension keeps us alert to the depth of the work of the Spirit. This is the way of the Cross humbling ourselves to learn from others. This is the way we grow in and through the gifts of the Spirit. This is the way the Body of Christ is built. This is the way the world is reconciled to God and transformed.

It is unity in the Spirit that brings all this into balance. The Lord is the driver through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is unity in the Spirit that brings understanding through the Scripture, the blending of hearts together in Jesus and the actions of faith to their maturity. We need to understand the Scripture. We need to feel the Scripture. We need to discern the Spirit working through the Scripture, “God has breathed life into all of Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right (2Tim.3:16).”