Another Ninety-Five

T H E S I S # 82

As the individual must surrender to the governorship of the Holy Spirit to relationally gain Christ, so the group must surrender to the Holy Spirit to gain Christ.

The Holy Spirit loves Jesus, and the Holy Spirit loves us, and the Holy Spirit wants to strengthen and better our connection to Jesus. That is His chief endeavor, and He can only do so by our cooperation.

Self-rule (or man-rule) was leading us to hell. After embracing Christ, we agreed to abdicate self-rule for Christ-rule. Sadly, the church (that’s the church) we joined is not Christ-ruled, and like others we returned to old ways, becoming the decision maker once more. The Holy Spirit, to most, is an influence, not governor.

Surrendering fully to the Holy Spirit is an accomplishment rarely reached. When Peter said to the others, “I am going fishing” (returning to his old life) he was led by self, not by the Holy Spirit. And when the others said, “We are going with you” they were following man, not God. For Peter and for all of us, it is difficult to switch from self-ruled to Spirit-ruled.

Even reaching fifty percent surrender, half self-ruled (or man-ruled) and half Spirit-ruled, is a mark few reach, so it seems. Since childhood we were taught by example to be selfish and self-centered, to live for self and make decisions in line with our own betterment. Self-rule had become a hefty part of who we are and what we do. We choose our house, our employment, our schedule, our church, our spouse, our vehicle, our etceteras.

This bent towards self-rule has a formidable enemy – the Holy Spirit. He will never stop in His effort to bring us into subjection to our Christ, knowing this is the only path to “the fruit of the Spirit”, the only path to a better life.

Our speech reveals, to those wanting to know, the lord of our lives. Those in bondage to self say, “I am going fishing.” Those in bondage to man say, “We are going with you.” Servants of Christ say, “I believe the Holy Spirit is leading me in thus and thus direction.”

For the one determined to move from painful self-rule to rewarding Spirit-rule, a HC can be beneficial. And it can be dangerous. Only aligning yourself to a group endeavoring to be Spirit-ruled will positively influence you. A group with opposite values will affect you negatively.

Is it reasonable to assume if a Spirit-led christian is rare, a Spirit-led HC is also rare? Probably not. Those ditching the IC have, probably, already proven themselves subjective to the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, it is likely a high percentage of HCs have an agenda less noble than persistently pursuing Jesus Christ.

If we do not reinstate the Holy Spirit to His rightful place as governor of our lives, if He is an influence only, the judgment seat of Christ will be a most dreaded appointment.

As success (that’s properly defined success) is guaranteed for the Spirit-led christian, so it is guaranteed for the Spirit-led HC.