"What Manner Of Spirit Are You?"
Luke 9:46-56
INTRO.In v55, Jesus rebuked James and John by telling them, "Ye know
not what manner of spirit ye are of." Jesus there was talking about
their attitude, feelings, and behavior toward others. The Samaritans
had rejected Jesus and James and John wanted to destroy them.
Have you ever felt the same way? You see and hear about the
murder going on a killing spree and killing several people and you
wish God would strike Him dead where he stands. You see and hear
unrepentant sinners boldly and openly reject God and you wish God
would just wipe them out right there. You see the homosexuals
openly parading their sin and you wish God would strike Him or her
with AIDS because of their ungodly lifestyle! This must have been
how these two disciples felt. But notice God rebuked them because
of this attitude! In other words, "their spirit was wrong."
This is very important... so often a wrong spirit abounds in the
Church. As a result the work of the Holy Spirit is hindered!
Ephesians 4:30 tells us, "and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God,
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Many times the
work of the LORD is hindered not by a lack of servants, but by a
wrong spirit! Romans 12:9 says, "Let love be without dissimulation.
Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." This verse tells
us that our love for all should be genuine. It also tells us to hate evil.
But this does not mean we are to hate the sinner, but that we are to
hate the sin! We may not like what a person stands for, or what he
practices; but yet, still we are to love him! Until a body of believers in
Jesus Christ are willingly to show forth the right kind of spirit to
God's people and to the lost, the work of the Holy Spirit is hindered
and the ministry of that Church is ineffective!
I want each of us to answer this question, "What Manner Of Spirit
Am I?"
(1) THE WRONG SPIRIT OF THE DISCIPLES
LUKE 9:46, 49, 54
*This wrong spirit displayed itself in three ways. We see:
A. A DISPUTING (CONTENTIOUS) SPIRIT (v46). The word for
"reasoning" in the Greek means "disputing, or arguing." They were
arguing. They were contentious. The word meaning "apt to quarrel or
fight with words."
1. What Were They Arguing About? v46b—“Which of them should
be greatest." They lacked humility! Many of God's people are much
the same way. They believe themselves indispensable to the
Church and its ministry! If they don't have their way they become
angry and contentious.
ILLUS: Proverbs 10:28-29
God's Churches are full of people who refuse to do what
they can do for the Lord. If they can't be the biggest
boulder on the mountain, they won't be on the mountain
at all! How long would many men hold their jobs if they
worked for their bosses like they worked for the Lord?
A Pastor once asked a man who was very zealous in his job
why he wasn't as zealous in his work for the Lord. The
man replied, "Well, you see, my boss puts food on my
table!" He must have forgotten that God provides all we
need! (Philippians 4:13). A Church family is most happy
when each one is doing the task God gave them! (Psalm
100:2).
2. What Did They Fail To Recognize? They failed to look at the
greatness of Christ. Think of his great humility (Philippians 2:5-
8)!
ILLUS: Andrew Murray said, "The humble man feels no jealousy or
envy. He can praise God when others are preferred and
blessed before him. He can bear to hear others praised
while he is forgotten because...he has received the spirit of
Jesus, who pleased not Himself, and who sought not His
own honor. Therefore, in putting on the Lord Jesus Christ
he has put on the heart of compassion, kindness,
meekness, longsuffering, and humility." Humble people are
not conscious of being humble. As Dr. M. R. De Haan
used to say, "Humility is something we should constantly
pray for, yet never thank God that we have."
3. We in ourselves, and by ourselves are nothing, but Christ is
everything (John 15:5)! "He must increase, but I must decrease"
(John 3:30).
ILLUS: The attitude of John the Baptist should be the attitude of
every follower of Christ. John had become influential in
Palestine, but after he baptized Jesus the people began to
follow the Savior. Questioned about this, John stated, "He
must increase, but I must decrease."
C. S. Kirkendall points out that his principle of selflessly
advancing the cause of another was exemplified by
Edmund Halley in his relationship to Isaac Newton.
Halley, the man who predicted the return of the comet that
now bears his name, recognized the importance of
Newton's discovery of the law of gravity. He challenged
him to perfect his original idea and corrected some of his
mathematical equations. Halley then urged Newton to put
his ideas in book form. The work, Mathematical Principles
of Natural Philosophy, made Newton famous. What few
people know is that Halley edited and supervised its
publication and even financed its printing, though Newton
could more easily have afforded it. Historians today call
Halley's action one of the most selfless examples in the
records of modern science.
4. When we are willing to follow His example (John 13:12-16) to
serve as He served, loved as He loved, and forgive as He
forgave, then are we on the road to true greatness! There is no
greater example than His! Original ministries are the result of men
and women patterning themselves after the Son of God. -- Warren
Wiersbe, Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 1.
B. A JUDGEMENTAL SPIRIT (v49). The work was good. His was
delivering souls from the grips of Satan. They disciples scolded and
rebuked the man. Note the reason they gave (v49b—“because he
followeth not with us." Are we not guilty of the same today? If a
Church is winning souls to Jesus, if their attendance is growing, if
they are expanding their field of ministry, who am I to question their
methods? Just because they don't go about it the same way we do
doesn't make it wrong! Maybe they have a bus ministry, maybe a
children’s ministry or nursing home ministry or some other kind of
ministry; who am I to say they are wrong when God is blessing their
efforts? As long as they are true to the Word and reaching others for
Christ, I say PRAISE THE LORD!
ILLUS: Judging one another is Satan's trick to get Christ's soldiers to
destroy themselves. During the Peninsular War, an officer of
artillery had just served a gun with admirable precision
against a body of men posted in a wood to his left. When the
Duke rode up, after turning his glass for a moment in the
direction of the shot, he said, in his cool way: "Well aimed,
Captain, but no more. They are our own 39th!" This blunder
has been repeated sadly too often in the Lord's army. With
what fatal frequency have great guns of the church, which
might have battered down the citadel of Satan been
misdirected against the Christian brethren! --Choice
Gleanings Calendar
C. A REVENGEFUL SPIRIT (v54). The Samaritans did not receive Him!
Many today will not receive Christ or His message. Does that mean we
are to be angry with them? James and John's hearts were not right.
They showed a wrong spirit!
ILLUS: A lady was sick, so she went to the doctor. He examined her,
did a number of tests and told her the bad news.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but I'm afraid you've
contracted rabies."
The doctor left the room for a minute, and when he returned
the woman was busy writing on a piece of paper. He asked,
"What are you doing, writing your will?"
She said, "No, I'm making a list of all the people I'm going to
bite."
The spirit of A Christian is to be one of Love, Forgiveness, and
Meekness. Jesus is our example in Love (Matthew 9:36; Luke
19:41), Forgiveness (Luke 23:34) and meekness (Matthew 5:38-40,
43-48). But Notice what they wanted to do. Does this not show a
wrong spirit within them? (Romans 12:17-21). Notice How Jesus
reacted (v55). Jesus rebuked them of this type of spirit! It was a
rebuke borne out of love! Many times God does the same with us
(Proverbs 3:12).
(2) A WRONG SPIRIT WILL HINDER THE MOVING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN
THE CHURCH
A. SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS STUNTED. Why? :
1. Our Love is Wrong (1 John 3:14-18).
2. Our Forgiveness is Wrong (Ephesians 4:32).
3. Our Humility is Wrong (Ephesians 4:1-3; Philippians 2:3).
B. SEVERE DISTRUST AND HARD FEELINGS EXIST BETWEEN
CHRISTIANS. Our Lord Jesus said in John 13:34-35—“A new
commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have
loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know
that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” If we, as a
Church, cannot show the love of Christ one to another; how can we
share the love of Christ with a world in darkness? Love - the visitors in
church may not be able to explain it or define it, but they know when it
is there and when it is not. A man will get up, dress, pass fifty other
churches, and drive all the way across town if he knows that a warm
experience awaits him with love and true fellowship in the house of God.
For many, the love they receive in church is the only love they will
experience all week long. - John Bisagno
ILLUS: A visitor in a strange city was returning from supper when a
sign in a store front window caught his eye. It read "Chinese
Laundry." He made a mental note of the location because he
had been gone long enough to have need of a good laundry.
The next morning he arrived at the store with a bag full of
soiled clothes. He piled the clothes on the counter before a
shocked attendant. "What's that?" the attendant asked. "My
laundry," came the reply. "I've always heard that Chinese
laundries do excellent work." The startled clerk quickly
informed the visitor that the establishment was not a Chinese
laundry. "But what about the sign in the window?" "Oh, this is
not a laundry, it is a sign shop."
The church sometimes sends out false signals about its
purpose. Needy people bring in their dirty laundry only to
discover that the cross of forgiveness is only a sign and that
the attendants are not equipped to handle soiled lives.
To prevent this, we must have:
1. The Same Love (Philippians 1:27a—“Only let your conversation be
as it becometh the gospel of Christ..." If we don't love Christ and
love Him supremely divisions will occur! John Newton said, “What
will it profit a man if he gains his cause, and silences his adversary,
if at the same time he loses that humble, tender frame of spirit in
which the Lord delights, and to which the promise of his presence
is made! -- John Newton, from The Letters of John Newton.
Christianity Today, Vol. 33, no. 11.
2. The Same Spirit (Philippians 1:27b—“that ye stand fast in one
spirit...") Unless we are lead by God's Spirit, the lust of the flesh will
be followed! Thus hard feelings and resentments will result! The
word "schism" is a transliteration from the Greek schisma, which
literally means "a tear in a garment or a crack in a stone." A torn
garment is useless; it fails to accomplish its purpose of covering the
body. A cracked stone endangers the whole structure that rests
upon it. Paul writes that no member of the body should behave in
such a way as to render the whole body useless. The way to avoid
such schism is for the members of the body to help each other,
since they are capable of recognizing one another's strengths and
weaknesses.
3. The Same Mind (Philippians 1:27c—“with one mind striving to-
gether for the faith of the gospel.") We must covenant together in
prayer and following the moving of the Spirit in all matters relating
to the Church!
C. SORROWFUL DIVISIONS ANDCONTENTIONSWILL OCCUR!
ILLUS: John Wesley, a man whose bitterest enemy could not fairly
accuse him of indifference to the doctrines and faith "once
delivered to the saints," wrote thus liberally, and large
heartedly to a correspondent: "Men may die without any
opinions and yet be carried into Abraham's bosom; but if we be
without love, what will knowledge avail? I will not quarrel with
you about opinions. Only see that your heart be right toward
God, and that you know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, and
love your neighbors, and walk as your Master walked, and I
ask no more. I am sick of opinions. Give me a good and
substantial religion, a humble gentle love of God and man." –
Dictionary Of Illustrations
D. SOULS WILL PERISH! A wrong spirit will rob the Church of Her
power to win lost souls to Jesus Christ! WE are so busy with the war
within that we forget about the war without. Satan is battling for the
souls of man and Christ needs us all to fight the good fight of faith!
(3) A WRONG SPIRIT CAN BE REMEDIED
Psalm 51:7-10
A. A WRONG SPIRIT MUST BE REPENTED OF AND CONFESSED TO
GOD (1 John 1:9). Then and only then fellowship can be restored with
God! In Psalm 51, David found himself out of fellowship with God
because of sin. He realized God must first cleanse him before he could
enjoy God's presence again! We cannot have the joy of Salvation as
long as a wrong spirit is within us! (vv. 7-8).
B. WE MUST ASK GOD TO CHANGE OUR DISPOSITION. The reason we
hold on the wrong spirit we have is because we don't really want to
change! (vlOa). The Christian is daily being renewed in mind as he
yields himself to the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:1-2). When we won’t
yield our will to the Spirit’s will our wrong spirit will remain!
C. WE MUST ASK GOD TO GIVE US A RIGHT SPIRIT(v1Ob). What is
that spirit? It is:
1. A Loving spirit.
2. A Forgiving spirit.
3. A meek and understanding spirit.
CLOSING: "What Manner Of Spirit Are You?” Examine your heart.
Lamentations 3:40 says, "Let us search and try our ways, and
turn again to the LORD." Do you need a right spirit within? Until
the spirit is right within you, you are grieving God's Spirit and
hindering the ministry of this Church! Let us pray as David,
"Create in me a clean heart, 0 GOD; and renew a right spirit within
me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with
thy free spirit." (Psalm 51:10, 12)