“Oh, that the Lord would put his Spirit on !” - Numbers 11:29
There comes a point in the wilderness wandering that leading the disparate people of this needy and bickering tribal confederation overwhelms Moses. He complains bitterly, to God and anyone else who’ll listen. It’s actually Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, a Midianite priest, who first advises him to appoint leaders from among the people to help bear this huge responsibility (Exodus 18:21). God ordains this plan and calls Moses to gather the people at the tent of meeting, that God will come among them. “I will put some that same Spirit that is on you upon them,” God says. This blessing of the Spirit is an ecstatic experience and some of the anointed ones begin to prophecy, to proclaim the truths of God in the midst of the people. This is disconcerting for some, even Joshua, who calls on Moses to make them stop! Moses’ response?
“Oh, that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them all!"
His longing is poignantly felt to this day. Too many followers of Jesus are woefully silent about the lessings faith and daily presence with God bring to life. Too many of us are reluctant to share the life- renewing truth and goodness God reveals to us in Christ. A loud and legalistic minority have sought to commandeer the public voice of the church and claim to speak for all. And the response of growing numbers of people is to “steer clear.”
We lift this up as a centerpiece of our faith: that the Spirit of God fills creation and abides in each of us, in all people. In receiving that gift we are claimed by God, gathered and sent for the sake of the world. Oh, that all of us would embrace this, Moses cries. Not to become street preachers. But that every one of us would live from the place of grace we’ve experienced and simply share that blessing with everyone we meet, in everything we do and say. It’s the most winsome invitation to faith we can offer the world. I believe the people in Moses’ story could have prophesied at any time – could have proclaimed the goodness of God in the midst of the world at any time … that the God-breathed Spirit had been in them all along! Perhaps they didn’t feel they had the right language. Maybe they had never tried and were fearful of “the first time.” The good news is that Abiding Love’s Evangelism Team is addressing those very concerns in a great retreat/ workshop called Evangelism Now. We learn together how to share our faith story and to talk about our spiritual community in ways that are natural and inspiring. It’s coming up again in February. Watch for it and plan to join us!
Yours in God’s grace,
- Pastor Brad
