Scriptures: John 1:17, John 8:1-11, Proverbs 4:23, Luke 9:51-56, John 16:5-16, 1st Peter 1:13-15
Structure:
- Introduction
- Grace & truth
- Tenderness & Might
- Holiness & sanctification
- Conclusion
Introduction:
Good morning everyone.
Some of you may have paddled kayaks or gone rafting on rivers. You will know how powerful a river is. A river is life giving, flexible and patient. Water always finds a way.
In years gone by rivers were a means of transport, a highway of sorts. Boats would travel from place to place up and down rivers because the forest was too thick or the terrain was too rugged. When you travel on a river you need to respect the current; to cooperate with the flow of it. If you just drift and let the river take you, it won’t be long before you find yourself in trouble.
In some ways the Holy Spirit is a bit like a river. He is both powerful and life giving. Just as a river can carry us along to our destination, so too the Holy Spirit helps us in our journey of faith. However, we can’t afford to simply drift and let the river do all the work. We have to cooperate with the Spirit by reading the changing eddy lines and putting in some effort to guide our soul in the right direction.
Today we continue our ‘Anthems’ series. In this series we are looking at the lyrics of one hymn or Christian worship song each week to see how that song informs our thinking about God and how it connects with Scripture and the heritage of our faith.
This morning, because it is Pentecost Sunday, we are looking at the song Gracious Spirit, dwell with me. As the name suggests, Gracious Spirit is a song about the Holy Spirit. In particular, it is a prayer about cooperating with the ebb and flow of the Holy Spirit in the journey of becoming more like Christ.
Gracious Spirit, dwell with me was written by Thomas Lynch, a Nineteenth Century London church minister. Although Thomas’ congregations were relatively small his reach was larger. The quality of his preaching attracted theological students and thoughtful people who had an influence on others.
He died in 1871 at the age of 52. His last words were: “Now I am going to begin to live.”
There are 5 verses to Thomas Lynch’s song, each of which focus on a different facet of the Holy Spirit’s character. Verse 1 focuses on grace, verse 2 on truth, verse 3 on tenderness, verse 4 on might and verse 5 on holiness. (Verse 3 is not included in the Baptist Hymnal, so you may not be familiar with that one.)
These five facets are not the only characteristics of the Spirit; they are simply the ones Thomas Lynch thought were appropriate for the people of his day. All five facets align with the character of Christ.
What we notice is that the first two verses, about grace & truth, form a natural pair as do the second two verses, about tenderness and might. While the last verse, about holiness, offers a kind of summary or conclusion.
Grace & truth:
In the opening chapter of his gospel, John writes: For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
This tells us the Spirit of Jesus is a Spirit of grace and truth, in contrast to the law of Moses which has to do with obligation and guilt.
Grace, as we know, means gift. To receive grace is to be given something good, something beautiful that we don’t deserve. Grace is unmerited favour. Truth is the natural companion of grace. We tend to think of truth as the correct or right information and, while it is that, it’s more than that. Truth is lasting or eternal. Truth is a power, something that sets people free. Truth is also a person. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life.” Jesus, in himself, embodies grace and truth together. He doesn’t separate them.
The truth & grace of Jesus is like a surgeon’s scalpel. A scalpel may hurt but it also heals at the same time. All truth and no grace is like a hammer; it causes pain without healing. Likewise, all grace and no truth is like putting a band aid on an infected wound. It may be well intentioned but it doesn’t actually deal with the cause of the problem.
Everything Jesus did combined grace and truth. The grace & truth of Jesus, in contrast to the obligation & guilt of the law of Moses, is seen clearly in John chapter 8.
One morning, around dawn, Jesus was teaching in the temple courts. People were gathered around him listening when the teachers of the law and the Pharisees presented a woman caught in adultery. Straight away we wonder where the man is? According to the law of Moses he had to face up to what he had done as well. Sadly, the religious leaders’ intention was not gracious or true. Their purpose was to try and trap Jesus.
They made the woman stand before everyone and said to Jesus, ‘The law of Moses commanded us to stone such women. What do you say?’
They think they have Jesus between a rock and a hard place. If Jesus says, “stone her”, then he would be in trouble with the Romans because Jews had to submit Roman law. But if he says, “don’t stone her”, he would lose face with the people for contradicting the law of Moses.
Jesus doesn’t answer straight away. He bends down and starts writing on the ground with his finger. We are not sure exactly why Jesus did this. Perhaps he was being kind and giving his enemies a chance to walk away; de-escalating the situation in other words. But it’s also an act of grace for the woman. By writing on the ground he was drawing attention away from the woman and onto himself. I imagine the woman felt overwhelming shame and the last thing she wanted was a lot of men looking at her.
The experts in the law don’t take the hint. They keep questioning Jesus. So Jesus straightens up and says to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
This sentence embodies both grace and truth. Jesus had the power to expose the secret sins of his enemies – that is to major on truth without grace – but he doesn’t. Instead Jesus makes a skilful incision with his scalpel of grace and truth to release the infection and cleanse the wound.
One by one the truth dawns on each person there – the truth about themselves. As they remember their own sins, their conscience is moved. They drop their stones and walk away.
Eventually it’s just Jesus and the woman left standing there. Once again Jesus speaks words of grace and truth saying to the woman,
“Where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go and leave your life of sin.”
Grace and truth you see. Jesus does not condemn the woman. He gives her a second chance. But nor does he condone her sin. He puts her on the right path.
Verse 1 of the song reads…
Gracious Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would gracious be;
And, with words that help and heal, would Thy life in mine reveal;
And, with actions bold and meek, would for Christ my Saviour speak.
Meek is a word which describes strength with gentleness. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is great power under control. Jesus demonstrated meekness in his handling of the crowd who wanted to stone the woman. He could have smashed his enemies but he doesn’t. Instead he does the more difficult thing of respecting his enemies and helping them from within.
Verse 2 of the song, the companion to verse 1, reads…
Truthful Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would truthful be;
And with wisdom kind and clear let Thy life in mine appear;
And with actions brotherly speak my Lord’s sincerity.
Again we see the kind and clear wisdom of Jesus in his response to the woman in John 8. I am in awe of Jesus’ grace and truth. His calmness in highly pressured situations. His ability to know clearly what to do and the courage to carry it through without doing violence. We need the help of the Spirit to be like Jesus. Thomas Lynch’s song repeatedly asks the Spirit to dwell with us so that we would think and act in Christ-like ways.
We started this message by comparing the Holy Spirit to a river. The Spirit is also like the wind.
As Christians we are on a journey – it is the journey of becoming more like Christ. This journey is epic, like travelling from one continent to another. It is too far to swim. We need help. If faith in Jesus is the boat for getting us to the land of Jesus, then the Holy Spirit is the wind in our sails. But we have to cooperate with the Spirit. We have to pay attention to the way the wind is blowing and trim our sails to catch it. While the journey to becoming more like Christ doesn’t depend on us entirely there is some concentration and effort required on our part.
Tenderness & might:
Just as verses 1 & 2 of the song are companion verses, so too verses 3 & 4 go together. The Spirit of Jesus is both tender and mighty. Tenderness and might don’t look like they fit at first glance but, in Jesus, these qualities are a perfect match.
Verse 3 reads…
Tender Spirit, dwell with me! I myself would tender be;
Shut my heart up like a flower at temptation’s darksome hour,
Open it when shines the sun, and his love by fragrance own.
This verse of the song reminds us that the way to be tender and gentle is to guard our heart. Proverbs 4:23 reads,
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well spring of life.”
We guard our hearts by keeping temptation out and letting the light of God’s goodness and love in.
The importance of the human heart is found throughout Scripture. The prophets warned against having a hard heart and looked forward to the time when God would give people a heart transplant: removing their heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh, a soft and tender heart toward him. It is the Spirit of Jesus who softens our heart. It is grace & truth that makes us tender on the inside, at our core.
If you burn your dinner while cooking it, you might end up with some crusty stubborn charred food stuck to the bottom of the pot. You can try and clean this quickly with steel wool and harsh scrubbing. Or you can let the pot soak in water and detergent overnight. It takes longer soaking it but the hard stuck on food softens in the process and comes off easier. God’s Spirit is tender, not rough. He often takes the slow, gentle approach with us, letting us soak for a while to soften up our burnt crusty stubborn bits.
A tender heart is a necessary companion to mightiness and power.
Verse 4 of the song reads…
Mighty Spirit, dwell with me! I myself would mighty be,
Mighty so as to prevail where unaided man must fail,
Ever by a mighty hope pressing on and bearing up.
The Spirit of Jesus is tender and gentle but tenderness should not be mistaken for timidity or lack of courage. The might of Jesus redefines strength and courage. We’ve already heard about Jesus’ courage in facing an angry crowd in John 8 but there were many other times when Jesus’ might prevailed in non-violent ways. The might (or power) of Jesus is the strength to love one’s enemies and the grace to forgive. In Luke 9 we read…
51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village.
This story shows us Jesus’ might in keeping a tender heart. The Samaritans and Jews were arch enemies. Generally speaking, they hated each other. But that did not stop Jesus from reaching out to them. Jesus’ heart was tender toward them.
On this particular occasion one Samaritan village refused hospitality to Jesus and his disciples. Not all Samaritan villages treated Jesus in this way. Some welcomed Jesus.[1] The wonderful thing about Jesus is that he didn’t let rejection harden his heart. Jesus could have reacted in anger and called down fire from heaven to destroy them but he doesn’t. Instead he guards his heart, keeping it tender. That village rejected Jesus in ignorance and Jesus graciously moved on to the next village, without making a fuss. Can you see how Jesus’ might and tenderness go together? It requires real strength to be gentle and not take revenge.
Returning to verse 4 of the song, we see another aspect of might – the might of hope. The last line reads: Ever by a mighty hope pressing on and bearing up.
The idea here is that of patient endurance and tenacity. As I said before, it is a long road to become like Christ. It is the Spirit who inspires the hope we need to go the distance and not give up.
The Biblical images for the Holy Spirit, of wind and water, are helpful but they only give us pieces of the picture. Wind and water are powerful but they are not personal. We need to remember the Holy Spirit is a person. Wind and water cannot inspire hope in quite the same way a person can.
In John 16, the night before he died, Jesus explained to his disciples how the Holy Spirit would come to help them. Jesus described the Holy Spirit in personal terms as a Counsellor or an Advocate. The Greek word used here to describe the Holy Spirit is ‘paraclete’, which literally means ‘one who comes alongside’. Verse 13 of John 16 reads: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth… and he will tell you what is to come.”
I find it helpful to think of the Holy Spirit as a coach. If you’ve ever been part of a sports team you probably had a coach. A good coach comes alongside the players to inspire hope. A good coach gives the players a picture of future success. A good coach encourages and guides the players by speaking the truth to them in a way they can accept. A good coach listens and understands and motivates and gets the best out of their team by helping them to work together.
If we think of the church as a sports team, then the Holy Spirit is the coach. He comes alongside us to help us become more like Jesus.
Holiness & sanctification:
And so we come to the last verse of the song…
Holy Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would holy be;
Separate from sin, I would choose and cherish all things good;
And whatever I can be, give to Him who gave me Thee.
To be holy primarily means to be set apart for a special purpose. You might have a tea set or silverware that you set apart for special occasions. You don’t use it every day. That is holy in a sense.
The defibrillator on the wall outside the church office is holy – it is set apart for a special purpose but at the same time it is accessible to the community.
A surgeon’s scalpel is holy – it is sterilised and set apart for one purpose only, operating on people.
Your dinner table is holy – it is set apart for serving food. You don’t sit on a table because bottoms shouldn’t go where food goes.
Likewise, your toothbrush is holy. You don’t use your toothbrush for cleaning the toilet. Your toothbrush is set apart for cleaning your teeth.
Holiness also has to do with wholeness and integrity and good morality. As followers of Jesus we are set apart for God’s special purpose. That includes being set apart from sin but not set apart from the world. We are in the world to point people to Jesus and indeed to reveal Jesus.
In 1st Peter, chapter 1 we read…
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
The process of becoming holy, like Jesus, is called sanctification. The task of the Holy Spirit is to effect in us what God commands. [2] Our task is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the process of becoming holy.
So how do we become holy? How are we sanctified? The French Jesuit priest, Jean-Pierre de Caussade has some helpful things to say in this regard. [3] Jean-Pierre lived during the 17th & 18th Centuries. He basically said we are sanctified by doing the will of God, that is, by obedience to the Spirit of Jesus. This does not mean blindly following a set program of spiritual exercises. Rather it means being sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit and doing what the Spirit directs us to do in the present moment. Much like cooperating with the current of a river or trimming our sails to catch the shifting wind or taking the specific advice of a sports coach.
For example, if the Spirit is prompting us to be still in silence, then sanctification (being made holy) happens as we do that. If we try to read Scripture or pray out loud when the Spirit is telling us to meditate quietly, then our soul will emerge troubled. There is nothing wrong with reading Scripture and praying out loud of course. At certain times (when the Spirit directs) this is what we need to do. But it is not always the right thing to do. “All we need to know is how to recognise his will in the present moment.” [4]
And I guess that’s where it gets tricky. It takes time and experience to learn sensitivity to the Spirit. Sensing the Spirit’s movement is like communication in marriage. The longer you are married the better able you are to sense what your husband or wife is thinking. Or it’s like batting in cricket. You need to give yourself a few overs to get your eye in and feel how the pitch is playing.
The point is we are sanctified, we are made holy like Jesus, as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows us intimately and he knows what is best for us. We need to trust him and flow with him.
Conclusion:
Not sure about you but it often feels like I have a long way to go to become like Jesus. Progress seems incrementally slow. It doesn’t help to think too much about the gap. It is helpful to remember that sanctification is a process and it doesn’t depend entirely on us. We don’t need to worry about our past mistakes or the distance yet to travel. The past and the future are in God’s hands.
Our part is to obey the Spirit in the present moment. So ask yourself: what is the Holy Spirit wanting me to do right now?
Is it to sit still and rest?
Is it to pour out your heart in words and tears before the Lord?
Is it to take a walk outside?
Is it to ring someone who needs to hear a friendly voice?
Is it to listen to your husband or wife?
Or is it something else?
Let us pray. (You could pray this prayer responsively if you like)
Lord Jesus, you are generous. Help us to enjoy your kindness and pay it forward.
Gracious Spirit, dwell with me.
Lord Jesus, you are wise. Help us to be honest with ourselves and to listen.
Truthful Spirit, dwell with me.
Lord Jesus, you are gentle. Help us to guard our hearts and let you in.
Tender Spirit, dwell with me.
Lord Jesus, you are courageous. Help us to harness hope and go the distance.
Mighty Spirit, dwell with me.
Lord Jesus, you are enough. Help us to serve your purpose in the present moment, with love.
Holy Spirit, dwell with me. Amen.
Let’s stand and sing, Gracious Spirit, dwell with me. Make this your prayer…
1. GRACIOUS Spirit, dwell with me:
I myself would gracious be;
And, with words that help and heal,
Would Thy life in mine reveal;
And, with actions bold and meek,
Would for Christ my Saviour speak.
2. Truthful Spirit, dwell with me:
I myself would truthful be;
And with wisdom kind and clear
Let Thy life in mine appear;
And with actions brotherly
Speak my Lord’s sincerity.
3. Tender Spirit, dwell with me!
I myself would tender be;
Shut my heart up like a flower
At temptation’s darksome hour,
Open it when shines the sun,
And his love by fragrance own.
4. Mighty Spirit, dwell with me!
I myself would mighty be,
Mighty so as to prevail
Where unaided man must fail,
Ever by a mighty hope
Pressing on and bearing up.
5. Holy Spirit, dwell with me:
I myself would holy be;
Separate from sin, I would
Choose and cherish all things good;
And whatever I can be,
Give to Him who gave me Thee.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
Listen to the song ‘Gracious Spirit, dwell with me’. What are you in touch with as you listen to this song? (What connections, memories or feelings does the song evoke for you?)
Have you ever gone swimming or kayaking or rafting on a river? What do you remember about your experience of the river? In what ways is the Holy Spirit like a river?
How is the grace & truth of Jesus evident in John 8:1-11? Can you think of any other gospel stories that show Jesus’ grace & truth working together?
Have you ever been sailing or flown a kite? What do you remember about your experience of the wind? In what ways is the Holy Spirit like the wind?
Why is it important to guard your heart? How might we guard our heart from evil, while still allowing the goodness and love of God in?
How do Jesus’ tenderness and might combine in Luke 9:51-55? Can you think of any other gospel stories that show Jesus’ tenderness & might working together?
Have you ever had a sports coach? What does a good coach do? In what ways is the Holy Spirit like a good coach?
What is sanctification? How did Jean-Pierre de Caussade believe we are made holy? How might we recognize the will of God’s Spirit in the present moment?
Take some time each day this week to ask yourself: ‘What is the Spirit wanting me to do right now?’
[1] See for example John 4.
[2] Refer Stanley Grenz, ‘Theology for the Community of God’, page 442.
[3] Refer ‘Devotional Classics’, edited by R.J. Foster & J.B. Smith, page 230-233.
[4] Ibid, page 231.
Tawa Baptist 