ICS Daily Devotions
Balancing The Word and the Spirit
Matt 25:3-4 (NKJV) Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
The biblical story about the ten virgins teaches us something about spiritual readiness. In everyday life, readiness is vital. A lighthouse must be ready for the storms that arise and guide the floundering ships that seek a safe harbor. Similarly, the churches should be ready when eternal destinies of multitudes are at stake.
There must be a balance between the Word of God and the move of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the life of the church in order for us to finish well in this earthly spiritual race. If we just have the Word without the work of the Holy Spirit, then we dry up because the Holy Spirit needs to work in our lives and the life of the church. On the other hand, we cannot just have the works and the gifts of the Holy Spirit because that would make us very unstable, as it is God’s Word that gives us a strong foundation. Therefore, we need to be established in the Word and led by the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
The” lamp” in the parable about the ten virgins represents the Word of God. We should be so well verse with the Word that we can rightly divide what is right and wrong. We should not just have knowledge in the head but truly live out what the Word of God teaches us. Our faith in God is established in the Word and it gives us an anchor for our soul.
Luke 4:18 (NKJV) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.
Jesus was anointed to do the work of the ministry. The “oil” represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The fullness of the Spirit upon his life was evident. He was empowered by the Holy Spirit and went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. Jesus was very strong in the teaching of the Word and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit was very evident in His life, too. The Holy Spirit empowers, energizes and renews our strength to serve Him. The Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, in prayer and the ability to overcome temptation.
Learning from the foolish virgins, we cannot just have the lamp without the oil, neither should we just have the oil without the lamp! But if we have the lamp and the oil, then we will not burn out as Christians. We will be able to serve the Lord with the gifting that He has given us and continue to walk with the Lord.
Therefore, we should learn from Jesus and be like the wise virgin who had both the lamp and oil in the vessel in order to finish well while waiting for the bridegroom to return. We should be the mission strategy center, to always be active in serving and reaching out to mankind. When we have the Word and the Spirit of God operating in our lives, then we will live a balanced Christian life and be focused on what He has called us to do.
We need to involve in what is close to the heart of God so that we are found faithful when He returns. We must continue to walk with the Lord and keep the spiritual vision that God has entrusted us with. The balance of the Word and the Spirit in our lives will help us to complete the race victoriously.
Sermon series: Our Church experiencing God Together (CG campaign 4)
