Conceived of The Holy Spirit
But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20 NKJV.
We’re all familiar with the passage in Matthew about the angel announcing to Joseph that his betrothed was with child. When I read that this morning, these words stood out.
… that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Wow! When we read the Bible we get a measure of insight. When we meditate we get a greater level of illumination. And when we study it, we receive even more revelation. That was my experience as I read those words and thought about them in regards to the culture of Joseph’s day, and how they might apply to us in our day.
That’s a powerful little statement, … that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
The conception of our Saviour Jesus was miraculous. It was a miracle of God. There’s no doubt about that.
Here’s a few thoughts.
- Presence. We must be in the presence of the Holy Spirit for conception to take place.
- Product. The idea, the dream, the possibility, the future, the calling, when it is conceived by God is a God-idea.
- Power. As it is of the Holy Spirit, it will always have His mark, His stamp of authority upon it, His mana, His trade-mark, His signature. It will be different from a good idea.
- Potential. What dreams, ideas, projects, callings, destinies can be conceived by the Holy Spirit if we will only become intimate with Him, and be in His presence, wait, linger, commune, and be with Him.
- Prominence. Jesus the Saviour was conceived of the Holy Spirit and His life changed the world. There’s a world-changing aspect to an idea/dream/project of ours when it is conceived by the Holy Spirit. It does what He wants it to do. It already has God’s blessing upon it.
- Possible. What can be possible when something God wants to do is dropped into our spirit? Lord, I’m a candidate for the conception of the Holy Spirit into my spirit. Ideas, projects, dreams, avenues of outreach for the ministry of my life.
- Perform. Joseph obeyed the angel of the Lord. We too, when a God-idea has been graciously conceived in us, must be prepared to perform it, to do our part, to do what we need to do, to fulfill His will.
One example of this concept in my life was when we were pastoring our first church in Timaru, New Zealand. I discovered I enjoyed teaching and presenting short seminars and series. I was thinking and praying about some kind of class, in the evening, perhaps a bit more extensive, with a focus on the Bible, leadership, practical every-day-life topics and the local church.
One afternoon I was in my office thinking and praying about this desire. Over the next two hours, the Holy Spirit gave me everything! The entire curriculum for a two year Evening Bible School program. I wrote furiously. All the topics and their order — Major Bible Doctrines, The Local Church, Leadership Development, Practical Christian Living – the night of the week it would be held on, the time frame, the sessions – 30 evenings a year, two sessions per evening – everything was clearly laid out.
It was amazing. A Divine conception. Basically all I had to do was prepare the sessions (the topics and timetable were all sorted), put out the brochure (this was back in the 1980’s) and turn up.
It also went overseas, as a number of people did it via tapes while living abroad.
That program, the Evening Bible School ran for a number of years and some of you reading this Brief Word went through that school. I thank God for you and for what it did in your life as part of God’s training.
I thoroughly enjoyed those years. One of the most fulfilling seasons of my life.
It was definitely not a good idea, it was a God-idea. It was conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Here’s my question to myself and to you? What ideas might be hidden in the heart of the Holy Spirit just waiting for that moment, when the conditions are right, for it to be conceived in your heart and mine? In a moment, boom! There it is!
I believe there’s projects, callings, service, business ideas, relationship answers, ministry outreach, books, training manuals, serving opportunities, the answers to unsolvable problems, the vision of how to move ahead with complex situations, the key questions to difficult counselling situations, what to do in retirement – they’re all there in the heart of the Holy Spirit just waiting for that moment of connection and intimacy when He will drop that life-changing idea into our heart.
Now without going into an anatomy lesson, allow me to explain some powerful symbolism. It’s necessary for the husband and wife to be together for there to be a conception. But it’s possible for them both to be in the same room but there’ll be no chance of any conception. One may be out of sorts with the other, so there’s not going to be any intimacy in that environment.
We too can be in the same room as the Holy Spirit but there will be little chance of an idea conception. The Holy Spirit is certainly never out of sorts with us, but we can be out of intimacy with Him. In that scenario there will be little or no conception.
But, when we keep short accounts with the Lord, maintain a clean and clear spirit, and when we just come to Him for the sheer delight and joy of being with Him, then, He loves to pour into our heart His ideas and conceive in us a God-dream. None of us are too young or too old to be a candidate for the Holy Spirit to conceive something in us.
And the thing is, He can drop an idea into our heart at any time, and anywhere. The Holy Spirit is like that. He can speak to us at any time, about anything, from anywhere, through anyone, or anything, in any way. He’s just like that.
Are you ready? Are you in a place of intimacy with the Holy Spirit? Are you walking and talking and working and worshipping every moment of every day, so that without warning He could drop into your mind and heart, something that is conceived of the Holy Spirit?
You could be the answer your employer is looking for. You could have the key to that stubborn ministry situation. Your idea might be the God-idea your community is waiting for.
Who knows what a God-idea, conceived of the Holy Spirit, can do for our communities, for our families, businesses and churches?
Before the angel spoke to Joseph about the immaculate conception, he said to Joseph, Joseph, son of David: he confirmed his identity and heritage. He said, do not be afraid: he deals with the fear of obeying and trusting God.
My friend, God will do the same for you.
Photo from www.gettyimages.co.nz
