One day Jesus was walking with His disciples. He was headed for Jerusalem. Jesus had sent messengers ahead into Samaria to reserve rooms for Him and his disciples. When those in Samaria heard that they were going to Jerusalem, they refused to give them rooms. The reason? The Jews and Samaritans hated each other. We read about that in the following story:

And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. Luke 9:51-56

So James and John, the Sons of Thunder, as they were called, had the idea to call fire down from heaven on their enemies! This sounds like many of us today! When someone doesn’t agree with us, or when they treat us disrespectfully, we are ready to “burn em’ for God!” But Jesus rebuked His disciples and said “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” What did Jesus mean? He meant that they didn’t realize that they were to walk in love. They did not see that Jesus did not come to destroy mens lives, but to save them.

What manner of spirit are you of? If you are a child of God you have been given a spirit of love, not fear. You’ve been given a spirit of power, not weakness, a spirit of a sound mind, not depression and anxiety.

In 1 Corinthians 2:12 Pauls writes and says

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

There is a major difference between how the spirit of the world and the Spirit of God operates. The Spirit of God shows us what is freely given to us of God. The spirit of the world, in contrast, suggests that we must do something to get something from God. Contrary to popular belief, “worldliness” is not drinkin’, smokin’, and dancin’. Worldliness is actually thinking you can do some kind of work to gain the gifts of God.

What has been freely given to you of God? Salvation, forgiveness and, righteous standing before God, and love from the Father, the gifts of the Spirit, and of the Son.

Any time you feel you must work for any of these things, you can be assured you are listening to another spirit, the spirit of the world.

The Spirit of God testifies of Jesus. There are many spirits that will argue and try to gain the upperhand in your thinking. In many passages we find them mentioned in the Bible: The spirit of fear, the spirit of the anti-christ, the spirit of the world and others too numerous to tell.

Any time you feel condemned, fearful, and doubtful about Christs finished work, or you feel you have to work to gain God’s grace, realize that this feeling is not coming from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit testifies of the finished work of Christ; by this you can learn to differentiate between His voice and the voice of any other.

Paul Rupe has served as associate pastor as well as a number of other positions in his local fellowship. Paul currently is web administrator for Gracespirations Daily Devotion an outreach of Teleo Ministries.

You can visit Paul online at http://teleoministries.blogspot.com