NUMBER ONE, 2021
In this issue 3
How to Waste Your Time This Year
6
Let’s Get Reacquainted with the Spirit
8
Jesus and Servant Leadership
charles r. swindoll charles r. swindoll steve johnson
11 Redeeming the Seasons of Life
insight for living ministries
Purposeful Living 12 Purpose to Live a Spirit-Filled Life steve johnson
Beyond the Broadcast 14 What Does Being "Filled With the Spirit" Mean?
Puzzle 15 Life in the Spirit versus Life in the Flesh Insights is published by Insight for Living Canada, the Bibleteaching ministry of Charles (Chuck) R. Swindoll. Chuck is the senior pastor-teacher of Stonebriar Community Church in Texas. His international radio program Insight for Living has aired for more than 40 years. We hope this publication will instruct, inspire, and encourage you in your walk with Christ. Copyright Š 2021 Insight for Living Canada. All rights reserved. No portion of this monthly publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the publisher. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture passages are taken from the NLT. Unless otherwise noted, photography and illustration by Tim Schellenberg. IFLC is an autonomous ministry and certified member of the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities. Printed in Canada.
HOW TO WASTE YOUR TIME THIS YEAR by charles r. swindoll
Cover & Article Photo: Laura Chouette on unsplash.com
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ith the dawning of a new year secret you won’t want to forget this new comes a deluge of resolutions, year. If you plan all this right, you’ll be reminders, and exhortations. They all loaded with a full pack of worries long follow similar how-to themes—how to before February comes. Start now! Those increase your efficiency, how to make every potential ulcers need fresh acid. moment count, how to invest your time Second, make hard-and-fast predictions. wisely and productively. Why not? A whole new year is in front of Well, just for some tongue-in-cheek you. Your date book is empty and ready to fun, I’d like to take the opposite tack. I’m fill with detailed plans. Of course, you’ll going to tell you how to waste your time. need to ignore that little throwaway line in That’s right, if you follow this advice, you the fourth chapter of James: will make absolutely no progress this year. Come now, you who say, “Today or Guaranteed! tomorrow we will go to such and such a First, worry a lot. Start worrying earlier city, and spend a year there and engage in the morning and intensify your anxiin business and make a profit.” Yet you ety energy as the day passes. Short on a do not know what your life will be like supply of things to worry about? Check tomorrow. (13-14 NASB, emphasis added) the newspaper, televiForget this verse, and sion, or Internet. You’ll chisel your expectations Beware of the timehave enough bad news, in stone, convinced that wasters! Instead, pray things will turn out just doomsday reports, more than worry. Be like you plan. human tragedies, and late-breaking calami- flexible. Give more. Be Third, fix your attenties to keep your heart tion on getting rich. With content with the way and mind churning all this mindset, you’ll fit God made you. And let right in with most of the through the night. the oil of forgiveness hype that’s pouring out Something I have loosen your grip on of entrepreneurial semifound helpful in my own worry world is to do a nars and upbeat sales those grudges. lot of reflecting on my meetings. Make certain failures and mistakes. If you’re a parent, to get your ideas about money from the secthink long and hard about what you should ular bookshelves, and definitely don’t pay or could have done for your children. That attention to men like Solomon, who wrote: will give guilt the green light it’s been waitDo not weary yourself to gain wealth, ing for. To add a touch of variety, you might Cease from your consideration of it. also call to mind some things you should When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. not have done. Regret fuels worry in many For wealth certainly makes itself wings creative ways. Like an eagle that flies toward the Do you need a few other categories to heavens. (Proverbs 23:4–5) camp on? The things you don’t like about I mean, what does Solomon know about your marriage or your job. The possibil- money and contentment and consequences? ity of a leaky roof, car trouble, and aging. Fourth, compare yourself with othHanging around negative people is another ers. Here’s another surefire time-waster.
Not only will you ricochet between the extremes of arrogance and discouragement, you will spend another year not knowing who you are. If external beauty happens to be your thing, comparing yourself to the latest Hollywood hulks ought to help you men... and those gorgeous models they plaster on the covers of Vogue will do nicely for you women. The next 12 months will be a humdinger so long as you keep your gaze on the horizontal. A quick tip—have the Valium ready. Fifth, lengthen your list of enemies. Playing the Blame Game will keep your wheels spinning more than any other activity. Your skill at this game should improve with age because the longer you live the more ammunition you have. With a full arsenal of suspicion, paranoia, and resentment, you can waste endless evenings rehearsing your feelings of hate as you stew over those folks who have made your life miserable.
There you have it, five proven time-wasters. Put these suggestions into motion, and your new year could set records in wasting valuable time. But on the other hand, who wants to do that? No one aims to run in circles—it just happens. So, let’s get serious. Beware of the time-wasters! Instead, pray more than worry. Be flexible. Give more. Be content with the way God made you. And let the oil of forgiveness loosen your grip on those grudges. In other words, make this year your most productive ever. Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, The Finishing Touch: Becoming God’s Masterpiece (Dallas, Tex.: Word, 1994), 14–15. Copyright © 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved.
Laughter, Volume 1: Chuck’s Prescription for Joy SINGLE CD MESSAGE
CHUCK PRESCRIBES LAUGHTER FOR DEVELOPING A LIFE OVERFLOWING WITH JOY.
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LET’S GET REACQUAINTED WITH THE SPIRIT by charles r. swindoll
Article Photo: Joseph Barrientos on unsplash.com
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et’s face it; most of us are intrigued • He indwells all who have been converted by the Holy Spirit. Like moths, we are • He seals us, keeping every believer securely in the family of God attracted to the warmth and the light of Though the Spirit is constantly workHis flame. Our desire is to come closer... to draw nearer, to know Him more fully ing, most (yes, most) Christians you and and intimately, to enter into new and I know have very little dynamic or joy in stimulating dimensions of His work- their lives. Just ask them. They long for ings...without getting burned. I know depth, for passion, for a satisfying peace that is true of me, and I suspect you often and stability instead of a superficial relationship with God made up of words feel the same. The Spirit is interested in transforming without feelings and struggles without us from the inside out. Flying closer to the healings. Surely there is more to the flame sets that in motion. He is at work life of faith than church meetings, Bible study, religious jargon, and in dozens of different ways, periodic prayers. Surely some of them supernatural. The Spirit is the awesome Spirit of God Flying closer to the flame interested in wishes to do more within makes us acutely aware transforming us from us than what is presently of that. He is interested in showing us the Father’s the inside out. Flying going on! There are scars will and providing us with closer to the flame He wants to remove. There the dynamics necessary sets that in motion. are fractured feelings He wants to heal. There are for experiencing satisfaction, joy, peace, and contentment in spite insights He longs to reveal. There are proof our circumstances. Flying closer to the found dimensions of life He would dearly flame gives us the correct perspective for love to open up. The Spirit is the comforting Helper. entering into those (and so many other) experiences. Isn’t it time we flew closer to He is the Truth-Teacher, the will-ofthe-Father Revealer, the Gift-Giver, the the flame? I think it is, but before we can do that Hurt-Healer. He is the inextinguishable we need to get reacquainted with the flame of God, my friend. HE IS GOD. To Spirit because too many Christians have a remain at a distance from Him is worse vague notion of His work and ministry. To than wrong; it is downright tragic. Flying many, the Spirit is still the divine “It.” He closer to the flame, therefore, is better isn’t an “it”; He’s a person actively work- than good; it is absolutely magnificent. ing in every believer’s life. Here are a few quick facts about the Spirit: Adapted from Flying Closer to the Flame: A Passion for the Holy Spirit (Dallas: Word, 1993), • He is God—co-equal, co-existent, and 14-15, 21, 26-27. Copyright © 1993 by Charles R. co-eternal with the Father and the Son Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. • He possesses all the attributes of Deity • He regenerates the believing sinner • He baptizes us into the universal body of Christ
JESUS AND SERVANT LEADERSHIP by steve johnson
Article Photo: Alfaz Sayed on unsplash.com
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ny series on biblical leaders focusing on important characteristics and qualities for leadership must begin with Jesus, the greatest of all leaders. There are so many outstanding leadership qualities and skills Jesus exhibited but I will only focus on one—His servant leadership. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26–28). Diving a little deeper we see that Jesus’ excellence as a servant leader is the outcome of several qualities and characteristics that coalesce into servant leadership. I believe all of us can become better servant leaders by cultivating these same qualities and characteristics. It is crucial and foundational that to be a true servant leader like Jesus we must love people like Jesus did. This is not as obvious as it seems. Many leaders and leadership writings focus on the style, strategies, and techniques of leading with the result that they lead by manipulation and with arrogant disdain, not love, for their followers. Without love for those who follow, serving as a leader can be soured by resentment and even tyranny. And in the end, we will
not be servant leaders and will gain nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3). Loving those we lead means seeking their highest good. The corollary to this we see in Jesus is that He is not preoccupied with personal recognition and applause. “…The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others” (Matthew 20:28). He is “others-oriented.” Rather than considering how others can serve Him and His agenda He considers how He can serve others for their highest good. The higher the leadership position, the great the number of people the leader must serve. This is one thing that makes true servant leadership difficult. Jesus could love and serve others because of His humility. He was humble because He recognized and understood who He was and why He was there. “Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him” (John 13:3–5). Humility to be a servant leader does not come from thinking we are better than others, or can lay claim to some man-made
title. It comes from recognizing who we glorify the Father not Himself. He knew are, as one under the sovereignty of God who He was and why He came and He was gifted by Him for the task of leading. This completely aligned with that. Paul described it this way, “…although does not make us better than those we lead, just different with a different gifting, He existed in the form of God, [Jesus] did allotment of role, and purpose. Jesus knew not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied this about Himself. Jesus could love and Himself, taking the form Because of His of a bond-servant, and humility He was able serve others because being made in the likeness to empower others of His humility. He of men” (Philippians 2:6–7 and sacrifice for them was humble because NASB). Jesus brought rather than seeking He recognized and glory to the Father by their followership to empower and sacrifice understood who He was serving Him perfectly in to earth to serve for Him. His humble and why He was there. coming the world through His act of servant leadership in washing His disciples’ feet was an sacrificial life and death. If we have our own agenda rather than act of equipping and empowering them to be servant leaders. “And since I, your Lord fulfilling the will of God first and foreand Teacher, have washed your feet, you most, or we have self-glory in view, or an ought to wash each other’s feet. I have arrogant sense of entitlement because given you an example to follow. Do as I we are the leader, then we cannot be a servant leader like Jesus. A Christian serhave done to you” (John 13:14–15). All these elements to Jesus’ success as vant leader puts the glory of God first, and a servant leader are ultimately derived humbly accepts the task and responsibilfrom His absolute love for, and submis- ity of loving and leading others. sion to, His heavenly Father. “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of Steve Johnson is the executive director at Insight for God who sent me, not to do my own will” Living Canada. (John 6:38). He was able to love and serve the Father and people because He came to
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REDEEMING THE SEASONS OF LIFE by insight for living ministries
Article Photo: Ingmar on unsplash.com
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ome years ago I surprised my family by “time” refers not to a lifetime but to a season taking them to “Disney on Ice.” When of life or “opportunity.” In other words, we I pre-purchased the tickets, the salesper- should make the most of the season of life we son warned me that they offer no refunds. find ourselves in right now. But instead, children want to grow up, sin“Fine,” I said and scribbled the date and time gles want to marry, couples want kids, and the on my calendar. As the date approached, I watched my aged miss the good old days. In each season of daughters’ excitement reach a fever pitch. life we tend to pine for the blessings of other Not even my wife knew what the surprise seasons—both future and past—and we miss the opportunities of today. was. As it turned out, neither did I. Imagine this was your last winter. What When we approached the coliseum on the big day, my eyes widened in horror. I saw would you do? Would you build a snowman families exiting the show! I thought the time just because you could? Would you enjoy a roaring fire and a good I’d written down meant In each season of life book? Would it make a when to leave for the difference if you knew show, but it meant when we tend to pine for this was your last winter? the show started! My mind the blessings of other You bet it would. darted back to the salesTake the same attitude person’s ominous words: seasons—both future and past—and we miss the toward the seasons of “No refunds.” After recovery, I considopportunities of today. life. In what season do you find yourself now? ered how we can miss the very blessings we long to enjoy in life if we A mother of young children? A single? An seek them too late. When opportunity passes, empty-nester? When time with your children passes, it never returns. Once the chance we get no refunds. God’s Word helps us anticipate the oppor- lapses to serve God as a single, it may not tunities instead of recognizing them later come again. Perhaps you must admit to some wasted with regret. The Apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise years. I know I can. But we can begin to men but as wise, making the most of your walk wisely this year. God gives time as a gift—a gift we should use to the fullest. But time,” (Ephesians 5:15–16 NASB). Careful living requires “making the most remember, last year gives no refunds. So of every opportunity” (5:16 NIV) or, literally, redeem the time! redeeming the time. In Paul’s day, the term translated as “redeem” was used when a Taken from Wayne Stiles, “Redeeming the Seasons of person would completely buy out a product Life,” Insights (January 2007): 2. Copyright © 2007 in the market. And the word translated as Insight for Living. All rights reserved worldwide.
PURPOSE TO LIVE A SPIRITFILLED LIFE by steve johnson
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od’s desire for every believer is for us to be like Jesus in every thought, word, and deed. Sound impossible? In our own strength it is. The power that gives us supernatural enablement to exhibit the character of Christ and to live day by day according to God’s Word is called “the filling of the Spirit” or “the leading of the Spirit.” Believers who are filled with the Spirit are “spiritual” and believers who don’t, or who live according to the impulses of the flesh, are called “carnal,” (1 Corinthians 3:3 KJV). If we are going to live purposefully, the most important command and priority for every believer each day of our Christian life is Ephesians 5:18, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.” This is the key to living like Christ and for all
purposeful living. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, He produces His fruit in our lives: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). In Ephesians 5:18 the contrast and comparison to being drunk illustrates the idea that we are to be influenced by the Holy Spirit. When we are under the influence of something, we will say and do things we normally wouldn’t. This is exactly what the filling of the Spirit produces—thoughts, attitudes, and conduct that are not normal— that is, not according to the sinful nature. This command to be filled is not a oncefor-all command, it’s continuous. It is something we are to keep doing. It literally means “keep on being filled.” Being filled with the Spirit is to be repeated again and again throughout our Christian lives.
Living under the influence of the Spirit God’s Word. The Spirit uses the Word to is essential. And yet we are dependent transform our beliefs and behaviours and on the Spirit to fill us. What then is our bring us more and more under His influence. responsibility? This means we need to get into the ScripHave you ever done or said something ture and, more importantly, get the Scripto a spouse or close friend you knew was ture into us. We need to bathe our minds wrong and hurt them? Afterward you feel in Scripture through study, memorization, disconnected and the conversation is awk- and meditation so we are transformed. ward and artificial. That illustrates how it is “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of in our relationship to the Lord when we sin. this world, but let God transform you Our sinning grieves the indwelling Holy into a new person by changing the way Spirit, squelching His work and presence you think. Then you will learn to know (Ephesians 4:30). We feel disconnected, God’s will for you, which is good and joyless, and are powerless. We don’t sense pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) the presence of the Lord like before. Finally, we need to cultivate our relationWhen we sin we need to repent so the ship to the Lord through prayer so that power to live like Christ is the influence of the Holy restored. Repenting of any Spirit is increasingly allLiving under the known sinful thoughts, influence of the Spirit pervasive. While all believwords, or deeds, as well as ers have the Spirit of God is essential. And yet we in them, not all believers any omissions on our part are dependent on the are under His influence to to do the things we know we should have done, is the same extent. The more Spirit to fill us. the first requirement to pervasive the Spirit’s influbeing filled. ence, the more Jesus shines through. We also need to ask the Spirit of the Lord “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever to show us other areas we may be blind to the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. but that are hindering His work in our lives. So all of us who have had that veil If He brings things to mind and convicts of removed can see and reflect the glory sinful things after praying, we need to deal of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the with them by admitting them, repenting of Spirit—makes us more and more like them and, where necessary, make restituhim as we are changed into his glorious tion for them. image.” (2 Corinthians 3:17–18) We need to yield ourselves to the Lord and recommit ourselves to trusting and Steve Johnson is the executive director at Insight for obeying Him. Going forward we need to Living Canada. deal with our sin right away. To paraphrase Paul from Ephesians 4:26, do not let the sun go down on your sin. It is too easy to put it off and then forget about it and settle into a relationship with the Lord that is carnal, lukewarm, and blasé. The influence of the Spirit is directly related to our knowledge of the truth of
“Our Father and our Saviour have not left us without a Comforter. Though the work of the Holy Spirit is not as well-known or wellarticulated or defined as the work of the Father and Son, we do need to be aware of what the Spirit of God does and the role He plays—including the all-important subject of His filling.” — CHUCK SWINDOLL
What Does Being “Filled with the Spirit” Mean?
A gas-powered car won’t drive without fuel. No matter how new its engine, glossy its paint, or state-of-the-art its design; to achieve its purpose, fuel must power the engine to rotate the wheels and move the vehicle from point A to point B. Same with steam engines and heat. No heat—whether from coal or wood or oil— means no movement. Just as humans designed these engines to run on fuel and heat, God designed people to run on fuel—physical and spiritual fuel. Water and food power our fleshly bodies. But what about our spirits? That’s where His Spirit comes in. Relying on our own energy, we can’t drive ourselves in the way God intends. Rather, we must depend on fuel only He can give. While the “mind of Christ” shapes our perspective (1 Corinthians 2:16), the presence of the Holy Spirit abides with our spirit, enabling and empowering us to love as God loves (Romans 5:5). The New Testament describes this spiritual combustion as “being filled with the Spirit.” Chuck Swindoll teaches us what
this means as he walks through one of the most important biblical passages for living out the Christian life practically: Ephesians 5:15–21. Many think the Spirit’s sole responsibility is to perform miracles, like when Peter commanded the paralyzed man to walk or when Paul touched a handkerchief that then healed any who grazed it. But these miracles do not occur in the everyday lives of most Christians. Instead, the normal activity of the Spirit comes in the form of divine enablement so you can live like Jesus every day. With that in mind, take a moment to pray for the Spirit’s enablement during this study—that you may profit from what you learn and use it to glorify Jesus in your life. In Christ we have the key. With the Spirit, we have the fuel. His energy works far better than our own. Above, we discussed how that power flows through us and why it’s so vital that we rely on the Spirit every day. Because the world needs it and our joy depends upon it.
“What Does Being ‘Filled with the Spirit’ Mean?” is from Chuck Swindoll’s series How Great Is Our God! You can stream this message online anytime at insightforliving.ca/audiolibrary.
Puzzle — Word Search
Life in the Spirit versus Life in the Flesh Difficulty ● ● ● ○ There are 30 words from Galatians 5:13–26 (NIV) hidden in this puzzle. Half of the words are from verses 19 through 21 and reflect life in the flesh. Nine of the words are from verses 22 to 24 and reflect life in the Spirit. In addition, six words are from Galatians 5:13–18 and 24: FREEDOM, FLESH, SPIRIT, LAW, CHRIST, JESUS. Words may be in any direction.
C R K E H D S Y D F D F G E I A O R G I E S S U R P A E O C M P Y U Y R N U I E S I A C O Q M J Y C T R O D E F T E L N D Q O A S A H L T D N H L O J A N Y R D H S A R O A F E R E U R E A A F P E E M I U L T S W S A S M L B J F S N L S N O I S N E S S I D L E F N N O T T D P E B F L T Y K O E Y C E C J E I G R D A Y T G S V F B H K A G G A O T W F I S N L E C V C N X J R F I A L R E E L R D E B A U C H E R Y E U S F A C T I O N S R V O I B S P W F D R O C S I D D D Y P Y H M T S S E N E L T N E G G S B M I
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Insights magazine subscribers are invited to submit their completed puzzles by mail, email, or fax for a chance to win a Swindoll Study Bible. Each month from January 15, 2021 to October 31, 2021 there will be a new puzzle challenge with another opportunity to gain a contest entry. Completed puzzles received before November 12, 2021 will be entered into a draw. One grand prize winner will be selected by random draw and notified by email or phone. Contest entries are limited to one per household, per puzzle. Open only to legal residents of Canada who are of legal age of majority in the jurisdiction in which they reside, and at least 18 years of age at the time of entry. Not open to Quebec residents. Not open to Insight for Living Canada staff or their immediate family. Mathematical skill testing question to be answered correctly to win. No purchase necessary. Puzzle solutions will be posted at insightforliving.ca/puzzle at a later date. Mail: 1-30445 Progressive Way Abbotsford BC V2T 6W3 // Email: info@insightforliving.ca // Fax: 1.604.870.8743
Thank You Together we share God’s Word and anticipate the transformation, joy, and peace He promises to bring about when His word is sent out. Thank you for contributing towards our year-end financial goal, and for your ongoing prayers. Witnessing the miracle of transformed lives is a marvellous sight!