Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish?” (1 Samuel 10:6,9,11)
Ever find yourself thinking that there is no hope for you? I’ll never change! I will never be able to stop sinning or love others as I should. I will never walk as close to God as others seem to, at least not til I’m dead. The reason you sometimes think like this is because it’s true. There really is no hope for you. Christians are people who have abandoned all hope in themselves. The Christian message is not a message of self-improvement or renovation. We do not believe we can be renovated or refurbished. The Christian message is that we must die. The old ‘us’ is so far gone all hope is lost. It must die. Jesus offers us this death. In fact, He died for us so that we can die to ourselves. But it is in our death that we find hope. Out of the ashes of the dead us, new life springs up. Just like Christ suffered and died, and then rose again to a brand new life, so too, the Christian must die and rise again. Our hope is not in the old self or any kind of reformation of that old self. Our hope is in the new us. The new person that the Spirit gives birth to. Saul is a graphic picture of this. He was handsome and tall. Very good looking. Taller and stronger than all his fellow Israelites. There was hope for this guy. But it wasn’t enough. Before He could be what God intended him to be, the Spirit had to come upon him. And when the Spirit rushed upon him, Saul became, not renovated, not improved, but completely ‘another man’. There’s hope for you! He prophesied which means that He began to speak the word of God. The Spirit and the Word are inseparable. As the Spirit, through the word of God, began to dwell in him richly, Saul received ‘another heart’. Those who knew him before and after this new creation, were blown away by the change. They couldn’t believe it was the same Saul. This is your hope too. Today, go back to the cross of Jesus Christ and see your death. Then Pray that the Spirit of God will rush upon you. Memorise these verses and let them be in all your thoughts today. Patiently wait as today God the Spirit helps you put to death the old you and live in the new life. Others will notice the change even when you don’t. Above all else, know that this is God’s project and He will bring it to completion.