The Holy Spirit Wants to Take us Further up and Further in
In The Last Battle, the last chapter of the seven book series, The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, the characters find themselves being pressed onward toward a grand finale. As they press onward the cry comes from Aslan, the symbol of Christ in the story, “Further up and further in.” As they press on, every time they would stop for a rest or to see the sights someone would cry out “further up and further in.” It was their battle cry as they pressed onward to a mystery they couldn’t explain. Finally, they came to the great Aslan and he assured them they had reached the end of the beginning of a great journey. As he spoke they realized they were in heaven itself or at least what we see as heaven.
The concluding words of the story bring their journey to a conclusion and hint at the destination we seek as well: “Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”
Today God is calling His people with the same message: “further up and further in.” Much of the church today is stymied by our slow drift into the realm of the flesh. Like the Corinthians, we are not yet able to consume spiritual meat because we are “still fleshly.” There is jealousy, strife, and much division between us, the sure signs of being dominated by the flesh (1 Cor. 3:3, 4; 1:10). We laugh away our denominational discord with a shrug of our shoulders and empty statements to excuse our behavior.
God calls us higher up. God calls us to venture further in. Paul said it this way:
Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature, let’s have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that to you as well; (Phil. 3:13–15).
Like Paul we should never be so smug that we think we have arrived at some pinnacle of faith. We must forget the past and always be reaching forward to what is ahead that the Holy Spirit will lead us into. We must press on toward the goal ahead that awaits us. What will that look like? We can never say because it is in the hands and heart of the Holy Spirit who has been sent to lead is onward and upward into the fullness of His will. To try to predict it is to rob the Holy Spirit of His divine guidance. Jesus promised:
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you (John 16:13, 14).
Many of us are in a state of shock due to the enemy’s recent attacks. It has stymied many of God’s people moving them away from faith into fear and anxiety. It’s time to forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead.
Everything in our world system is working to weaken our experience of Christ individually and corporately. We are bombarded with the world’s way of doing things in a self-gratifying, programed way of worship. We see church as a way to be entertained and have our spiritual ears tickled by “persuasive words of wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:4) and we have become cemented into a place that hinders us from progressing further in our walk with Christ.
The writer of Hebrews wrote “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name” (Heb. 13:14, 15). We are not dwelling in a permanent unchanging city but seeking the glorious one to come. This demands that we guard against becoming stale in our relationship with Christ and one another. We must press on into the newness of the Holy Spirit which leads us to praise and worship and serve the Lord in continual newness.
We have adopted the world’s music style, and its tendency to jump from style to style according to our fleshly desires instead of being moved onward and upward by the creative Holy Spirit who has been sent to lead us into fresh, daily experiences of Christ. We have abandoned our place as participating kings and priests to God in favor of the silent, head nodding attitude of spectators. It’s time to not only move on but to be animated spiritually in an atmosphere of continuous renewal.
Let’s invite our true Aslan to come to stay in our lives and rejuvenate us with His inspiring presence daily. Christ is continually making new wine to share with us and sustain us in these trying times. We must allow Him to make new wineskins to contain the new wine He offers so we do not lose it. The old, drab way of religion must give way to the fresh, living, exciting wonderful abundant life Christ promises us (John 10:10). What does that look like? Let’s walk with the Lord and let Him show us. I can’t predict what it will look like but I know it will be wonderful.
“Further up and further in.” Remember “Every chapter is better than the one before.”
