Following the Dove
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:19-20
Those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue what benefits themselves. But those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities. For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set controlled by the Spirit finds life and peace. Romans 8:5-6
The world thinks of peace as the absence of something: a time without war, a time without noise, or a time without conflict. For a believer, Peace is a person, the presence of someone. Our ability to respond to this command of Jesus to release peace over a household is central in His instruction for ministry. It is tied directly to our ability to recognize the Presence of the Holy Spirit. It's hard to release with any consistency what you're not aware of. Consciousness of Presence will always increase our impact when it comes to influencing the world around us. So much of what we do is done out of ministry principles instead of out of the Presence. One of the mysteries of life is that a primary role of a believer is the stewardship of a person, the Abiding Presence, who is the Holy Spirit, the dove that remains. He is a person, not an it. When we reduce the joy of knowing God to the principles that bring breakthrough, we cheapen the journey. Those who desire principles above Presence seek a kingdom without a king. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace in Scripture. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, the person of peace. And that Peace that is a person is the actual atmosphere of Heaven. That is why peace is like a double-edged sword: it is calming and wonderful for the believer, but highly destructive and invasive for the powers of darkness.
"The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Romans 16:20).
That's quite an assignment given to His followers: release the person of peace when you enter a home, for in doing so, you will release the Presence that is the actual atmosphere of Heaven to yielded hearts while at the same time undermining the powers of darkness that are at work in that home. For that atmosphere is expressed through the person of the Holy Spirit. For Jesus, this was Ministry 101. A rather surprising place in Scripture to find Jesus' lesson for His disciples is in the story of Noah and the flood. There's one part of the story that illustrates in an Old Testament context what Jesus would train His disciples to do. So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself. (Genesis 8:6-9) Lets remember that the dove represents the Holy Spirit in Scripture. This is especially clear in the story of Jesus' water baptism. And here in the story of Noah we find an interesting description of Noah's connection with the dove. There is no other animal that received the same attention or had the implied bond with Noah as did this dove. The dove was released because he would look for a resting place. When he didn't find a place to rest, he returned to Noah and the ark. That is the picture given of the release of the Holy Spirit through the disciples as they go into someone's home. The implication is that the Holy Spirit is still looking for places to rest, and those places are people. When the dove couldn't find a place to rest, he returned to Noah, the sender. Once again consider Jesus' words concerning their release of peace to a home. If there's no one there to host this Presence,
"it will return to you" (Luke 10:6).
When the dove could find no place to rest, the dove came back. Noah put out his hand and brought the dove back to himself. It is interesting phrasing: "from himself " and "to himself." This is an Old Testament glimpse into New Testament ministry ... The [third] time he released the dove it didn't return. I believe for most of us this lesson is abstract because we receive so little teaching and experience in learning to recognize the Presence of God. Most would never know in a ministry situation if the dove was released, or better yet if He came back. It would be really tough to know if the Holy Spirit that was released from us is now resting upon someone. We state this not to shame anyone but to create hunger for what is legally our privilege and responsibility. We are to know the ways and Presence of the Holy Spirit so we can cooperate with Him in a way that changes the world around us. This is true ministry.
