Wednesday, September 19, 2012

God in us


I am reading a course by A.W. Pink called "The Holy Spirit." In that course, Pink said this "The greatest blessing we possess is the indwelling Spirit let us seek grace to conduct ourselves accordingly." I thought that was a profound and true statement. We have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. How can we tell? One way is that you are still a Christian, you may have backslide more than once, yet you are back and continuing in the Lord. The fact is, the reason you came back is because the Holy Spirit will not let you go away utterly and completely. He will not forsake you even in the darkest hour, Pink said that as well.

Jesus said "It is the Spirit who gives life.." (John 6:63) When we become a Christian it is the Holy Spirit that does it, He gives us that spark of life, that seed of God, that causes us to be receptive of the Word of God, to recognize our need for Christ, He lead us to the foot of the Cross. He points us to Jesus Christ.

We did not realize the dire condition we weree in as unforgiven sinners before the wrath of God, and when the Holy Spirit lead us to Christ, we gained some understanding of it, but we continue to grow in awareness as we mature in Christ. It is the Holy Spirit leading us by degrees to overcome sin and walk toward holiness.

Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, when they encountered God, they would usually build an altar to commemorate their encounter with Holiness, they felt something special has happened here and they would build an altar. They would revisit that altar on occasions as well. Those altar were a forerunner of the Tabernacle, and the Temple. Places where God visited His people. The wonderful plan of God was that the body of each one of His children would be like those altars, and yet more. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.  1 Corinthians 6:19

Paul wrote this verse to correct the Corinthian church from their sexual immorality. He is telling them that the Holy Spirit is doing a work in them and He is with them continually, He does not come and go away like He did in the Old Testament era, no, when you have sex, He is there, when you steal, He is there, He is there all the time, Ephesians 4:30 says we are sealed by Him. That verse also says not to grieve the Holy Spirit. because when we do grieve Him, Christ is dishonored and we lose.

God should be treated better by those who He indwells, those who He lives in, the Holy Spirit is God. Our hearts should be grieved when we look back on the things we have done in our Christian walk. Some may ask how can you call yourself a Christian when you have done the things you have done? The answer to that question is that if you are truly sorry for the sins you have committed, you will truly repent and God will forgive you and you will continue your way with Him. On the other hand if you have no sorrow for your sin, if your conscience does not bother you (the Holy Spirit convicted you of your sin) and you mouth a prayer for forgiveness and yet continue in your sin with no concern, than you are not a true Christian. You have not bee born from above, by the Holy Spirit. But Christ stand ready to accept all and any who come to Him.

We need to hold before our hearts all the time that "a temple is a sacred dwelling employed for the honor and glory of God where He is to be revered and worshipped." (A.W. Pink)

To follow the Holy Spirit is life (Eternal life) and to follow the flesh is death (Eternal death).

This great blessing that we have from God, the Holy Spirit, let us honor Him, worship Him, lets us be reminded, as I was in reading this lesson from Pink, that we need the special and supernatural working of the Holy Spirit day by day, no, hour by hour. We are not our own we belong to Christ, and that means moving in a certain way, it means walking in a certain way. Which we can not do on our own but Christ told his Disciples and you and me as well, that He would not leave them (or us)  comfortless, but would send them (us)  a Comforter (Helper) like Him. Thank God for this wonderful blessing, the Holy Spirit who lives with us. As Pink said, let us pray for the grace to conduct ourselves accordingly. Our sin nature makes this a very necessary prayer request.

Let us be renewed in our walk with Christ, let us be refreshed by that mighty Wind of God, let us double our efforts to walk with Christ, to Love God and Neighbor, to pray, and to read the Word of God, asking the Holy Spirit, each and every time we open it up, to shine the glory that is on each page into our hearts and cause us to obey and live it, so as to please our heavenly Father, to resist the Devil and the World, and our own Flesh in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Be encouraged in the Lord, we have the Holy Spirit with us each and every second of each and every day,
Be encouraged, rejoice, give the Holy Spirit the respect He deserves, we need His supernatural working on our behalf, let us be " careful to keep prominently before us this fact, and as we do the blessed Spirit has His true place in our hearts and minds." (Pink)

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The work by A.W. Pink quoted in this study can be found at: http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Holy_Spirit

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