SUBJECT - THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT!! [3]
Last month, when I left off, I was beginning to describe the mentality of a lot of people, including some Christians, that gives way to the thought, that if God, didn't want them to do something, He would do what was necessary to stop them. What this is saying then, is if they do something wrong, then it is God’s fault for not stopping them.
If this wasn't so serious, it would be laughable. What they are doing is implicating God, in their sin. If He allowed it, then it either was His will, or He didn't care. Meaning, He will not punish them for it, because, to do so, would make Him unfair.
Think about this. What they don’t want to come to grips with, is the fact, that if they commit sin, it is on them, and them only.
The only way God could keep anyone from committing sin, quite frankly, is to kill them. And if that was His only option, then, how would mankind exist, seeing that we all are incapable of living a righteous life, the life He commands us to live? This is the thinking of someone that is listening to the flesh, and its reasoning.
Here is the danger of this type of thinking.
Thinking like this, keeps a person from repentance. And since repentance is the only thing that will put you back in right standing with God[righteous], failure to do so, opens you up to destruction, and shuts the door you have, to all the things God has provided for you. The bible says,
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And
2Chr 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
The Holy Spirit, seeks to keep us in right standing with God, but it is up to us to follow His lead. He urges us to first, see the problem, acknowledge it, then repent. But, you won’t do that, if you believe God is responsible for your indiscretion.
One thing I want you to notice, is the last 5 words of
2Chr 7:14 ......., and will heal their land.
Primarily, most Christians believe this to be a reference to their land, like the nation, their REAL Property, like Real Estate.
News flash!!! That is not the only thing this verse is referencing. What it mainly means is your personal life, and body.
Your life, and body, are your own land. They are what you own, and where you [your spirit] reside. Things that happen to you, in your body, and your life, are part of the effects of your needing to repent for something that you have done.
Find this hard to believe?? Think about this.
God says, If we confess our sin, meaning we have to acknowledge it, and repent, He
‘will heal our land. So, if your
‘land’[body, and life], are in turmoil, the first place you need to look, and the last place most Christians look, is at themselves. They will look all over, and at every thing, and rebuke the devil, on every hand, while they have an open door for him to come in, to destroy them.
The Holy Spirit, will always get you to look at yourself first, you know, clean your house up first, before you go out, trying to clean others up.
I preached a sermon once, entitled,
'Step Up to the Light' That message is on CD, available from Lulu.com. In it the message was, just like when you went out on that first date with that special someone, or to your wedding, you spent hours in the mirror, under the brightest lights you could find, to see and remove every possible blemish you could find, to make sure you were perfect. Yet, in your spiritual life, you don’t take the same diligence. We are afraid of what getting too close to Christ, will reveal about us.
When we refuse to look at ourselves first, we are following the dictates of the flesh, which essentially says,
‘It can’t be me, I’m perfect,’ That’s pride. Of course, we may not say we are perfect. What we will say is,
‘nobody's perfect!!’ That way, we give ourselves license to keep unrepentant.
But, that is just what the Holy Spirit wants, talking about repentance. Therefore, if God says
‘He will heal our land’ when we repent, and our land doesn't get healed, did God lie?? No!! Something is wrong, and it is not with Him.
You may ask,
‘Are all the problems we face, caused by our own sins?’ No!! But, when you are in right standing with God, your problems won’t be as severe, or last as long.
The Holy Spirit, will guide you through the storm, to victory. It will never overwhelm you.
Look at these promises from God in the old testament book of Isaiah.
Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isa 41:11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
Isa 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
Isa 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Isa 44:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
Isa 44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
And look at something Jesus said,
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Among these scriptures, and hundreds more, we can get the idea, that bad things happen to good people, and, good things happen to bad people. The difference is,
‘how serious will it get, how long will it last, and what will be the outcome??’ For the righteous, it will be something that will bring you to a place of victory, and give glory to God. It will make others wonder how you got ahead, while the rest, were overwhelmed.
This is His promise to the righteous. Therefore, if you are not seeing any change for the better in your circumstances, then you need to check yourself to see, if the problem is with you first, before you start looking elsewhere for the solution.
Many times you will draw problems by simply, standing up for Christ. The
Beatitudes [Mat. 5] says,
Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Now, what can you gather by the information that I just presented?
What you come up with is, ’how can I tell which circumstance I am in, is for my growth in Christ, or because of my sin??’ The answer is, you can’t, without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. For only He knows, which is which. If you ignore Him, you will end up, where the rest of the world is, and that is, in a fog of ignorance.
This nation, has chosen the credo,
‘separation of Church [God], and state’ as its foremost rule. Meaning it wants nothing to do with anything God says. And what has it gotten?? Chaos, confusion, loss of jobs, wealth, prestige, power, slavery to foreign oil producing countries, just to name a few. And what is our solution, as to the cause of the problem?? Those that stand up for Christ, the
‘religious right’ and those that support their views!!
God once said,
Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Knowledge, True Knowledge of God, and what He says, is the only way to achieve success [the way God intends for all mankind]in life. Anything short of that, will spell failure.
And the only one that can lead you where you need to go to achieve it, is the Holy Spirit. Without Him, you, by yourself, can do nothing but destroy yourself, and those around you.
Have you ever seen a dog chasing its tail?? He never catches it. He just keeps going around, and around in circles. That is what it’s like for man without the Holy Ghost. He just keeps going around and around, never getting anywhere. However, while dogs have no sense of doing what is right and wrong, man, suffers a different fate, because, as he continues to go in circles, he begins to go deeper and deeper in to trouble. It is like a screw. You keep turning it, and it keeps going deeper and deeper in to the hole you are putting it in.
I don’t know about you, but with what has just been revealed, I would be literally scared to have to go through life without the Holy Spirit guiding me, and my steps.
Next month, we will look at how He restores us, after we have been taken through the proverbial ringer.
***********************************************************************
HOME PAGE
NEWSLETTERS
TAPE LIST
HOME PAGE