His Spirit / Our Spirit

Can the Living Word Live in YOU?

Psalm 40:6  Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

God has never sought our obedience to His Word for unwavering legalistic reasons.  His purpose for our unwavering obedience has always been for our own RELATIONSHIP with Him so we might obtain His grace and mercy.  It is for salvation that Christ died, but as we see in the next verse, all scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, speaks of and draws attention to our Lord Jesus.  There is never an excuse to say that the gracious gift of God through Christ’s living sacrifice was offered so we can continue in our sins.

Man’s heart is desperately wicked always (Jeremiah 17:9).  There is no limit to how far it might fall if left to its own purpose.  God’s rules and instructions are to help us become as holy as possible so we might feel His touch and understand His instructions and promises.  All the fruit of the flesh drive God’s blessings and wisdom from us:

Galatians 5:19-21 - Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious):they are immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The fruit of the Spirit draws us closer, but those fruits require our consecration and dedication to His Word.  That consecration will separate us from the fruits of the flesh.  The fruit of the Spirit is:

Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,

 Gentleness (meekness, humility), self- control (self- restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law that can bring a charge.

Notice it says above that there are no scriptures that can bring charges against you if you observe these fruit of the Spirit.  A corollary of this is that if you observe these fruit of the Spirit you will be able to better understand and obey God’s laws.  If you can better understand and obey these fruit, you are MUCH less likely to fall into the sins contained in the fruit of the FLESH.

Psalm 46:7  (Hebrews 10:7)  Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

Every scripture points to Jesus.  Before the Holy Spirit could be given to man after Jesus death and resurrection made it possible, Jesus Himself was the incarnation of those scriptures.  Because He was the incarnation of God’s Word, it was His delight to do God’s will which was written in  His heart but it was not incorporated in His flesh.  Our born again flesh is not regenerated yet (we don’t have our glorified bodies…yet), and so we find a warfare within our selves.  Our spirit which is the real man has a great love of God’s Word, but our flesh hates it.

It is our responsibility to press into God’s Word and obey it just as it is our responsibility to crush our flesh and its non-scriptural desires.  Paul himself declared how difficult it is to keep our flesh under subjection and reminds us that there is a constant warfare within us (Romans 7:14-25).  The mere fact that fighting against these sins is difficult is not an excuse to stop fighting.  Jesus Himself fought these sinful passions and remained without sin while He was on Earth (Hebrews 4:15).  God’s scripture is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12) and able, with the help of our High Priest and Holy Spirit, to allow us to walk in the fruit of the spirit and not the fruit of the flesh.

 Psalm 46:8  I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.

Certain psalms and proverbs, like the one above, are Messianic.  They are prophetic scriptures that describe our Lord and Savior.  Jesus preached righteousness in the great congregation at Jerusalem.  He didn’t refrain from preaching because of fear or discomfort.  When Jesus cast out the money changers from the temple or chastised the scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypocrites, it placed His life in great danger which eventually cost Him His life.  He did not consider His life to be more precious than our need for a savior.  Only His death and His blood could wash our sins instead of merely covering them. 

Proverbs 16:25  There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Proverbs 16:25 is one of the most uncomfortable scriptures for those who have a weak faith in God.  God’s Word is perfect (Psalm 19) and yet many of those who profess the saving work of Jesus consider scripture itself to be a collection of suggestions and good advice rather than the uncompromising, authoritative, perfect Word of God Himself.  Because of our crippled belief and understanding of scripture we become like those in Judges 17:6 and 21:25 doing what is right in our own eyes. 

Notice it says, “There is a way that seems right to a man…”  We describe those who believe in abortion of innocent children to be ‘pro-choice.’  Those who are in favor of saving those lives are called intolerant bigots, religious fanatics and anti-woman.  In every circumstance you can invent flowery rhetoric to make your argument SEEM much more reasonable and caring than your opponent.  The problem with this thinking is that since God’s Word is perfect and unchanging, whatever argument you come up with goes against Him.  No matter how unreasonable you might consider some of His instructions and restrictions, they are given for our good and He expects us to obey them in love.

Romans 13:12  The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

There was a time when mankind could look toward heaven and wonder exactly what God wanted.  Only the priests or scribes could read and write and Bibles were non-existent.  Those days are gone.  Today, even the most remote tribes and villages in the various corners of the world have access to television and particularly, to the internet.  Almost every version of scripture as well as the original and its commentaries can be found free of charge on the internet.  We are in the daylight hours of the information age and if you are reading this lesson, you have access to every scripture and Bible help known to man.

In the midst of this light of knowledge however, we are also deep in the depths of spiritual darkness.  The Gnostics believed that knowledge drew you closer to God and that the more understanding and information you had, the more godlike you became.  Sadly, the Gnostics were one of those spoken of in the previous verse.  They had great knowledge of many things and that knowledge prevented them from truly understanding God.  Scripture is filled with special clues to prove the knowledge of God.  His authority cannot be doubted as long as you proceed with a desire to understand.  He has promised that honor to His children, that He will reveal great truths to those who seek Him.  This knowledge will ALWAYS agree with scripture however.

Romans 13:13  Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

I have seen all these things in the church.  A year after leaving Alaska I had to return to meet with some people.  When I arrived I looked up a church group I attended while living there.  Something terrible had happened during the intervening year.  Several of the leaders had changed the godly church fellowship into a church party.  From there it fell even further into drunkenness and sin.  Satan desires to sift us and cast us into the fire God designed for him.  He attacks us because we are the ones who can defeat him.  He has always been enamored of men’s flesh and will draw them away from the truth into his lie. 

Romans 13:14  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires

Christians who believe in living holy are frequently mocked and ridiculed.  Sometimes they try to be your friend and do all the things you do.  Lowering your standards is never a good idea.  I remember when I was a very young man before coming to God.  A friend was trying to draw me to church and wanted to spend time with me to encourage me to become a Christian.  He met me at a theater and decided to attend the movie with me.  It was not the type of movie any Christian should watch.  He didn’t know what the movie was about and watched it with me.  After the movie he looked like he was in a daze.  He left me mumbling that he needed to pray. 

Christians are supposed to be a strong tower for others to come to for deliverance.  We can’t allow our basic standards to slip so we might draw closer to the sinner.  God will bring them close if we pray for opportunities.  My friend forgot this and injured his soul trying to help me.  Perhaps it wasn’t a terrible injury, but we must guard our hearts above all else.

In his desire to win a soul (mine) he managed to pollute a soul (his).  There is a place for passion and desire and that place is within a marriage, not trying to create it by watching a perverted movie.  There is a place for many things that we manage to pollute or corrupt.  If we will put on the Lord Jesus Christ, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  He has promised to give us more abundant life, but in spite of our natural arguments, that promise is not through improper relationships or disobedience to His Word. 

God’s promises are sure and His will for us is more abundant life, love and happiness.  Sadly, few will discover this true life because Satan is doing all he can to point us toward a fake.  The darkness of greed and lust has replaced the passion of truth.  Take care beloved.  God is not mocked.  Believe in His Word and you will prosper.  Obey and rejoice in His Word and others will flock to you for what YOU have.