The last few
posts have dealt with getting a more scriptural and true look at the Holy
Spirit. He is the power that drives the engine of Sanctification. In other
words, He is the Sanctifier. While examining the ministry of the Holy Spirit,
we focused our efforts at answering 3 questions: WHO IS HE, WHAT DOES HE DO,
and HOW DOES HE DO IT? The question, WHAT DOES HE DO, was answered by
developing a basic definition of the Holy Spirit’s ministry. Without going back
into the teaching, let us just state the definition we arrived at.
THE JOB OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT: TO EXPRESS CHRIST JESUS TO YOU, AND THROUGH YOU.
That sounds simple enough, but this process requires a life
time of effort by the Spirit. In other words, Sanctification will never be
completed while we are living here on earth. Yes, we will find ourselves vastly
changed and retooled as the process of perfection is manifested in us, but it
ultimately takes death to complete the work. Still, you can rest assured that
our story will end in grandeur and glory…as our earthly progression finally
meets up with our eternal position. The point where our progressive sanctification
meets our positional sanctification is a work of grace called Glorification.
One day we shall be GLORIFIED.
Beloved, now are we the
children of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that,
when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1
John 3:2
How fabulous is that? One day we shall see him (Jesus) as he
is…in that day “we shall be like him.” We cannot begin to imagine how great a
change that will be. Physically whole and well….just like God intended from the
beginning. Mentally appropriate and stable…just like God intended from the beginning.
Emotionally loving and patient…just like Jesus. Spiritually complete and free
from sin…just like Jesus. The glory of GLORIFICATION; that will be a site to
see, and an experience to behold.
In a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So
when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall
have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1
Cor 15: 52-54
Okay, very good then, the end result of the process of
Sanctification will be a GLORIFIED YOU!! However, we are not glorified yet. We are
still trudging through this process. And we still have one “Holy Spirit”
question to answer….HOW DOES HE DO IT?
How does the Holy Spirit do the job of expressing Christ Jesus to you and
through you? How does He take our sin burdened hearts and lives and
systematically change us? How does He direct our paths to those divine
appointments that make the big differences? How does He introduce the Bible in
such a way that it impresses our mind and our hearts? How does He convince us
to look beyond our pride and selfishness and see that God’s way is the only
way? How does He teach us to turn from attempting to please God by living the
Law? How does He take us from being a baby, feeding on milk, to a discipled
mature Christian, feasting on the meat of the Word? HOW DOES HE DO IT????
ANSWER-------I HAVE NO
CLUE!!!
There, I’ve said it…I don’t know.
And the truth is….neither do you. In fact, nobody knows how the Holy Spirit
does what the Holy Spirit does. In some ways we know “why” He does it, but we
can’t begin to verbalize “how” He does it. Therefore, I want to make two points that are VASTLY
important to your Sanctification process. The sooner you realize and apply
these truths, the better off you will be, and the more effective the Holy Spirit
will be in your life. Pay close attention here….here goes….
POINT NUMBER ONE – There is a GOD….and you ain’t HIM!!
It is the height of arrogance to
believe that a man can fix the heart of another man…We can’t even change our
own hearts. This is why the modern day approach and philosophies of humanistic psychology
and psychiatry are so asinine and off base…..THEY DON’T WORK BECAUSE THEY CANT
WORK. Let me put it this way, if we could DO anything to fix ourselves….we
would not have needed Calvary. Jesus would not have needed to come to earth to
be tortured and executed. The reason we need a SAVIOR is because we could not
save ourselves. Here’s what the Bible says…
I do not
nullify the grace of God: for if righteousness comes by the law, Christ died in
vain.
Galatians
2:21
It seems silly to have to bear out
this point, but in today’s Christian world it is necessary. The Church does a
great job in teaching that salvation is a gift from God. We can do nothing to
gain this wonderful gift, we can’t earn it, and we sure don’t deserve it. However,
when it comes to Sanctification, we somehow determine that we have the ability
to perform this act on our own…or at best, we need to
“assist” God...to do our part. For after all, God helps those that help themselves. The problem is that the Bible doesn’t teach these ideas at all. The truth is that we are just as dependent on God to perform our sanctification as we are our salvation. It is a job that the Holy Spirit and ONLY the Holy Spirit can perform. This leads me to point number two.
“assist” God...to do our part. For after all, God helps those that help themselves. The problem is that the Bible doesn’t teach these ideas at all. The truth is that we are just as dependent on God to perform our sanctification as we are our salvation. It is a job that the Holy Spirit and ONLY the Holy Spirit can perform. This leads me to point number two.
Think about it, isn’t that what Jesus did? Didn’t He come to break the power of the sin nature and atone for the collective sins of the world?
I know your struggling with a sin issue…maybe several issues…we all are. Addictions, anger, pride, lust, homosexuality, lying, and on and on....we ALL have besetting sins. While it is perfectly acceptable for you to recognize your sin issues, you were never intended to figure out a plan to overcome them. God doesn’t expect that from you. That’s His job.
I
love the song that says:
Give up, let Jesus take over
Give up, let Jesus take over
Give up, let Jesus take over
And He’ll make a way for you
Very
good then, it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to do deal with your sin, to sanctify you
and me. Our job is to get out of His way;
quit taking the job out of His hands, and let Him do what only He can do. Now
that I’ve repeated myself over and over, I want to clarify one point. It’s not
your job to fight sin…but you do have a job to perform…you do have a fight to
fight. Paul commanded Timothy…
Fight the good
fight of faith – 1 Timothy 6:12
We
do have a battle ahead of us, a goal to strive for, and a fight to fight. However,
it’s not the warfare we so often find ourselves fighting. Let the Bible explain
the Bible…
For though we walk in the
flesh, we do not war according to the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;)
2
Cor 10: 3-4
Now, I want to pull out
a very familiar passage, but I don’t want you to read it and do what most of us
have been trained to do. Don’t read the following words and decide you are supposed
to fight against the army of darkness. Read what it says…not what many
preachers have tried to make it say. We have got to let the Bible say what the
Bible says, not what we want it to say. Remember we are fighting the fight of
faith, not like the world fights…it’s a fight that is “of the Spirit”. Now read
the following…
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the
devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on
the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand, then stand.
Ephesians
6: 11-13
Now, what are we commanded to do here? Put on the Armor of God and
then….stand. Stand still and pray (verse 18)…that’s it. You’re not commanded to
beat up the devil or to defeat your sin issues or to war against the darkness. There
are two reasons for this: Number one,
YOU CANT WIN THESE FIGHTS. Number two,
JESUS HAS ALREADY WON EVERY FIGHT YOU WILL FACE.
All we are called to do is fight to keep our FAITH centered on the
fact that Jesus has already won the fight. Keep your faith centered on Christ.
Let me summarize this again…
1.
You’re not God
2.
Give up trying
3.
Jesus has already won your battles on the
cross
4.
Fight to keep your faith on His work…not your
own
5.
When you do this, the Holy Spirit can work miracles
in your life
Walk in the Spirit
It’s impossible to know how the Holy Spirit operates. That’s like
asking a person to define God and give 3 examples. We may not be able to know “how
He does it”, but we can rest in the fact that “He does it.” What we should be
much more interested in is learning how to stay out of His way. Living in such
a way that allows the Spirit to maximize His efforts, uninhibited by our meager
attempts to fix what we cannot fix.
Kenneth Wuest said the following…
“…just as Jesus never saves a person until that person recognizes Him a
Savior and by an act of his own free will puts his trust in Him, so the Holy
Spirit is waiting for the Christian to recognize His ministry, and by an act of
his free will trust Him to perform it.”
You and I need to pray for the wisdom it takes to surrender to the
will of Holy Spirit. We need to learn how to recognize His ministry and allow
Him to perform it. We have all heard the old cliché that God is a gentleman. He
will not barge His way into our lives and take over. This is true of the
Sanctifier also. If we should so choose to assume control of our lives, to war
against our sin nature, to fend off the enemy; the Holy Spirit will step aside
and allow it. He knows full well what the outcome will be, but He will
graciously step aside…if that’s what we want.
The reason He is willing to do this is simple. Sooner or later, we
are going to grow weary of struggling to roller skate uphill. Sooner or later, we will realize we cannot
win and we will give up trying, and let Him take over. This submission to His
will is exactly what He’s waiting on. And it’s exactly what we need. It is the
key to success in the Kingdom of God and the key to victory.
This I say then, Walk
in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the
sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that
you do not do what you want. But if you be led of the Spirit, you are not
under the law
Galatians
5: 16-18
Paul
pleads with us, “walk in the Spirit.” This does not mean…be spiritual. This is
a command to walk in such a way that the Holy Spirit can be your power, your
leader, your defender. Walk within the Holy Spirit. If we do this, an amazing
promise is ours…”and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” That’s
powerful friend!
How
do we “walk in the Spirit”? By fighting the good fight of faith. Keep your
focus on Jesus and not on yourself. Give up trying and let God do what only God
can do.
In
conclusion, I want to share one more verse. Within this verse, we are given a
hint on how we might
fight the good fight of faith.”
fight the good fight of faith.”
Likewise reckon you also
yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
our Lord.
Romans
6:11
First
of all, reckon yourself dead to sin. Reckon means to remember or recall….remind
yourselves. At the cross of Calvary, Jesus destroyed the power of sin. You are
dead to sin now…it has no power over you. Therefore, you do not have to live as
its slave any longer….REMEMBER THIS!!! Secondly remind yourself that you are
alive to God. Again, the Cross is the key. Because of the death of Jesus, you
are now alive to God. Dead to sin, but alive to God. Dead to sin, but alive to
God. If you remind yourselves of this daily, it will keep your faith in the
right place…off of yourself, off of the world, and on Jesus Christ. This is how
we win the fight of faith! Faith allowed God to save you, and faith will allow
God to sanctify you. It is our faith in the finished work of Jesus that opens
the flood gates of Grace in our lives.
Keep
Seeking the Truth
DAVID
No comments:
Post a Comment