It still amazes me. Years ago following a church worship service, a lady approached me saying, "I have something to talk to you about." She always did. But nonetheless, this time she was upset about something that was said during the sermon. She said, and I quote, "I can certainly have salvation without having the Holy Spirit no matter what you say."
Really? Did a professing Christian really just say that she could have salvation without having the Holy Spirit?
This lady was not really upset about what I said but she was really upset about the truth of God's Word. For that morning Romans 8:9 was read as a sub-point during the sermon. That verse reveals this truth: "You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." The Spirit changes us. When He takes up residence in our lives, He doesn't want just simply a little corner or our lives, the Spirit takes over the whole life. One point made during that sermon was that, as a Christian, when we sin the indwelling Holy Spirit convicts us to the point of confession & repentance. Without that conviction perhaps the question needs to be asked if the Holy Spirit is really living a person or not.
"The Spirit of God lives in you." This is an amazing truth. A truth that I admit I still cannot wrap my mind completely around. The Creator of all things, God Himself, Jesus, my Savior lives in me. That is the truth of God's Word. In fact that verse goes on to say that anyone not having the Spirit of God "does not belong to Him."
Is the Spirit of God living in you? Christian, are you under conviction when there is sin in your life? If you are not, I encourage you to read all of Romans 8 as well as John 14 & 16. These passages outline the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.
Embrace life in the Holy Spirit. You will not regret it.
Praying today for:
(1) Lake O’ the Pines community of Pine Harbor
(2) State of Minnesota
(3) Nation of Grenada
(4) North African & Middle Eastern Peoples throughout the World
(5) Romanian town of Comanesti
Last night during our discussion, the Holy Spirit hit me square in the face about a sin I was not wanting to deal with. If I revealed what it was, most people would laugh and say, "That's not bad at all!" But I can't listen to "most people" anymore. This sin is holding me back from becoming what He wants me to become, from spending time with Him and for Him. And ANYTHING that gets in the way of that is SIN! Please pray for me to stand strong and listen and respond as I should to the Spirit when He speaks.
ReplyDelete