…tarry in the city of
Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. —Luke 24:49
“The disciples had to tarry,
staying in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost, not only for their own
preparation but because they had to wait until the Lord was actually glorified.
[…] The statement in John 7:39— “…for the Holy Spirit was not yet given,
because Jesus was not yet glorified”— does not pertain to us. The Holy Spirit
has been given; the Lord is glorified— our waiting is not dependent on the
providence of God, but on our own spiritual fitness.[…] The attitude of
receiving and welcoming the Holy Spirit into our lives is to be the continual
attitude of a believer. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive reviving
life from our ascended Lord. It is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit that
changes people, but the power of the ascended Christ coming into their lives
through the Holy Spirit.” CHAMBERS
If you have been born again. Are you thinking, “What do you mean “if””? In
John chapter 3, a teacher of the
Law, Nicodemus came to Jesus to talk about eternal life. Jesus cut the conversation short. “Nicodemus, you must be born again.” It is not good enough to know about Jesus. To know what the Bible says. You are nothing more than an outsider looking
in. Unless there is true
conversion. An act of faith that has
transpired and the Holy Spirit has sealed you for heaven, you are not a
Christian, merely religious. The Holy Spirit is the source of the spiritual
power that is in us. Without the Spirit
there is no spiritual connection. We continue to walk this earth for God’s
purpose and glory, not for ours alone.
We fulfill God’s purpose and bring Him glory by yielding our lives to
the Spirit. Abandoning ourselves to
living for God. So what characterizes
your life? You must be on your
guard. The flesh, your old nature, is
always waiting for the opportunity to rise up and dominate you. Don’t take your salvation for granted. Don’t think that there is nothing for you to
do but go along for the ride. A
neglected faith will always result in a carnal life. Take an honest look to see what kind of fruit
is being produced on your “branches”.
(Galatians 5:16,19-23,25) “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will
not gratify the desires of the flesh….(fruit
of the Flesh) The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,
impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy,
fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness,
orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like
this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there
is no law. …. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
A curious thing, when people
read those verses, the tendency is to read the fruit of the flesh and focus on
what they don’t do. When they read the
fruit of the Spirit they focus on what they do, do. That is the flesh at work. That is not the “honest look” I am talking
about. And my point. We have this
treasure, our new nature, in jars of clay, our mortal bodies. The fruit of the flesh comes from our old
nature. The fruit of the Spirit from our
new nature.
(John 15:5-6) [Jesus] “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you
remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away
and withers …. ” Bearing the right fruit in this new life is totally
dependent on staying connected to the Vine.
CHARLEY
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