Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…Last week I wrote about our new identity in Christ, which includes unconditional, unending and unfailing love from God, forgiveness of our sins, the inheritance of eternal life, and the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. In addition to that, we’re now worthy and acceptable in His eyes; we’re grafted into His family as His child; we’re now a Saint rather than a sinner (meaning our short-comings are not counted against us); we’re heir to every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms, and we are heir to all the promises in the Bible. That, my Dear Friends, should definitely change the way we see ourselves.
Because you are now in Christ, even on your worse day – a day when you think God is ready to shower you with fire and brimstone, He still delights in you. He doesn’t love you any less. You’re still His child; He just wants you to get up and keep being transformed into the person He created you to be. Apostle Paul addresses this concept in Romans 8:38: “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away.” We were first designated as His proudest creation, but at rebirth we achieved another new status. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can now do the good things He planned for us long ago.”
That’s our new identity in Christ. At this point we are “justified” (made right) with God and equipped to do the good things He planned for us long ago. But to reap the benefits of the Christian walk, we must engage in the process of transformation, and that takes action. 2 Peter 1:3-4 tells us what to expect: “The more we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, His divine power gives us everything we need for living a Godly life.” The “everything” underlined in the previous sentence is the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit living in us. This is a gift from God to empower us to be victorious over our flesh, the world, and satan. This IS our secret weapon. I John 4:4 tells us, “He that is in me (the Holy Spirit) is greater than the spirit in this world.” (satan)
That, my Friends, I believe is the disconnect between Christians experiencing the abundant life characterized by love, joy, peace and serenity, and those who are still waiting for something to happen. Therefore, two principles must be addressed here.
First, the Christian walk requires action. We must engage in the process of growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ, and we must engage in growing in the Truth of God’s Word. It is imperative that we develop a platform of faith on which to stand so we can stay strong during our time of attack. Apostle Paul explains it this way in Ephesians 6:10-13: “A final word: Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power. (the Truth found in His Word, and the use of the Holy Spirit.) Put on God’s armor (the Truth of his Word) so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the devil. (lies, deceptions, accusations, and schemes) For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God’s armor (the Truth) to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle (and it IS a battle), you will still be standing firm.” (my capitalization for emphasis)
Since you have made a decision to pull away from the Kingdom of Darkness (the practices and teachings of this world) and move into the Kingdom of Light (God’s Kingdom, the spiritual realm), you now have a formidable adversary whose sole purpose is to ship-wreck your best effort. You now have a target on your back, and satan and his minions will come against you unmercifully at every chink in your armor. The truth is, he’s a master at his craft, and our human effort is NO match against him. (Bear in mind, if you’re still an unbeliever and of this world, satan leaves you alone. “Why is that” you ask? Because he already has you where he wants you. You’re already his slave and on your way to destruction.) Do you doubt that? Romans 6:23 clearly states this truth. “For the wages of sin is death.” (spiritual death, eternal damnation)
But God, our loving, merciful, grace-filled and omnipotent God, knew what we would be up against. Between the carnal desires of our flesh, this fallen world, and the evil schemes of the devil, He knew that we would prove our inability to overcome the dilemma of Sin through our own effort. Therefore, at the right time He implemented His plan that had been in place even before the world was created. (Ref. Ephesians 1:3-15) In fact, Romans 5:6 describes our pathetic state: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time to die for us sinners.” And what was “just the right time?” When we were “utterly helpless.” God’s plan was always to provide a Redeemer to save us from ourselves.
The second principle that must be addressed if we are to be successful in our Christian walk, is to realize the power we have through the Holy Spirit, and how to use that power to win the battle for our souls. The Holy Spirit is a gift from God to empower us. And just as God doesn’t use His will to trump our free will, the Holy Spirit doesn’t control our life with His will either. He is in us, ready to spring into action when needed, but we have to call Him into action. (That’s part of engaging in the process) Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us, “When you believed in Jesus Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us everything He promised…”
So now, THE answer. This is how we use the Holy Spirit. Regardless of the issues we are facing, be it addiction issues, relationship issues, financial issues, health issues, depression issues, stress issues, anger issues, etc, God’s desire is that we face and handle these problems in a way that brings honor and glory to Him. Therefore, we call on the Holy Spirit – preferably in advance, but it doesn’t have to be in advance…it can even be in the heat of the battle. The important thing is, we call on Him to empower us with His wisdom, courage, strength, patience, insight, perseverance, eyes to see, ears to hear, whatever it is we need to handle this in a way that is honoring to God. When our motivation for seeking this supernatural power is to honor Him or to become the person He created us to be, His promise to us is that He will hear and answer our prayer. James 4:10 substantiates that statement: “When we come humbly before the Lord and admit our dependence on Him, He will lift us up and give us honor.” Every time we call on the Holy Spirit to empower us to make choices that honor God, we bring that Scripture to life. That’s why we have this power as a gift from God!
The more we do this and begin seeing positive results, the more this behavior will become who we are and how we now handle challenges. This is KEY: It’s all about getting our egos out of the way and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us. The more we do this, the more we are walking in the Spirit and experiencing the abundant life Jesus promised. And as we honor God, the more blessings we will receive in return for our faithfulness. Pam and I have experienced this truth time and time again!
But let me caution you against three trespasses. This gift is not intended to be used to further a personal agenda, to win a battle at another person’s expense, or in any way to exalt “self”. God knows your heart and your motivation, and if your intent is self-serving in any way, the power will not materialize. It is intended only to bring honor and glory to Him and to further His Kingdom here on this earth.
Let me close with the complete presentation of Romans 6:23 so you can see the stark contrast. I used only the first half above to clarify a point. “For the wages of sin is death, BUT the free gift from God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” We have the gift of the Holy Spirit because we are in Christ. Therefore, when we let His supernatural power work through us, it is our pathway to the freedom, to victory, and to the abundant life we have been promised.
Feel free to respond to this posting, and please “like” and share it with other social media friends.
May God bless you abundantly…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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