Though they are short, they pack a wallop.
Pastor Jim has a way of presenting to us Biblical truths in such a way that it is very powerful and straight to the point.
Biblically correct truths shot from the bow of a man of God who knows were of he speaks.
It is rare to find such a man these days.
But we have been blessed to have found him and that which he produces through the Holy Spirit.
I am certain that you too will agree with me after you read these short amazingly relevant and powerfully timeless words from the man of God!
David Sloane
***
...verse 16, " For which cause we faint not; but
though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by
day".
The life of the apostle Paul absolutely amazes me! Over and over again in his epistles, you cannot help but see his utter selflessness and devotion to Christ, and his God-given love for people.
Today as I read through 2 Corinthians, I was again struck by his accepting- with joy- the pain and extremely rough circumstances in which he found himself.
The life of the apostle Paul absolutely amazes me! Over and over again in his epistles, you cannot help but see his utter selflessness and devotion to Christ, and his God-given love for people.
Today as I read through 2 Corinthians, I was again struck by his accepting- with joy- the pain and extremely rough circumstances in which he found himself.
No complaining, no self-pity, no pining for
physical comfort or better days. He had one focus, and that focus was
Christ.
I pray that God will cause us to see- with our spiritual eyes- this incredible devotion, and that in seeing this, He will cause us to yearn for Him, to desire Him, to covet Him in such a way that it in turn causes a life-changing passion in our hearts that nothing on earth can quench!
Read Paul's epistles- any of them- and in every verse you can feel the pain, the agony, the anguish of soul that brought him to this deep love for his Savior.
He never regretted any of what his Lord had brought him through to get him to the point of absolute surrender because he adored Jesus Christ so much that he did not regard his own life.....
Very different than so much of what passes for 'ministry' these days, isn't it? You don't hear any 'prosperity' or 'comfort' or 'your own rights', or even legalistic teachings coming from Paul, and you shouldn't be hearing these things from those who preach the Gospel today!
Why do we so desire comfort? Why do we covet 'respectability', or eloquence, or admiration? Why do we want to please man rather than God?
We Christians are to preach and teach Christ- crucified and risen-NOW, while there's breath left in us.
I pray that God will cause us to see- with our spiritual eyes- this incredible devotion, and that in seeing this, He will cause us to yearn for Him, to desire Him, to covet Him in such a way that it in turn causes a life-changing passion in our hearts that nothing on earth can quench!
Read Paul's epistles- any of them- and in every verse you can feel the pain, the agony, the anguish of soul that brought him to this deep love for his Savior.
He never regretted any of what his Lord had brought him through to get him to the point of absolute surrender because he adored Jesus Christ so much that he did not regard his own life.....
Very different than so much of what passes for 'ministry' these days, isn't it? You don't hear any 'prosperity' or 'comfort' or 'your own rights', or even legalistic teachings coming from Paul, and you shouldn't be hearing these things from those who preach the Gospel today!
Why do we so desire comfort? Why do we covet 'respectability', or eloquence, or admiration? Why do we want to please man rather than God?
We Christians are to preach and teach Christ- crucified and risen-NOW, while there's breath left in us.
Please understand that my aim here is
not to look for faults or to castigate ministers of today, but rather to
contrast much of what we hear today with the truth of the actual Gospel
of Christ, and in so doing, I fervently pray that God would take hold
of the hearts of His people and move them back to Him.
The apostle Paul
would not tolerate error or false teaching concerning the things of God-
His life was thoroughly Christ's, and he always pointed people to the
cross. May we all imitate his example.
Pastor Jim Ewing
En Agape,
En Agape,
***
Philippians 3:10..."That I may know Him, and the power of His
resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made
conformable unto His death..."
How about that?
How about that?
We can
understand Paul's passion to 'know Him, and the power of His
resurrection', but to honestly desire the fellowship of His sufferings?
Most people prefer to flee suffering, yet the apostle actually YEARNS
for it, because he knows that in it, he more perfectly identifies with
his Lord, and the suffering that he refers to is all the direct result
of his overt and aggressive stand for Jesus Christ.
What exactly is the secret to Paul's overwhelming devotion to Christ? We've seen that he had an uncommon passion for his Savior, and a sincere love that most Christians wish that THEY had.
What exactly is the secret to Paul's overwhelming devotion to Christ? We've seen that he had an uncommon passion for his Savior, and a sincere love that most Christians wish that THEY had.
Well, the 'secret' (and the
truth) is that every single believer who desires this passion, this
devotion, this love- may have it, may experience it, may receive it and
give it out freely to others (the natural outflow of receiving), but
how?
I've already mentioned how greatly I admire the apostle Paul, but the truth is that the apostle himself was not the author of the divine love in his own heart!
I've already mentioned how greatly I admire the apostle Paul, but the truth is that the apostle himself was not the author of the divine love in his own heart!
Let's look at Acts 9:1-6..."And Saul (the name he was then known by), yet breathing threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto
the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the
synagogues, that if he found any of this way (followers of Christ),
whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto
Jerusalem.
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly
there shined round about him a light from heaven; and he fell to the
earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus
whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
An d he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to
do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it
shall be told thee what thou must do."
Here Paul (Saul) is spending much of his time and energy attempting to destroy all the Christians he can, yet in a second, he is on the ground asking Jesus what He would have him do!
It was the Lord Himself who simply but powerfully intervened, and Paul was changed- forever changed- from that moment on- transformed from an enemy of God to a powerfully used apostle of that same Almighty God!
You see, only God Himself can truly change a heart and life by His Spirit, and He is able to take the lowest, the most selfish, the meanest, the most unlikely of people, and not only make him or her His child, but to give that believer a love that that one has never before known, or even thought possible!
Christian, do you want to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Do you want a Paul-like passion for Jesus that is genuine?
Here Paul (Saul) is spending much of his time and energy attempting to destroy all the Christians he can, yet in a second, he is on the ground asking Jesus what He would have him do!
It was the Lord Himself who simply but powerfully intervened, and Paul was changed- forever changed- from that moment on- transformed from an enemy of God to a powerfully used apostle of that same Almighty God!
You see, only God Himself can truly change a heart and life by His Spirit, and He is able to take the lowest, the most selfish, the meanest, the most unlikely of people, and not only make him or her His child, but to give that believer a love that that one has never before known, or even thought possible!
Christian, do you want to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Do you want a Paul-like passion for Jesus that is genuine?
Then understand that it is the Holy Spirit in you, drawing you to that
desire for Him, and simply surrender to Him.
You are not the author of
this wonderful love, but you may have as much of it as you will, and as
you receive it, you'll find that you're also giving it out to others,
and THIS is true ministry! There is no telling what God will do in and
through you- just ask the apostle Paul!
En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing
En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing
***
For neither they themselves
who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised,
that they may glory in your flesh.
23
But God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is
crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
The old testament, with the law and the prophets, the animal sacrifices, and all that they entail, points FORWARD to the cross of Christ.
The old testament, with the law and the prophets, the animal sacrifices, and all that they entail, points FORWARD to the cross of Christ.
The new
testament points BACK to the cross, but the entire Word of God does
indeed point TO that cross.
To the lost, Christ's death on the cross makes no sense, and is even ridiculed- 1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
Sadly, even in some Christian circles, the cross is minimized, with the preaching of the Gospel, in all of its power and glory, giving way to more pleasant, costless, self-gratifying teachings...
Oh, and don't forget the coffee, and the 'I'm OK, You're OK' pat on the back as you leave the church! I'll tell you, the world will never see the need for the cross unless and until WE see the need for it!
To the lost, Christ's death on the cross makes no sense, and is even ridiculed- 1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
Sadly, even in some Christian circles, the cross is minimized, with the preaching of the Gospel, in all of its power and glory, giving way to more pleasant, costless, self-gratifying teachings...
Oh, and don't forget the coffee, and the 'I'm OK, You're OK' pat on the back as you leave the church! I'll tell you, the world will never see the need for the cross unless and until WE see the need for it!
The crucifixion of
our Lord is not only a painful yet wonderful event which took place 2000
years in the past- it is a God-ordained way of life for the believer.
The cross experience is something that every single believer will go
through- God sees to that as the Orchestrator of all of our
circumstances. No one escapes it, as our God loves us too much to let
us.
The cross in our lives brings us to maturity in Christ, causes to
see life as we should and as it is (in reality, not mere fancy or
opinion), and brings EVERYTHING that happens in this world into
perspective.
The apostle Paul spoke so much of the cross- both the historical event and its work in his own life, because he was intimately acquainted with it. Are we?
The apostle Paul spoke so much of the cross- both the historical event and its work in his own life, because he was intimately acquainted with it. Are we?
God have mercy on us, we
MUST be! When we truly know the cross in our own lives, it will guard us
from doctrines of demons and every false teaching that may be thrown at
us, because it is what God uses to check us.
Our emotions, our
feelings, our intentions, our ambitions- they all must be put at the
foot of the cross of Christ, and as they are, we experience life as we
were intended to.
Listen to Paul, and listen intently- "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me."
Listen to Paul, and listen intently- "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me."
He knew
that the wonderful relationship which he had with his Savior was due to
Christ's death on that cross, and he knew that the cross worked in his
life DAILY.....
Lord Jesus, let us see this precious truth for ourselves, that we may submit to it and therefore more passionately follow You!
Pastor Jim Ewing
Lord Jesus, let us see this precious truth for ourselves, that we may submit to it and therefore more passionately follow You!
Pastor Jim Ewing
***
We have previously taken a look at the cross, both in terms of the historical event and of its continual work in the believer's life as we walk with Christ.
Now we will take a look at the resurrection of Christ,
for without the resurrection, the cross would have been incomplete- and
God never does anything in an incomplete manner.
We must always
remember that the cross and the resurrection go together. Both were
necessary to secure our salvation.
God sent His Beloved Son to a cross
to take away all of our sins, and three days later raised Him up from
the dead, guaranteeing our own resurrection from death's ugly, but now
temporary grip. Because of this, praise God, we now have eternal life.
In the garden of Eden, man died- remember? Genesis 2:17- "In the day that you eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely DIE."
In the garden of Eden, man died- remember? Genesis 2:17- "In the day that you eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely DIE."
So the DEATH of Christ took away our sins, and the
RESURRECTION of our Savior gave us back what man had lost way back in
Genesis- LIFE. Give God praise for His unfathomable love! Catch a
glimpse of that love and you will never be the same...
Just as the cross has both historical and constant, practical meaning in the life of the Christian, so also does the resurrection. God uses the cross in our lives to break us of our self-will, ordering our circumstances to bring us to a place of total surrender. He will not let up until we relent, so great is His love for us.
The resurrection experience, on the other hand, is what God gives us to overcome and be victorious in our circumstances. You will find yourself reacting, not out of your flesh, but with the power of God, and then wonder how you did that.
Just as the cross has both historical and constant, practical meaning in the life of the Christian, so also does the resurrection. God uses the cross in our lives to break us of our self-will, ordering our circumstances to bring us to a place of total surrender. He will not let up until we relent, so great is His love for us.
The resurrection experience, on the other hand, is what God gives us to overcome and be victorious in our circumstances. You will find yourself reacting, not out of your flesh, but with the power of God, and then wonder how you did that.
That is the resurrection of Christ working in
your life. Slowly but surely, you will find yourself looking THROUGH the
painful experiences on to the complete victory, because you will tend
to (more and more) see the whole picture, rather than just the momentary
suffering.
2 Corinthians 4:17 & 18 - "For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen:
for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are
not seen are eternal."
The apostle Paul went through incredible and protracted suffering, yet he sees the hand of God in it so clearly that he refers to all of it as 'light affliction'! Can anyone say RESURRECTION POWER?
The apostle Paul went through incredible and protracted suffering, yet he sees the hand of God in it so clearly that he refers to all of it as 'light affliction'! Can anyone say RESURRECTION POWER?
I am humbled when I see the degree of the
workings of both the cross and resurrection in Paul's life....Let us
thank God now- for the historical reality of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, and for its daily, moment by moment practical
power in our own lives!
En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing
En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing
***
Beloved of the Lord, I am about to delve
into a subject that few believers even ponder, yet we all know the
reality of it.
I can remember listening to a taped recording of the rev.
R. Brant Baker, original pastor of Shekinah Fellowship, just over
thirty years ago as he said very simply, We forget that Jesus is always
with us...".
Now, those words were so elementary, so simple, weren't they?
Now, those words were so elementary, so simple, weren't they?
I'm sure that they got a few 'amen's from the
congregation to whom he was speaking at the time, but they caught my own
attention to the point that my mind was absolutely fixed, as it were,
on those words, and despite the fact that his message continued on, I
could only keep hearing those words over and over again, "We forget that
Jesus is always with us."
The reality of it all hit me that night- It is an absolute spiritual fact that our Savior is with us always...every moment of the day and night, and that fact will continue to be so until we either breathe our last and then die, or He returns to the earth, abolishing the ugly spectacle of death once and for all....
Did you just feel your spirit jump within you as you read those words?
The reality of it all hit me that night- It is an absolute spiritual fact that our Savior is with us always...every moment of the day and night, and that fact will continue to be so until we either breathe our last and then die, or He returns to the earth, abolishing the ugly spectacle of death once and for all....
Did you just feel your spirit jump within you as you read those words?
Christian, this is a fact which can never be
taken from the believer, and it is as real as the cross of Christ and
His resurrection from the dead!
If you are in Christ, then His Presence never leaves you. Hebrews 13:5 says,"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
This fact was very real to the early, persecuted Church- real enough that they were willing to die for their testimony of the Beloved Savior. We've forgotten that, haven't we?
If you are in Christ, then His Presence never leaves you. Hebrews 13:5 says,"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
This fact was very real to the early, persecuted Church- real enough that they were willing to die for their testimony of the Beloved Savior. We've forgotten that, haven't we?
We
have gotten so comfortable in our faith that we forget that many of
those who went on before us suffered greatly for the Gospel 's sake,
even to the point of death.
But they were never dissuaded from the truth that their Lord was WITH them unto the very end of their earthly existence, because they knew that His Presence was a fact, not as a principle, but as a total reality, one that they GLADLY staked their very lives upon.....
Jesus, when He was teaching His disciples, did not speak from the position of doctrine (we believers disagree on much of what we call doctrine, don't we?), rather, He spoke TRUTH, and He never spoke anything BUT the truth.
He always lived the truth, and in fact, He WAS and IS the Truth- John 14:6- "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life..."
But they were never dissuaded from the truth that their Lord was WITH them unto the very end of their earthly existence, because they knew that His Presence was a fact, not as a principle, but as a total reality, one that they GLADLY staked their very lives upon.....
Jesus, when He was teaching His disciples, did not speak from the position of doctrine (we believers disagree on much of what we call doctrine, don't we?), rather, He spoke TRUTH, and He never spoke anything BUT the truth.
He always lived the truth, and in fact, He WAS and IS the Truth- John 14:6- "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life..."
His very Presence, just after telling Peter
to "launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught"
following an unsuccessful night of fishing, was enough to prompt the
fisherman to entreat Him, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O
Lord." (Luke 5:8)...
My point in all of this is that we as believers must see that, regardless of what we endure, no matter what or how we may feel at the present time (and times may indeed be extremely rough), He is, in absolute reality, our constant Companion.
My point in all of this is that we as believers must see that, regardless of what we endure, no matter what or how we may feel at the present time (and times may indeed be extremely rough), He is, in absolute reality, our constant Companion.
We
needn't try to imagine that this is so, we mustn't merely hope that
it's true, we must reckon it so, and act upon that fact- FACT.
As we do
this, He will burn the reality of His Presence deep within our souls. It
will never be because we try to 'visualize' it, it cannot be because we
wish it into being, or because we believe that we've been good and
faithful to Him.
He is with us always, because He said He would be, and He is faithful to His Word, and to His people.....
Believe Him, move in that truth, Christian, and you will never be satisfied with 'wishin' and hoping'' ever again. You have His word on it!
En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing
He is with us always, because He said He would be, and He is faithful to His Word, and to His people.....
Believe Him, move in that truth, Christian, and you will never be satisfied with 'wishin' and hoping'' ever again. You have His word on it!
En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing
***
Sobering words, aren't they?
But our Savior has brought us into new life, and He intends for us to walk continuously IN that life, from the moment that He wonderfully apprehends us, to the very last breath that we take.
The believer was never meant to be static in this faith that God has so graciously given us- rather, we are to constantly press forward, as the apostle Paul said- "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).
Notice that I often quote Paul? It is because he realized that he was 'plucked from the fire', as it were, by the Lord- and he didn't want to waste one moment of the new life that God had given him. He was always grateful to Jesus Christ for having saved him, and it was so apparent in everything that he wrote, from the first of his epistles to the last.
He actually desired to 'depart and be with Christ', rather than to go on living in this world (Philippians 1:23-24), thou he knew that it was more beneficial to the young body of believers in Philippi (and no doubt to the rest of the early Church) if he remained for awhile......
There is nothing more unattractive than a static believer, especially when God has given us so much to do!
There are Divine appointments that God places in every believer's life, yet some of us live as though we think that we were called to sit back, relax, sing hymns, and wait for the Lord to 'rapture' us out of our Cadillac on the way to the church picnic!
How sad. Where is the passion? Where is the 'fire' that seems to characterize so few of us, when it is the same Savior who calls ALL of His people from EVERY age and time to an INTIMATE relationship with Him?
Well, the blame certainly d does not fall on Christ! He has not changed (Hebrews 13:8- "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.") He still constantly woos us by His Spirit, but we must respond. Please RESPOND!.....
Now this is going to be a crude illustration, but it'll help get my point across. Back in the summer of '76, I worked in some wheat fields in eastern Washington.
The farm that this man lives on had a bunch of chickens inside a short fence.
One of my co-workers showed me something that amazed me- he climbed over the fence and grabbed one of the chickens, putting it's left wing over it's head (covering it's eyes), and moved that chicken in a circular, clockwise motion for just a few seconds- that's all it took.
The chicken fell fast asleep, and when my friend put it back on the ground, it just lay there in a slumber. I was shown this a number of times, and even did it myself, grabbing one of the chickens, and putting it to sleep.
The most fascinating thing about it though, was that every single time a slumbering chicken was placed back on the ground, one of the other chickens would see that it was sleeping, run over to it and 'peck' it awake!
It was as if the other chickens were saying, "Hey, wake up! It's not evening- what do you think you're doing? It is daytime. You need to be awake!" ....
Well, I warned you that it would be a crude illustration, but I tell ya'- Sometimes I want to go and 'peck' certain believers awake, "Hey, wake up! It's still daytime- the night has not yet arrived...
God has work for you to do!
You still have breath in you- use it to pant after the Lord and to reach others while there's still time!
Pursue this dynamic relationship that Christ draws you to, NOW!
C'mon- wake up! For the love of our Savior, WAKE UP!"
Pastor Jim Ewing
***
.
Now, here is a verse that we all know and can easily quote, but so few believers seem to know just what it means.
I want to cut to the chase on the subject of idolatry, not because it is a characteristic of a lost and dying world, but because the Church herself is presently so involved in it.
.
I do not want you think that I like 'picking' at faults among the Body of Christ, because I don't, and I do not believe in seeking out problems just to have something to write about.
The fact is, though, that many, many of today's Christians have such misconceptions of the nature of God, that they do not realize that we require the leading of the Holy Spirit- even in terms of how to worship our Lord.
Because of these misconceptions, believers (and non-believers as well) will often reach for 'tangible' objects to worship in place of our Holy God. Sometimes this is done with the best of intentions, but it is idolatry nonetheless, and must be thoroughly avoided.
.
There is absolutely no substitute for the living God in the lives of believers, and we must see that. Not our own ideas of God, not 'images' of Him, but Almighty God Himself- as He IS, not as we would have Him.....
The Israelites had such a tough time just being without Moses for a few days that they managed to convince Aaron to "make us gods, which will go before us" (Exodus 32:1-6).
A golden calf was the pathetic result. What an insult to our Holy, Righteous God!
You would think we'd have learned over the years that only God could satisfy our spiritual hunger, yet history is replete with examples and stories of people attempting to reach God in their 'own way', completely ignoring the fact that "God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth".
I believe that the Lord has hidden the arc of the covenant purposely, for He knew that if it had been found, generations of people would have worshipped IT instead of HIM...
The shroud of Turin is a prime example of believers worshipping something other than Christ. So what if it is genuine?
He's not there! He's not in the empty tomb either, and there's nothing sacred about a tomb, no matter who was laid in it.....
Did you know that Adolf Hitler searched for years for the spear that pierced Jesus' side?
Why?
Did he think that it would somehow bless or protect him?
It was a stinkin' spear, for goodness sakes! ...
Do you remember the big movie, "The Robe"?
If not, you can probably guess what it was about. But the robe that Jesus wore had no power- HE had power. Why has that always been so difficult for the Church to understand?
I'm so glad that there were no cameras in the days when Jesus walked the earth, for if t here had been, then photos of the Savior would have been worshipped, sold, looked to for help, and put in peoples' tunics for good luck- and you know that!
I've previously mentioned that there are people in certain countries who actually whip and even allow themselves to be nailed to a cross for a while during 'special' times of the year in order to get closer to the Lord.
What a ridiculous display of unbelief! Why is it so hard to believe that HE took our punishment, and that none of our own efforts are of any value whatsoever?
We believe the Gospel, yet we feel that we must add this or that to it, don't we?
It's so difficult and so cutting to our pride to simply believe and receive what our blessed Savior has done for us, so we look to other things to make us 'spiritual' IN ADDITION to the cross and resurrection. How can you truly adore Him when you can't even believe Him?....
2 Corinthians 5:19 "...God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."
Now, what does He desire that our response be? The next verse tells us- "Be ye reconciled to God."
So simple, right? Then why do we insist on adding to His wonderful work?
When you attempt to add to the cross and resurrection, you take away from them. When you try adding to God's grace (and there are so many ways that we try), then you take away His grace, because you refuse to see that HIS work is complete and quite sufficient to have dealt with your sin FOREVER.
That refusal, beloved, is IDOLATRY, and it is a stench in the nostrils of God! Stop trying- start believing. Seek HIS face. Worship HIM in Spirit and in truth. Adore Him and only Him.......
I'm going to leave you with a beautiful scripture from the psalms.
"When thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek." (Psalm 27:8)...
Make that your prayer as you worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
God bless you,
Pastor Jim Ewing
***
Proverbs 20:7- "The Lamp of the Lord searches the
spirit of a man; It searches out his inmost being."
Luke 24:49- "I am
going to send you what My Father has promised; but stay in the city
until you have been clothed with power from on high.".....
Who
is the Holy Spirit?
He is nothing less than God Almighty.
We see from
these verses that He is everywhere at all times and that we can never
escape His Presence, that He searches the spirit of man and knows us to
the very core, and that He desires that His people wait upon Him.
He
knows that we absolutely require His constant Presence and makes Himself
known to us, but do we allow Him to move as He would in every detail in
our lives? We believe Him, yes- but do we allow Him to be what He
intends to be in our lives?
Remember that
He always points to Christ, always testifies of Christ, always draws
people, by His power, to Christ (John 15:26).
He enables believers to be
passionate witnesses for our Savior- and the power is HIS.
Why then, do
we act as if we we're ashamed of Him? Many of God's own children treat
the Holy Spirit like the proverbial 'ugly stepchild'.
We want to
intellectualize everything spiritual and make the Holy Spirit fit into
our nice, 'tidy', 'respectable' idea of our own churchianity- and then
we have the gall to wonder why He doesn't move in and through us as we
know He desires to!....
God have mercy on
us, we must stop trying to be 'gate keepers' for the Spirit of God!
We
cannot use Him (remember, He is God)- rather, we have the incredible
privilege of being open, willing, yielded vessels through whom He can
move, yet we want to relegate Him to the back room for fear that He may
do something among us which brings us out of our comfort zone- after
all, what would we do if lives were actually touched and changed?
What
do we do if He steps out of the 'box' that we try to put Him into?....
Let's
look directly into the mirror and ask ourselves, "How much of God do I
really want in my life? Do I desire 'rivers of Living Water' gushing
through my soul, as God would love to pour into me, or am I satisfied
with an intermittent drip?
We're the ones who limit Him- it is He who
would do so much more in and through us, if we were only willing!
Remember that as we receive, we also give out. We are the Body of
Christ, and we were never meant to be stingy, either in receiving, or in
giving out- that's simply not God's way of doing things.
He is always
robust, always so generous in His love, mercy and life changing power,
and He would have us be the same- after all, we are HIS children!....
I urge every believer who senses a 'dryness' in his or her life to begin seeking- earnestly- the very heart of God.
Allow His Spirit to move in you, first individually, then as a body, in a totally yielded and open manner, and ask Him to do all of the wonderful things in and through your life that He would. He will not lead you into anything silly or ridiculous, and He will never violate His Word.
He WILL begin to move POWERFULLY in you, and He WILL give you a new-found adoration of Him, though. Are you up for it?
En Agape'
Pastor Jim Ewing
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