Theme: The Holy Spirit and the believer
Text: Romans 8:14; Gal. 5:16-23
When Adam sinned the Scriptures teach us that his sin contaminated the whole human race so that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). The result is that every human being is born spiritually dead. God gave the Law on Mount Sinai to point man to sin. It was not to show the way to salvation as no one was capable of keeping the Law. The only one who ever kept the Law is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who, though He was God, became a man to save us. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16. Jesus Christ did what the Law could not do He paid the penalty for sin with His blood to give us eternal life “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” Rom 6:23. The Holy Spirit is the seal of our eternal life “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive” 1Co 15:22. He indwells every believer to lead them into Christ’s abundant life.
The Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers of sin and the need for forgiveness. The first sermon Jesus preached was to repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). We have to acknowledge we are sinners and are not capable of saving ourselves and avail ourselves of the sacrifice of Christ “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” Eph. 2:8. Salvation is a free gift of God. We do not have to do anything to receive it because Jesus Christ has already paid the price for it. You are saved by grace but “You should know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” 1 Peter 1:18-19.
The Holy Spirit is God’s supernatural gift to the believer to enable him live a supernatural life. Christ does not want us to come to Him and then continue to live a life of defeat and discouragement. He did not save us and then leave us alone as orphans. He gave us all that was necessary for a successful and victorious life. He wants to show us off to the world as His own special people as we live the abundant life in the power of the Holy Spirit. Have you received Christ’s gift of salvation? Have you welcomed the Holy Spirit into your life? Do you have a relationship with the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is a person and not a force or a thing as some believe. The Scriptures confirm this by the personal ways in which He responds and the personal things He does. The Bible also makes it clear that the Holy Spirit is God and we rightfully speak of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is seen in the attributes that are given to Him and which are without exception, the attributes of God. He is eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. It is only the Holy Spirit that can make us feel what Christ feels and see what He sees and know what He wants. Christ wants us to be led by the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the only way who can lead us to understand how the flesh functions and how to deal with it. The flesh is a way of thinking that is contrary to the word of GodThe only way to deal with the flesh is to put it to death by walking in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit is to have a way of thinking that is in accordance with God’s Word.
“Has God said” are the words the enemy often uses to change our way of thinking. It is a very subtle way to make us believe what is contrary to the word of God. When Jesus faced Satan in the wilderness He had just heard God’s words “This is my beloved Son”. Satan immediately wanted to change His way of thinking that would be contrary to God’s word with the words “If you are the Son of God”. A person walking in the Spirit will not accept anything contrary to the word of God. There is this story of a man, an unbeliever, who had two dogs, a black one and a white one. He trained them to fight and made a good living from them because he always knew which dog would win. When asked about how he knew which dog would win he was reluctant to reveal his secret. Eventually he told them that the dog that wins is the dog he feeds. We can either be feeding the flesh or the Spirit and the one we feed is the one who will win. Who is controlling your life? Is it the flesh or is it the Spirit? God knows how much we need a helper and the Holy Spirit is God’s gift to the believer. Are you, as a believer, being led by the Holy Spirit to walk in the Spirit or are you still dependent on the flesh?
The Holy Spirit empowers the believer to love. We can only serve Christ effectively if our service results from love. Some serve God for reward or for fear of punishment but the only service that is pleasing to God is service out of love. Our greatest service out of love for Christ is to witness and the Holy Spirit is quick to empower us to succeed in this area. Christ blesses us to make us a blessing as we obey His great commandment to witness and spread the gospel.
The Holy Spirit empowers the believer to live according to God’s revealed will. There is a story of a young man who left home to live in another house. He was given the best refrigerator available to make his move a pleasant one. He was so happy with the gift that he immediately filled the fridge with all his favourite drinks and food. The next morning he opened it and reached for a drink. It was warm and looking in saw that all his favourite food was spoilt. He could not understand why and annoyed he decided to return home for breakfast. Just then the one who gave him the fridge arrived and he began to complain about how the fridge had ruined his day. His friend could not understand and after examining the connections plugged in the connection and switched it on. Every believer receives the gift of the Holy Spirit but not every believer nurtures a relationship with Him. It is giving control of our lives to Him that releases His power. When we refuse to give up the control of our lives to Him we will be like fridges without electricity or radios without battery. It does not really matter how nice or how expensive the appliance may be, how attractive or educated the person may be, it will not work unless it is connected to a source of power. Have you submitted your life to the Holy Spirit? He is the only One who can lead you to walk in the Spirit to enjoy God’s spiritual blessings.
Jesus Christ is the only one who can save you. He is the only one because He is the only one who died and was buried and rose again from the dead. He proved this to be true by sending the Holy Spirit from heaven to indwell believer’s for them to live the abundant life. The Holy Spirit is only given to those who confess Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead. Have you received eternal life and God’s gift of the Holy Spirit? Or have you received the Holy Spirit but are not living the abundant life. “God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” Eph. 1:3. All the blessings are spiritual that is they are in the spirit and that is where we need to be if they are to be of benefit to us. If we want gold and gold is in Obuasi, then we have to be in Obuasi. If the blessings are in the Spirit then that is the place to be if we want those blessings. Being in the Spirit is believing God’s Word and having a way of thinking that is in accordance with God’s word. Jesus declares “the words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are life”. There is no greater miracle than salvation so come to the Saviour today and yield your life to Him and receive His Holy Spirit. Christ has sacrificed His life for you and does not want anyone to perish. Come to Him today and partake of His spiritual blessings as you begin a walk in the Spirit. Amen!
