This week we are going to look at how we yield to the Holy Spirit. In a continued effort to be totally open with you, I have to admit that this has been the greatest challenge in my walk with Jesus. Thankfully for me and everyone of us, our Lord is desperate to lead us to restoration if we are willing to be led. God's answer is very simple and easy. If our train has jumped the track and we have been ignoring the Holy Spirit, or gotten caught up in trying to serve God in our strength; then like the Galatians we have no other way of returning than to go back to where we went wrong, to come back from religious effort in our own strength, and stop seeking restoration by our own work, and yield ourselves humbly to the Holy Spirit. This is the only way that God can restore us to His character.
I mentioned in a sermon a while back that I believe God gave me a taste of what He wants to give each of us through the Holy Spirit. It was the greatest experience of my life! It was the greatest love, joy and peace that I have ever known and I long to have that experience again. I am also convinced that God wants and longs to give everyone of us, way more than I experienced that year. God wants to give us so much more than we have ever dreamed in the power of the Holy Spirit. Andrew Murray had this great filling of the Holy Spirit and he puts it this way:
"Is there any brother or sister whose heart is conscious: "Alas! My life knows but little of the power of the Holy Ghost"? I come to you with God's message that you can have no conception of what your life would be in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is too high and too blessed and too wonderful, but I bring you the message that just as truly as the everlasting Son of God came to this world and wrought His wonderful works, that just as truly as on Calvary He died and wrought out your redemption by His precious blood, so, just as truly, can the Holy Spirit come into your heart
that with His divine power He may sanctify you and enable you to do God's blessed will, and fill your heart with joy and with strength. But alas! we have forgotten, we have grieved, we have dishonored the Holy Spirit, and He has not been able to do His work. But I bring you the message: The Father in Heaven loves to fill His children with His Holy Spirit. God longs to give each one individually, separately, the power of the Holy Spirit for daily life. The command comes to us individually, unitedly. God wants us as His children to arise and place our sins before Him, and call upon Him for mercy. Oh, are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye perfecting in the flesh that which was begun in the Spirit? Let us bow in shame, and confess before God how our fleshy religion, our self-effort, and self confidence, have been the cause of every failure." Absolute Surrender p. 90,91
Friends, our wonderful Lord, longs to give us His precious gift of the Holy Spirit. But I have often wondered, and had people ask me: "Why do I continue to hurt my Lord so much? I'm sure I gave my whole heart, and desired to serve Jesus, why did I fail?"
The answer always comes back: "You are trying to do in your own strength what Jesus alone can do in you." And when they say; "I'm sure I know, that only Jesus alone can do it, I'm sure that I was not trusting in myself," the answer is always: "You had to be trusting in yourself or you would not have failed. If you were trusting Jesus, He could not fail."
This "perfecting in the flesh what was begun in the Spirit" runs so much deeper in our lives then we realize. We must ask God to show us that it is only when we come to the place of utter shame and emptiness that prepares us to receive the Holy Spirit into our lives, and He can give us this unimaginable blessing that we need.
So I must ask myself, and ask you these two simple questions: Are we living under the power of the Holy Spirit? Are we living as anointed, Spirit filled men and women before God?
These two questions stop me in my tracks! I hope that we will not just rush past these all important questions, but ask ourselves honestly before God: Am I a Spirit-filled Christian living under the power of the Holy Spirit?
As you consider this, if your answer is no, then I have a another question -
Are you willing to be set apart and give up yourself to the Holy Spirit to be used by Him? We are so aware that we cannot of ourselves consecrate to God. No matter how intensely we desire it, we will fail! Thankfully when we look away from self and what we want, and look to our God in Heaven we
find that acceptance, and He sends the Holy Spirit to do for us what we can never do.
So it comes down to: are we willing to give ourselves up to the Holy Spirit? We can do it right now! There may be much that we just don't understand yet, and we may not feel anything different; but come! With God the change will come. Only Jesus who gave us the Holy Spirit, can restore that Holy Spirit power in our lives. Only Jesus can give us the strength beyond our power through His Spirit to give us the indwelling Christ that will make us a "new creation." Our God longs to do this for everyone of us who are willing to give up everything, and are willing to seek our God with all our heart. His promise is that the answer will come! The gift is not far off, and our God is delighted to help us. Through the Holy Spirit He will make it possible for us to perfect, not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, what was begun in the Spirit
I know this is what everyone of us want!
I mentioned in a sermon a while back that I believe God gave me a taste of what He wants to give each of us through the Holy Spirit. It was the greatest experience of my life! It was the greatest love, joy and peace that I have ever known and I long to have that experience again. I am also convinced that God wants and longs to give everyone of us, way more than I experienced that year. God wants to give us so much more than we have ever dreamed in the power of the Holy Spirit. Andrew Murray had this great filling of the Holy Spirit and he puts it this way:
"Is there any brother or sister whose heart is conscious: "Alas! My life knows but little of the power of the Holy Ghost"? I come to you with God's message that you can have no conception of what your life would be in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is too high and too blessed and too wonderful, but I bring you the message that just as truly as the everlasting Son of God came to this world and wrought His wonderful works, that just as truly as on Calvary He died and wrought out your redemption by His precious blood, so, just as truly, can the Holy Spirit come into your heart
that with His divine power He may sanctify you and enable you to do God's blessed will, and fill your heart with joy and with strength. But alas! we have forgotten, we have grieved, we have dishonored the Holy Spirit, and He has not been able to do His work. But I bring you the message: The Father in Heaven loves to fill His children with His Holy Spirit. God longs to give each one individually, separately, the power of the Holy Spirit for daily life. The command comes to us individually, unitedly. God wants us as His children to arise and place our sins before Him, and call upon Him for mercy. Oh, are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye perfecting in the flesh that which was begun in the Spirit? Let us bow in shame, and confess before God how our fleshy religion, our self-effort, and self confidence, have been the cause of every failure." Absolute Surrender p. 90,91
Friends, our wonderful Lord, longs to give us His precious gift of the Holy Spirit. But I have often wondered, and had people ask me: "Why do I continue to hurt my Lord so much? I'm sure I gave my whole heart, and desired to serve Jesus, why did I fail?"
The answer always comes back: "You are trying to do in your own strength what Jesus alone can do in you." And when they say; "I'm sure I know, that only Jesus alone can do it, I'm sure that I was not trusting in myself," the answer is always: "You had to be trusting in yourself or you would not have failed. If you were trusting Jesus, He could not fail."
This "perfecting in the flesh what was begun in the Spirit" runs so much deeper in our lives then we realize. We must ask God to show us that it is only when we come to the place of utter shame and emptiness that prepares us to receive the Holy Spirit into our lives, and He can give us this unimaginable blessing that we need.
So I must ask myself, and ask you these two simple questions: Are we living under the power of the Holy Spirit? Are we living as anointed, Spirit filled men and women before God?
These two questions stop me in my tracks! I hope that we will not just rush past these all important questions, but ask ourselves honestly before God: Am I a Spirit-filled Christian living under the power of the Holy Spirit?
As you consider this, if your answer is no, then I have a another question -
Are you willing to be set apart and give up yourself to the Holy Spirit to be used by Him? We are so aware that we cannot of ourselves consecrate to God. No matter how intensely we desire it, we will fail! Thankfully when we look away from self and what we want, and look to our God in Heaven we
find that acceptance, and He sends the Holy Spirit to do for us what we can never do.
So it comes down to: are we willing to give ourselves up to the Holy Spirit? We can do it right now! There may be much that we just don't understand yet, and we may not feel anything different; but come! With God the change will come. Only Jesus who gave us the Holy Spirit, can restore that Holy Spirit power in our lives. Only Jesus can give us the strength beyond our power through His Spirit to give us the indwelling Christ that will make us a "new creation." Our God longs to do this for everyone of us who are willing to give up everything, and are willing to seek our God with all our heart. His promise is that the answer will come! The gift is not far off, and our God is delighted to help us. Through the Holy Spirit He will make it possible for us to perfect, not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, what was begun in the Spirit
I know this is what everyone of us want!
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