Tag Archives: god the holy spirit

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Destroying the Devil’s Works

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“But if you keep on sinning, it shows that you belong to Satan, who since he first began to sin has kept steadily at it. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

A young Christian came to inquire of me one day, “How do you account for the fact that so many Christian leaders, many of them famous personalities, pastors and heads of Christian organizations are involved in moral and financial scandals?”

He named several well-known pastors and Christian leaders to illustrate his point.

Sadly I acknowledged his statement to be true. It seems there is an all-out attack of Satan to destroy the credibility of the Christian message. My explanation to him was that our Lord and the apostle Paul dealt with the same problem because, even though the disciples had been with the Lord Jesus three years or more, Judas betrayed Him and the others deserted Him.

The apostle Paul spoke of several who had deserted him. Those included Demas, who loved the present world, and Hymenaeus, Alexander and Philetus, who strayed from the truth.

Only one person can help us live holy lives that will honor our Lord, who came to destroy the works of the devil, and that is the third person of the Trinity – God the Holy Spirit. As long as we cast our ballot for the Spirit in our warfare against the flesh, we can live supernaturally every day in the joy, the wonder, the adventure and the power of the resurrection. It is simply a matter of our will; the decision is ours.

Bible Reading: I John 3:4-10

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  “Oh, God, thank You that You sent Your Son to destroy the works of the devil. I will claim the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit so that I may live victoriously and never bring scandal or disgrace to Your name.”

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Finding Clear Guidance – Charles Stanley

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John 15:9-17

Sleep can elude us when we are trying to make critical decisions. Our minds race over details; we make our lists, evaluate options, and pray, “God, what should I do?” Often we become frustrated because we’re not sure how to get the answer from the Lord.

The key is found in our relationship with Him. The closer we are to God, the easier communication between us will be. Closeness to God means:

• Learning what God likes and dislikes. Certain opportunities can be quickly eliminated because they are contrary to God’s character.

• Knowing God’s Word. When we are familiar with the Word of God, the Holy Spirit can remind us of passages relevant to our situation.

• Confessing our sins. Confession helps our minds be cleansed from the effects of ungodly thinking, which interferes with receiving the Lord’s direction.

• Laying down our desires and taking up His. As we draw closer to Him, we’ll experience the blessings of submission and be willing to do it again.

• Waiting on God. We will allow sufficient time to hear from the Father.

• Standing firm against pressure—external and internal. Receiving clear direction from God will be our priority.

• Praying persistently. We’ll continue to ask the Father for guidance, and we will not give up. The Lord desires our very best. Draw closer to Him, and experience the joy of receiving clear direction.

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The Joy of Sainthood – John MacArthur

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“To all the saints in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:1).

Many people think of saints as men and women who are especially holy or who have been canonized by an official church body. Usually only those who have been long dead and have extraordinary religious accomplishments to their credit qualify.

God, however, has a different perspective on sainthood. Paul called the Corinthian believers saints (1 Cor. 1:2) then went on for many chapters correcting their sinful practices. He called the Roman, Ephesian, and Colossian believers saints but they weren’t perfect either.

What then qualifies someone as a saint? The answer is in Philippians 1:1: “To the saints in Christ Jesus” (emphasis added). That’s the criterion. Sainthood is not reserved for the spiritually elite. It belongs to every believer because every believer is in Christ Jesus.

If you love Christ you also are a saint. That might come as a surprise to those who know you best, but it’s true nonetheless!

The hallmark of sainthood is holiness. In fact, the Greek word translated “saints” in Philippians 1:1 (hagios) literally means “holy ones.” It is used throughout the New Testament to speak of anyone or anything that represents God’s holiness: Christ as the Holy One of God, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Father, holy Scriptures, holy angels, holy brethren, and so on.

To God, you are holy and beloved in Christ (Col. 3:12). You have received a saintly calling (1 Cor. 1:2) and a saintly inheritance (Col. 1:12). You have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14), and every other spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3).

With that privilege comes the responsibility of living a holy life. That’s why Scripture admonishes you to present your body as a living and holy sacrifice (Rom. 12:1) and to live in a manner worthy of your saintly status (Eph. 5:3).

The power for godly living is the Holy Spirit, who indwells you. As you yield to Him through prayer and obedience to God’s Word, the characteristics of a true saint become increasingly evident in your life. Make that your commitment today.

Suggestions for Prayer:  Thank God for choosing you as one of His holy ones.

Pray that your life will be a consistent testimony to the reality of true sainthood.

For Further Study:   What are the privileges and responsibilities of saints as outlined

 

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “For me to live is Christ.” / Philippians 1:21

The believer did not always live to Christ. He began to do so when God the

Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the

dying Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new

and celestial birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers

the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we

have. He has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for him; to his

glory we would live, and in defence of his gospel we would die; he is the

pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our

character. Paul’s words mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim

and end of his life was Christ–nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words

of an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was

his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his

life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea?

Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business–are you

doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self- aggrandizement and for family

advantage? Do you ask, “Is that a mean reason?” For the Christian it is. He

professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without

committing a spiritual adultery? Many there are who carry out this principle

in some measure; but who is there that dare say that he hath lived wholly for

Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the true life of a

Christian–its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up

in one word–Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself, praying to

live only in thee and to thee. Let me be as the bullock which stands between

the plough and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be,

“Ready for either.”

 

Evening  “My sister, my spouse.” / Song of Solomon 4:12

Observe the sweet titles with which the heavenly Solomon with intense

affection addresses his bride the church. “My sister, one near to me by ties

of nature, partaker of the same sympathies. My spouse, nearest and dearest,

united to me by the tenderest bands of love; my sweet companion, part of my

own self. My sister, by my Incarnation, which makes me bone of thy bone and

flesh of thy flesh; my spouse, by heavenly betrothal, in which I have espoused

thee unto myself in righteousness. My sister, whom I knew of old, and over

whom I watched from her earliest infancy; my spouse, taken from among the

daughters, embraced by arms of love, and affianced unto me forever. See how

true it is that our royal Kinsman is not ashamed of us, for he dwells with

manifest delight upon this two-fold relationship. We have the word “my” twice

in our version; as if Christ dwelt with rapture on his possession of his

Church. “His delights were with the sons of men,” because those sons of men

were his own chosen ones. He, the Shepherd, sought the sheep, because they

were his sheep; he has gone about “to seek and to save that which was lost,”

because that which was lost was his long before it was lost to itself or lost

to him. The church is the exclusive portion of her Lord; none else may claim a

partnership, or pretend to share her love. Jesus, thy church delights to have

it so! Let every believing soul drink solace out of these wells. Soul! Christ

is near to thee in ties of relationship; Christ is dear to thee in bonds of

marriage union, and thou art dear to him; behold he grasps both of thy hands

with both his own, saying, “My sister, my spouse.” Mark the two sacred

holdfasts by which thy Lord gets such a double hold of thee that he neither

can nor will ever let thee go. Be not, O beloved, slow to return the hallowed

flame of his love.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” /

2 Peter 3:18

“Grow in grace”–not in one grace only, but in all grace. Grow in that

root-grace, faith. Believe the promises more firmly than you have done. Let

faith increase in fulness, constancy, simplicity. Grow also in love. Ask that

your love may become extended, more intense, more practical, influencing every

thought, word, and deed. Grow likewise in humility. Seek to lie very low, and

know more of your own nothingness. As you grow downward in humility, seek also

to grow upward–having nearer approaches to God in prayer and more intimate

fellowship with Jesus. May God the Holy Spirit enable you to “grow in the

knowledge of our Lord and Saviour.” He who grows not in the knowledge of

Jesus, refuses to be blessed. To know him is “life eternal,” and to advance in

the knowledge of him is to increase in happiness. He who does not long to know

more of Christ, knows nothing of him yet. Whoever hath sipped this wine will

thirst for more, for although Christ doth satisfy, yet it is such a

satisfaction, that the appetite is not cloyed, but whetted. If you know the

love of Jesus–as the hart panteth for the water-brooks, so will you pant

after deeper draughts of his love. If you do not desire to know him better,

then you love him not, for love always cries, “Nearer, nearer.” Absence from

Christ is hell; but the presence of Jesus is heaven. Rest not then content

without an increasing acquaintance with Jesus. Seek to know more of him in his

divine nature, in his human relationship, in his finished work, in his death,

in his resurrection, in his present glorious intercession, and in his future

royal advent. Abide hard by the Cross, and search the mystery of his wounds.

An increase of love to Jesus, and a more perfect apprehension of his love to

us is one of the best tests of growth in grace.

 

Evening  “And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.” / Genesis 42:8

This morning our desires went forth for growth in our acquaintance with the

Lord Jesus; it may be well tonight to consider a kindred topic, namely, our

heavenly Joseph’s knowledge of us. This was most blessedly perfect long before

we had the slightest knowledge of him. “His eyes beheld our substance, yet

being imperfect, and in his book all our members were written, when as yet

there was none of them.” Before we had a being in the world we had a being in

his heart. When we were enemies to him, he knew us, our misery, our madness,

and our wickedness. When we wept bitterly in despairing repentance, and viewed

him only as a judge and a ruler, he viewed us as his brethren well beloved,

and his bowels yearned towards us. He never mistook his chosen, but always

beheld them as objects of his infinite affection. “The Lord knoweth them that

are his,” is as true of the prodigals who are feeding swine as of the children

who sit at the table.

But, alas! we knew not our royal Brother, and out of this ignorance grew a

host of sins. We withheld our hearts from him, and allowed him no entrance to

our love. We mistrusted him, and gave no credit to his words. We rebelled

against him, and paid him no loving homage. The Sun of Righteousness shone

forth, and we could not see him. Heaven came down to earth, and earth

perceived it not. Let God be praised, those days are over with us; yet even

now it is but little that we know of Jesus compared with what he knows of us.

We have but begun to study him, but he knoweth us altogether. It is a blessed

circumstance that the ignorance is not on his side, for then it would be a

hopeless case for us. He will not say to us, “I never knew you,” but he will

confess our names in the day of his appearing, and meanwhile will manifest

himself to us as he doth not unto the world.

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God’s Final Revelation – John MacArthur

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“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2).

A Samaritan woman declared, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us” (John 4:25). The expectation of that day, even among the Samaritans, was that Messiah would unfold the full and final revelation of God. The Holy Spirit, through the writer of Hebrews, affirms that to be true: “God . . . in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2).

The Old Testament had given divine revelation in bits and pieces. Every piece was true, yet incomplete. But When Jesus came, the whole picture became clear, and though rejected by His own people, He was, in fact, the fulfillment of the messianic hope they had cherished for so many centuries.

The Old Testament age of promise ended when Jesus arrived. He is God’s final word: “As many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Cor. 1:20).

God fully expressed Himself in His Son. That’s why John said, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:14, 18). Paul added that in Christ “all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col. 2:9).

The practical implications of that truth are staggering. Since Christ is the fullness of divine revelation, you need nothing more. In Him you have been made complete (Col. 2:10), and have been granted everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). His Word is sufficient, needing no additions or amendments.

Suggestion for Prayer: Ask God to teach you how to rely more fully on your resources in Christ.

For Further Study:  Read John 1:1-18 as a reminder of the fullness of God’s revelation in His Son.