Spiritual Gifts part 108. Gideon's men broke their pitchers, and the light poured out.
Pastor-Teacher
John Farley
Wednesday,
April 13, 2011
Spiritual Gifts Part 108: God had Gideon’s men break their pitchers so the light could pour out.
The Doctrine of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
C. The Baptism of the Spirit is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in placing every new believer into permanent union with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Body the Church.
Point 4. Definition and description of the Baptism of the Spirit.
The conscience is that soul faculty by which one distinguishes between right and wrong, and urges the individual to do what he recognizes to be right and to restrain him from doing that which he recognizes to be wrong.
The conscience of a believer that is formed by doctrine, especially the mystery doctrine of the New Testament epistles, is a supercharged conscience!
We must be brought to the point where we are convinced that in our flesh, in our human power, we cannot do it!
The Christian way of life is a supernatural way of life and requires a supernatural means of execution.
Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
We have to decide to walk by means of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit makes profound changes to that believer’s soul: His consciousness of who he is His thought patterns His norms and standards His emotional patterns His desires
Phi 2:13 for it is God [the Holy Spirit] who is at work in you, both to will [give you motivation] and to work [He gives you the ability to execute] above and beyond His good pleasure.
Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Our old man was crucified with Christ so that we could be set free from our slavery to sin and therefore be joined to Another and live a new life. (Romans 6)
Rom 6:13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
We have to come to the point where we no longer focus so much on our sins and weaknesses.
What power am I operating under?
What nature am I living in?
Human power or the filling of the Spirit?
The old sin nature or the new spiritual species?
Accepting the cheap substitute of human power results in self-induced misery and divine discipline.
If we are commanded to do something in the Word of God, then we can expect to receive from God the power to do so.
The Christian way of life not only demands supernatural power. It also requires a supernatural creation: the new spiritual species.
2Co 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
The word of God provides the standards for the Christian conscience, and the Holy Spirit provides the supernatural ability to live according to those standards.
We have to be broken of our habit of relying on the flesh, relying on our power and our talents and our strategies and defense mechanisms.
Our confidence in our flesh – our talents, our solutions, our money, our connections, our personality, our family, our cleverness – needs to be broken and ended.
The lesson of Gideon’s great victory is not to rely on anything man can do; rely on the power of God to pull you through. |