Thursday 2nd
Galatians 5:16-25
‘Believers walk with God by watching the work of the Spirit in their lives’
Being Pentecostal, we value and appreciate the person, work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was about to go to the cross he made a promise to the disciples that he would not leave them comfortless or alone, but that he would ask the Father to give them another Helper (Comforter KJV) to be with them forever, even the Spirit of truth. (John 14:16-17)
We discover in Scripture the many ministries or work of the Holy Spirit. For example, to help / comfort (John 14:16) to teach (John 14:26) to bear witness about Jesus (John 15:26) to convict (John 16:8) to guide into truth (John 16:13) to empower (Acts 1:8) to bring gifts and ministries (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).
Since we have come to faith we will have seen the activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives in many of these ways, but in particular I want to consider the aspect of the working of the Holy Spirit in making us more Christ-like. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in sanctification. Scripture refers to the work of sanctification which in a nutshell means to be set apart, to be made holy and as taking place in differing ways. Sanctified by the blood, by the Word (truth) and by the Holy Spirit. In 1 Peter 1:1-2 in his introduction to the epistle, Peter talks of those receiving the letter as being elect according to the foreknowledge of God in the SANCTIFICATION of the Spirit as he goes through the letter it is among other things a call to holiness (see 1 Peter 1:13-16). In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul also refers to the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.
How do we see this sanctification taking place? We see it by responding positively to the commands in Scripture that encourage us who are ‘in Christ’ to put of the old sinful nature and to put on the new nature which is ours through new birth. For references to this we can go to Colossians 3:1-17 and to the book of Galatians. Paul talks in Galatians about our walking by the Spirit rather then gratifying the desires of the flesh (5:16). We are living in the world, but we are not meant to be living like the world! And without the daily help of the Holy Spirit we would all be struggling. If you are reading this and know that you are struggling with gratifying the desires of the flesh, then ask the Holy Spirit to help you, for as we saw earlier, Jesus said he would send the Spirit to be alongside us to help us. As we change and become more Christlike or more holy what is happening is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and it is a beautiful thing to watch.
When we lived in Hereford, we often had visits to the Church from the lads that had been through the Teen Challenge programme. It used to be exciting to hear and see the way that these lads who had been broken, addicts etc. and had been transformed by the power of God, ‘the evidence’* was there, you could see the work of the Spirit in their lives. We may not have been where they have been, but the work of the Spirit is of equal importance in our lives as well.
Notice what Paul says in Galatians 5, he lists the works of the flesh and the fact that Paul adds ‘and things like this’(v21) means this list is not an exhaustive list. But then he continues to show what a life is like that has and is still knowing the working of the Holy Spirit verses 11-23. We call this the fruit of the Spirit.
He then concludes the chapter with this, ‘and those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.’
As I have been doing these devotions based on the skeleton that Whitefield provided, I have often wondered what he would have said on each of these points. I guess if we could get hold of his sermon, although the points are the same he and I may differ in our approach or we may be similar, but, when it came to this point, I felt deeply impressed in my spirit to close with a very clear challenge. And it is this: as Believers, followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, are we allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives? And in the area of sanctification, are we desiring to become more Christlike and as such, denying the flesh and desirous to be led by the Spirit and displaying the fruit of the Spirit.
Right from the beginning of preparing these devotions, Psalm 1 is continually being impressed on my mind and I feel today it fits in to share. It’s an Old Testament Book and Chapter but it has significance towards our walking in the Spirit. (turn to Psalm 1)
We have choices to make, we either walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the way of sinners and sit in the seat of the scornful – this would be our gratifying the desires of the flesh. OR we can choose not to do these things but to delight ourselves in the law of the Lord and this would include the ways of the Lord, this would be denying the flesh and choosing to keep in step with the Spirit. Two choices, two outcomes. ‘For the Lord knows the way of the righteous (those who are saved, holy and sanctified, walking by the Spirit) but the way of the wicked (those who choose to live according to the flesh, the old nature) will perish. (v6)
May God help us to live and to walk by the Spirit so that as we see our own lives and watch each other in our Church family we will watch and see the work of the Holy Spirit.
* ‘The Evidence’ is the name of the Teen Challenge team who travel to share their story.
Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, alone,
Can turn our hearts from sin;
His power alone can sanctify
And keep us pure within.
O Spirit of faith and love!
Come in our midst, we pray,
And purify each waiting heart;
Baptise us with power today!
Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, alone
Can deeper love inspire;
His power alone within our souls
Can light the sacred fire.
Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, can bring
The gifts we seek in prayer;
His voice can words of comfort speak,
And still each wave of care.
Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, can give
The grace we need this hour;
And while we wait, O Spirit, come
In sanctifying power.
Fanny Crosby CCLI 788682