Word of Encouragement (10/9/2020)

Today, let’s begin our reflection on using God’s promises in fighting sin. The first is God’s promise of the Holy Spirit. Many of you know Joel’s prophecy: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit” (2:28-29). This promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down upon the 120 disciples who were praying in the upper room. Why this gift of the Holy Spirit?

God promised in Ezek. 36:26-27, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” This describes the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (that is, causing us to be born again). Why is this regenerating work of the Holy Spirit necessary? Because our “heart of stone” (i.e., our dead heart) has to be removed and replaced with a “heart of flesh” (i.e., a living, beating heart). “Because of our fall in Adam, our hearts are full of sin and uncleanness, stone cold in matters of religion, blind to truth, in bondage to sin, and dead in sin. We resist all overtures of grace, all offers of the gospel, and all calls to repent” (p. 119). This is why we need to be born again, which the Holy Spirit brings about by His regenerating work. “The Holy Spirit conquers the strong man ([i.e., the devil,] Mark 3:27), subdues the enemy (Rom. 8:7), softens the heart (Ezek. 36:26), bends the will [toward God and His grace] (Ps. 110:3), implants a desire for Christ, and stirs a welcome response to His gospel call (Phil. 2:13), which then become evident as the heart embraces Christ by faith and turns from sin in true repentance (Acts 20:20-21; 1 Thess. 1:9)” (p. 119).

By this work of regeneration, the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling in us and works in us to bring our salvation to its glorious completion. “The promise of His Spirit is the root of everything God promises to accomplish in us by redemption. The Spirit indwells us to accomplish all that God purposed in His election of us and all that Christ purchased in His mediation for us. Without the indwelling of His Spirit, we could enjoy no other spiritual blessings, for they are the fruits of His residence within us. In giving His Spirit to us in such a personal and abiding way, God has guaranteed the perfect, irreversible, and eternal accomplishment of His electing purpose: that we might be His children, holy and without blemish at His coming (Eph. 1:5; 5:27; 1 John 3:2)” (p. 120).

How do you know you have the Holy Spirit? If you believe in Jesus Christ: “...no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). Let us be grateful and rejoice that we have received the Spirit of God! If you don’t think you have the Holy Spirit, pray. Jesus promised, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke 11:13)!