Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Continuing, Pastor Herk states that the Apostle Paul reinforces the reality of spiritual riches from God in Philippians 4:19 saying, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” The Believer is not limited by their own resources, because god supplies our needs with the glorious riches of God at our disposal. But, how am I able to plug into that power which god provides? How do we receive it? The Second principle is that we need to submit to the Spirit. All three persons of the Trinity are mentioned in Ephesians 3:14-19. The Holy Spirit is the conduit by which God’s power flows into our lives as He points us to Jesus Christ.
In John 14:16-17, 25-26 Jesus says, “I will ask the Father,c and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. These things I have spoken to you while remaining with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.” The Holy Spirit reminds us of the teachings of Jesus and helps us to apply those teachings in our lives. The Holy Spirit is given to indwell each born-again at the moment we repent of sin, accept and receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, but the Bible is clear that we can impede His word and not get the full benefit.
Ephesians 4:30 warns, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19 “Do not quench the Spirit.” We can quench the Spirit’s fire and grieve Him. We can choose to respond by submitting our lives to that work and make the changes necessary to make our lives in line the revelation He is putting forth or we can choose to ignore it. We have a choice, but if we want to make our heart God’s home, with Jesus in your heart wherever you go, then choose to walk in the Spirit. So, if I want to make my heart, God’s home, then I need to develop a habit of submitting my life to the work of the Holy Spirit.
When we read the Bible and pray, we need to do it with an attitude of humility and submission. Have the mindset to receive what He has and abide by it. The third principle is to emphasize the eternal in your hearts, develop our inner life, both the inner being and our heart, describing the very center – our personality, our thoughts, our will, and our emotions. It is that part of our heart that we need to develop in order for Jesus to come home in our hearts. Cosmetic changes on the exterior so people see us not as we really are will not last as the foundations are not proper. The same is true with our lives. We can spend all of the time on the outside, but if we do not take care of the inner being in our hearts, then the work we do won’t last.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
The way that we are renewed inwardly, day by day, is to fix our eyes on those unseen things which are permanent rather than the temporary things which are seen. Develop the things that will last for eternity; our character, our convictions, our devotions, our thought lives rather those things that will pass away; our bodies, our material and sessions. Our main focus should be on developing those parts of our lives that are going to last through eternity. If Jesus makes His home in our hearts then it only makes sense that we ought to focus our time and efforts on our hearts.
James 2:18-19 “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
The fourth principle is to trust in God’s truth through faith. This faith is more than just an intellectual belief. We have to trust in Jesus. Christ alone is the means of making things right with God. He is our intercessor and mediator. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. But, if we truly have faith and truly in Christ, we’ll have things take place in our lives which reflect that. Real faith is demonstrated by our actions. Our lives are going to change when we get into spirit and truth faith. We need to make our hearts a safe dwelling place for Jesus. If we want Him to come and make Himself at home in our hearts, then we need to have the kind of faith that trusts and obeys the teachings of Jesus and the leading of the Holy Spirit as He guides us.
God is going to accomplish the very best for us, if we trust Him. Even when we can’t see how. He gives us everything that we need to do it. Do not worry about tomorrow. Do not worry about material things. Spirit and Truth worship is changing your lifestyle. Prepare your heart and mind for that changed lifestyle, to improve and make a better place for Christ to live.
In Christ, Brian
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