November 28, 2023

JOURNEY OF FAITH
Day Two Hundred Twelve

WHY DO I EXIST

CHAPTER NINE
GIFT OF THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT

Friends & neighbors; brothers and sisters…

If you remember nothing else from the pages of “WHY DO I EXIST”…never forget this: GOD LOVES YOU. 

God’s Love 4 U is…
Unconditional
Unfailing
Unchanging
Unending 

Beloved…I love you because of Who I am…not as a response to who you are, or what you do, or what you refrain from doing.
If only you would know in the depths of your soul, if only you would just fully embrace, the greatness of My love I have lavished upon you…that the most intense desire of My heart is to gather you to Myself as one of My Own children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.  That is the depth of My love for you.  

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GOD’S ETERNAL PROVISION FOR MY EXISTENCE

God’s ETERNAL PROVISION for my existence is the Gift of His Son and the Gift of His Holy Spirit.   

The Gift of My Son makes it possible for you to appropriate My Eternal Purpose for creating you and bringing you into existence…Relationship…through becoming His bride, the bride of Christ. 

The Gift of My Holy Spirit makes it possible for you to embrace and be engaged in My Eternal Plans specifically and personally ordained for you in bringing you into existence…I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

GIFT OF MY HOLY SPIRIT

Given to dwell in you…never to leave you, never forsake you…to be the Divine Nature abiding in you Whose Power continually guarantees and secures your capability to live your everyday life:
faithful to your solemn marriage vows as the spiritual bride of Christ My Son;
faithfully within the Holy of Holies and the inaccessible Light of the Glory of My unclouded Presence in our Sacred Covenant relationship.   

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you of all your filthiness and from all your idols.  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; yes…I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put My Spirit in you and move you…to follow My decrees and to be careful to keep My laws.   
And this is My covenant with you, “My Spirit will not leave you, and neither will these words I have given you.  They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children from this time on and forever!  I, the Lord, have spoken!  You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.” [Ezek 36:25-28; Isa 59:21]

SPIRITUAL MATURITY

 Don’t you yet understand?…in your physical life, maturity is growth from the utter dependence of a baby to the complete independence and self-reliance of an adult. 
In your spiritual life, however, maturity is growth from independence and self-reliance to utter dependency upon God.  He is most spiritually mature who lives a life of unreserved child-like dependence upon Me. 

A baby is utterly helpless to provide for its physical needs; all (s)he can do is open his/her mouth and cry.  Unless there is someone who hears its cry and satisfies its needs, (s)he will surely die. 
In the same manner, you are utterly helpless to provide for your spiritual needs.  All you can do is open your mouth and cry…cry out to Me.  I alone am the One Who hears your cry and satisfies those needs.

SPIRITUAL LIFE: CRYING, NOT TRYING

My child, if you try to live a spiritual life in the power of your flesh…through reliance upon your human capabilities and capacities, by your own efforts and in your own strength, according to your own wisdom, knowledge, and understanding…you will surely die spiritually. 
Just as a baby cannot provide for its physical life, neither can you provide for your spiritual life.  Don’t you yet understand?  Your spiritual life cannot grow and mature by trying…only by crying.  Crying out to Me, and trusting that I will hear your cry and satisfy your needs. 
Like a newborn baby crying in its thirst…crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up into full spiritual maturity, now that you have tasted the goodness and kindness of the Lord!

INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT CRIES OUT “ABBA FATHER”

My brothers and sisters in Christ…our God and Father has given us the Eternal Gift of His Holy Spirit to dwell in each one of us…never to leave me, never to forsake me: Because you are My child, I have given you the Spirit of My Son to dwell in your heart, and He continually cries out, “Abba, Father!”  All who are indeed My children are continually led by My indwelling Holy Spirit!

NEW COVENANT AGREEMENT

Beloved…that is why I made a New Covenant agreement with Mankind, and gave My Holy Spirit to dwell in you, to be the Power Who enables you to grow up into full spiritual maturity.  It is His work, not yours.  He Personally lives out the life of My Divine Son Jesus in you…Who is your Wisdom from God, as well as your Righteousness, your Sanctification, and your Redemption.  I put in you a new heart and a new spirit; I removed your stubborn heart of stone and replaced it with a tender, obedient heart.  And I put in you My Spirit, empowering you to obey My laws and live by My decrees.  This is My covenant with you: “My Spirit, and these words I have given you, will never depart from you!”

POWER OF A RESURRECTION LIFE

 It is Finished!  The Holy Spirit was given as My Eternal gift to dwell in you…never to leave you, never to forsake you.  Embrace the life of My Divine Son Jesus that the Holy Spirit is Personally living out in you…a life of obedience and suffering, self-sacrifice and self-denial…giving Him free reign to do so.  Embrace the death of My Divine Son Jesus that the Holy Spirit is Personally working out in you, conforming you ever more deeply into the likeness of His death…death to sin and death to self…in order that you may thereby attain, more and more, to the power of the resurrection life of Christ Jesus My Son out from the dead…the power to walk through each and every day as more than a conqueror and with overwhelming victory.

LIVING IN THE HOLY OF HOLIES: YOUR BIRTH-RIGHT

Beloved…this is what it means to live your everyday life faithfully within the Holy of Holies: entrust your life and your everyday manner of living continually and unceasingly throughout each day entirely into My hands.  I assure you…I will lead you and guide you by My Holy Spirit!  Trust in Me with an unwavering child-like trust that…

• My indwelling Holy Spirit will indeed Be All in you and Do All in you…will indeed place you where you are to be, lead you where you are to go, show you what you are to do to participate together with Him in His work, give you the thoughts to think and present, the words to speak or write.
• In My will for your life and in the work I have given you to do…in the ministries I have given to you and their responsibilities…My indwelling Spirit will indeed enable you to fulfill your responsibilities in accordance with My plans, purposes, and will, and in a manner that is well-pleasing in My sight.
• In every circumstance, event, and thing that is currently touching your life, and in all that I will yet allow to touch your life, My Spirit will indeed lead you and guide you, showing you how to respond and when.
• In all things I allow to touch your life, My indwelling Spirit will indeed intervene in those affairs to Personally do whatever is beyond your human capabilities and capacities to do, in accordance with My Own plans, purposes, and will.
• In all things I allow to touch your life, My indwelling Spirit will indeed Personally cause…or specifically, consciously, and deliberately allow…results, outcomes, and conclusions according to My Own good purpose, in accordance with My Own plans, purposes, and will.
• The results, outcomes, and conclusions I bring about will indeed be the very best, very kindest, most loving thing that can possibly be…and that I make all things work together for your good.
• Therefore, it should not matter to you what these results, outcomes, and conclusions are, since that is for Me to consider and not for you.  All that really matters is that you cooperate with My enabling grace to keep your heart lovingly and joyfully joined with My will.

POWER OF THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT

Blessed Holy Spirit…Your Divine Power dwelling within me has given me everything I need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Jesus, the One Who called me by His Own Glory and Goodness.  Through these, Christ Jesus has given me His Own very great and precious promises, so that through them I may participate in Your Divine Nature now dwelling within me, and thereby escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. [2 Pet 1:3-4]

ETERNAL PROMISE: ABIDING REST

Entrance into the Eternal Blessings I have for Mankind…My Eternal Promise of an abiding rest for My children…BEGINS with your solemn vow before Me to become the bride of Christ My Son in a divine spiritual marriage, to be joined inseparably together with Him through the new life to be conceived in you by the Holy Spirit.

REMAINING IN MY PROMISED REST

My beloved child…the only way you can remain in My promised rest is by your…
unwavering child-like trust both in My Love for you and in My Sovereignty over all Creation,
unreserved child-like dependence upon the leading of My Holy Spirit,
and your
unquestioning child-like obedience to, and acceptance of, My will as the very best, very kindest, most loving thing that can possibly be. 

You are responsible to consciously and deliberately wait upon Me…to watch for Me and wait before Me, to look off unto Me and listen for My voice.  That is to be your life.  What My Spirit shows you to do, He will also enable you to do.  It is His work from beginning to end.  You are responsible to be obedient and participate in His work whenever He shows you to do so, and to cooperate with the Power of His enabling grace at work in you in doing it…not by trying to do His work on your own, by your own efforts and in your own strength. 

 GOD REVEALS HIMSELF THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT

And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. [Isa 25:9]

NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH

You are to have no confidence in the power of your flesh, since in your sin-enslaved human nature you are hopelessly powerless, hopelessly impotent, hopelessly helpless to do anything, or say anything, that is good or pleasing or acceptable to God.  The power of your flesh encompasses all of your reliance upon your human capabilities and capacities…anything by your own efforts or in your own  strength; anything in accordance with your own wisdom or knowledge or understanding. 

SIN-ENSLAVED HUMAN NATURE

Abba Father…I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sin-enslaved human nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot always carry it out.  For what I end up doing is not the good deeds I want to do; no, the evil deeds I do not want to do…this I all too often keep on doing! 
Now if I so often end up doing what I do not want to do, it is no longer I myself who does it, but it is the enslaving power of sin living in my human nature that asserts itself and does it. 
So I find this law at work in me: when I want to do what is right and good, evil is right there with me, subjecting me to its insistent demands.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s Law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law embraced by my regenerated mind, and making me a prisoner of the indwelling principle of sin at work within the members of my body. 

What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God…You have delivered me, Father, and set me free through my living union of oneness with Christ Jesus Your Son! 

So then, to sum up this whole matter, such is the unchanging conflict of these two principles within me as Your child: I myself in my regenerated mind am a willing bond-slave to God’s Law, but in my sin-enslaved human nature that still remains a part of me, a wretched slave to the rule and reign of the indwelling principle of sin.   

 GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

God has given the gift of the Holy Spirit…the Spirit of God, Who dwells in you and has promised never to leave you, never to forsake you, through Whom you have been joined together in a living union of oneness with Christ Jesus My Son…not only to dwell in me but also to be the Divine nature within me out of which I am to now live my every day life.  I am no longer to live my life out of my natural, sin-enslaved, human nature. 
Beloved child of God…My indwelling Holy Spirit must BE ALL in you and DO ALL in you; you must live your everyday life in the Power of My Holy Spirit. 

• BE ALL IN ME:
  a) Embracing the Life of Jesus:
       1)  Sacred Covenant Relationship.
       2)  Mirror of the Almighty.
  b) Embracing the death of Jesus:
       1)  Death to sin.
       2)  Death to self.
• DO ALL IN ME:
  a) God’s workmanship.
  b) Works both to will and to do.

HOLY SPIRIT MUST BE ALL IN ME

The Holy Spirit is to BE ALL in me…ALL I was created to be, ALL I was saved to be…a soul living faithfully in Sacred Covenant relationship with my God, for which purpose He created me; a soul living as a mirror of the Almighty, reflecting the Glory of the One in Whose image and likeness I was created; a soul that is dead to sin and dead to self, and alive to God.

You have been set free from sin and have become the slaves of righteousness.  I use everyday language because of the weakness of your natural selves.  Just as you used to surrender the parts of your body as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now surrender them as slaves of righteousness leading to holiness.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.  And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation…but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.  Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption.  And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father!”  The Spirit Himself testifies with our own spirit that we are indeed God’s children! [Rom 8:5, 9, 12, 14-16; 6:18-19] 

EMBRACING THE LIFE OF JESUS

Christ Jesus took upon Himself a human nature [except as to sin…He never sinned], being born into this world to live the life of a human being just as we do.  The life He lived was exactly and perfectly what God had intended for Mankind to live when He created Adam.  In the power of our sin-enslaved human nature, however, we are hopelessly helpless to live this life.  It is the work of the Holy Spirit Who dwells in me to Personally live out the Life of my Lord Jesus in me; it is my place as a child of God to give Him free reign to do so.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ the Messiah lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 

Jesus assured me, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name to act on My behalf, will teach you all things.  He will cause you to recall (will bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.” [Gal 2:20; John 14:26]   

SACRED COVENANT RELATIONSHIP

The life of my Lord Jesus being lived out in me by the Holy Spirit…to the extent I have given Him free reign to do so…is a life faithful to my Sacred Covenant relationship with God.    

Jesus Himself by His Own life was my example of how this life of relationship is to be lived.  He spent much time alone to commune with the Father, waiting on God for His plans, purposes and will.
Jesus’ will was totally surrendered to God; He did only the things the Father showed Him to do, and spoke only the words the Father gave Him to speak.  He was totally obedient to the Father…the very point of Adam’s failure and sin…even unto death, a death on the cross!  It was for this very reason that, in the character of His human nature as perfect Man, God exalted Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name that is above every name.

It is my place as a child of God to wholeheartedly embrace this life of my Lord Jesus that the Holy Spirit Personally desires to live out in me…a life of waiting before God for His plans, purposes and will, and an unquestioning child-like obedience to His direction for my life.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.  Other times, after He had dismissed the crowds, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray.  Some of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray and spent the night in prayer to God. [Mark 1:35; Matt 14:23; Luke 6:12]

Jesus Himself emphatically stated, “The world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what My Father has commanded Me.
My food,” said Jesus, “Is to do the will of Him Who sent Me, and to finish His work.  I am able to do nothing independently, of My Own accord, but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders.  Even as I hear, I decide as I am bidden to decide.  As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision, for I did not speak on My Own authority of My Own accord, but the Father Who sent Me commanded Me what to say and how to say it.  I know that His command leads to eternal life.  So whatever I speak, I am saying exactly what My Father has told Me to say, and in accordance with His instructions.” [John 14:31; 4:34-35 ; 5:30; 12:49-50] 

MIRROR OF THE ALMIGHTY 

When I consciously and deliberately embrace the life of my Lord Jesus that the Spirit of God Personally desires to live out in me, my life will indeed be a mirror of the Almighty, reflecting His Glory to the created Universe.  When souls come into contact with me…the things I think and say and do in my everyday life…they will see some manifestation of the character and nature of the Father in me.  Jesus, in His human nature during His life upon this Earth, was a perfect mirror of the Almighty; I am to follow His example by giving the Holy Spirit free reign to do likewise in my life.
Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in Me, he does not believe in Me only, but also in the One Who sent Me.  When he looks at Me, he sees the One Who sent Me.” 
Jesus answered Philip, “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?  Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me?” [John 12:44-45; 14:9-10]

Beloved child of God…You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Live as children of light…for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth…so that no one can criticize you.  Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 
Hold firmly to the Word of Life; you are the light of the world!  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light so shine before the souls of men that they may see in you, as a mirror of the Almighty, the God-ordained origin of the moral excellence being continually wrought in you by My Holy Spirit…your praiseworthy, noble, righteous acts and good deeds…and thereby recognize, honor, praise, and glorify Your Father in Heaven, for all He alone is capable of doing and has done in the hearts of Man down through the unfolding generations as you give Him free reign to do so. [Eph 5:8-9; Phil 2:15-16; Matt 5:14-16]

EMBRACING THE DEATH OF JESUS

I am to embrace the death of my Lord Jesus that the Holy Spirit is Personally working out in me, conforming me ever more deeply into the likeness of His death…death to sin and death to self…in order that I may thereby attain, more and more, to the power of the resurrection life of Jesus out from the dead…the power to walk triumphantly through each day and every as more than a conqueror and with overwhelming victory.
For my determined purpose is that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the Power out-flowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the sure hope] that if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body]. [Phil 3:10-11]

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship, distress or persecution, famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors and have overwhelming victory through Christ, Who loved us! [Rom 8:35-37]

DEATH TO SIN 

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your Earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.  You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. [Eph 4:21-24; Col 3:5-10]

For in Christ Jesus the whole fullness of Deity continues to dwell in bodily form, giving complete expression of His Divine Nature.  You are joined together with Him in a living union of oneness, and so in Him are filled with the Godhead…Father, Son and Holy Spirit…and reach full spiritual stature!  And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].  In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but in a spiritual circumcision performed by Christ by stripping off the body of the flesh the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and lusts.
Therefore, consider yourselves dead to sin and your relation to it broken, and alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus. 
Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions.  Do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members and faculties to sin as instruments of wickedness.  But offer and yield yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to perpetual life, and your bodily members and faculties to God, presenting them as instruments of righteousness.  For sin shall no longer exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law as slaves, but under grace as subjects of God’s favor and mercy. [Col 2:9-11; Rom 6:11-14]

DEATH TO SELF 

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Holy Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion…
then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility let each regard others as better than and superior to yourself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves].  Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not merely your own interests, but also for the interests of others.  Let this same attitude and purpose and humble mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus [let Him be your example in humility]. [Phil 2:1-5]
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.  The greatest among you will be your servant.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” [Mark 10:42-45; Matt 23:11-12] 

HOLY SPIRIT MUST DO ALL IN ME

The Holy Spirit is to DO ALL in me…ALL that God Himself has planned in advance for me to do during my lifetime.

I am not to do what I want to do, or what I think would be good to do.  Oftentimes, Christians get involved with doing things “for God” that they have decided upon.  
They never hear the Lord saying, “That’s nice, but that isn’t what I wanted you to do,” or the Holy Spirit saying, “You’re on your own, buddy…I never told you to do that.”

My priority in life is to wait upon God…as Jesus Himself did, clearly stating, “I am able to do nothing independently, of My Own accord, but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders.”  I am to wait upon the Holy Spirit to place me where I am to be, lead me where I am to go, show me what I am to do to participate together with Him in His work, give me the thoughts I am to think and present, the words I am to speak or write.

God Himself has declared, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. [Jer 29:11] 
Jesus Himself declared, “Here I am, I have come…it is written about Me in the scroll.  I desire to do Your will, O My God; Your law is within My heart.”  “I have come down from Heaven, not to do My will but to do the will of Him Who sent Me.” [Ps 40:8; John 6:37-38]

GOD’S WORKMANSHIP

I am God’s Own handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that I may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for me [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that I should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for me to live]. [Eph 2:10]
And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in me will continue until the day of Christ Jesus’ return, developing that good work, perfecting it, and bringing it to full completion in me. [Phil 1:6]

HOLY SPIRIT WORKS WITHIN ME

Abba Father…this is indeed my blessed assurance!  Is not my house right with God?  Have You not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part?  Will You not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire that is in agreement with God’s will?
For I am God’s Own workmanship, born anew in Christ Jesus Your Son, that I may do those good works which God Himself has prepared in advance for me to do.
God the Holy Spirit works in me both to will and to do.  Not in my own strength…for it is God in the Power of the Holy Spirit Who is all the while effectually at work in me, energizing and creating in me both the power and desire, both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. [Phil 2:13-14] 
Such is the reliance and confidence that we have through Christ toward and with reference to God.  Not that we are qualified and sufficient in ability of ourselves to form personal judgments or to claim or count anything as coming from us, but our power and ability and sufficiency are from God. [2 Cor 3:4-5] 

POWER OF THE DIVINE NATURE DWELLING IN ME

Blessed Holy Spirit…Continually and unceasingly day and night, I need You to guide my life!  Then I won’t be doing what my sinful nature craves.  My sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what Your Holy Spirit wants, Father.  And Your Spirit gives me desires that are the opposite of what my sinful nature desires.  These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so I am not able to freely carry out my good intentions.  But when I am directed by Your Holy Spirit, Father, I am not under obligation to the Law.  I who belong to Christ Jesus Your Son have nailed the passions and desires of my sin-enslaved human nature to His cross and crucified them there.  Since I am now living by Your Spirit, I will indeed seek to follow Your Spirit’s leading in every part of my life. [Rom 7:18-25; Gal 5:16-18, 24-25]    

HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF WORSHIP

My part in this Sacred Covenant relationship with God…the chief end of Man…is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
Although this is my very place in our relationship, and I am consecrated and set apart to worship God, I am hopelessly powerless, hopelessly impotent, hopelessly helpless to do so in the powers of my sin-enslaved human nature.  In the power of the flesh…the totality of my human capabilities and capacities, by my own efforts and in my own strength, according to my own wisdom, knowledge and understanding…I cannot worship God as He really is, nor offer Him the true worship that He wants. 

The only act of worship on my part that is acceptable to You, that is pleasing to You…which must be first of all before any other worship or sacrificial offering…is to take the free will You have given me in my creation and freely, of my own free will, lay it on the altar of sacrifice in absolute surrender, and say from my heart, “No Father, Not my will, but Thy will be done.”
Apart from that, I cannot truly worship You…I cannot worship You in Spirit and in truth.  Giving my free will back to God is the only thing I can give You, Father, that You don’t already have…because You had freely laid aside Your Sovereignty as my Creator to determine the course of my life, and gave me absolute sovereignty to determine the course of my own life.

Your Divine Son Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman at the well, “The time is coming, and is already here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” [John 4:23]  True worshipers such as You seek, Father, will worship You in Spirit and Truth.
The only act of true worship is embracing in my heart, and manifesting continually and unceasingly in living out my every day life: NOT MY WILL, BUT THY WILL BE DONE…IN EVERYTHING. 
And how do I manifest this true worship in living out my life?  By living out my every day life in a manner that bears witness for all to see to the truth of what I claim to believe…that in everything I do and say and think my life literally expresses…
an unwavering child-like trust in You,
an unreserved child-like dependence upon You, and
an unquestioning child-like obedience to do Your will and accept Your will. 
The confirmation of Your Holy Spirit within me will be an unruffled child-like rest in You, and
an unclouded child-like carefree joy in Your Presence.

Even so, God…in His infinite willingness to fulfill all He has covenanted in our Sacred Covenant relationship, has given the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell in me…never to leave me, never to forsake me.
The Holy Spirit was given to be the Divine Power Personally living out the life of Jesus within me…a life that is indeed good and pleasing and acceptable to God.

The Holy Spirit alone is the agent of all true worship.  Therefore, the attitude in my natural human spirit must be one of absolute surrender, giving the Spirit of God free reign in my life, to rule over my everyday manner of living…Sovereign Lord over my life, seated upon the throne within my heart, to reign in Sovereign Majesty, and to rule with Sovereign authority.  It is only in the Power of the Holy Spirit that my worship can be good, and pleasing, and acceptable to God. 
My sin-enslaved human nature was crucified with Christ…nailed to His cross; I am never again to allow my flesh to come down off that cross and usurp the rule and authority in my life that rightfully belongs to the Holy Spirit.  It is only in the Power of the Holy Spirit that I can live my everyday life in a manner that worships God as He really is.  For it is God the Holy Spirit Who is continually living out the life of Jesus in me, working in me both the desire to obey my Father’s will and the power to do His will, for His Own good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. [John 4:23-24; Phil 2:13]

HOLY SPIRIT: INSTRUMENT OF WORSHIP

When I received Jesus the Christ into my heart, as both Lord over my life and Savior of my soul, to be joined together with Him in a Sacred Covenant relationship, I solemnly vowed…
to live my everyday life faithful to my solemn marriage vows as the bride of Christ in our eternal living union of oneness,
to live my everyday life faithfully within the Holy Of Holies, in the inaccessible Light of the Glory of my Father’s unclouded Presence in our Sacred Covenant relationship,
to be a mirror of the Almighty, reflecting His Glory to the created Universe. 

My faithfulness to these Sacred spiritual marriage vows throughout the course of my everyday life is what constitutes worship.  The story of my everyday life is to be worship in His eyes.  Every part of my life, and every part of my being…body, soul and spirit…is consecrated and set apart to the worship of God.  And the worship of God is inseparable from love, for God is Love. 

Jesus replied to a question from one of the Scribes, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel!  The LORD our God is the One and only LORD.  And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’  The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 
No other commandment is greater than these.” [Mark 12:29-31] 

HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF PRAYER

You are helpless to pray effectively, as you do not know what God’s will is for souls whom you are interceding for, nor even how to offer your prayer in a worthy manner as you ought.  In your utter human weakness, you must wait before the Spirit of God for His help.  So too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads on our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.  And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes and pleads before God on behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will. 

So, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit…pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. [Rom 8:26-27; Jude 20-21; Eph 6:18]

HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF FRUIT

My child, you are helpless to produce fruit…the abundant, abiding fruit produced by My Holy Spirit.  You are merely a branch; branches do not produce fruit.
Branches are meant to bear the fruit which My Spirit produces.  Abide in Me, and I will abide in you.  Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without being vitally united to the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.  I am the Vine; you are the branches.  Whoever lives in Me, and I in him, bears abundant fruit.  However, apart from a living union of oneness with Me…you can do nothing. [John 15:4-5] 

HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF GOD’S PLANS, PURPOSES, AND WILL

In your own wisdom, knowledge, and understanding…you are helpless to know God’s plans, purposes, and will for you.  It is the Spirit of God Who…
places you where you are to be,
leads you where you are to go,
shows you what you are to do to participate together with Him in His work,
gives you the thoughts you are to think and present,
gives you the words you are to speak or write. 

The Holy Spirit searches all things…even the Divine counsels and the limitless depths of God…things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny.  For just as no one among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s own spirit within him, even so no one knows the mind and thoughts of God…only the Spirit of God. 

Now, we have not received the spirit that belongs to the world, but the Holy Spirit Who is from God, given to us that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts of Divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly bestowed upon us by God.  But the natural human spirit of man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are meaningless nonsense to him; and he is incapable of knowing and understanding them because they can only be spiritually discerned and appreciated. [1 Cor 2:10-12, 14] 

HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF SPIRITUAL REVELATION

Beloved…you are helpless to acquire spiritual wisdom, knowledge or understanding by means of the human capabilities and capacities of your mind.  Your deepest need when you have studied or heard God’s Word, is to cease from your thoughts, put no trust in them, awaken your heart to open itself before God, and seek living fellowship with Me.  It is the Spirit of God Who illuminates your mind to spiritual things. 

But as for you, Christ has poured out His Spirit upon you.  As long as His Spirit remains in you, you do not need anyone to teach you.  For His Spirit teaches you about everything, and what He teaches is true, not false.  Obey the Spirit’s teaching, then, and remain in union with Christ. [1 John 2:27] 

HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF PLEASING GOD

In the power of your flesh you are hopelessly powerless, hopelessly impotent, hopelessly helpless to do anything, or say anything, that is good or pleasing or acceptable to God. 
Those who live according to their sin-enslaved human nature have their minds set on and pursue what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Holy Spirit desires.  Those whose manner of life is controlled by their sin-enslaved human nature cannot please God, or be acceptable to Him. [Rom 8:5, 8] 

HOLY SPIRIT: AGENT OF GOD’S INFINITE WILLINGNESS

Child of God!  Do you now realize; do you now understand?  You are hopelessly powerless, hopelessly impotent, hopelessly helpless in the power of your sin-enslaved human nature to live your life in any manner that is good and pleasing and acceptable to Me!  Therefore I, your God and Father, have assured you that I am infinitely willing, through the Power of My Holy Spirit I have graciously given to dwell in you, to:
BE ALL in you…all I created you to be, all I saved you to be;
DO ALL in you…all that I have planned in advance for you to do.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you of all your filthiness and from all your idols.  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; yes…I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put My Spirit in you and move you…to follow My decrees and to be careful to keep My laws.  And this is My covenant with you, “My Spirit will not leave you, and neither will these words I have given you.  They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children from this time on and forever!  I, the Lord, have spoken!
You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.” [Ezek 36:25-28; Isa 59:21] 

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 SUMMARY OVERVIEW OF MANKIND’S CREATION

Here is a concise summary overview of God’s Eternal purpose and intention in bringing you into existence, as He Himself has clearly set forth in Scripture, expressed clearly and accurately in the Westminster Shorter Catechism: The chief end of Man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. 

• I made you for Myself, in My Own image and in My Own likeness, Divinely crafted with the capabilities and capacity to be joined together with the Triune God in a Sacred Covenant relationship…a living union of oneness…the very crown jewels of My Creation, and that, as a mirror of the Almighty, you would reflect My Glory to the Created Universe.
• I purchased you, by Myself and for Myself, with the precious and priceless Blood of My Divine Son Jesus, that you would declare My praises…the praises of the One Who called you out of darkness into My marvelous light.
• I made you to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, consecrated and set apart to the worship of God…consecrated and set apart to worship Me!

Friends, brothers and sisters…

There is one absolutely necessary preparation for every living soul on the face of this Earth, for the soon coming and imminent return of Jesus Christ…the one preparation that will irrevocably determine in which neighborhood you will spend all eternity, whether in Heaven or in Hell.  You must be a born-again child of God.  
“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot be in God’s Kingdom.  I tell you the truth, no one can ever enter the Kingdom of God unless you are born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at My saying, you must be born again.” [Jesus…John 3:3-7]

The Gift of My Son makes it possible for you to appropriate My Eternal Purpose for creating you and bringing you into existence…
Relationship…through becoming His bride, the bride of Christ.  

The Gift of My Holy Spirit makes it possible for you to embrace and be engaged in My Eternal Plans specifically and personally ordained for you in bringing you into existence…I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

Entrance into the Eternal Blessings I have for Mankind…My Eternal Promise of an abiding rest for My children…BEGINS with your solemn vow before Me to become the bride of Christ My Son in a divine spiritual marriage, to be joined inseparably together with Him through the new life to be conceived in you by the Holy Spirit.

If you have never been born again,
or you are not sure whether you have been born again,
or you have been living your life as a lukewarm Christian and would now like to recommit your life and enter into a deep and intimate relationship with Christ Jesus in preparation for the soon coming marriage supper of the Lamb…
then I counsel you to get alone with God, read the solemn marriage vows presented below you must make to become the bride of Christ and thereby be born-again, and with sincerity of heart from within the depths of your being, acknowledge before God, “I DO.”

MARRIAGE VOWS 
SPIRITUAL BRIDE OF CHRIST

• Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Divine Son in the Triune God, the Lamb of God Who came into this world to become the One only, all-sufficient, atoning sacrifice through His death on a cross and subsequent resurrection, thereby securing forgiveness for your sins and restoring your relationship with God that had been severed by sin?
• Do you now solemnly vow before God to give yourself to be the bride of Christ, receiving Jesus the Christ into your life in a spiritual marriage, promising to honor and obey Him as both Lord over your life and Savior of your soul?
• To be joined inseparably together with Him in a Sacred Covenant relationship…an Eternal living union of oneness through the new life to be conceived in you by the Holy Spirit…
• To have and to hold Him, above all others and above all else this world has to offer, as the choicest, most precious treasure of your heart…
• To love and to cherish Him, above all others and above all else this world has to offer, reserving for Him alone your sweetest, most tender affections…
• For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, all the days of your life, until death of this body brings you to be together with Him in Heaven for all eternity?

Our Lord Jesus’ High Priestly prayer to the Father…on that night just prior to His betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane…clearly defined eternal life: Now this is eternal life: personally knowing You, Father, the One True Living God, continually ever more deeply and intimately in a daily living-out union of oneness,
and knowing Jesus Christ Your Son…the Messiah Whom You have sent…in that same deep and intimate personal relationship, joined inseparably together with Us in an eternal Sacred Covenant relationship. [John 17:3]

God Himself has given this testimony concerning His Son: I have granted you eternal life, and this life is given through union with My Divine Son Jesus.  
Whoever is joined together with My Son in a living union of oneness 
possesses that life; 
whoever is NOT joined together with My Son in a living union of oneness
does NOT possess that life.

I have written this to you so that you who place your trust in Christ My Son will know, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that you do now indeed  have eternal life. [1 John 5:9-13] 

BLOOD OF CHRIST

Blessed Jesus…You laid aside Your Divine Majesty, Glory, and Almighty consuming Power, and came into this world clothed in meekness, lowliness, and humility.  You loved me with an everlasting love, and You voluntarily lay down Your life for me…even unto death.  No one took Your life, Lord; You were free to lay it down, and free to take it up again.  You stretched out Your arms on a cross on my behalf, and declared, “IT IS FINISHED!”
IT IS FINISHED, for all time and for all Eternity…available to any soul who would freely and wholeheartedly choose to appropriate as their own the rich eternal blessings of the finished work of Christ on that cross at Calvary, through their solemn marriage vows to become Your eternal bride, Blessed Jesus…the bride of Christ.
By virtue of the Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of Your Precious and Priceless Blood poured out on behalf of the souls of Mankind on that cross at Calvary, You have forever freed me from my sins…past, present, and future…and restored my relationship with God that had been severed by sin.  

• IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has secured eternal forgiveness of my sins, and has guaranteed and secured my Judicial Status of  Eternal
  Righteousness before God as an accomplished and finished fact.
• IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has guaranteed and secured my Eternal Union with You, Lord…now joined inseparably together with You in an Eternal living union of oneness as Your bride…the bride of Christ…in a divine spiritual marriage…flesh of Your flesh and bone of Your bones.
• IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has guaranteed and secured that the Eternal Purpose for which God created me…to be joined together with the Triune God in a Sacred Covenant relationship…stands eternally fulfilled.
• IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has guaranteed and secured my Eternal Access into the Holy Of Holies, and into the inaccessible Light of the Glory of Your unclouded Presence, Father…as my birth-right.
• IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Holy Spirit was indeed given as God’s Eternal Gift to dwell in me, never to leave me, never to forsake me…to be the Power in me Who continually guarantees and secures my capability to live my everyday life faithful to my solemn marriage vows as the bride of Christ in our eternal living union of oneness.  
• IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power of the indwelling Holy Spirit is now made continually available to me, Whose Power in me continually guarantees and secures my capability to live my everyday life faithfully within the Holy Of Holies, in the inaccessible Light of the Glory of Your unclouded Presence, Father, in our Sacred Covenant relationship.  

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This is what the Most Holy, Most High, Triune God declares:

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.  That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.  So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. [Matt 24:36-39, 42-44]   

“Behold”, says the Lord Jesus in His last warning for the last opportunity offered to mankind to be among His redeemed, “I come for the last time like a thief in the night to gather those who would be among the elect!  Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, in watchfulness, prayer and readiness for the summons when it comes, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed, eternally without remedy.” 

WATCHMAN’S WARNING

Beloved…I still hold to these words of warning from the Holy Spirit:  “Brace yourself, and tell others that I have warned them to brace themselves, for they are about to see even more shocking things.  Ready or not, Nation, here it comes!  Brace yourself on My Word and on My promises, and do not rely on your own strength.  Do not stop bracing yourselves, and don’t look back; the storm will not pass until I, the Lord, stop the storm!  Those who refuse to get ready will be wanting in the end.”   Watch “Worse Than You Thought It Would Be” Prophetic Dream by Pastor Dana Coverstone: https://www.youtube.com/live/xDFT31FM8wM?feature=share

But if the watchman sees the danger coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes the life of even one of them, that one will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood. [Ezek 33:6]
Lord God Almighty, as Your watchman I have been solemnly fulfilling the responsibility You have given me in sounding the alarm to warn Your people; there will be no blood on my hands. 

PREPARE YOURSELF

We are in the Last Days; time is moving very quickly, and we are drawing near!  And so, my brothers and sisters, first of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.  They will say, “Where is this  ‘coming’ He promised?  Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of Creation.”
Son of man, you’ve heard that proverb they quote in Israel: Time passes, and prophecies come to nothing.  Tell the people, This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will put an end to this proverb, and you will soon stop quoting it.  Now give them this new proverb to replace the old one: The time has come for every prophecy of Mine to be fulfilled!  [2 Peter 3:3-4, 10-12, 14, 17; 1 John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:14-16; Ezek 12:22-23]

God is calling a holy remnant to Himself…to personal revival…a holy remnant of His children who will not bow down, who will not shrink back, who will not compromise, who will remain steadfast and immovable in their commitment to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes.  God’s holy remnant is called to a life of obedience and suffering, self-sacrifice and self-denial…to walk along the path that Christ Jesus dedicated for us, and to follow in His footsteps as our Forerunner.  You cannot become part of My holy remnant without being willing to sacrifice your desire for anyone & all others, and for anything & all else this world has to offer.  Obedience is what characterizes the life of My child…obedience continually and unceasingly day and night.  You are called to a life of obedience.  Obedience is better than sacrifice; rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as evil as worshiping idols. [1 Sam 15:22,23]

Wherefore brethren, having now boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus,  by the way which He dedicated for us…a new and living way to God through the veil, that is to say, through the veil of His flesh…let us then without further hesitation or delay draw nigh in fullness of faith; here let us continually abide in the fullness of faith. [Heb 10:19-20, 22]  Those who abide in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [PS 91:1]

Arise My bride, and prepare to see My Face

Behold, I am coming soon!  My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
Then the angel said to me, “Write this down: Blessed are those summoned to the marriage banquet of the Lamb…all true believers who are members of His Universal Church.  They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with Power and great Glory.  And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect…God’s holy people…from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”  And he said to me further, “These are the True Words of God.” [Rev 19:9]

Blessed Jesus…I rejoice and shout triumphantly for joy!  I celebrate and ascribe to You glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb draws near, and Your bride, the Universal Church and each of her members, has been preparing herself and has made herself ready! [Rev 19:7]  Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!  For our Lord God, Sovereign All-Ruler, reigns!  Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him Glory!  For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.  The finest linen, dazzling and white, was given her to wear.  Then the angel said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage banquet of the Lamb!” [John…Rev 19:6-9; Luke 14:15-23]

The washing of one’s robes and the keeping of one’s garments relates to this very attitude and habit of looking for the return of Christ as an imminent event.  Brethren, as you hope to walk those golden streets, and eat of those immortal fruits, see to it that you have your garments clean and your loins girded about like unto men waiting for their Lord. [Seiss…Rev 21:9-22:5]

Then the king said to his servants, “The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.  Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.”  So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.  But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding garment.  “Friend,” he asked, “How did you come in here without putting on the appropriate wedding garment?” The man was speechless.  Then the king told the attendants, “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  For many are invited and summoned, but few are chosen.” [Matt 22:8-14]

ENDURE TO THE END

Behold, I am coming quickly.  Hold on to what you have, so that no one will deprive you of your crown.  Everyone who overcomes by means of their faith…I will make a pillar in the Sanctuary of My God.  Never again will you leave it.  I will write on you the name of My God and you will be a citizen in the city of My God…the new Jerusalem…which will come down out of Heaven from My God; I will also write on you My Own new name.

Holy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcx2O9WXvn8&feature=youtu.be