The Holy Spirit, which God has given "(Acts 5:32). What does God give? Sanctification? Holiness, purity, perfect love? A clean heart? It is to these experiences that our attention is called.
Beloved, do you know him? Does He reign in your life? Not "it", an influence, but "He", a person. Not his gifts or his blessings, but Himself. Do you know him?
You have been searching, and you have continued searching, but you are still unsatisfied. The power of sin has not yet been broken in your life, even though you love God. There is a lot, yes, a lot, of the self, and no matter how hard you struggle, you can not get rid of it. Temptations that you thought had disappeared for a long time, have reappeared. Sins that you had believed dominated by your will, of which you turn your face with disgust, mock your defeat. Why? Oh, here is the secret! You have been looking for a manifestation or special experience, some supernatural power, but you have ignored Him.
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Because if He had been recognized everything would have been different. When He, the Holy Spirit, is put in charge, temptation is mysteriously calmed, and sin loses its power. The bad suggestions that once seemed almighty become weak and harmless. Worry and anxiety, haste and haste - the flesh in all its manifestations - change in peace and tranquility, calm and tranquility, trust, patience and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Are you willing, beloved, to have Him or do you prefer His blessings? Are you not saying, in reality, in the depths of your heart: «Holy Spirit, I want your gifts, but I do not want You. Bless me, but You stay outside. Give me power, but You leave me. Is this your attitude? Oh, yes, you want your gifts, your power, your blessings, because that way you are not convicted, you do not feel so uncomfortable; but, as for the same Holy Spirit, well, you are not willing to pay the price.
Our message, as you see, is not that of sanctification, however precious, because sanctification after all is but the result, the manifestation, the work of the Holy Spirit. Focusing attention on sanctification with the exclusion of the Sanctifier is a serious mistake. It is not holiness, because holiness is also the result of his coming. The same the purity, and the clean heart, and the perfect love. To seek sanctification, to seek holiness, is to miss the mark.
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There is no perfection in the flesh. There is no holiness apart from the Holy One. Now, God does not tell us to fight and cry and agonize until the blessing of sanctification is ours, or until we have received a clean heart, or we are perfect in love. It is here that many great movements have failed. To make a soul launch itself in this search is to throw it into darkness. Often God in his mercy intervenes and, knowing the sincerity of the heart, responds to the cry no matter how much the seeker does not understand it. But the flesh will never please God. Fighting for "something" instead of recognizing "Someone" is fatal to spiritual growth. It is "the Holy Spirit whom God has given."
But the meat does not want to know anything about this. The flesh prefers to pray and fight, to moan and cry, to agonize and beg, to wait and wait, to implore, to work, and all to obtain One who can not be bought. It is given reason after reason, the heart is fully prepared and everything is ready, but the blessing does not come. As you see, beloved, He, the Holy Spirit, has to do all this. And you are trying to do it yourself, trying to do something that is humanly impossible. You can not purify your own heart. No, but bless God! He can. You can not rise above the sin that haunts you. You are an invalid. «The flesh of nothing profits.»
Now, instead of all this begging vain and useless, why not ask Him to take charge? Leave the Holy Spirit to take charge. He is going to do the work. He will sanctify. He will purify. He will clean. He will deliver. You can not, but He can. Then, recognize the gift of God, the Holy Spirit. Confess your disability, admit your power, and let Him take charge.
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poem dedicated to the holy spirit
Oh Holy Spirit, divine gift,
I surrender my whole being to you,
Sure that You can cleanse me,
So that my self does not reappear.
Spirit of God, I trust in You now,
And at your feet I bow reverently, -
Come; oh, come and take command,
Be the Sovereign of my soul.
You will speak and I will listen;
What You will say will not scare me;
Guide me, I pray, every day,
Let me follow and obey.
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