Truth and the Holy Spirit

"Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not" (Ezek. 33:30-32). Sadly, this kind of condition has earmarked God's people throughout history, and the results have always been disastrous. In this modern time, there is so little pure truth that has found its way into the body of Christ, that the opportunity of being entertained by it is very small. Nonetheless, everyone who has received God's Spirit is exposed to some move and operation of the Spirit in one way or another, to some extent. And I have observed this spirit of entertainment in regard to the operations of the holy Ghost for the entire time I have been in Christ. Someone is missing the point my friend. Anytime and every time that the Spirit of God is manifested in any way, it is ALWAYS seeking to lead us into holiness (Rom. 8:13,14). Every single time God manifests his Spirit through any of his people anywhere and in whatever situation, that Spirit is ALWAYS saying, "Come this way." And "this way" IS holiness (I Jn. 3:6-10). Jesus said that the holy Ghost would be sent back in his name, which is actually to say "in his stead" (Jn. 14:26). What that means is that there is absolutely NO presence of Jesus or of the Father in this world other than the holy Ghost. In fact, II Corinthians 3:17 nails it down really tight, saying, "Now the Lord IS that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." And that brings me back to the point. The ENTIRE reason we even RECEIVE the HOLY Spirit is because it will MAKE US HOLY! And that is really a noteworthy aspect of the gospel, or at least according to the following statement of the apostle Paul, under inspiration OF the holy Spirit: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, WITHOUT WHICH no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). And to be certain, as I often exhort one and all to understand, holiness is a heart and soul that is pure and free from sin, as in "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (Mat. 5:8; Tit. 2:11-14). That said liberty is most assuredly liberty from sin. That is what Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for. If it is not, then his sacrifice was no better than that of "the blood of bulls and of goats," of which the scripture says, "could never take away sin" (Heb. 10:4). And that is exactly what the modern "Christian" gospel has done, namely making just another goat or bullock out of Jesus, by means of its "sinners saved by grace" overall mentality.

Let me tell you straightly my good friend, God's holy Spirit is HOLY, and will make you and I holy when we receive it; and furthermore it will KEEP us holy unless we change our mind about holiness after receiving it. And if you or I leave this world with sin present in our lives and spirits, we will very surely go to the fiery torment of hell with a greater damnation than those who never entered into covenant with God to begin with (II Pet. 2:20-22). "He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (I Cor. 6:17). Being one spirit with Jesus means being without sin, because he is without sin. Therein is the truth regarding the bride of Christ that will be in the first resurrection: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as HE is pure" (I Jn. 3:2,3). And once more: "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power" (Rev. 20:6). We simply do not have time or space spiritually to be deluded by the spirit that would have us to see the truth of God, or the move of his Spirit in any way as entertainment. Being around the move of the holy Ghost, and especially the manifestation of God's true word, is a very dangerous thing if one is not bound and determined to follow hard after holiness. "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling" (Psm. 2:11). Too many of God's dear children are overly zealous of spiritual gifts, and less zealous about pursuing true holiness. Christianity is the culprit, because it does NOT present a gospel of holiness, and God's people are universally under dominion to its traditions and doctrines. The operation of God's Spirit in an environment that is dominated by Christian traditions and doctrines is a deadly mix, and that is EXACTLY what has produced the mindset of entertainment regarding the operation of God's Spirit. The effect of Christianity's doctrines of sin has left the body of Christ with an underlying, sub-conscious leaning AWAY FROM holiness, and that in turn has produced a mentality that merely HAVING the Spirit, and being around manifestations of the Spirit sometimes, is enough to carry us to eternal life. Nothing could in fact be FURTHER FROM the truth. The apostle Paul warned the Corinthians of this very malady: "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body" (I Cor. 11:28,29). Rest assured that the apostle was NOT speaking of eating natural bread, or drinking from a natural cup. He was speaking of being a partaker of the holy Ghost, which IS the "bread of life;" and he was speaking of "drinking into one SPIRIT" (Jn. 6:35,51; II Cor. 3:17; I Cor. 12:13; Jn. 7:37-39). And the only way we can eat of that bread or drink of that cup "unworthily," is to be around or involved in the manifestation of God's Spirit, having sin in our lives. The HOLY Spirit is for the purpose of holiness friend, and everything it says or does is for the purpose of drawing US into holiness, "without which no man shall see the Lord." There is no entertainment in God, and to miss the point of ANY operation of his Spirit can only lead AWAY from the "one hope" of the gospel, which is to make the first resurrection (Eph. 4:4; Acts 23:6; Acts 24:15). Amen.