QUOTE:“The Spirit does not have to be begged—He comes when the Saviour is honoured and exalted!” – A.W. Tozer
SPIRIT NUGGET:
We often treat God as our personal genie hoping that He would appear on our command to grant us our every desire and need. I know I have been guilty of treating God in this manner before and if you are honest, there were instances where you beckoned God at your selfish convenience too. Notwithstanding this, we do get despondent when we feel as if God’s presence has left us, and we question if He hears us when we do not see evidence of His answers to our prayers.
This week I felt as if the Holy Spirit had left me, and I began to question God. He quickly reprimanded me and reminded me that the Holy Spirit needs an invitation into my life. I honestly thought that as a Christian, I would have exclusive 24/7 access to His presence, but God quickly humbled me and my pride.
Why does the Holy Spirit need an invitation? The same reason God requires us to renew our minds. The Holy Spirit cannot take up residence in a sinful vessel and because we are sinners engaged in the daily process of redemption through renewal, we must throw out our inner garbage daily before we let the Holy Spirit in. Unknowing to us, we may also be inviting other worldly spirits into our lives which cannot cohabit with God.
If we do not clean out our houses regularly, dust, debris, and garbage will accumulate and eventually a foul stench will emanate from our houses. Why then do we think that the Holy Spirit, the Great I Am, would stay resident in our filth and stench? Sure, there are times when our lives press the emergency button and God has no choice but to come in and bulldoze away the spiritual muck that we’ve been hoarding in order to save us from ourselves. Nonetheless, God will not always avail Himself for rescue duty especially if that is the only time in which we call on Him without the commitment to transformation.
If you are like me, you may try to reason with God showing Him in your estimation, how little garbage you may have or your plans to throw the garbage out tomorrow. You may reason that it’s just a little bit of gossip or pride you have inside there, and so God should give you a “bligh”. God is not holding out a scale to weigh your worthiness based on how much sin you’ve accumulated, and he doesn’t have different requirements for different sins. God’s Word stands firm on the truth that we are all sinners and no matter our perceived weight of sins, He requires from us repentance and a commitment to the renewal of our minds until we are transfigured into His image.
1 John 8-10 reads:
“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.”
The Holy Spirit is waiting on our invitation, and He desires a clean vessel. We are therefore required to have clean hearts and minds and the beauty about it is God is willing to do the work of cleansing us from our sins. We do not have to look externally to an abstract service provider like the universe to cleanse us. God is willing to clean us out only if we would ask Him to. I don’t think there is any other entity in this world that can cleanse you the way God can. Why not invite Him in to stay? After all, when He lives within us, we have access to the ultimate Provider, Protector, Redeemer, Father and Friend.
As we commit to cleansing our physical bodies daily, may we also commit to the daily cleansing of our hearts and renewal of minds through prayer and the heeding of instruction from God’s Word. It is impossible to live on earth without being influenced by the winds of sin and its distractions every day. Sin is like dust; it accumulates everywhere silently and so we must be watchful. It is an honour to be God’s vessel on earth and we should take pleasure in ensuring that His place of residence is holy and acceptable unto Him.
SCRIPTURE – ISAIAH 52: 1-2
“Wake up, wake up, O Zion! Clothe yourself with strength.
Put on your beautiful clothes, O holy city of Jerusalem, for unclean and godless people will enter your gates no longer.
Rise from the dust, O Jerusalem. Sit in a place of honour. Remove the chains of slavery from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”
PRAYER REQUEST:
“May Jesus enter into us and clear out and cast away all hindrances of soul and body, to the end that we may be one with him here upon earth and there in heaven. So, help us, God.”
― A.W. Tozer
