Spiritual Health and Righteousness before GOD is required by all and one way of proving our right and qualification for Righteousness is by way of testing us. Over the period of years that myself and my wife were among the religious institutions trying to fit in and find a place of belonging none was found, though many claimed to be what later turned out to be false. Now for Pastor Hoekstra's writing on Grace and the Holy Spirit and how HE works within us. And then I will look at our spiritual life tested by the LORD with the use of the ESV translation with some editing as the LORD directs. Our natural tendencies are to oppose the works of GOD as man is resistant to change and changes of all kinds, this the LORD has called rebellion and unbelief which is sin. This known means that the resistance that the spiritual person faces is from the natural earthy and worldly man who loves sin and opposes righteousness.
"Spirit Fullness: A Way of Life, Not Merely Events"
"Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire . . . And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . . Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them . . . the place . . . was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . . And do not be drunk with wine . . . but be filled with the Spirit." (Acts 2:3-4; 4:8, 31; and Ephesians 5:18)
"When we are born again through faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in our lives thereafter (1Corinthians 3:16). At times after new birth, our lives may be repeatedly filled to overflowing by the empowering presence of the Spirit. The testimony of the early disciples illustrates this.
On the day of Pentecost, the 120 followers of Jesus were filled with the Spirit. "Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire . . . And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." Subsequently, the Apostle Peter, who was originally filled on Pentecost, was again filled as he stood before the religious hierarchy of Israel, the Jews. "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them." After this encounter, Peter joined the other disciples for a prayer meeting. "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." In this event, those who had been filled with the Spirit at Pentecost were filled a second time. Peter, who had been so filled twice before, was filled a third time. Therefore, it is evident that the filling of the Spirit is not a once for all time matter.
Furthermore, being filled with the Spirit is not automatic or universal for Christians, as is the indwelling of the Spirit. This fact can be clearly seen in the instruction given in Ephesians 5:18. "And do not be drunk with wine . . . but be filled with the Spirit." Since this is a command and not a description, it only becomes a personal reality to those who respond properly. Our being born within a group or church that claims to be "Christian" does not automatically mean that we are a "Christians" nor is it true that to be an American makes one a "Christian" either. There has to be an Obedience to GODS word, will and law before new Life becomes imbibed within us. And it is this imbibing that is repeated many times as the spring and later rains fall on the earth, this is also known as Abundance of Grace making Grace a spiritual thing required by all.
Additionally, the form of this command contains tremendous insight concerning the fullness of the Spirit and GOD's desire for us. The injunction to "be filled with the Spirit" is in the present tense, indicating an ongoing condition. It could properly (though awkwardly) be translated "be (always) being filled." This imperative is a call to a way of living, not merely periodic events. It is the Will of GOD that we actually live, day by day, more and more, by the fullness of the Spirit's empowering work. We should humbly pray for the fullness of the Holy Spirit as we face each day, each challenge, each opportunity of life."
LIFE TESTED by the LORD:
The Inward Life Tried,
Psalm 17:1-5, 6 and Daniel 12:10 "Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! From Your presence let my vindication come! Let Your eyes behold the right! You have tried my heart, You have visited me by night, You have tested me, and You will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. With regard to the works of man, by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to Your path; my feet have not slipped.
I call upon You, for You will answer me, O GOD; incline Your ear to me; hear my words."
Daniel 12:5-13 "Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, "How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?" And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by Him Who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, "O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?" He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days (this being the 31/2 years of Jesus' ministry). Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days (this took place in Acts 2). But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days."
The Refining Process:
Zechariah 13:7-9 "Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, against the man who stands next to Me," declares the LORD of Hosts. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn My hand against the little ones. In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I Will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon My name, and I Will answer them. I Will say, 'They are My people'; and they will say, 'The LORD is my GOD.'"
Malachi 3:1-4 "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when HE appears? For HE is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. HE Will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and HE Will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years."
The Test of the Storm:
Luke 6:46-49 (Jesus is speaking) "Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."
The Final Test:
1Corinthians 3:10-15 and James 1:12 "According to the Grace of GOD given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire."
James 1:12-18 "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of Life, which GOD has promised to those who love HIM. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by GOD," for GOD cannot be tempted with evil, and HE Himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (spirits) with Whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of HIS Own Will HE brought us forth by the word of Truth (Christ), that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."
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