Thursday, March 20, 2008

Variations On a Theme

To me the work of the Holy Spirit, and the person of the Holy Spirit is like a symphony, that can be sung in a different key, but in essence is the same masterpiece. Throughout history men have written concerning the Holy Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit, and above all else the necessity of the Holy Spirit in the life of the individual believer.
I often think that whatever project I am working on tends to bleed into the posts for this blog, and since I have been writing a study on the work of the Holy Spirit for the better part of a month, and nowhere near done, it was only a matter of time that a posting concerning this topic made its way onto Homeward Bound.
Even so, the fact that I have been working on this study takes nothing away from the importance of the subject matter, and as I was going through some of my notes on the topic, I found something Spurgeon wrote long ago. I felt it was worthwhile reading, and I have decided to post it today. It is just another variation of the theme, the great symphony played in a different key, just as soothing, comforting, majestic and divine as the original.
In the end, having read most of what has been written concerning the work of the Holy Spirit going back centuries, the necessity of this precious gift stands out in every writing. Today men look for new gimmicks and new ways of getting people to come to the house of God, from offering gift certificates, to raffling cars, to putting on magic shows, when all the while the thing that would not only draw people to God's house, but keep them there, growing and maturing spiritually is dismissed as antiquated and irrelevant.
I pray the following is a blessing and a challenge.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr.

Spurgeon, “Make this Valley Full of Ditches”
"We must have the Holy Spirit's power and presence, otherwise our religion will become a mockery before God, and a misery to ourselves. We must have the aid of the Holy Spirit, for ours is not a mechanical religion. It is Spiritual, and must be sustained by spiritual means. So dependent is the Christian church upon the Holy Spirit, that there never was an acceptable sigh heaved by a penitent apart from him; never did holy song mount to heaven except he gave it wings; never was there true prayer or faithful ministry except through the power and might of the Holy Spirit.
Sinners are never saved apart from the Spirit of God!
No moral persuasion, no force of example, no power of logic, no might of rhetoric, can ever change the heart. The living Spirit alone can put life into dead souls! And after those souls are quickened, we are still as dependent as ever upon the Spirit of God.
To educate a soul for heaven is as much a divine task, as to emancipate a soul from sin. To comfort a downcast brother, to strengthen his weak hands and confirm his feeble knees, to brighten the eyes of his hope and to give him nerve to hold the shield of his faith- all these are the work of the Spirit of the living God.
O Christian, with all the power you have received,you have not strength enough to live for another second, except as the Spirit of God quicken you. All your past experience, all that you have learned and acquired, must go for nothing, except, daily and perpetually, moment by moment, the Spirit of God shall dwell in you, and work in you mightily, to keep you still a pilgrim to the gate of heaven. Thus, each individual is dependent, and the whole church is dependent on the influence of the Spirit.
Without the Spirit of God, we are like a ship stranded on the beach when the tide has receded- there is no moving her until the flood shall once again lift her from the sands. Until the Spirit of God shall thaw the chilly coldness of our natural estate, and bid the life-floods of our heart flow forth, there we must be- cold, cheerless, lifeless, and powerless. The Christian, like the mariner, depends upon the breath of heaven, or his ship is without motion. There is no truth that needs to be insisted upon more thoroughly than this, "Without me, you can do nothing." Until we are utterly empty of self, we are not ready to be filled by God. Until we are conscious of our own weakness, we are not fit platforms for the display of divine omnipotence. Until the arm of flesh is paralyzed, and death is written upon the whole natural man, we are not ready to be endowed with divine life and energy."

10 comments:

A Seed Sower said...

Thank you for sharing that wonderful word brother Michael. God truly is the same Yesterday, Today and Forever, he just uses some people to speak more eloquently at different times in history. He knew that we would be blessed by this today, when He spoke through Spurgen then.

Anonymous said...

To have Holy Spirit's power and presence. Is there anything greater than to dwell in the presence of God? Can one be holy without the indwelling of The Most Holy? Can dust do anything at all but be dust? Only God can transform dust into His good and faithful servant. Blessed are persecuted countries like China and Pakistan and all other persecuted countries, for the Spirit of God Moves Powerfully there. Would severe persecution in the land of free be a blessing? Would Christians in this country consider it a blessing?

May the Lord be Glorified forever,

God Bless,

-KevinP

Anonymous said...

Sometimes the goodness and the magnificence of our Father is too much to contain, too much to comprehend, too high, too deep, too wide. That He would pursue us when we had chosen darkness, that He would sacrifice Himself upon the cross to pay the penalty for our sin and rebellion, that He would make a way for us to return home once again is beyond more than enough. But then He sends us His Holy Spirit, He comes to dwell within us and suffer with us all through the long journey back, constantly speaking into our hearts words of life, encouragement, truth to open our blind eyes to truly see Him once again. Doing battle for us when we are barely aware of Him, fighting all the forces of darkness that desire only our destruction, rescuing us over and over--and all the while His Holy Spirit is wooing us, drawing us back to where we were always meant to be, at the center of His heart and His being. Holy Spirit, open the eyes of our hearts to truly know you and make us your instruments to be used to draw the lost ones out of the endless darkness and back into the life-giving light of our Father's love!

deannaslater said...

Blessings to you Michael, and Happy Birthday to you! mine is today :) and I'm not telling how old I am..Michael I haven't been here in a while, and to come here today and find you speaking of the Holy Spirit is so profound, because that's just what I have been doing in these last weeks is reading and reading and coming to a greater revelation of the Holy Spirit of God, I just finished, A Normal Christian Life, by Watchman Nee if you haven't read that one yet I encourage you to do so, I have been so enlightened, Praise God for his sweet precious Holy Spirit, its through him and him alone, that all things are possible, with out him we are nothing, Blessings.

Anonymous said...

"So dependent is the Christian church upon the Holy Spirit, that there never was an acceptable sigh heaved by a penitent apart from him..."

Oh, if this were so true in the church today. Unfortunately we know the reality of it.

Your sister in our Lord

Hisloveabides said...

Shalom Michael,

I agree with you that this topic is so important to each of us. Yeshua shows us how much important the agency of the Ruach is.

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy [against] the [Holy] Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the [world] to come. (Mat. 12:31,32)

Many today a joking and jesting away the Ruach; not realizing that without enlightenment of the Ruach we are, without; where ".....there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mat. 8:12) and in the same context we find "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. (Mat. 12:36,37) Let us be careful with our words that we do not speak in jest and grieve the Spirit of Love.(Eph 4:30)

Shalom in Yeshua the Messiah

ryanfromDetroit said...

Truly writing about the Holy Spirit and receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost is expedient to discuss in these times. This is the only way that we can become sons and daughters of God in addition to being led into all truth.

However, I do not understand how quoting a gentleman who wrote about the Holy Spirit but did not have or understand the baptism of the Holy Spirit (or the evidence of speaking in tongues) can stir those who are without to seek the baptism of the Spirit. Spurgeon believed in the regeneration by the Holy Spirit during water baptism, even if the person being baptized was an infant, which is not part of any doctrine or teaching that Jesus spoke of.

It is true that the Spirit is speaking for all to come out and be separate, and for all to surrender wholly to God. My prayer is that we would all look to our Lord Jesus and the outpouring of His Spirit that we may have liberty and that God may write His word, His doctrine, on our hearts.

With love in Him,
Ryan

ryanfromDetroit said...

Michael,
Truly writing about the Holy Spirit and receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost is expedient to discuss in these times. This is the only way that we can become sons and daughters of God in addition to being led into all truth.

However, I do not understand how quoting a gentleman who wrote about the Holy Spirit but did not have or understand the baptism of the Holy Spirit (or the evidence of speaking in tongues) can stir those who are without to seek the baptism of the Spirit. Spurgeon believed in the regeneration by the Holy Spirit during water baptism, even if the person being baptized was an infant, which is not part of any doctrine or teaching that Jesus spoke of.

It is true that the Spirit is speaking for all to come out and be separate, and for all to surrender wholly to God. My prayer is that we would all look to our Lord Jesus and the outpouring of His Spirit that we may have liberty and that God may write His word, His doctrine, on our hearts.

With love in Him,
Ryan

Bonny said...

Without the Life of the Spirit in us, we could not survive this world, and we could never master self or sin. As many here would testify also, I know that I could not live this life without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, without His voice, His wisdom, His leading. He is the Life of Jesus....
I love Spurgeon. Thanks Brother Michael, once again.

Bonny said...

PS I forgot to mention how much I loved the analogy of the symphony!