Psalms 1:1-2 ESV
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.”
Who are the wicked? They are not just those who make no
profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Many wicked are those who profess Jesus as
their Lord and Savior with their lips, but their hearts are far from the Lord.
They are following man-made religion, but not God himself.
And they are offering much counsel to the saints of God that
is not of God, but is of the flesh of man, which is leading many away from pure
devotion to Jesus Christ to following the flesh of man, instead. And their
counsel is often causing confusion in the minds of the saints when that counsel
contradicts the counsel of God.
So, this calls for much discernment of the Spirit of God and
much testing of the spirits to see if they are of God. And we test these
spirits in prayer and against the word of God (in context). And context is
essential, for many false doctrines are created from taking Scriptures out of
context to make them say what they want them to say.
And it isn’t just that the wicked are pushing a diluted
gospel which denies Jesus as Lord (owner-master) of our lives, and which refuses
to repent of sin and walk in obedience to his commands. But they are twisting
the Scriptures and are creating all kinds of doctrines of men which are leading
God’s people down many “rabbit holes.”
Now, it isn’t just the wicked who pass along these false
doctrines, though, but they are Christians who have been convinced of these
false doctrines who then spread them to others, and who even try to force
compliance to them because that is what they have been taught to do.
I am certain there are more false doctrines out there than I
am aware of, so I am going to name just one. That is this forcing of Christians
to speak in tongues as the only evidence of having the Holy Spirit. First off,
it is the Holy Spirit who gives gifts as He determines, and not all of us have
the same gifts. Secondly, tongues is not THE evidence of having the Holy
Spirit.
Much of this doctrine is based off historical situations and
it is not coming from actual doctrinal teaching on the subject. And much of
this, too, is taken out of context and twisted to say something not intended.
For, they use the day of Pentecost as proof that speaking in tongues is THE
evidence of having the Holy Spirit.
But the Lord that day gave his followers the supernatural
ability to speak to the people in their own languages so that they could hear
the gospel and so that they could be saved from their sins. And there were
added that day about three thousand souls (Acts 2:41).
And Peter said that this was a fulfillment of the prophet
Joel’s prophecy regarding the last days, that God would pour out his Spirit on men
and women and some would dream dreams and have visions and they would prophesy
and all kinds of wonders would take place. So, this wasn’t just about speaking
in tongues, and the tongues were the people’s languages.
But know this: Since it is the Holy Spirit who gives gifts
as he determines, if you try to force people to speak in tongues, and they do, and
it is supernatural, this is not of God but of Satan, and what they may be
uttering may be demonic. So, we need to leave to God which gifts to give us,
and we need to be those who test the spirits to see if they are of God.
And we must be students of the Scriptures, but we must study
them in context, for many false doctrines come from Scriptures taken out of
context. And we must seek God’s counsel and wisdom and discernment and delight
in the word of God and test the counsel of other humans.
Psalms 1:3-4 ESV
“He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”
The receiving of the Holy Spirit is of God, not of man. So,
how do we receive the Holy Spirit, and what is the primary evidence of having
the Holy Spirit living within us?
When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith, and we
are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are born again of the Spirit
of God, and are given new lives in Christ to be lived to his righteousness, the
Holy Spirit comes to live within us. For, if we do not have the Spirit of God,
we do not belong to God (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17).
So, the evidence of the Spirit of God living within us is
the same evidence as having been saved from our sins and having been born again
of the Spirit of God. And that is a regenerated life which is no longer
enslaved (addicted) to sin but is now enslaved to God and to his righteousness
(Rom 6:1-23).
For, we are slaves to the one we obey, either of sin, which
leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness and its end is
eternal life with God (Rom 6:15-23).
Now we walk (conduct our lives) according to (in agreement
with) the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. For those who live
according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those
who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. But
if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is
life because of righteousness (Rom 8:1-17).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Gal 5:22-24 ESV
There are many people who are claiming to have the Holy
Spirit who are relying on externals or on what might be considered showy as
evidence of having the Holy Spirit, but their lives do not bear the fruit of
the Spirit. They are still fleshly, still walking in sin, still under the
control of Satan.
So, it is essential here that we know the evidences of the
Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit so that we don’t get caught up in the lies
thinking we have the Holy Spirit while we might be under the control of demonic
spirits, instead. For one, if we are being led to do something out of our
control, it is not of the Spirit of God whose fruit is self-control.
Psalms 1:5-6 ESV
“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.”
Mainly, if we have the Holy Spirit we are going to be walking
according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. It doesn’t mean we will
never sin, but that we are no longer under the control of sin. Now Jesus is our
Lord, and we are under the control and influence of the Holy Spirit.
If we are still living to the flesh, deliberately continuing
in sinful lifestyles, feeling as though we don’t have to obey God or submit to
his Lordship, then we do not have the Spirit of God, which means we don’t know
God, we are not saved from our sins and we don’t have eternal life with God
(Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6).
An
Original Work / September 26, 2011
When
in the stillness of this moment,
Speak
to me, Lord, I humbly pray.
Be
my desire, set me on fire,
Teach
me to love always.
Help
me to walk in fellowship with You,
Listening
to You; sit at Your feet.
Whisper
Your words to me,
Oh,
how gently, guiding me in Your truth.
While
we are waiting for Your blessing,
Lord,
in our hearts be King today.
Help
us to live for you ev’ry moment,
List’ning
to what You say.
May
we not stray from your word within us,
Help
us obey You, Lord, in all things,
Walking
each moment, Lord, in Your presence,
Our
offerings to You bring.
Help
us to love You, Lord, our master;
Be
an example of Your love,
Helping
the hurting, lift up the fallen,
Showing
them Your great love.
Teach
them to love You, follow You always,
Bearing
their cross and turning from sin;
Walking
in daily fellowship with You,
Making
You Lord and King.
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