Acts 5:32b - Holy Spirit Living!
Act.5:32b: Holy Spirit Living!
Acts 5:32b (KJV) the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them
that obey him.
Acts 5:32b (TEV) the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to those
who obey him."
HOLY SPIRIT & OBEDIENCE
This gift of the Holy Spirit, given to those who accept Christ
as their Savior, (The Life Application Commentary Series)
Eph.2:1-10 indicates that conversion brings the infilling of the
Holy Spirit with the power for obedience. [Elder Duncan Eva]
The attitude of receiving and welcoming the Holy Spirit into our
lives is to be the continual attitude of a believer. [My Utmost For
His Highest re Luk.24:49]
If we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then
each moment as it comes is precious. [In His Time; My Utmost For His
Highest re Mar.6:45]
God's power is revealed and manifested in those who obey Him.
[Donna Williams; Children's Ministries Director; FL Conference]
The measure of the Holy Spirit we receive will be proportionate
to the measure of our desire, and the faith exercised for it, and
the use we shall make of the light and knowledge that shall be given
to us. 6MR57
We may have had a measure of the Spirit of God, but by prayer
and faith we are continually to seek more of the Spirit. TM508
Christ has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to His church,
and the promise belongs to us as much as to the first disciples. But
like every other promise, it is given on conditions. There are many
who believe and profess to claim the Lord's promise; they talk about
Christ and about the Holy Spirit, yet receive no benefit. They do not
surrender the soul to be guided and controlled by the divine agencies. We
cannot use the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to use us. Through the Spirit
God works in His people "to will and to do of His good pleasure."
Phil. 2:13. But many will not submit to this. They want to manage
themselves. This is why they do not receive the heavenly gift. Only to those
who wait humbly upon God, who watch for His guidance and grace, is
the Spirit given. The power of God awaits their demand and
reception. This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other
blessings in its train. It is given according to the riches of the grace
of Christ, and He is ready to supply every soul according to the
capacity to receive. DA671,2
In both Luke and Acts, the Holy Spirit was clearly associated
with witnessing. Almost every time the Spirit was mentioned, someone
testified about God or proclaimed the good news of Christ. If we are
filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), if we are letting him lead us (Gal
5:16), we, too, will speak of Christ. Think back over your
conversations from the previous week. If you realize that you rarely or never
mentioned God to others, it is a good sign that you are "stifling the Holy
Spirit" (1 Thess 5:19). (The Life Application Commentary Series)
No one can be a witness for Christ and a herald of the gospel by
individual initiative. It is only as one follows the direction of the True
Witness that he can communicate to others the divine testimony.
Empowerment for witness comes from him..... Whoever preaches must preach God's
messages; whoever serves must serve with the strength that God gives him,
so that in all things praise may be given to God through Jesus
Christ, to whom belong glory and power forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter
4.11 [Daily Devotional Bible]
"Obedience that comes from faith" (Ro 1:5). [NIV SB]
The Holy Spirit witnesses to Christ by giving supernatural power
to the disciples to live righteously and to proclaim Christ. (John
15:26-27). [Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible]
The obedience of the creature to the Creator is the foundation
and essence of right relations with God. The angels obey God (Ps.
103:20, 21), but in love, not in cold, legal formality (MB 109). Men are
to obey (Ps. 103:17, 18; Eccl. 12:13), but in love (John 14:15).
[SDA Commentary]
2 Chr 16:9a (KJV) For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them
whose heart is perfect toward him.
2 Chr 16:9a (NIV) For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the
earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
HOLY SPIRIT AND SIN
To be born of God means that I have His supernatural power to
stop sinning. It.does not mean that we cannot sin - it simply means
that if we will obey the life of God in us, that we do not have to
sin. [In His Time; My Utmost For His Highest re Joh.3:7]
Let no one think he can overcome without the help of God. You
must have the energy, the strength, the power, of an inner life
developed within you. You will then bear fruit unto godliness, and will
have an intense loathing of vice. You need to constantly strive to
work away from earthliness, from cheap conversation, from everything
sensual, and aim for nobility of soul and a pure and unspotted character.
MM144
We have no power to free ourselves from Satan's control; but
when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out
for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are
imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the
dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God. DA466
The Bible does not teach that the Lord grants us the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit after we have achieved victory over sin. It
teaches that the Spirit empowers us to overcome so that He can grant us
a greater measure of His presence and power in our lives. [Adult
SS Quarterly 8/10/95]
There is no having Christ to be our Saviour, unless we be
willing to take him for our prince. We cannot expect to be redeemed and
healed by him, unless we give up ourselves to be ruled by him. ....
Christ, that came, not to save us in our sins, but to save us from our
sins. ..... Christ is appointed to give repentance, by his Spirit
working with the word, to awaken the conscience, to work contrition for
sin, and an effectual change in the heart and life. The new heart is
his work, and the broken spirit a sacrifice of his providing;
(Matthew Henry's Commentary)
GOD'S SOVERNIGNTY AND OBEDIENCE
The disciple must be loyal; he must obey God because God has a
will that must be done. God has a plan and a will to be done upon
earth, and His providence and power work it out to see that it is done.
[Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible]
The Lord's thoughts are all working toward "an expected end." ...
God is working with a motive. All things are working together for
one object: the good of those who love God. We see only the
beginning; God sees the end from the beginning. He knows every letter of
the Book of Providence; He sees not only what He is doing, but what
will come of what He is doing.
As to our present pain and grief, God sees not these things
exclusively, but He sees the future joy and usefulness which will come of
them. He regards not only the tearing up of the soil with the plow,
but the clothing of that soil with the golden harvest. He sees the
after consequences of affliction, and He accounts those painful
incidents to be blessed which lead up to so much of happiness. Let us
comfort ourselves with this . . . .
You have never seen the Great Artist's masterpiece; you have
seen the rough marble, you have marked the chippings that fall on the
ground; you have felt the edge of His chisel, you know the weight of His
hammer, and you are full of the memory of these things; but oh, could
you see that glorious image as it will be when He has put the
finishing stroke to it, you would then understand the chisel, and the
hammer, and the Worker better than you now do! Charles Spurgeon [Time
with God SB]
GOD'S BLESSINGS AND OBEDIENCE
All of God's revealed truths are sealed until they are opened to
us through obedience. Even the smallest bit of obedience opens
heaven, and the deepest truths of God immediately become ours. [In His
Time; My Utmost For His Highest re Mat.11:25]
John 7:17 (KJV) If any man will do his will, he shall know of
the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
God does not give us overcoming life - He gives us life as we
overcome. If we will take the initiative to overcome, we will find that we
have the inspiration of God, because He immediately gives us the
power of life. [In His Time; My Utmost For His Highest re Eph.5:14]
The source of Christ's victory, the secret of His power, and of
ours, lies in obedience .... In an obedient heart there is a way
prepared for God. There are many Christians who always seek pleasure and
satisfaction for themselves. These have not yet learned that only obedient
children are happy children. That which in truth brings abiding
happiness is nothing else than obedience toward God. For a healthy soul
there is only one thing that counts - to be obedient.
Why have so many of God's lambs so little assurance of
salvation? Why are their souls not satisfied with the peace of God? God
gives us the answer in Isa.48:18: "Oh, that thou hadst hearkened to my
commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as
the waves of the sea." People say, "I lack faith. I have too
little faith; therefore I have no assurance of salvation, no peace."
But in most instances it is not faith which is lacking, for even
with a trembling hand one can receive costly gifts. It is rather
obedience which is lacking. There is something in their lives which they
will not let go, and which hinders the Holy Spirit from giving them
the assurance that they are God's children ... No one who is
disobedient to God can have confidence in Him. Confidence is a result of
obedience. G. Steomberger [Time with God SB]
LOVE AND OBEDIENCE
If fear falls upon you in a punitive sense, check and find its
source. Following God's Spirit we have no fear, we have God's love
instead. We are exhorted to remember that we are God's children, in such
a wonderful relationship to Him that out of our heart we may cry,
Papa, to Him who sits above all creation enthroned in majesty! Having
become part of God's family we receive His Holy Spirit, who comes to
live within us and give us the power to please God. [In His Time;
Walk With Wisdom re Rom.8:15]
Love pulls, fear drives. [SDA Forum SS helps for 3/23/96]
Our Lord never insists on having authority over us. He never
says, "You will submit to me." No, He leaves us perfectly free to
choose--so free, in fact, that we can spit in His face or we can put Him to
death, as others have done; and yet He will never say a word. But once
His life has been created in me through His redemption, I instantly
recognize His right to absolute authority over me. It is a complete and
effective domination, in which I acknowledge that "You are worthy, O Lord"
(Revelation 4:11). It is simply the unworthiness within me that refuses to
bow down or to submit to one who is worthy. If our Lord insisted on
our obedience, He would simply become a taskmaster and cease to have
any real authority. He never insists on obedience, but when we truly
see Him we will instantly obey Him. Then He is easily Lord of our
life, and we live in adoration of Him from morning till night. [My
Utmost For His Highest re Joh.13:13]
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