YAHSHUA shared His life with the world when He became flesh and lived among us. His life became the ultimate sacrifice when He laid it down to give Himself to us through death on the cross. When He ascended to heaven, He left us the gift of His Spirit to finish the process of salvation through sanctification. John said, Out of His fulness we have received one grace after another and blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift upon gift. (John 1:16). YAHSHUA’S Spirit is very much involved in the process of the new birth. He said to Nicodemus, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not at My telling you, You must all be born anew (John 3:5,6). It is through the new birth that we are given YAHSHUA’S Spirit to live in us till our physical death. He is the friend that will never leave us forsaken; a friend that will suffer with us while He guides us through the valley of the shadow of death; He is our comforter through the trials of life. YAHSHUA called Him the Spirit of Truth. As such, He guides us into all the Truth. He is our Restorer and Sanctifier. Without Him we cannot see God, for He is our Guarantee to heaven. If you hear His voice today, do not ignore it, otherwise, judgment waits you. Many believe that “once saved, always saved” without the process of sanctification and conviction of sin, as some continue in their sinful life, even after having had the experience of the new birth. Believing that YAHSHUA had paid for all their sins, past, present and future therefore, that gives them the right to continue in sin. My friend, this is far from the truth. If that were so, the Holy Spirit would not have been sent to sanctify and to convict us of sin. The letter to the Hebrews says, Since all this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truth that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past [them] and slip away. For if the message given through angels was authentic and proved sure, and every violation and disobedience received an appropriate penalty, how shall we escape if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to such a great salvation?… (Heb 2:1-3a). And again, For it is impossible [to restore and bring again to repentance] those who have been once for all enlightened, who have consciously tasted the heavenly gift and have become sharers of the Holy Spirit and have felt how good the Word of God is and the mighty powers of the age and world to come, if they then deviate from the faith and turn away from their allegiance-[ it is impossible] to bring them back to repentance, for they nail upon the cross the Son of God afresh and are holding [Him] up to contempt and shame and public disgrace (Heb.6:4-7). In doing that, they directly reject the Holy Spirit work of sanctification in their lives; they alienate themselves from the holiness of God, losing their identification of children of God.
Paul said, Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [by Whom you are sealed for the day of salvation] (Eph. 4:30). Walking contrary to Him, we walk alone. The Bible askes the question, “Can two walk together if they have not agreed?” (Amos 3:3). We, who have accepted the gift of salvation, are in the covenant of blood with YAHSHUA. We must do our part to keep the covenant, for it to be valid in our life. In this agreement, we are under the guidance of the Holy Spirit’s teachings and sanctification. There is no other way outside this covenant to be accepted in the eyes of the Lord, for it is through His Son that we are accepted, in submission to His Holy Spirit’s teachings, whose ministry is to reconcile and sanctify us. We are no longer of our own; I am crucified with Christ; live not I, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20); we are the Holy Spirit’s temple. This is the part of the covenant we entered with when we were born again. Paul said, And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Aho died and was raised again for their sake (II Cor. 5:15); Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price, so then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body (I Cor. 6:19-20). Sealed with the Holy Spirit for salvation, we no longer walk according to the desires of the flesh, but according to the desires of the Holy Spirit, Who lives in us. For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the Holy Spirit. Now, the mind of the flesh is death. But the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (Rom. 8:5-6).
Knowing that we were bought with the precious blood of YAHSHUA, that He has sealed us with His Spirit, guaranteeing our salvation, how must we live then? Must we continue living the old life-style mocking His name, at the same time, while saying that we bear His name? YAHSHUA said, No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be devoted to one and despise the other (matt. 6:24). You cannot serve both God and money.” We cannot please the Holy Spirit and at the same time the flesh. YAHSHUA laid down His life to give us life. Let’s lay ours to obey and serve Him. Let’s strip (ourselves) of (our) former nature, which characterized our previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desired that spring from delusion; and be constantly renewed in the spirit of (our mind); (let’s) put on the new nature created in God’s image, in true righteousness and holiness and (let’s) not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom (we) were sealed for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:22-24,30).
Light from the Word 