Holy Spirit Inspires Us to Obey God

Logical Service to God

Ken

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable [Greek, logikos, logical] service” (Romans 12:1 KJV). That is interesting. Serving God is logical, because of who He is and what He has done for us. Jesus “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26), literally cancelling, setting aside, or disannulling our sin “once for all” (10:10) on the Cross. That is the short explanation. 

Now, here is the long explanation. 

Q: Why did humans originally sacrifice to God? 

A: Because God set the example by the shedding of animal blood to make amends for the sin of Adam and Eve. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). 

Q: Did the law of Moses require sacrifice for sin?  

A: God did require the blood of a bull or “bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement [Hebrew, kâphar, cover over] for them, and it shall be forgiven them” (Leviticus 4:20). Though the LORD did forgive Israel their sin, when they obeyed in making the sin offering, He only covered over sin, but did not remove or take away their sin. This was Israel’s chief blind spot in the days of the earthly ministry of Jesus. To this day, Isaiah 53 is a mystery and thorn for Judaism. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). 

Only Messiah Jesus could forever and totally remove sin by the sacrifice of Himself. “10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:10-12). 

Q: Was the law done away because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross? 

A: The necessity of making Mosaic sin offerings was made unnecessary because of Christ’s death on the Cross. “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect” (Hebrews 10:1). 

Q: Then, what was the point of all the sacrifices of Moses? 

A: “Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. You make that quite clear to me! You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings” (Psalm 40:6 NET). In other words, the sacrifice was not itself the issue. 

Q: If the sacrifice was not the issue, then what is the issue? 

A: “Then I said, Here I am, I have come – it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:7-8 NIV). We now comprehend this statement to come from the Messiah. Jesus was saying, “I desire to do Your will, My God; Your law is within My heart” (40:8). In other words, the sacrifice is not the issue. Willingness to do the will of God is the issue, as far as the heart of Jesus is concerned. 

Q: Is willingness to do the will of God also the purpose of the New Covenant? 

A: Yes. “And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). This very verse coincides with Messiah’s stated purpose for what was the true motivation underlying all the sacrifices of Moses. Not to make us more compliant to all the animal sacrifice sin offerings; but, to finally comprehend that Yahweh wants our heart, not our traditions or the commandments of men. Messiah inspires us to obey the LORD from our heart. Sadly, the chief blind spot of the Church today is our inability to see the sacrifice of Jesus and gift of the Holy Spirit is not simply to make us happy now and give us a Home in Heaven forever, but to inspire us to obey God consistently and forevermore. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). 

Q: Did Peter and Paul understand the New Covenant to mean our logical service to God provides us with the Indwelling Holy Spirit, who inspires us to obey the LORD from our heart? 

A: Yes. Peter’s Pentecostal message was the first sermon of the New Covenant. “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Along with the forgiveness of sins, the reception of the Holy Spirit is promised those who obey the Gospel, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ” (2:38). Though the gifts of the Spirit serve the Body of Christ, the true gift of the Holy Spirit is simple, heart obedience to God. 

Paul comprehended completely the necessity of the Spirit. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25 NIV). In fact, Paul gave us the impression, possessing the Holy Spirit and walking “after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1, 4, 5) are one in the same. “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Romans 8:9 KJV).  

Father, thank You for allowing us to serve You, for it is logical and reasonable. But, more important, we desire to obey from our heart, for we love You. Thank You for the gift of Your Spirit working in us to will and to do of Your good pleasure. May all the praise and honor for all the good always be to You. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Your Name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

Secret to Changing the World

Ken

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2Corinthians 5:17 KJV). I don’t like the way you dress and behave. What does that have to do with your eternal destiny? Certainly a prostitute will change their dress after coming to Christ, and a whoremonger will change their behavior after repenting. But, the inside must change before anything changes on the outside. Character is reproducing the life of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit on the inside. You are fruitlessly wasting time to achieve a new outward look, when your character is not first transformed by the Holy Spirit on the inside. We need to be looking to the Holy Spirit for that change. The Holy Spirit inspires us to obey. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). That means you expect Him to “put [His] Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in [His] statutes, and ye shall keep [His] judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). This is the promise of the New Covenant. If there is no change in us, then we are not cooperating with the Holy Spirit. “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). We need to embrace it and allow God to change the world. Amen.

Secret to Obedience

Ken

Inspired to Obey 

Ezekiel 36:27

“And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27 KJV). 

Gift of the Holy Spirit 

Acts 2:38 

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38 KJV).  

Will and Do 

Philippians 2:13 

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV). 

If we simply assume we obey because we choose to obey, then we are likely to assume our obedience is due to our good intentions. Yet, we have been plainly told our obedience is due to God inspiring us to obey.

Promises for Our Children

Ken

Parents, raising your children is not a democracy. Not even the secular humanists will allow an infant to crawl into a dangerous place without restraining the child. Car seats are not designed to be optional for the child’s safety. God is our Great Father, and He commands us, “Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you” (Jeremiah 7:23 KJV). We are His children, and our children are His. Our children’s future is largely in our hands, as we are in our Father’s hands. 

What Does God Require of Us Parents? 

A worldly sense of altruism may motivate us to give our children the opportunity to make up their own mind, as they invariably will, and decide to come to the Lord or reject Him. But, does the LORD have that same opinion? No, not remotely! For He commands us (with promise), “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). The Tempter seeks to convince our children of the unfairness of not being able to reject God, which of course they always can. If our First Parents did not originally sense Yahweh’s love, then they never would have consented to obey Him. “And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:6). 

The LORD fairly warned us of the deadly consequences of disobedience (Genesis 2:16), but He also lavishes upon us all the benefits of obedience (2:17). We are to follow the LORD’s example. “And thou shalt teach them [God’s commandments] diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:7). This was the same pattern of teaching followed by Timothy’s grandmother Lois and mother Eunice (2Timothy 1:4). “And that from a child [Greek, brephos, infant, baby, young child] thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (3:15). Could we not raise Christian prodigies?

Parents Need Promises to Successfully Raise Their Children 

  1. Bedrock promise of success for our children. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). 
  2. Reclaiming our children after the LORD has reclaimed us, if we did not raise our kids with Proverbs 22:6. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). 
  3. Refusal to let go of God until He converts our obstinate children. “And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except Thou bless me” (Genesis 32:26). 
  4. Spirit-filled intercessions for our children will be answered, for it brings out righteous emotion. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27). 
  5. Avoid anger in raising your children, for it brings out unrighteous emotion. Wrath means you are not raising your children in the nurture and admonition of the LORD. “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
  6. Discipline your children, just as God disciplines you, for that is how He shows, you are His children. “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” (Hebrews 12:7). 
  7. The least understood promise of our New Covenant Age, is how the Indwelling Holy Spirit’s purpose is to inspire us to obey God, in much the same way He inspired the Scriptures to be written. “And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). Father, inspire our children to obey You!

Children Need Promises to Successfully Follow the LORD 

  1. Children will find their greatest success following God, by first obeying their parents. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:1-3). 
  2. Jesus is actively seeking parents to let their little children come to Him because they are then most like those who live in Heaven. “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). 
  3. Submission to Jesus as the Lord of their life keeps the devil from overcoming them. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). 
  4. Faith that comes from God’s Word in their life causes them to overcome the devil and his demons. “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He [the Spirit of Jesus] that is in you, than he [the devil] that is in the world” (1John 4:4). 
  5. God’s angels are supernatural, invisible, but real because their job is to camp around your children and deliver them, when the angels know they are needed most. “The angel of the LORD [especially Jesus] encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them” (Psalm 34:7). 
  6. Your children do not need to be afraid of all the wicked things that they might not be able to see, because Jesus the Good Shepherd shed His blood and laid down His life for the sheep, which are your children. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). 
  7. When your children are old enough to understand, tell them they are no longer just a kid, but are serving with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Captain of the LORD’s Host. “10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Father, You are God Over All. There is none greater. You have delivered all power to the Son. Blessed be Your Name. May we be empowered by Your Spirit to lay hold of these exceeding great and precious promises that we may be more like You and participate in all things to bring about Your Kingdom. Overcome that wicked usurper who seeks to destroy us and claim Your throne. Cause Your Son to overcome him through those who loved not their lives unto death. Rapture Your Church. Save Israel. Set up Your Kingdom on earth. Help us, Jesus, in our time of need! Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.

Praying in the Spirit

Ken

In Scripture, the Holy Spirit has been present and at work since the “Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2 KJV). Specially commissioned crafters of the priests’ garments and the ark of testimony were given God’s Spirit to complete their work (Exodus 28:3; 31:3). God’s prophets, who penned Holy Writ, “spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2Peter 1:21). But, the special feature of God’s New Covenant with us is the “gift of His Spirit” (Acts 2:38 NET) to inspire us to obey Him (Ezekiel 36:27). 

Prayer is especially the place of privilege for God’s people. Since the words of Scripture are inspired by the Spirit (2Timothy 3:16), we know spiritual prayer is in the language of Scripture. When we are unsure of the will of God in any matter, we are to commit that concern to the Lord in prayer with the assurance of the Spirit’s infallible answer. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). Rather than an indifferent petition, “Do whatever You think is best,” but instead, “I know what I desire [emotion], but is that the best thing [understanding]?” Once the Spirit directs our desires to understanding, then we can persevere in our petition. Even then, emotion has a legitimate place in our prayer life. “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me” (Genesis 32:26). Our emotions will motivate our perseverance — not simply repetitious “much speaking” (Matthew 6:7) — then, we can have reasonable assurance our request has been granted. 

Father, we know not what to pray for as we ought, so we desire Your Spirit teach us, what man cannot. Help us not to stifle the emotion that would cause us to persevere in our asking. Give us of the influence of Your Spirit, and cause us to be easily entreated to do Your will. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Pour Out My Spirit

Ken

“Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you” (Proverbs 1:23 KJV). Ever notice when you begin to take notice of something, you begin to see the same pattern where you never saw it before? The Holy Spirit is the author of our ‘teachable moments,’ since the same Spirit of Wisdom He placed upon Joshua to teach him what he needed to know to succeed Moses (Deuteronomy 34:9) under the Old Covenant, He promised to influence all His people in Proverbs 1:23. 

But, He gave special promise for that same Spirit to have a Privileged Place of Dwelling Within Us under the New Covenant. “And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). The NT promise of the Spirit would treat God’s children as the Temple of God, just as He appeared in the OT Holy of Holies. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1Corinthians 3:16). The evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence within us is not just understanding of God’s Laws and their application to us, but inspiring or causing us to keep, obey, or do His judgments and statutes (Ezekiel 36:27). This is the grand purpose of the Holy Spirit in us, to restore that right relationship with God. 

Father, cause us to receive the outpouring of Your Spirit, just as Your Early Church repented and were baptized to “receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Cause us to walk in obedience. Cause us to walk in a right relationship with You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.