In the book called Ye Shall Receive Power, author Ellen G. White (EGW) shares that when God gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit it was impossible to give us more. She goes on to say that nothing could be added to this gift from God. I am paraphrasing her words, but as I read them I could not stop thinking about this message. The Holy Spirit supplies all our needs and “...is the vital presence of God.” What did that just say? So, if I am understanding this correctly, when God sends the Holy Spirit to his children, he is sending a part of himself...? I continued to pray and study. I needed to look into this more.
Exodus 25:8 says, “And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst,” (ESV). Our bodies are a temple of the living God. We are to be a living sanctuary for God to dwell in through his Holy Spirit. Ephesians 2:22 declares, “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the spirit,”(ESV). All of this had joy bubbling up in my heart. I have been a Christian my whole life. I was taught as a young child to ask Jesus into my heart as I prayed each evening. Did a holy God really want to dwell in a sinner like me?
I read on in EGW’s book about receiving power. “If appreciated [this] will call forth praise and thanksgiving, and will ever be springing up into everlasting life.” She goes on to say that very few people will appreciate the gift of the Holy Spirit. I started to pray, “God if our bodies are a temple of the living God, you are the creator of us. You have built us with a purpose. In Exodus you say that you want to walk among us, live in us, be our God and we will be your children. I want this, God, more than anything I have ever desired in my life. How God can this be?”
It starts with faith. Faith is believing in things you cannot see. Faith is believing in things that you do not understand. Faith is grasping a promise from the Almighty God and believing it was meant for you. Mark 11:24 tells us, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours,” (ESV). We were created to be like God in righteousness and holiness. Sin has separated us from being in God’s image and, honestly, from being in his presence. Jesus came to restore us through his righteousness and his perfect character into a relationship with a Holy God.
I know that I am not worthy. I know that I am a sinner. The evil one likes to remind me daily of who I was. All I know is that I was not intended to be this way. I was created to be a temple where the Spirit of God would dwell. I am just sharing truth that is written in the word of God with you friends. It is through faith that we will be saved. “The just shall live by faith,” Paul says (Romans 1:17, KJV). It is by faith that Jesus, when asked, will live in our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit so we can live a life that is pleasing to God.
I Corinthians 3:16 says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”(NIV). The question is, do we believe this to be true? Do we take God at his word? Is he a man that would lie? Does his word accomplish that which it was sent to do? This is not on our merits. We do not deserve this incredible mercy or grace. I believe that the evil one wants us to believe the lie that we cannot possibly be in union with a Holy God. We cannot possibly be set free from sin. We cannot possibly live a life that is righteous before God. You can’t. I can’t. BUT we have the holy lamb of God, his son Jesus who is offering his gift of love, his shed blood to cover us. Jesus has the power to live in us through the Holy Spirit and the power to make you and I holy. Think about this – how would we as sinners live in heaven if being in front of the throne room worshiping God would consume us?
I have been praying and praying over this. I desire to do his will. I desire to live the life I was made to live. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart,” Psalms 37:4 (ESV). I want to invite you to delight yourself in the Lord. Pray to him like a friend. Read the bible like a treasure. Seek a relationship with him above all other things in your heart and life. If something is holding you back from jumping in over your head in love with him, then pray and ask for it to be removed. We are running out of time. This earth’s history is soon to close. It is time to get serious about entering a relationship with the Almighty Creator. I pray that you will find him soon.