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Continuing on proper way to be filled with the Spirit
The focus of these messages is on how with the brethren to walk in the fullness of the Spirit; and I am beginning with how we see the Lord at work in others and started my last post with the most vital warning on the subject; namely NOT to make people a substitute for Christ; that is not to make them OBJECTS of worship.
I started discussing Paul and inferred that there were things detracting him from being seen as he truly was; a pillar in the church because of some personal characteristics. It took some time; no doubt to get beyond who they recognized as a well known persecutor of the church. We could well look at any previous terrorist or murderer who is truly converted and just see scars on their face or a rough discourse as to their speech and never be able to look beyond that to see a changed heart.
It seems; from my experience that those who have indeed a dramatic testimony of being delivered from particularly heinous sins in the past (drugs; violence; immorality) do make the contrast of pre and post conversion easier to see. Those of us who were; on the whole polite and kind before conversion are harder to envision as to the way the Holy Spirit has transformed them.
That was; more or less my own testimony. What must be true; of course is that we truly have become converted and realize that we were no better than any other sinner; no matter how heinous-we just didn't have time to act it out or further devolve into the monster that we truly were in our nature. That is the issue with family; when they are in the mood to be gracious they talk about how good a son I am; when in a foul mood like to point out hypocrisy when I am truly reflecting the Lord as well as when I am starting to display my own pride.
We can't forget that with Christ Himself it took God Himself to break through the reality as to who he really was. My previous example from Matthew 16 demonstrates this.
The focus of these messages is on how with the brethren to walk in the fullness of the Spirit; and I am beginning with how we see the Lord at work in others and started my last post with the most vital warning on the subject; namely NOT to make people a substitute for Christ; that is not to make them OBJECTS of worship.
I started discussing Paul and inferred that there were things detracting him from being seen as he truly was; a pillar in the church because of some personal characteristics. It took some time; no doubt to get beyond who they recognized as a well known persecutor of the church. We could well look at any previous terrorist or murderer who is truly converted and just see scars on their face or a rough discourse as to their speech and never be able to look beyond that to see a changed heart.
It seems; from my experience that those who have indeed a dramatic testimony of being delivered from particularly heinous sins in the past (drugs; violence; immorality) do make the contrast of pre and post conversion easier to see. Those of us who were; on the whole polite and kind before conversion are harder to envision as to the way the Holy Spirit has transformed them.
That was; more or less my own testimony. What must be true; of course is that we truly have become converted and realize that we were no better than any other sinner; no matter how heinous-we just didn't have time to act it out or further devolve into the monster that we truly were in our nature. That is the issue with family; when they are in the mood to be gracious they talk about how good a son I am; when in a foul mood like to point out hypocrisy when I am truly reflecting the Lord as well as when I am starting to display my own pride.
We can't forget that with Christ Himself it took God Himself to break through the reality as to who he really was. My previous example from Matthew 16 demonstrates this.
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