Sunday, March 2, 2014

Happy Sunday

You Can be Changed by the Holy Spirit, for Good and God

Sumner Wemp
“It is God who works in you both to will (desire) and to do of His good pleasure” Philippians 2:13
 
"But we all with open face beholding as in a glass (a mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory (step by step, "little by little") even as by the Spirit of the Lord" 2 Corinthians 3:18. Some have projected a onetime experience of the “baptism of the Spirit” as the ultimate experience of a believer and that you will be transformed beyond measure. I am sorry but that is not in the Bible. Every believer is baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ or he is not “in Christ”, not saved. Make sense?
 
We are to be changed from glory to glory. God's ultimate goal is to make us "just like Jesus." "Beloved, now are we the sons of God (not maybe we will be, or we hope we will be a son of God, saved) (but “NOW are we the sons of God) and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as he is" 1 John 3:2. (My life verse) Everything we do, every verse is to make us more like Jesus. The ultimate is that “we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.” At this very moment I almost fell on my face and worshipped Him. I did burst into tears. Can you imagine, we are going to see HIM as HE IS. In all of His glory. To me, that is the greatest and highest point of the whole Bible and all of life. The passion of all of our lives ought to be that we shall see HIM and we will be like HIM. Excuse me if you think I am over doing it, but my dear wife, Celeste, is up there and she has seen Him as He is, in all of His glory. WELL GLORY! We all know we still have a ways to go but I will ask the same question as Jesus, “Why call ye me Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say?” Luke 6:46. One of the most unexplainable to me is the “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another and so much the more as ye see the day approaching” Hebrews 10:25. If just one person reading this would repent and return to their first works, it would make every moment spent on this book, worth it all.
 
The degree to which we are "changed" is determined by how much we "behold the glory of God" in the Word of God! "Be Balanced, Brother, Be Balanced." Here are six "P's" of the Christian life. We are to Proceed to church regularly, Hebrews 10:24, "Pray without ceasing" 1 Thessalonians 5:16, "Preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15. (This is not for preachers only but for every believer. Make sense?) Present our offerings, Matthew 6:1-4. Prepare to meet Thy God" Amos 4:12, And Peer Into the face of Jesus daily and deliberately! When Moses beheld the glory of God on the mountain he came down and “his face did shine” Exodus 34:29, 35. As we behold the glory of God in the word of God we too will be changed into the glory of God. The truth and tragedy is that most of us do not spend enough time beholding the glory of God in the word of God to be so changed. You and I may need to change our priorities so we spend much more time beholding the glory of God in the Word of God! Make sense? This is absolutely essential.
 
MEMORIZE: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is” Hebrews 10:25.

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