July, 1941
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houses, and the things that some ope else has which we want to have! Those are the things we are talking about, and it is nothing but worldliness! Our pleasures reveal our worldliness. Many Christians are following the fash ions of the world, to beautify them selves, so they say. Do you know, friends, “the King’s daughter is all glorious within” (Psa. 45:13) ? And when the King’s daughter is all glorious within, we do not expect to see her outer appearance look like that of a worldling. There- is no beauty that God Will accept but the beauty of His Son which is wroiight in you and me by the blessed Holy Spirit. Worldliness may be manifested in our appetites. A few weeks ago, I was a guest at dinner. One of the men present was Overweight. He knew he was overweight. He was paying the doctor for treatments for it. And yet, he passed his plate again and again for the kind of food he should not eat. He said he should not eat as he did but that he liked food. That is worldliness in appetite. Oh, do you see how diverse in meaning is that thing that we call worldliness ? Now are we ready to let this wonder ful blessed Spirit of holiness separate us from the world ? Are ,you willing to go alone and kneel down and say to the Holy Spirit, “Will Y6u show me any thing in my life that is still of the world?” The Holy Spirit will be faith ful. And then when He does show you, will you be willing to be separated from that thing? IV. The Holy Spirit Is the Spirit of Life. He lives within us to counteract the work of the flesh. There is a constant battle between the flesh and the Holy Spirit who is in us. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are con trary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal. 5:17). Each is contrary to the other, and we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit if this wonderful Spirit of life is going to be able to counteract the work of the flesh within us. And God tells us two distinct ways: First: Make no provision for the flesh. “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not ’ provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:14). But we constantly do make pro vision for the flesh! We do it not only by doing wrong things, but by neglect ing to do right things, and by doing even legitimate things to excess, May I illustrate? Recently a mis sionary told me of the subtle way in which she unwittingly had made pro vision for the flesh. During a time of illness and convalescence she began to read novels. Do not misunderstand me. We are not talking about novel read ing, but about making provision for [Continued on ]?age 287] .
Let America Consider “Righteousness exalt* eth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Prov. 14:34).
hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” And the Holy Spirit dwells within us to make that separation that was brought about by the blood of the Saviour and the baptism of the Spirit to be- experimental and actual through His indwelling. Now, are we ready to let Him do that? “Be not conformed to this world” (Rom. 12:2), because now you are to be con formed to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the world hates Christ and the world hates the Church, which is the Body of Christ. Thus the earnest, real Chris tian, “transformed by the renewing of your mind,” refuses - to ‘live according to the world. We are told in 1 John 2:15, 16: “Love, not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. F6r all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Fatlier, but is of the world.” The lust of the flesh speaks of the lust for all the things that are in the world and are not of the Father, but are of the world. Thq acid test of worldliness is this: All that is not of the Father is of the world; all that is of the flesh—and that is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father. Too often we narrow it down to the pleasures of the world, but it means far more than that. - It means worldliness in our conversation. What do you talk about? What do you men talk abopt? Politics, business, money affairs, any number of other things, but how often do you speak of the Lord Jesus Christ pud'the things of Christ and the Church ? And, women, what do we talk about when we get together? What we eat and thp clothes we wear, the things we have in our
not possess; we are enlightened, but we are not enabled to act. Notice those words in Ephesians 3: "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (v. 16). Oh! doesn’t that show us that it is all the working of Him, the Holy Spirit, the mighty- Spirit of power, to enable ■us to do what we cannot do ourselves, and what Ged did not mean for us to do ? What is the first petition 7 It is that Christ may “dwell” in our hearts "by faith,” and that He may dwell deeper and deeper and deeper in our lives. And what is our part? It is faith, appropriating the Lord Jesus in ail of IBs fullness for our lives. ' And then the second prayer is that we may be “filled unto all the fulness of God” (Eph. 3:19, R.V.). Do riot ' shrink from it, friends; do not say it is impossible. There'it stands. God would not have put that, petition in this in spired prayer if it ,could not be an swered in your life and mine. III. The Holy Spirit Is the Spirit of Holiness. ' In this aspect, His function is to separate us from the world. The Holy Spirit will allow in us no mixture. There can be no mixture between light and darkness. Listen to God’s Word: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14). Listen to Go4’s reasoning as He continues, “For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?” None, because they are exact opposites! “What communion hath light with darkness ? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel ? And what agreement hath the temple of J3od with idols?” None; they are the exact antitheses of each other. Listen to another reason: “For ye are the temple of the living God; as God
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