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THE GREATEST GIFT |
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by Dale Simmons 12/14/05 |
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It is that
season again. All over the world the celebration is about to begin.
In front of thousands of churches nativity scenes have been erected,
depicting the birth of Jesus Christ…the King of all Kings wrapped
in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Joseph and Mary did not
have the social status that it took for the innkeeper to oust
another patron and allow them to enjoy the comfort of a room, so
they took refuge in the stable. It was a humble beginning for the
first born of the brethren…the son of man…the only begotten Son
of God. Again I must exalt the phenomenal wisdom of God. Our
spiritual rebirth has the same pattern. Blessed are the poor in
spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…blessed are the meek
for they shall inherit the earth. We come to God in spiritual
poverty…we are not birthed in the comforts of the world…we are
of a broken and a contrite spirit…accepting the forgiveness of God
for our sinful trespasses in meekness. Spiritual kingship must be
rooted in humbleness. The Christ child matured and fulfilled His
destiny. The world is mistaken in worshipping the child. It is great
to remember the beginning but far more pleasing to God to understand
His purpose and worship Him for His sacrificial love on the cross.
As Jesus was a
babe in the manger, we are now babes in Christ. Immersed in water,
baptized into Jesus’ death, covered in His blood, undeservedly
cloaked in His righteousness that He lovingly imputed to us…our
debt paid in full by God himself…we can now escape imminent,
eternal spiritual death and find eternal life in God. We were truly
bought with a price. Jesus became our truest friend. No one can show
any greater love than to lay down his life for a friend. God is
love. The love of God was embodied in the man Christ Jesus. The
greatest gift in that month of October many years ago was not the
baby in the manger but that the great I Am…the Word of God…His
Almighty Spirit…became flesh and dwelt among us. God’s Spirit
would now abide in man. Birthed through baptism and covered by His
blood, we find favor with God and He gives us the greatest gift. The
Holy Ghost. The indwelling of the spirit of the most High God. It is
a gift imparted to us because we have recognized the sovereignty of
God and chose to die to the sinful man. Without the indwelling of
God, Jesus as a man would have succumbed to sin and failed to become
the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. The sprit of God
was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. It was God in
Christ that defeated eternally the power of the devil. It was God in
Christ that kept Him to His death on the cross and He arose from the
grave triumphant.
God will give
you the Gift of the Holy Ghost. You cannot overcome the flesh
without His indwelling. Unless we abide in Him and Him in us we are
powerless over sin and will not attain what is required for complete
salvation unto eternal life. The apostle James was explicit on the
most unruly member of our body…the tongue. It is the hardest
member of the body to control. Again the wisdom of God…He chose
the tongue to witness the receiving of the Holy Ghost. All who
receive the Holy Ghost will speak in another tongue. It will come
only by the anointing of God. It is our completeness of surrender.
The power of God will take over against your own control and will
speak through you. The true infilling of the Holy Ghost cannot be
done through the flesh though I have watched many people try to
imitate it on their own. It is not hard to discern what is of God
and what is flesh as the true anointing is a beautiful thing. It is
not us…it is God. How marvelous! Let go and let God have His
wonderful way. His ways are not our ways. He uses the simple things
to confound those who try to understand it in light of the natural
man and his flesh. Surrender all to Him. Without the Holy Ghost
there is no salvation. As Jesus said…of His own self He could do
nothing…Only the power of God can breathe spiritual life into us
and empower us to grow from babes in Christ to the mature
sacrificial man that babe in the manger grew into.
Related Scriptures:
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