If you are going to blaspheme... don't choose the Holy Spirit!

The act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk:  Oxford
  English Dictionary

Don't know about you, but the word blaspheme sounds like something one shouldn't be
doing, even before one looks it up in a dictionary. I have been reading, and greatly enjoying
the sermons of Charles H. Spurgeon. There are two sermons preached in 1855 at the New Park Street Chapel in Southwark, England, that deal with the Holy Spirit of God. They are worth the read!

So who is this Holy Spirit and what does it mean to blaspheme Him? Well Mr. Spurgeon
spends a great deal of time explaining and using scripture to back up the fact that He is God
and that He is a person. He is, in fact, "God with us" now that Christ has ascended; Jesus
promised His disciples that He would send one just like Himself, so that they would still
have Him with them. The Spirit of God, seen descending in the form of a dove at the
baptism of Christ Jesus," coming upon"Mary as Christ was miraculously conceived, is
within each Christian as a teacher and a counselor. He is one who helps us understand
the Bible, as He was present when man co-wrote the books, He is one who helps change
our prayers into a form acceptable to a Holy God and He is the one who is grieved by
our sins, striving to make us aware of them along the path to sanctification. In other
words, you need go no farther than your own heart to find this member of the trinity.

So Christ chastised and warned the Pharises when they accused Him of doing miracles
and healing by the help of the devil. He as much as suggested that one can be forgiven
for speaking against God the Father, against Jesus, but never forgiven, that is never, for
speaking against the Spirit of God. In today's world, with Christ at the right-hand side of
the Father, we are warned against the sin of disbelief: the sin of rejecting and turning
away from God, of refusing to believe. 

I suppose that shows the importance of the Spirit to us and to Jesus and God the
Father. The relationships among the members of the trinity are exceptionally
valued by each member. They all are from eternity to eternity, alpha and omega and
they all interact within the framework of a team, of a family. 

We tend, sometimes, to know and think less about the Holy Spirit of God than
about the other two members of the Trinity; we would be very smart to treat the
presence and gift of the Holy Spirit with love and respect.... and never think
about blaspheming.

Praise God!




 

The Wondrous Spirit of Holiness

Isaiah 11:2 - And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD...

Yes, we have a spirit within us because we have been given this gift as a member of
the body of Jesus. He is a spirit person so we won't find him in an x-ray or a scan. I am
learning more about this member of the Trinity; the one that is in constant contact with
us, as the Father and Jesus reside in Heaven. The more I learn about Him, the more 
glorious and important He is to all of us.

In reading a book by Bryan Chapell called Praying Backwards, I have come to
understand, a little more clearly, more of the things the Spirit does for us, often
in ways we do not perceive. The book, obviously, is about prayer, God's invention-
the first Wireless Communication System. Praying is a wonderful gift given us by the redemptive work of Jesus that allows us to be allowed to petition God, to ask, seek
and knock with the assurance that He is listening, will answer and is pleased when we
come to Him in prayer.

The problem, it seems, is that people like me are basically ignorant when it comes to
how to pray and what to pray for. The apostle Paul admitted that even he was not sure
about correct prayer. One overlying answer seems to be that we tend to mold our
prayers into our will instead of God's sovereign will.  Well, we are blessed because this
Spirit within us intercedes and molds out prayers into ones that are acceptable to God
and that fit His providential will and purpose. He is our divine translator! He understands
God because He is God. What a wonderful person to rely on.

This spirit is also essential in helping us attack our sinfulness. He is the one who
allows us to recognize our sins; in a real sense, He is our second conscience, if you will,
challenging us by making us aware when we sin. Left to out own devices...well, you
know how that works. 

I'm still in the early stages of learning about this wonderful counselor and am looking
forward to being more aware of Him. 

Isn't it so amazing that the more we learn about God, about Jesus and about the
Holy Spirit, the more amazed we are and the more we love the Trinity.

Praise and Thank our Majestic Lord God!