Soul Music & The Infilling of the Holy Spirit - 40
Day Journey with Martin Luther – Day 22 - Purity 1295
Purity 1295 03/09/2024 Purity 1295 Podcast
Purity 1295 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a high definition view of the sky
reflected in the waters of Lake Hiawassee near sunset comes to us from Fred
Dimmick who shared this scene from his visit to the Hanging Dog Recreational Area
on social media on Thursday, March 7th. Fred is always sharing stops along the path
of his life with his friends on FB, but this one is really special. It's so
beautiful it’s almost unreal and it made me wonder if Fred got a new camera! But
that’s life, we do the same things day after day and then time, circumstances, and
the Lord come together to make otherwise normal days have spectacular
moments.
Well, it’s Saturday and I had one of those spectacular
moments after work yesterday during my commute to my countryside home in
Easton. I had a long day at work yesterday and when quitting time came I was
rejoicing over the fact that another week of work was over, and I decided to
worship the Lord in song to thank Him.
Right now I am trying to recall the events that led to that decision because
there was something there that triggered that decision, something to do with
God and my life right now, but I can’t recall the specifics. Anyway, when I
turned on my “Crossroads” Playlist – which is a mix of inspirational secular
songs from my past and some “heart songs” of Christian praise and worship the Lord’s
presence came storming into the moment bringing to my mind and heart the truth
of my relationship with him, the victories of the past, and hope for the
future. God was in the car with me, and
I was undone emotionally, rejoicing over His love for me and simultaneously letting
the pain of recent difficulties in my life come pouring out to be healed. God was speaking to me through the music to
remind me that I wasn’t alone, He had been with me in the past to deliver me,
and I could rely on Him in the future to do the same. These realizations caused
me to whoop, holler, sing, raise my hands, cry, and emphatically rejoice over
my life of freedom that has been given to me.
The manifest presence of the Lord was in the house crafting time and
space to give me this magic moment that I would call the “filling of the Holy Spirit”.
Paul talks about this in.
Ephesians
5:18-21 (NKJV) which says:
18 And do not be drunk with
wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart
to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for
all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
21 submitting to one another
in the fear of God.
Do
you see the tie in here of music, thanksgiving, and the Lord? My baptism in the Holy Spirit happened when I
went into recovery and one day sang to, thanked, praised the Lord, and asked
Him to “Come Holy Spirit, Come”. Yesterday, I didn’t ask, I didn’t knock but
the Lord’s presence came all the same. He knew I needed it as I have been
overcome with anxiety and frustration during recent events and He wanted me to
know that I wasn’t alone and that I could trust Him to move everything together
for good even if I couldn’t see it. I had been trying to “fix things” on my own
and He showed up to remind me to remain faithful but to “let go” and let Him do
what He has always done. Even though I
had been trying to be encouraging to others, my heart and mind need to be
encouraged to surrender all the uncertain outcomes and concerns in my life to
Him. As the Lord brought to mind all the blessings of my life I shouted in
triumph because I even though I “knew these things”, my heart had forgotten just
how glorious this strange journey has been and how wonderful my life is.
Yesterday,
God used “soul music” to bring me back to joy and to pipe in the “filling of
the Holy Spirit”. Although John
MacArthur would disagree with my calling my initial experience of the manifest
presence of God – the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” his commentary on Ephesian 5:18 tells us about
this infilling: The Macarthur commentary says:
“Paul
is not speaking of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling (Ro 8:9) or the baptism by
Christ with the Holy Spirit (1Co 12:13), because every Christian is indwelt and
baptized by the Spirit at the time of salvation. He is rather giving a command
for believers to live continually under the influence of the Spirit by letting
the Word control them (see note on Col 3:16), pursuing pure lives, confessing
all known sin, dying to self, surrendering to God’s will, and depending on His
power in all things. Being filled with the Spirit is living in the conscious
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, letting His mind, through the Word, dominate
everything that is thought and done. Being filled with the Spirit is the same
as walking in the Spirit (see notes on Gal 5:16–23). Christ exemplified this
way of life (Lk 4:1).”
(John
F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible.
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Eph 5:18.)
That’s
what I try to do live in the conscious presence of the Lord but I can tell you sometimes our walk with God
has special moments where the Lord reaches out to strengthen us and yesterday
was one of them for me and I had to write about it because I don’t want to
forget it or blow it off. I want to stay in that place where I knew the truth
of my relationship with God in the present moment, experientially. These moments fuel our faithfulness and never
know when God will reach through the veil to give them to you but when they
happen you know it!
So
I’m encouraged to encourage you to keep walking and talking with God and what
better time to do that than now -in the season of Lent. And speaking of Lent….
It’s the twenty-second day of Lent and so we
continue my personal walkthrough of Gracia Grindal’s 40 Day Journey with
Martin Luther to observe and celebrate the Lenten season. In this walkthrough of Grindal’s
devotional, it is our hope that we will
get to know Martin Luther a little better as we seek to draw closer to the Lord
on our journey to Resurrection Sunday – Easter.
And so we continue.
“Journey
Day 22
I
believe in the Holy Spirit, one holy Christian church, the community of saints,
forgiveness of sins, resurrection of the flesh, and eternal life. Amen.
To
this article, as I have said, I cannot give a better title than “Being Made Holy”.
In it are expressed and portrayed the Holy Spirit and his office, which is that
he makes us holy. Therefore, we must concentrate on the term “Holy Spirit”,
because it is so precise we can find no substitute for it... God's Spirit alone
is called a Holy Spirit, that is, the one who has made us holy and still makes
us holy. As the Father is called a Creator and the Son is called a Redeemer, so
on account of his work the Holy Spirit must be called a Sanctifier, or one who
makes us holy. How does such sanctifying take place?
Answer...
the Holy Spirit effects our being made holy through the following: the
community of saints or Christian church, the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. That is, he first leads us
into his holy community, placing us in the church's lap, where he preaches to
us and brings us to Christ.
Biblical Wisdom
When
the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will
not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to
you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what
is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason
I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. John 16:13-15.
Silence for Meditation.
Questions to Ponder
· What
do you think Luther means when he says the Holy Spirit is the “one who makes us
holy”? What does it mean to be made holy?
To be made holy means to be set apart for God’s
purposes, to live to serve His kingdom. A
cursory study of scriptures regarding the Holy spirit reveals that He leads us
into all truth and grants us repentance. It is through the Holy Spirit that we see
the truth of the gospel and are led to turn from our sins and grow in our
faith. This is for real – they don’t call it walking in the Spirit for nothing –
we can experience God’s presence, love, and help in our lives when we walk with
Him.
· Luther
says the Spirit “effects our being made holy” through “the community of saints
or Christian church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and
the life everlasting”. Reflect on these four; how do they make us holy?
The community of the saints gives us a place to grow
– where the word is preached, studied, reflected on, and practiced with how we
live.
The forgiveness of sins gives us freedom and healing
and encourages us to not go back into darkness.
The Resurrection of the body – gives us proof that
Jesus is God and that He blesses us with the gift of the comforter who indwells
within our bodies – making us spiritually alive. We were resurrected to life
with Christ.
Everlasting life gives us the freedom over the fear
of death and the eternal purpose of serving God’s kingdom. We stop living for
ourselves and start living for God’s kingdom.
· According
to today's reading from Luther, what is the church's primary task? Why?
Luther’s comments indicate that the church’s purpose
is to preach the word. Why? To bring
people to Christ, and to make us holy.
Psalm Fragment
These
all look to you to give them their food in due season; When you give to them,
they gather it up; When you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath,
they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are
created; and you renew the face of the ground. Psalm 104:27-30
Journal Reflections
· Meditate
in writing on your understanding and experience of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit guides us into a deeper walk with
the Lord by illuminating the scriptures and convicting our hearts to obey God’s
word. His presence comforts us and strengthens us. His intuitions reveal to us things to come
and inspires us to good works and sanctification.
· Have
you ever felt as if the Holy Spirit was bringing Christ to you as you studied
his word or heard it preached, or participated in the activities of his church?
If so, write about the experience and its impact on you.
Yes, all the time. Part of the purpose of my blogging
and podcasting is to proclaim the truth of the Holy Spirit’s power and presence
in the lives of Christians who surrender to God’s will for their lives. Pick up your cross and follow Jesus and the
Comforter will accompany you on the path of Christian Discipleship.
· Have
you experienced yourself “being made holy”? If so, has it changed how you make
decisions? How you live in relationships? If not, can you imagine being made
holy and its consequences?
Yes. I have repented and been set free from my
former besetting sins to experience freedom. It has changed my entire life and my
relationships. My marriage has God at
the center of it and my friendships are faith-based because no matter who you
are, I will encourage you to seek the Lord – Christian or not.
Prayers for the Life of Faith
Pray
that your relationship with God through Christ and the Holy Spirit will become
more dear to you and that the gift of faith you have received will flow from
you into good deeds for your family, friends, and neighbors.
Lord, I pray that my relationship with You through
Jesus and the Holy Spirit will somehow become more dear to me and that the gift
of faith that I have received will flow from me into good works for my family,
friends, and neighbors. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prayer For Today
Come,
Holy Spirit, teach me more about God, and quicken my love for you and my
neighbors so that I may serve you as I should by serving them.
Amen!
(Gracia M. Grindal. 40-day
Journey With Martin Luther. Kindle Edition.
(We encourage you to purchase Grindal’s book and
take the 40 Day Journey with Martin Luther for yourself by purchasing Grindal’s
book wherever books are sold. You can find it online at many different sites
and purchase it new, used – paper or electronic for less than $15.00).
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For
those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide,
I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
Today’s
Bible verses come to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By
John G. Kruis.
(
While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick
Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late
author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )
This
morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on Contentment, Coveting
& and Priorities.
Colossians 3:5 (ESV)
5 Put to death therefore what
is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and
covetousness, which is idolatry.
Today’s
verse falls under the ninth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s
section on Contentment,
Coveting, and Priorities.
9. Put covetousness to death.
Today’s
verse tells us to repent of sexual immorality – let’s not miss that – sexual purity
is important to God and our lives of faith – but it also speaks of the root of
lust- covetousness – wanting what is not rightfully yours. Why is the command to not covet one of the
Ten Commandments? Because it leads us into various sins that stem from covetousness.
God has approved means to meet all our needs, but covetousness causes us to
disregard those means because “we want what we want” and covetousness causes us
to not care how we get it.
So
put to death what is earthly within you, and follow God’s ways to meet your
wants, desires, and needs. When we decide to not “want” what is not ours, covetousness
is cast out and results in the consideration of sin to be an illogical possibility.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “According to Your
Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament” By Stephen F. Olford – A
Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage you all to purchase Olford’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available online
for less than $10 at many sites.
MORNING READING: LUKE 11
“The lamp of the body is the eye.
Therefore,
when your eye is good, your whole body also is
full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body
also is full of darkness.” – Luke 11:34
The eye cannot contain light in itself; it reflects light
from the source of light. If therefore the body is to be full of light, the
eyes must be focused on the true source of light, even the Lord Jesus. Hence,
the apostle says, “Looking unto Jesus” (Heb. 12:2).
Fellowship is only maintained as I walk in the light even
as my Lord is in the light. How necessary it is then, that my eyes be fixed on
Him.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.7[1]
---------------------------more
tomorrow------------------------
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage
Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the
mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts
(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available
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Audible.com.
These teachings are also available on the
MT4Christ247 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MT4Christ247
Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and
to be encouraged.
My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian
encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ), her
Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on
Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this
publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to
reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries,
or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication,
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the
author may represent.”
Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1]
Stephen Olford and Heather Olford, According to Your
Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament, A Collection of Devotional
Journals 1940-1941 (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2008).
