2017 40 Days of Prayer, Day 13
The Abiding Presence of God:
A Life of Complete Dependence
Day 13
“for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13
Choose Life
One of the foundational truths of scripture is that God has placed before us all a choice between life and death. From the beginning, God told Adam and Eve to make choices that preserved life and to avoid the one choice that led to death. Adam and Eve chose the path of death and plunged the rest of us into a world of sin and death. Moses put a similar decision before Israel as they were about to enter the Promised Land. “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish,” Deuteronomy 30:15-18. In the end, the nation chose what Adam and Eve chose, they selected the path of death. They could not keep the Law and they would not remain loyal to the God of creation. The appeal of the false idols in the cultures all around them proved too much for them, something God warmed them about in this passage. What should have been a blessing, “life and prosperity,” became a curse, “death and adversity.” God intervened and sent His Son to become a curse for us,” Galatians 3:13. Christ died for us so that death itself would die in its power over us. Now we are free from the ravages of sin and death. This newfound freedom in the Spirit is not a license to live anyway we want. This newfound freedom provides power to live a life that pleases God. We can only live this life through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Putting to Death the Deeds of the Body
Individuals who live according to their sinful nature must die. This is the state of unbelievers. Unbelievers live according to their sinful inclinations. Unbelievers allow their lives to be controlled by sin. Universal laws prevail in this case. God communicates to us through His Word that sinners face the consequences of sin. The spiritual laws of the universe require death (separation from God, alienation from self and others) for sinners. If the Spirit dwells in us, then we have been changed. The spiritual laws of the universe grant life to those who are in Christ and have the Spirit dwelling in them. This is God’s divine will. In His justice, sin requires death. In His grace, the righteousness of Christ brings life. The life-giving presence of the work of Christ is His Spirit. How do we know if we have the Spirit of God residing in us? The Spirit is at war with the sinful desires of our physical bodies. This is how we know that we belong to Christ. When His Spirit lives within us, His Spirit continually battles against our sinful desires, with the outcome of this battle resulting in our spiritual life and the hope of a future, resurrected, physical life. If our bodies crave sinful pleasures, we must put those desires to death by the working of God’s Spirit.
Prayer Focus
God, I choose to live according to the reality of my life in Christ. In Christ, I am alive. I choose to live today according to the reality of my life in through the indwelling Holy Spirit. In the power of the Spirit, I am free. God, empower Your Spirit within me so that I may put to death my sinful desires. You have set me free from the consequences of my sin. Lord, You have also provided a path to freedom from the habits of my sin. Lord, please battle the sinful desires within me. Help me to live a life that is pleasing to You. In the name of the only Savior, Jesus Christ, my Lord.
From DL Moody's Secret Power
PRAISING WITH ONE HEART
We find, the very moment that Solomon completed the Temple, when all was finished, they were just praising God with one heart; there was not any discord; they were all praising God, and the glory of God came and filled the Tabernacle. Now, as you turn over into the New Testament, you will find, instead of coming to Tabernacles and Temples, believers are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit. When, on the day of Pentecost, before Peter preached that memorable sermon, as they were praying, the Holy Spirit came, and came in mighty power. We now pray for the Spirit of God to come and we sing: “Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly dove, With all thy quickening power; Kindle a flame of heavenly love in these cold hearts of ours. I believe, if we understand it, it is perfectly right; but if we are praying for Him to come out of heaven down to earth again, that is wrong, because He is already here; He has not been out of this earth for these 1800 years; He has been in the Church, and He is with all believers; the believers in the Church are the called-out ones; they are called out from the world, and every true believer is a Temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in. In the 14th chapter of John, 17th verse, we have the words of Jesus: “The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither does it know Him; but you know Him, for He dwells in you.”
“Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the World.” If we have the Spirit dwelling in us, He gives us power over the flesh and the world, and over every enemy. “He is dwelling with you, and shall be in you.” Whenever you see a believer, you see a temple of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, we read again: “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own for you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Thus are we taught that there is a divine resident in every child of God. I think it is clearly taught in the Scripture that every believer has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. He may be quenching the Spirit of God, and he may not glorify God as he should, but if he is a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells in him. But I want to call your attention to another fact. I believe today, that though Christian men and women have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, yet He is not dwelling within them in power; in other words, God has a great many sons and daughters living without full power.