The Full Blessing of Pentecost: How little it is enjoyed - continued 2

The Full Blessing of Pentecost
- The One Thing Needful
By Andrew Murray

How little it is enjoyed
(Excerpts - continued 2)

"My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
1 COR. ii. 4, 5.

Think, for example, what little power over sin there is amongst the children of God.

The Spirit of Pentecost is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God is holiness.

When He came down upon the disciples, what a transformation was effected in them.
Their carnal thoughts were changed into spiritual insight,
their pride into humility,
their selfishness into love,
their fear of man into courage and fidelity.
Sin was cast out by the inflowing of the life of Jesus and of heaven.

The life which the Lord has prepared for His people is a life of victory.
It is not indeed victory to such an extent as that there shall be no temptation to evil;
nor yet that the inclination towards sin, inward sinfulness, shall be utterly rooted out of the flesh.
But there is to be victory of such a kind that the indwelling power of the Spirit who fills us,
the presence of the indwelling Saviour,
shall keep sin in subjection,
as the light subdues the darkness.
Yet, to what a small extent do we see power for victory over sin in the Church of Christ.

On the contrary, how often, even amongst earnest Christians,
do we see much untruthfulness and lack of honour, pride and self-esteem, selfishness and lack of love.
How little are the traces of the image of Jesus obedience, and humility, and love, and entire surrender to the will of God seen even among the people of God.

The truth is that we have become so accustomed to the confession of sin and unfaithfulness, of disobedience and backsliding,
that it is no longer regarded as a matter for shame.

We make the confession before each other, and then after the prayer rest comforted and content.
Brethren, let us rather feel humbled and mourn over it!
It is because so little of the full blessing of the Spirit is enjoyed or sought for that the children of God still commit so much sin, and have therefore so much to confess.

Let every sin, whether in ourselves or others, serve as a summons to notice how much is lacking of the Spirit of God amongst us.
Let every instance of failure in the fear of the Lord, in love, and holiness, and entire surrender to the will of God,
only urge us the more unceasingly to call upon God to bring His Spirit once more to full dominion over the whole Church of Christ.



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