Bible Passage(s): 1 Corinthians 6: 19 – 20
Memory Verse: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16
The message for this month is taken from the classic book ‘Secret Power’ by D. L. Moody. Divine Resident is about the indwelling and infilling of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is indeed a divine resident in every believer. However, the believer may be quenching the Spirit of God, and he may not glorify God as he should, but if he is a believer in Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost dwells in him. Though there is the Holy Ghost dwelling in every believer in Jesus Christ, unfortunately however, He may not be dwelling within them.
This is the reason why, many children of God are without power in their service of God!
The power of the Most High will dwell within us as we do the following:
1. Empty ourselves: We must first empty ourselves so that we can receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The moment our hearts are emptied of pride, selfishness, ambition, self-seeking and everything contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will come and fill every corner of our hearts; but if we are full of pride, conceit, ambition, self-seeking, pleasure and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God to dwell within us. Therefore for us to receive the infilling of the Holy Ghost, we need to first pray for God to empty us.
2. Praise and thanksgiving in one accord: In 2 Chronicles 5: 13 and 14, we found that the moment Solomon completed the Temple, they were praising God with one heart, the choristers and the singers and the ministers were all one; there was no discord. As they were all praising God, the glory of God came and filled the Temple: ‘It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one to make one sound, to be heard praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endures forever; that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord. So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.’
3. Speak for Christ: Many believers never think of speaking up for Christ; that is witnessing to others about Christ and the need for them to forsake their sinful ways and seek to win them to Christ. This is why many children of God have not the power, liberty and love that real Disciples of Christ should have.
4. Live the life: Live consistently according to your confession of faith in Christ Jesus.
Many believers and even the church of God today, are not blossoming and making maximum impact as they should because they lack the infilling of the Holy Spirit of God, hence they are seeking for new measures, saying that ‘we need new churches, that we need new organs, and that we need new choirs, and all these new things. That is not what the Church needs today’. The church today needs ‘the old power that the Apostle has; that is what we want, and if we have that in our churches, there will be new life. Then we will have new ministers – the same old minister renewed with power and filled with the Spirit’.
The Lord bless and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you, may the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace, now and forevermore. Amen.
Prayer Points
1. Come to the Lord with penitence, confess your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you all of them.
2. Pray that the Lord will empty you of all pride, conceit, ambition, self-seeking, pleasure and the world, so that you will receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for power.