Holiness
I: Who can experience Holiness?
Unfortunately, many folks today don�t understand Holiness.
Ezekiel
36:27 tells us, "And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow
my decrees and be careful to keep my law."
John
14:17 talks about the Spirit of Truth, "The world cannot accept Him,
because it neither sees him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with
you and will be in you.
Then
we find in Romans 8:9, " You, however, are controlled not by the sinful
nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does
not
have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."
They are wrong, those who believe they can enter in by the back door. There are those who preach that understanding and seeking the Holy Spirit are the first step to Salvation instead of seeking Jesus as the first step to Salvation.
II: Is there an age limit or minimum age?
The
Word of God tells us that both Young and Old can experience the Spirit of
God.
Joel
2:28 "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and
daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will
see visions."
III: Who gives us the Spirit?
Matthew
3:11 says "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will
come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
IV: For what purpose do we need the Spirit
The Spirit of God empowers us for Service, to witness and to win souls for Him.
Acts
1:8 reads, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the ends of the earth.
The Spirit of God grows us into Spiritual Fruit Trees.
Galatians
5:22 and 23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such
things
there is no law.
We
can imitate the fruits but we can not by personal will or command make them
blend and combine with our souls and being.
The
fruit revealed in us is revealing a deeper truth about us. The revelation is
that
the Spirit of God lives in us and is one with us.
V: Do We Have To Experience Holiness?
Leviticus tells us Boldly YES!
Leviticus
11:45 "I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of Egypt to be
your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
In the New Testament the First Book of Peter Chapter 1 Verse 16 repeats Leviticus 11:45 when we read "for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy."
We are commanded to be Holy.
It has been my experience that God NEVER commands us to do or be anything it is not possible for us to do or be. Even those things or actions that might normally be impossible for us individually, or even corporately to achieve, God ALWAYS empowers us to succeed when He directs us for action. In other words, if God says do it, IT IS not only possible but something we MUST do. The success I�m speaking of is God�s success, it does not mean we will always be able to see or even understand the extent of our success in obedience to God.
VI: What do I do?
Salvation
comes first. Repentance toward God,
Faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ, and regeneration
by the Holy Spirit are necessary to Salvation.
