Sunday
Message - Rebuild the Holy Temple, Receive the Spirit’s Fire 4
27/04/08
<Exodus 40:34-38; Ez. 37:1-10; John
3:3-8, 6:63; Acts 1:4-8>
RECEIVE THE SPIRIT’S
FIRE; MOVE THE
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What is the work of the Lord? It is the
Lord’s doing that we get closer to Him
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Lord Jesus said, “My Father is always
at His work till this very day, and I, too, am working”
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The Lord works daily. The belief that
God wants us to have isn’t about fixing a certain vision, idea, timetable and
wait for them to happen
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We must have a foundation now in seeing
what God is doing in my family, studies and tribulations
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We could be strong or weak, as we come
together. We shout with joy together when we are strong and we comfort each
other when we are weak. We must testify God and walk towards the heavenly
kingdom together
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We are still young. Thus, we get
emotional easily. God has emotion, but He doesn’t remain in it. He is in the
Truth
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Therefore, we must get rid of the false
belief and rebuild the true belief thereafter. We can only completely tear down
and rebuild by relying on the Cross that God has revealed to us
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We must get rid of all the wrong
thinking, feelings, and knowledge. After that, rebuild the right one
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A lot of believers go after holy spirit
movement but they do not really understand how God is leading them in their
individual lives
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Therefore, they go into perverted
belief and cause lots of problems
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In fact, God has already revealed
everything in full. He did it with the Old and New Testaments
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The Old Testament emphasizes this: how
do we follow God. The Israelites cannot worship God as they wish. They must
build a tabernacle first. The 12 tribes surround the tabernacle. They move and
stop as one
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Together, they come out from
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What God wants from us now? When we
read the New Testament, Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven after fulfilling all
His works
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After ascending to Heaven, the Lord
stayed with the Saints through the complete Holy Spirit. The Saints didn’t go
into the mountains to experience God as individual, after receiving the Holy
Spirit. After they’d received the Holy Spirit, the more they gathered to
fellowship, break bread, pray and remember the Lord’s teaching together
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These are the models in the Old and New
Testaments
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The book of <Acts> tells us how the
Apostles rely on the Holy Spirit to do everything
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We shouldn’t be held back by our body.
This doesn’t mean that our body is not important. Because of its importance,
the more we must be controlled by the Holy Spirit
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All of us have a different timetable.
However, we must listen to the message with discretion
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All of us have emotions. We must
control our emotions. We can only control our emotions and money when we are
controlled by the Holy Spirit
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Today, we must know how to receive the
Spirit’s fire. We must spread our strengthened life and influence others
Read
<Exodus
40:32-38>
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v32 Though there are dark clouds, there must also
be light. Though we may face tribulations, there must be a light in our lives.
We will only have authority after we’d gotten the light
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There are clouds in the day and in the
night. In other words, God has never stop working
Read
<Ezekiel
37:1-10>
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The Israelites were able to see the
Tabernacle but not the Spirit’s fire. Thus, they became dried
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It is the same for us. We listen to a
lot of messages, but we only receive the knowledge without knowing what God is
doing
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v2 there
are a lot of people who know God, but most of them are dried (lifeless)
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v4 what is prophecy? It is sharing the word of
God. It is telling people about God’s perfect will
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v6 This
is the meaning of building the tabernacle
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v7 As one listens to the message, he understands
suddenly and sees the big picture. Most people only know the perfect will of God
in parts. Those who cannot see the big picture live in agony
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v10 We must become the “vast army of God”. We need
to fight the battle. We cannot just listen to the message only. We have the
ability to strengthen people and give them answer
Read
<John
3:3-8>
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v3 The
Lord’s emphasis is that people must be able to see God’s kingdom
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v6 If one judges by the flesh, it will always
remain in the flesh. However, when one judges by the Spirit, he will understand
the Lord’s desire
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In fact, we are the same as Nicodemus;
we do not know what God is doing now. We only know how to go to church, read the Bible or serve. However, we cannot see God
is at work
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Men will become hypocrites like the
Pharisees when they cannot see. However, they cannot hide from God, Holy Spirit
and Satan. Thus, they will be accused
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The result of being accused is that
they will judge others and cover themselves up. They do not like to be together
with others and thus lose the blessing of brethren living
Read
<John
6:33>
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We can only be truly successful and
blissful when we rely on the Holy Spirit
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God will not be pleased with everything
we do, no matter how good they were done, if we rely on ourselves
Read
<Acts
1:4-8>
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v4 The
most important instruction that the Lord has given before He ascended to Heaven
is to ask them not to leave
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v6 Believers
often fix their perspective on the carnal things and wait for things that they
want
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Some believers will even ask, “Lord,
when will you open the doors of evangelism? I am waiting for that day”. This question
sounds very spiritual, but it is in fact carnal. God
has never asked us to ask such questions
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The answer that the Lord gives us is
that we must get close to Him and know God’s desire now. This is the most
important. We cannot be waiting continuously without knowing what God is doing
1. The Spirit gives life;
the flesh counts for nothing <John 6:63>
1) One cannot fulfill “matters of life” if not
relying on the Holy Spirit
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The flesh is not beneficial. Nobody can
overcome the lust of the flesh without relying on the Holy Spirit. All of us
need to rely on the Holy Spirit
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Only by relying on the Holy Spirit can
we be able to dislodge from the vicious roots of Adam, and be joyful
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Our problem is: we only understand the
superficial meaning of the God’s word, but not the spiritual meaning behind it
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E.g. A quarrel broke out at home. Are
we able to see that the evil spirit is at work behind that quarrel? Thus, we
must rely on the Holy Spirit to drive out evil spirit
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The evil spirit will not leave unless
we rely on the Holy Spirit. The evil spirit may seem to have gone but without
relying on the Holy Spirit, he will actually not depart
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Thus, we must solely rely on God’s
covenant and method. When we do that, the things that God has wanted to fulfill
will definitely take place regardless of what the obstacles the world has
placed for us. Nobody can stop it
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We need not worry over a lot of things.
Since we are blessed now, our family and children will also be blessed
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When we rely on the Holy Spirit now, a
lot of struggles in our lives will be removed and world gospelization will
definitely be fulfilled
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The book of <Acts> records the
work of the Holy Spirit
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We must have this perspective when we
intercede for our family members
2) Things
that happen when the Holy Spirit works
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What
will happen when the Holy Spirit works?
(1) Evil
spirits are driven out <Matthew 12:28-29>
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No
matter what we do, we must first bind up the strong man
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We
are often weak. We are disheartened even before we start praying for others.
All these are the work of the strong man
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When
we rely on the Holy Spirit on the same matter, the evil spirits will go away
(2) The
change of the heart and spirit <2Cor 3:17; Rm 14:17> - Saw “Immanuel”
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Our
hearts and minds will be changed only when the evil spirits had gone away. And
only after that, will our perspective and judgment on all things be changed
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E.g.
Nothing will go into our mind regardless of how many
hours we’d studied if we study while we are very emotional or angry. A person
who is able to concentrate in his study will reap the results even if he has
only studied for an hour
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It
is futile for us to do anything if our hearts cannot calm down
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People
get distracted easily. Thus, we must rely on the Holy Spirit for concentration.
When we are able to concentrate; even if it’s just for a minute, we will be
able to understand a lot of things. If we are distracted, we won’t be able to
understand a thing even if we have been pondering for 10hrs
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How
can we counsel people? We will know what a person is struggling for, after we
hear him up for a couple of minutes with the concentration from the Holy
Spirit. Only then, we are able to counsel or help that person
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We
are easily affected by others’ words or information received when we do not
rely on the Holy Spirit. Thus, we aren’t able to influence or drive out the
demons in others
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Sometimes,
we might ask our wives, why they are moody and start suggesting what they
should or shouldn’t do. They will only get more frustrated when we do that
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When
we rely on the Holy Spirit to view someone, we will see the true (and deep)
reasons behind that person’s moodiness. Only then, we will know how to respond,
uphold and free that person
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That
strong man will not go away when our hearts and minds are not changed. Problems
will not go away no matter how much strength we put in
(3) The
revelation of God’s perfect will <John 14:26>
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We
are not able to do anything when our hearts are troubled. Thus, to become a
spiritual person, we must understand the meaning of spiritual environment
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When
the spiritual environment is not good, people tend to react impulsively. Thus,
they will be sarcastic, quarrel with others or are unable to teach their
children etc
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Parents
can beat their children, but they must do so by relying on the Holy Spirit. We
will only have authority when we rely on the Holy Spirit
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What
is Holy Spirit? Holy Spirit has a close relationship with our daily lives
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What
is the problem of Saints? They are not interested in the Holy Spirit at all.
How would those who are not interested in the Holy Spirit be able to rely on
the Holy Spirit? Only those who want to know the Holy Spirit will able to rely
on Him
(4) The revelation of God’s authority and power
<Eph 3:16, 20; 2Ti 1:7>
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We will only be able to see the Lord’s
love when our hearts and spirits are changed. Only when the Holy Spirit’s
perfect will was revealed, God’s dried / stagnant word (Logos) will become
lively (Rhema)
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The sentence of God’s word is dead.
However, when the Holy Spirit reveals God’s perfect will to us, the dead
sentences will become alive. We will receive a different conviction when 2 or 3
sentences are joined up
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Thus, we are able to use the whole
Bible to know how to judge and perceive all things
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E.g. In the midst of our problems, we
will not receive any strength by simply reading the word itself. However, we
will restore strength when we have the lively word, which enables us to
understand God’s desire and perfect will
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God speaks to us using different
“Rhema” everyday. We must learn to see this all our lives
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Those who see it will be strong and
courageous, and receive God’s great power. This enables us to surpass our body,
tiredness, disappointments, sadness, etc
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Therefore, people will receive
authority and power to preach. And those who listen to such preaching will surely
be submissive
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E.g. When David sang hymns by the Holy
Spirit, the evil spirits in Saul will go away
(5) See the result of Holy Spirit’s work <Eph
5:22-23; Acts 1:8>
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We will create a lot of problems for
ourselves when we don’t rely on the Holy Spirit
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E.g. When we speak unkind or
discouraging words to our spouse
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When people cannot see God, they will
say “fiery” words, which hurt others easily. People are not able to see God’s
word in small problems. Thus, one little comment could start a fire, just like
a matchstick igniting into flames
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Don’t we even understand our parent’s
mind? Can’t we even win the hearts of our children?
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We will have family gospelization only
when we’d restored this. Our colleagues will like us. Thus, there will be
regional gospelization. The work of world gospelization will become a reality
when we are able to influence our fields. This is the work of the Holy Spirit
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We must self-examine what our reliance
level on the Holy Spirit is. Do we rely more on the Holy Spirit or more on the
worldly knowledge?
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Although knowledge is important, it is
complete only when we rely on the Holy Spirit. We will only know which
knowledge to use when we rely on the Holy Spirit
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We receive a lot of information. If we
don’t rely on the Holy Spirit to know which information to use, the information
we receive will only make us fearful
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People can still have a spousal
relationship, can still educate their children or even evangelize without
relying on the Holy Spirit. However, God will tell us that He never knows what
we have done
3) How can we receive “the Holy Spirit’s fire”?
= the more we rely on the Holy Spirit, the more we will restore “normal, daily
and always”
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When people have different opinions on
how we can rely on the Holy Spirit, a lot of “perverted beliefs” were evolved
from era to era. A good example is “asceticism”
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Asceticism = stopping our
feelings/desire. E.g. Gnosticism. They are cults and they exist even in Jesus’
times
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They started off with strong emphasis
on spirituality. They only talk about spiritual matters. This becomes two
extremes: The first is asceticism. Since spirituality is so important, people
must control or stop their physical desire
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The second extreme is hedonism. They
think that since the spirituality is the most important, we can do whatever we
want with our body. People cannot accept hedonism because, they know that
spiritual men shouldn’t waste their body
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Asceticism is related to “remaining
single by choice”. People who follow
this belief cannot get married. They claimed that Paul had also asked people
not to get married. In fact, they do not understand Paul’s actual intention. A
lot of problems will arise when people refrain themselves from any physical
desires
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Asceticism will gradually bring about
mysticism and extreme devoutness / piousness. They seek to see God by
suppressing their physical body
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Therefore, our belief system is very
important
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No matter, what decision we make; be it
when we are looking for a job, or how we should teach our children, etc; we
will go through our belief system before making that decision
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People may also experience some
miraculous signs when they are into mysticism. E.g. figurine of deity can drink
milk; figurines of saints will shed tears etc. However, the greatest miracle is
the miracle of “having something from non-existence”
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What is more difficult? Great miracle
taking place, or having everything in order, in balance, in sequence in our
daily life? Although a family still has problems, God sustains the peacefulness
in that family. Evil spirit doesn’t follow procedures / sequence
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Is there anywhere in the Bible that
says, we must all be single, or we must devout our lives fully?
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<Ephesians> says, God works in our lives. We have received God’s great love.
Therefore, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit and have brethren /
fellowship. It also tells us how to lead a spousal relationship. How can we
teach our children to walk with God? How can we serve God with our work in the
company? We must pray and have concern for one another
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All these are the work of Holy Spirit
and it doesn’t come from refraining ourselves or remaining as singles
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Therefore, the more we should gather
and have fellowship when we are upset. Only then, will we be able to receive
answers
2. In order to restore “the normal Holy Spirit”,
there must be some “essential requirements”
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The leading of the Holy Spirit is very
normal, daily and always
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E.g. A husband told his wife that she
was exceptionally beautiful one day. However, the wife scolded him and told him
not to look at the matters of the flesh and be more spiritual. Is this wife
spiritual? Nobody will like her
·
E.g. A child tripped and fell down.
Will a spiritual person just stand there and command the child to stop crying
and to stand up? A spiritual person will lift up the child and comfort him
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The more spiritual a person, the more
normal he will become. The more spiritual is a person, the more interest he has
on others. Not because they are busy bodies, but they want to bless more people
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A spiritual person is open-minded.
Although he will receive hurts sometimes, he will also restore his strength
quickly
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We will feel terrible when we have some
ill-feelings with our brethrens. However, when we put ourselves down, we might
ever be willing to make sacrifices for them
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How then, can we rely on the Holy
Spirit normally?
1) The Holy Spirit will come upon which type of
people?
(1) To those who really believe in “God’s word
(Gospel)” <Eph 1:13-14>
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We must take God’s word that we’d
already known to be words that God speaks to us personally
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God has already given the answers to
our situation countless times. However, we always do not accept it
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The Holy Spirit’s conviction will stop
when we are not upright. When God’s word is absent, there won’t be Holy Spirit
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E.g. Believers and non-believers cannot
become one. God’s word tells us directly. However, when we rationalize this
word, the Holy Spirit’s conviction will stop
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The work of the Holy Spirit’s will stop
when we rationalize. When that happens, a person will not be able to accept any
of God’s covenant
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Some believers will come out with a
rational reason to be with non-believers.
Some might say “there were broken marriages between Christians also and
didn’t they sin daily too? But we can be more holy than them when we are with
non-believers”
·
If their marriage turn sour, they will
blame God for not helping or blessing them
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