The work of the spirit in the life of the believer
Published:Saturday | June 29, 2019 | 12:00 AMTamara Bailey/Gleaner Writer
Mandeville, Manchester:
“She is so ungodly.”
“He has no God in him.”
These are statements you will hear frequently when someone tries to describe the behaviour of a person whose actions are not considered Christ-like.
And while no man has the authority to judge another, lead pastor of the Mandeville New Testament Church of God, Dr Osbourne Fisher, said that when the Spirit abides within us, people will know.
“Whenever I reflect on the Word of God, I think of living in the Spirit, and it is important to place emphasis on the work of the Spirit in the life of the believer,” said Fisher during a recent sermon at the church he pastors.
“The work I want to talk about is the work of the Holy Spirit. We can sum up the work of the Spirit in terms of the work in the universe, and we understand what the Bible says in Genesis Chapter One that God created this Earth, and it was without form and void, and the Spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the Earth. We saw the Spirit at work in the universe from the very beginning.”
Changed by the Spirit
He said that it is impossible for an individual to have the Spirit and not be changed.
“In order for us to become a believer, there has to be work by the Spirit. Jesus said, ‘Marvel not that I say unto you, you must be born again. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit; marvel not, I say unto you that he must be born again’. The Spirit regenerates the individual.”
He further mentioned, “There is a Spirit that works in our lives to change us to make us sons of God and members of the kingdom. That’s why the Bible says we are regenerated, we are washed. If there is no Spirit coming to work in our hearts, we are not born again.”
He said that the Spirit not only regenerates, but indwells.
“Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, who lives inside of us. The Spirit comes as a permanent dweller. He doesn’t wash and cleanse and then leave; He dwells,” he ended.