5 Encouraging Truths To Remind Yourself

1. Have struggles? You're not alone, we all need Jesus

There are no “Super Christians”, everyone has struggles and nobody can live a Christian life without being connected to Jesus, The Vine (John 15:5). As we resist the enemy, steadfast in faith, remember “that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world”. (1 Peter 5:8-9). Also, “consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” Hebrews 12:3

2. Your identity isn’t defined by what other people think.

What God thinks is what matters: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.” Psalm 139:17-18

3. What other people do is never your fault

You are only responsible for your own actions and not the actions of another. “The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” Ezekiel 18:20b. Likewise, it's nobody else’s fault if you don’t continually ask God to refill you with the “oil” of the Holy spirit. (Luke 11:13, Matthew 25:8-9). Nobody else can have a relationship with God for you, so use your God-given free choice to seek God for yourself.

Your main concern should be what God does and wants to do in your life, so don't worry about others do or don't do. As disciples of Jesus, we are to follow Jesus, not other disciples, so mind your own walk with Jesus (John 21:20-22). While we are to encourage others to follow Jesus or to stay faithful in walk they already have with Jesus, we can't walk for them (and nobody can walk for you either). Jesus said that if anyone thirst, let them come and drink (John 7:37). We all must come to Jesus for ourselves.

4. Your worth is not based on your performance

Your worth comes from God who made you and redeemed you: “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.'” Isaiah 43:1. “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

The Christian life isn't about what we do, it's about what God has done and wants to do through us. "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10. We need God's Spirit in order to love the way He does (Romans 5:5).

5. God can do great things through you

“With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26b. Remember when Moses was called by God, he was asked “What is in your hand?” (Exodus 4:1-3). God can use the simplest things for His work. Don't compare yourself to others, remember that everyone has different gifts, but the Spirit and the Lord are the same (2 Corinthians 10:12, 1 Corinthians 12:3-4). Since Jesus is Lord over everything and everything we have comes from God, then how does comparing yourself with others make any sense? (1 Corinthians 4:7). How much can we do without Jesus? Nothing. (John 15:5).

Your life may be broken, but when you give life to Jesus, He can use the pieces to bless others. How is that? It's when we find comfort in Him who bore our own suffering and then share that same comfort with others around us. (Isaiah 53:4, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4). God can turn a mess into a message, a test into a testimony, a trial into a triumph, and a victim into a victory. Call upon God in the day of trouble, He will deliver you from the hand of the enemy and then you will have a testimony to tell that glorifies God for what He has done to help get you through (Psalm 50:15, Psalm 107:2). In order to be powerful witnesses, we need the power of God's Spirit (Acts 1:8, Zechariah 4:6).

There's no thief like fear

The following is a sermon that was done by Dee Casper

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

This implies that fear can rob us of power, the ability to love (God and others) and be loved (by God and others), and to be able to think and make decisions with a sound mind. Fear alters the way that we do the essentials of life.

What is the solution to fear?

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. -1 John 4:16-19

It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him. -Desire of Ages 480.3

Let the youth see the tender love the Father in heaven has manifested toward them, and the dignity and honor to which they are called—even to become the sons of God— and thousands would turn with contempt from selfish aims and pleasures that have hitherto engrossed them. They would learn to hate sin, not merely from hope of reward or fear of punishment, but from a sense of its inherent baseness. -From Eternity Past 436.3

Love is the only pure and true power that should motivate us in our experience and in our decision making. And the only way to find that love is to encounter God’s love for us. “We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. God wants us to experience a “faith that works by love” (Galatians 5:6) not a faith that works by fear.

Fear, again, robs us of love for God, and love for others because we’re afraid of being hurt. What we desperately need is a life-course altering encounter with God’s perfectly selfless love for us. To be fully known and fully loved. It drives out all of our fear, and brings us to a deeper love for Him, and the capacity to be willing to love and be loved ourselves.

Some people become atheists because they fear having hope and getting disappointed, We don't need to fear this, the bible says: "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:5. "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13. "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." -Galatians 6:9

So abject fear is not God’s chosen method to reach us, or to motivate us. In fact, fear is in many ways a selfish motivation. It leads us to make decisions to protect ourselves, and to provide for ourselves, instead of relying upon God to protect and to provide for us. Interestingly, in many of the supernatural encounters that the people of God had with Him or with angels they would be greeted with the tender charge to “fear not” or “don’t be afraid”. God doesn’t want our experience with Him to be driven by fear, but by true love. He wants our perspective to shift to something better.

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her; I will bring her into the wilderness and speak comfort to her…And it shall be, in that day,” says the LORD, “That you will call Me 'My Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Master,'” -Hosea 2:14, 16. Encountering the amazing love of God leads us to have a shift in how we view Him, and our standing with Him. When He sees that we’re ready to fall in love He then drops to one knee. “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy. I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD.” -Hosea 2:19-20. “Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, “You are my God!” -Hosea 2:23

No longer are we to feel like groveling slaves who fear they’ll never be good enough. But instead we should view ourselves as loving spouses who have come to know that Christ is enough, and that He is standing in our stead.

What about “fear God and give glory to Him”? First of all, that’s not where the sermon begins. It begins with the Everlasting Gospel being preached to the world. “Fear God and give glory to Him” is the appeal of that sermon, and it’s also the logical response to the Everlasting Gospel.

"The love of God ever tends to the fear of God—fear to offend Him. Those who are truly converted will not venture heedlessly upon the borders of any evil, lest they grieve the Spirit of God and are left to their own way, to be filled with their own doings. The Word of God is the Guidebook; turn not from its pages to depend upon the human agent. That Book contains the warnings, the admonitions, from God, the rebuke of every evil, the clear definition of sin as the transgression of the law which is God’s great standard of virtue and holiness.... Not one who will study the Word of God and apply its teachings will miss the way." – The Upward Look 371.7

So abject fear robs us of a clear picture of the love of God, and an absence of a godly fear can rob us of a true perspective of our relation to God and how to follow Him.

What does fear do to us? If we use fear in our approach to this beautiful set of beliefs God has given us, or in the way in which we raise and counsel our children, it causes harm and paralysis. When you mix Biblically conservative principles with a fear based approach (even if it’s done in a gentle, loving fashion), it leads to analysis paralysis and misery in the religious experience.

You may be able to scare someone into a pew, but it won’t keep them there. This is one of the reasons why we as Seventh-day Adventists reject the teaching of eternal torment. A teaching that has brought about abject fear into the hearts of many, along with a hatred of God, and a rejection of Him. Regarding the topic of eternal torment: “If this is sound Bible truth, instead of preventing the salvation of sinners, it will be the means of winning them to Christ. If the love of God will not induce the rebel to yield, the terrors of an eternal hell will not drive him to repentance. Besides, it does not seem a proper way to win souls to Jesus by appealing to one of the lowest attributes of the mind,—abject fear. The love of Jesus attracts; it will subdue the hardest heart.” -Ellen White’s Mother, Life Sketches 49.4

We need to ask God how fear is ruling us and shaping our lives. “Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason…” -Ecclesiastes 7:7 Even people with wisdom can be beat up by fear and in turn make decisions and develop ideas that aren’t reasonable. This is why we need God to open our eyes, and to allow His love to set us free from our fear. Fear can make us create standards and rules that aren’t Biblical to try to save ourselves and protect ourselves. And it also leads to additional shame, because it’s more standards that we fail to measure up to when we mess up.

God’s solution is; "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” -Ephesians 2:1-10.

In every command and in every promise of the word of God is the power, the very life of God, by which the command may be fulfilled and the promise realized. He who by faith receives the word is receiving the very life and character of God. –Christ’s Object Lessons 38.1

One of the reasons we deal with fear is because we are insecure in our connection and dependence upon God. We’ve gotten behind the wheel and feel like we may run off the road. And we are in danger of that if we’re not letting Him drive, and if He’s not sitting in first place in our life. Whatever we are afraid of losing can’t bring us any more security in our identity or freedom or happiness than He can. Only He can give us our identity, acceptance, and purpose.

Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me. -Psalm 56:3-4. This implies that fear affects our ability to trust God. And I believe this is why many of us have self protective tendencies

What the bible says about overwork and being hasty

Mark 6:31  And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Luke 10:38–42 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”  And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:  Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.

Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.

Proverbs 19:2 Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with his feet.

Proverbs 4:26 Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.

Proverbs 28:20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

Ecclesiastes 5:2
Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.

Proverbs 18:13 He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.

Proverbs 29:20
Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs 25:8 Do not go hastily to court; For what will you do in the end, When your neighbor has put you to shame?

James 1:19-20 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Also see How to use your time
Also see Swift to hear, slow to speak

Model Prayer With Promises

The following comes from Steps to Personal Revival

Father in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus our Savior. You said: Give me your heart. (Prov. 23:26) I want to do that now by submitting myself to you today with everything I am and have. Thank you that you have already answered this prayer according to Your will, because Your word says that if we pray according to Your will we know that we have already received it (1 John 5:15). And you also said that you would by no means cast anyone out who comes to you (John 6:37).

Jesus said: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” (Luke 11:13)

You further said that you would give the Holy Spirit to those, who believe in you (John 7:38-39), who obey you (Acts 5:32), who let themselves be renewed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18) and who walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16). This is my desire. Please accomplish this in me. For this reason I sincerely ask you Father to give me the Holy Spirit today. Since it is a request according to Your will, I thank You that have given me the Holy Spirit now (1 John 5:15). Thank You that I have received Your divine love at the same time, because Your word says: “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 5:5; Eph. 3:17) I want to say with the psalmist: “I will love You, O Lord, my strength.” (Psalm 18:1) Thank you that I can love my fellow human beings with Your love.

Thank You that through the Holy Spirit the power of sin has been broken in me (Rom. 8:13, Gal. 5:16). Please save and protect me today from sin and from the world, give me protection from the fallen angels, save me from temptations and when necessary snatch me and save me from my old corrupt nature. (1. John 5:18)

And please help me to be Your witness in word and deed (Acts 1:8). I praise You and thank You for hearing my prayer. Amen.

Also see Conditions to receiving the Holy Spirit
Also see Carnal Christianity: Our Central Problem
Also see The Solution To Our Problems

The Solution To Our Problems

How to be a happy and strong Christian
“These things I have spoken to you, that My Joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11 NKJV) Through these two steps (continually receiving the Holy Spirit and complete surrender) Christ lives in us and it is the way to perfect happiness. The crucial point is that we (as a rule) daily surrender ourselves to God including everything we are and have and that we also daily ask and receive by faith the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Why We Need To Surrender To Jesus Daily
Jesus said in Luke 9:23: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Jesus said that discipleship is a daily matter. To deny oneself means giving Jesus the control over my life.

In order to keep our spiritual life strong and healthy it is also necessary to take care of the inner person daily. “We are to follow Christ day by day. God does not bestow help for tomorrow.” DA 313. “However complete may have been our consecration at conversion, it will avail us nothing unless it be renewed daily … .” RH 1/6/1885. "If you will seek the Lord and be converted every day ... all your murmurings will be stilled, all your difficulties will be moved, all the perplexing problems that now confront you will be solved." MB 101.

We may be certain that: when we consciously surrender ourselves to Jesus every morning, then we are doing what He wishes us to do, because He said: “Come to me…” (Matt. 11:28 NKJV) and: “... the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37 NKJV)

Why we need to daily ask for the Holy Spirit
“To the consecrated worker there is wonderful consolation in the knowledge that even Christ during His life on earth sought His Father daily for fresh supplies of needed grace … His own example is an assurance that earnest, persevering supplication to God in faith – faith that leads to entire dependence upon God, and unreserved consecration to His work – will avail to bring men the Holy Spirit’s aid in the battle against sin.” AA 56

Our inward man needs to be renewed daily (2 Cor. 4:16). In what way does this daily renewal take place? According to Eph. 3:16-17, 19 NKJV it happens through the Holy Spirit: “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, … that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

God's word commands us to continually “… be filled with the Spirit.“ Eph. 5:18. This isn’t a one-time experience, but rather something that has to be continually repeated. Notice that the Ephesians had been sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) and yet it was necessary for them to be: “strengthened with might through His Spirit” and to “be filled with the Spirit” and “let yourselves be consistently and continually filled with the Spirit anew".  “In order that we may have the righteousness of Christ, we need daily to be transformed by the influence of the Spirit, to be a partaker of the divine nature. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to elevate the taste, to sanctify the heart, to ennoble the whole man”. 1SM 374

Rom. 5:5 shows us that God’s love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We find the same thing in Eph. 3:17. The daily baptism with the Holy Spirit (being filled with the Holy Spirit) causes at the same time a daily baptism with love (being filled with God’s agape love). In addition, it says in Gal. 5:16 that as a result the power of sin is broken.

Being filled with the Spirit doesn’t mean that we quantitatively have more of Him, but rather that the Spirit has more and more of us. That’s why Paul commanded all the believers to be constantly filled with the Spirit. This is a normal condition for a Christian. One baptism, but many fillings.

The Importance of Personal Worship Time
Through daily surrender and through being daily filled with the Holy Spirit our lives will be benefi cially changed. This happens during our personal worship time. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matt.6:33 NKJV The kingdom of God is when you have Christ in your heart now. This is why we need daily surrender and to daily ask for the Holy Spirit during our worship time. When we are carnal Christians worship can be just an obligation. When we are spiritual then worship will become more and more a necessity.

Worship in Spirit and Truth
God's last message to the world is about worship (Rev. 14:6-12) and we must worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). To worship in spirit means be filled with the Holy Spirit and to worship in truth means complete surrender to Jesus, the person of truth (John 14:6) and living by God's word which is also truth (John 17:17).

Daily Need to Surrender and Ask for God's Spirit, Even After Baptism
Baptism is definitely a significant decision; this corresponds to God’s will. It has and will keep its great significance. But we shouldn’t look back to an event in the past as proof that we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Instead we should know now and experience now that we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Just like we constantly need food, water, sleep, exercise, etc after physical birth, even after being born, we constantly need surrender to Jesus and be filled with God's Spirit, even after baptism. Neither the physical nor the spiritual life remains automatically in us. By asking for the Holy Spirit, we're asking for Jesus to come into our hearts. “And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” 1 John 3:24

The Effects of the Holy Spirit
When the Holy Spirit is in me, then He accomplishes in me what Christ achieved. Romans 8:2 says: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

“When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven.” DA 173

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you that you want to remain in me through the Holy Spirit. Thank you that through daily surrender our trust and love relationship is growing. Lord, help me to get to know the Holy Spirit and His work better. I long to know what He wants to do for me, my family and my church and how we can have the assurance that we can receive the Holy Spirit when we daily ask Thank you for this. Amen

Carnal Christianity: The Central Problem

God's word uses the terms "natural", "spiritual", and "carnal" to describe a person's relationship to God. (see 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Romans 8:1-17, Galatians 4 and 6)

Natural - No relationship
“does not receive the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Spiritual - Full, real relationship 
Has "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:15-16)
In the message to Laodicea, referred to as "hot" (Revelation 3:15)
In the parable of the 10 virgins, referred to as "wise" (Matthew 25:1-13)
Has life “more abundantly” (John 10:10)
"filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:19; Col. 2:9)
See more in Romans 8:1-17 and Galatians 5

Flesh/Carnal - Divided or feigned relationship
"Babes in Christ" 1 Corinthians 3:1-4
“foolish” Matt. 25:1-13,
"Lukewarm" Rev. 3:14-21,
Not "born again" John 3:1-21
"having a form of godliness, but denying its power" 2 Tim. 3:5

The carnal Christian may be either dissatisfied or satisfied with their spiritual condition and may be very enthusiastic about church, but here's the problem: they don't have a real relationship with Jesus (Matt. 7:22-23).

The Importance of Surrender
We need to be completely surrendered (Romans 12:1), born again (John 3:1-21), and keep abiding in Christ (John 15:1-17).

Why it's difficult to recognize our carnal condition
We have the certainty that we believe the truth; that thrills us. We have a lot of good knowledge. We say the right things. That is what makes it so difficult to identify the carnal problem. We can become so "rich" with "religion" that we don't realize our lack of an intimate and saving relationship with Jesus (Revelation 3:17-18). Jesus needs to live in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. If Christ isn’t allowed to govern our whole life, then He is standing in front of the door knocking (Rev. 3:20).

Carnal people try to follow God's will and their own will at the same time, but that doesn't work. That's what James 4:3 is talking about when it says “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss.” (James 4:3 NKJV). Wouldn’t an answer to such a request only boost the ego? Consequently, this church member is living through normal human powers and abilities. In Rev. 3:16 this is called "lukewarm" and in Matt. 25 “foolish”.

Why Jesus calls the carnal church lukewarm
 The believers of Laodicea were called lukewarm because Jesus wasn't in the center of their lives, but outside of it. He isn't invited inside and He cannot force himself inside because He respects our free decision. A lukewarm person can be so busy doing God's work and neglect the Lord of the work.

The Parable of the 10 Virgins
Jesus’ statement, "I do not know you", shows us that our personal relationship with Him has something to do with the Holy Spirit. Whoever doesn’t let himself be led by the Holy Spirit won’t be acknowledged by Jesus. In Rom. 8:8-9 it says: “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. …if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”

Actually, we only have a real personal relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. 1 John 3:24 says: “And by this we know that He [Jesus] abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” This means that the assurance I have that I am filled with the Holy Spirit is at the same time the assurance that I am in Jesus and He is in me.

Why there's so little of God's Spirit in church
“The reason why there is so little of the Spirit of God manifested is that ministers learn to do without it.” (E.G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Volume 1, (1868), p. 383.1) As important as a basic education and systematic ongoing training is for a preacher, it is even more important for him that he let himself constantly be refilled by the Holy Spirit.

The Main Problem of Carnal Christianity
The great ethics of the Bible – loving your enemy, forgiving people for everything, overcoming sin, etc. – can only be achieved by the power of the Holy Spirit, not with human effort. This shows us that the main problem in carnal Christianity is that it is a life solely in human strength. We can’t do God’s will alone in our own strength.

Jer. 13:23 NKJV: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.”

Ezekiel 36:26-27 NKJV: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you…. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

Traveling the path of faith in their own strength is the foremost problem of every carnal Christian. The problem is much more serious than we think. “Half-hearted Christians are worse than infidels; for their deceptive words and noncommittal position lead many astray.”

How to grow spiritually 
“Yet the operations of the Spirit are always in harmony with the written word. As in the natural, so in the spiritual world. The natural life is preserved moment by moment by divine power; yet it is not sustained by a direct miracle, but through the use of blessings placed within our reach. So the spiritual life is sustained by the use of those means that Providence has supplied. If the follower of Christ would grow up ‘unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:13), he must eat of the bread of life and drink of the water of salvation. He must watch and pray and work, in all things giving heed to the instructions of God in His word.” DA 284

A Great Danger
“I will not here dwell upon the shortness and uncertainty of life; but there is a terrible danger – a danger not sufficiently understood – in delaying to yield to the pleading voice of God’s Holy Spirit, in choosing to live in sin; for such this delay really is.” (1SM 109). What is at the core of sin? “Because they do not believe in Me.” (John 16:9) The sign that we really believe and trust Jesus is that we completely surrender ourselves to Him. It has to do with our complete surrender; our willingness to follow Him in everything.

The Crucial Question
The crucial question is if you are filled with the Holy Spirit or not. But when is a person filled with the Holy Spirit? What are the necessary prerequisites? What are the positive results of a life with the Holy Spirit? What happens, when you erroneously think you are filled with the Holy Spirit?

Prayer: Father in heaven, please make me willing to ask myself this question. If I am a carnal Christian, then please help me to realize this right away. Make me willing to be willing for everything you want. Please lead me to a happy Christian life – to the promised life in abundance and to eternal life. Please renew my heart. Thank you for answering my prayer. Amen.

Conditions to Receiving The Holy Spirit

A yearning for God
(“whoever thirsts” John 7:37)

Trust in God 
(“he who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said” John 7:38)

Complete surrender as a result of trusting God 
(placing your whole life at God’s disposal, "as a living sacrifice" Rom. 12:1)

Following God in everything 
(“those who obey Him” Acts 5:32)

Give up their own way, go God’s way and do this according to God’s will 
(“repent and be baptized” Acts 2:38)

Not to plan anything wrong 
(“if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” Ps.66:18)

Realize and admit to your great need 
(“I have nothing” Luke 11:6)

Continually ask for the Holy Spirit
("ask.. seek.. knock" Luke 11:9-13)

We can pray: “Lord Jesus, I completely say yes to all the prerequisites for receiving the Holy Spirit. I sincerely ask that you now – for today – fulfill them in me. Thank you for Jesus’ urgent invitation to ask for the Holy Spirit. I am sorry for the losses I have experienced because of a lack of the Holy Spirit. I need divine assistance so that Jesus can become greater in me. I need His help in every area of my life. Thank you that the Holy Spirit can change my character and can make me fit for God’s kingdom. I completely surrender myself to you with all that I am and have. Thank you for accepting me and giving me your blessings. Help me to grow in knowledge about the Holy Spirit. Amen."