Samuel Chadwick

HOLY SPIRIT

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THE HOLY SPIRIT REPRESENTS CHRIST

“The Spirit…is Christ without the limitations of the flesh and the material world.  He can reveal what Christ could not speak.  He has resources of power greater than those Christ could use, and he makes possible greater works than his” Jim Cymbala (ref#161, p18).

“…the Spirit…was the gift of God to His Son, and the gift of His Son to the world.  He came to fulfill the mission for which Christ came into the world.  He is our Lord’s Paraclete, His Advocate and Administrator” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p37).

“The Spirit is not our Advocate, but Christ’s.  An advocate appears as representative of another, and the Holy Spirit comes to represent Christ, interpret and vindicate Christ, administer for Christ in His Church and Kingdom; to be to the believer all that Christ Himself was and is…” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p33).

“He [the SPIRIT] is sent primarily to make us holy—to conform us to the character of God” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p71, brackets mine).  “He reveals, through the Word, the great love of God to sinners…” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#189, Jan 14th).

“…our spiritual life is drawn directly from the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are sustained by Him through the indwelling Holy Spirit.  There is nothing more important in the Christian life than to realize that our union with Christ is a vital one.  It is a living thing.  It is not something mechanical or conceptual; it is not a thought or an idea; it is really a vital, spiritual union….something of His fullness and of His life is passing into us, and we are receiving it” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#189, Jan 19th).

FATHER, guide me to correct thinking about the HOLY SPIRIT.  I too easily think of Him as a “vending machine”—His presence to aid me through life.  But He is CHRIST’s.  And CHRIST’s purpose is so I might walk in Your will and be transformed into holiness.

“He [the SPIRIT] employs simply and only the truth as it is in Jesus…He enters the soul…He moves over the dark chaos, without form and void, and in a moment a world of immortal beauty bursts into view.  He overshadows the soul, and a vital root is planted whose stream of existence, once it begins, flows on with the eternity of God Himself” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, July 4th, [brackets mine]).

HOLY SPIRIT

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THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A SOMEBODY

“…you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified…by the Spirit of…God” (1 Cor 6:11 ESV).

“…the Holy Spirit…is the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, all-loving God” Charles F. Stanley (ref#230, p16).  “All the promises of God are made possible by the Holy Spirit.  All our needs are met in His supply.  He is the all-inclusive gift” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p33).

“By His gracious aid the believer is preserved from being totally submerged by his doubts and fears….the…Christian is kept from sinking into complete skepticism, abject despair, and infidelity.  By His quickening power hope is still kept alive…” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p142-143).

FATHER, the SPIRIT certainly is Somebody—Somebody with power to accomplish all His will and Your will (Heb 2:4)—to save me from myself.  He strengthens me inwardly so I have the ability to obey You outwardly. If the SPIRIT would not influence me I would always fall to satan’s temptation and faith would be nonexistent.  The SPIRIT “silently, invisibly, yet sympathetically and effectually” moves me.  Without Him my soul would be without CHRIST.  I would hear no whisper of His love, my grief would be magnified and courage suppressed. A. W. Pink (ref#269, p143)

“The Holy Spirit is the very essence of God…The Holy Spirit is the living personhood of God,not manifested in a fleshly body—that manifestation was Jesus—but manifested nonetheless as the full personality and identity of God resident in us as believers….He is a Somebody” Charles F. Stanley (ref#230, p14-15).

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THE SPIRIT AND THE FATHER AND SON

“…I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules”(Ezek 36:27 ESV).

“The Holy Spirit helps us to obey God quicklyand fully. The Holy Spirit gives us the desireto obey God, even when His commands to us are not what we desire in the flesh” Charles F. Stanley (ref#230, p42-43).

“It was the Father’s work to plan, to purpose; it was the Son’s place to purchase; and now it was the Spirit’s work, in the exercise of the same love and sovereignty, to apply the purchased redemption” Charles Ross (ref#241, p173).

“…the Spirit was to succeed the Son with increased effectiveness and enlarged dominion” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p86).

“While each ‘personage’ is distinct in function, each shares together in the same deity and each reflects the divine attributes of the one living God” (All About GOD, Holy Spirit, https://www.allaboutgod.com/holy-spirit.htm).

The SPIRIT is not the FATHER and SON’s vending machine.  He accomplishes their will because the Trinity (all of them) has the same agenda and goals.  From this viewpoint, the SPIRIT is on the same level as the FATHER and SON.  The SPIRIT does as He wills (Eph 1:5) to complete the FATHER’s objective and the SON’s desires.

FATHER, the SPIRIT deserves as much praise as You and JESUS.  He knows me as intimately as You and JESUS—and loves me just as fiercely. I praise You, SPIRIT!

“Let us rejoice in…confidence…because the Holy Spirit is working all the while with secret but divine power in the soul that does not hinder Him by its unbelief” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p116).

JESUS

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JESUS LED BY THE SPIRIT

FATHER, the familiar and habitual life I lead humanly is that of selfish desire which leads to unholy action.  This is my born-with nature—a desire to do what I want to do.

“…the lie of autonomy…tells you that you are an independent human, that your life belongs to you, and that you have the right to live your life as you please” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Nov 30th).

But when I study the life of JESUS on earth, I do not see Him doing what He wants to do, even though He is the Son of GOD!  Instead, He emptied Himself to allow You, FATHER, to give Him the fullness of Your SPIRIT:

“Our Lord’s life was mapped out for Him.  He came to do the Father’s will, and that will was unfolded and interpreted to Him by the Holy Spirit….He was led of the Spirit, taught of the Spirit, and strengthened in the Spirit….He was constantly dependent upon the Spirit…” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p79).  “…he was anointed by the Spirit to be a herald and witness of his Father’s grace…” John Calvin (ref#113, p318).

“…the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.  He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge…” (Isa 11:2-4 ESV).

JESUS, the Son of GOD and also the Son of Man, belonged to GOD; I also belong to GOD. “We don’t own our mentality, our spirituality, our emotionality, our psychology, our personality, or our physicality.  We are not independent beings and we do not have a natural right to do with our physical and spiritual selves whatever we desire to do” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Nov 30th).

FATHER, I do not want to judge situations with my own eyes and ears but with the wisdom of the SPIRIT within me.

PRELUDE TO PRAYER

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Prayer Facts:

“The world will never believe in a religion in which there is no supernatural power” Samuel Chadwick (ref#4, p89)

Reasons for Waiting for GOD:

Because the world and its fullness are Yours (Ps 50:12), I will wait for You.

Because You execute and accomplish the thoughts and intents of Your mind and heart (Jer 30:24), I will wait for You.

Because Your counsel shall stand and You will do all Your pleasure and purpose (Isa 46:10), I will wait for You.

Because Your thunderings speak awesomely of You, and You tell the cattle of the coming storm (Job 36:33), I will wait for You.

Read Through the Bible in a Year: Dec 9th – 15th

Dec 9     Ps 101-102

Dec 10   Ps 103-104

Dec 11   Ps 105-106

Dec 12   Ps 107, 109

Dec 13   Ps 110-111

Dec 14   Ps 112, 114

Dec 15   Ps 115-116

PRELUDE TO PRAYER

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Prayer Facts:

“It is more than asking, it is communion, fellowship, co-operation, identification, with God the Father and the Son by the Holy Spirit” Samuel Chadwick (ref#4, p61).

Reasons for Waiting for GOD:

Because You work out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of Your own will (Eph 1:11), I will wait for You.

Because every good and perfect gift comes from You with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17), I will wait for You.

Because You satisfy the longing soul and fill the hungry soul with good (Ps 107:9), I will wait for You.

Because You know how to rescue the godly out of temptations and trials (2 Pet 2:9), I will wait for You.

Read Through the Bible in a Year: Oct 28th – Nov 3rd

Oct 28   Ezra 9-10; Ps 67

Oct 29   Neh 1-2; John 19

Oct 30   Neh 3-4

Oct 31   Neh 5-6; John 20

Nov 1    Neh 7-8; John 21

Nov 2   Neh 9-10; Ps 68

Nov 3   Neh 11-12; 1 John 1

PRELUDE TO PRAYER

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Prayer Facts:

“Our petitions urge wants that are immediate, obvious, and urgent. We cannot see deep enough or far enough to know what is our real need. Most people would like good health, home comfort, congenial conditions, happy friendships, a little more money, and better success;…” Samuel Chadwick (ref#4, p60).

Reasons for Waiting for GOD:

Because You are alive and true and genuine (1 Thes 1:9), I will wait for You.

Because wisdom and might are Yours; because You change the times and the seasons, because You remove kings and set up kings (Dan 2:20-21), I will wait for You.

Because You reveal the deep and secret things and know what is in the darkness and the light dwells with You (Dan 2:22), I will wait for You.

Read Through the Bible in a Year: Oct 21st – 27th

Oct 21     Zech 10-12; John 13

Oct 22    Zech 13-14; Ps 66

Oct 23    Ezra 5-6; John 14

Oct 24    Esther 1-2; John 15

Oct 25    Esther 3-6; John 16

Oct 26    Esther 7-10; Ps 3; John 17

Oct 27    Ezra 7-8; John 18

PRELUDE TO PRAYER

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Prayer Facts:

“Understanding is more taxing than doing, and meditation is a severer tax than service….The cost is not so much in the sweat of agonizing supplication as in the daily fidelity to the life of prayer” Samuel Chadwick (ref#4, p27).

Reasons for Waiting for GOD:

Because You are full of pity and compassion and tenderness and mercy (James 5:11), I will wait for You.

Because You give strength and fullness of might to Your people (Ps 68:35), I will wait for You.

Read Through the Bible in a Year: June 3rd – 9th

June 3     Prov 10; Ps 35

June 4     Ps 150

June 5     Prov 11; Matt 6

June 6     Prov 12; Matt 7

June 7     Prov 13; Matt 8

June 8     Prov 14; Matt 9

June 9     Prov 15; Ps 36

SUPPLICATION

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GENERAL SICKNESS

[The majority of our prayers concern physical health. We all know someone who is dealing with the pain of sickness. Here is an opportunity to pray for them. Fill their name in the blanks.]

HEALING – FOR BODY AND SOUL

…FATHER, since I am led to pray for healing, I must be prepared to preach. If I possess the faith to believe that nothing is impossible with You, I will have ready the Gospel message; for when Your power is displayed, many will be ready to listen.

Your healing is not just restoring health: “Physical healing is real, but it stands in service to a higher and sweeter gift: seeing and savoring the forgiving authority of Christ” Brent Nelson (ref#140). With my eyes I may see only the temporal healing CHRIST gives. But He takes our infirmities and carries away our diseases (Isa 53:4) healing both body and soul by forgiving our sins (Mark 2:5).

As far as physical sickness goes, FATHER, there may be no sin involved. You may allow sickness as a chastisement for disobedience, or for the purpose of discipline, or for no other purpose than the glory of Your grace (John 9:2,3), or to demonstrate the ministry of CHRIST (ref#4, p123-124). The affliction of Job was of grace; Paul’s thorn in the flesh was not of sin (ref#4, p123). But, the reasons for physical sickness are of less importance than the result of healing.

I desire ____ to be healed. I desire (he/she) react to (his/her) physical healing as the two blind men did in Matt 20:34. When JESUS touched their eyes, immediately they regained their sight and followed him. Their following CHRIST demonstrated a spiritual healing as well as the physical healing.

Physical and spiritual healing is never separated in Scripture. It is a package deal. In John’s third letter he prays that his readers may prosper in all things and be in health, just as their soul prospers (3 John 2). COMPASSIONATE FATHER, I ask that You heal ____ both body and soul.

As the result of Your healing, I ask that You give me opportunities to draw attention to CHRIST. Peter and John provide an example for me in Acts three.

PURPOSEFUL FATHER, Don’t let me simply marvel at Your power then walk away and forget it. Your supernatural powers need to be shouted from the house tops. There is nothing greater to talk about. Heal ____ and keep me talking about it as long as I live.

VALLEYS TO MOUNTAINTOPS

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PRIDE

5/8/2016

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 11.57.35 AMA friend once said that she had to solve the problems of the world before she could fall asleep. I liked that reasoning and stole her comment for I often take as long as two hours to fall asleep. Through the years that comment has become my input in any sleep conversation. I even said it today.

This evening’s piano playing energized me so lying in bed did nothing to help falling asleep. I thought of my pat comment about solving the problems of the world but just as quickly wondered what I was really thinking. GOD quickly summarized it for me: pride. And, it didn’t take me long to admit it.

Weaving scenarios of how I can impress people keeps me awake, not solving the world’s problems. And the more scenarios I come up with the more awake I get. Piano playing went well tonight; with that happy thought I wander here and there pretending to speak and act graciously, perfectly, with authority, etc. in all kinds of situations.

I am ashamed now that GOD has made me aware of my actions—and, more ashamed than usual because of my afternoon reading. Samuel Chadwick, in his book, The Way To Pentecost, informs me that the HOLY SPIRIT and I are not completely separate entities.

“The Spirit of God…indwells sanctified men and women. He becomes the spirit of their spirit, the mind of their mind, the heart of their heart, the strength of their strength, and the life of their life” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p97).

CHRIST, fully man, was indwelled by the SPIRIT as He walked the earth. He was tempted by sin but unlike me He never sinned. I sin and my sin grieves the SPIRIT that lives with me. He does not separate Himself from me, but must endure the grief.

Sorry, I’m so sorry, SPIRIT who loves me enough to bond with me…

As you see, I’m at my desk writing instead of remaining in bed entertaining myself with all-about-me scenarios. GOD has my focus on pride so I will confess more of it:

You know if I did not play the piano well tonight I would be lying in bed downhearted. I’d be thinking about how I un-impress people. My propensity for pride would be creating scenarios about what I could do alone where I would be sheltered from making mistakes people would see. Again, it would be all about me. I’d be shunning the SPIRIT who is the One who can show me how to focus on GOD and not myself.

Just a little thought concludes that pride separates. I either see myself better and aloof from others or worse and hiding from others. And sadder yet pride breaks my relationship with the Triune GOD.

So, please forgive me SPIRIT, and lead me to the FATHER and SON that You and I might fall asleep tonight united in purpose.

(Now if I can just go back to bed and not think about how good this journal entry is…)