PDF file - Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement

February 23 The Holy Spirit Helps the Willing to Obey
The Spirit Requires Surrender
“God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He
therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also
given unto us his holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 4:7, 8).
Paul’s sanctification was a constant conflict with self. “I die daily”
(1 Corinthians 15:31), he said. Every day his will and his desires conflicted
with duty and the will of God. But instead of following inclination,
he did the will of God, however unpleasant and crucifying to
his nature. If we would press forward to the mark of our high calling
in Christ Jesus, we must show that we are emptied of all self, and supplied
with the golden oil of grace. God is dealing with us through His
providence. From eternity He has chosen us to be His obedient children.
He gave His Son to die for us, that we might be sanctified
through obedience to the truth, cleansed from all the littleness of self.
Now He requires of us a personal work, a personal self-surrender. We
are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. God can be honored only when
we who profess to believe in Him are conformed to His image. We are
to represent to the world the beauty of holiness, and we shall never
enter the gates of the city of God until we perfect a Christlike character.
If we, with trust in God, strive for sanctification, we shall receive
it. Then, as witnesses for Christ, we may make known what the grace
of God has wrought in us. 58
To have the religion of Christ means that you have absolutely
surrendered your all to God, and consented to the guidance of the
Holy Spirit. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit moral power will be
given you, and not only will you have your former entrusted talents
for the service of God, but their efficiency will be greatly multiplied.
The surrender of all our powers to God greatly simplifies the problem
of life. It weakens and cuts short a thousand struggles with the
passions of the natural heart. Religion is as a golden cord that binds
the souls of both youth and aged to Christ. Through it the willing
and obedient are brought safely through dark and intricate paths to
the city of God. 59
62