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Saturday, June 9, 2012

DISPOSITION OF MAN TO THE HOLY SPIRIT AND EFFECTS:




Due to man’s disposition towards God with regards to the spiritual gifts and servile talents bestowed upon him at creation thus ‘before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I appointed you as prophet to the nations’ (Jer.1:5), the Holy Spirit uses our attitude towards their development for a stronger union with Him and service to man to attend to us hence “make a tree sound and its fruit will be sound; make a tree rotten and its fruit will be rotten. For the tree can be told by its fruit” [Mtt.12:33]. The Spirit of God breathed into man at creation (‘The Lord God shaped man from the soil of the ground and blew the breath of life into his nostrils and man became a living being’ Gen.2:7) is always present in man from birth till death (“your eyes could see my embryo. In your book all my days were inscribed, every one that was fixed is there” Ps.139:16) but his effects and visibility in and around us within these years on earth depends on the level of disposition to use what is already deposited in us (imago Dei; image of God: Gen.1:27) i.e the complete qualities of the Father, Son and Spirit even at death life is not destroyed but transformed (Vita mutamor non tollitur; Rom.8:10) that is why the bones of great men and women (saints, martyrs, virgins, bishops, doctors and prophets) performed and still performs miracles after their death (“such was Elijah, who was enveloped in a whirlwind; and Elisha was filled with his spirit throughout his life no ruler could shake him, and no one could subdue him. No task was too hard for him and even in death his body prophesied. In his lifetime he performed wonders and in death his works were marvelous” Sirach 48:12-14). Our disposition to the Holy Spirit inside us brings out his effects thus

Latent (‘do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God who has marked you with his seal, ready for the day when we shall be set free’ Eph.4:30):
here due to mans inclination to sins of the flesh like idolatory (worship of false gods and spirits; Ex.20:1-6), false prophecy (Jer.14:14) and heretical teachings against the church of Christ {‘so with you, as you are eager to have spiritual powers, aim to be rich in those which build up the church/community’ 1 Cor.14:12}, defiling Sunday and other holy days dedicated for the worship of God [ buying and selling on such days (Neh.10:31-32), going to work except for the cases of emergency {‘…the Son of man is master of the Sabbath’ Lk.6:5}, refusing to worship God in His Holy Place (“…come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths. For the law will issue from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” Isaiah 2:3) due to lack of knowledge (‘better one day in your courts than a thousand at my own devices, to stand on the threshold of God’s house than to live in the tents of the wicked’ Ps.84:10, Hosea 4:6)], disobedience to parents, elders, teachers, leaders e.t.c except on what does not please God (Heb.13:9) which reduces human life-span, murder (human assassination, character assassination, abortion by will; consent; or participation, use of contraceptives in any form at all both condom use, pills and artificial birth control methods), promiscuity in all forms (fornication, incest, adultery, masturbation, pornography, lesbianism, homosexuality, voyeurism [keeping, watching and admiring nude pictures and indecently dressed people], exhibitionism [dressing nude or half-nude by wearing clothes that expose underwear, sexual organs, make underwear visible to passers-by, abnormal projection of sexual organs e.t.c]), stealing in all manner both from public and private offices with pen, from business partners nicknamed ‘smartness’ (Gen.3:1), from parents by children via phone calls and text demanding money for things that do not exist, cheating in the examination halls, taking another person’s wife, husband, properties e.t.c directly or indirectly, maltreating houseboys/girls and servants, destroying peoples reputation via gossips, slander and backbiting even telling lies, nursing anger, leaving on false glory (pride) and unwillingness to voice out the truth even when all odds are against you. These are the sins that make the Spirit we received from creation, baptism, body and blood of Christ, confirmation, authentic matrimony and Holy Orders inactive (‘the unbelievers whose minds have been blinded by the god of this world, so that they cannot see shining the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’ 2 Cor.4:4)and are longing for explosion thus “may he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, how rich is the glory of the heritage he offers among his holy people and how extraordinary great is the power that he has exercised for us believers; this accords with the strength of his power” {Eph.1:18-19}.

Seasonal (one time active the other inactive):
Here we have people who read, here and understand the word of God but keep to them when every other alternative apart from God has failed them in order to seek his presence and intervention in the present situation thus ‘when they found him on the other side, they said Rabbi, when did you come here? Jesus answered: in all truth I tell you, you are not looking for me not because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat’ (Jn.6:25-26) and when they have received God’s blessings, favors, deliverance, gifts e.t.c they return to their old lifestyle just like prostitutes who allows another man into her chambers while the other person is yet to vacate. People in this category can convert souls to God via proclaiming the word, performing miracles, healing the sick e.t.c but they do not believe as well as practice what they do hence the Holy Spirit is activated via fasting and prayers for a particular period after which the person returns to his/her old passions (Gal.5:19-21, 1 Pet.1:14). For people of this category Christ said “this people honor me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me” [Mtt.15:8]  and their judgment will be thus ‘It is not anyone who says to me, Lord, Lord who will enter the kingdom of Heaven but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven…’ (Mtt. 7:21-27). People here needs to worship God with all sincerity as the Christ admonished (“God is spirit and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth” Jn.4:24) by wearing the belt of righteousness and constancy on his/her waist (Isaiah 11:5) always since it is only those that persevere to the end that will be saved (Mtt.24:13). Here a person is often carried away by presumption that the Holy Spirit is still active even after committing a sin targed small by many as a result will still go ahead trying to perform deliverance, healing or miracle hence this backfires at times causing the death of the person or wiping away family members that are not actively united with the Spirit of righteousness due to the fact that ‘…no sinner will go unpunished’ {Sirach 7:8} and “…sin is a reproach to the people” (Prov.14:34). The only category of people that are may exist in this group are Catholic priests because they are another Christ (Aute Christus; Heb.9:28).

Unknown mode (“she cried, the philistines are on you, Samson! He awoke from sleep thinking, I shall break free as I have done time after time and shake myself clear. But he did not know that the Lord God had left him” Judges 16:20):
Here people mainly involved go by the slogan ‘it does not matter’ and “it is well” for almost every situation, event, engagement, dressing, behavior, speech, friendship e.t.c forgetting that it is only those who believe in the Son of God that will have all things working unto good (Rom.8:28) as well as having the power to become real children of God (Jn.1:12). People in this category easily forget that the full passage of the scripture is ‘tell the righteous, it shall be well with you’ (Isaiah 3:10) but they allow their flesh to control the spirit by way of avoiding any form of quiet atmosphere rather keeping busy (satan goes about keeping people busy in the wrong assignment like cultism, plans on how to loot the public and covert people properties to theirs, pornography, masturbation, anger, jealousy e.t.c) to maintain every possible trend in the world (the prince of this world has already been condemned as well as those who follow his trends Jn.16:11). The righteous are those who view sin as a mistake that must be corrected immediately thus ‘for though the righteous falls seven times, he gets up again; the wicked are the ones who stumble in adversity’ (Prov.24:16) and “do not be drawn to sin twice over, for you will not go unpunished even once” (Sirach 7:8). People within this category are usually from wealthy background  both physically and spiritually where everything is made available for them hence they tend to forget this “woe to you who have lost the strength to endure; what will you do at the Lord’s visitation?” (Sirach 2:14). The people in this category need our prayers and direction hence ‘the prayer of faith will save the sick person and the Lord will raise him up again and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven’ {James 5:15} and “act wisely with outsiders, making the best of the present time. Always talk pleasantly and with a flavor of wit but be sensitive to the kind of answer each one requires’ [Col.4:5-6].

Consistently alert (‘I shall stand guard before my home to defend it against all comers and no oppressor will overrun them ever again, for now I am on the alert’ Zech.9:8):
This is where forces of the flesh gives up totally on man since the wind of Heaven has taken over the man who goes wherever the Spirit directs (“the wind blows where it pleases; you can hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” Jn.3:8) even when you are aware that the result of such move will bring about scorn, persecution, death of the body for His glory (‘and now you see me on my way to Jerusalem in captivity to the Spirit; I have no idea what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit in town after town has made it clear to me that imprisonment and persecution await me. But I do not place any value on my own life, provided that I complete the mission the Lord Jesus gave me--to bear witness to the good news of God’s grace’ Acts.20:24). Here man gives in totally to God (James 4:7-8), evil flees from him and the Godhead nature is manifested in all ramifications in a radical way thus
ASCETISM:
Withdrawing into the desert, monastery, religious life to spend the rest of ones life in communion (prayer and fasting) with God like St.Anthony of Egypt (35 years in the desert), St.Padre Pio (A monk inside the monastery at the same time present in different places performing different functions like Celebrating the Holy Mass, at the confessional, attending to the sick e.t.c) with these scriptural passage in mind “…do not press me to leave you and to stop going with you, for wherever you go I shall go, wherever you live I shall live. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God, wherever you die I shall die and there I shall be buried…” {Ruth 1:16-17}, ‘as a deer yearns for running streams, so I yearn for you my God. I thirst for God, the living God; when shall I go to see the face of God?’ (Ps.42:1-2), “God, you are my God, I pine for you; my heart thirsts for you, my body longs for you as a land parched, dreary and waterless. Thus I have gazed on you in the sanctuary, seeing your power and your glory” (Ps.63:1-2)
CHARITY:
Using ones material possessions, servile talents and spiritual gifts to help others feel the practical presence of God among us (Immanuel; Mtt.1:23) without any ulterior motive of being famous, financially buoyant e.t.c hence would not minding providing succor to those in need within the nuclear and extended families as well as non-family members without grudges (‘let your love for one another be genuine and from a pure heart’ 1 Pet.4:8). This type of life was seen in the life of Mother Theresa of Calcutta, St. Francis of Assisi e.t.c who showed love even to the poor, disabled and infected patients that were left by the road sides. This type of life is also likened to the lives of ministerial priesthood of the True Church of Christ (Mtt.16:18-19) and religious lives (Reverend sisters, monks, brothers and nuns)which is a Divine call (Heb.5:4, 8:3, Ex.28:1-4, 1 Sam.10:17) that makes a man or woman to take the vow of chaste celibacy; a gift from God to those who desire it for the sake of His kingdom (Mtt.19:12), poverty; willingness to give up on material acquisitions in order to serve both the low and mighty even when there seems no reason for that as it concerns the reactions and responses of those being served towards them but holding on to the words of Christ like ‘how blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of heaven is theirs’ [Mtt.5:3], “they that keep their life here on earth will lose it  but they that give it up for my sake here on earth will gain it in the next world”  , ‘so if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of human beings, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in Heaven’ (Mtt.10:32) and obedience; this involves taking corrections, adjusting to new directives and bearing wrongs patiently which is a way of submitting to God (the Spirit that blows where it pleases; Jn.3:8) through his vicar on earth (the bishop of Rome having a continuity link with St. Peter who was made the first representative of Christ; Mtt.16:18-19) as Christ did and was extolled above every other creature (Phil.2:6-11) because obedience is better than sacrifice while rebellion is a sin of sorcery and presumption a crime of idolatry (1 Sam.15:22-23).
DILIGENCE CUM THE FEAR OF GOD:
This phase involves serving people with diligence (see a man who is diligent in his business, he shall stand before kings _Proverbs) in any sphere of life like offices, schools, institutions, government ministries, homes, markets, church e.t.c with the fear of God as the backbone of ones decisions, behaviors and contributions thus ‘and whatever you say or do, let it be in the name of the Lord Jesus, in thanksgiving to God the Father through him’ (Col.3:17) and “whatever you eat  then or drink and whatever else you do, do it all for the glory of God” {1 Cor.10:31} as this will be a source of blessing for you and the people you encounter as well as the firm you serve (‘…for the sake of the name of the Lord your God, of the Holy One of Israel who has made you glorious. Foreigners will rebuild your walls and their kings will serve you…’ Isaiah 60:9-10) because “… but the people who know their God will stand firm and take action” [Dan.11:32]

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