LBY - week 2

This week the studies centered on who the Holy Spirit is and what He does. We established that the Holy Spirit is definitely God, a member of the Trinity. As God, He exisited before time and had a hand in creation. We established that He is working now through seven different tasks or ministries that He performs. He convicts, regenerates, baptizes, indwells, seals, fills us as believers and restrains evil. Of these, the first five occur at the moment we recieve Christ as Savior. The sixth, filling, requires us to allow ourselves to be filled, relinquishing control over to Him. And I am so thankful for the last, the restraining of evil. Yes there is evil in the world, a lot of it. I don't deny that but I am so thankful that there is a limit set by God as to what Satan is allowed. Of course if it were up to me I'd set the limits a lot stricter, but God didnt' ask me.

The ministry of filling the believer is the one that requires continual action on our part. In order to fill something, that something must be emptied. No matter how hard I try I can not put any milk into a glass that is already full of water. It is the same with the Spirit. If we are to be filled with Him, we must first be emptied. We must pour out our confessions and concerns, be broken and humble before our God before He can pour Himself into us through the Holy Spirit.

The natrual man, the sinful man will get in the way of this work every time. Paul calls these men spiritual babies. They have the first five ministires of the Holy Spirit, but have not grown past that. It takes a person walking with the Spirit to understand spiritual things.

In looking back at all of this, while doing the homework for the last day, I realized something. We are looking for many ways, any way to seek out and save those that are lost. We are dispairing at a sin sick world wondering why God doesn't move to change things? Why can't we change the minds of these people?

We can't expect a fallen world to be moral, to be spiritual. It should not surprise us that it is out there. Sin sick souls do not understand, they can't. It is the Spirit who teaches and insturcts us, makes it so we understand. If one has not the Spirit, there is no understanding of things Spiritual. If revival is to happen, it must come from those who do understand. It must come from US. In order for revival to happen within us we must be filled with the Spirit. We must humble ourselves, pour out ourselves and let the Spirit fill us. We must seek it or it will not happen. If we, as believers, are yielded to the Spirit others will know and seek out what we have. We will know the actions to take, what sin sick soul needs our touch. Only those filled with the Spirit, or Spiritually mature, can love the sinner and hate the sin. Only Spiritually mature person can minister without condemning a person. Only a Spiritually mature person can put what they want, even if it is good, just and holy, aside to help a person or to pray for a person for what God wants. How can we become Spiritually mature, by pouring out ourselves and allowing the Spirit to pour in. Then we can pour forth in work and service.

Addie	Heather*	Carol
M	Rach	Jeana
Jenn	Amanda	MamaB
GiBee	Boomama	Maria
Blair	Heather	Nancy
Janna	Flipflop	Robin
Sherry	Patricia	Tara
Lauren	HolyMama!	Faith
Christy	Eph2810	Karin
Leann	Rachel	Janice
This is a list of the women participating in the study and the links to their blogs. New postings on the study will be published for the next ten weeks, between Friday 8pm - Saturday 8am. Please feel free to visit each of us and comment. Everyone is welcome to participate in this discussion as we seek to live beyond ourselves. May God bless you richly from the hearing of His word.