"There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it." (Ecclesiastes 8:8 KJV)
"Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?"" (John 11:25-26 NLT)
You can go ahead and put your own name at the end of that question, asking yourself, "Is this what I truly believe?" It is most likely that most important link to the reason that Jesus was manifested here in the flesh, because we that live in the flesh cannot be holy, because there is a constant battle between the flesh, which wants to be taken care of, and the Spirit within us, that wants us to manifest holiness.
As for those five foolish virgins, there has always been a debate within the church as to the oil; was it the Holy Spirit, that they lacked; which they seemingly had some of it, but not enough: or was it belief in the power of God, in which that had been given, but used to little of? Something to think about, but also something that we can assume it to be one of the same!
As Paul says, (back to Romans, a book about 'The Normal Christian life'), "When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:10-11 NLT)
We will not have the ability to remain sinless in the fleshly body; it is just a fact that we must understand is not going to go away; but that doesn't mean we cannot be sinless and holy by walking in the Spirit, for those who abide in Christ, are freed from the power of sin, because sin has no power over their lives.
Do we still sin? Yes! Unfortunately, we sin sometimes without even being aware of what we do; but the Holy Spirit will show us and teach us a much better way to live, by loving one another! Brother to brother, we need to understand how much we can be unloving at times to one another. Pastor Bryan has mentioned something several times within the past couple of weeks, say, "Women are more sensitive to the spiritual matters than men," which is obviously true, based upon Eve's deception in the garden.
There is a reason that the men must be the head, because judgment and order is determined in the mind, while the heart is governed and motivated by feelings and sensitivity. But why I am making these things part of this message? Well...
"Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain. If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been a traitor to your people. So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is! Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction. In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away be terrors. When you arise, O Lord, you will laugh at their silly ideas as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.
"Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant - I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I on heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do." (PSALM 73:13-28 NLT)
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