Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Freedom & Empowerment! (Nehemiah 3:15)





And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the city of David.

THE STUDY:

          The Fountain Gate (v. 15) illustrates the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37–39). The thing I would like to point out this morning is the order of these gates: first, there is humility (the valley gate), then cleansing (the dung gate), and then the filling of the Spirit (the fountain gate).[1]         
          To the woman at the well, the Lord Jesus spoke of a fountain (not merely a well) of living water. Again in John 7 He cried, “He that believeth on Me … out of his inward parts shall flow rivers of living water.” The fountain of living water is a type, or symbol of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers.[2]
                   
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….


  • We walk away this morning with the understanding that as Nehemiah is describing the rebuilding of the wall he is also describing the steps for restoration for the people spiritually: humility, cleansing, and the filling of the Holy spirit.


APPLICATION:

As a minister I have had the wonderful blessing of introducing people to Christ. I have been doubly blessed with the opportunity to lead some of those individuals into the experience of (Sanctification) or what some may call the “infilling of the Holy Spirit.”
I recall a quote from Dr. Mervin Smith (District Superintendent on the WV South), “I don’t believe Satan gets to upset about people accepting Christ as their personal savior. The walls of hell are shaken when that person is sanctified.” Satan still has a chance to cause someone to go astray after they receive Christ. It is when the believer surrenders all to Christ and desires the very nature change God wants to do within him/her that diminishes Satan’s power significantly. This is when Satan is most fearful, when God’s children seek to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Don’t let Satan take away or cause you to miss the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Today can be the day you surrender it all to God and receive the power to resist sin and live for Christ as was intended from the very beginning. Today can be the day you live in the freedom and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Ne 3). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Ironside, H. A. (1913). Notes on the Book of Nehemiah (42). New York: Loizeaux Bros.

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