Tuesday, February 05, 2013

When the Work of the Spirit Meets the Faith of the Heart

Jeremiah 39:16-18 KJV
Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.
But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.
For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.

In an Old Testament passage that reminds me of the Ethiopian eunuch of Acts chapter eight, here we find a Gentile who has more understanding of the Jewish faith than most Jews of his day. Paul said that a Jew is not one outwardly but inwardly and from the heart. A man is a child of Abraham not by blood but by faith. People of any nation have, through faith, full access into the family of God and to the throne of grace.
No man may be forced into this family. It can't happen
  • By coercion
  • By birth or even
  • By human rationale
It may only take place when the convicting work of the Holy Spirit meets the faith of the heart of a man.

Oh that there would be more who, by holy faith, meet the conviction of the Spirit and are born again. 

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