The Holy Spirit Is Absolutely Necessary

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. Ezekiel 36:26, 27

God knows everything that we need. He does not want anything to hinder us, therefore He gives us what is absolutely necessary. Every miracle, every promise and every provision in the Word of God belongs to us because we need it.

God promised to put His Spirit inside of us. He made that promise because we need it. By nature we are "dead in trespasses and sins" (see Ephesians 2:1). It does not say "sick" or "chronically ill". It says "dead". And when something is dead, it is powerless. It cannot do anything; it is of no use to anyone.

Therefore, it stands to reason that God of His own free will must put something within us to lead us to Him. He has to quicken us in order to teach us how to live. To "quicken" means to bring to life that which was dead. The Psalmist said, "This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me" Psalms 119:50.

Without the Spirit of God, we are lost. "I will put my spirit in you making it possible for you to do what I tell you to do" Ezekiel 36:27 Message. God made this promise because it is absolutely necessary. If we would consider the nation of Israel, that need would become quite obvious. God gave those people every grace, every gift, and every privilege. He blessed them beyond the wildest imagination.

But when serving God demanded sacrifice, inconvenience and change, they refused. In their actions they told God, "I will serve you as long as you do not require me to do what I don’t want to do." Obviously, it didn’t work out for them.

God doesn’t make deals. He has already thought this through and given us the best outcome. We may be unable to love our enemies, but He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us. The Holy Spirit will help us turn the other cheek, hold our peace and let God fight our battles. The Holy Spirit will help us put a difference between clean and unclean. When we were dead, we were powerless to make a difference. But God has given us what was absolutely necessary.

When the Spirit finds man, he is destitute of spiritual life. He is like the dry bones in Ezekiel 37:2. There was no sign that there was ever life in those bones. But the Spirit came and connected those dry bones at all the right places. And He breathed the life of God into them and they stood up. Not only did they come to life, but they became a great army and did a wonderful work for God.

But had it not been for the influence of God, those bones would have lain in that valley forever.

Not only is man dead in trespasses and sin, but he is opposed to everything that is good and right. The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be Romans 8:7. In other words, man is powerless to do good, yet powerful to do wrong. His will is opposed to God’s will. Man will not even come to God except the Spirit draws him. He cannot be induced to come; flattered to come; forced, manipulated or enticed. The Spirit has to draw him/her.

Salvation is totally of God. It is all about what Christ has done. Man’s proud nature rejects the idea of receiving something this wonderful totally free and on the grace of another. So the Spirit has to do work on them to change the will and correct the bias within his heart. We’ve got to know that Jesus did it.

That’s why I preach the Word. I have no time for religious politics and debates, or to work in some preacher’s church business. I’ve got to preach the Word. For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart Hebrews 4:12

We may not have an elaborate sanctuary, but that doesn’t stop God from moving. We may not have the biggest budget and I may not be the most gifted speaker. But I’ve got the Holy Ghost because God knew it was what I would need to do the work He had for me. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us 2 Corinthians 4:7.

I can imagine that if we had witnessed Samson on his way to fight the Philistines, and all he had in his hand was the jawbone of an ass, we may have attempted to persuade him otherwise. But God couldn’t get the glory except Samson use that jawbone. It is the same way with us. God puts His Spirit in us to enable us to do His perfect will. Gladly will I rejoice in my infirmity; because when I am weak, then am I strong see 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10.

The Spirit of God makes sinners repent, quickens dead souls, and makes the vilest sinner holy. The same Spirit makes the weak strong. Without Him we can do nothing.

The Spirit of God revealed to me that I would be a preacher. Until He opened my eyes, I saw nothing. I would have still been lost in a maze of sin, but in His own infallible way, He let me know that my time had come.

If we could bring any sinner into our church, read him every blessing that belongs to him in Christ Jesus, and he will walk away without a second thought. He will think it doesn’t apply to him. But when the Spirit touches His heart and lets him feel the love Christ shed for him, that man will see the covenant and change his ways.

I know that Christ died for me, healed me by His stripes and intercedes for me in heaven. I know this because the Spirit takes the things of Christ and shows them to me. The blood of Christ meant nothing to us until the Spirit opened our eyes. It was the Spirit that used the preaching even though we prepared the sermon. It was the Spirit that used the song even though you did the singing. It is the Spirit that works in us "to will and to do of his good pleasure" Philippians 2:13.

If the Spirit helps us groan, that is when we do our best praying. We could pray the most poetic and euphoric prayers in the world, but if the Spirit isn’t in it, God has nothing to with it.

Do you have the Spirit of God in you? If so, you have what is absolutely necessary. God is making our ministry what it is becoming. He takes our homemade articles and uses them. He sends our messages all over the web and helps us minister to the hurting in faraway countries. He is doing what we cannot do without Him. The Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary for us to have success.