March 17th, 2023
by Kevin Benton
by Kevin Benton
The Purpose Of Cleansing
Being cleansed, we can become all that God has created us to be so we can follow God’s plan for our lives. When we were born again, our spirit man was made brand new, but our souls (mind, will and emotions), need to continue to be developed and set free and cleansed. Yes, we must be cleansed. We need to be sanctified, set apart, to be used by God effectively.—Pastor Mirek Hufton - Forever Free pg 25
The Bible says that we are the temple of God. We are bought at a price, and we are not our own. The Spirit of God lives within us, in our newborn spirit. God calls us to have this temple given over to Him for His purpose.—Pastor Mirek Hufton - Forever Free pg 26
1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. —I Cortinthians 6:19-20 KJV
My fellow believers, brothers and sisters when we receive Jesus, the Spirit of The Living God comes and lives on the in side of us. We become the temple of The Holy Spirit. The Greek word for temple (naos) comes from the word (ναίω naio) which means to dwell. The word naos means shrine or temple. If we are believers in Jesus the Holy Spirit dwells in His shrine or temple called you and I. A shrine is a sacred place. So if the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the sacred place called You and I. It is only right for us to clean out the temple and keep it clean. Lets look at what God’s word says in the verses prior to verse 19.
1Co 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
1Co 6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
1Co 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
1Co 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. —I Corinthians 6:15-18 KJV
Notice what verse 15 says “shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.” The word harlot refers to an idolator and whore. Many of us will recognize the word harlot or whore as meaning a prostitute or a promiscuous female. Yes indeed we woulod be correct in identifying the wor dharlot in that way. However, this word can also mean a person who forsakes the true God and worships idols. In our lives before Christ we accumulate idols in our lives. These idols can manifest in may different ways. They can be idols of pride, selfishness, deceit, complacency, laziness, sexual impurity and too many other ways to mention. This is why it is so important to cleans our selves and remove the idols in our lives to hinder/ reduce the presence of the Holy Spirit in the temple He is destined to dwell in … YOU AND I!
Nehemiah removed Tobiah from the temple. Josiah purged the land of every kind of idol. We too must rid ourselves of the things that take God’s place in our lives. We must remove the things that take priority over the preence of God in our lives. You may be reading this and thinking this is a tall order. You may be thinking “this is too hard for me”, or you may be thinking “this is too extreme” I tell you my brother and sister this is not too extreme. We find it easy to believe that out of our bellies will flow living water, and yes it does. However, there must be a reason why we find multiple scriptures referring to muddy springs, impure springs and so on. We must cleanse ourselves of the impurities that the world and the ruler of the world have implanted in us. We must do it! God did all He can do through the presenting His Son as a Sacrifice. That is why I believe Romans 12:1-2 is key to our cleansing and living a new way of life separated from the world and sanctified for serving our God! We must present ourselves and our sins to God and trust Him to complete the work He started.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
—Romans 12:1-2 KJV
Write down any idols, sins or anything the Lord quickened in your spirit that is cluttering up, defiling the temple or hindering the presence of God in your life.
Lets Pray:
Father God, I present myself to you. I desire for my temple to be clean. I desire for more of your Holy Spirit to dwell in me staring right now. Father I turn these things over to you (call out what you have written above) Holy Spirit help me keep your temple clean. Help me not to return to these things and remain free from the bondages and snares these things create. Holy Spirt I desire more of you today in my life than ever before. Give me the strength and power that only comes from you to live life separated from the ways of the world and to keep my spirit clean and free the pollution of this world I live in. Father God I ask you to use me to the full extent of your plans for me. Holy Spirit I surrender to you, make me more like Jesus!!! In Jesus Name I Pray!!!
Being cleansed, we can become all that God has created us to be so we can follow God’s plan for our lives. When we were born again, our spirit man was made brand new, but our souls (mind, will and emotions), need to continue to be developed and set free and cleansed. Yes, we must be cleansed. We need to be sanctified, set apart, to be used by God effectively.—Pastor Mirek Hufton - Forever Free pg 25
The Bible says that we are the temple of God. We are bought at a price, and we are not our own. The Spirit of God lives within us, in our newborn spirit. God calls us to have this temple given over to Him for His purpose.—Pastor Mirek Hufton - Forever Free pg 26
1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. —I Cortinthians 6:19-20 KJV
My fellow believers, brothers and sisters when we receive Jesus, the Spirit of The Living God comes and lives on the in side of us. We become the temple of The Holy Spirit. The Greek word for temple (naos) comes from the word (ναίω naio) which means to dwell. The word naos means shrine or temple. If we are believers in Jesus the Holy Spirit dwells in His shrine or temple called you and I. A shrine is a sacred place. So if the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the sacred place called You and I. It is only right for us to clean out the temple and keep it clean. Lets look at what God’s word says in the verses prior to verse 19.
1Co 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
1Co 6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
1Co 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
1Co 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. —I Corinthians 6:15-18 KJV
Notice what verse 15 says “shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.” The word harlot refers to an idolator and whore. Many of us will recognize the word harlot or whore as meaning a prostitute or a promiscuous female. Yes indeed we woulod be correct in identifying the wor dharlot in that way. However, this word can also mean a person who forsakes the true God and worships idols. In our lives before Christ we accumulate idols in our lives. These idols can manifest in may different ways. They can be idols of pride, selfishness, deceit, complacency, laziness, sexual impurity and too many other ways to mention. This is why it is so important to cleans our selves and remove the idols in our lives to hinder/ reduce the presence of the Holy Spirit in the temple He is destined to dwell in … YOU AND I!
Nehemiah removed Tobiah from the temple. Josiah purged the land of every kind of idol. We too must rid ourselves of the things that take God’s place in our lives. We must remove the things that take priority over the preence of God in our lives. You may be reading this and thinking this is a tall order. You may be thinking “this is too hard for me”, or you may be thinking “this is too extreme” I tell you my brother and sister this is not too extreme. We find it easy to believe that out of our bellies will flow living water, and yes it does. However, there must be a reason why we find multiple scriptures referring to muddy springs, impure springs and so on. We must cleanse ourselves of the impurities that the world and the ruler of the world have implanted in us. We must do it! God did all He can do through the presenting His Son as a Sacrifice. That is why I believe Romans 12:1-2 is key to our cleansing and living a new way of life separated from the world and sanctified for serving our God! We must present ourselves and our sins to God and trust Him to complete the work He started.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
—Romans 12:1-2 KJV
Write down any idols, sins or anything the Lord quickened in your spirit that is cluttering up, defiling the temple or hindering the presence of God in your life.
Lets Pray:
Father God, I present myself to you. I desire for my temple to be clean. I desire for more of your Holy Spirit to dwell in me staring right now. Father I turn these things over to you (call out what you have written above) Holy Spirit help me keep your temple clean. Help me not to return to these things and remain free from the bondages and snares these things create. Holy Spirt I desire more of you today in my life than ever before. Give me the strength and power that only comes from you to live life separated from the ways of the world and to keep my spirit clean and free the pollution of this world I live in. Father God I ask you to use me to the full extent of your plans for me. Holy Spirit I surrender to you, make me more like Jesus!!! In Jesus Name I Pray!!!
Posted in Forever Free Week #2
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