THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT

Time with Jesus - 21 Sept 2013

Hi all,

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
1	Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.
2	The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.
3	The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation
4	Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law
5	Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law
6	"goddess of reason" enthroned in Paris Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents
7	No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed, any arbitrary order, shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense
8	The law shall provide for such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense
9	As all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty, if arrest shall be deemed indispensable, all harshness not essential to the securing of the prisoner's person shall be severely repressed by law
10	No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law
11	The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law
12	The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those to whom they shall be entrusted
13	A general tax is indispensable for the maintenance of the public force and for the expenses of administration; it ought to be equally apportioned among all citizens according to their means
14	All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put; and to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes
15	Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration
16	A society in which the observance of the law is not assured, nor the separation of powers defined, has no constitution at all
17	Property being an inviolable and sacred right, no one can be deprived of it, unless demanded by public necessity, legally constituted, explicitly demands it, and under the condition of a just and prior indemnity
Approved by the French National Constituent Assembly 26 August 1789.

Some of the things that happened in the 18^th century are still with us and are having a profound effect on opinions today. There were some exceptionally good things. The revivals in Britain and the USA influenced by John Wesley and George Whitfield, are but two examples of the good things.

The influence the Moravians had on these two men and their colleagues is seldom appreciated.

On the “other side”, the “enlightenment” also known as the “Age of Reason” or “Rationalism” has had a devastating effect on religion in general and Christianity in particular. 

Basically, “rationalism” said that if something cannot be demonstrated and understood scientifically, you are not obliged to believe it. In some respects, the culmination of the Age of Reason is associated with the French Revolution when the “goddess of reason” was enthroned in Paris.

Today, we laugh at such “foolishness”. Sadly, it was closer to being tragic than foolish. It undermined most things associated with belief in God. After all, you cannot put “ God” in a test tube and demonstrate Him to curious passers-by.

In South Africa we have a Bill of Rights. It is not exactly the same as the one adopted by the people of France during the Revolution. However, the concept is much the same. Men, women and children have certain inviolable rights. Indeed, according to South African Law, Human Rights are supreme. No laws, Christian or otherwise, are higher. For the record, the 17 Articles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen are included above left.It’s interesting to note that the wording of the Rights of Man was drawn up on two “tablets of stone”, something similar to the stone tablets given by God to Moses. Ironically, God’s law handed to comprised only 10 Commandments and were comprehensive. There are 17 “laws” in the Declaration of the Bill of Rights and are far from comprehensive!

Declaration of the Rights of Man
and of the Citizen

At issue is what can and cannot be seen. The author of Hebrews tells us, ⁶ It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe he exists & cares enough to respond to those who seek him. Heb. 11:6 MSG.

However, the central issue of faith is believing what cannot be seen. We cannot see God. We cannot be certain why He decided this. What we do know is, that if anyone or anything sinful or unholy enters into the presence of God, he/she would be utterly annihilated by God’s overwhelming purity and holiness! Thus a sinner could only approach God on pain of total destruction! Personally, I don’t fancy that!

As far as you and I are concerned, there is no solution. God solved the problem by sending Jesus to experience the punishment we would experience if we came into God’s presence without protection.

At the same time, God knows that the likes of you and I need some means of providing us with the assurance, He not only exists, but is sovereign.

In His infinite wisdom He has provided that assurance. He has called it “The Witness of the Spirit”. As Paul wrote, ¹⁵ So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, "Abba, Father." ¹⁶ For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. Rom. 8:15-16 NLT. It’s difficult to contradict that which God has declared!

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 21 Sept. 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT
Jesus made it clear that 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:24 NLT The question we have to grapple with is, what did Jesus mean in a way we can try to understand? The point from which we must begin is that God is the creator. He dwells in a “dimension” with which we are unfamiliar. This is important. God created our time/space continuum. In other words, we dwell in Him rather than He dwells in our dimension. We know this is true because 28 “In him we live and move and have our being”. Acts 17:28 ESV A little illustration that has helped me, is to point out that fish live in water. Water doesn’t live in fish. If water lived in fish, they would be aware of it. They could see and feel it. But fish live in water. I suspect they are not aware of the watery world around them. We are like those fish. We live in a time/space continuum, all of which is in God – in Spirit. Occasionally, God has opened men’s eyes to “see” what is taking place in the Spirit. Normally we are unable to do so. We do know that the world we live in is not permanent. It is passing away. But the things of the Spirit are eternal. The day will come when the pyramids of Egypt will be gone. But those who love God continue. Occasionally, God sends something from the Spirit into our dimension. The Holy Spirit descended and alighted on Jesus in the form of a dove. The Holy Spirit “came upon” the 120 in the outer court of the temple (not the upper room) in the form of tongues of fire. Most likely, the pillar of fire came down in much the same way as in the wilderness. Then, tongues of flame reached out from the pillar and touched the heads of those present. The Spirit was in contact with God’s people in a way that was similar to the time of the Wilderness wanderings. No wonder the recipients almost “freaked out”. Here was a touch from Him which their forefathers had known ±1500 years previously! Note that it was the Spirit, visible and touching this world. In a sense, an invasion of our dimension by the Spirit. Those of us who have read science fiction will have come across the idea of a “portal”; a gateway between one dimension and another. There is no doubt that this world and the Spirit are separate “dimensions”. Yet Jesus instructs us to worship God in Spirit and truth. Is it possible that in some way we don’t understand, God opens something like a “portal” whereby we are able to take our worship into His dimension to truly worship Him? There would be one important “key” into His dimension. The key is truth. Jesus Christ is that “key”; that “portal” 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 ESV. Thus Jesus is our “portal” to the Father! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV	God’s Spirit is within me. The Saviour said it’s true. This should always be enough for folk like me and you. But I’m a bit inquisitive. I like to check things out. Make sure that something’s factual and far beyond a doubt. And so I started poking round to find out “where?” inside. I wanted to locate Him, so He could never hide; And ask me what I’m looking for. So I began to hunt. The liver, spleen and kidneys; the back and sides; the front. But I was unsuccessful. I couldn’t find the place, Where I could worship Jesus and look into His face. This sort of had me bothered. The Lord won’t tell a lie. And so I started over and had a second try. Then, after lots of digging, acknowledged my defeat. I knew that I could never find the Precious Paraclete! And then I started thinking. I must have got it wrong. The Message from the Master was really very strong. Finding a location was not what Jesus meant. He was the Holy Spirit, Whom Father God had sent. We cannot see the Spirit realm. We cannot feel or touch; And recognise His presence. We do not need that crutch. Faith is what is needed. To see beyond this realm, And know the Holy Spirit is surely at the helm. God’s Kingdom isn’t physical. Realise that’s true. You cannot eat or drink it; you cannot touch, or chew, What the Lord has given. Believe it and you’ll see, The evidence that He is there; alive at work in me! Its righteousness and peace and joy, within us, animated. Each of these is abstract and all are concentrated, To make our life here liveable; that other men may know, The action of the Holy Ghost, everywhere we go. Always put the emphasis on other men’s perception. If you’re looking at yourself, it’s probably deception. Yet there is a place to look where He is always found. Deep inside your spirit man you’ll find the Heavenly Hound. Your Spirit will bear witness that He indeed is there. Thus you can be Christian and never have a care. So never be flustered and ask, “Where can He be”? Focus on the witness of the Spirit within thee! If there is no “witness”, there’s one thing to be done. Get the problem “sorted”; Ask Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Jim Strickland Written 21st Sept. 2012
			16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17 TNIV
			13 When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me. John 16:13-14 NLT
			5 And hope will never let us down. God has poured his love into our hearts. He did it through the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to us. Romans 5:5 NIrV
			17 But anyone who is joined to the Lord becomes one with him in spirit. 18 Keep far away from sexual sins. All the other sins a person commits are outside his body. But sexual sins are sins against one's own body. 19 Don't you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is in you. You have received him from God. You do not belong to yourselves. 1 Corinthians 6:17-19 NIrV
			30 Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted. Ephesians 4:30 MSG
			26 At the same time the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we don't know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit intercedes along with our groans that cannot be expressed in words. Romans 8:26 GW