Text: Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Under Old Covenant, God was WITH Israel in various ways. Cloud, Fire, Tent, Temple.
Father, give me a new heart!
He said that He would put his Spirit in them! Under the Old Covenant, God lived in the Tabernacle, then in the temple. God putting His Spirit IN them was a new concept!
A Christmas Scripture: Matthew 1:22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). From Isaiah 7:14
But Jesus went to heaven. Now what? I thought God was going to be with us!
John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate (Gk. paraklete) 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. (Jesus)
John 21:21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:1 “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (God was doing something NEW! He was pulling out the stops!)
Homework: Compare this with II Chronicles 7:1-3 when Solomon dedicated his temple to God. Do you see any similarities to Acts 2 when God “dedicated his new temple” – the church?
What happened? God sent his Spirit to live in His church. More than WITH us, God is IN us!
Colossians 1:27 To them (God’s people) God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
God fulfilled his prophecy from Ezekiel. He puts His Spirit IN us! That means God is IN us!
Action points:
- What does it mean to have the Holy Spirit lives in us?
- How should we live since God the Holy Spirit lives IN us?
- What does this mean when we feel like God is no where around? Are they right or wrong?
God’s word is truth. Don’t trust your feelings. Trust what God says in His word.
All Scripture is from the New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible.