"These [in Berea] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." - Acts 17:11
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(25) I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you. (26) I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. (27) I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you.

Good News Bible copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society.

This prophecy refers to the Millennium and beyond, when Satan will be bound and thus rendered ineffective in spreading his evil attitudes. At that time, God will repair the damage—first done in the Garden of Eden and in every human heart since—by replacing man's human nature with His Spirit. He will work to change man's heart from a hard, unyielding one to a soft, humble one that will be eager to hear and obey God.

Notice that Ezekiel prophesies that God's Spirit will cause people to walk in His statutes and to keep His judgments. God's Spirit provides both motivation and strength to do what is good and right. We do God's work—believing, obeying, overcoming, growing, producing fruit—not by our power and abilities but by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6). It is readily, freely, abundantly available to those who have believed, been baptized, and received the earnest of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands.

But that is not the end of the matter. We must continue to request God's presence in us, our daily Bread of Life, by His Spirit. We must ask, seek, and knock, constantly pursuing God, His Kingdom, and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). If we do this, He promises to add "all these things," our daily needs.

Jesus tells His disciples just before His arrest, "I am the vine, you are the branches: He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). If we request His presence in us each day and obey Him in faith, we will, by His power, produce astonishing spiritual growth.

— Staff

To learn more, see:
Ask and It Will Be Given



 

Topics:

Ask, Seek, and Knock

Bearing Fruit

Branch and Vine Analogy

Fruits of God's Holy Spirit

God's Presence

God's Presence in Us

Holy Spirit as Deposit

Holy Spirit as Downpayment

Holy Spirit as Earnest

Overcoming

Overcoming, Motivation for

Seeking God First

Seeking Truth

Spiritual Growth

Spiritual Growth, Process of

Vine and Branch Analogy




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