John 16:7-10 KJV
”Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;“
Ezekiel 44:15-17, 23 KJV
” But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.“
The role of the Holy Spirit to bring convictions to the hearts of men are to build us into the stature and measure of Christ. He is the continuation of the works of Christ on earth and is the model we must allow shape us. Our convictions are not merely momentarily based, but they shape our mindset and forms our ideologies. Hence the importance thereof. Even in our legal systems, when one is convicted based on the laws of the land, it is expected to bring a change in the individual upon whom judgment has been imposed.
Our society today has faulted in our convictions because our desires are placed above, we make poor choices as a result. We do not conform to promptings of the Holy Spirit but claim convictions on life’s choices. Beloved grieve not the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) was a serious command. When we refuse to heed to his convictions, we silence the voice of God in our lives. By so doing, we are either heeding to our own human spirit without the influence of the Spirit of God. His convictions forms our identity in Christ, not by a mere proclamation without obedience.
One might argue that the basis of Ezekiel 44 forming part of the basis our study is Old Testament based. Hear this Beloved, the Old testament is not cancelled out, Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 KJV;“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”
Which Paul elaborates the law being weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit according to Romans 8:3-4 KJV. And just as the task of the Priests in Ezekiel 44 we also have been made kings and priests (Revelations 1:5-6), the requirements are still to present our bodies bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service(Romans 12:1 KJV). By order of the new covenant through Jesus, the sacrifices we offer are enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit and draws us near unto God (Hebrews 7:15-21 KJV).
Hear this then, in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 KJV “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” Your ability to rightly judge is to the degree to which you discern the things of the Spirit. Hence the Bible also commands be not drank with wine but be filled with the Holy Spirit( Ephesians 5:18). Why is this so detrimental you may wonder, Isaiah 28:7 KJV says it all;
“But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.” Your ability to rightly discern is to the degree by which your life is surrendered to the Holy Spirit. Let us not make the mistake of thinking we heard God when our flesh is more active than the voice of God. Goodmorning Beloved.