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The Fixer Upper

  • The Fixer Upper from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

    Today I want to talk about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When I young, it was common for a church to wet you, set you, and forget you. Basically once you were saved and baptized, they didn’t know what else to do with you. Oh, they would teach on tithing, let’s not forget that one, but it was a common belief that you got everything there was to get spiritually on that first day, that you had completed your journey, and now all there was to do was wait for Jesus to return.

    Now I sit here, decades after that first day passed, and I want to you to know the first day is only the beginning of a life long remodeling adventure. To greatly simplify this, I am going to compare us to a house. Jesus did it. He said:

    “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’” (Luke 11:24). The man was a house, a bed and breakfast, and evil spirits came and went as they pleased. They stopped by to rest, in him.

    The Holy Spirit literally moves into the broken us and begins to remodel from the inside out. Room by room, one brick, one board at a time, He remodels us to be more like Jesus. Many will scream “new creation in Christ!” and that is spiritually true, but I have been around the block a few times, and I can tell you that angry people who get saved, can still get angry. Your house is not instantly fixed. You will work together for years, and the job will probably never reach perfection.

    I once worked with a fellow restoring old plantation houses, and we spent several years restoring a governor’s mansion near here that was built in 1740.

    It was a historical monument, but had been run down, modernized, and was used mostly as a hunting lodge. To be a part of the historical society, it had to be put back exactly as it was then. Now I am talking wavy depression era glass, marbleized fireplaces, plaster walls with wire and lathe. When we began it had vinyl siding on it and that was put over 100 coats of paint. The paint was so thick and old on the original pine siding that you could hit it with a hammer and it would crack like ice. So we used air chisels and grinders to take it back to bare wood.

    My companion must have had A.D.D. He would pick at this wall a while, then go to the next room and start on that one. Soon some of the rooms had a wall that still needed plaster or scraping down, while the others had primer, or the finish coat of paint on them. It was a huge job, and it was complete confusion and chaos until we began to break it down into sections. You can’t focus on everything at once.

    The Holy Spirit does not have A.D.D. He will usually focus on one room at a time. He evicts the current occupants, mops, cleans, cleanses, then puts up a no vacancy sign. Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m Yours. We improve by working with Him one day at a time.

    I tell you this because I want to encourage you to not be too hard on yourself when you stumble. Don’t expect to be perfect from the start, no matter what they tell you. Let’s take a moment to look at the life of the Apostle Paul, who was probably one of the greatest Christians that ever lived. When he wrote Romans chapter 7, he was in his fifties and had been an Apostle of Jesus Christ for over 20 years. He said it like this:

    For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.

    But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:15–25 NASB

    The Apostle Paul, after 20 years of walking with Jesus, said that sin dwelled in him and waged war against his mind. He also carried the Holy Spirit, and he spoke in tongues “more than you all” (1 Corinthians 14:18). Paul carried such an anointing that his handkerchiefs or aprons would drive evil spirits out of people (Acts 19:12). Yet he himself struggled with a thorn in the flesh and asked the Lord three times to take it away. The Lord simply told him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” 2 Corinthians 12:9.

    What can we learn from Paul’s testimony? Here are a few:

    * We are a work in progress and what we are to become is yet to be seen, but it will be beautiful when complete. Don’t give up because you feel like you should be better than you are. Sure our goal should be to improve, but the way to do that is to not give up.

    * While on earth, you will probably never reach perfection, and if you did, pride would probably be your downfall.

    * You do not start out knowing everything. You will probably die not knowing everything, so remain teachable. God spreads His wisdom and gifts out among His children. None of us have it all, but together we make up His body. Also Christ is that head of the body, not us.

    If you try and change yourself in your own strength, you will only become exhausted and frustrated. Work with the Holy Spirit day by day and focus on what He is putting the finger on. That will mean something different to each one of us.

    You can pray this with me if you like:

    Prayer: Heavenly Father, please cleanse and refine me from the inside out. I submit to Your Holy Spirit and invite You to change what needs changing. Make me Yours Lord and fulfill Your will in my life, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.


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19 comments
  • 1
Debi Burton
Debi Burton Thank you for the Holy Spirit the helper..... help me to learn more and to understand ....... in Jesus’s name I pray , Amen
August 12, 2019
  • 1
Marisa Jackson
Marisa Jackson

Amen!!

August 11, 2019
  • 2
Scott Riegelmann
Scott Riegelmann

Amen Wow this was one of your best works pastor Dion I am blown away by how much the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart when reading this hmmm wow thank you Lord!  Amen

August 11, 2019
  • 2
Liesel  aka  Lisa Wardle
Liesel aka Lisa Wardle

Amen! I'm so very grateful that I was able to listen to your message today, Pastor Dion!!! My Lord and my God, dear Heavenly Father, please give me a teachable spirit, please cleanse me from within and remove all pride from me, so that I can truly be used by You, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen!

August 11, 2019
  • 2
Barbara Jackson
Barbara Jackson

Thank you Father GOD, your Grace is enough for me.

August 12, 2019
  • 1
Yvette York
Yvette York

Amen 

August 12, 2019
  • 1
Kay Collinsworth
Kay Collinsworth

Amen

August 12, 2019
  • 1
Richard Mondello
Richard Mondello

 Amen! I sincerely belive this message to be the truth. I've struggled with all the points you make here. Thanks pastor Dion for being in tune with Holy Spirit. Thank you Father Yahweh for teaching me a better way, your way...

August 12, 2019
  • 2
Schalk  de Beer
Schalk de Beer

Yes Lord, amen and amen

August 12, 2019
  • 1
Linda Clark
Linda Clark

Amen 

August 12, 2019
  • 1
David  Earlywine
David Earlywine

Amen,thank you Pastor Dion,God Bless you and Sylvia.

August 12, 2019
  • 2
Jim Jarrell
Jim Jarrell

Amen! If you do not know the Holy Spirit lives in you, just ask what He wants to do in your life. You will know very soon! Thank You Lord for Your gift!

August 12, 2019
  • 2
Mari Kaufmann
Mari Kaufmann

Dear God continue to build my faith. Send your Holy Spirit to help me grow. I feel a wonderful change in me. Thank you for your Many blessings dear God. Sustain us God and progress us God. Find favor with us.  God I praise your name. In the name ofJesus. amen 

August 12, 2019
  • 2
Jose Simo
Jose Simo

Heavenly Father that Your Holy Spirit help us with the cleansing of  our bodies and minds from inside out. Help us to do what is necessary for our redemption while You work on us. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. Praise the Lord for He is good. 

Great devotional Pastor, God bless you. 

August 12, 2019
  • 1
Wesley Paulus
Wesley Paulus

Amen!

August 12, 2019
  • 1
Dana Rozell
Dana Rozell

Thank You Lord! Thank You Pastor for doing such a Great Job at delivering Deep Insight into This message.

August 13, 2019
  • 1
Sandra Colby
Sandra Colby

AMEN

August 15, 2019
  • 1
Cassandra Leary
Cassandra Leary

I am catching up a bit late here but I just wanted to say thank you so much for this message, Pastor Dion! The Holy Spirit spoke to me so deeply on this and it was just the message I needed at the right time to keep me steadfast on my journey! I am in tears of gratitude over here. I am so grateful to the Lord for what he has done to me and many others through YOU, Pastor Dion. He truly uses us as his hands and feet. Thank you for listening to His commands and allowing him to use you for this amazing job! You and Sylvia are so very special! Keep fighting in that ring against the enemy in all of his attempts to discourage and silence you from accomplishing the Lord's will! Together with The Holy Spirit, you two are changing the world and bringing souls to Jesus! You and this beautiful ministry are always in my prayers! With LOVE, Cassandra. 

August 27, 2019
  • 1
Patty Seckar
Patty Seckar

 Thank you Pastor and thank God for bookmarks this is one of my favorite devotions. God please give me the patience to wait for you to fix me up in your time! amen  

September 17, 2019