Brothers, yesterday at our MAGH prayer session I shared with you how the holy spirit touched me as my wife and I attended on Sat night one of our connect member’s celebration for her music, birthday and wedding anniversary.  I shared how I felt moved to pray over them and that it was the first time I had prayed so publicly and I felt the holy spirit take over my words.

 

After our MAGH prayer session, I prayed to the Holy Spirit for inspiration on the Word to share with you today.

 

For my 50th  birthday last year I was given a book called “Declaring God’s Word”.  It’s a daily devotional book by Derek Prince.  But I hadn’t opened it.

 

As I prayed, the book cover came to my mind so I found the book and saw that it had a bookmark set to a page so I opened it there.

 

After sharing my testimonial you can imagine my surprise and happy shock to see that the page it was on was actually for the very same day I opened the book – 12 February 2023 and the topic was – my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

 

 

2. The Holy Spirit Comes:

 

At Pentacost the Holy Spirit descended from heaven and took up His dwelling on earth – as the permanent, personal representative of God residing on earth. 

 

When he descended the Holy Spirit spoke in “other tongues” through the disciples. 

 

Acts 2:1-4

 

“On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.”

 

A distinctive part of personality is the ability to speak.  By speaking in tongues He signified his coming as a Person to take up His dwelling on earth.

 

Now each time the Holy Spirit comes to take up His residence as a Person in the body of a believer, it is appropriate that His Presence is manifested by speaking out in that believer in a new language imparted from the Holy Spirit.

 

Prayer Point 2 – Holy Spirit, I know you now dwell in me and your presence is evidenced through me speaking in tongues.  Join me brothers in speaking in tongues.

 

3. We Must Not Misuse Our Bodies:

 

This is why in 1 Corinthians, Paul said:

 

1 Corinthians 3:16-17:

 

“Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

 

1 Corinthians 6:19

 

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

 

Paul pointed out that speaking in tongues is a divinely given sign that the Holy Spirit is in our body and this makes it a sacred temple.

 

This means we have an obligation and we are required to keep our body in a condition that is worthy of God’s presence.

 

Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 6:13:

 

“You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.”

 

He also said in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10:

 

“Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.”

 

Because our bodies are the Lord’s temple we must not defile them with any such misuse.

 

The body is for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.

 

We are to glorify God in our spirits and bodies - 1 Corinthians 6:20 - “you must honor God with your body”.

 

For your body and spirit do not belong to you - 1 Corinthians 6:19 – “You do not belong to yourself.”

 

Our bodies belong to God and not the devil.  So we can put up a No Trespassing sign.  Only the Holy Spirit can reside there.  No room for the devil.

 

Prayer Point 3 – I declare that my body and spirit belong to God and not the devil.  He has a special purpose for my body and I will give myself to His purpose.

 

4. New Beginning:

 

Brothers, I have been guilty in the past of sin, of not honouring my body.  I’ve abused my body before through gluttony, drunkenness and sexual impropriety.

 

I remain a work in progress but I know one thing and that is that my life changed when I raised my hand and declared Jesus as my Lord and saviour.

 

As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:11 – “Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

 

Last year I received the Holy Spirit during a Global Prayer Night and I started speaking in tongues.  Initially it was strange but as I fell into it I felt a peace and comfort that made me want more.  I sometimes feel a tingling in my body and light headedness that is such a gift.  Sometimes like Saturday night when I was praying for Cera and Pindani I felt as if the words were not mine yet I could hear myself saying them.

 

Every day I feel the Holy Spirit rising more strongly in me and I am humbled by His presence.

 

Prayer Point 4 – I thank you Lord for redeeming and cleansing my body by the blood of Jesus and making my body a temple of the Holy Spirit.  I call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to make me right with God.