Hi there,
EDIT: I sort of wanted this to be about praise to the body of Christ for not sinning, but it ended up being more about the Holy Spirit - such is the Spirit!
So you might not understand this, if you haven't been convicted of sin, over a long period of time: but there are psychological similarities to everyone who believes (in Jesus). Part of that is wrestling with the World over what sin means. The World comes against us, trying to say there is no consequence to sin, which initially is almost right, being selfish achieves little in the way of sin; but when the World keeps coming, we are tempted to act in our own strength, but this is the thing: we don't fight sin with sin. Rather, as the Lord says ("turn the other cheek") we try to turn the other cheek. The thing is, in that moment, when we are trying to do the right thing, the Devil provokes us. "Don't turn the other cheek, fight back" the Devil says.
This battle, to do the right thing, is no different for whosoever is faced with temptation on Earth, not Mother Teresa, not Hitler, not the anti-Christ - but the worst of these is the anti-Christ. When we then, are struggling, the struggle is the most difficult it can be, to begin with. Just as the anti-Christ gives those with him a mark, of solidarity with his cause, so we are tempted to give the World a mark of our own "sin". What it is that we find, is that we love them back - no mark involved! How is this possible? The Holy Spirit, who knows the value of all things, in God's Creation, intercedes that the "mark of sin" not be wasted - not on a lesser man, not on a greater man. To His Credit, he retains His Peace, despite all things that happen in the world: including our being tempted to be like the anti-Christ (and the giving of a mark).
This is what the whole question of the tribulation is all about, when it is wrapped up with resistance to the anti-Christ. The Holy Spirit will have every desire to take over, and rule with might, but He will remember the Lord's example, of leading with sacrifice. This is the strength of the Holy Spirit's intercession, against the thing, that tempts all of us (every time we sin). It won't matter how smart you are, how clever you are, how genius you are, you will have a choice, between the Holy Spirit's intercession and eternal condemnation. We couldn't do it on our own, therefore the Holy Spirit must help. Indeed it would be good for us to confess "Lord I wanted to give the World the mark of sin, the way the anti-Christ did, please forgive me, in Your Name Amen".
The problem is, and this is where it gets really important, you can give the mark of sin, as much as you like, when you sin, but ultimately you are the only one that suffers. The one receiving the mark, does not feel more than an initial sting, you on the other hand, are divested of almost all of your strength, which creates an ache, that will not go away. The "God shaped hole" is wrought this way, in sin, the enmity against the Spirit, stripping the flesh of its strength. For those that take the mark of the anti-Christ physically (not just spiritually) they only feel this pain more constantly. Repentance therefore reaches another level, you must not only repent, but remove the mark that is causing you so much pain.
In all this, let us be prayers and interceders ourselves, that the work of the Holy Spirit be that much easier and lighter when He comes. We do not want to provoke God, neither do we forget the message we received on the Cross. The Master within us, will teach us these things and bring all these things into remembrance. For those of us that already have the faith, of the Holy Spirit, we know that though we despise the sin we have been in, greater is coming and with that greatness: power over the things of the World. It ultimately comes full circle: the unrighteousness we were tempted with, comes to serve us, the mark that we wanted to give, gives us a reputation for good, the one who sin we wanted to confront, now worships us and knows that Christ loved us. The mark falls to dust and the scales of sin, fall off. We live in hope of a new body, to which no mark can be given; we fill with the Grace of God, for a new way of rule, to which every doubt is revealed in the light. And the Lord overcomes! How Great our Praise!
I hope you have grown in this, at least a little - be ready to resist sin, be ready for the Holy Spirit to intercede.
God bless.
EDIT: I sort of wanted this to be about praise to the body of Christ for not sinning, but it ended up being more about the Holy Spirit - such is the Spirit!
So you might not understand this, if you haven't been convicted of sin, over a long period of time: but there are psychological similarities to everyone who believes (in Jesus). Part of that is wrestling with the World over what sin means. The World comes against us, trying to say there is no consequence to sin, which initially is almost right, being selfish achieves little in the way of sin; but when the World keeps coming, we are tempted to act in our own strength, but this is the thing: we don't fight sin with sin. Rather, as the Lord says ("turn the other cheek") we try to turn the other cheek. The thing is, in that moment, when we are trying to do the right thing, the Devil provokes us. "Don't turn the other cheek, fight back" the Devil says.
This battle, to do the right thing, is no different for whosoever is faced with temptation on Earth, not Mother Teresa, not Hitler, not the anti-Christ - but the worst of these is the anti-Christ. When we then, are struggling, the struggle is the most difficult it can be, to begin with. Just as the anti-Christ gives those with him a mark, of solidarity with his cause, so we are tempted to give the World a mark of our own "sin". What it is that we find, is that we love them back - no mark involved! How is this possible? The Holy Spirit, who knows the value of all things, in God's Creation, intercedes that the "mark of sin" not be wasted - not on a lesser man, not on a greater man. To His Credit, he retains His Peace, despite all things that happen in the world: including our being tempted to be like the anti-Christ (and the giving of a mark).
This is what the whole question of the tribulation is all about, when it is wrapped up with resistance to the anti-Christ. The Holy Spirit will have every desire to take over, and rule with might, but He will remember the Lord's example, of leading with sacrifice. This is the strength of the Holy Spirit's intercession, against the thing, that tempts all of us (every time we sin). It won't matter how smart you are, how clever you are, how genius you are, you will have a choice, between the Holy Spirit's intercession and eternal condemnation. We couldn't do it on our own, therefore the Holy Spirit must help. Indeed it would be good for us to confess "Lord I wanted to give the World the mark of sin, the way the anti-Christ did, please forgive me, in Your Name Amen".
The problem is, and this is where it gets really important, you can give the mark of sin, as much as you like, when you sin, but ultimately you are the only one that suffers. The one receiving the mark, does not feel more than an initial sting, you on the other hand, are divested of almost all of your strength, which creates an ache, that will not go away. The "God shaped hole" is wrought this way, in sin, the enmity against the Spirit, stripping the flesh of its strength. For those that take the mark of the anti-Christ physically (not just spiritually) they only feel this pain more constantly. Repentance therefore reaches another level, you must not only repent, but remove the mark that is causing you so much pain.
In all this, let us be prayers and interceders ourselves, that the work of the Holy Spirit be that much easier and lighter when He comes. We do not want to provoke God, neither do we forget the message we received on the Cross. The Master within us, will teach us these things and bring all these things into remembrance. For those of us that already have the faith, of the Holy Spirit, we know that though we despise the sin we have been in, greater is coming and with that greatness: power over the things of the World. It ultimately comes full circle: the unrighteousness we were tempted with, comes to serve us, the mark that we wanted to give, gives us a reputation for good, the one who sin we wanted to confront, now worships us and knows that Christ loved us. The mark falls to dust and the scales of sin, fall off. We live in hope of a new body, to which no mark can be given; we fill with the Grace of God, for a new way of rule, to which every doubt is revealed in the light. And the Lord overcomes! How Great our Praise!
I hope you have grown in this, at least a little - be ready to resist sin, be ready for the Holy Spirit to intercede.
God bless.
