Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalms 51:10) This verse highlights a key element in aChristian’s relationship with God and the Holy Spirit. The psalmist asks God something very important: to create a clean heart in him. The Holy Spirit will never come upon a person whose heart is ‘dirty’.
In the same way that you would not pour clean water into a dirty cup to drink, so too, God would not pour His Spirit into a ‘dirty’ heart. No amount of faith will change this.
The Bible says: “Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”( Matthew 9:17) No matter how many years they’ve been in the church; if the new Christian’s heart is still ‘old’, filled with hatred, envy, malice etc, there is simply no space for the Holy Spirit.
Let’s look at ‘grudges’. Keeping grudges is one sure way to stop the believer from receiving the Holy Spirit. How long will it take you to wake up and recognise satan’s plan which impedes you from having the Holy Spirit? Maybe something hurtful happened to you 10 years ago, or maybe just last week.
You are still constantly thinking about it, still remembering the words spoken to you in anger, still feeling the pain of betrayal or still sulking in disappointment. Maybe those who hurt you don’t even remember your face anymore! They walk past you and do not even recall what happened, but you, on the other hand, still carry the weight of the past.
Apostle Paul said: “… But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things…”( Philippians 3:13-15)
Dear reader we need to forget the past and press on towards the goal! You’re wasting your time harbouring things in your heart. It is time for you to look ahead in order for you to receive the Power of the Holy Spirit. It is written: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you …” (Acts 1:8) So, let it go. Let’s look forward, because if you believe that everything works for the good of those who love God, then even that hurtful experience was for your own good.
Maybe, that problem brought you to Jesus, or made you feel so miserable that you considered suicide, but then you read the newspaper and received life. Do not look to your past anymore. Don’t hold a grudge in your heart anymore – move straight ahead!