The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Lampstand

And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. (Exodus 25:31)

The Altar, the Laver, the Table of Showbread, and then the Lampstand, symbolizing the blood atonement, repentance and water baptism, Christ born and formed in us, and then the work of the Holy Spirit in our life. A remarkable symbolic portrayal.

There are only two ways in which a human being can conduct his or her life. One way is to live in the flesh, in the five senses of the body. The other is to live in the Spirit of God, deriving guidance and inspiration from Him. It is God's will that every saved person think, speak, and act at all times under every circumstance in the Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit is God. He is active in every element of our salvation. He is as Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, who is bringing the bride to the Son.

"You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you." Power! Power to communicate the truth concerning Christ! Power to live a godly life!

It is the Spirit who gives us gifts and ministries. It is He who empowers their use.

"Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." The reason we yield to temptation is that we are not walking in the Spirit.

All ministry is to be conducted in the Spirit of God. For two thousand years the Christian churches have sought to build the Kingdom of God by their own wisdom and strength. The result is a multitude of competing denominations.

Only the Holy Spirit can properly employ the gifts of the Spirit.

It is not enough to attempt to do in one's own strength what the Bible commands whether in the realm of ministry or morality. We must pray constantly, looking to the Spirit of God for every detail of ministry and personal behavior.

As we pray, read the Bible, gather with the saints, give of our means, serve the fellowship, we remain in the Spirit. We must begin first thing in the morning seeking the Presence of God. As we do the Spirit of God will guide and strengthen us.

The great problem in America today is the lack of the Spirit of God. Evangelicals sometimes believe that because they have accepted Christ they automatically are filled with the Spirit of God. Pentecostals sometimes believe that because they speak in tongues they are filled with the Spirit of God. Neither is necessarily correct.

The evidence we are living in the Spirit is the increase of love, joy, and peace in our life.

The Spirit-filled life must be cultivated every moment of every day. There is no decision we make that ought not to be submitted to God in prayer. We are to pray without ceasing, to practice the Presence of God always in all matters.

There are three great symbols of Judaism, the Altar, the Lampstand, and the Booth of the feast of Tabernacles.

The Altar tells us God must be approached through blood and sacrifice. The Lampstand informs us that life is to be lived in the Spirit of God—now and for eternity.

The Booth, the third symbol of Judaism, is God's way of notifying man that he was born to be the dwelling place of God.

As we live in the Spirit we shall proceed onward and upward until we are perfect and complete in all the will of God.