A sponge truly is quite an interesting thing. Just looking at it sitting on the edge of your sink it will appear like a foam brick, but that sponge has a very unique feature in that it can hold an amazing amount of liquid inside of it.
I will sometimes use a large sponge to clean the inside of our vehicle, dipping it into a bucket and filling the sponge up with soapy water. After rubbing down the inside of the car I will dunk the sponge back into the bucket of water again, this time squeezing the sponge, and it is absolutely amazing how much dirt that will be in the water that comes out of that sponge!
And that is kind of what happens to those who get filled up with the Holy Spirit. When someone is filled up with the Holy Spirit, it’s like they are being filled up with water, but then to be squeezed out, removing all of those impurities of sin in a person. All of the dirt and filth of the world, all the lying, and deceit, covetousness and pride. Through the Spirit, a person can be purified and cleansed from their sins.
“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1
Here’s another example similar to the one I started with at the beginning of this study. There are some foods that are incredibly hard to wash off of dishes if you don’t get to them right away. One of these is melted marshmallows. Unless you are using a really good non-stick pot, melted marshmallows can be a dishwasher’s nightmare. We sometimes will melt marshmallows and mix it with rice cereal to make a bar, and sometimes we don’t always clean out the pot or pan immediately, and the leftover melted marshmallow hardens onto them, making it extremely hard to remove. What we need to do is soak it in very hot water and soap and it will eventually loosen up and come off, and then the pot is clean again.
We are that dirty pot. We are dirty and filthy with sin, and the only way we can be freed from that is through the blood of Christ and His Holy Spirit.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
We need to purge out the sin in our lives with the help of the Spirit. And when you purge something it means to “rid someone or something of an unwanted quality, condition or feeling.” We need to rid ourselves of the sin in our lives. In Psalm 51:7 it reads,
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
He was asking God to forgive him, and to cleanse him from his sins. Ask Jesus for forgiveness, and let Him wash your sins away. Purge yourself from your sins, and become clean through the Spirit. It’s time to squeeze out that sponge!
In Christ,
Andrew
(Andrew is no longer a part of this ministry, as he purposely lied, deceived me, and then betrayed me. I baptized him when he was 5 years old. He’s been having communion with me for 22 years. Children are taught to be what they are, and they become a replication of what their dad is; right up until the point they choose to go their own way. The actions that he took against me are everything that I am not, and he is fully aware of that. The things that he did were done willfully and with intent, and are completely against the teachings of Christ. Although many of these writings are helpful, he completely abandoned this calling, and joined up with the world instead. Nothing can dictate Our lives more than a love for Christ Jesus and being chosen to His service, but he chose to love the world instead.)
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 