The Results Of Spiritual Death

Introduction:

There are many divorces in the world today for various reasons I believe that a lot of these are due to loss of interest by one or both parties. When either or both parties begin to pull away or show little to no interest at all in one another when Intimacy grows cold and you just sort of tolerate each other until it finally leads to adultery or some other sin.

A friend of mine said he asked his church people what they would think if their spouse would only show up once in a while but never showed much or no interest in them. They would sort of casually drop by at their convenience.

This is what I think would happen they would begin to think something was wrong that they were probably having an affair with someone and there would be jealousy and hurt and the imagination would probably dream up every evil thing it could. And it would probably lead to divorce.

Now God is different. He knows the heart of all men. He would know for sure just where you stand and where he is in your life. But wouldn’t it be spiritual adultery to have once known God and been a partaker of the Holy Ghost and then cheat on him by staying away and completely ignoring his love for you?

Scripture: Jeremiah 2:19-22

19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, said the Lord GOD of hosts.

20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and you said, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wander, playing the harlot.

21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?

22 For though thou wash thee with nitre and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, said the Lord GOD.

Living translation: Jeremiah 2:22 No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. You are stained with guilt that cannot ever be washed away. I see it always before me, the Lord God says.

What happens when the Spirit of God leaves you? Is there a spirit that takes control of you other than the Holy Spirit or the spirit of man?

These questions are very important and I will try to answer them according to the word of God.

Gen 2:7

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.

Without God there is no life, this is what this scripture is telling us so without the Spirit of God we are just flesh driven by fleshly desires and cannot control the desires of it.

Acts 2:1-4

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Here again we see another form of the Spirit of God the Holy Ghost it gives us power to become the sons of God.

There is a difference between the spirit of man and the Spirit of God.

When you are led of the flesh listen to this: Gal 5:16-18

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

17 For the flesh lusted against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Paul in this letter to the church of Galatia tells them the difference between the Spirit of man and the Spirit of God.

Here it is:

Gal 5:19-26

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Envying’s, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

There is a world of difference in a Christian and a person who claims to be a Christian. So with that said let me warn you of the dangers of God’s Spirit departing from you.

When God deals with a person long enough and still that person rejects the counsel of God here is what Scripture says.

Gen 6:3

3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

This was spoken back in the beginning of time when men begin to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

When you start losing the desire to serve the Lord, God will pull at you, with convictions he will draw you to him, but if you pull away he will withdraw back from you and listen to this:

Matt 12:33

33 Either make the tree good and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Here’s the danger of Spiritual death:

Matt 12:43-45

43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walked through dry places, seeking rest and findeth none.

44 Then he said “I will return into my house from whence I came out and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished.”

Here’s the definition of this scripture: Matt 12:44

[Into my house] The soul of that person from whom he had been expelled by the power of Christ and out of which he was to have been kept by continual prayer, faith and watchfulness. (But do you pray and watch?)

[He findeth it empty] Unoccupied, empty of the former inhabitant and ready to receive a new one: This is a soul that has lost the life and power of godliness and the testimony of the Holy Ghost.

[Swept and garnished.] It means to be idle, or unemployed, it may refer here to the person, as well as to his state. His affections and desires are no longer busied with the things of God, but gad about, like an idle person, among the vanities of a perishing world. {“No anyone like that?”}

Swept, from love, meekness and all the fruits of the Spirit; and garnished, or adorned, decorated, with the vain showy trifles of folly and fashion.

This may comprise also smart speeches, cunning repartees, etc., for which many who have lost the life of God are very remarkable. {Adam Clarke Commentary}

45 Then goeth he and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

Seven demons-as many as could occupy his soul, harassing it with pride, anger, self-will, lust, etc., and torturing the body with disease. Adam Clarke’s Commentary)

God sent the Pharisees warning after warning but they kept rejecting his word. He them Prophets but they refused to hear them finally he robed himself in flesh and came to bring them deliverance but they rejected him also.

1. The first parable Jesus teaches tells the priests that they have claimed to accept the message from God but they have failed to live up to it by being obedient.

2. Outwardly, they are pious and appear to be people of God, but God knows the heart, and there they have failed miserably.

The next parable (the Parable of the Vineyard) is like pouring salt on a wound. Just in case they didn’t fully understand (which they did), Jesus gives a much clearer picture of what He means.

Obviously, this further infuriates the priests, but it also gives the others who were present an opportunity to hear Jesus fully explain the implications of the disobedience of the Jewish people throughout the ages.

You have to understand that men have died trying to save others, warning them of their sins and how they have transgressed the Laws of God.

They have come in times of old and even no men called of God that has been murdered by those they were trying to reach.

The martyr Stephen said this as he was warning the religious people of his day; Acts 7:51

51 Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Listen to his preaching to them after they rejected his words: Acts 7:52-60

52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord; lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Their hearts were hardened so bad they stoned Stephen to death. This is what happens to people when they refuse to hear the word of the Lord and do things their own way.

Listen this Is the word of the lord that the apostle Paul spoke in: 2 Thess 2:11-12

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

I hear people saying things like I’m alright I’m just trying to work things out.

No you’re not you are lying to yourself and to everyone else when you lose the desire to be in the presence of God you are already backslid.

God has dealt with you until finally your rejection has caused him to take action against you.

A lot of people that get in this condition and refuse the counsel of the Lord usually began to make excuses and they will hunt for a place where they think people may sympathize with them.

Then sooner or later the enemy will come back and bring seven other spirits with him. It could be any spirit but it won’t be the one that will be so easy to get rid of.

People say they can stay at home a serve the Lord it’s not true, how can you serve God if you are not interested in the things of God?

But listen most of the time you don’t die alone you take family with you.

Remember all the prophets who died trying to save others it’s no difference today Preachers are slandered by the very ones he is trying to get to heaven.

Matt 21:28-32

28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. (Win a Soul)

29 He answered and said I will not: but afterward he repented and went.

30 And he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, the first. Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

The death of Christ was more than enough to cause people to love him.

To not spend time with Christ in his house or to love him everywhere you go is Spiritual adultery.

To have little or no desire to be in fellowship with him is sin.