Brokenness and Discipline

I am intending for this to be my last excerpt from, "The Release of the Spirit", but it has a very important insight into the way the Holy Spirit deals with us through decreasing the outward man(our Flesh Man), while we continue building up our inward man(Soul), through reading and meditating upon God's word and prayer(revelation from the Holy Scriptures via the unveiling of God's Holy Spirit), allowing our Spirit Man to have control over our whole person is the goal, through a broken vessel the Spirit may flow.

(Excerpt from Chapter 6-Brokenness and Discipline). Again the link this is taken from is: http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/nee/5f00.0638/5f00.0638.6.htm

Since the Holy Spirit works according to the light of God, His discipline is thorough and complete. We often wonder at the things which befall us, yet if left to ourselves we may be mistaken in our very best choice. The discipline He orders transcends our understanding. How often we are caught unprepared and conclude that surely such a drastic thing is not our need. Many times His discipline descends upon us suddenly without our having prior notice! We may insist we are living in "the light" but the Holy Spirit is dealing with us according to God's light. From the time we received Him, He has been ordering our circumstances for our profit according to His knowledge of us.

The working of the Holy Spirit in our lives has its positive as well as its negative side—i.e. both a constructive and a destructive phase. After we are born again, the Holy Spirit dwells in us, but our outward man so often deprives Him of His freedom. It is like trying to walk in a pair of ill-fitting new shoes. Because our outward and inward man are at variance with each other, God must employ whatever means He thinks effective in breaking down any stronghold over which our inward man has no control.

It is not by the supply of grace to the inward man that the Holy Spirit breaks the outward. Of course, God wants the inward man to be strong, but His method is to utilize external means to decrease our outward man. It would be well nigh impossible for the inward man to accomplish this, since these two are so different in nature that they can scarcely inflict any wound on each other. Accordingly the nature of the outward man and that of external things are similar; thus the former can be easily affected by the latter. External things can strike the outward man most painfully. So it is that God uses external things in dealing with our outward man.

You remember the Bible says that two sparrows are sold for a farthing (Matt. 10:29) and that five sparrows are sold for two farthings (Lk. 12:6). This is certainly cheap, and the fifth sparrow is included free. However, "one of them shall not fall to ground without your Father ; but of you even the hairs of the head are all numbered" (Matt. 10:29, 30). Not only is every hair counted, but every single one is also numbered. Hence we may be sure that all our circumstances are ordered by God. Nothing is accidental.

God's ordering is according to His knowledge of our needs, and with a view to the shattering of our outward man. Knowing that a certain external thing will thus affect us, He arranges for us to encounter it once, twice, and even more. Do you not realize that all the events of your life for the past five or ten years were ordered by God for your education? If you murmured and complained, you grievously failed to recognize His hand. If you thought you were just unfortunate, you were in ignorance of the discipline of the Holy Spirit. Remember that whatever happens to us is measured by the hand of God for our supreme good. Though probably it is not what we would choose, God knows what is best for us. Where would we be today had God not so disciplined us through ordering our circumstances? It is this very thing which keeps us pure and walking in His pathway. How foolish are those who have murmurings in their mouths and rebellion in their hearts at the very things the Holy Spirit has measured to them for their good.

As soon as we are saved, the Holy Spirit begins to deal out discipline; but He cannot act freely until our consecration is complete. After one is saved but not yet consecrated, and while he still loves himself much more than the Lord, the Holy Spirit is nonetheless working to bring him under control and break down his outward man that He may work unhinderedly.

Finally, there comes a time when you realize that you cannot live BY yourself and FOR yourself. In the dim light you have, you come to God and say: "I consecrate myself to Thee. Come life or death, I have committed myself into Thy hands." This will strengthen the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Herein lies the importance of consecration : it allows the Holy Spirit to work without restriction. So think it not strange when many unexpected things befall you after your consecration.

You have told the Lord : "Lord ! Do whatever Thou deemest best in my life." Now that you have thus put yourself unconditionally in His hands, the Holy Spirit can freely work in you. To wholeheartedly decide to follow the Lord, you must pay close attention to the disciplinary work of the Holy Spirit.