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Are you familiar with the phrase, "Spring Cleaning"?

There's something about springtime that makes you want your house all shiny and clean. The sun is out, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and it's time to get organized.

Well, I've been sensing in my spirit for quite some time that it's time for a spiritual spring cleaning. It's time to remove the dust - so to speak - in our lives. God wants to use each one of us in a powerful way in these last days.

Starting And Ending In The Miraculous
When I first surrendered my life to preach, I witnessed miracles, healings, and deliverance in the lives of people almost immediately. I was thrust into a miracle ministry almost from day one.

I've seen times when the power of God would just absolutely enter into a place like waves on the ocean, and you couldn't preach any more because of the miracles happening. People would testify, and their testimony would energize faith in others, and more would be healed.

Lately, I've asked, "Father, why am I not seeing more of this? Why am I not seeing Your power in demonstration in a greater way?" I started out in the miraculous; I want to end up in the miraculous. I believe the answer is simply to keep yourself pure and clean.

Brother Kenneth Hagin, whom I believe to be a prophet of God, prophesied that there will be demonstrations and manifestations of the Holy Spirit like no other generation of believers has ever witnessed. I'm convinced that before this can happen there has to be a spiritual cleansing take place in God's people.

Second Timothy 2:20-21 says,
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonour. If a man (or a woman) therefore purge himself (or herself) from these, he (or she) shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
The word "if" is a conditional word. If you will do certain things, then the choice becomes yours of whether you are a vessel of honor or a vessel of dishonor.

It's your choice. You are the one who determines this. God wants us all to be vessels of honor. So if you want to be a vessel of honor, then there are certain things you're going to be required to do.
  1. The Purging Process
    "If a man will purge himself." The Bible tells us in Hebrews 4 that the Word of God is a two-edged sword. The sword is listed in Ephesians 6 as part of our armor and is used in successfully defeating our enemy. But it works two ways.

    One side of that sword is for fighting the devil. The other side is like a surgical instrument for you. It is a purging instrument. It is designed by God to keep you clean.

    How does that work? Well, for instance, if you're involved in something that may not be pleasing to God, and you come across a Scripture that convicts you, then what the Holy Spirit was endeavoring to do was to get you to take that Word and purge yourself.

    Don't just pass over it. That's the reason He led you to that Scripture. He wants you to get cleaned up on the inside so that His power can flow through you unhindered.

  2. Condemnation vs. Conviction
    Many of the Body of Christ are confused about the difference between condemnation and conviction. They think they're one and the same. If you preach something that brings conviction, they think it's condemnation, and they put up a wall.

    Conviction is from the Holy Ghost. Condemnation comes from Satan. Condemnation does not provide a way out. It does not give a solution to the problem. It just continually beats you over the head and tells you what a failure you are.

    Conviction always provides a way out. It will set you free. It will produce repentance, correction, and maturity.

    From time to time, you may hear things that will go into your spirit and cut. But don't treat it as condemnation. Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:1).

  3. An Act of Your Will
    Keep in mind, this purging process is something you're going to have to initiate. It's going to be something that you do as an act of your will. Why? Because you want to be a vessel of honor. If you truly want God's best in every area of your life (your marriage, your health, your family, your finances, your business), then you're going to have to be willing to purge yourself of certain things that may keep you from being just that.

    Second Timothy 2:21-22 talks about the fact that if I'm going to be a vessel of honor, I've got to become aware of my thought life, my actions, my conversation, things I have contact with, places I go, people I'm around, things I read, things I watch.

    According to what Paul is saying to us, anyone can become a vessel of honor. Anyone can become an instrument of God's power. Anyone can be used to bring revival...if he or she is willing to separate themselves from things that contaminate or corrupt.

    But how do you do this when there's so much spiritual contamination and so much corruption in the world in which we live?

  4. Make an Effort
    There's not a whole lot you can watch on television anymore. Wouldn't you agree with me that the majority of it is contaminated and corrupted? Don't put that wall up now. I'm not saying, "Thou shalt not ever watch television again."

    Let's not even think in terms of "Thou shalt not." Let's think more about, "Thou shalt do." I'm not saying that if you're going to be used of God you can never watch television. What I'm saying is, "Be selective."

    If we're going to become vessels of honor, then we're going to have to separate ourselves...there's just certain things we can't do anymore...certain things we don't watch anymore...certain things that we don't read, and places we don't go.
Dare To Be Different
There's a lot we can do as Christians. Satan doesn't own this planet; God does. There's a lot of things that will produce fun and entertainment for us. Spend more time with your family, for instance.

Paul used the word "flee." You have to forcibly flee one thing, and at the same time, forcibly pursue something else. Don't do this passively, but aggressively. Turn your back on one thing and turn toward something else.

God realizes that the world that we live in is crooked, perverted, contaminated, and corrupted. But He says, "Stand out in the crowd." You be different. That's the message of Jesus in all of His teachings: "Dare to be different."

God's not going to ask us to do something that we can't do. If He's asked us to do this, then He also supplies the ability and the power to get the job done. You and I can do this. But you've got to want to. You've got to make some choices and some decisions.

Is giving up something that is contaminating or corrupting really a sacrifice compared to flowing in the power of God? That's not a sacrifice. We should be willing to give it up. If we want to become God's instrument, there is a price to pay. And that price is separation.

One historian of past revivals stated that the kind of person that God uses to initiate revival must possess the following characteristics:
  1. Deep earnestness.
  2. A desperate desire to see God move.
  3. Unwavering faith.
  4. Great patience.
  5. A holy lifestyle.
  6. A determination and a willingness to labor tirelessly.
  7. Deep spirituality.
  8. Nonconformity to the world.
  9. Fervency in prayer.
We can be these kind of people if we are determined to keep ourselves clean spiritually.

Please stay in an attitude of expectancy and prayer, and keep your spirit man and your mind open.

If you and I will cleanse our temple, it's going to open dimensions of God's glory, God's power, and God's blessing into our lives like we've never experienced before.

Jerry Savelle Ministries International
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

Jerry Savelle
Web site: Jerry Savelle Ministries International
 
Dr. Jerry Savelle was an average, blue-collar man who was struggling and needed God's help. While he considered himself a "nobody," when he became a believer God told him not to worry about it because He was a master at making champions out of nobodies. God has since taken Dr. Savelle from being a constant quitter to a man who knows how to stand on the Word of God until victory is experienced. Because of the life-changing combination of God's faithfulness and Dr. Savelle's "no quit" attitude, his life is totally different than it was thirty-eight years ago.
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