When it
comes to a life in Christ, it’s equivalent and equal to living a life in the
Spirit. Galatians 5:16 says “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and
you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Paul later tells us in Colossians 2:6 “As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” Both scriptures
give us references to walking, in
other words living in Christ is living in the Spirit. But before you can live in the Spirit, it’s
important for God to produce a supernatural “wooing” so to speak in your
heart. What can you expect in making a
firm lasting decision to live a godly lifestyle in Christ? What is the purpose, what are the
benefits? Let’s be honest, we tend to do
more when we know there is some sort of gain, so what is there?
The first thing that you can expect
in living for Christ and walking in the Spirit is:
Love: You can actually
sense the love of God. Without the love
of God we tend to share our bodies with anyone who is available, without the love
of God we tend to treat others in disrespectful ways, we walk past them in
Church and don’t bend our will to walking out a lifestyle of love. God’s love produces the ability to repent. The Bible says in Romans 2:4 “the goodness of
God leads you to repentance.” In other words, when you examine your life and
see what could have been and what should have been it compels you to make a serious
commitment and dedication to live in and for Christ. The love of God is what
saves us and compels us to serve Him in various ways and Ministries in your
local Church, not the fear of being judged by God for not doing enough.
The second thing you can expect in
living for Christ and walking in the Spirit is:
Blessings: Yup, you can
expect blessings from God. You can expect
natural and spiritual blessings. Let’s be honest, we expect and love more
natural blessings as opposed to spiritual.
If God said to you “would you like to have a new car or a better prayer
life?” What would you pick? The truth is
though, the biggest blessings in life apart from salvation is a greater prayer
life, and it is a greater level of studying the Bible and knowing God in a more
intimate and in depth way. God wants to
take you to the next level in your walk with Christ, will you allow Him? Do you sense the fact that God loves you and
wants to bless you? If not, just simply tell Him, He won’t get mad at you or
angry at your unbelief, He loves to fix that.
The third thing you can expect in
living for Christ and walking in the Spirit is:
Correction: Uh oh, that
doesn’t seem good, I mean after all I am perfect right? Nope, nobody is perfect and everyone is a
work in progress, but there is good news. The Bible says in Philippians 1:6
that “we can be confident of one thing, that God will complete the good work
that He started in us.” Sometimes we
don’t like to yield to the correction of God and don’t realize much of the
pressure and even some problems in our life are designed to get us to say “Lord,
are You speaking to me about something, do You want to correct me about
something?” It’s imperative to know in
your walk with Christ that correction will come and it is an evidence of the
love of God and the blessings of walking in the Spirit. All of these things line up. Listen to what
God says about correction: Hebrews 12:6 says “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.” God corrects those who He loves. That’s you!
He wants to correct you, but so often we fall into “despising the correction of
the Lord” which Proverbs 3:11 says not to do.
Have you resisted the correction of God in any way, shape or form? I
know I have and honestly, He might be correcting some of you now, you can
always tell because you can feel God tugging at your heart. Sometimes He can do
it through a telephone call, a text message, a Facebook message, a video, a sermon, a tweet, your Pastor, Bible
Study, prayer etc. etc. and all of these are vital tools to your spiritual
growth. Allowing God to correct you, purge and cleanse you of your sins is the
secret to spiritual growth and finding fulfillment and purpose in life.
However,
supposing you aren’t walking with Christ, it’s important to know in order to
partake of these blessings and benefits of walking in the Spirit, you must
first accept Jesus Christ. The Bible
says in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son that whoever believes in Him would never perish but have Eternal Life.” In
other words, all you have to do is believe that Jesus Christ died for you and
can remove your sins because of His blood shed on Calvary’s Cross. Who would pass up such a blessed life? Do you
want it? Do you crave it? If you do, just
ask for it!
_____________________________________________________________
Have you accepted Jesus Christ as
your personal Lord and Savior?
If not, here’s what you are missing.
You are missing satisfaction in life. You are missing the blessings of
God in and through your life. You are missing the blessing of being able to
know God intimately and know Him for the pardoning of your sins. You are missing the blessing of being able to
serve God and impact your community and the world around you. You are missing the beauty of God revealing
Himself to you and helping you in your daily life. You are missing out on such
great things. God wants the best for you
and His best starts with you admitting you have sinned against Him and that you
need a Savior for your sins, that Savior is Jesus Christ. Like me, will you rebel against God’s plan
and will for your life? Will you submit to Gods will so He can save you and
redirect your life? God can get you off
any drugs, any habit or addiction, nothing can stop God and God will stop at
nothing to stop it from stopping you from reaching your full potential for
Christ. God loves you so much, why wait
and why reject His message. If you want
to be saved for-real, just pray this prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I have sinned, I am a sinner, I have sinned and will sin, but I
have sinned only against You. Lord, I am in need of Your forgiveness. I believe
You died for my sins and You rose from the dead. I believe You are God and that
You have the capability to forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from my
unrighteousness. Lord, please save me and draw me to You by Your grace. Fill me
with Your Spirit. Baptize me in Your power and help me to live a lifestyle that
is pleasing in Your sight. Give me victory over temptation, Lord, strengthen me
to be all who You want me to be please in Jesus Name! AMEN!”
"God loved the world this way:
He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will
have eternal life." ~ John 3:16 (God’s Word Translation)
"That
if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a
person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting
in salvation. For
the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be [disappointed.” For
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord
of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the
name of the Lord will be saved.” ~ Romans 10:9-13 (NASB)
These links may help you in your walk with Jesus Christ. I urge you to take a look at some and
remember to draw closer to God through studying His Word and praying daily for
yourself and most importantly, others.
God Bless!
[List of Bible Promises!
http://www.intouch.org/resources/gods-promises?page480=2 ]
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
~ Romans 10:17 (King James Version)
http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/PrayerAndCounseling/index.aspx [Prayer
Request; Have someone online pray for you!]
"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces
wonderful results." ~ James 5:16 (New Living Translation)
http://www.OurPrayer.org [Prayer Request; People from all over the world can
pray for YOU, simple, fast, free and beneficial.]
http://www.Bible.cc [Great site for searching through the Bible and
comparing each version, also charts, commentaries and dictionaries]
"Don’t get drunk on wine, which leads to wild living. Instead, be
filled with the Spirit." ~ Ephesians 5:18 (Gods Word Translation)
http://www.biblegateway.com [Great site for Bibles of various kinds and
various languages]
"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the
bones." ~ Proverbs 14:30 (New International Version)
http://www.Christianword.org [Great site for prayers; affirmations,
scripture references etc.]
http://www.e-sword.net [Great site to download Bible software; commentaries,
dictionaries, maps, charts, various Bibles]
"A patient person [shows] great understanding, but a quick-tempered one
promotes foolishness." ~ Proverbs 14:29 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
http://www.twft.org [Pastor Chuck Smith's Through The Bible audio sermons]
http://www.c28.com [Christian Clothing, etc.]
http://www.intouch.org/itrn?utm_source=ITM&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=Home_top_slider
[In Touch Ministries 24/7 Radio Broadcast Online; Free Streaming]
http://www.intouch.org/resources/gods-promises?page480=2 [List of Bible
Promises! (Easy to Print)]
"In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children
will have refuge." ~ Proverbs 14:26 (New American Standard Bible)
http://www.wmpress.org [FREE Christian Tracts] [Shipped to your doorstep for
free.] [Pass out, leave somewhere (school, bus stop, grocery store, mall,
shopping center, etc.), send in a Birthday, Holiday or Christmas Card; Simple
ways to plant seeds of faith in people, even without speaking.]
[ORDER FORM for WMPRESS.ORG] http://www.wmpress.org/booklet_order.php [BOOKLETS/STUDY GUIDES/ GOSPEL TRACTS
AVAILABLE TO ORDER FROM WMPRESS.ORG] http://www.wmpress.org/bksavail.shtml
http://www.intouch.org/about/in-touch-messenger/messenger-downloads
[Download 35 POWERFUL sermons from Charles Stanley in less than five minutes,
compressed ZIP FILE.] [3 Languages; Pray for the Ministry of donating, giving
and supplying these handheld devices to spread the Gospel to the remote areas
of the world and throughout the 'known' world.] [Pray!]
"For, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved." ~ Romans 10:13 (American Standard Version)
http://www.thruthebible.org/site/c.irLMKXPGLsF/b.4104233/k.BFE1/MP3_Download_of_5Year_Series.htm
[Dr. J Vernon McGee's Through The Bible 5 Year Series; Free downloads]
[THREE Great Biblical Prayers Ephesians 3:14-21, Ephesians 1:16-20 &
Colossians 1:9-14, pray them for you and others!]
http://www.biblegateway.christianbook.com [Buy Christian Bibles, great
selection of Study Bibles, commentaries, audio sermons, books, clothing, music,
gifts, art; etc.]
http://www.intouch.org/broadcast/today-on-radio [Charles Stanley's daily
radio broadcast; also clicking 'Audio Archives' can allow you to search years
back and download more of his radio broadcasts]
"I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and
peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the
Holy Spirit." ~ Romans 15:13 (New Century Version)
http://www.intouch.org/broadcast/this-week-on-tv [Charles Stanleys 'This
Week on TV' site; clicking 'Video Archives' can allow you to search back and
find older Television shows; He also has sermon notes available on each
show/segment]
"And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." ~
Romans 5:5 (English Standard Version)
http://www.twft.com/?page=C2000 [Pastor Chuck Smiths c2000 Through The Bible
series; free downloads of book by book, verse by verse Bible study/commentary]
"May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your
knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord." ~ 2 Peter 1:2 (New Living
Translation)
http://twft.com/?page=Radio.Main [Pastor Chuck Smiths Radio Broadcast; 25
minutes of study on the Word of God. c3000 edition]
[Study Bibles I suggest looking at; at CBD.com] 'Life in The Spirit Study
Bible' 'Zondervan Study Bible' Nelson KJV Study Bible' and 'ESV Study Bible.'
Christian Books; "Disciplines of The Holy Spirit" by Tan/Gregg;
"How to Listen to God" by Charles Stanley; "Living Waters"
by Pastor Chuck Smith; "Handbook for Christian Living" by Charles
Stanley;
"That I may KNOW Him" ~ Philippians 3:10
Start your day off with a Word from God; Prayer and a Song of Praise/Worship
THE ROYAL PRAYER LINE
Every Wednesday Morning
6:15 a.m. - 6:30 a.m.[EASTERN USA TIME]
Dial-in# (712) 432-1001
Access Code: 491276491#
Just Listen and Be Blessed!!!
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/royal-baptist-sunday-services [PAST SERVICES
OF ROYAL MISSIONARY BAPTIST; SUNDAY SERVICES 8 AND 11 AM; Special Events and
Bible Study as well] Enjoy!
http://royalmbc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=109
[My Churches Live Streaming; Sunday's at 8 AM & 11 AM. Thursdays for Bible
Study 7 PM; Enjoy, there IS a Word from The LORD!]
