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“Homily Grits Devotional” http://www.homilygrits.com

Ephesians 3:16-17… that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, (NKJV)

I wrote back in May about being able to see the spiritual growth of the 9 fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-13) given to the new believer by God…at the same time God gives His new child the Holy Spirit, who takes up residence with-in the Christian…John 14:26…

God predestines His children to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29)…and this constant growth in spiritual maturity, comes from feeding on God’s Word (Matthew 4:4); and by total submission to God, through obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit…“to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man”…

It is “through faith” in Jesus Christ to begin with, that one becomes a Christian in God’s eyes…Hebrews 11:6… But the “born again” Christian (John 3:3), must become “rooted and grounded in love”…in order to benefit from the absolute, mind boggling, supernatural power that the Holy Spirit will bring into the life of the obedient, Spirit filled Christian…

The Apostle Paul goes on from the opening scripture, to describe this agape love of Christ, in…Ephesians 3:18-19… may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (NKJV)

When the Christian has “the fullness of God” dwelling with-in them…it truly is an indescribable feeling… The Apostle Paul pens, that having this fullness of Christ’s love is “to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge”…Ephesians 5:18-20…

Make no mistake about this fact, friends… The Christian who is Spirit filled should be so full of “the love of Christ”…that this feeling goes beyond our mortal comprehension (“passes knowledge”)… It’s just like looking at the universe, where it is estimated the Hubble telescope can see stars at the observable edge of the universe that are 46 billion light years away !! “what is the width and length and depth and height” ?? (See the following link for this observable edge estimate… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe )

But not being filled with (controlled by) the Holy Spirit…would mean that the Christian is harboring unconfessed sins, and/or has taken back some or all control from the Holy Spirit… The Christian will suffer God’s promised consequences of chastising the ones He loves…Hebrews 12:5-11… After I was a Christian for over 7 years…my peace and my joy were gone from my life, because I had gradually taken back control from the Holy Spirit…

This amazing difference in my personal life…between being Spirit filled, and not…can be dramatically and tangibly seen in a days writing over two years ago @ this link… https://godsmanforever.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/gods-group-thoughts-for-7152012-help-in-understanding-the-bible

I have spoken to Christians with marital problems…who tell me they just can’t take any more arguing with their spouse… I have spoken to Christian people who hardly (if ever) share the gospel of Christ… I only shared the gospel of Jesus Christ twice in those 7 years without being Spirit filled… After the Holy Spirit was again in total charge of my life, well…most long time readers and friends will attest to the fact that I just can’t shut up about the love of Christ, and the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit… May God be glorified through this testimony…

The Apostle Paul pens this, in…Philippians 4:13… I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (NKJV)

Friends, it is indeed the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, who God gives to all of His children (John 14:26)…who can overpower Satan’s temptations to sin (James 4:7-8 )…who can help the Christian understand Bible scripture (1 Corinthians 2:9-11)…who can help the Christian pray in God’s will (Ephesians 6:18…&…Romans 8:27)…who can give the Christian absolute peace, where there would be no peace without being Spirit filled…(Philippians 4:6-7)…who can give the Christian the fullness of joy (John 15:11)…and who can guide the Christian into all truth…

John 16:13… However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (NKJV)

We were discussing the following scripture, some time ago at our Friday night Bible Study…1 John 1:9… If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (NKJV)

Friends, I believe this confession of sins, at an appropriate time soon after the Holy Spirit convicts the Christian that they have sinned…is the absolute key to walking in sweet fellowship with the Lord, as a Spirit filled Christian…Ephesians 5:18-20…

I believe it is the awesome power of the Holy Spirit, in combination with the Christian being fully clad in the “Whole Armor of God”…that the Apostle Paul writes so vividly about, in…Ephesians 6:10-20…which can, and will provide protection from Satan’s fiery darts of temptation to sin…Ephesians 6:16… Here is the link for this important scripture… http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=eph6:10-20&version=NKJV

Ephesians 6:11… Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (NKJV)

It is up to the Christian to decide to live for the Lord…and be richly blessed with the supernatural power that the Holy Spirit is capable of providing; or to remain weak, like those still living in the world of sin and shame, which are bound by Satan’s chains…1 John 2:15-16… God has broken those chains to Satan, when the Christian was graced by God with the gift of salvation, through saving faith alone in The Lord Jesus Christ…Ephesians 2:8-9…

But being able to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17), and overcome Satan’s temptations to sin and our own evil flesh…doesn’t happen without making a dedicated commitment to the Lord… It takes spending time in God’s Word…Matthew 4:4…prayer morning, noon, and night…1 Thessalonians 5:17…and fellowship with other believers, in a Bible teaching and preaching church…Hebrews 10:24-25… We have to “Just Say Yes !!” to obeying the Holy Spirit…

I must admit to stealing this “Just Say Yes !!” idea, from the absolutely unbelievable teaching of David Wilkerson… Here is a link on his writing titled “Walking in the Spirit”…that I pray most of you will read… He does a much better job than I do, at explaining this often misunderstood, but much needed prerequisite for the Christian, who wants to live for Christ… http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/newsletter/walking_in_the_spirit

Heavenly Father, I pray all readers can experience the richest blessings and the fullness of Christ, that walking in the Spirit will provide… Help all of us Lord, in whatever area of our lives that needs cleansing…so that we could walk in sweet fellowship with You… I pray for this perfect peace in all of our lives, that only You can provide, in Jesus most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

Blessings in Christ, bruce