Ephesians 5:18-19

18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

This is a song that Rita and I learned while we were stationed in Germany and were new Christians. Paul wrote that we are to be filled with the Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit is more than speaking in tongues, running the isles, and praising the Lord with a loud voice. When you are filled with the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, you take his divine Spirit as your own. Everything is changed in your life. Your old ways and methods are totally changed and you begin to behave, act, and eventually become one with the Lord.

This is called spiritual growth which is an on going and continuing process that takes your entire life. Being filled with the Spirit is a walk that is ever ongoing. Many Christians seem to think that once they receive the Holy Ghost that they are set for life. But the reality is when you are filled with Christ's hole spirit, you embark on a life long journey. This journey will take you places that you never imagined. This is an adventure that is filled with excitement, joy, sadness, and every other emotion possible.

When I first received the Holy Ghost I was in the US Army stationed at Tompkins Barracks in Schwetzingen, Germany. The buildings were coated with black coal soot, making the place the most ugly place you could imagine. The day after I was filled with the Spirit, the old Nazi post looked a lot different. It no longer was the ugly place that it was yesterday, but it had a beauty that I never saw before. This was just the beginning of my walk in the Lord. As time went on, the Lord started to work on my attitude, habits, and so called friends. My former friends kept wanting me to go out and drink with them again. When the Lord dealt with me about cigarettes, the ones who would never give you a cigarette all of a sudden were trying to force cigarettes on you. When I received the Holy Ghost I never thought that my life would change so drastically.

This change occurred because I wanted a closer walk with the Lord. I also gave the Lord my life to use as he saw fit. Now that I am a preacher, I have seen extraordinary things that would be considered super natural. This walk is available to everyone who is filled with the Spirit. You can have a closer walk with the Lord, all you have to do is ask, and renew your commitment to the Lord. You are called to be filled with the Spirit, which means to be totally consumed with the Spirit of Christ. We are called to newness of life.

Romans 6:1-23

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When you are filled with the Spirit and you live in the way that Jesus would have you to live, you are free from the ravages of sin. Satan has no more hold on you, for you are now filled with the Spirit of Christ. But the Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman church for there were some who believed that once you are filled with the Spirit you can live a life of sin. This same attitude is prevalent today just as it was during the time of the apostles. As Paul wrote to the Romans is appropriate for us today.

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Published by: Rev. LeRoy D. Cressy (215) 535-4037

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Copyright © 2002 LeRoy D. Cressy
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