Growing Spiritually Part 2

All around the world, men and women, people of all ages, have witnessed the awesome manifestation of God's presence, power and His love, rendered in words, words beyond the written pages.
Why are we preaching like this?
Why do we travel all around the world, preaching the gospel?
Because Jesus is coming again.
and He left us with a message to tell the on-tones.
A message for the whole world.
This message of faith in God and His unfailing word has brought about change in the lives of millions around the world, an improvement that brings many more to such meetings with the Man of God, knowing that their lives will never be the same again.
Today, we bring you excerpts from a special meeting with our Man of God, Pastor Chris.
Pastor Chris, we're hearing.
Now, we're going to discuss something that's important to everyone of us.
Ephesians chapter 1,
from verse 17 into 18.
Can you read for me?
Want to go.

Beautiful.
Now, you keep that in mind and go over to chapter 4 from verse 11.
We're going to read 5 verses from verse 11.
Verse 11 again.

And 15.
All right, look at verse 15 one more time.

So his purpose is that we may grow up
into Him in all things.
God wants us to grow spiritually.
You know, there are people who have been Christians for many years but never grew.
They never grew.
And for a good many of them, they didn't even know
that they were expected to grow.
They didn't even know it.

Turn to 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 2.
As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby.
He is dealing with spiritual growth.
God wants us to grow.
He wants us to grow in the things of God.
In Matthew 16 and verse 18, it says, I will build my church.
I will build my church.
All right?
Build my church.
Build.
He didn't say, I will create my church.
He said, I will build my church.
That's very important.
I will build my church.
Acts chapter 20 and verse 32.
Book of Acts chapter 20 and verse 32.
He says, and now brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace.
I commend you to God and to the word of His grace which is able to build you up.
The word of God is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance.
Now what that means is to deliver the inheritance to you.
just like your lawyer.
Imagine that you have an inheritance and you can't claim it because you require some evidence, you require an attorney to go in for you, represent you before the courts, and help you get your inheritance.
You see, the lawyer didn't really give you the inheritance.
He helped you get it.
Jesus already gave us the inheritance.
The Father gave us the inheritance along with Jesus.
Because the Bible tells us, we are joint heirs with Christ.
Jesus made that possible.
But through the Word of God, you can get your inheritance.
Because the Word informs you, directs you, leads you.
And that's what the Holy Spirit enables you to do through the Word.
Now, let's look at a few things.
You're ready for this?
Tell three people I'm ready.
Yeah, glory to God.
How many of you have ever had a baby?

You remember when that baby started moving, turning the neck, you got excited.
When the baby moved, turn the other way, you got excited.
Before then, you had to turn the baby.
Now the baby can turn.
Oh, you were excited.
Then the baby started sitting up.
You said, my baby's sitting up.
You see, you were excited at the groats.
Groats is exciting.
Same thing spiritually when you are growing spiritually and you notice you're beginning to control your life.
You don't need somebody to turn you over.
You don't need someone to feed you.
Things are changing for you.
Now you can sit by yourself.
Now you can walk by yourself.
You can run around.
It means a lot.
growing from the babyhood stage to the childhood stage and to the manhood stage.
Very important.
The word of God teaches us about these realities and shows us how that the spiritual growth is very much like physical growth of the human body.
And the human person, glory to God.
You're still there?
All right.
Now, I want you to look at some things here or help you.
The Book of Job chapter 18 will read to verses 5 and 6.
This is the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine."
Now in Old Testament, every time you see the term wicked, the wicked, the wicked, the wicked, it's not talking about someone who is doing something wicked.
It's a description of a man or woman that is rebellious against the Word of God, deliberately
or ignorantly.
One who is non-conforming to the word is describe the Old Testament as the wicked.
Now, when he referred to those that didn't know God at all, he called them the heathen.
You understand?
So when it says, the light of the wicked shall be put out.
It's talking about that person who doesn't recognize God.
The people who forget God.
They don't think about God.
He is not a part of their life.
That's what he addresses here.
Now, to understand these two verses, we're going to come back here.
To understand this very well, I want you to go to Proverbs chapter 20 and verse number 27.
The spirit of man.
See, man is a spirit being.
You are not a physical body.
Your body is your domicile.
Your body is your house where you live.

But you're primarily a spirit being.
And now he tells you, your body is not your light.
It's your spirit.
That's where the light of God is.
That's where God communicates with you.
Not your brain, not your mind.
You know, often they say that man is a, some say he's a tripartite being, he's not a tripartite being really.
But there are certain expressions that seem to make him look like he's a tripartite being.
Because we say He got a spirit, a soul and a body.
But better definition of the human being will enlighten you much further than that.
Some of us say He's a triune being.
He's not a triune being.
He's a spirit being.
He has a soul and lives in a body.
But expressions like this, when you see the spirit of man, then you think, oh, man has a spirit.
Not really.
Man is a spirit.
He has a soul.
The soul is the seat of the mind, the emotions, and the will.
That's your intellect.
So with your soul,
You contact the intellectual world with your body.
You contact the physical world with your spirit.
You contact God and the spirit realm.
That's who it is.
Now it tells you the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.
The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.
God puts his light in your spirit.
There's where the Word of God goes.
Now, let's go back to Job chapter 18 from verse 5.
He says, yeah, the light of the wicked shall be put out.
Did you notice?
If it shall be put out, it means it was on before.
which means he was someone who had been given the light of God's Word.
And so he rejected it, turned away from God.
And so he says, the light of the wicked shall be put out.
So he's not talking about the heathen, the heathen doesn't have light at all.
Never heard it.
Let me read two things to you.
Can you go to Ephesians 4?
Let's take a look at verse 7.
Every one of us is given grace.
Now, go to Ephesians 4.
We'll look at verse 17.
I was going to verse 7, which I should take later.
But I want to read verse 17 in connection with the thought I was trying to pass across to you.
Are you there?
These eyes say therefore and testify in the Lord that he henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind.
Did you notice what he says?
In the vanity, the emptiness of their minds.
Read the next part.
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart.
You see, they never had the light of God.
I told you about the difference between the heathen and the one described as the wicked.
The wicked's the one who's supposed to have the light of God.
He's been informed of the things of God, but he's rebellious against God.
Okay?
So he says, the light of the wicked shall be put out.
He used to have light.
But the one who never knew God is in darkness completely.
He doesn't know anything about God.
He doesn't.
He has no clue.
He has no clue.
He may be religious, but his spirit is in darkness.
His understanding is darkened.
We're talking about spiritual understanding.
It's darkened.
Look at it.
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, how terrible this is.
How terrible, not to know God.
Not to know God.
How do they live?
I've asked myself several times, if I had not been born again, holding the world without being done with my life.
You know what it is to live without God, alienated from the life of God.

That's terrible.
If you've not been born again, that's the description.
And it's my prayer that before we're through today, you'd make a decision for Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah.
All right, so we'll go back to Job, Job 18, verse five.
This time we'll get into verse six, okay?
Yeah, the light of the wicked shall be put out and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
Terrible, verse six.
The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him."
Remember, the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.
Now, how can a man receive light?
Psalm 119 verse 130.

The entrance of thy words give it light.
It give it understanding onto the simple.
If the world got enters into your spirit, it'll give you light.
The entrance of thy words give it light.
It give it understanding onto the simple.
Entrance of thy words give it light.
When God's what gets into you, hallelujah, bring you light.
Amen.
This is wonderful, wonderful.
Proverbs chapter 24 and verse 20.

For there shall be no reward,
to the evil man, the candle of the wicked shall be put out."
There it is again.
Now Psalm 18 and verse 28, for thou would light my candle, the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness, glory to God, through the entrance of his word.
the word enters into you, it brings you light.
It brings you light.
Now, this will help you get into the first portion that we read at the beginning, Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 17.
He says, now he was praying for the Ephesian church
God's people in the church of Ephesus.
He is praying for them, and it was a spiritual prayer.
In other words, a prayer in spite of the Holy Ghost.
And the counting of that prayer was, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give on to you, grant you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.
Next verse.
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
You know, some people wonder, what is it?
Why are you a Christian?
They say, what's the difference between the religions of the world?
I mean, you can be in any religion, they're all the same.
Yes, all the religions are the same.
That's very correct.
The difference is, Christianity is not a religion.
Those who don't know what Christianity is think it's a religion.
But it's not.
But most people have been raised to think so.
Hallelujah.
All right.
So it's very important, many think Christianity is a religion because all their life long, when they were growing up, as they went to school, they went to work, they asked them, maybe they had to fill a form, and they said religion, and they wrote Christianity, or they said Islam, or whatever.
You see, so because everybody around them always said Christianity was a religion, they have this idea that Christianity is a religion,
Now anybody who thinks Christianity is a religion doesn't know what it is.
It's no religion.
Christianity is the poor setting life of Christ in a human person.
It is the outworking of divinity in humanity.
It is a revelation of Christ in you.
That's what Christianity is.
It's not at all a religion.
They think of Christianity as the worship of God through Jesus Christ.
No.
It's not.
It's not the same.
I is still there.
Christ Jesus literally lives in your spirit through the Holy Spirit.
The presence of God literally dwells in you.
This was man's craving from the very beginning.
Man has always craved a relationship with the divine.
That's the reason for all the religions of the world.
Man seek in a relationship with the supernatural being.
He believes is out there even though he's never met him.
That's the reason for creating the religions.
Men have created different religions in a bit of finding God.
But that's why Jesus came to make fellowship with God a possibility.
And he achieved it.
Glory to God.
It happened.
It worked.
It worked.
And through that fellowship, we were given eternal life.
Through that fellowship with Almighty God, the life and nature of God was imparted to the spirit of the man who received Christ.
That's the reason we preach the gospel.
He told us, preach the gospel.
In other words, tell them fellowship, relationship with Almighty God is possible.
Secondly, righteousness is possible and available.
And thirdly, eternal life is possible and available.
That's what the gospel is.
That's what he told us to tell the whole world.
He didn't tell us to try to get people into a religion called Christian religion.
Do you understand it?
It's very important.
It's Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Hallelujah.
So that's what the apostle is telling us here in Ephesians chapter 1.
Let's go back to verse 17, we'll read it into 18.
He says, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give on to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.
Revelation.
So you don't know God in the classroom.
You can't study about Him in the laboratory.
You can't.
God has to be revealed to your spirit.
It's a revelation.
See, every human being has the capacity, the ability to believe.
You believe with your spirit.
You don't believe with your brain.
You don't believe with your mind.
For example,
I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Why?
It's from my spirit.
The Bible says, with your heart, with your spirit, you believe.
You were made to have the ability to believe God's Word.
You choose to believe.
The beautiful thing in Christianity is that when you believe
You receive.
It works.
It works.
But when you don't believe, it cannot work.
Look at it.
Romans chapter 1, from verse 16.
Romans chapter 1, from verse 16.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God onto salvation to everyone that believe it.
It doesn't work for the one who doesn't believe.
But it is God's power to save everyone who believes.
Until you believe it, you cannot be saved.
This is God's power for salvation, for everyone who believes.
Praise God.
Oh, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
All right, so you go back to the visions chapter one, verse 17.
And the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.
The eyes of your understanding, being enlightened that you may know.
See, God wants you to know that you may know that you may know the word translated.
No, it's a do Greek a do.
It means to become aware.
You see,
To become aware.
It's the cognitive realization.
Very important.
To become aware.
God wants you to become aware.
That you may know what is the hope of his calling.
If I believe in Jesus, what is it about?
What do I get?
What's the meaning?
He says, you can know.
You can become aware.
The hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
The importance of all this.
It's the same thought expressed by John, 1st Epistle of Saint John, chapter 5 and verse 13.
John chapter 5, 1st John chapter 5 verse 13.
Look at it.
I want you to read it from the NIV.
Give it to us from the NIV.
He says, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Did you notice it's not a promise?
He didn't say that you may know that you are going to have.
No, no, no.
He wants you to know that you have because Jesus said, if you believe,
You have eternal life."
Now he says, I've written to you that you may know that you have.
I want you to know that you have.
He's writing to those who believe in the name of the Son of God.
He says, I want you to know that you have eternal life.
This is amazing.
I want you to know that you have.
Say, he doesn't want you to assume.
He wants you to know.
He wants you to be aware.
It's the same word.
Translated, know, hear, how you do.
Means to be aware.
He says, I want you to be aware that you have eternal life.
Now, you know, when you are aware of it, you're going to live like it.
You're going to act like it.
If you don't know,
You act like you don't have it.
But if you know that you have it, you're gonna live that way.
It's part of your growth.
Knowledge.
Learning about the things of God.
Knowing who you are, who you are.
Hallelujah.
Just so beautiful.
God's word is exciting.
Hallelujah.
Glory to God.
Exciting.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
What's eternal life?
Eternal life is the life and nature of God.
See, that's the life and nature of God.
That's the life Jesus had.
Go to verse 11 of the same book, same chapter.
And this is the testimony.
God.
This is beautiful.
God has given us eternal life.
This is in Christ Jesus.
He has given us.
He is not going to do it.
Some people think when we get to heaven, then we can get eternal life.
No, no, no.
He says, God has given us eternal life.
And this life is in His Son.
It's not in the religion.
It's in Jesus.
This life is in His Son, verse 12.
Anybody who has the sun.
Can you see it?
He who has the sun has life.
He who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Period.

So what life is that person living there?

Hm.
Go to Ephesians chapter 2.

From verse 11.
He says, whoever remember his, his reminding us what we were before we were born again.
That'll tell you
where someone is who's not born again, how God sees the one that's not born again.
He says, remember that he'd been in time past, gentiles in the flesh, who are called on circumcision by that which is called a circumcision in the flesh made by hands.
Say, all this was before you were born again.
There at that time he were without Christ.
Now think about it, the man that's without Christ.
Being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world is the most terrible thing for a man to live without God.
Look at it as a scripture, having no hope
He says, the strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
This is why I was so passionate about preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, letting me know what Jesus came to do.
He came to give us life.
In his own words, he says, I am come that they might have life, inhabit abundantly.
That's what Jesus said.
No hope without God in the world.
Who wants to keep living like that?
Is that the way we were before we were born again?
And you know, maybe in this room today, maybe someone invited you.
Maybe you just even worked in here yourself.
And you're not born again.
You haven't received the life and nature of God into your spirit.
You haven't received the salvation that Jesus came to make possible.
You can do that today.
You can receive eternal life into your heart, into your spirit today.
It's not difficult.
All of that will happen in a split second.
All that's necessary is for you to believe.
Hallelujah!
We trust that you have been blessed by this message.
If you would like to invite Jesus Christ to be the Lord of your life, kindly say this prayer, O Lord God, I believe with all my heart in Jesus Christ, Son of the living God.
I believe He died for me, and God raised Him from the dead.
I believe He's alive today.
I confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is the Lord of my life from this day.
Through Him and in His name, I have eternal life.
I'm born again.
Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul.
I'm now a child of God.
Hallelujah.
Congratulations!
You are now a child of God.
To receive more information on how you can grow as a Christian, please send us an email at salvationatloveworldvideos.com God bless you.

you