“That Christ may dwell in your
hearts through faith . . .” (Ephesians 3:17).
A good friend asked me, “Do you
feel you are adequately experiencing the presence
and power of the Holy Spirit?” That is a probing
question every Christian should pause and consider.
I firmly believe that every
born again believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit,
but not every believer is yielded to His control.
Our experience of His divine presence depends upon
our yielding to Him moment by moment. If the Holy
Spirit is to have a larger part of our lives we must
make a deliberate choice and allow Him to take
control.
The Spirit wants to fill our
lives so that Christ may settle down and make
Himself feel completely at home as a permanent
resident in our hearts (Eph. 3:17). Our prayer
should be that Christ would settle down, even now,
in our hearts and take control as the rightful
owner.
Imagine what it would be like
to experience the “fullness of God” (v. 19). Paul
was praying that we may be filled up to or unto all
the fullness that is in God Himself. That will not
take place until we stand complete and perfect in
the likeness of Christ at His coming, but it can be
our prayer and vision now. Paul was praying that we
would be filled and filled and filled and filled
forever, as God out of His infinite resources
increasingly pours Himself into His redeemed people.
David Brainerd wrote in his
diary April 21, 1742, “O My sweet Savior! Who have I
but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire
beside Thee.” Then he added, “If I had a thousand
lives, my soul would gladly have laid them all down
at once, to have been with Christ. My soul never
enjoyed so much of heaven before; it was the most
refined and most spiritual season of communion with
God I ever yet felt.”
Oh, for a mature, intimate love
relationship with Christ. The Holy Spirit always
points us to Him and in that a felt presence and
power that is wholly beyond man.
It is from that inner resource
of “the riches of His glory” that we are
“strengthened with power through His Spirit in the
inner man so that Christ may dwell in your hearts
and through faith. . .” (3:16-17).
The filling and control of our
lives by the Holy Spirit is not automatic. We are
baptized once when we believed on Christ as our
savior, but filled many times. It is a deliberate
choice we make each day. This empowering presence of
the Holy Spirit within us enables us to live an
abundant spiritual life.
“Do you feel you are adequately
experiencing the presence and power of the Holy
Spirit?” Why did you respond that way?
When He is in control, our
minds are set on the things above (Rom. 8:5).
Do you have a richer, fuller
desire to know the Lord Jesus Christ and fellowship
with Him? That is the work of the Holy Spirit in
your heart.
Who is in control of your life?
Have you made a conscious deliberate choice to let
the Holy Spirit be in charge of your life? Is He a
dynamic, shaping, controlling presence in your life
today? How can He become an ever-present reality in
your daily life?
Will you make a conscious
decision to let Jesus Christ rule your life from
this day onward? From that moment on begin each day
with a solemn commitment to let Him take control of
your life through out the day.
“Lord Jesus I give this day to
you. I make myself available to you to live Your
life in and through me. Take these hands and feet,
this tongue and these eyes, and let them express a
heart full of Thee. Here, come live in and through
me this day. I yield myself to You.”
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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