Sunday 18 December 2016

Strengthened by Might

Scripture: Ephesians 3 v 14 - 16:

"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened by might by His Spirit in the inner man."

Who can begin to fathom the riches of the glory of Jesus Christ? He grants us our full portion individually as well as to the whole family in heaven and on earth. Every sleeping saint, born again child of God now in heaven, every one of us alive today receive His strength in our inner man.

The inner man is our spirit that is seated with Christ in heaven. It is strengthened by the power of Jesus continually even as the vine has the sap running through it. In John 15 Jesus says He is the vine and His Father is the gardener. The sap in the vine is like the Holy Spirit - the sap is full of the powerful nutrients that produce and ripen the fruit. Without this sap the vine would wither and die.

So through the Holy Spirit the riches of Jesus are  poured into us to nourish us spiritually as we study the Bible, pray, praise and worship God. If we are not doing all of those things then the sap has stopped flowing and our fruit is not maturing.  The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, meekness, goodness, self-control, faith and gentleness, which is the very nature of Jesus being formed within us.

The reasons why we stop maturing are varied but here are a few:-

1) Through disobedience to God's Word in false doctrines twisting it out of shape.

2) Through carrying on in a worldly and offensive manner after being born again.

3) Through fear and unbelief which cause backsliding.

4) Through deliberate sin which grieves the Holy Spirit.

Repent of whatever your sap-stopping error may be and renew your mind according to His Word. Walk the Christian walk in faith and sincerity thereby pleasing Our Father and Jesus, and you will feel the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit flowing through your life again, producing the new wine that can be poured out to those who thirst for righteousness.

Prayer: Father God, let  us be strengthened by the might of Jesus in our inner man through the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Forgive us the sins and errors that stop this flow and cause us to wither shamefully on Your fruitful vine. Restore us to Your original settings.  In Jesus' name. Amen.