Pastor Jim Pogue opened his sermon by saying we have ways to measure how we are doing physically but what about spiritually? In order to know how we must know first that all 613 commandments of the Lord in the Old Testament were summed up to two commandments in the New Testament when Jesus said this in Matthew 22:37-39: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” We must know the Lord and believe in Jesus as it says in John 3:16 which says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not die but have eternal life.” We must believe in Jesus first in order to have eternal life! John 10:10 says: “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but I have come that you might have life and have life more abundantly.” The thief is Satan who hates you and wants to bring everything bad in your life but God through Jesus wants you to have life and life better than ever before!

How can we measure ourself spiritually after we get saved? Galatians 5:16-25 has the answer with these words: “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” When we keep in step with the Holy Spirit He will convict us when we go wrong and how we are doing. This will give us the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When we walk with the Holy Spirit day in and day out, He will be more and more manifest in our life! We can see from this how important it is to stay in step with Him. If we walk in the flesh we will see bad fruit in our life which makes us miserable and that bad fruit produces: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, and orgies, and if we live like this we will not inherit the kingdom of God. When you really belong to Christ Jesus you will crucify your flesh with its passions and desires daily and keep in step with the precious Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of Christ.

Luke 11:9-13 says: “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Notice the best gift Jesus wants to give us is the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who ask! Ask for the Holy Spirit to fill you and use you today! He has the best gift for you and loves you! Ask and you shall receive!

Don’t forget the National Day of Prayer this week on Thursday, May 3rd at 7 p.m. at the Kenedy Civic Center!