Ephesians 2:21
In Him the whole structure is joined (bound, welded) together harmoniously, and it continues to rise (grow, increase) into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, consecrated, and sacred to the presence of the Lord].

In Christ we are a part of a growing holy temple in the Lord. We are to be dedicated, and consecrated (set apart) unto God. We are in the world but no longer of the world, we are the light that now shines in the darkness. Every born again believer should be living a life dedicated to the Lord. You don’t become born again to remain the same as you were before. Receiving Christ, you also receive a new life and therefore a new lifestyle. To be a “Christian” means we are following after Christ Himself, walking in His example. There are four growth stages for the believer just as there are growth stages in the natural.

When you begin your walk with Christ you are born again and start the first stage which the Bible calls a convert in Christ. You begin to convert from the basic old ways of living to a new way of living. Your language and activities begin to change as you begin to look to Jesus the author and finisher of your faith. As you continue your walk with God you become a living letter known as an epistle, read by all men. You start looking like the letters written to the New Testament church as you learn who you now are in Christ.

Next as you continue growing in God you become a disciple in Christ. One who is disciplined in their walk of faith. Jesus said one of the signs of a disciple is obedience to His Word. Finally you mature into the ministry stage God has for you, which means you develop into your primary calling of God to serve Him. This does not mean you will necessarily be one who works full time in ministry, but you will serve Him with confidence in His calling for your life. We were born again to be set apart and grow up in God. Find your pastor and you can develop into the mature believer God has called you to be.
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https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-ymjed-ed44c1

God has placed a calling upon every believer. That calling is the same for all, but will be fulfilled in different ways based on the gifts God gives us. Find out more and choose to “Answer The Call” God has for you.

Isaiah 55:8
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

Jesus said in Mark 11:24 when you pray believe in your heart you receive what you have asked for and you shall have it. To do so you must get God’s Word, His Truth, settled in your heart, even when things around you may look contrary. What many believers do not realize is that when they choose to live by their own opinion of the Word of God, this will hinder their ability to get God’s Word settled in their hearts.

God’s thoughts are not the same as ours, and if you want to walk by faith you will have to change your thoughts to think like God. But when we choose to have our own opinion about things in the Bible that are clearly stated, this will also hinder us in taking God at His Word concerning His promises, for a little leaven will leaven the whole lump. As a believer you are not to have your own opinion about the Word, following after your thoughts instead of what God says. To choose your own opinion, living they way you want to, is going to rob your faith.

When you become born again you have been bought with a price and you now belong to God. Your opinions are only going to hinder you from walking in God’s best. For example scripture clearly teaches we are to have a pastor and be connected with a church body, yet many believers do not obey this truth. Choosing our opinion over the Word hinders having that Word settled in our hearts. You should live by the following truth; if God’s Word says it, I believe it, and that settles it. When you stop living by your opinion of God’s Word and take everything He has said as the way to live and believe, your faith will become stronger.
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Romans 8:14, 16
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

When we receive Christ we receive the Holy Spirit to come and live in us. One of the primary purposes of the Holy Spirit is to be our guide, leading us in the will of God for our life. He leads us by bearing witness with our spirit. Believers often look for guidance every other way instead of the way God said it would come. God does not guide us through outward circumstances, but through His Word, and through the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:16 tells us that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit, the inner man, the real you. For you are a spirit who has a soul and lives in a body. Jesus said that we would have a Helper in the Holy Spirit, and the way we would know if we are going in the right direction or not would be revealed by an inner peace or a lack of peace. When we are making decisions in line with His will there will be this inner peace that lets us know we are headed the right direction. But when we miss it with God then we will have an agitation or a check in our spirit, which reveals we are not in the will of God.

The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of truth. The Bible tells us that the Spirit and the Word agree. We know when we are being led by the Holy Spirit because it will always be in line with His Word, for God’s Word is Truth. So learn to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit who has been sent to guide you in this life and you can walk in the plan God has for you.
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Ephesians 1:11
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,…

Every child of God has obtained an inheritance. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus. The children of Israel were given an inheritance in the promise land but they had to go in and possess that inheritance, even though it was already theirs. They did not enter into their promise land because of unbelief. You possess your inheritance living by faith, believing in God’s Word, speaking in line with God’s Word, and acting as if God’s Word is true because it is. You begin by developing faith in your inheritance.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You must listen to and meditate on God’s Word until it becomes real to your inner man, your spirit. As you do you gain understanding of what is rightfully yours. Faith is present tense, for Hebrews 11:1 says now faith is. Faith is not past tense, nor future tense, but present tense. When someone says I believe God will heal me that is not faith for that is future tense. God’s Word says by His strips you are healed, so you must believe it is so in your heart now.

Romans 4:17 says that God calls those things which be not as though they were. Once you have faith from God’s Word as to what is yours, you imitate your heavenly Father by saying what God’s Word says, not what your circumstances say. This is where action comes in. 2 Corinthians 4:18 tells us we do not look at the things that are seen, but at what is not yet seen. Faith does not deny the existence of a problem, it just does not focus on the problem but instead focuses on what God’s Word says, for this is the source of our faith. All who are born again have an inheritance awaiting them, all they have to do is posses it by faith.
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https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-tmkxg-ecd61b

God has placed a calling upon every believer. That calling is the same for all, but will be fulfilled in different ways based on the gifts God gives us. Find out more and choose to “Answer The Call” God has for you.

Romans 8:14-15
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, …

The very moment you are born again you receive a new spirit man within, the new you. That new spirit man does not have fear within it, because fear leads to bondage. Bondage is exactly what the devil wants. His desire is to keep you bound by fear. In doing so he can mislead you and take advantage of your life through deception. This is the path he desires for you to walk in, and one of the ways he leads you down that path is through fear.

It begins by getting you to make a decision based on fear. Whenever you begin to make choices based on fear, you are now going down a deceptive path. You may think you are doing the right thing because of what you are being told or have heard, but if the decision you make is because you are afraid, this will open you up to further deception. Now you are more easily deceived by what you are hearing, even common sense is no longer applied, for you are walking in deception.

When you are deceived you don’t know it or you wouldn’t be deceived. You may think you are making wise choices but don’t realize you are being mislead. This is why you must make your decisions in life based on God’s Word. Many think they are, but if you have any fear working in you, those decisions are not based on the Word. God’s Word brings a confident assurance, for His Word is Truth. Never base your decisions on fear, no matter what man may say, but based on the Word, and you will not be lead down this deceptive pathway.
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https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-py4xv-ecb8aa

God has placed a calling upon every believer. That calling is the same for all, but will be fulfilled in different ways based on the gifts God gives us. Find out more and choose to “Answer The Call” God has for you.

Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace …

Through Christ we are redeemed through the blood He shed for us. Redemption means liberation by the procurement of a ransom. There are three primary things we have been redeemed or liberated from. The first is spiritual death. Spiritual death means to be separated from God, who is life itself. Being separated from God man no longer found his identity in the Creator, but in creation itself. But now redeemed we are reunited with our Father and therefore our worth (our value) can be found in Him and nothing else.

We have also been redeemed from sickness and disease. Jesus did not just bear our sins and the punishment our sin deserved, He also bore our sickness, for by His stripes we are healed (1 Peter 2:24). He also redeemed us from poverty for 2 Corinthians 8:9 declares that He became poor that we might be made rich. Rich means to have more than enough. God wants us to be blessed so we can be a blessing helping those in need, showing His love for them, but we can’t do that if we are poor.

Scripture teaches us that the redeemed of the Lord should say so. This is one of the most important keys to walking in our redemption. You need to start declaring according to His Word who you are in Christ, what you have in Christ, and what He says you can do through Him. According to God’s Word you are His child, you are healed, and you are blessed. Life and death are in the power of the tongue, so let the redeemed of the Lord start declaring their liberty by agreeing with God’s Word. Proclaim who you are, what you have, and what you can do in Him.
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Ephesians 6:10
In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].

In the Lord is where a believer can find all the strength they need, the strength to face and overcome any challenge in life. It didn’t say be strong in yourself, but in the Lord. In Ephesians 6, it goes on to tell us to put on the whole armor of God so we can be strong and stand against our enemy. It begins with the belt of truth. Equip yourself with a clear understanding of the truth of God’s Word by living in the Bible and applying what you learn.

Next put on the breastplate of righteousness, living a life of integrity, listening to your heart and obeying your conscience (the voice of your spirit man). Walk in the gospel of peace. Wherever you go, be a bearer of good news, sharing what God’s Word says and you will walk in peace. Take up the shield of faith by continually hearing the Word preached with a reverence and a hunger for God.

Put on the helmet of the hope of your salvation, never forgetting of what is to come when Christ returns. Finally take the sword of the Spirit, which is speaking God’s Word, especially when circumstances come against you. Declare what God has said and therefore use your sword to change those circumstances. We have been given all we need to be strong in the Lord. It is up to us to live in the armor we have been given.
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