Today is the first day of Advent. We have three more weeks before we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Christ. How blessed we are that we can close each year with the birth of Jesus!

This morning for the first worship service at Grace Chapel, we welcomed a newcomer who happened to be a friend of one of our Elders. He has recently come up against a problem and a question, that concerns his life, that guided him to the church. We can't tell God's plans and guidances for people. He could bring such a person into your life. Be ready!

We have long been learning about the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit, which is also called the Second Blessing. After we are reborn, we continuously experience this blessed course in Christian life, and we find that we get closer and closer to Christ.

Look to the beginning of I Corinthians 3. Here, in this passage, we can find two different kinds of Christians; one, who belongs to the flesh, and another, who belongs to the Spirit. Those who are still infants can't eat solid spiritual food. The character of infants is self-centeredness. They can not be tactful; they can't think about what others around them need, or what might hurt them. It's okay, to some extent, to be self-centered, for little ones, but to be like that as a grown-up is terrible! This is how the people in Corinth were in those days. That's why Paul tried hard to fix their eyes onto Jesus.

Ro.8:5-8. Those who live according to their sinful natures always think about what their flesh desires, and this leads them to their deaths.

Ro.8:13. Those people have a certain possibility of turning from God once they have found Him and going back to the world.

Ga.5:19. How miserable we would be if our lives ended up like this! True, there are problems in the church, for it is a congregation of humans! Often, we find so-called Christians, half-flesh and half following the Spirit. It may happen that we Christians won't win the battle of life, because being so sinful, we have no real power and strength from God. We do it all ourselves, and wear out.

Ga.5:24. Paul, himself, suffered and suffered so much from his own ego! He suffered and suffered but - he won the victory! It can be done!

Ro.6:1-9. Here, Paul noticed and realized that our old egos were technically crucified with Christ on the cross. It was Jesus who was crucified, but it was also "us" who died on the cross. Jesus took our place, but it was OUR place He took! Suppose I were dead; even though you come to see me, kick me, beat me, I don't care at all. I am dead! I am unable to notice anything! If I were still alive, of course, things would be different. I would kick you back! Maybe even beat you up (!?) But, because I am dead, I will not react at all.

Paul was emphasizing that we have all died with Christ on that cross. We are completely identified with His dead body! See Ro.6:5,6. Since we have become unified to Christ in His death, we will also be unified with Him in His resurrected life! When we know this truth in our own lives, we can conquer the battle in life!

Ga.2:20. We call this part "the Christ that lives in us" or the "inner Christ". In having Christ in us, Christ who is living all the time, there is a blessed step of being sanctified. In each of us, Christ is living! One time a pastor said to another Christian, "my Christ living in me is greeting the Christ that is living inside you." No matter what enemies may try to take that Christ away, they cannot do it. It is impossible!

Ga.5:22. To love is something. It's easy to love those who love us, but, you have to admit that it is hard to love your enemies. Without the fruit of the Spirit, it is impossible to love others completely. To be thankful all of the time is, likewise, impossible, without the work of the Spirit.

Once, a lady, who had a terrible alcoholic husband, had a hard time being thankful for him. But, an interesting thing happened to her when she began giving thanks to God for him, things around her life began to change! Remember Jesus, who came down to earth in order to fulfill all those things - including the fruit of the Spirit!

Translated by Junko Okamoto - Edited for the Net by Shido
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