Spiritual and Spirit-Filled

I assume that the majority of you who are reading this blog are Christians. As such, I
would like to ask you a few questions:
 
1)  Do you understand that the only way to become a true Christian is to be born of the
Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:6-8; Gal. 3:26)?
 
2)  Have you been born of the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:16)?
 
3)  Do you understand that the only way to live a normal and healthy Christian life is to
be spiritual and Spirit-filled (I Cor. 2:11-3:3; Eph. 5:15-21)?
 
4)  Are you living a spiritual and Spirit-filled life?
 
If so, praise and glory be to God!  If not:
 
5)  Have you put much prayer and consideration into why not?
 
6)  Are you daily pursuing to be more spiritual and Spirit-filled?
 
7)  Do you have some idea of what it takes to live a spiritual and Spirit-filled life?
 
 
I write and ask these things out of a genuine concern and love for the Body of Christ, not
excluding myself. I also realize that this matter is somewhat relative and may be difficult
to give just a yes or no answer. At the same time, when we take a look at our daily lives,
it is probably somewhat obvious to us if we are spiritual and Spirit-filled or not. If we are
not, and realize it, but are actively pursuing to do so, that is good. What concerns me
most is that so many genuinely saved believers are not living spiritual and Spirit-filled
lives and are not even aware of it, not concerned about it, or don't know what to do
about it. This is a very serious matter.
 
Some indications that we are living a spiritual, Spirit-filled life:
 
We are typically joyful, peaceful, inwardly restful.
We are generally humble and meek, compassionate and forgiving.
We are not easily offended.
We are empowered and strengthened by the grace of God for whatever life brings.
Loving people is not hard.
We are able to treat well those who may not treat us the same.
We are always believing and hopeful in God's word according to His promises.
We live for God and His eternal purpose.
We minister to one another according to our giftings to build up the Body of Christ.
We feel blessed and rich regardless of our circumstances.
We are always thankful.
We enjoy fellowship with God daily and moment by moment.
We enjoy fellowship with the saints whenever possible.
People outside the kingdom are affected by who we are in Christ.
We bear fruit.
We are often convicted by the Spirit and enjoy confessing and forgiveness.  
Our hope is not in this world and the temporary things of this life.
We are godly and content.
 
Some indications that we are not living a spiritual, Spirit-filled life:
 
We are often anxious and bothered by many things.
We think more highly of ourselves than others.
We are condemning and judgmental.
We are not willing and find it difficult to forgive others.
We keep an account of how others may have wronged or offended us.
We feel "burned out" by life's demands including our participation in the church.
We gossip about others including the saints.
We are easily offended and think we are justified in being so.
We do unto others as they have done unto us.
We covet.
We have jealousy and evil ambition.
We put other things and people ahead of God and His eternal purpose.
We use most of our time, energy, resources, and talents for things other than God's
kingdom.
We live by sight, not by faith.
We are more concerned with pleasing men than God.
We barely know what it means to live in the presence of God.
Our inward condition is based upon our outward circumstances.
We murmur and complain inwardly and sometimes outwardly.
Building up the Body of Christ is not a priority in our lives.
Most people wouldn't know we are Christians if we didn't tell them.
We often feel condemned and do not have full assurance in the blood of Jesus.
We are either living in the past or for something earthly in the future.
We are rarely content with our circumstances.
 
There seems to be no end to either of the above lists. My intention is to give us some
impression of where we are as regards to a spiritual, Spirit-filled life.
 
If category one characterizes your life, praise God. Continue in your pursuing.
If category two characterizes your life, and you genuinely want that to change, the next
series of teachings will be with the hope that they will help you toward this goal.
 
One thing we should not deny: God desires us all to live a spiritual and Spirit-filled life
and He has done everything and provided us with everything to bring this about.