LIVING BY THE SPIRIT

To live by the Spirit is to be “in step” with the Spirit, to follow God’s leading and remain in His control. It is a life governed by the Holy Spirit of God and set on what the Spirit desires. Those who live according to the Spirit, walk after the Spirit. If a person is not living in tune with the Holy Spirit of God he or she will be controlled by the flesh. When the bible talks about the “flesh” it is simply describing the inner tendency that everyone feels to be pulled toward sin and self. Unfortunately, it can only be overcome by the Holy Spirit.

The basic disposition or direction of a Christian’s life is pitched either on God’s side or on the side of sinful human nature. The sinful nature and the indwelling Spirit are in conflict and so cannot work together (Gal. 5:17); and the bible has clearly stated that “. . .two people cannot walk or work together, unless they are in agreement”

God’s assurance to us is that “if we strive to live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, powered by the indwelling and power. of the Holy Spirit our weak, sinful bodies “will never manifest the desires of the flesh.” God declared through the Prophet Ezekiel what will happen to us, when we pitch our tent with Him.

“. . . . I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. I’ll also pull you out of that stinking pollution and  command surrounding nations to bow before you, treat you with utmost respect and never be able to hold you in contempt again”‘  I’ll give personal orders to the wheat fields to grow bumper crops for your land and field crops to flourish, once again . . . and then you’ll think back over your terrible lives – the evil, the shame – and be thoroughly disgusted with yourselves, realizing how badly you’ve lived – indeed, all those obscenities you’ve carried out You’ll again, be my people! I’ll be your God!  (Ezekiel 36:24-28)

The real secret of success or victory in living the Christian life is to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance and receive His empowering.  So, as Christians, we must be self-disciplined enough, not only in our physical dispositions, but even in our thoughts. Our mind is so much a part of everything we do and it is difficult to discipline it. We must therefore not lose focus and allow the prowling devil to win that inner war and battle for our mind; by using our thinking as a weapon to bewitch, take over, manipulate, dominate and eventually defeat us (spiritually) before devouring us.

Although every believer in some unexplainable way (known only to God) begins “walking in the Spirit” the moment they place their trust in Christ for salvation, they are constantly admonished to sustain that tempo of a new life, by ‘living in the Spirit” under the lordship of Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.  In the same way, the fact that the Holy Spirit produces the spiritual fruit in our lives, we are equally admonished to bear fruit.  The person who is genuinely saved has a new and divine nature that  is, by definition, attuned to God’s will.

So the final word is : Walk by the Spirit and live in victory. As you take this all-important decision of living a Spirit-controlled life, it will confer on you, an inner and outer transformation of life that no earthly code of ethics can ever match, give you peace and make you prosperous.

GO OUT THIS WEEK, SHINE AS LIGHT  AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHEREVER YOU GO !!!

SHALOM