The Apostle Paul gives us both a command and a promise in this one verse. The command is to walk in the Spirit. The promise is, if we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill or live for the lust of the flesh. We are going to either live for Jesus or for our own selfish desires. The former leads to life and the latter to death. How do we walk in the Spirit? Dr. Stanley stated, "To walk in the Spirit is to live moment by moment in dependency upon Him, sensitive to His voice and in obedience to Him." What a powerful statement! We are to walk with God moment by moment. As a follower of Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit, I am to walk and be aware of the Spirit in my life. To live a godly life is so much more than going to church every Sunday and praying a little; no, that is not it. True Christianity is living in the Holy Spirit where He has possession of us. Living in the Spirit means Him living through us, walking moment by moment with Him, dependent on Him, sensitive to His voice. The result? We will live powerful, godly lives of obedience. This is the Christian life.
One of the key and practical ways we walk in the Spirit is that we obey the initial promptings of the Spirit. The Spirit gives guidance and directs. He will impress us to go here and not go there, say this or do not say that. He gives strong inclinations. When the Spirit of God prompts you, obey! Do it when He says to do it. Rebellion is not doing what He tells you to do. We have the power of God living in us to enable us to do all that God asks of us. Think about this: the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you (
Romans 8:11) if you are a follower of Jesus, someone sealed by the Holy Spirit (
Ephesians 1:13-14).
I will close this week's devotions on the Holy Spirit with some practical teaching. First, be filled with the Holy Spirit. One of the prayers I pray every day without exception is this one: "Holy Spirit I recognize I need to be filled with you. I repent of my sins. I request that You fill me with Your presence and power. I receive Your filling." (I learned this prayer from Dr. Roy Fish.)
Dr. Stanley offers this practical advice: We win the battle by yielding to the Spirit.
Colossians 3:1-2 says to have a mindset on righteous things. Set your mind on things above. How do you do that? Before you get out of bed, say, "Today, Father guide me, help me listen to You, make me sensitive to those around me." Start the day with this mindset. The Holy Spirit will empower you to live victoriously in Christ and empower you to say no to temptation and yes to Jesus every single time! Child of God, trust the Holy Spirit, rely upon Him, acknowledge Him; this is the only way to live with real peace and joy.
Next, everyday pray that the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, would be operative in your life. Finally, put in practice the gifts of the Spirit. For me, those gifts are teaching, preaching, serving, leading, prophesying, and being an evangelist.
Thanks for praying for us at DFEA. To learn more about our ministry you can go to dfea.com. You can also send in a prayer request to:
pray@dfea.com
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