Thus far we have became acquainted and hopefully befriended the 3rd Person of the Godhead.. The Holy Spirit. We discussed how the Holy Spirit empowers us to do the work of the Lord and advance His kingdom on Earth. But you may be asking: how does that look, how do I know that the Holy Spirit is within me, and what do I need to do to be empowered by this powerful Person? 1st we need to learn “how” to surrender all to the Holy Spirit and 2nd we need to learn and understand “how”to walk in the spirit. Surrendering “All” to the Holy Spirit is crucial if we desire to live a victorious, undeated live on Earth. Jesus wants our entire heart, not half of it, some of it; He commands to be first in our lives. Therefore, to this end, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is about living in alignment with God’s will and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide and empower us in every aspect of our life. Romans 8:14 attests “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God”. The children of God are led by His Spirit. Let me re-iterate, every born again believer have the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit does not have every born again believer. Take a moment to think about that statement and ask yourself ; do the Holy Spirit have me? Before you answer , let’s explore what it means for the Holy Spirit to have you.
To walk in the Spirit means we yield to His control, we follow His lead. We surrender our thoughts, desires, will, plans to His will, His plans and purpose for our lives. We joyfully surrender to Him, because He knows what is best for us and His plans and purposes for us are good and peaceful ( Jeremiah 29:11). The Holy Spirit gives us new life to be obedient to God; we have been translated from the power and control of sin and darkness. We have a choice to yield to God’s sovereign control and influence over our lives through the Person of the Holy Spirit or decide to continue to walk in the old manner of the former sinful man (who we once were), the choice is now ours! When we walk and are led by the Holy Spirit, we are relying on the Spirit to guide us in thoughts, words, deeds and actions. We are not leaning to our own understanding which is finite, we learn to rely on the infinite wisdom and power of God.
Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit requires a firm belief that God is at work in and through us, empowering us to live a life that honors Him and reflects His glory. A primary function of the Holy Spirit is to sancify us; meaning he separate us, He set us apart for His own personal use. His holy fire consumes the “old nature” and He creates within us a heart that is pleasing to Him. We must remember that God works from the “inside” outside”. However, this all depends on how willing we are to allow the Holy spirit to work within us. God does not force Himself upon us, He desires for us to willingly and lovingly invite Him in and totally surrender to His control. When we surrender to His Spirit, we will begin to witness true transformation of our lives. Many maybe wondering “why” I am not seeing anything different in my life, “why” am I still fulfilling the desires of the flesh, “why can’t I kick this addiction , why don’t I love my neighbor etc. Have you totally surrendered your life to Jesus, have you given Him control over every aspect of your heart. Yes, this is a process, it doesn’t happen over night and it is ongoing. Signs that you are walking in the Spirit, is when you begin to see your character gradually change from glory to glory! You begin to see yourself displaying Christ-like attributes.
The more we surrender to the Holy Spirit control, the more He will develop our character into the image of Christ. As a believer, our goal is “not” to strive to do better, but to “surrender” to the power of the Holy Spirit. Our Christ-like character is developed through the sancification and transformation process and it is all done by the work of the Holy Spirit within us. As we develop a lifesyle of walking in the spirit, we will begin to see a manifestation what Galatians 5:22-23 refers to as the “fruit of the Spirit. Just as a tree does not strive to bear fruit, a christian does not strive to bear the “fruit of the spirit”. As listed in Galatians 5:22-23 the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Our strive is to cultivate and deepen our relationship with the Holy Spirit; and bearing fruit is a result of that intimacy. Walking in the Spirit is constantly and consistently being filled with the Holy spirit through prayer, studying the word, praise and worship to God. Living a lifestyle totally surrendered to the Holy Spirit, will decrease the sinful appetites of the flesh, our flesh will no longer have dominion over us . We are now free to love, honor and serve God and well as serving humanity!
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I invite you to open your heart and invite Him in. Whosoever call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved Romans 10:13. Untill next time, God bless you and continue to Walk in the Spirit!!
