Galatians 5:16-25
What does it mean to be led by the Holy Spirit?" (Gal. 5:25) Living by the Spirit… 1. Gives life to every human being (Gen. 2:7; Ps. 104:29-30). Thus, all people are sons and daughters of God. 2. Convicts of sin (Jn. 16:7-11). This is similar to or perhaps the same as the human conscience. The Spirit shows us our sin and convinces us it is wrong. 3. Guides us to truth and enables us to have faith in Jesus (Jn. 14:6; 16:13-15; Eph. 2:8). 4. Makes us spiritually alive in a renewed relationship with God (Jn. 3:1-8,16; 7:37-39; 20:19-23). That is, the Spirit makes us born again. 5. Seals us in Christ, and gives power to resist sin and to live at peace (Rom. 8:1-6,9; Gal. 5:16; Eph. 1:13; 4:30). 6. The Holy Spirit produces "fruit", i.e., beautiful qualities in our life and is the source of divine qualities that believers can exhibit. (Gal. 5:22-23; 2 Pet. 1:2-3) 7. Helps us pray (Rom. 8:26-27; 1 Cor. 14:2,18; Eph. 4:18). Not just asking for something every time we pray. 8. Gifts and empowers us for Christian service (1 Cor. 12; Rom. 12:3-8; 15:18-19; Eph. 4:11-16). 9. Empowers us to fight evil (Eph. 6:10-20, see esp. vv. 17-18 Sword of the Spirit, pray in the Spirit). "Since we live by the Spirit" (a fact)… "Keep in step with the Spirit" (your part) Keeping in step with the Spirit: > Living by the Spirit is living in a new way (Titus 2:11-14). It means to say 'No' to evil and 'Yes' to good/right, being eager to do good. > God doesn't need to show up, since he's always with us. We need to show up by listening to the Holy Spirit. > The grace of God is not just pardon of our sins but also a dynamic work of the Holy Spirit as it changes us. > The Holy Spirit shows us how to live generally, so we need to step up with Him. > A journey filled with many little "yeses" to the Spirit every day becomes a Spirit-led life over time. Your part to keep growing in your relationship with God is to keep saying "Yes" to God the Father, "Yes" to Jesus, and "Yes" to the Holy Spirit every day, in every way that fits with however God is speaking and calling to you. We cannot expect God to change others. We can focus on changing ourselves and asking God to change us. No matter what, we can still choose our response (how God wants me to respond). In every painful ordeal, we need to make decisions. How has the Spirit been speaking to you? What's your next step going to be? Come join us at our English service of the International Church in Yangon! Comments are closed.
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July 2022
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