Spiritual living and growth: Your flesh begins to die when you deny yourself. You put God and His ways first in your life, and the Holy Spirit begins to win the battle over the flesh. The flesh slowly dies and loses its power to control you and manipulate you. You are no longer in bondage to your flesh, and you begin to experience true freedom living for Christ! Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17 NIV).
All Christians have God’s Spirit dwelling in them. When you are living according to the Spirit, you follow the Spirit’s leading. Colossians 3:16-17 (NLT) says Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. When you are being led by the Spirit (walking in the Spirit, filled with the Spirit) your words, actions, thoughts, and attitude reflect those of Jesus Christ. You words will be loving, uplifting, encouraging, and truthful. You will be focused on God and not yourself. You will meditate on the Word of God. Your actions will reflect God’s ways. Your daily life will honor and glorify God.
The reality of the work of God’s Spirit in your life is evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit displayed in your daily activities. Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV) says But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. As a believer, the fruit of the Spirit dwells in you. Just like any good fruit, it takes time to develop. When it is cultivated and cared for, the fruit will release a wonderful, delicious flavor to those who partake of it. You should have the same effect on those you are around as God develops His fruit in you. They will have a wonderful experience as they partake of God’s Spiritual fruit working through you.
Romans 8:12-16 (NIV) says Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. The flip side of living according to the Spirit is living according to the flesh. When you are in the flesh, you are serving your own selfish wants, needs, and sinful desires. When you live according to the flesh, you are living according to what YOU think, how YOU feel, and what YOU want. It’s all about YOU! You actually believe your way is BETTER than God’s ways, and you think you know what’s best! It’s all selfishness and foolishness! In the long run, it will only lead to misery, disappointment, emptiness, and failure. Serving your flesh results in sin which is disobedience to God. Thankfully, because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on your behalf, you can repent of your sin and ask God for forgiveness and He promises to forgive you (1 John 1:9).
CONCLUSION
Philippians 1:6 (NIV) says Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. God is your loving Father and you are His child and He wants you to stay on the path of righteousness He has laid out for you. As God’s Spirit continues to work in you, you will grow, develop and mature. You will become more and more Christ like with each passing day. As you conform to the image of Christ, you are able to do greater and greater works to the glory of God. When this happens, you will be a Champion of Christ and you will be LIVING THE VICTORY by the power of the Holy Spirit!
Go Live The Victory!
