LIFE THROUGH THE SPIRIT

Have you ever worried about whether or not you really are a Christian? A Christian is anyone who has the Spirit of God living in him. If you sincerely trusted Christ for your salvation and acknowledged him as Lord, then the Holy Spirit has come into your life, and you are a Christian. All believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This does not necessarily mean that all believers are filled, or controlled by, the Holy Spirit. Indwelling is NOT filling

The Holy Spirit frees us from sin

“Not guilty; let him go free”---what would those words mean to you if you were on death row? The fact is that the whole human race is on death row, justly condemned for always breaking God’s holy Law. Because believers died with Christ, the law has no more power to condemn the believer for violation of God’s standards.

Hear the Word of God

Romans 8:1-17

Therefore, there is now no condemnation(repeat) for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation(debt)—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”(repeat) 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Holy Spirit

WE can divide people into two categories—those that let themselves to be controlled by their sinful nature (carnally minded, of the flesh) and those who follow after the Holy Spirit. If it wasn’t for Jesus we would all be the first category.

Galatians 5:16

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

‘Walk by the Spirit,’ Paul had said to the Galatians, ‘and you will by no means fulfil the desire of the flesh’ . The Holy Spirit describes the life of victory and hope lived by those who ‘are in Christ Jesus’ (verse 1) and ‘walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit’ (verse 4).So long as we rely on our own resources, we fight a losing battle; when we avail ourselves of the resources of life and power that are ours ‘in Christ Jesus’, we are more than conquerors. There is therefore no reason why we should go on in a life of penal servitude, bound to carry out the dictates of the tyrannical law of sin and death. Christ dwells in us by his Spirit, and his Spirit infuses into us a new principle—the law of life—which is stronger than indwelling sin and sets us free from its tyranny.

Romans 8:1–2

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Condemnation: Refers to the penalty for sin, separation from God.

The question naturally arises, Must a believer spend his whole life on earth frustrated by ongoing defeats to indwelling sin? Is there no power provided to achieve victory? The answer to the first question is no and to the second, yes. In Romans chapter 8, Paul described the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God who is the source of divine power for sanctification and the secret for spiritual victory in daily living.

We are redeemed from the power of sin in this life when we allow the Holy Spirit to control us (filling of Spirit). We will be redeemed from the very presence of sin at the second coming when the Lord Jesus takes us away to be with Himself. The spirit of God is the guarantee that we will be kept to on that glorious day. Confirmation of this can be found in 1 Peter 1:5 .

1 Peter 1:5

5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

There is possibly no clearer truth in the New Testament than that the believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:16

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

Remember I said that indwelling is NOT filling of the Holy Spirit for the indwelling Spirit is faith in Christ as our Savior, not our behavior. The filling of the Holy Spirit has to do with our behaviour. His indwelling is a permanent matter. (Romans 8:5)

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Sin does not expel the Holy Spirit from our lives, but without fail it will bring conviction to our hearts. What does it mean to “bring conviction to your heart”? Substitute the word heart with the word consciences. For if every time we sin the Spirit was to leave us, we would be without conviction and without life. we would have to be reborn over and over again. Every time we sin it is the filling with the Holy Spirit and the power that is affected by sin, not the indwelling. The evidence of the indwelling Spirit is not our experience but the Word of God. He declares it, and that should settle it. He cannot lie. He would not deceive us. We are not to look for fruit as the evidence of the indwelling, but we are to believe God. The fruit of the Spirit on the other hand, will be witnessed when we are controlled (filled) by the Holy Spirit.

But how do we recognize the Spirit’s guidance? How do we discern between our own thoughts and His leading? After all, the Holy Spirit does not speak with audible words. Rather, He guides us through our own consciences (Romans 9:1) and other quiet, subtle ways.(Romans 9:1)

(Romans 9:1)

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—

We first must recognize that the Holy Spirit is a person.

The Personality of the Holy Spirit

· Member of the Trinity

a. not an influencer but Divine Person

b. we should be in constant submission

· Must have knowledge. He must know things. 1 cor 2:10,11

(1 Corinthians 2:10–11)

10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

· Holy Spirit has a will. He has a volition of His own and desires to use us. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 describes the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. He distributes these gifts among believers as He desires, not as we desire. Keep this in mind.

1 Corinthians 12:7–11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

• Scripture tells us that the Holy spirit has a mind.

• The Holy Spirit has love as one of His attributes Romans 15:30.

Romans 15:30

30 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

(Romans 8:26–27)

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Our salvation depends as much on the love of the Holy Spirit as it does on the love of the Father and of the Son.

The Holy Spirit can be grieved. This demonstrates and proves His personality.

One of the most important ways to recognize the Holy Spirit’s guidance is with God’s Word. The Bible is the ultimate source of wisdom about how we should live. We are to search the Scriptures, mediate on them, and commit them to memory.

2 Timothy 3:16

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

We must test our desires or inclinations against Scripture. The Holy Spirit will never prod us to do anything contrary to God’s Word. If it conflicts with the Bible, then is not from the Holy Spirit and should be ignored.

We must also be in continual prayer with the Farther.

1 Thessalonians 5:17,18

17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Prayer keeps our hearts and minds open to the Holy Spirit’s leading, it also allows the Spirit to speak on our behalf.

10 year old Noah’s story

About seven years ago my grandson, whose name is Noah, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. This tumor appeared on his skull and had my family really concern. My daughter in law took him to the doctor in Kansas City and they discovered that this tumor was small and could be removed. So, he had a little surgery on his skull, so they scraped off the tumor and sent it to pathology for testing. The results came back benign, thank God. They were told that Noah would have to come back for cat scans of his head to make sure that the tumor had not come back. The doctors said that Noah would have to continue these cat scans for the next year to make sure that it did not come back. Well, it came back. This time it was a little bit more serious from the cat scans. The tumor had started growing inside his skull instead on the outside of it. You can guess how serious that could be. So, the doctors decided that surgery was in order again. This time though they said that it was probable that they would have to remove a rather good portion of skull. This was to make sure that they got the seed of the tumor out. He would have to stay in the hospital 5 days.

The entire family from both sides arrived in Kansas City Children's Hospital to be with my son and daughter-in-law during this trying time. We were all gathered in the surgery waiting room, where the staff held patients before they went into the operating room. Noah was petrified. You could see it on his face. The rest of us were smiling and joking and carrying on trying to relax him. When it came time for him to go into the OR everybody came by his bed to wish him well and tell him how much they loved him. I was sitting next to his bed listening to all the other family members say their things to him. I was thinking to myself about what I could say to this boy that would put his mind and heart to rest. So, I quieted my mind and listened for the Holy Spirit to speak to me. Nothing came to mind. So, when it came my turn, and I was the last one to talk to Noah, I sat on the edge of his bed looked him in the eye and opened my mouth not knowing what was going to come out. The first thing that came out of my mouth was “Noah, I envy you.” To say he and I looked confused was an understatement. Then I said, “You are about to become part of a God moment. Do not be afraid, I am going to tell you exactly what is going to happen when you go in that room.” (At this moment I didn't know if the Holy Spirit was telling Noah not to be afraid or me. My guess is it was for me.) I continued, “once they roll you into that room you will see that everybody is wearing a mask do not be afraid. They will wrap a blood pressure cup around your arm, and then they will clean off your arm and put an IV in your arm. Again, do not be afraid it will not hurt. They will speak to you in a nice tone. You are going to feel sleepy and then you will go to sleep. Now all the doctors while you are asleep will gather around you. They will start their operation by shaving your head, and then making a small cut where they did the last time. The surgeon will then peel back skin to see your skull. And then at this point the surgeon will look up at the other doctors and look over on the wall where the X ray of your skull will be then he will look back at your head and will be confused. He will look around at the other doctors and ask, “where is the tumor?” All the doctors will look around at each other confused and astonished. The surgeon then will say “Well we're going to scrape a little of it off and send it to pathology.” and then they are going to sew your little head back up and start to wake you up. Then Noah, you will get to go home today.

So, we all went down to the surgery waiting area. My daughter in law was extremely upset and crying a lot. I tried consoling her as best I could. We waited about maybe 45 minutes before they called us into the conference room after the surgery. We all were sitting in the comfortable chairs and cushions and waited to hear what this surgeon was going to say. He started out by saying that the surgery went well they had no problems. But without much explanation he said they could not find the tumor that they went ahead and scraped off some of the skull for testing but that they just sewed him back up and as soon as he wakes up you all can take him home.

They had to help me up off the floor. Then we all just looked around at each other and praised God.

This is not the work of man but the work of God upon man.

This is another way to tell if we are following the Spirit’s leading.. Look for signs of His fruit in our lives.

Galatians 5:22–26

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

It’s important to note that we have the choice whether or not to accept the Holy Spirit’s guidance. A desire to follow our own way (flesh) grieves the Spirit.

I was married 23 years to my first wife before she passed away. She was my soul mate. I was destroyed. I suffered panic attacks for the first time in my life. If you have never suffered a panic attack it is one of the most frightening things to go through. Loss of breath, inability to walk, inability to think.

Six months after she died, I remarried. This marriage lasted 19 years. Then one day I got served divorce papers by the County Sheriff. This affected me profoundly. I could feel myself becoming anxious again. So, I decided to go for a walk thinking I could calm down and think better. I made it as far as the backyard before an anxiety attack struck.

So here I was on the ground in the backyard trying to calm myself down. I was failing. So, I threw my arms up to heaven turn my eyes towards God. I yelled to God, “Father I can’t do this, I can’t go through this again without help. I surrender myself to your Holy Spirit. Guide me, help me to do the right thing.”

What happened next is hard to explain. I was on all fours when I felt that someone was putting their arms under mine and lifting me up. A strange and little frightening calm and peace came over me. In that moment I knew God was there with me. I found myself standing and walking with a new found since of power that I was going to be alright. I continued my walk for a few blocks then returned to my house. The first thing I did was go over to our DVD storage and removed movies that I knew my, so to be ex-wife liked. I got a box and packed them in along with other things that she had left behind when she left me.

This went on for a few weeks as I collected family air looms that I knew she wanted, and mail addressed to her. I took these things to my sister-in-law where she was staying.

I went to get a lawyer and found one in Neosho. I told him that I wanted to make this a clean and speedy divorce. Also, I wanted this to base in Christian beliefs. Found out my lawyer was a man of deep faith.

My point here is if I had done things the way my flesh desired, I would not be here right now. I would be in prison. During this time, I slept like a baby at night, had a good appetite, and was generally in a decent mood. The Spirit guided my thoughts, my speech.

Ephesians 4:30–32

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Habitual sin will cause us to miss what the Holy Spirit wants to say to us through the Word. Being in God’s will, turning from and confessing sin, and making a habit of prayer and the study of God’s word will allow us to recognize and follow the Spirit’s leading.

THE MOST EXCELLENT WAY

1 Corinthians 12:31

31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

The apostle is pointing out that the fruit of the Spirit supersedes the gifts of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is described in Galatians 5:22,23 (slide 15) and may be summarized in one word—love.

The love talked about here, however, is not mere human love. Love is a common word among us today and is often used carelessly along with the word miracles. But the love of the Spirit is beyond human attainment. It is a divine love according to Romans 5:5

Romans 5:5 (NIV)

5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Nothing within the pages God’s Word gives more helpful teaching concerning the truths of the Holy Spirit than the parable of the Vine and the Branches.

John 15:4–5

4 Abide in me, as I also abide in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must abide in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me.5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Picture a branch grafted into the vine, in the springtime. As soon as the union is complete, the branch receives the life of the vine, which begins to pulsate through it. This illustrates the believers receiving the Holy Ghost, through union with Christ by faith, at the time of his conversion. Suppose now some obstruction in the channels of the branch which checked the flow of SAP, so that although the branch had received yet, it has not filled. The moment this is removed the branch is filled with the life of the vine. This picture is the believer who has in truth received the Holy Ghost, but, by an unyielded will and life, is surely hindering the fullness of that life which he has surely received. As soon as he gives himself holy to God, he is filled with the spirit already received. Now here he too often halts. He tries to live upon a past experience. For it is not enough that the branch received the SAP of the vine at grafting; or that it was filled with it the day it totally surrendered itself to it. But every day and hour of his existence, it must continue to draw, moment by moment, upon the life of its nourishing vine it must not only draw from that vine for birth and bud but for leaf fiber would bloom and final fruitage. It must abide in the vine.

And now what is it to abide in Christ? Exactly what does Christ mean, when he uses these words to describe the final secret of the Holy Ghost? How shall we abide in Him that we may know the joy of His promise, -- “and I in you “? How important is it for us to have not vague, and indefinite notions, but clear and well-defined knowledge of just what is meant by this term? Men, it is true, have written beautiful essays on abiding; religious poetry is full of descriptions of it; rich and beautiful thoughts have been uttered concerning it. Yet somehow, they have all been vague, shadowy, and Mystic, in the face of our earnest desire to know just what abiding is. The difficulty here as always, is that we seek Men’s thought, instead of God's thoughts. For all the while men have been groping, and spiritualizing and theorizing concerning the beautiful truth of abiding, there has been staring in our very face is God's own definition of it, as clear, simple, and practical as he alone can make it. We find it in 1 John 3:24.

1 John 3:24

24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

It is a question not of salvation but of communion. It affects not our safety but our walk in Christ. Failure to believe in Christ costs us our souls; but failure to abide in Him, after belief, cost us our conscious communion with Him, veils the manifestation of His presence. The logic of this is clear.

Abiding is thus the constant keeping of His commandments, in response to which He manifests himself in constant communion with His children.

Beloved, we can do nothing by ourselves. Love one another as He has loved us . And through this love the world will know we are His.

MY CONSERCRATION

I believe Jesus Christ is dwelling in me by His spirit because God’s Word says so. (II Cor. 13:5)— (I cor. 6:19).

I believe He is seeking to work out His purpose through me. (Eph. 2:10)— (John 15:16).

I realize that my life must be yielded to Him in order that He may accomplish this purpose. (Rom. 6:13.)

I hear His call to me, “I beseech you brothers and sisters, present your body a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God.” (Rom. 12:1.)

I know heed that call.

This day I consecrate my life to the Lord Jesus to trust, obey and serve him as best I know while life shall last. And I pray that he may enable me henceforth to live such a life of faith, love, and devotion to him down here as I would wish to have lived when I see him face to face up there.

Date________________________ Signed_________________________________________

This is not a pledge. It is a free-will offering.