Tag Archives: walking in the Spirit

I Have A Destiny

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Ephesians 2:10-22

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.  Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

YOU ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD – YOU ARE A CITIZEN OF HEAVEN, OF ANOTHER KINGDOM

1 John 3:2-3 – “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 

Luke 20:38 – “For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.” 

Romans 6:8-14 – “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.   Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” 

            Verse 11 – dead to sin – alive to righteousness

            Verse 12 – sin no longer in control if you are alive in Christ

1 Corinthians 3:16 – “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

1 Corinthians 6:13-20 – “Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?  Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!  Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”  But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.  Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 

ONE SPIRIT – THE HOLY SPIRIT

  • If you are in Christ the Spirit of Christ lives in you
  • You are united in thought, action, and purpose with God!  You are the righteousness of Christ.
  • You are bought with a price

“Nor silver nor gold hath obtained my redemption.” 

  • I am redeemed, but not with silver
  • I am bought, but not with gold
  • I’m bought with the price – the blood of Jesus.
  • Oh precious price of love untold!

WALK IN THE SPIRIT, WALK IN THE TRUTH OF GOD

Galatians 5:16-17 – But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

2 Corinthians 5:7 – For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

WALK IN THE WORD OF GOD

Matthew 4:1-4 – Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple …

  • Know where the different books of the Bible are located
  • Know where the Beatitudes are located – and become familiar with them
  • Know the gifts of the Spirit
  • The Love chapter
  • The faith chapter

2 Timothy 2:15 – Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO TURN AWAY FROM SIN, BUT YOU MUST TURN TO GOD

  • No reservations
  • No regrets
  • No retreats

In Matthew 12 Jesus told the story of a man who was set free from demons.  However, he did nothing to fill his heart with good things and the demon returned bringing more with him.

Matthew 12:43-45 – “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Get full of God/stay full of God.  Get so full of God there is NO ROOM for the devil.  You don’t have to worry about falling into sin when you are full of God. 

Romans 6:14 – “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” 

Sin shall have NO dominion over you.

Say NO to sin and YES to God!

Living in the Spirit

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Galatians 5:19-25

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

BIBLICAL EXAMPLES

  • Good Desires (verses 22-25)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.  And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

  • Desire the House of the Lord

Psalm 27:4 – One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek:  that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.

Hebrews 10:23-25 – Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

  • Desire to see and hear of the things of God 

Luke 10:24 – for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.

  • Desire the Word of God

Psalm 119: 11 – Your Word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You.

Acts 17:11 – Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

  • Desire to work for God

1 Timothy 3:1 – This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.

Colossians 3:17 –  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

  • Sinful Desires (verses 19-21)

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

  • Tree looked good

Genesis 3:6 – So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

  • Whatever we see and want

Ecclesiastes 2:10 – Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.  I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my reward from all my labor.

James 1:14-15 – But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

  • Deny Christ

2 Peter 2:1 – But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

John 12:48 – He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day

  • Lust for other goods

James 4:2 – You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

REAPING THE HARVEST OF THE SPIRIT (verses 22-23)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

CRUCIFY THE SINFUL NATURE (verse 24)

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

  • Lay it aside/turn and walk away/JUST SAY NO TO SIN AND YES TO GOD. 
  • Realize:  Eternity is too long to be wrong. 
  • Do right; live right; be right and you will turn out alright.
  • The way you purpose in your heart will determine your final destination.
  • Remember Daniel.  “He purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.”  (Daniel 1:8)

OBEY THE HOLY SPIRIT (verse 25)

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” 

  • Our efforts at goodness without relying on God, no matter how sincere or valiant our efforts may be, can only be a poor copy of the virtues produced by the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian.
  • As we yield our lives to the influence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, the result of God’s power will become evident when it is manifested in our lives. 
  • To be victorious in living a Christian life, we must keep our eyes fixed on the cross and the work Christ did for us and be constantly submitted to his will, not our will.  That is dying to self.
  • Our initial decision to trust in Christ for salvation must be reaffirmed daily.
  • This requires us to make ongoing decisions by which we continually crucify the sin nature again and again and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit as he guides us day by day.