Galatians 5:16-18 (NIV):

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Hey Everyone! This Sunday I wanted to concentrate more on teaching on how to live by the Spirit and not in the flesh. I’ve discovered in my life and from my experiences, that it can be a challenge to walk in step with the Spirit even after you have decided in your heart to accept Christ as your Savior and Lord and today I want to teach on that topic.

So firstly, to understand how to begin Christian living it is key to realize that we receive the Holy Spirit as our guide and helper when we step into the body of Christ. You may ask-well who is the Holy Spirit? He is the Spirit of God (Ezekiel 36:27).

And we all receive Him when we accept Christ into our lives. When you yield to the will of God-through accepting Him into your heart and starting to listen to that spiritual push that we all have in our conscience concerning our daily life choices-you are yielding to the Holy Spirit because He is the voice of God that directs us in our lives.

And this is why the Word above starts with action: walk by the Spirit. To walk by the Spirit as I have just explained is to yield our choices through our actions to the leadership of God-this means-that relationship the LORD has told you is not good for you? It is time to yield to the Spirit of God and let it go. That job the LORD has told you to continue to work at? Or those marital issues He has shown you how to handle ie listen more, argue less or even any relationship advice the LORD has spoken to you about like being less stubborn? Yield to the Spirit. This is how you walk by the Spirit.

And what happens when you begin to incorporate these changes?

Well let me illustrate for you through an example. If you are going from A to B-the more you travel on that route, the closer you get to B, and the farther away you get from A.

What I mean is if you are travelling from Lagos to London for instance, the more time you spend on that journey, the farther you are away from Lagos and the closer you are to London.

Hence the more you yield your actions to God by walking by the Spirit, the easier it becomes to stop sexual immorality, alcoholism, profanity and so much more because you are moving farther away from yielding to acts of the flesh which are sexual immorality, fits of rage and so much more and closer to the leadership of the Spirit and your identity as a Christian (Romans 8:14).

Another reason is, as verse 17 above says, it is because the Spirit desires what is contrary to the flesh and hence when you choose the route of obeying God, you are walking in the opposite direction from the flesh and from sin.

Which is why as a practicing Christian, it will become easier for your habits to change, because it is not by your power but by His Spirit. (Zechariah 4:6).

This is an area that I feel Christians need to understand more-the more you spend time with God-and build that relationship with Him, (as you build it with family and even friends which is through constant conversation and communication,) the more He will start to influence your decisions. And you will notice those sexual urges you’re dealing with? Or that fit of rage that is so prominent in your personality? Will begin to die because the Spirit’s power has begun to speak in your life as you yield to Him in obedience.

This is why verse 18 says if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. What this means is that for instance, we all know if you break the law, you go to jail or you have to pay certain conseqences. But the Spirit is not led by the law. So just because you have dealt with certain issues in the past does not mean you have one particular outcome ie if you deal with alcohol, in the Spirit, as you yield to His leadership by following His instructions, as He whispers in your heart, you are free from the consequences of that decision because His power begins to speak in your actions and He changes your position.

And when you are led by the Spirit meaning when you accept Christ into your heart and start to follow His leadership as He whispers instructions to your spirit (1 Kings 19:12) and begins to speak by His Spirit through your conscience, you will be led away from sin which is contained in the law.

This is what it means to start to live a Christian life. It is when you allow your faith to partner with your deeds/actions. Because if not, the Word says it-faith without deeds is dead! (James 2:26). Its no use saying, you are a Christian and still silently struggling with sin. Start from accepting God in, and then yield to His instructions in obedience and He cleans up your mess-you will notice, your desires will change because when you start to yield to Him, He places His desires for you in your heart and makes them your own desires:

Ezekiel 36:27 (NIV):

27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

You will start to feel a desire to obey God and it will no longer feel difficult because it is not by our power but by His Spirit. And He makes your weaknesses a testimony of His strength (Philippians 4:13).

So start yielding to the Holy Spirit today through following His instructions in your heart-and these instructions are good instructions ie He could tell you to let go of a relationship you already know is bad for you or He could lead you to choose to respond to an angry person in love.

The more you spend time with the LORD, the more you will begin to recognize His voice. This is why you know the voice of your friends, but you have difficulties recognizing the voice of a stranger.

Hence make the LORD your friend and you will know when He is speaking because the devil’s voice will become a stranger to you:

John 10:27 (NIV):

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

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