Paul exhorts us in Galatians 5:16 to walk in the Spirit. Then he tells us that if we walk in the Spirit we will have the power to not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

At the new birth, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us as a real person. He has the power to confront and deal with all darkness inside of us. In Scripture, the Holy Spirit is pictured as light, fire, and living water. Jesus releases power on our heart as we fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

During prayer, we focus our mind in two directions: God the Father on the throne in heaven (Rev. 4) and God the Spirit living in our spirit.

9 In this manner…pray: Our Father in heaven…(Mt. 6:9)

2…I (John) was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One (the Father) sat on the throne. (Rev. 4:2)

9…the Spirit of God dwells in you…10…the Spirit is life…11…the Spirit…dwells in you, He will give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Rom. 8:9-11)

When we address God on the throne we ask for strength. When we address God the Spirit we thank Him for the strength that is already present in us. We fellowship with Him by honoring and recognizing His presence in us. We thank Him for His presence, power and leadership.

Principle: we walk in the Spirit by talking to the indwelling Spirit. Talking with Him is the means by which His power is released in us.

We will not walk in the Spirit more than we dialogue with Him. If we talk with Him, He will talk back. He just has to get us into the conversation. He will talk us out of sinning and quitting. He talks to us by releasing impressions on our mind and heart.

I suggest starting by speaking directly to the indwelling Spirit 5-10 times a day for 3-5 minutes each time. As we talk to Him, He releases small amounts of power on our heart, but the power is real. He releases small increments of power that strengthen us over time, much like food and water. We must be diligent to sow to the Spirit by cultivating an on-going dialogue with the Spirit.

7…whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary…for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. (Gal. 6:7-9)

The language of our mind and spirit is images. Therefore, whatever we set our mind on is imparted to our spirit, whether good or bad. If we set our mind on unrighteousness, then unrighteousness is what is imparted to our spirit. By beholding (seeing) the Holy Spirit in our inner man (focusing our mind on Him) we are imparting righteousness to our spirit.

Fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit is within reach of all believers. We all need a greater connectedness with the Holy Spirit. We know Him by beholding Him in our inner man.

16…the Father…will give you another Helper…17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees (beholds) Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you, and will be in you. (Jn. 14:16-17)

We must treasure the Holy Spirit inside of us by responding to His prompting on our hearts and not quenching Him. Paul exhorted us to not quench or grieve the Holy Spirit. The primary way that we quench the Holy Spirit is our use of speech (not necessarily profanity), but anything that is destructive to others.

29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification…30 and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed…(Eph. 4:29-30)

19 Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thes. 5:19)

The more we fellowship with the Holy Spirit, the less we talk to others in a way that quenches the Holy Spirit, our spirit, and their spirit. Our words release (activate) or quench the power of the Spirit.

John referred to walking in the Spirit as “walking in the light.”

5…God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. 7…if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…(1 Jn. 1:5-7)

Walking in the light includes walking in the light of revelation by meditating on the Word, fellowshipping with one another in the light by sharing our life in God with one another, and bringing our sin into the light by confessing it to one another. We must not limit walking in the light to any one of these activities.

As we focus our mind on God’s light that is brighter that diamonds (either on the throne or in our inner man), then light is manifested in us in a greater measure.

In our battle against sin we must focus on the bonfire of God in our Spirit rather than our sin. When we set our mind on Him, He empowers us to overcome our darkness. It is like turning on a light switch in a dark room. The light comes and pushes the darkness away.

I hope this is helpful. It takes some effort, but the power that the Holy Spirit releases on your heart is more than worth the effort. What a powerful way to live, even though it may seem weak in the flesh!

Part 3 to come…

Josh