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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
I think one of the great promises in the Bible is found in Galatians 5:16. If you walk in the Spirit, you will have the power to not fulfill the lust of your flesh. What an invitation of the Lord.
16 I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law…25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:16-25)
In verse 16, Paul tells us to “walk in the Spirit” and gives us a great promise: if we walk in the Spirit we will have the ability to not fulfill the lust of our flesh. In verse 17 Paul describes the violent war that takes place inside of every believer.
The lust of the flesh include physical as well as emotional lusts. Paul describes 17 expressions of the flesh in verses 19-21. They are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, and revelries.
Paul then describes 9 fruit (or results) of the Spirit working in us in verses 22-23. They are: love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
We are created in 3 parts: body, soul, and spirit. Our inner man has 2 parts: spirit and soul (mind, will, emotions) and our outer man is our physical body.
23 Now may…your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless as the coming of…Jesus Christ. (1 Thes. 5:23)
At the new birth, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside our spirit as a real person. He literally takes up residence inside of us. We become one with the Spirit of God. The new birth is more than just being forgiven, we have a new connectedness with the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 6:17; Jn. 14:17).
17 …he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Cor. 6:17)
At the new birth, God placed His seed (His very life) into us. This seed destroys the works of darkness in us. If we have His seed in us, we no longer live in habitual (uncontested) sin.
8…For this purpose was the Son of God manifest, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin (habitually, uncontested) for His seed remains in him…(1 Jn. 3:8-9)
Jesus was raised according to the Spirit, pictured as the “power of an indestructible life.” The Holy Spirit has the power to oppose all darkness inside of us (Heb. 7:15-16).
Jesus manifests His power in us as we fellowship with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 3:20; Col. 1:27-29). It is His power manifest on our hearts that gives us the strength to wage war against and not fulfill the lust of our flesh.
In Scripture the Holy Spirit is pictured as light, fire, and living water.
5…God is light…7 …if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…(1 Jn. 1:5-7)
6 Set Me (Jesus) as a seal on your heart…love is as strong as death…Its flames are flames of fire…(Song 8:6-7)
29…our God is a consuming fire. (Heb. 12:29)
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart (belly, innermost being) will flow rivers of living water…39…He spoke this concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive…(Jn. 7:38-39)
Part 2 to come…
Josh
I hope you find the information on my website useful. I pray that it would help you set your heart on a journey of prayer and the Word. My desire is to see the first commandment restored to first place in the lives of believers all across the body of Christ, and the Holy Spirit is going to see that it happens. He has promised to release revelation of Jesus in such a way that we would fall in love with Him, how glorious! And we know that when the first commandment is in first place in our lives, the second commandment happens.
Oh, to feel deep desire for Jesus with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength! It’s amazing that He feels this way towards us and desires that we respond with the same amount of voluntary love. After all, what is love if it is not voluntary?
I’ve been thinking lately on the importance of the Word in prayer. I always separated these two, but they actually go together. I thought Bible study was Bible study and prayer was separate. While I do Bible study, the Word is much more than a place where I find information. It is an escort into the experience of God and what transforms my heart, mind, and desires.
Why use the Bible in prayer?
- Scripture is the best language that the Holy Spirit flows through. It’s the best chariot that He rides. It’s the language of God’s heart.
- The Word is what washes us and changes us if we let it get into us. There is a huge difference between being in the Word and the Word getting into you. Many think because they do a Bible study, ect., that the Word is getting in them. The Word must get into our prayer life to get into our heart. We need the Word alive in us for it to transform us. If the Word is not in us, it just becomes a place where we accumulate knowledge, but we never actually become like Him. All you will have is a bunch of little facts that make you full of pride.
- Long, loving meditation on the Word is a necessary part of our prayer life. There is no such thing as depth in God outside of prayer and the Word, allowing it to get into us and change us into whole-hearted lovers of God. It makes us like Him, He exchanges our darkness for His loveliness. We become tender and lean on Him, rather than prideful, thinking we achieved something on our own.
- The measure of our life before God is how tender and loving we are. It’s the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle formed in us. It’s being like Jesus at the depths of our being. I has nothing to do with how much we know or how big our ministry is. It’s the first commandment. A life of prayer is non-optional if we want to enter into revelation of our greatness before the eyes of God.
I like to pray Scripture right back to the Lord and use it as my prayer language. I especially recommend the prayers in the New Testament. They are like signed checks right from the heart of God. He has already set His seal on these prayer because they are written in Scripture. Therefore, you have more courage and faith as you pray these, knowing that they are definitely the will of God.
There are 2 types of Scripture:
1) Scriptures that exhort us to believe God:
Example:
9 As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you…(Jn. 15:9a)
First, I thank Jesus that He loves me the same amount that the Father loves Him. “Thank You, Jesus, that You feel the same way about me as Your Father feels about You.”
Second, I ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the love that Jesus has for me which is the exact same amout the the Father loves Him. “Holy Spirit, please reveal to me and impact me with the love that the Father has for Jesus, I want to love Him back with that same amount of love.”
2) Scriptures that exhort us to obey God:
Example:
9…abide (live) in My love….10 keep My commandments… (Jn. 15:9b-10a)
First, I thank Jesus that I can live in the power of His love. “Thank You, Jesus, that you have desired me and allowed me to abide in the experience and power of Your love…”
Second, I declare my intentions to fully obey the Scripture. “Holy Spirit, I set my heart to fully obey You. I set my heart to remain in Your love. “
Third, I ask for God’s grace to walk out the Scripture. “Father, I ask You to release grace and strength to obey You completely in this area. I desire to be completely yours. Please help me, I know that I am weak and broken, please give me the strength.”
Probably much more to come on prayer later…
Josh
