LET US WALK THE WALK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Proclamation:

“So I say, walk by The Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  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 you want.  But if you are led by The Spirit, you are not under the law.”  Galatians 5:16-18 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at Galatia.  In this chapter, Paul begins by stating that Christ has set them free from the law. (Galatians 5:1)  Then he tells them that circumcision is required under the law.  Men who let themselves be circumcised are trying to be justified by the law.  All they really have done is to alienate themselves from Christ and have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:2-7)  The Paul asked them who persuaded them to change and said that whoever confused them would pay the penalty. (Galatians 5:7-12)  Then he told them that they had been set free but they should not use their freedom to indulge in the desires of the flesh or to devour one another. (Galatians 5:13-15)  He encouraged them to walk in The Spirit.  He told them The Spirit desires that which is contrary to the desires of the flesh.

Application:

Believers should walk the walk of The Spirit.  If we stay in The Spirit, then we will not give in to the desires of the flesh.  For that which the flesh desires is contrary to the way of The Spirit.  Paul provided a list of the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) and then contrasted them to the fruit of The Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)  None of the sinful desires of the flesh should surprise us, in fact we are probably all too familiar with them.  So, since The Holy Spirit of God lives within us, and as believers we should live by The Spirit, let us try to keep in step with and walk in The Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)  That is the only way that we can produce the fruit of The Spirit.  The manifestation of the fruit of The Spirit is always for the benefit of others, whereas the desires of the flesh are always selfish.  

WALK WORTHY

Proclamation:

“… I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of The Spirit …” Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Ephesus to encourage them to keep the faith and to live a Christ-like life.  Paul wanted them to show evidence of the fruit of The Holy Spirit in their daily walk.

Application:

As Christians, we fall short and mess up daily.  We sin and do not act, talk, or think in a Christ-like manner.  However, even though we are far from perfect, we need to endeavor to be more Christ-like each day.  While it really is not possible for us to count up all of our sins on a daily basis, we should attempt to commit one less sin each day than we did the day before.  Unfortunately, it is probably possible for us to count the number of Christ-like behaviors that we do each day and we should perform one more each day than we did the day before.  That way we would be clearly becoming more Christ-like with each passing day.  We need to "... walk worthy ..." and be the best that we can be at whatever we are called to do.  Be the best street sweeper, secretary, clerk, repairman, administrator, doctor, lawyer, or whatever that we can be.  That includes being the best Christian that we can be.  "... Walk worthy ..." don't just talk the talk on Sunday, but also walk the walk of a Christian daily.  It doesn’t matter how good we are, there is still room for improvement.  In order to do so we must make a commitment and a conscience effort and think before we act or speak.  Live a life that pleases God and be blessed. (Psalms 119:1-2, Proverbs 8:32 and Luke 11:28)

The Importance Of Self Control

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.  Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."  2 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV)

This letter was written by Peter, "a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ", under the direction of The Holy Spirit of God, to all believers to denounce the false teachers who were infiltrating the churches.  His point here was that God's grace is the source of Godly living.  It is through the precious promises of God that allows them to escape the corruption of the world.

Self control is part of the fruit of The Holy Spirit of God.  Every believer should exhibit some of the fruit of The Spirit which indwells them.  The fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)  Self control is one of the qualities which believers posses which allows them to avoid giving in to the desires of the world and sin.  In the believers' spiritual growth and development, self control is the link we develop between the knowledge of God and the perseverance of the faith, as we grow from faith to love.  A Godly walk is not possible without self control, and therefore we should pray and request that God would increase it within us.

Walk Worthy

"As a prisoner for The Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of The Spirit through the bond of peace."  Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV)

In his letter to the believers in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul wrote that they should live and conduct their lives in such a way so as to be worthy of being called Christians.  They should behave in a Christ-like manner, and be humble, gentle, and patient with one another.  He said that they should love one another, and they should live and work in peace with one another.

What we believe determines how we will behave.  As believers in Christ, we are to walk in The Spirit and behave in a Christ-like manner.  Since The Holy Spirit dwells within us, we should exhibit the fruit of The Spirit in our daily living and in our dealings with one another.  We should demonstrate love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)  We are to conduct ourselves such that we are not using His name in vain when we call ourselves Christians.

Live By And Walk In The Spirit

"So I say, live by The Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to The Spirit, and The Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want ... The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."  Galatians 5:16-23 (NIV)

In his letter to the believers in Galatia, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, the Apostle Paul wrote to them saying that the sinful nature of man is in direct conflict with The Spirit.  Those who live their lives gratifying the desires of their sinful nature, will not see the kingdom of God. (Romans 8:8)  However, those believers who live their lives exhibiting the fruit of The Spirit, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Believers are to live their lives in such a manner that their behavior exhibits the fruit of The Holy Spirit.  While belief in Jesus, The Christ, does not render the believer free from sin, but from the penalty of sin. (Romans 6:23)  It is the believers' love for Christ which causes them to want to please Him by obeying His word, and by following His commands. (John 14:15 and 1 Thessalonians 4:1)  Believers should strive to continually walk in The Spirit and not in the flesh. (Romans 8:1, Romans 8:4, Galatians 5:16, and Galatians 5:25)  When we walk in The Spirit, our lives demonstrate the fruit of The Spirit, and the world can see the light of Christ shine within us. (Matthew 5:16)

Display The Fruit Of The Holy Spirit

"But the fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by The Spirit, let us keep in step with The Spirit."  Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV)

These Holy Spirit inspired words were written by the Apostle Paul in a letter to the believers in The Church at Galatia to encourage them to live by the influence of The Holy Spirit of God and not follow the worldly influences of the flesh.

When we as believers walk with The Spirit, we manifest the fruit of The Holy Spirit of God.  We do not become perfect just because we accept Christ as our personal savior, but we are changed, and we die to, and no longer engage in, some of our previous sinful behaviors.  However, our sinful nature is still within us, and we must battle it daily and make a conscious effort to exercise and display the fruit of The Spirit.  We must pray, and pray often, for God's guidance and help in order for us to walk in His way.  Let us live in such a way that those who see us, will see The Light of Christ radiating from us. (1 John 3:24)  Let our behavior reflect the fruit of The Spirit and let our actions produce good fruit. (Matthew 7:17-18)

Make Every Effort To Add To Your Faith

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.  Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."  2 Peter 1:3-8 (NIV)

These are the words of the Apostle Peter, inspired by The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the early church to counter the false teachers who were infiltrating the church.  Peter told them that God had given them the power escape the corruption caused by evil desires and evil influences.  He told them that they must make every effort to exercise their faith.  By doing so, they would increase their faith and produce more fruit of The Spirit of God.

Today we need to realize that The Lord has blessed us and given us some of His divine power.  We have The Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us, and that makes us capable of exhibiting the fruit of The Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)  These traits which we have as believers, we ought to increase them within our lives and in our behavior.  As we exercise them, we become stronger in the faith, and thereby we become more effective and productive in our efforts for The Lord.

What Effect Did The Word Of God Have On You?

Jesus taught "... many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:3-8 (NIV)

What did you do with The Word of God when you heard it? Some heard The Word and rejected it, some liked it but it did not change their life, and some let their friends and the world have more influence over them than The Word. What kind of "ground" are you? The best way to answer this question is to look at the "fruit" that it has produced in your life. When the seed, The Word, fell on good ground, it produced good fruit.

The fruit that we produce is the evidence of God in our lives. The fruit of The Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) We need to cultivate within our lives a greater receptivity to The Word of God in order for it to grow within us, to produce good fruit, and produce a changed life which will give God glory.