Ghost Stories – Week 2
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 (NIV)
Walking by the Spirit refers to the way you live your daily life. God doesn’t want you to be super-religious, He wants you to be real. What steps do we need to take to “walk by the Spirit”?
You Walk by the Spirit when you…
Welcome the Spirit into your life.
When do you get the gift of the Holy Spirit? Here are two steps you need to take:
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Turn from your sin.
Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:37-38
To repent means to change directions. We’re headed one way and we do a 180-degree and turn the other direction.
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Trust in Jesus.
And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. Ephesians 1:13
Jesus said being born again also means being born of the Spirit. When that happens, the Holy Spirit moves into your life and takes up residence inside of you. The Holy Spirit comes to live in you and makes you alive when you become a follower of Jesus.
Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you daily.
Being filled with the Spirit is not just a “one and done” thing. It doesn’t just happen when you are saved. It can happen every single day of your life. And it’s not an option for a Jesus-follower, it’s a command.
Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be (being) filled with the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 5:18
This is talking about being wasteful. He is saying, “Don’t fill your life with things that don’t matter and don’t last, so that you miss out on what God has for you.” Lots of things lead us to waste what God wants to do in us. Instead, keep filling up with the Spirit of God.
That means always allowing the Spirit to access all of you.
The word for “be filled,” is literally a continuous present tense. That means it keeps happening over and over and over again.
We have to be continually filled because we leak! Do you ever feel like you’re running on empty or on fumes? That’s why I need daily bread from God’s Word, I need daily forgiveness from God, and I need a fresh daily fill up of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in my life so I can face the challenges and chances that I have in front of me each day.
Being filled with the Spirit means always allowing the Spirit to access all of you.
It’s the difference between a river and a reservoir. The Spirit flows into your life and out of your life when you live for Him.
You get all of the Holy Spirit when you become a Christ-follower. You are filled with the Holy Spirit when He gets all of you.
How much of you does the Holy Spirit have? What part of your life are you keeping him out of?
You just have to ask him to fill you! The Holy Spirit is a free gift that you can unwrap every single day of your life!
Live God’s way.
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. Galatians 5:17
There will never be a time in your life when you are sinless, but you can sin less if you walk in the Spirit.
To walk in the Spirit means that you are choosing to take those steps in your life that God puts in front of you. Which direction do you want to walk? Do you want to run after temporary things that won’t last or things that last forever and the life God has planned for you?
How do you know if you are living a Spirit-filled life? What’s the proof of having the Holy Spirit?
The Fruit of the Spirit is the main evidence of the Spirit in your life.
The fruit that you can start to see on the outside tells you what’s going on, on the inside.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23
The fruit of the Spirit reveals your real character.
What fruit is being produced in and through my life?
Keep in Step with the Spirit.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 (NIV)
Just follow Jesus. Is there anything that He wants me to let go of so that I can get hold of the fullness of life that He wants me to have?
If you want a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit in your life today, simply say, “Lord, would you fill me in a fresh way today so I can accomplish all that you want me to do in my life today.” Then in faith, follow Him as He leads you.