Series on Moving Forward - Partnering by the Holy Spirit - Part II

What does it mean to walk in the Spirit?

This phrase means to live each moment in dependency on the Holy Spirit, sensitive to His voice, and
obedient to Him.As we go through each day, we should be aware of the presence of the Holy
Spirit with us.We should be totally submitted to Him. That means we must be sensitive to the
initial promptings of the Holy Spirit.When He speaks to our hearts, you and I should immediately obey. For example, we may be convicted to turn away quickly from things that tempt us to sin. The Spirit can give us the right words to encourage a hurting person, or lead us to do something unusually kind for a stranger. He may
even guide us to take a different route. Sometimes it will become clear why the Holy Spirit directed us one way and not another; other times, we may never know why. However, the wise man or woman will obey the Spirit’s voice at once. The Holy Spirit knows all things, including the future, and His guidance is always
for our benefit.

Setting our Minds on the Things of God

There is no doubt that we are in a spiritual battle. The good news is that the Holy Spirit is available
to help us wage war against sin. The key to victory is in setting our minds on the things of the Spirit,
not the things of the flesh (Rom. 8:5). In other words, we don’t think about how to gratify our sinful desires. Instead, we choose to focus on things which glorify and honor God. The Spirit of the Lord will equip us to live godly lives if our minds are set on Him. Three things work against us as believers: the world, the flesh, and the devil. This means that aside from direct temptation, Satan works through our own sensual desires and the world’s system, or way of thinking and operating. Remember that the devil can’t force believers to sin. He can tempt us—and will certainly try to do so. But we can resist Satan’s lies through the power of the
Holy Spirit. How do we do that?We should begin before we are even faced with temptation. If we have madeup our minds to obey God, no matter what, we are far more likely to win the spiritual battle and
not act sinfully. On the other hand, if we entertain temptation as an option and imagine what it would be like to fulfill sinful desires, we will almost surely give in to temptation eventually. Why? Because the mind governs how we speak, act, and handle different situations. That’s why the Bible says “prepare your minds for action,
keep sober in spirit” (1 Peter 1:13).What we think about determines, to a great extent, how we live.

Surrendering to the Holy Spirit

I challenge you to begin each morning with a prayer that goes something like this:“Father, I want You to guide me today and lead me. Speak to my heart. Make me sensitive to what is happening around me in the lives of those I meet. Fill me with Your supernatural joy, and use me today for Your purposes. I surrender fully to
You.” If you yield your will to the Holy Spirit and depend on His ability rather than your own, He will enable you to live a life that is pleasing to Christ.



CONCLUSION:
Do you want to live with real peace, contentment and joy in life? Do you want to have the power to overcome temptation or persevere through adversity? The answer is found in total surrender and obedience to the Holy Spirit. Set your mind on the things of God and trust the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide you, enable you, and empower you to obey His voice.When we remain sensitive to the Spirit’s guidance, depend upon Him totally, and obey Him, we have life at its very best.

God Bless
Archbishop