Life Ministries

“Walking With The Spirit” - “Greater is He who is in you!”
1 John 3:24

The key work of the Holy Spirit is:

1.     To TEACH  us and REMIND  us.
2.     To CONVICT us in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.
3.     To TESTIFY with our spirit, that we are children of God.
4.     To manifest the FRUIT of the Spirit in our lives.
5.     To give us SPIRITUAL  DISCERNMENT
6.     To FILL us, or take CONTROL of our lives… which the Bible calls the sanctification process.
7.     All of this is to help us know that He is greater than Satan or the world.

    “And, this is how we KNOW that He lives in us; we know by the Spirit he gave us.”  Once we understand these functions or the work or the purposes of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we then can look at ourselves and see if any of these things are there…or not there in our lives.

    It would be sad to find ourselves in the position of 1^st. Corinthians 2:14 -where the things of the Spirit are foolishness and we cannot understand the things that are spiritually discerned and, the only thing that applies our life is the fact that the Holy Spirit is constantly convicting of the guilt of sin!  If that is true for you, I have some bad news, and some wonderful news for you this morning…The bad news is that the reason you may struggle spiritually is because the Holy Spirit has been stifled in your life, and the good news is that relief and joy and understanding and assurance, is only a prayer away!
    You see, the Bible says that before coming to God through Christ, we are without the Spirit. Let me go back to 1 Corinthians 2:8-10 that says “no eye, ear, or mind can conceive what God has prepared for those who love Him”…The fact is that our eye can’t see it! Our ear can’t hear it! Our mind cannot even imagine it! But, our spirit, now that’s a different story! “God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.”  They are revealed in God’s Word… And, the Holy Spirit in turn reveals these things to our spirit, and gives us the assurance that takes away all doubt and fear.     
    The rest of that scripture reads; “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God” (Like a T.V. or a radio, the problem is not in the transmission of the Word…the problem is the receiver!) “the things of the Spirit are foolishness him, and he cannot understand them, for they are spiritually discerned.”
    The mind is known as the “seat of intellect and knowledge”…the heart is the “seat of emotion” both are filled with good and bad, right and wrong. For many of us, even after being “born again” the mind and the heart - the intellect and the emotions - are still controlled by “SELF” and although self is able to discern good from bad, and right from wrong, self discerns pleasure and not truth!  Romans 8 calls this living by the flesh or “according to the sinful nature.” You see, it all depends on who is sitting on the throne! Verse 9 goes on to say “You, however, are not controlled by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you”… However, this is not just an automatic action on the part of the Holy Spirit, it is a voluntary reaction of the will; a reaction of our will to the prompting or leading of the Spirit. Verse 12 of Romans 8 says “Therefore, we have an obligation - to live by the Spirit, and put to death the deeds of the flesh”…Why? Because the Spirit discerns truth and not pleasure!
    The Spirit teaches us truth, and reminds us of truth when we are tempted to yield to “self” or the “flesh.” The Spirit convicts us of guilt, when and if, we do fall, and helps us to focus on repentance, forgiveness, and the future. Helping us to keep our eyes on eternity and eternal things, rather than just the things of this world. The Holy Spirit of God will only do in our lives that which we ask Him and allow Him to do.
    In Romans 12:2 the Apostle Paul admonishes us “in view of God’s mercy, to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God; this is our spiritual act of worship; Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Now, listen to this - I know you have heard this many times - “Then, you will be able to TEST and APPROVE of what God’s will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will.” If our lives are controlled, filled, led by the Holy Spirit; if the Spirit is on the “throne” of our minds and our emotions, and we are listening to the Spirit, then we can “test and approve” of those things in our lives that are according to God’s will…and “put to death” as Paul puts it, those things that are not. It is an ongoing process that is changing the way we think, changing the way we feel, and ultimately, changing the way we act.
   How can we know that we are children of God? I would say we must look at John, who basically is saying; “Look at your life and your lifestyle…and see who is on the throne!  We will know by the spirit He gave us. Are you walking with the Spirit? Are you keeping in step with the Spirit? He will give the assurance we need!