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.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16-25 (NKJV)
Walking in the Spirit is a daily walk. It is not something that we do based on feeling or our attendance at church. Instead of doing our own thing and making our own decisions, when we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. We can live in victory and conquer sin daily because Jesus died. As a result, we can have victory not only over our trials but over sin.
Sin shall not have dominion over us because we are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:12-14). It is important for us to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit. There are many voices around us including the voice of the enemy, our own voice and the voice of God. The Spirit of God goes against the sin nature because the sin nature leads us in the wrong direction. There is a war going on between the flesh and the spirit. The works of the Spirit produces life while the works of flesh produces death. As Christians, we should allow the Holy Spirit to lead and direct us.
Walking in the Spirit is the key to victorious living. It is a continuous battle with the flesh but it is worth it. We have to make choices, and choices that go in line with what the Holy Spirit is saying. We must have the mind of Christ. Through this, we are able to think positively which is reflected in our actions and words.
In this season, the church will be victorious over sin, bad attitudes and issues that defeated us in the past. The church is arising in righteousness and power. When we live in the Spirit daily, we will be victorious. Living in the Spirit causes us to look and respond to our circumstances differently. We are then able to fully obey God, follow Him and submit to His will.
In our lives, God should have full control. We must be governed by the Holy Spirit. Through this, we begin to live a life of abundance filled with an unbroken fellowship with God. We should not be afraid to proclaim to the world that we are children of God. The righteous are as bold as a lion. If the evil in the world can be bold, how much more can we?
God wants to uproot the spirit of religion from within the church. The spirit of religion is a plan of the enemy to keep the church from growing and being all God has called it to be. When we walk in the Spirit, we would not live a religious lifestyle.
- Religious activity hinders the power of God from flowing.
- Religion is about the traditions of men and losing our first love for God.
- Religion causes the church to be mediocre and ineffective. Mark 7:13
- Religion is a deception from the enemy to keep the church void of power. We fight the things of God because they are not what we are accustomed to and what we have been taught.
- When there is religion, there is little or no power. Religion can invade our lives and services until everything is dead and cold. We are created in Jesus to live in the power of the Holy Spirit where the sick is healed and people are set free.
- Religion places us in bondage, especially in worship. It causes our worship to be heavy, lifeless and ordinary.
- Religion puts us in a position where we are not passionate for more of God.
