So I Say, "Let The Holy Spirit Guide Your Lives"

GALATIANS 5 16-26
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 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. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
”‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:16-26‬ ‭NKJV‬
‬https://www.bible.com/114/gal.5.16-26.nkj

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If your desire is to have qualities listed in Galatians 5:22-23, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, then you know that you are most likely being led by the Holy Spirit. At the same time, be careful not to confuse your subjective feelings with the Spirit’s leading.
Being led by the Spirit involves the desire to hear and obey God by His Spirit and His Word, with sensitivity to discern between your thoughts and feelings, and His promptings.
Live each day by the leading and guidance of the Spirit, then the Words of Christ will be in you, the love of Christ will be behind your actions, and the power of Christ will help you control your sinful desires.
Paul describes the two forces fighting within us, the Holy Spirit and our sinful nature, our evil desires or inclinations that stem from our fleshy desires; furthermore, the devil is never far away ready to temp your flesh. God allows this to test us and reveal our weaknesses.
Paul is not saying these forces are equal, the Holy Spirit is infinitely stronger, but if we rely on our own power and wisdom, we will make the wrong choices.
Trying to follow the Spirit by our own human effort will not work, we will fall. The only way we can be free from our evil desires is through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (see ROMANS 8:9; EPHESIANS 4:23-24; COLOSSIANS 3:3-8).
When one receives the gift of the Holy Spirit (JOHN 14:15-18), He joins with our spirit and ”The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.“
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
Our spirit is located in our belly, for “The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, Searching all the inward parts of the belly.“
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭20‬:‭27‬ ‭KJV‬‬
and ”He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.“
‭‭John‬ ‭7‬:‭38‬ ‭KJV‬‬
We hear the Holy Spirit as a gut feeling, like intuition, from our spirit that’s made perfect by the Holy Spirit, and what comes from the Holy Spirit is living water that is perfect and true.
The word of God tells us to test the spirit, the source of a prophecy or sermon, not the words spoken.
So many reject Gods words because it doesn’t sound right or make sense, or receive the lies of the devil because it sounds right or fits in with their plans and projects.
But God is always right regardless of what man says or thinks, or how crazy the message sounds, therefore, test the spirit, the source of the message.
The flesh is not happy to give up its lusts and dominion to the Spirit and the battle starts within the soul, one’s mind, will, and emotions.
The heart being part of the flesh works to justify and please the flesh, for ”“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?“
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
Therefore, nothing good comes from the flesh.
Furthermore, the devil whispers into soul, bringing confusion to cause one to believe his lies and activate the emotions such as sadness, sorrow, anger, rage, fear; anything that will interfere with true discernment and open doors to him and his demons.
The demonic wants to make one’s flesh their home and steal one’s peace, joy, and bring torment; their purpose is to steal, and to kill, and to destroy (JOHN 10:10); they manipulate the church into false beliefs and bring division with false prophecies and teachings (MATHEW 7:15).
If one assembles regularly with a church operating from the flesh, he gives direct access to the devil to infiltrate his mind, will, and emotions and infect them with his lies, taking them further and further away from the truth, making the congregation his homes.
If allowed, it grows like a cancer that shall spread through the whole congregation and bring about death.
Only by the leading of the Holy Spirit can tbe church operate in the apostolic five fold ministry of God (EPHESIANS 4:11). If it’s not apostolic, it is not of God, it is false religion (MATHEW 7:15).
All sin separates us from God and lets the devils in.
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.“
‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬
Submit to God is to repent and turn from sin. Rebuke the devil is to verbally command him and his demons to leave, and he will flee from you.
They may try to hide or be stubborn; they are like squatters and don’t give up their home easily, but by being persistent they are forced out.
Having successfully evicted them, it’s important to keep them out, for Jesus said, ”“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭43‬-‭45‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
Many believers today are demonised and need deliverance, including church leaders; they operate partly by Spirit and part soul, they are double minded and unstable in all their ways (JAMES 1:8) and can be a danger to the whole congregation.
If one operates by the leading of the flesh he will produce the fruits of the flesh and nothing good nor lasting will be achieved. But those who put the flesh to death and walk in the Spirit shall produce the fruits of the Spirit; ”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.“
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
But to walk in the Spirit, we must first receive the Spirit.
Therefore, “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).
My beloved, “What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord." (ACTS 22:16).
All glory to God forever and ever. Amen.