Walk by the Spirit

Have you ever felt powerless before your sin... like the temptation to sin was just too strong for you to fight alone? Or, have there been times when you didn’t even feel like fighting temptation? I know I've felt that way. What we need is an ally in our fight against sin. We need someone who is stronger than us and who is stronger than sin to help us defeat the power of sin in our lives. And that's exactly what God gives us in the Holy Spirit.

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Listen to what God promised to do for His people in Ezekiel 36:27 God says, 

“I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” 

God promised that when He put His Spirit in us the Spirit would move us to follow His decrees and keep His laws. God’s Spirit helps you want to obey God! 

We see the same thing in Galatians 5:16-17. ‌‌There the Apostle Paul says....

‌"Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 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."

The Holy Spirit in you is in conflict with your sinful flesh and its temptations. It fights against your sinful desires. If you are a believer, then you are not fighting temptation alone any more. You have an ally. Before you got saved all you knew was the pull of temptation. You were drug around by your flesh like a dog on a leash and you weren’t strong enough to fight against it. But now, there is a tug of war inside you. The Spirit in you pulls against the flesh and helps you desire what is right.

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But the Spirit doesn’t just help you desire rightly, it also gives you the power to fight sin. Never forget that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside you and helps you fight sin. You have God’s eternal, limitless power helping you say no to sin. That’s why 1 Corinthians 10:13 can say 

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

No temptation is too strong for you, because you have God’s resurrection power on your side. You can say no to temptation. ‌‌You can win the war against sin in your life. But first you must learn to walk by the Spirit as Galatians 5:16 urges. If you are a believer, then you should live every day with an awareness of the Spirit’s presence in you. You should obey not only God’s Word but also the promptings of His Spirit in you. When the Spirit convicts you of sin, be quick to repent. When the Spirit prompts you to do some good thing, be quick to obey Him. When you are tempted to sin, don’t fight it alone but ask the Spirit for help. Ask Him to help you say no to temptation. Ask Him to change your desires. The Spirit’s presence and power should be a major part of your everyday walk with the Lord.