TWO KINDS OF CHRISTIANS (3)

THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.^(A)

2For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.

3For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [^[a]the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [^[b]subdued, overcame, ^[c]deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice],^(B)

4So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit].

5For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and ^[d]pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and ^[e]seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.

6Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that ^[f]comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].

7[That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Law; indeed it cannot. ( romans 8:1-7 )
             Good morning dearly beloved, trust you had an amazing night rest. I am going to write about what it means to live according to the Spirit. Before we continue, hope you have read the 1st and 2nd part of this series and have been blessed and changed your ways where necessary. If not this last part of this series won't do you much good.

      Firstly what does it mean to live according to the Spirit of God ?, Does it only mean to wait for revelations, visions or prophecy before doing things ?, Does it mean always waiting for a sign to happen before acting ?. Well to properly answer these questions, we must first look at how the Spirit of God directs or leads us as Christians .

(1) Through our inner witness :

      You see in every christain there is this inner witness from the Holy Spirit ( romans 8:16 ), we sometimes call it promptings or leadings or we say I perceive this or that or I feel this or that. But in truth, it's the Holy Spirit leading us, guiding us or directing us through our inner witness. This is one of the ways that the Holy Spirit trains us that we have seriously failed in training ourselves as Christains. For instance, in my personal life when am asking God for directions on something and He answers there is this unusual peace and submission to His will. Or also when He gives me a word of knowledge or prophecy, my heartbeat increases and there is this urgency to quickly give it out like its a hot coal on my lips. The way he talks to me, is certainly different from every other human. So learn and know how he speaks to you.

(2) Through Scripture :

      One other way, the Holy Spirit talks to us is through scriptures ( romans 12:1, 2 Tim 3:16-17 ). Romans 12:1 only takes place as you continuously study God's word and decide to change your ways. No wonder Apostle James admonishes us to not only be hearers but hearers and doers of the word. One problem with Christians is that they just read scriptures for reading sake. When you study scripture, you should do so for but not limited to the following reasons 

*What is God's promise for me today ?, then confess it .

*What conditions do I have to fulfill for these promises to come to pass ?

*What mindset do I have contrary to what scripture is saying,so that I can change for the better by His grace.

     If you read scripture for these but not limited to them you should see changes in your characters, behaviours etc. Because Jesus said "you are clean by the words that I have spoken", again he said "the words that I speak they are Spirit and Life ".

(3) Through the brethren : 

       This is the one most chrostains know of and what to pay attention to and thereby abusing it. You see Christians running up and down narrating their ordeals then they will tell you pray for me oh, but there are not praying for themselves. The Holy spirit most of the time only guides us through our brethren as a confirmation for the directions he has been giving us through our inner witness or scriptures. So you see that this is the Holy Spirit resort but we have placed it as the first. That's you hear a lot of rubbish that Christians do all the in name of my pastor or daddy G.O or prophet told me so, because they have not learnt to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit so they can be tossed to and fro by any wave of doctrine. 

       How do you know if you have been following the leading of the Spirit Gal 5:22-24 answers that beautifully. If you notice these things , then I congratulate you but I admonish you to be more on alert

     Do have a beautiful and blessed filled day. God loves you

Prayer points 

Grace to always follow the leading of the Spirit