You have accepted a new spiritual Life (Step #1), you know this life is forever (Step #2) and you have started living your new life in His Spirit (Step #3). You are now growing in your Spiritual relationship and you can expect changes.
Yes a new life means a different life, but you have already accepted this and know you are noticing changes. You are seeing His Spirit lead you and you feel a desire to grow closer and closer to God. Amen, you are walking in His Spirit now! You can let His protections, power, strength and guidance bring you through each and every day.
This may not be obvious at first and may seem difficult. This is because your human nature drives you to succeed on your own. By your own efforts (this is often pride). You have this new life and you are going to take on the world. That is the right attitude, but know this, you cannot do it on your own. Yes, it’s that simple, only Christ can, through you.
Amen, it is…
Now, there is a life changing revelation to take a few moments and pray on!
Get used to this as well. You will find your self praying on this often, indeed, everyday, many times a day. This is His Spirit in you. Leading you, convicting you, changing you and by taking a few moments to “rest” in prayer, comforting you.
To enjoy your new Spiritual Life, He will lead you to rest (have faith and let His power work) in Him. Paul shared His Message with us:
Philippians 4:13 For I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me strength and power.
So now you know the secret He has kept just for you (as He does for His chosen ones):
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ: and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the real life I now have within this body is a result of my trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Amen, on Christ’s final night He shared His Message with the Disciples that although He will leave us now, we will not be alone:
John 16:7 But the fact of the matter is that it is best for you that I go away, for if I don’t, the Comforter won’t come. If I do, he will – for I will send him to you.
You now have His Holy Spirit in you! You can be bold, be courageous and know as you change, He is the change!
Yes, God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are one. Some find this confusing, and as you grow in your new Spiritual Life He will help you understand the Trinity of His Being – God, Christ Jesus and His Holy Spirit as unique Divine Beings who together, and when in you, shine with His characteristics, will, emotion and personality.
His Holy Spirit is the essence of your Spiritual Life. He helped you recognize (convicted you) of the sin in your life and led you to accept Christ. His Message in the Bible tells you that without the Holy Spirit you may see a Spiritual Life as foolish:
1 Corinthians 1:18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God
Many people in your life today may think you are going overboard or are silly. But they do not know what you know, His Holy Spirit has made you aware of Christ in you and what they now see in you are actually the characteristics of Christ, who is in you!
His Holy Spirit gives you life. Receiving His Holy Spirit is a spiritual birth:
John 3:6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.
With His Holy Spirit He pours His love into your heart:
Romans 5:5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
He gives us assurance as Christians that He is in us:
Romans 8:16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.
His Spirit in you will enable you to bravely step out as a Christian. He leads you in the truth of His Message – God’s Word. He illuminates His Message for You in the Bible and you understand you are living His truth:
John 16:13 But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth)
You now know His power and spiritual effectiveness is working through you to reach others:
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere…
With the power of His Holy Spirit you may find yourself overwhelmed with the changes you know are happening because of Him. Rest easy (remember as above – take a moment to rest in Him) because Christ, His Holy Spirit, is your personal intercessor to God, on your behalf:
Romans 8:26,27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
As He promised on His last night, Christ Jesus has placed His Holy Spirit in you so you can live a Christian life and have a Spiritual relationship with Him!
Romans 8:11 …the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.
Your new Spiritual “Christian” life is possible only with the power of His Holy Spirit!
Romans 8:9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
Now let the power of Christ in you lead you and help bring you through and overcome every challenge you face as you grow in your Spiritual relationship.
Be brave, be confident and open your heart and your life to Him. Let Him be your source of life, every breath, every thought and every thing you do. Yes, it will always be a challenge and you will fail, sometimes everyday (as the enemy in this world snares us in our human nature). So turn to the power in you!
You will find His Message for You is often about a Spiritual relationship. The foundation for a Christian life. In faith, He will illuminate your understanding of our human nature and the life He is leading you to and through (and why).
You will find in His Message, Paul shares about to types of Christians. Some who have accepted Christ, but are living this life under their own effort. They get caught up in material gains and perceive them as blessings and the enemy is quick to snare them in their own pride.
These are Carnal Christians:
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?
Carnal simply means “fleshly.” The carnal Christian has accepted Christ as their savior at some point, but their life is driven by their own needs and desires. They may have Christian characteristics, but His Holy Spirit in them is suppressed by them not knowing or even resisting the Ministry He desires (or direct and conscious disobedience to His Message and His desires).
The Spiritual person is living with Christ as the center of their life. You care more about the desires of His Spirit that drives you then your own gain. You care more about others then yourself. You care not about how others see you, but how they see Christ in you. Yes, it is true, you will not be sinless and will still face problems and temptations every day. Even more so as the enemy will focus even more effort to distract you. However, now you trust Christ with every detail of your life, every problem, every challenge every decision. You are compelled to please Christ and you do not expect or need approval of others.
You are a bold and brave “Spiritual Christian”:
1 Corinthians 2:15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment…
You are distinguished from the carnal nature and separated from the Carnal christian because you rely on and trust Christ’s power to live as a Christian. The carnal Christian relies on their own power.
I promise you, and I know this personally and had to learn it several times, trying to live a worldly carnal life as a Christian is as difficult as running up a mountain, backwards with your eyes closed. You will never make it to the top. Even worse, you may believe your are making it to the top, claiming blessings, but in pride and arrogance and by your own sinful nature you pursue material gains, disregard the needs of many who are closest to you, find yourself jealous of others, go from house to house talking behind others backs and quarreling with others……. SNAP! Snared by the enemy – carnal.
You will recognize this instantly, now! You will grow away from the carnal world (and this may seem painful or that you are giving up things, but remember, do not get snared by the temptations of the material world). Your friends will change, your life will move in a different direction, you will accept this because you are living with Christ in you. He is the one changing you. You cannot receive a greater blessing then to have the All Mighty, All Powerful, Ever Living, Ever Giving, Gracious, Merciful God living in you. Yes, you can change and your life will be far better then you ever imagined.
His Message shares you should be “led” by His Spirit. This means you learn to follow (obey) His Message. Allowing His Holy Spirit to lead you will allow God to bless you. His Way, His Plan “..on earth as it is in Heaven”.
You can choose to let Him lead you!
Or, you can choose to let this carnal world (and the enemy) control your life, where you will always be anxious about the future. You will always be driven to instant gratification or to follow your own desires over Christ’s.
Choose Christ. Choose His Holy Spirit. Choose God! When you let the Holy Spirit into your life, He controls your thoughts and your actions. You will be blessed with the ability not to hate, worry, or be afraid. With the Holy Spirit in you there is no room for such negative carnal emotions.
You will find yourself taking a moment to rest (remember again “rest” from above) and He will help you not to act thoughtlessly and to do what Christ want’s you to.
Ephesians 5:17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
His Message tells us these are the fruits of a Christ-centered life:
Galatians 5:22-23 …the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control…
Indeed, living a Spiritual relationship with His Holy Spirit in your life is by choice.
You can live your life going to church, spending time with other Christians and having the Bible close to you, and not be filled with the Holy Spirit or walking in His Spirit. By your own decision and choice you “breathe” the power and control of the Holy Spirit in your life, daily.
Prayer (remember the “rest” above) enables the control of; and your desire to; follow His Holy Spirit.
You can open the door for the Holy Spirit to work through you each and every day with a simple prayer:
Remember as well, Christ sees everything in your heart and your life and is praying for you!
I often pray this prayer and you may find it helpful:
After you pray these prayers the Holy Spirit fills you and is in control. You may not feel it, but you know it. God’s word is true and you have faith in His Message of Truth. Some may believe a religious experience will occur, and for some it may, but God promises with just our decision of faith and believing His Message, His Word in the Bible, is His desire. He will illuminate your understanding of His Message and He will share His Message through you.
Let the control of the Holy Spirit bring you through every moment of your life!
Avoid the traps of this carnal world (set by the enemy). Let the Holy Spirit help you not to disobey His Message.
Do not be the person who lives in pride and is always wanting things their way. Reluctant to give God control of your finances and thinking; “I’ve worked hard for my money, it’s mine”. Refusing to give God control of your relationships; why forgive that person when it’s really their fault? Not giving God control of your personal morality; that’s nobody’s business but my own. That’s pride. (Know this, God sees everything, even the things hidden in your heart.)
His Message tells us:
Proverbs 3:34 He [God] mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble
Do not be afraid!
Proverbs 29:25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare…
Do not be afraid to do what His Holy Spirit is touching your heart to do or what other people may think. Yes, we often feel we cannot do it or we will look like fools if we did. However, this may be exactly what God want’s you to do! For the Christ-centered Christian, you, he usually does!
Proverbs 29:25 also tells you: but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
You Spiritual relationship gives you the approval of God over any person in this world. Yes, your life will be different than others, but you already know, it is worth it. He promised you, you believe Him!
Each day is new start in life and there will be new challenges and you will find yourself giving into the temptations and carnal desires of this world.
You may find yourself falling and praying many times throughout each day. This is not spiritual weakness; this is His Holy Spirit helping you breathe spiritually. This is “Spiritual breathing.” and is His way of helping you open the door to His control and blessings.
When you Spiritually “exhale” you pray to Christ as soon as you recognize your failure. (Remember, He is actually the one in you, that made you recognize the failure!) You know you have placed yourself in a position, in this world, where Christ is not first. By praying and “exhaling,” you are acknowledging your faith and claiming the forgiveness that is yours through Christ’s Salvation.
Then, breathe in!!!! Inhaling is calling His Holy Spirit to fill you immediately and to again be the head of your life. Christ never leaves you when you sin. But when you have stray or fall from His leading, you are separating yourself from Him. With Spiritual breathing you are getting back up and following His direction. You are growing to trust Him. As with any maturing relationship this takes time. You now have the continuous encouragement of God to get back and continue to grow in faith; and Spiritual maturity.
In this world you will always be tempted and exposed to the attacks of the enemy; sinlessness comes when you are called home to heaven. As you mature in a relationship with Him, you learn to see life from His perspective and will grow to sin less and to win over temptation.
Remember to breathe Spiritually and find His way out! You will do this forever from this point in your life. Remember, you have to breathe to live, Amen!
You now understand the difference between a carnal Christian and a Spiritual Christian (which you are). You are now learning to understand your level of Spiritual maturity. Know this, God has a plan for each of us. Each will have a different path. Some of us will be great pastors, some will be great ministers, some will be great church goers and some, will always just be children, new to Christ. This is His Way, His Will, His plan.
A new Christian has choices – carnal or Spiritual. If you are new, and this could be a few months to a few years, know you’re still a “young” Christian. You are not carnal, just young.
Stay strong in your faith. Be bold in your choices and follow the direction of His Holy Spirit in you and trust His power will change you, mature you and then you are exactly where God wants you to be.
As I have matured Spiritually, God has blessed me with the illumination to not compare myself with others, or other Christians, first I simply follow the direction He places on my heart and in my mind. Then I simply enjoying being a Christian. He does what He desires through me. Just as He provides this message though my fingers for you, yes, His Message for you. All of His Word, by Him, from Him, for you.
Father, bless your new Christians with patience and an understanding of maturing with Your Holy Spirit in them. Protect us all from the carnal nature of this world and remind us to breathe “spiritually” daily and often to keep You first in our lives and helping us grow and mature in our relationship with You!
In Your wonderful Name, God our Father, Christ Lord Jesus, blessed Holy Spirit we pray in faith. Amen
His Message for You 