Communion Christian Centre
People don’t believe what you say until they see the way you live your life. If as a believer, you can quote all the Bible verses but the fruit of the Spirit cannot be seen in your life, there is a problem. Christ has given us all that pertains to life and godliness. It is strange to see believers doing things that are sinful than holy. We have God’s holy nature that should superimpose the adamic nature. It should be easier for us to do that which is holy than sinful. At the root of everything a believer is doing, love must be present. Look throughout the Scriptures, character (fruit of the Spirit) is much more important to have before having the gifts of the Spirit.
The work God does in us is much more important than the work He does through us. If he doesn’t do any work in you, it will be difficult for Him to do any work through you. We can’t talk about the Holy Spirit without talking about those things that he causes to happen in our lives. One of them is, he alters our character. In those days, there used to be lots of testimonies about changes in lifestyle because they yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit but now, the story seems to have changed. A lot of people are finding it difficult to overcome certain issues in their personal lives because they seem to know too much and are adamant to yielding to the Holy Spirit, even though there is a better understanding of the Scriptures. People are finding it difficult to live the life that depicts the word. It is not enough to give your life to Christ, you must yield yourself to learning more about God and through that, develop character that will help sustain the blessings God has for you.
Your character can be influenced by association. Your closet friends should be people of same faith. Proverbs 27:17. You cannot walk closely with a person and not be influenced one way or the other. Doves don’t fly with eagles. This doesn’t mean you can’t be friends with people who are unbelievers but let it stop at friendship, don’t enter fellowship with them. II Corinthians 6: 14-18.
Your thoughts can also influence your character. You must beat down strongholds by using the word of God to counter any thoughts that are not of God. II Corinthians 10:3-5. The reason why a terrible thought is persisting in your heart is because you are saying nothing to counter it. Have you ever tried counting money and someone is trying to talk to you? You get distracted that you lose count and have to start counting from the beginning. This is the same way you can get rid of negative thoughts by disrupting it with the spoken word of God.
The Holy Spirit alters our thought, behaviour, character, emotions or the way we think about certain things. This is the work of reformation. Since you gave your life to Christ, you will realize that a lot of things has changed. How much things have changed in your life is dependent on how much you have allowed the Holy Spirit to have his way in your life. God matures our spirit, soul and body to get things done on His behalf. When God is working in us, it will cost us certain things. It will cause us to let go of certain behaviours that are not of God. God will not want to commit things that are going to destroy us in our trust. 2nd Corinthians 5, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20…In this reformative work, we no longer live for ourselves, we live for Christ. We are translated from the Kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God. Colossians 1:13.
Translation and transformation are different things. We are translated from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of life but transformation takes place in the heart. Our thoughts must be exposed to the Holy Spirit and our actions, according to God’s will. Because of the character issues that we have, we are depriving ourselves of the things that we are believing God for. We can’not continue with the character we have now and claim to be carriers of the glory of God at certain levels. Thank God for the good work he has started in us. God cannot leave us the way we got born again. He recreates our spirit, renew our thoughts and amend certain things about the way we live our lives. Phillippians 1:6. Each time we look at ourselves in the mirror of God’s word, our thoughts are edited. II Timothy 3:16. Galatians 5:16…that a person is having sinful nature does not mean he/she is not born again. This is why Apostle Paul says “I put myself under subjection”…There must be a conscious effort to choose the Spirit over the flesh. There is something the Spirit is up to, but flesh is always weighing it down. 1 Corinthians 9:27. We are not 100 percent perfect. The only thing that is 100 percent perfect is your salvation, the finished work of Christ.
The Holy Spirit working in us is to produce His fruit in us. It is usually a process in which the result might not spring forth immediately.. but when you are making progress in God, you will know. It is refered to as the “fruit” of the Holy Spirit. For fruit to spring up, there must have been a seed planted. God plants the seed and with time, the fruit is produced. Galatians 6:23-24. That is why somebody can be in Christ and still be smoking but a day will come when the person will drop the cigarette. We have seen people who have been hit by the power of God, got born again, full of the Holy Spirit but were addicted fornicators. It became irritating to them as they grew in Christ. Constant walking with Christ bring about reformation. Walking with Jesus is different from working with Jesus. There must be a relationship first before responsibility is given.
Your character must be reformed for the next level. When Joseph was to appear before the king, there were lots of changes made to him. Daniel was prepared and worked on alongside other men before appearing before the king. The reason why some people have not appeared before kings is because of their character. Your next level requires a reformed appearance and character.. Queen Vashti lost her place and position because of her character. Esther replaced her because her character was one to be emulated. Don’t just be a believer who is not conscious of God’s presence. You can not by yourself change your habits. The awareness that you are in Christ alongside your deliberate efforts can cause a change. Acts 17:28. God works in us to will and to do…He wills it in us before we can do. Phillippians 2:13-15..
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