A universal resistance wells up when people tell us what to do. We’ve felt it. When someone pushes us to do something, we automatically resist. We don’t like being controlled or told what to do. Our rebellion gene kicks in when it happens.
The irony is that something has controlled us for a long time, and we haven’t realized it. We think we control our lives, but we don’t.
We are like the alcoholic who says he can quit drinking whenever he wants. He never wants to do it. He thinks he is controlling his drinking when it controls him.
We think we are controlling our sin when it controls us. Sin has told us what to do for a long time. Like an addict, we readily oblige. We’re addicted to getting our way in everything we do. It is as natural as breathing.
We are either slaves to obeying God or slaves to sin—doing whatever we want without restraint (Romans 6:22). When we do that, we don’t honor God. We are born as slaves to sin. We must be born again to be God’s slaves. (John 3:3). Either way, we are slaves to something.
When we are slaves to God, we are free from sin’s chains. “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17 NLT).
It is natural for us to resist Holy Spirit-driven living and embrace self-control. God’s control brings blessing (Galatians 5:22–23). Self-control brings pain, strife, and death (Romans 6:23, Galatians 5:19–21). Why do we want that?
Through Jesus’ ministry, the Kingdom of God and all its blessings arrived to set us free from captivity in Satan’s kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13). If we choose, we can now live in the light (1 John 1:7). The Holy Spirit gives us power over sin’s control for goodness, peace, joy, and hope.
We can be different people than we were (1 Corinthians 6:11). We can be living letters to others of how the Spirit of the living God can change lives (2 Corinthians 3:3). Jesus was a living letter of what God was like.
The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to battle the powers of the kingdom of darkness for forty days. Like Jesus, we must be full of the Spirit to be overcomers (Luke 4:1). The devil fired shot after shot from multiple directions to disable or distract Jesus from His mission—to no avail.
Jesus’ defenses were the word of God and the Holy Spirit. Ours are the same. The Holy Spirit leads us in times of temptation and provides a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).
We come to the Father through the Spirit because of what Jesus has done for us (Ephesians 2:18). We must be careful not to insult or disdain that Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us (Hebrews 10:29).
Jesus cast our demons through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28). Our spiritual fruitfulness requires the Holy Spirit’s power, just as Jesus’ victories did. “the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:2 NLT).
The Spirit in us is greater than the spirit in the world (1 John 4:4). That Spirit props up our weaknesses, for example, by praying for us in harmony with God’s will when we don’t know what to say (Romans 8:26–27).
Power for Goodness, Peace, Joy, and Hope
The Spirit’s leading produces in us what it produces in Jesus. “And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:38 NLT). We experience God’s peace, joy, and hope when we do good and bless others. Recharging your life with goodness, peace, joy, and hope is the path to abundant life. See more about the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit fills us, joy is part of the package (Acts 13:52). When the Spirit leads, the result is predictable—"a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17 NLT) which overflows “with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NLT). Even though we suffer as Jesus’ followers, the Holy Spirit fills us with joy (1 Thessalonians 1:6). See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.
God has empowered me to write “His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength.” It’s a free evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship resource. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead more than 2,550 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 7,805 people. I invite you to check it out. https://www.christiangrowthresources.com/his-power-for-your-weakness
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