Courtney Gilmore After God selected Saul as Israel’s first king, the Holy Spirit changed his heart so drastically that he looked like an entirely different man. (1 Samuel 10:9-11) Some people are like that after they come to know the Lord. Then, there are others who have maybe grown up in the church, and their salvation experience may not produce such an extreme, instant change. But that doesn’t mean that His indwelling Spirit doesn’t change us all.
You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
Acts 1:8
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we must also commit to following Him as our Lord. Through that following, our lives will look different from those who don’t know Him. In fact, they must look different. Otherwise, you may not be following God after all.
If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:6-7
Changed
If you look like everyone else in the world, then you are probably still following the ways of this world, which is ruled by the prince of the air.
You, He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:1-10
What the Power Does
Also, when we are walking in the Spirit, we have God’s power. This makes us handle difficult situations differently than the rest of the world. His Spirit helps us love the unlovable, have joy in the midst of sorrow, have peace when there is chaos all around us, and have patience, endurance, and perseverance when we want to give up or give in. It helps us go against our own temperament or tendency and be kind, gentle, or controlled; it grows our faith.
Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. These are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. Of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16-25
Notice that all the works of the flesh are bad. But all the good things are fruits of the Spirit. That means that we cannot DO anything good. We can only PRODUCE goodness through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us.
Feed the Spirit
A plant must be fed and watered to produce fruit. The same is true with His Spirit. Feeding the Spirit with the Word of God, fellowship, prayer, and worship, then our faith will grow just like a plant, and we will begin to produce fruit.
When we rely on the Spirit, He will change us from the inside out. It may be instantaneous, a process, or a combination thereof. But He will work in our hearts and make us look more like Jesus and less like the world.
So, in this coming new year, stop trying so hard. Learn to rely on the Spirit of God to change you. If you feed His Spirit with His Word, prayer, fellowship, and worship, it will grow within you and produce godly fruit. You will be transformed if you will just commit to follow Him.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Links
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This is inspired by “Israel’s First King” which is about Samuel anointing Saul as King. You can Watch or Listen to it on YouTube, Podcast, or study it on Substack when you become a paid subscriber. $6/month or $60/year
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