New Testament                                        

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Galatians 2:20

• “God is looking for imperfect men and women who have learned to walk in moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit.  Christians who have come to terms with their inadequacies, fears, and failures.  Believers who have become discontent with “surviving” and have taken the time to investigate everything God has to offer in this life.

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• “God never, never, never intended for His children—that includes you—to live a life characterized by defeat.  He doesn’t expect you to live with defeat in your thought life, your emotions, your attitudes, your self-control, or your faith.  He paid much too high a price to allow you into His family just to watch you fail in your attempts to function as a full-blown family member.

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• God’s plan of salvation includes a provision for saving you from yourself.  And the key player in that part of His plan is—you guessed it—the Holy Spirit.”

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• “Christ is our life.  When the Holy Spirit takes up residency in us, He brings with Him an inexhaustible source of life.  After all, He is life.

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• The practical outworking of all this is two-fold:  ​

1 - personal victory over sin and ​

2 - Spirit-energized service. 

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God never intended for His children to live defeated lives.  Did you get that?  The Holy Spirit is God’s answer to the problem of righteous living.  He is the abiding presence of Christ’s life in you.  That is why Paul could say with confidence, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)  He understood that upon receiving the Holy Spirit, he was endowed with a source of power and strength that could bring his character into line with God’s righteous standard.  Paul knew, as we must come to know, that he never had to say, “Well, I’d like to change, but that’s just the way I am.”

 

• ​As a Spirit-indwelt child of God, Paul understood his potential for change.  He understood that change was contingent not upon him but upon the new life that flowed through him.   ​​

 

​“The Holy Spirit does aid the believer in discovering God’s personal will.

But His primary role as a leader and guide is to lead the believer into holiness.

God’s ultimate will for our lives is Christ likeness. ​

Romans 8:29

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• “Where we set our minds determines who we follow and what we do.  To walk in the Spirit, we must set our minds on the things of the Spirit.  ​​      (1 Peter 1:13, Colossians 3:2, Romans 12:2, Philippians 4:8, 2 Corinthians 10:5)