Do you want to learn how to walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh? This is 3rd and final article in my series How To Reconnect With God. I will be discussing the fruit of the Spirit and how to live by the Spirit so that we can please God. 

Romans 8:5-8

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

If you want to reconnect with God, then you cannot be controlled by your flesh. As we see in these verses if you are controlled by your sinful nature, you can never, please God.

What Does Living By The Spirit Mean?

We must allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives, that’s walking in the Holy Spirit. Here is what I learned, we are a spirit, with a soul in a body. Our body or flesh is always fighting us because it wants to do what pleases itself not God.

But it is up to us to build up our spirit by praing, spending time with God, reading the Bible, meditating on the Bible, and fasting & praying for our spirit to take control. It doesn’t happen instantly…you wake up one day and it's done, it’s a process of doing these things daily to live by the Spirit.

It’s surrendering our will and submitting to the will of God, that’s a step that you will need to take if you really want to reconnect with God and build an intimate relationship with him.

Just say Lord, I surrender I give all of me to you, I want your will to be done in my life because I know your will is perfect. Tell him, yes Father to your will, whatever it may be. Like I said it’s a process, so you might mess up that day maybe you made a bad decision.

Repent and continue the next day never stop!  God knows your heart and if you are sincere then you will begin to see God’s handwork in your life.

Matthew 7:7-11

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Walking In The Spirit Scripture

Galatians 5:16-22

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 

18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 

21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

Help From The Holy Spirit

It’s very clear, that the Spirit and the flesh want the opposite things, so this is a constant daily fight.

Paul said…

1 Corinthians 9:27

I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

And that’s what we need to do daily, take control of our flesh, and tell it no and yield to what the Spirit wants us to do. When you yield to the Holy Spirit you begin to walk by the Spirit. Don’t feel discouraged, thinking “this is too hard I don’t think that I can do it.” You’re not in it alone, that’s why we have the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.

John 14:26

But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

So, the Holy Spirit is our advocate, comforter, encourager, counselor, and teacher.

 How To Develop The Fruit Of The Spirit

So, let’s take a closer look at the fruit of the Spirit. These fruit are character traits that are also found in the nature of Jesus.  We can try to develop the fruit of the Spirit without the help of the Holy Spirit, but we can’t do it in our strength we need Him.

Zechariah 4:6

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

We cannot trust in our strength alone we depend on the Holy Spirit to help us. The fruit of the Spirit is a result of being led by Spirit. It’s not something that we can conjure up through our own will. The Holy Spirit produces these fruit or traits in us as we begin to walk with Him, as we begin to walk after the Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit are – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Love – affection, goodwill, brotherly love.

When you seek for the good of others whether you think they deserve it or not when you give without expecting anything in return. Love is unconditional.  You don’t love someone because of what they give to you, you love because that is what God has commanded us to do.

Joy – cheerfulness, gladness.

The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Joy is not contingent on your circumstances. That’s happiness, that comes when everything around you is going well.  But Joy comes from the Lord. This is deep in your spirit; it doesn’t come through emotions. 

Joy is there even when everything around you is telling you to be sad.  Joy comes from the hope and faith that we have in Jesus, knowing that no matter what’s happening it’s temporary because we know He is going to bring us through. Joy is knowing that you have a comforter a helper the Holy Spirit that is always right there with you.  Joy is knowing that Jesus said that He would never leave us or forsake us.

Peace – tranquility, security, safety.

Peace is not worrying even when the situation that you’re dealing with is calling out to you to worry. Peace is comfort in knowing that you have released the situation into God’s hands, and you can now rest knowing that you have received salvation through Jesus, and you are on your way to Heaven.

Patience – longsuffering, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance, being patient through hardship and offense.

satan tries to attack the believer and no matter what he sends our way we hold on, we endure, we persevere, never giving up.  Jesus said that trouble would come but take heart because He has overcome the world. Trouble will come, but we don’t have to get stuck in it and worry, we keep pressing on because we know what the end result will be.

Kindness – moral goodness, integrity, tender, mild-mannered, soft, calm, sweet to others.

How do you treat people? Are your words encouraging and uplifting? Or are they hurtful and tear down others? If this is something that you are struggling with, ask the Holy Spirit to help you…He will.

Goodness – being morally good or virtuous.

Some of these fruit are intertwined. Goodness also has to do with the way that you treat others and your behavior. Does your behavior reflect the character of Christ? Are you kind to others?  Do you do things without expecting anything in return? These are the characteristics of goodness.

Faithfulness – complete trust and confidence in God.

It’s easy to say we believe God until our faith is tested.  It’s easy to say we trust God until everything around us is falling apart.  Many had their faith in the government or their employment. But look where we are now…where do you turn?  You need to run to the Lord and His word. We need to have complete trust and confidence in God and what He says in His Word.

Gentleness – meekness, humility, mildness.

Many believe that being gentle is a weakness, but it’s the opposite. It means that you are strong because you portray the characteristics of goodness and kindness. The Bible says blessed are the meek because they shall inherit the earth.

Jesus when being crucified could have destroyed everyone and everything around Him but He chose the route of meekness and humility so that He could save us and give us eternal life.

Self-control

The Bible says that we need to be slow to anger and have emotional restraint. I think that this is one of the most important fruit because if you have self-control then the other fruit can fall into place.

Let me explain, if you know that the fruit are a result of walking with the Holy Spirit, then you will pursue a relationship with Him and begin to walk after the Spirit and that takes self-control. Then as you are learning how to live by the Spirit of God, the rest of the fruit will be produced because you are being led by the Holy Spirit.

Has this been helpful for you? Do you now understand How To Live By The Spirit?

I pray that this entire series has been a blessing to you and that you have learned a few ways to reconnect with God.

Prayer For Salvation

Jesus come into my heart.  I turn my back on sin and I repent, and I trust in you.  I confess that Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior.  Thank you, Jesus, for saving me.  I accept by faith the free gift of salvation in Jesus’ name Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, then you are saved, congratulations and welcome to the family of God.  I will give you the advice that my pastor gave to us…pray, you need to pray which is talking to God, that is how you build your relationship with Him. 

He loves you and cares about everything that concerns you.  Read your Bible every day, find a Bible-believing church and attend, and last tell someone that you are saved.

Ephesians 1:17-19

I pray that the Lord would give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.