THE LIVING SPIRIT

Gen. 2:7 tells us that until the breath of God came into the first man, he was -at first - dead!
John 20:21 tells us that we need the Holy Spirit of God, the breath of God, to actually live.

WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT!

He is not an "it". He is not the wind, neither is He oil nor water. He is a person, the third in the Trinity.

My main focus for this blog are in Gal. 5:22-23, the fruits of the Spirit. God did not just give us charisma, He gave us character. Your gifts don't give you stability, your fruits do (i.e. your character). Remember the saying "they don't care how much you know, they want to know how much you care." 'Care' is a character. Hence, these characters are not only important to God, but also to men. You need these fruits to conquer yourself, and according to my Pastor "if you can't conquer yourself, you can't conquer the world." I totally agree.

Let's take a look at these fruits, shall we?

THE CHARACTERS OF THE BELIEVER

If the Holy Spirit lives within us, we must be able to show the following characters:

1. LOVE
This is a deep tender feeling of affection towards a person. You can hate what a person does, but you cannot hate the person. if you have the Holy Spirit in you, you have the capacity to love endlessly.

He that hateth his brother, the love of God is not in him. He that loveth not, knoweth not God.

2. JOY
An emotional dispaly of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good. If you have the Holy Spirit in your life, no matter how sad the situation is, you will always find joy within you... cos truth is, the things that God has and is still doing for us outweighs those things (we think) He has not done. No sad situation must tamper with the joy of Christ in our hearts. Isa. 12:3. Without joy, we cannot have access to the other things God has in store for us.

3. PEACE
An agreement/treaty to end hostility. Freedom from quarrels (in the household, in relationships, at the workplace etc.). Absence of war. Harmonious relationship with fellow men. To be quiet and have rest.

Follow peace with ALL men

4. LONG-SUFFERING
Two words, One phrase - Suffer long! It means to patiently endure wrongs or difficulties. To endure something unpleasant for a long period of time BUT being patient throughout.

5. GENTLENESS
This means to be considerate, amiable, soft, tender, mild, not harsh or severe. If you have the Holy Spirit in you, you will not be self-centered; you will treat others the way you want to be treated, and not be the root/cause of all mischief.

6. GOODNESS
The state or quality of being good. Moral excellence. Virtue. Kindly feeling. Generous. We must always strive to be a person of excellence in everything we do. Give everything your best.

7. FAITH
To be able to be trusted, depended and relied upon is one character that most people out there do not possess. Re-fill on your Holy Spirit, if you're a victim!!!

8. MEEKNESS
Uncommon patience. To be submissive and humble. This particular character actually takes the grace of God especially with wives, but we must not forget what have been commanded of us as women... be submissive. It is your God-given obligation.

9. TEMPERANCE
This one interested me the most. Self-control. Habitual moderation in regards to the indulgence of natural appetite and passion. Moderate indulgence. Restraint in conduct, expression and indulgence of desires. How many of us know when and how to STOP in everything - food, drink, sex etc. The Holy Spirit can help us if we don't have a clue. Greed will only put us into trouble, and make us a victim of our passion/appetite/desires.

Discipline yourself.

And so the sermon came to an end last night... Even though we come into contact with the Holy Spirit once we're saved, we need to go back again and again to top-up, re-fill, renew our dose so as not to be Satan's victims. We cannot say no to the devil, his temptations and trials, he was here on earth before us, he existed before we did; but the good news is the Holy Spirit was here before him! Haha! So, you get the Holy Spirit, you win!!!