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Living by the Spirit of God
by Onyekachukwu Ukeje 'So he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty.'- Zech.4:6(NIV). God wants us to live by His Spirit. 'So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.'- Gal.5:16-18, 24-26(NIV). To live by the Spirit of God is to live by His promptings and power. This calls for a yielding to the Spirit of God, to the word of God; a readiness to do His will, a willingness to please Him. If Jesus Christ while here on earth did not live by the Spirit He would have sinned any how, and then maybe, it would take the Spirit becoming man to save both Jesus and us from sin. Rom.8:7 says, 'the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.'- (NIV). David was a man yielded to God. The prophet Samuel speaking to King Saul said, "But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command."- 1 Sam.13:14(NIV). To be a man after God's own heart means to be one who will obey Him, one with a readiness to obey Him, one with the same character, feelings, inclinations or beliefs or convictions or philosophies as Him. To show the implication of this, kings in ancient times, after conquering a nation or kingdom, installed vassals after their own heart, men with the same the political beliefs or convictions and possibly similar philosophies of life as they, such that they are sure they can get obedience once that individual is installed or submitted to them as their vassal. In some cases they even install a blood relative of the king they dethroned, though more for political reasons. Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."- John 15:1-5(NIV). Without the Spirit you cannot live the Christian life, without the Spirit you cannot live the victorious life. The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of God. ?Onyekachukwu Ukeje is an itinerant preacher based in Enugu, Nigeria and can be followed on www.facebook.com/onyekachukwukejep and on www.twitter.com/onyiukeje and his channel subscribed on www.youtube.com/onyekachukwuukeje Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |