A popular country song once asked Jesus to take it.
The driver's seat of your life does have to change from yourself to God once you become a Christian.
Few understand that the driver's seat is actually the place of the Holy Spirit, and fewer are able to activate this change and live a truly transformed life.
This week at Bethel we studied this in three ways:
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 8:14 NKJV# 1 - Be Led by the Spirit
There are two spots in Scripture where this phrase being led by the Spirit is described. Romans 8:14 describes God's people as those "led by the Spirit," while Galatians 5:16-25 describes avoiding the human desires and embracing the fruit of the Spirit.
The word "led" is a present-passive verb, indicating that we should continuously surrender and yield ourselves to the desires of the Spirit.
What area of your life is hardest for you to continuously surrender?
#2 - Shine the Light of the Word on Your Life
When studying the Galatians 5 passage on life transformation, three truths jump out:
- The Holy Spirit lives in all who have faith in Jesus Christ.
- The flesh describes fallen human nature and its self-centered attitudes, desires, and behaviors.
- Your walk simply refers to your daily conduct.
Walking in the Spirit allows you to deny the flesh. Too often we try to deny selfish or negative desires simply through abstaining, but to find success, the void must be filled through the wholeness that satisfies. That is the pursuit of God. The only way to know God is to know His words and His voice - and that, my friends, is found in scripture.
How have you found success in denying the flesh and being led by the Holy Spirit?
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5:18 NKJV#3 - Step into Victory
The process of walking daily with the Holy Spirit, or "sanctification," is unexplainable in some ways, but thinking about the biblical picture of the Holy Spirit flowing like rivers of living water helps. You must jump in and yield to the current, which flows from the fountain of Jesus Christ, the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. God is in charge, and we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. Even after we are saved, we never accomplish any good thing on our own merit or for our own glory. It is our responsibility to repent and confess the name of Christ initially, then the process of Holy Spirit empowerment in your daily walk is something you have the responsibility to initiate through continual surrender.
What does continual surrender look like?
Being led by the Spirit is not something that you have to work to accomplish like any other merit or morality. There's no need to swim downstream, but you must willingly step into the river. Will you initiate this process through continuous surrender in your daily walk?
We hope that you will consider this week's message in greater depth in the days ahead and meditate on God's Word. You can find the sermon as well as the attached outline below.
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