Follow the Spirit's Desires
Friday, April 24, 2020
Dimas Salaberrios, Ministry Associate with Christian Union, is a dynamic teacher, speaker, and pastor. His bestselling memoir, Street God, was released in September 2015. Dimas holds a Master of Divinity degree from Alliance Theological Seminary and resides in the Bronx with his wife Tiffany and three daughters.
Transcript
I want to talk to you about living by the Spirit and not living by the flesh—Living your life filled with the Spirit and presence of God. There is nothing greater than experiencing God's holy presence living and dwelling among you. Now, I love what Paul says to the church of Galatia. In Galatians 5:16, he says this, "I say then, walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." So what Paul is saying is there's a relationship that we have with God, that when we're journeying, and we're walking, and we're serving him, and loving him, and obeying him—that God keeps us and guides us from walking in the desires of the flesh.
He says it differently in verse 25 of the same chapter. He says, "If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit," and when you give your heart to Jesus, when you surrender it all and say, "Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and savior," you have accepted the life of living in the presence of God and living and dwelling and walking in the spirit of God. But sometimes, we have to remind ourselves that this is the high call when we accepted Jesus that he brings us into. And what I love is that God doesn't give us over to ourselves, but God journeys with us. He's the parakletos, he's the Holy Spirit who comes alongside us and guides us in the way of righteousness. In Romans, Paul said it this way—In Romans 8:5, he said, "Those who live according to the flesh have their mind set on what the flesh desires, but those who live in accordance with the spirit have their mind set on what the spirit desires." So I want to help you, as I help myself, to walk and seek after those things that the Spirit desires.
What does this Spirit desire? Paul lays out some of them in Scripture. Love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, long-suffering. There are things that we're going to experience in this world and we have to keep putting Christ number one above everything that hits us. No matter what ball is tossed our way. No matter what life tries to bum rush us with, we have to remember that we are children of the living God, and not only in our faith, but also in our actions. We have to call on Jesus at times and say, "Jesus, fill me with your presence. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Who do I need to be at this moment?
How can you help me, Jesus, to live after you, to serve you, to follow you and to be a great example of a child of God?"
I want to encourage you that when you call on Jesus like that—and I'm not just saying this from mere words but I'm saying this also with conviction from experience—that when I call on Jesus to help me walk and dwell in the presence and in the spirit of God, that Jesus has never failed me. That he shows up and helps me to respond as a man filled with the Holy Spirit. God bless you. Keep looking up, and keep Christ number one. Peace.
