 Okay, welcome back. Let's continue with chapter 3 of section 3. So we've established one of the key importance basis for living an overcome life is the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross of Jesus Christ accomplished three things. What are they? Defeated Satan. He has redeemed us. So Satan's been defeated. The hour of sin has been defeated. We've been redeemed. Okay, and also our identity established towards the end of it. We saw that whoever's in Christ is a new creation. Let's continue looking at a few more things. In this chapter, we will look at how we can use the word of God to live an overcoming life. Okay, the word of God. Okay, we overcome with the word 1 John chapter 2 verse 14. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the wicked one. Right? Because you are strong and the word of God abides in you. Okay, so what does it mean when it says that the word of God abides in us? Yeah, it simply means that the word is taken resident in our hearts. Right? It's taken resident in our hearts. Right? And so and everything becomes easy to access. For example, if let's say I have a bag over here, right? And I'm carrying, I'm carrying this bag and for my safety, let's say I have a pepper spray. Okay, for my safety, now we can say that as a weapon in a sense, right? We can self-defense as well. But for the sake of self-defense, for my own safety and protection, I have a pepper spray or whatever weapon you want to imagine you imagine. Okay, but here's the thing. So now, in times of danger, if I'm attacked and whatnot, if it's far away from me, it's going to take time for me to access the weapon and use it, right? Versus if it's with me on me. It's not enough to know that you have a weapon. Your weapon should be easily accessible. Okay, it's one thing to know that you have a weapon, and it's another thing to have that weapon easily accessible. Okay, so very soon we will see that the scripture says the word of God is a sword, isn't it? But it's very important that his word abides in us. It takes a resident in us. Okay, so what can we do? First point is feed your inner person with the word. Okay, feed your inner person with the word. Okay, so as believers, we must understand that nothing can take the place of our own personal reading or hearing of God's word. You can highlight that if you want. Nothing can take the place of our own personal reading of God's word. Nobody else can do this on your behalf. You cannot expect me to read the Bible for you and for you to be for your inner man to be strong. You can't expect Francis to eat everything and for you to be healthy. Is that possible? You have to eat your own meal for you to be strong, for you to be nourished, for you to have sustenance, whatnot. Okay, so don't expect your pastor to do all the work for you. Okay. Oh, no, my pastor is there. He'll take care of it. Oh, my pastor is there. He'll take care of it. He's player warrior. No, you have to take responsibility, right? Because most of the times what we expect is, see, there's nothing wrong in imparting. I believe that. Right? It's biblical as well. You impart, right? You lay your hands and you pray for blessing over the next individual and say, Lord, impart over him with the anointing that you have anointed me with. What I cannot impart over you is my history with God. What I cannot impart over you is my history with him, right? All the moments that has drawn me closer to him, all the moments in history that has been challenging, but then he spoke to me through his word, right? I've used this example many times before and I can use, show my Bible and say, okay, on 2007 of August 14th, he spoke to me through Psalm 27 verse 8, you know, and in 2005, July of 2005, when I got my second POC results, I can show you how he spoke to me through Isaiah 53, 54, and when I didn't understand the context of it, when I didn't understand who Isaiah was, when I didn't understand what was he writing about, if he was prophesying nothing, I had no idea what the context or who Isaiah was, but yet through his word, through the Spirit of God, he comforted me. All of those things I cannot impart. Yes? So for you to live an overcoming life and overcoming it, you need to feed your inner man with the word of God, right? Jesus used the word. Again, so fundamental, we know the story. When the devil was trying to tempt him, Jesus said, it is written. It is written. It is written, isn't it? If you know anything about the education system of the Jewish culture, from the time a kid, a child is two, they're sent to school, and their school is Bible College, Torah, right? And by the time they are eight or nine, they have memorized the entire, you know, the Torah or, yeah, the Old Testament, Tanakh. Now, why were, you see, Jesus understood the audience that he was preaching or teaching to. And so most of the time, why the teachers of the law was offended or angry at him was not directly because of the verse that he was quoting. It is because of the verse that is before the verse he is quoting or after the verse that he is quoting. Because everybody, his audience were so intelligent that they knew the context. That means they knew the Tanakh by heart. What does it mean? Again, easily accessible, the weapon. Okay. So, feed your inner person with the word. First Peter chapter two verse two, it says, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Acts 2032. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. In Revelation, we know again, John one in the beginning was the word, he is the word of God, right? In Revelation and his name is the word of God. I forget that chapter, but that's what it says. Okay. Second point is renew your mind with the word. Renew your mind with the word. Simply means your mind now has to be aligned with the word of God. That's what it simply is. To renew your mind with the word, it simply means, okay, you cannot, your old self has died now and you cannot continue to think the way you thought as the old man did, right? Everything, your thought process, everything has to be in line with what the word of God says. Are you with me? Okay. Again, I made this point before, but you know this prayer that Moses makes saying, show me your ways that I may know you. One of the things that is, one of the components that is associated with knowing or learning the ways of God is one, is you have to unlearn your ways, right? To show me your ways that I may know you. There's an element there where I'm going to unlearn my ways. That's why I'm willing to learn your ways. Okay. And that is the renewing of the mind is that our mind is now aligned to the word of God. So, feed your inner man with the word of God. Become hungry for his word. Okay. You can have, I mean, you can just read the word, read the Bible, you can study the Bible. And, you know, I know people where they read the Bible for leisure sake, you know, leisure, what do you do in your leisure time? That means in your free time, I play badminton, I play cricket, I, you know, they do all these things. But some of them just read the Bible in their leisure. So, it's also that, you know, so we read the Bible, we study the Bible. That means you take the time to do a word study, to do a verse mapping, right? To do a book study, to do a character study. Like, how many of us do that? And all of that is building your inner man. Yes. Yeah, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but just coming to Bible College alone is not enough. It's genuinely, it's not enough. Because again, here, the word is being taught to you. And yes, it is, you know, beneficial. And you are being benefited by what you're learning, right? It equips you, it empowers you. But that alone is not enough. You have to open up the word for yourself and read it for yourself and meditate on it, let it minister to you. Yeah. Okay. So, feed your inner man, renew your mind with the word of God, and then speak the word. Speak the word. In Ephesians chapter 6 verse 17, we see that it says, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, right? So, speak in the word of God is crucial for you to live an overcome life, right? And Revelation, again, it talks about how there was like a double-edged sword was coming out of the mouth of Jesus. It simply is an imagery for the words, right? And you know, the scripture, again, Revelation, it says they overcame with the word, right? And the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. You see the cross there and then the word. Okay. So, there's something about declaring the word. And that is why we make our declaration every Sunday at APC, right? I'm redeemed, I'm blessed, I'm victorious, I'm prosperous, right? I'm triumphant. I'm a minister of God, a servant of Christ and the channel of His blessing, right? There's something about declaring who we are, right? Bible says it is without faith, it is impossible to please God, right? It is without faith, it is impossible to please Him. And Psalm 19 says, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you. And so, something about declaring words of faith that pleases the heart of God, that causes Him to act in following, okay? So, speaking the word is powerful, right? If Jesus used it, I'm sure we can. I say it is written, I am born of God, I'm a child of God, and therefore I am an overcomer. I hope everybody is okay online as well, following. All right, three simple points, just moving on to walking in the Spirit chapter 4. So, these first four chapters are like the basis fundamentals for the remainder of the section. It's, and if you understood these four chapters, the remaining is the same thing that's applied or taught. Walking in the Spirit. Okay, okay. Here's what, give me one answer, one quick answer as to why it is important for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And why is the baptism of the Holy Spirit important? What's important? Okay, thank you. Sorry. Okay, I can hear from God, okay. Yeah, I can overcomer flesh your desires all right. Yeah, that is what Jesus said. So my question, he's a helper, okay. Yeah, there are so many things, right? But then one of the immediate and the first things that we see what Jesus is telling is that I will send, right? And then you will be my witnesses, right? And so that is like the key, like the first point of us is the Holy Spirit helps us to be witness of Jesus, right? And then everything else, you know, it's not like in different steps. But then one of the key things is that Jesus was, he did everything he did with the power of the Holy Spirit, right? And with everything that he did with healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing the lepers and all of that, he revealed the Father. That was Jesus being a witness of who his father is. And so now with how we are witnesses of Jesus is when we are filled with the Holy Spirit is we are called to do the same thing. We preach the gospel, right? We are called to minister, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, etc., etc. And we can do all of those things with the power of the Holy Spirit, right? And so it is with the power of the Holy Spirit we can live an overcome life, okay? So can we, can someone read Romans chapter 8 verse 1 to 14, please? It's a lot of reading, but I hope it's okay. Romans chapter 8 verse 1 to 14. So it was the Lord who did not do in that letter speak to the flesh. God did by sending his homes and the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin. He condemned the sin in the flesh that the righteousness requirement of the Lord might be fulfilled in his own. Who did not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. So those who lived according to the flesh, it is said there are lines of things of the flesh that those who lived according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. But to be carnally minded is death, but not to be, but to be spiritual indeed, minded is life and death. Because the carnally minded is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then those who are flesh cannot be God, but you are not into the spirit of the Spirit. But if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of his righteousness. But if the Spirit of him who raised diseases from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the Spirit. But if you live according to the Spirit, you will die. But if you revive the Spirit, you will be dead and the needs of the body you will live. So as many as are led by the Spirit of God, please ask. Okay, thank you. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. Now it's interesting how it ends in verse 14, because from verse one he talks about walking in the Spirit, the importance of it. And then finally he concludes, I mean not concludes per se, but verse 14 he says that we are led by the Spirit. So if we are led by the Spirit, we can walk by the Spirit. And if we walk by the Spirit, we can overcome this life. And it's very similar to the previous point that we learned that for renewed mind, we need to be aligned with the Word of God. Yes. And another component or another side of the coin to live a life of holiness is to be led by the Holy Spirit. Okay, two famous scriptures. Again, we look at that in just a minute. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 15, it says be filled with the Holy Spirit, right? Be filled with the Holy Spirit, right? Don't be drunk in wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. And then Colossians chapter 3 verse 16, it says, let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. That means let it take a residence in you richly. Okay, so two important things, the Word of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Okay, Ephesians chapter 5 actually starts off by saying, be imitators of Christ. And then how we can imitate Christ is through the Holy Spirit by being filled with the Holy Spirit and not being drunk with wine. Okay, so Romans chapter 8 is key. Again, Romans chapter 6 talks about how we are dead to sin. Okay, our old sinful man has been crucified. Romans chapter 7 says, see, your flesh is going to have evil desires, fleshly desires. You can try all that you want with your flesh, but it's going to be challenging. And then therefore, he says, now there is therefore no condemnation. That's why Paul starts chapter 8 with, like that, by saying therefore, walk in the spirit because it is the Holy Spirit who's going to empower you to live a holy life. Are you following? That is Romans 8. Let's look at Galatians chapter 5 verse 16 to 26. So that you will not do things that you wish, but if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the words with the flesh are evident, which are, are a real foundation and meaning and purpose. Let us, are a real source of hatred, hatred, contractions, jealousies, outbursts of love, selfish ambitions, dissentions, helices, envy, murder, drunkenness, reveries, and the like of which I did before famine. Just as I also told you one time past, that those who practice such things will not money into the kingdom. But if you go to spirit, please learn, join, please, concentrate, finance, but this will influence your business. So maybe such things and those who are, I guess, have crucified flesh with its passion, passions and desires. If you experience it, let us walk in spirit. Let us not become conceited or working one another in waiting a moment. Okay, thank you. Very beautiful passage of scripture, isn't it? Emphasizing anything to do with walking with the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Holy Spirit, these three chapters are key. Romans chapter 8, Galatians chapter 5, Ephesians chapter 5. Very important passages when it comes to the Holy Spirit being filled with the Holy Spirit. So we know Romans chapter 8 was concluded by saying that you have to be led by the Holy Spirit. What happens when we are not led by the Holy Spirit? We are led by the flesh. We were given to our fleshly desires. Sure, there are some, you know, we have good desires. You know, not everything we desire is evil per say. Right? Yes, isn't it? But at the same time, we need to recognize that, you know, scriptures like Matthew chapter 15 verse 19 says, for every sexual immoral desires, it comes from the heart. Sorry. And Proverbs 4, 23 says, guard your heart diligently. Right? Because if you don't guard it, it is easy to be offended. That means it is easy to fall, become a trap or trip. Right? So Galatians 5, 16. Excuse me, guys. Sorry. That's what I'm saying. But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. So have you seen a hungry person? Okay, now who is hungry? What makes a person hungry? Or what makes a person desire food? Okay, so that is a very obvious thing, isn't it? But here's the thing. In one of the books of C.S. Lewis, I forget, he talks about the flesh. So he says, there are two kinds of people. Okay, now if you go give a food to someone who is very hungry and starving, they will grab it. But it is also the same with a person who's have had abundance of food. And they've tasted something abundantly and then they crave for more of it. Yes. So as let's say, for example, as a porn addict, or as an alcoholic, I've tasted it. I've seen it. I want to see some more. I want to see some more. I want to see some more. Just one more peg. One more peg. Just one more peg. Some more. Just one more video. Just one more video. What is happening? Yeah, your appetite for a particular thing is increasing. Are you with me? Your appetite for a particular thing is increasing because you're feeding it more. Same thing applies with spirit, right? Or you've tasted him. You want more of him. You want more of him, isn't it? And so, and that's why fasting is beautiful. It kills your flesh. It is teaching your flesh to be submissive, right? It is, you're changing the perspective of it. It's like you're not gratifying the desires of the flesh. You are saying who's the master? Are you with me? Yes, no, maybe. Yeah. One of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, when we think of Sodom and Gomorrah, it's not just their sexual immorality. It is in Ezekiel, it says that they had abundance of food. And in the context, you see that they were not being hospitable to the cities around them. Hospitality was not their mark of value or a principle. And because they did not know what hospitality was, that's why they wanted to misbehave with the guests of Lot. Understood? Because like, hey, I heard their guests in your house, send them out. If you're a hospitable person, that is not how you behave with your guests. That means a lot of things happening there. They did not know how to host. That's what hospitality is. I heard someone say this, I made a very powerful statement. It made me think, it says, if you know how to host people, you will know how to host God. Right? And because of the abundance of everything that Sodom and Gomorrah had, they were blinded, arrogant, pride, and they're not hospitable. Are you with me? Okay. So when we learn to not gratify our flesh, we're also learning to host His presence. We're learning to be led by the Holy Spirit. And for us to follow someone, you need to see where they are going and you need to hear what they are saying. Yeah? And so your spirit man comes to life. I say, okay, so you begin to hear Him. You begin to recognize His presence that, okay, He is here. He's speaking. Being sensitive to the leading of His Holy Spirit is very crucial, okay, to say the least. All right. So how do I do this practically? How do we walk in the Spirit practically day by day is to be filled with the Spirit? It is a command. Right? And I've used this example so many times, the Christians are very good at following part of that command. They don't be drunk in wine. Absolutely. You know, no question. Shoot, no chance. I only drink grape juice, pastor. I'm very good at following the first half of the commandment. What about the second half? Complete ignorance. But be filled with the Spirit. Now, in the next page, we'll look at when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, what happens, but we'll get to that in just a second. So pray and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you, welcome Him, be filled with His Spirit, stay spiritually minded, stay spiritually minded. Romans chapter 8 verse 5, it says, for those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh. For those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Okay, anything, whatever you want to add to the things of the flesh, you can feel free to add to it. Okay, keeping in mind, Matthew chapter 15 verse 19, and for those who live according to the Spirit, they set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Passion translation says, those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue what benefits themselves. But those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated by pursue spiritual realities. Different contemporary English version says, everyone who's ruled by the Spirit thinks about spiritual things. But those who live following the Spirit are thinking about what Spirit wants them to do. Good news Bible. Those who live as a Spirit tells them to have their minds controlled by what the Spirit wants. Holy Spirit is one of the God heads of the Trinity. From Genesis chapter 1, He's been involved. The Spirit was brooding over the waters. He's moving. The Spirit of God is constantly on the move. Are we following the same question? I think Isaiah chapter 63 verse 10 says, the Holy Spirit was grieved. The Holy Spirit was grieved. Isaiah 63, 10. In 2 Samuel 23 verse 1, 2, and 3, this is recorded as the last words of David. Then David writes, the Spirit of the Lord is on me and his word is on my tongue. He writes that. And so people most of the times ask, okay, where is the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Old Testament? Yeah, how many verses do you want? But yeah, the Holy Spirit, He is power. Stay spiritually minded. Ask the Holy Spirit for help and then speak the word. Okay, so four important points. How do I do this practically? That means how do we walk in the Spirit? How do we live in the Spirit and how can we be led by the Spirit? One, stay filled with the Holy Spirit. He wants to fill us. One of the things we teach in the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that John the Baptist says, I baptize you in the water, but there it comes after me. Who will baptize you in spirit and in fire? And when John the Baptist is saying, he's talking about Jesus, he baptizes you. So first thing, who baptizes us? Jesus. He's the baptizer. And then we know this in Acts chapter 2. It says that he came like a rushing wind. The sound was heard. There was an audible sound that when this wind came. So the Hebrew word for spirit is Ruah and it means breath and wind. It's used in, you know, so it's breath and wind. And so when the wind of God came, when He came, there was a sound that broke the barrier of the city. Okay, we can talk about just the importance of releasing a sound. I mean, why do we emphasize on speaking the word because you're releasing a sound? God said and there was. Right? He released a sound and then there was. Right? And so when the Holy Spirit came, there was a sound barrier that was over the city that was broken and it came like a rushing wind. Right? So that word rush is an interesting word. When would you rush when you're in a hurry, when you want to be somewhere really badly? Isn't it? Airport rush, rush hour traffic, we say that. And so that goes on to say, it simply means to say that the Holy Spirit, when He came like a rushing wind, He really wanted to be there more than they wanted Him. Right? And so when we say that stay filled with the Holy Spirit, we need to know that He longs to fill us. He wants to fill us. He desires to fill us in the fullness of who He is. So being filled with the Holy Spirit and that helps us and staying spiritually minded, ask the Holy Spirit for help and speak the word. And now we will look at as a concluding section. Now, how do I know if I'm walking in the Spirit? Okay, last section, guys. So pay attention and we'll close. This whole course is coming down to this. So how can I, how can we tell if I'm really living filled with the Spirit and walking in the Spirit? First one, I will manifest the fruit of the Spirit. I will manifest the fruit of the Spirit, the fruits of the Spirit. We can read about it in Galatians. We just read, right? 519 to 21. Patience, kindness, gentleness, longsuffering, etc. Okay, I will be manifesting the fruit of the Spirit. I will edify others. So Ephesians chapter five was 18 says be filled with the Spirit. So when you're filled with the Spirit, you sing songs, speak to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Okay, and then I will be in a place of communion with the Lord, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God, the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It causes you to worship. Those who worship me must worship in Spirit and in truth. There we go. And finally, the last point is I will walk with humility and submission, submitting to one another in the fear of God. So for simple points is I will manifest the fruit of the Spirit. It's not complicated, right? I will edify others. Does your life edify your neighbor? You can ask that question. Does your life edify another person? You need to ask yourself that question, right? There's something about a presence of a person. Presence is powerful, right? And we all have this, your individual presence, for example, like even if you're closing your eyes, and if someone's standing next to you, you kind of feel there's, okay, there's something there, isn't it? That's the power of just a presence, like an innate thing that we carry, it's as simple as that. How many of you have been in a place where you're in a room, for example, like this and a person who always makes you laugh and happy and walks in and the entire room lights up? Have you been in a situation like that? Like, okay, I've been part of friends, circle and whatnot, okay, where the room can be dull, okay, they're all looking at the phone and this person can say, hey, what's up with the whole room? Like, hey, something about their presence, right? And at the same time, the opposite, a person who always carries this negative approach to life and there's nothing, and they step into the room and say, oh my gosh, she is here, she is here. And how much more were the Holy Spirit in us, right? And so you need to ask yourself that question. You know, when you step into the room, does the atmosphere of the room change, not because of who you are, just who you are, but because of the one who you carry? Does it impact? Does your life edify one another? Are you walking in humility and submission? Because in this day and age, humility has been portrayed as weakness. The first person to apologize is always seen as a weak person. Yes or no? But you have to be strong to be humble, right? You have to be strong to be humble. You have to be strong to reach out and lift a weak person up. You have to be strong. If you want to jump over this wall, you need to be strong to bend down and give you a back so someone can climb over your back and jump the wall. See, Radha? I would make, okay, so these are the four simple truths that tells us if we are walking in this period, okay? So the remainder of the chapters just simply echo these first fours of what we've learned, all right? And so I would urge you, if possible, I can also look, listen to the sermon series, look into his, the sermon notes. It's in more detail about it, all right? So the course on holiness, we began by looking at the Holy One of Israel, the Holy One, who's three times, who's twice holy, right? There is no one like him. There is none like him. His, the holiness adorns his house from that to how he desires for his children to be holy as he is holy. And then he begins this invitation. He calls us to repent and then he's made a way for us, right? To live an overcome life. So that is the course on holiness. I hope there's something that you could learn and it's edified and empowered you. And thank you for joining. God bless you all, okay? Continue to work on your assignments. I'll be looking forward to correcting it. Thank you, everyone. God bless you. Have a good day.