Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV
I woke up this morning with the phrase resounding in my mind, “Spirit man, Be Strong.” I knew God was inviting me to listen to His Spirit and He wanted to encourage others today to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.” Eph 6:10. The daily battles we face can make us lose heart unless we understand how our “born again spirit” follows the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Before you were saved by Christ, your spirit man was dead in its ability to respond to God. It was also enslaved to sin and incapable of leading you to righteous living. Its understanding was bound to the realm of darkness. One man said, “we were lost and undone.”
THEN, Jesus saved you with the power of His shed blood on the cross. Your spirit man was born again. What was once in the back of everything was catapulted to first place in your life. Jesus removed the stony, unresponsive heart, and replaced it with a heart of flesh which is fully alive unto God.
Before Christ, you were controlled by a mind that was against God and His ways. You spoke and acted selfishly, proudly, fearfully, hatefully, hurtfully, dominantly, divisively, and without love and compassion. This mind and that old way of thinking was NOT reborn…your spirit man was reborn. Therefore you have to let your “born again spirit man” lead your new way of thinking. Your mind is now subservient to your spirit. And your spirit remains dependent on the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Before Christ, your body followed its own cravings. When your body desired something, you were easily led to give it what it wanted. Discipline by your parents and yourself would channel the cravings, but they still retained dominance. The lust of your fleshly body would struggle with addictions like too much or too little food, drugs, sex, alcohol, misuse of time, or too much love and focus on itself. All struggle in some way with the lost flesh dominating actions. Your fleshly body was not born again, it’s deeds are overcome by considering them dead or crucified. Your “born again spirit man ” takes the lead to saying “NO” to the ungodly passions your body desires for you to remain within.
Since your “born again spirit man” takes the lead position over your old ways of thinking (your mind) and your old ways of living (fleshly, bodily cravings), it is important to let your spirit grow and be strong. How does your spirit-man grow stronger?
Strengthening your inner man (born again spirit)
- It grows by faith. Faith resides in the newly born spirit. Faith is the dependency to act in response to God’s leading. God speaks, you trust and act in response to the impressions you receive from His speaking. As your born again spirit learns to identify God’s voice and his leading your faith response can grow and mature. Hebrews 11.
- It grows by feeding on God’s written word. “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law Romans 7:22. God’s word gives the fuel for your “born again spirit man” to grow and think God’s way. Any time your read the Bible, ask God to open your eyes of understanding for your “born again spirit man”. Your are not reading to gain more information or facts although those are good. Your “born again spirit man” needs to be strengthened and grow.
- It grows through abiding with the Father
- Your abiding connects through worship. This is not limited to corporate worship on Sunday mornings. This abiding worship is found in a heart which desires to connect with God’s presence. It may include singing, silence, expressions of thankfulness and gratitude, enjoying the beauty and wonder of God’s creation. You have the wonderful privilege to abide with the creator of all things.
- Your abiding connection happens in conversing prayer. You are invited to come directly into the throne room of God and present your request. Jesus maintained 100 percent openness to dialoguing with His Father. Your “born again spirit man” has the same continual access to God through the indwelling presence of almighty God.
There are so many things to side track us to despair and hopelessness. The presence of evil appears to dominate the airways. Death and sickness are prevalent in almost every conversation. If God is so loving, why are people experiencing so much pain and trouble? How can Hope survive?
God’s word is always true. Though all outward appearances shout despair, our “born again spirit man” is being strengthened and renewed daya by day. Grow and BE STONG in your “born again spirit man.”
Blessings Love y’all