Sanctification – Where I Put Off Sins by the Power of the Spirit
Now that He is living within you, you will begin to hear Him speaking to you in gentle, flowing thoughts that are not your own. Deep within you will hear a voice saying, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isa.30:21). He will begin to guide your steps into a life that not only pleases Him but that fills you with love, joy and peace that passes all understanding. And He will reveal more of His great love for you and His desire to spend time together with you.
You have already heard His voice, for He is the One who has brought you to the place of salvation. It is He who has drawn you to Himself (Jn. 6:44). Expect that He will continue to speak to you. Take time to listen for His voice. Keep the Lord continuously before you by seeing Him always with you (Acts 2:25; Ps. 16:8). Set aside time each day just to have a conversation with Him. Knowing God – that’s what you were created for and why you were redeemed.
One of the things God will speak about is removing sinful thoughts and behaviors from your life because they are destructive to you, your relationships and the fulfillment of His destiny for you. This is considered the outworking of your initial salvation experience (Phil. 2:12). It is the laying down of your life, dying to self and coming progressively alive to the workings of the Holy Spirit within you. His design is for the Spirit’s power to flow out through you to others. You will discover that you can and will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. You can and will manifest the Holy Spirit who is living within you (1 Cor. 12:7-11). So let’s get to work allowing God the opportunity to remove these pebbles (sins) within you which can hinder His flow out through you and impede the fulfillment of His destiny for your life. The removing of these sins is one of the evidences that you are His and His Spirit indwells you (Rom. 8:9-14; 2 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-32; 1 Jn. 1:5-10; 2 Pet. 1:2-11).
1. I ACKNOWLEDGE there are still some sins in my life which now need to be REPLACED with godly actions.
“For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light…the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7-9).
- Some changes are instant: Now that Jesus is your Lord and the Holy Spirit is living within you, you will have already noticed some changes in your life. Sinful habits may have simply dropped away without any effort on your part. Your tastes may have changed in regard to the things that entertain you or make you laugh. Physical appetites for things that defile your body may suddenly disappear. Your speech may be so suddenly purified and seasoned with grace that those around you can’t help but notice. These are miracles of the new life you have been given! Whenever you notice such a cleansing in your life, be sure to take the time to say, “Thank You!” to the One who has done this for you.
- Some changes are a process: Though we may wish it were different, the Lord does not make us instantly perfect and impervious to all temptations. Some sins will remain and you will be tempted to give in to them and live the way you have always lived. These temptations are opportunities for you to reaffirm your decision to make Jesus the Ruler of your life. He does not force you to follow His good plan for you because He has created you with free will. He wants you to obey because that is what you want to do, what you choose to do. He leaves these remaining temptations so that you will learn to drive them out by the power of the Spirit as part of your training. And every temptation to sin can become an opportunity to strengthen your resolve and declare, “I am no longer in charge of my life. I made a mess of it all! Jesus is my Ruler now, and I will obey Him.”
- Right there in that moment of temptation, you have three choices: 1) You may just give in and sin. 2) You may try to resist the temptation in your own strength by setting your will to overcome. Or 3) You may turn to the Holy Spirit within you for the grace (the strength and ability) to resist.
- Not by the strength of your will: We all want to believe that we have the power to whatever we decide to do, so we think if we just set our will, we will be able to live the Christian life. But that is not what Christianity is about at all! First of all, let’s face it – you have proven in your life up until now that you are not able to resist temptation on your own. And that is not what God is asking you to do. You are not living on your own anymore. You have the Holy Spirit living within you who has all the power you need to overcome any temptation. He doesn’t want you to try to clean yourself up to prove you are a Christian or to try to be good enough for Him to love and accept. All He wants you to do is cry, “Help me, Jesus!” and He will be there providing a way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13).
2. By the POWER of the Holy Spirit I FORSAKE and REPLACE sins.
“If you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13).
Simply remembering that the Lord is with you and in you, and calling out to Him to help you, often releases the strength you need to be victorious. But sometimes we have sinful habits that just seem to want to maintain their control over us. One of the ways the Spirit will show you how to overcome these sins is through putting off sin and putting on righteousness.
Biblical examples of “putting off” and “putting on.”
“Lay aside the old self, and put on the new self. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:22-32).
- Be lead by the Spirit: Ask the Lord to show you what new behaviors He wants you to “put on” to replace the sinful activities you once did. Don’t try to think up the “right answer” on your own! Wait quietly before the Lord expecting Him to tell you what He wants you to do. His voice is sensed as flowing thoughts while your heart and inner eyes are focused on Him. He has wonderfully creative ideas that are so much more effective than anything we would come up with on our own. Give Him the chance to give you His instructions for you, personally. Then depend on His strength to obey.
- Say it: Lay your hand on your heart and say “Holy Spirit, cut any evil desire out of my heart to (list ungodly activity) and give me a new heart, I pray (see Jesus doing this). From this day on, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I will (list countering godly activity). Thank You, Lord, for setting me free from this bondage and granting me new life in Christ. I receive it with joy!”
- Let the Holy Spirit minister: Slow down and tune to flowing thoughts, pictures and emotions as you do this so you can experience the spiritual transformation taking place.
- Repeat the above prayer for each sin the Spirit shows you He wants to deal with. As you go forward in your walk with the Lord, the Holy Spirit will continue to let you know areas of your life that He wants to change. Don’t be discouraged when you see your failings. Be glad that your eyes are opened to the destructive road you were on and that you now have a way to turn around (repent), get off that path and go the right way because of the power of the Spirit within you.
3. If I do sin, I repent and WATCH as Christ's blood is applied to my sins allowing me to experience full freedom.
Suppose when the temptation comes, instead of resisting, you just give in without a fight – or you fight in your own strength and lose? What if you momentarily forget Who is in charge of your life and you retake the throne? What do you do then? You apply the step below.
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out…” (Acts 3:19). “Turn to the Lord…for He will freely pardon” (Isaiah 55:7).
- Repent immediately: As soon as you are aware that you have sinned (and you will know because the Holy Spirit within you will be grieved and you will feel His grief), repent, turn away from your sin and back to the Lord. Remember His promise: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:7-9)
- Speak it: “Lord, I am sorry for committing this sin of ______. I turn away from (list sin) and I turn to You, Jesus, receiving Your blood which is washing over it and cleansing me of the guilt of this sin and making me totally clean. Jesus, You are my Lord, my Ruler, my Commander. I do want You to be on the throne of my life. Please take Your place there once more. Thank You for Your mercy, Your faithfulness and Your righteousness that forgives me and cleanses me completely.”
- See it: See yourself handing the sin to Jesus, Jesus taking it and washing it away and cleansing you. See Jesus giving you a garment of white to wear, which is His righteousness (Gal. 3:27). You stand complete in Him (Col. 1:28). You have put on His righteousness, just as a woman on her wedding day puts on a beautiful gown of white. You stand spotless, glowing, radiating His glory.
- Let the Holy Spirit minister: Slow down this process. Don’t rush. Take your time. As you see yourself handing the sin to Jesus and watch Him take it and cleanse you, tune to flow, and let that picture come alive by the life of the Holy Spirit. Watch the flowing picture as Jesus interacts with you.
- Sanctified: This is the process of sanctification, of working out your salvation, for it is God Who is producing in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases Him (Phil. 2:12,13). As you submit to Him and look into His face, He will transform you daily into the image of His dear Son (Rom. 8:29).
Holy Spirit, Come
- Holy Spirit, I come to You. I welcome You (Eph. 1:17,18). I will not grieve You (Eph. 4:25-32).
- Holy Spirit, I look to see You, and You show me Your perspective (Jn. 5:19,20,30).
- You give me Your thoughts (1 Cor. 2:12-16). You tell me what’s on the heart of God (Heb. 3:7).
- I feel You (Ezek. 3:14). You release God’s emotions within me (Gal. 5:22-23).
- You guide me. You sanctify me for my life’s work (Matt. 12:18; Rom. 15:16).
- You anoint my lips, my mind, my heart, my hands (2 Sam. 23:2; Ex. 28:3;31:3).
- You make me creative (Ex. 35:31-33). Let Your words flow through me (Lk. 1:67).
- You release Your ability through me (1 Cor. 12:7-11). You release in me the power to be holy (2 Cor. 3:4-6; Jn. 6:63).
- You release the power of God to me. Authenticate Your words with Your power (Acts 4:31).
- You take me away (Rev. 21:10; 22:17).
The above prayer is from the book – Intimacy with The Holy Spirit
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