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Benefits of bearing the cross:

1. You will Experience Victory.

God’s way to obtain victory is through self-sacrifice.

We are more than conquerors because we are subduing the flesh and we are walking in the Spirit.

2. You will find Great Joy.

When you learn to carry the cross, the flesh can’t rob you of your joy.

You are removing the barriers to a truly joyful life.

3. God will Exalt You.

4. Greater Effectiveness in Ministry.

Brokenness precedes fruitfulness.

Everybody wants to sign up for power. But you can’t have resurrection power until you sign up for your cross.

5. You will get to Know God Better.

Phil 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection

- The desire if the Spirit is that the intellect, the will, and the emotions, function dependent upon God.

- When the Holy Spirit shows us ourselves:

The flesh will always look to rationalise.

The flesh likes to live in denial.

The flesh will try to make a vice a virtue.

The flesh will try to spiritualise everything.

· When Jesus said to you take up your cross daily, He is calling you to an experience that will take time.

· It takes a lifetime to become a mature follower of Jesus.

· God loves us too much to leave us as we are.

The flesh is the intellect, will and the emotions of man, functioning independently of God.

The desire of the Spirit is that the intellect, the will, and the emotions, function dependent upon God.

The way we deal with that flesh, is by daily bearing our cross.

Paul: In my hardship I see myself dying to the flesh, so that more of Jesus can be revealed in me.

Paul: I have learned that safety and satisfaction, are not found in a place, they are only found in Jesus.

God never meant for you to find your happiness in circumstances.

The Spirit teaches us that sorrow is an opportunity for freedom.

The Holy Spirit will help you.

Your flesh cannot, and will not, deny or crucify itself.

It wants to have God’s salvation, but it wants to be in control.

If you are committed to dying to self and walking in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit will use people to accomplish that in your life.

God will use people to show you where you need to take up the cross.

One of the places where God exposes us to ornery people is in the church.

In Paul letters he shows us people in three categories:

He talks about the Natural man.

He talks about the Carnal man, or Fleshly man.

He talks about the Spirit-led man.

Often the most miserable people I come across, are fleshly/carnal believers.

If you are going to follow Christ go all the way.

There are 3 forces that constantly wage war against us.

John calls them: the World, the Flesh, and the Devil.

The most destructive is our own flesh.

What does the term “Flesh” mean?

“Flesh” is human intellect, human will, and human emotion, acting independently of God.

The Spirit gives life but the flesh counts for nothing.

True Christian worship is doing what God wants.

Christ broke the power of sin over you.

In Christ you’re not the same person you used to be.

Study is meaningless without a solid foundation.

The entire Bible is a text for the study of the Holy Spirit.

Paul knew he was not walking alone, he was being led, he was being empowered, by the Holy Spirit.

1. He is a Person, Not an It.

2. He is the Holy Spirit.

3. He is Spirit.

4. The Holy Spirit is God’s Agent.

When God wants to act, he acts through the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit empowers.

A series on the Holy Spirit and the Spirit Filled life.

We have been passed from condemnation into acceptance.

- By virtue of the blood of the lamb He passes over our past sins.

- He empowers us to live differently, righteously and holy lives.

He gives you the lamb within to empower you.

It’s impossible to live the Christian life apart from the Holy Spirit.

Heaps of people try to live in their own abilities:

1. On the basis of their mental power.

2. On the basis of their will power.

3. On the basis of their emotions and feelings.

All of those are deficient.

Today lets note these 2 things:

1. Awareness.

That you can’t live the Christian life by doing the best with your flesh.

2. Begin to pray now.

That in these coming weeks God will encounter all of us.