Week 18 (28 April - 4 May): Spirit-Surrendered

Capping off the 3-part series on the Holy Spirit, I shared a message on 'Spirit Surrendered' last Saturday. It was the day where Singaporeans went to the polls to vote for their next government, and I was reminded that we too have the choice in deciding the Governor of our lives.

A Spirit-surrendered life begins with recognising that we have a choice in how we want to live: to surrender to the Spirit or to indulge the flesh, as we read in Galatians 5:13-16. Returning to legalism is not an option, as it defeats the purpose of Christ's death on the cross. If we believe in the saving grace of Christ, then we are left with two options: to surrender to the Spirit or to indulge the flesh. The Spirit guides us in ways of the Father, holy and just, while the flesh serves the desires of the self, breeding evil and death. They are total opposites and in conflict with one another, hence we can only choose one over the other to govern our lives.

In reality, however, we face a dissonance between the two choices because we experience both the temptation of the flesh and the righteous influence of the Spirit who resides in us. Paul’s illustration of the conflict between sin and the law in Romans 7:14-25 reveals the same conflict we face between the Spirit and the flesh, except that we know that through the Spirit, we can overcome the flesh! As Romans 8:13 states, “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” The only way to eliminate this conflict is, therefore, a Spirit-surrendered life, where our heart, soul, mind, and strength submit to the Spirit's leading and are aligned with the heart of our Heavenly Father.

How, then, can we surrender to the Spirit? Here are some suggestions based on Scripture, and I encourage you to develop your own list as well:

Action	Outcome	Verse Reference
Submit to God and resist the devil	Devil will flee from you	James 4:7
Value others above yourselves in humility and look to others interest first over our own	Be of the same mindset as Christ Jesus	Philippians 2:1-11
Pray to God and submit your request to Him continually	Peace of God will guard your heart and mind	Philippians 4:6-7
Knowing the Holy Scriptures	Wisdom for our Salvation through faith in Christ Jesus Thoroughly equip for good work	2 Timothy 3:14-17
Put into practice what we learn from God’s word	Be blessed in our doing of the Word	James 1:22-25

As we strive towards a Spirit-surrendered life on this earth, we begin to distinguish ourselves from this world, which lives in indulgence of the flesh. We start to yield the fruit of the Spirit, bringing forth Christ's goodness in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Coupled with the power of the Holy Spirit, we are then equipped and empowered to be effective witnesses of Christ to the world.

Blessings,

Bryan