What has changed since God came into your life?

Ben Lenz asked that question during his message at Green Bay Community Church on Sunday, Feb. 23.

When a person chooses to trust Christ, there is a promise of being sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14). Here are key points from Ben’s message that address the impact the Holy Spirit can have on a Christ follower’s life:

*Believers in Christ are washed, sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6: 11).

*God began a good work in believers and will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). God does the work, not us. We can cooperate or not cooperate. We can plug into God’s Spirit, or disconnect from the work God is doing in us.

*The effects of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer refers to workings, activities, operations and results. The Spirit gives us power, boldness, confidence and the ability to resist evil. The Spirit also intercedes on our behalf, reveals, testifies and builds up the body of believers together.

*The things that start to change don’t necessarily happen overnight. It’s a journey.

*The Spirit supplies us with various gifts (Romans 12: 6-8): prophecy, service, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading, and mercy.

*The Spirit’s power leads believers into ministry, which means to serve God and others.

*The Spirit can lead to manifestations, which means to open our sight, to display, to cause to shine. The Spirit allows us to let God shine through our lives (1 Corinthians 12: 7-11).

*In Galatians we are called to live and walk by the Spirit. We are also warned that the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit. What is happening is a war between the Spirit and the flesh.

*Some fruits of the flesh (Galatians 5: 19-21) include: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, envy, drunkenness, carousing.

*Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23) include: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

*Ask yourself these questions in assessing where you stand in terms of the flesh and the Spirit: Where is the root? Where is the fruit?

*If you are in the Spirit then you will act out of love and have a posture of surrender.