Rom 8:13 (NIV) For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if BY the Spirit YOU put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. How do you BY the Spirit...put to death the misdeeds of your body? Faith is the key to conquering your body. You have to believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is flowing through your mind, heart, and life. If you believe your efforts in bring your body under control are being empowered by the Holy Spirit, it will happen.

You and Jesus are working on taking action on the basis of this truth: If BY the Spirit YOU put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. This is the place where your life moves from theory into real life. It is the place where your life moves from knowledge to faith. Faith is all about action. If something is true, then you can build your life on it. Faith is based on something God has already done. Things God is going to do are responded to in hope. Faith has nothing to do with what is going to happen.

The power of the Holy Spirit is in you and you can now take power-action. Do you remember trying to do something spiritual and failing? Well, you will be taking that same action; but, this time it will succeed. When you do something with faith in your own efforts, you fail. But, when you do the SAME THING while believing that God is empowering you to do it, you succeed. Your efforts won’t change; it will be where you put your faith that changes the results.

If BY the Spirit YOU put to death the misdeeds of the body: What you are attempting to do here is to deal with a temptation from the satanic realm. Whether it is from your body, the world, or the devil, you will take faith-action against it. You believe the Holy Spirit is empowering your actions. Remember how Peter denied his Lord three times because he couldn’t stand up to social pressure? Let Jesus show you how Peter later yielded in faith to the power of the Holy Spirit and succeeded.

The Holy Spirit empowered Peter and the other 120 people in Acts 2:1-12; and, when He did, there was a loud sound like wind blowing. This caused a great crowd of people to come and see what was making the noise. When the crowd got there, Peter and the others were speaking in various languages of the people in the crowd. That caused the people in the crowd to start trying to guess how Peter and his friends were speaking in their native tongues.

Acts 2:13-17 (NIV) Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on ALL people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.’”

This is the same Peter that couldn’t standup to a few accusers just a short time before. What has happened to him?

1. Jesus taught Peter for three years how to live the Christian life.
2. After that the Holy Spirit empowered Peter to handle social pressure.
3. Then Peter believed he could yield to that power.
4. Peter then took faith-action with that power by getting up and addressing the crowd.
5. In response, the Holy Spirit flowed through that faith and action and empowered Peter to present the good news to the crowd.

What did Peter resist when he stood up and addressed the crowd? He resisted fear, doubt, and weakness. Even though he felt the same way he felt when he denied knowing Jesus, he got up and started speaking. You may not feel all that strong. You may have the same doubts and fears you have had before. You may have tried this before and failed. But, as you move forward in faith, the Holy Spirit empowers you to do what you couldn’t do before.

When Peter faced the temptation to cave in to the pressure of the crowd during Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, he had already been trained on how to resist the desires of the body, the pressures of the world, and the temptations of the devil. He just didn’t have the power of the Holy Spirit operating in his life. Now, even though the crowd is making fun of them, Peter isn’t intimidated by it. However, one element is missing. This crowd isn’t threatening to do physical harm to Peter. Maybe the social pressure isn’t as great as it was during Jesus’ trial. Let Jesus show you a situation where physical harm and death ARE an issue.

Acts 5:28-33 (NIV) “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead--Whom YOU had killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, Whom God has given to those who obey Him.” When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.

They were wanting to kill Peter and he was still standing up for the truth about Jesus. How was he doing this? He was yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit to do what he couldn’t do before. He couldn’t do this on his own. And, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t do it without Peter’s decisions and actions. But, with both of them working together, Peter lived a faith filled life for God. If BY the Spirit YOU put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.