Right here is where a lot of us fall short. Knowing what a Scripture says, knowing what it means, and knowing how it is to be applied to our lives still isn’t enough.

We must yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him do the actual work. Once the Holy Spirit installs God’s Word in our lives, it will be a manifestation of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). This is the character of Jesus that has to be flowing in and through us. Without it, we can’t yield to Jesus’ wishes.

It is then and only then that we and the people around us start seeing it being lived out of us. That process of living out God’s Word in our daily lives is called walking in or living by the Spirit. He is making it possible for us to live out the life that Jesus wants to live through us (John 16:13-15; Galatians 2:20).

This is where the ministry of Jesus starts flowing through us. We are living the things we are ministering into the lives of others. We have said “yes” to God living this issue in our life; and now we are showing others the benefits and the procedures for living it in their life. If we haven’t said “yes” to this issue ourselves, we don’t qualify to be ministering that issue in others. If we don’t stay humble before God, we can start teaching people to say “no” to God concerning that issue.

Gal 5:16 (NIV) So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

The procedures for living by the Spirit:

1. Pray and ask God to help you trust the Holy Spirit and His work in your life.
2. Make sure you have the specific wisdom that has explained to you what is being applied, how it is going to change your life, and what you are going to have to be willing to let happen to you.
3. If this new change is replacing an old habit, make sure you are willing to let the old habit go. Make sure you aren’t trying to mix the old with the new. Also make sure you aren’t planning on living the new when convenient and going back to the old when desirable.
4. Pray and ask God to help you yield to the Holy Spirit and His power. Ask God to help you not to try to live this new change on your own.
5. If you fail in your new change:
     a. Turn back to God and renew your commitment to the new change.
     b. Let Him know that it is your will to be changed.
     c. Ask Him to forgive you for the failure. Ask Him to teach you how to better use His Word.
     d. Ask Him to teach you how to better yield to the Holy Spirit’s power and influence.
     e. Ask God to help you to never, never, never give up (Galatians 6:9).
     f. Just keep repeating the above process until the new change becomes a normal way of life.

6. Just as soon as you are CONSISTENTLY living that breakthrough, start sharing this six step procedure and that success with those around you. You are now qualified to start ministering to people in that area of victory.