Why Holy Spirit Serves as Your Personal Trainer for Freedom

True freedom is found in one place—Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

Is this it? Yes, and no. I wanted a new life. Being saved is more than a prayer. It includes having a circumcised heart, becoming new, bearing fruit and living by faith.

“But he is a Jew who is one inwardly. And circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, and not by the letter. His praise is not from men, but from God” (Rom. 2:29).

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:6-8).

Read it. So is everyone born of the Spirit? When you gave your life to Christ, did anyone mention the Spirit to you? Probably not. But I am sure they told you, you were now a Christian. Right? I am not saying you’re not. That’s not my call. But please make sure you are! I was reborn. I was born again.

Do you want to talk about how to stop addiction in its tracks? When you signed your salvation pledge card, did anyone mention that you are a new person? Or that you were born by the Spirit just like you were born as a child?

No. Not. Rarely. Addiction steals our life. We must know that we are saved and have the fruits of being a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Watchman Nee said, “We have the Holy Spirit within as life and without as power and gift. If we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit within, we have the riches of the life of the Lord. If we do not have the riches of the spiritual life, this proves that although we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we are not filled with Him. In the same way, if we have the Holy Spirit upon us, we have power and a certain kind of gift. We cannot say that we have the Holy Spirit upon us if we are not powerful and are unable to do anything. We must have power and gift.”

Let’s see what Jesus says:

“I indeed baptize you with water to repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matt.3:11).

The Holy Spirit is the power of God. The Holy Spirit is the power source of the believer. God gives us power. And every addict certainly needs the power to overcome the strongholds of addiction.

When the Holy Spirit comes on the believer, He fills us. It is called a baptism.

“Being assembled with them, He commanded them, ‘Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, of which you have heard from Me. For John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now'” (Acts 1:4-5).

The essence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit is when a person who is already a believer, receives power to exalt Christ and to be a witness, just as the Scripture says.

And there’s more.

Being assembled with them, He commanded them, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, of which you have heard from Me. For John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or the dates, which the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1: 4-8).

Let’s notice the language: “when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be” (Acts 1:8a)

Look deeper. The Holy Spirit empowers us in new ways. One new way we receive this empowerment is through praying. The Holy Spirit will pray through us.

“Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8:26).

Jesus said:

“But now I am going to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ Rather, sorrow has filled your heart because I have told you these things. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:5-7).

If Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, we should receive Him. Right? Well, the Holy Spirit is here. And He is our helper. Genuine Christ followers have a relationship with the Holy Spirit. As Christians, we experience daily changes through the Holy Spirit’s leading.

The Holy Spirit is our personal trainer and leads us to become more like Christ.

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” (John 14:26).

The born again Christian has received the Spirit of Christ, who is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and reminds us all things that Christ taught and spoke. There were times in my addiction I did not know how to pray.

“But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20).

The Holy Spirit gave me impressions and led me to the words I needed. Prayers lead to faith and faith leads to victory. Learning how to pray with the Spirt and in the Spirit was like stoking an internal fire. The Holy Spirit is supernatural and builds up the believers.

Every person needs the Holy Spirit and His help. {eoa}

Thomas McDaniels is a pastor and writer and the guy behind thomasmcdaniels.com. He has written for ChurchLeaders.com and currently is a contributing writer for Fox News. He is also the founder of LifeBridge.tv and the Longview Dream Center in Longview, Texas. Thomas can be found on social media, Instagram and Twitter.