Our first session covered what Christ did for you upon your acceptance of Him.  Let’s talk about what Christ is currently doing in our lives right now.

1. This world is our proving ground.  God takes circumstances and works them so that we have a choice.  The choice is always to trust and then follow Him or to harden our hearts (Hebrews 3:7-9) and do things our own way (the way we see them).  We must learn to listen to the Holy Spirit within us and be obedient.  God isn’t afraid of us dying; in fact, He would rather take us home with Him right now!  If He isn’t afraid of us dying, then He isn’t afraid of anything else that might happen to us.  And, if He is in control of circumstances, then we must learn to trust in the sovereignty of God.  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  (Romans 8:28)
2. God doesn’t put us in a situation and then sit back and laugh.  He loves us and wants us to win, so He equips us with what we need to overcome our circumstances.  First, He gives us the desire to do His will and then He gives us the power to do His will.  “For it is God who works in you to will [desire] and to act [power] according to his good purpose” (Phil. 2:13). We can do nothing on our own (in the flesh).  Because of the presence of sin in our world, things go wrong.  God gives everyone the choice of right or wrong and most people choose wrong which makes for a world full of bad choices.  We must live with the consequences of those choices whether we are directly responsible or not.  But God, in His divine love and wisdom, takes what is intended for evil and uses it to teach us to look to Him for everything.  In fact, the mature Christian realizes that he is completely dependent upon the Lord; rather than learning independence, he learns utter dependence.  Look to the Lord in all situations.  “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13).
3. We are made up of three parts: Body (flesh), soul (heart), and spirit.  The body houses our soul and our spirit houses the Holy Spirit.  Before you were saved, your spirit resembled the number 0 or a deflated balloon (they were empty of value) and your flesh (the desires of the body because of its sin nature) ruled your hearts (soul).  Upon the entrance of the Holy Spirit in your lives (salvation), your spirit was quickened and God began the lifelong task of changing our hearts to be like His Son, Jesus.  “For those God foreknew [He looked into the hearts of every person to see if there was any spark of love for His Son, Jesus] he also predestined [decided beforehand, planned] to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.” (Romans 8:29)
4. Jesus wants to have intimate fellowship with us.  “Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)  He asks that we open the door of our heart and mind to Him and let Him in.  The custom during Jesus’ day was to invite a stranger in to spend the night rather than leave him to face the weather and bandits.  Over dinner, you would talk about yourself and he would tell you his life story and you two would become friends.  This picture is what Christ has in mind with you everyday.  We must each day open our hearts to Him and allow Him access to our thoughts and lives.
5. Don’t be afraid to trust the Lord with your life.  Don’t be afraid to tell someone about what Christ is doing in your life.  Don’t be afraid!  God gives us a spirit of boldness.  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity [fear], but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline [sound mind].” (2 Tim. 1:7)  Actually, it’s impossible to stop yourself from feeling emotion.  Fear is an emotion.  What the Holy Spirit will teach you is to set aside the emotion and replace it with that which comes only from being in the presence of God: love, joy, and peace.  Then you will be able to do what He is telling you to do with confidence and boldness.  In other words, don’t let fear interfere with God’s work!  The same goes for anger, hurt, or any other emotion.  Instead, go to Him, the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3).
6. There is a danger.  To clean your house (your soul) and right yourself with God is great!  But you can’t stop here.  You must fill your soul with Him.  Jesus gave this illustration: “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.  Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’  When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.  Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there.  And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:23-26).  This passage is not just about salvation.  It’s about bondage.  You have given your heart to Jesus.  You have embarked on a journey with Him.  Jesus has cleansed your heart and is waiting to fill it with Himself.  How?

• Talk to Him daily—hourly—minutely—continuously!
• Ask Him to fill your heart with Himself.
• Find out all you can about Jesus: His likes and dislikes. Read the Bible!
• Put yourself under sound teaching and in a fellowship of other believers that are following Christ.
• Allow Christ to grow within you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23)