We are made up of 3 parts. A physical body, a thinking soul, and an eternal spirit. When we are "saved", our Spirit becomes 100% pure or sinless.  Our relationship with God has been restored and we become instantaneous heirs to His Kingdom.  At this moment, God's will for us is to begin aligning our body and soul (our thoughts and actions) up with our spirit.  This is a lifelong process called sanctification.  The only way we can accomplish santification is through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Willpower is not enough.

When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit immediately comes to live in your heart, and with it, you inherit the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  However, just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, who unknowingly had the power to get back to Kansas all along (by clicking the heels of the ruby slippers), most Christians don’t realize that they have been given the same power that raised Christ from the dead. Why? Because when you get "saved/born again", the Holy Spirit gets planted in your heart like a seed, and if the seed doesn’t get watered by the Word of God, it won’t grow.  

Just like when you start working out at the gym and don't see instantaneous results, the moment you are born again, things might not look so different.  You may still harbor negative thoughts and unforgiveness, be impatient, succomb to tempation, etc.  In order to manifest the peace, power, and purpose that comes from having the Holy Spirit living inside you, you need to consistently “renew your mind”, or meditate on the Word of God.  And just like working out at the gym--your effort will equal your results. 

And it is also very important to understand that knowing the Word of God is not enough.  The degree of power that you can manifest in your life is equal to your faith (or confidence) in the Word of God.  Faith is not just believing that the Word of God is true, it is having enough confidence in it to put it to use.  "Faith without works is dead (Faith without works is not a demonstration of faith)." Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." The more you water your seed with the Word of God, the more confidence in it you will gain. The more confidence you gain in the Word of God, the more peace you will have.  As the Word of God grows in your heart, so will your ability to deal with unpleasant circumstances according to the Word and not according to your “flesh” (your five senses).

Once you really know what you have, what you are, and what you can do in Christ, life is awesome!  God has provided us with everything we need to live a victorious life, but it is our personal responsibility to know what the Word of God says regarding our inheritance, our rights, and our spiritual authority. We are not powerless and we are not helpless.  As “new creatures in Christ”, we have everything the Word of God says we have to live victoriously. We just need to discover what that is and learn how to apply it to our lives. Learn the Word, and claim the inheritance that Jesus died to give you.  

Scripture reading: John 14:16-18,26; I Peter 2:5,9