Galatians 5:16-21 TPT “Let me emphasize this: As you yield to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life.
17 When your self-life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit you hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your self-life from dominating you! So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self-life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit.
18 But when you yield to the life of the Spirit, you will no longer be living under the law, but soaring above it!
19 The behavior of the self-life is obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography,
20 chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions,
21 being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the kingdom realm of God!“
Definition of Yield from the Internet.
A. “The first is to surrender, submit, give way, give up or relinquish possession of — to give one’s self up, to be dedicated or devoted to.
B. “to give forth or produce by a natural process or in return for cultivation “
C. “Just as a yield sign indicates you should let someone else go ahead of you, yielding to God means we surrender our lives to Jesus and commit to follow Him and let Him lead.”
D. “What does yield mean in psychology? Yield Theory is an approach to communication that centers on leading with humility and genuine curiosity to meet others where they are and get around their fight or flight response.”
E. Webster dictionary: to give up possession of on claim or demand: such as
a: to surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another: hand over possession of
b: to give (oneself) up to an inclination, temptation, or habit
c: to relinquish one’s possession of (something, such as a position of advantage or point of superiority)
Now, you must yield to the Holy Spirit by submitting to the Word and authority of God, or else you will continue in your same bad old habits and sin
Pastor Yoojin and I are yielding to the Holy Spirit as we are being accused. How are we yielding? We are not defending ourselves, nor are we arguing back. It is so very tempting to fight back and give our last negative word. But it is the Lord’s prerogative to judge and execute any consequences. We will continue to just do our own thing, and this is why we thrive.
In verse one of Galatians, if we cannot abandon the old man or the old life, then we have not yielded or surrendered our lives to the Holy Spirit. If you cannot break your old habits or addiction, you have not given your full life to God. Then I want you to think about that. Whatever bad habit you possess is out of a continuation of the same bad choices. Now, you need to reverse that process by stopping to make those bad choices. Or else you will not participate in the Kingdom of God but be a water carrier instead.
Pastor Steve Kim