One thing that we need to remember is that the devil, who is our enemy, wants to possess areas within your life. He wants to take control of your mind, emotions and your will.
1 Peter 5 v 8 – 'Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour'.You will notice that the devil walks about 'like' a roaring lion. He is not a lion but an imitation of o­ne. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.Yet he comes anyway to devour your life. He wants to tear you apart and leave you to the vultures to pick of what is left. He does not consider your status in life or in the church, but is determined to possess areas in your life. A lot of people are being oppressed by the devil in many ways, but unless you deal with it soon, it could lead to possession.Two things are mentioned in the above verse, and that is that we should be sober and vigilant.

Sober: self-controlled; serious and thoughtful; rational; temperate
Vigilant: watchful; alertness; cautious; attentive

To be sober is not just being able to handle alcohol, but to have control over your anger, your jealousy, the bitterness, your lack of boldness, unfaithfulness. It means that you consider seriously your motives and your actions. There are times when christians are so hard o­n themselves and o­n others. Being sober means that you open your heart to the wisdom of God for a given thought or action. It also means that you are being alert to how the devil wants to steal from your life and make you lose control. It means you are cautious in your answers and your actions.I do not and never have played rugby, but this I do know about the game and that is that it is about 'possession'. If you can keep possession of the ball and gain ground in your opponents side of the field then it is easier to score the goal or try. And so it is with us. We must keep possession of areas in our life and the more we have control the easier it will be for us to have more and greater victories.

'What land is there in your life that needs to be possessed by the Holy Spirit?'

The Bible speaks about the Fruit of the Holy Spirit that should be produced in your life. And this I offer to you as being the land that so often times goes unpossessed. I am talking about a natural outflow not something you ask for when you need it. Many depict the fruit of the Holy Spirit as a 'fruit tree', which means that you are trying to pick something that is o­n the outside whereas the Holy Spirit is o­n the inside wanting to flow outside of you. The problem with picking something from a tree, is that it will be used and then discarded. That is what we often do with the Holy Spirit. We used what we need and then discard it and hopefully be able to pick it again when we need it again.

Galatians 5 v 22 – 25
-'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is not law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit'.

When you need any o­ne of the above, it should be a natural outflowing of what is o­n the inside of you. When you need to love, you don't have to ask for love, because love is o­n the inside. What you have to do is to recognize your need and your struggle to love and then tap into the Holy Spirit who represents love, and allow it to flow. It is the same when you need peace. When everything around you wants to destroy your peace, you are then able to allow peace to arise from your spirit, thereby causing anger to go. The great thing is that all of these fruits are already inside of you. I have grouped the fruits of the Holy Spirit into the following;

1. Our attitude toward God and ourselves: LOVE, JOY, PEACE
2. Dealing with social relationships: LONGSUFFERING, KINDNESS, GOODNESS
3. Principles that guide your conduct: FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL

Allow these fruits to grow into your life. This is evidence that land within you have been possessed and it is these fruits that will touch the sinner and because it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, it will convict them of their lifestyle and point them to Christ. Start taking control of every area of your life.

Yours For the Kingdom
Pastor Tony Sands