Initial Lessons | Long Term Lessons | Walking with the Spirit | How to Meet | How to Train
Check out this video by Go Training describing SWAP.
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DIVE DEEPER
For a deeper dive into SWAP check out Steve Smith's book Spirit Walk: The Extraordinary Power of Acts for Ordinary People
The power to live the Christian life comes from the Holy Spirit - God Himself, living in us. Our disciples are not served when we simply tell them "obey!" or "try harder!" Instead they need to be encouraged to walk with the Spirit. To help remind us to be filled with the Spirit and exchange our control for the Spirit's, Steve Smith developed the acronym SWAP, explained below.
Surrender to God
When we surrender we give up control, like signing a contract with Him before knowing the terms. Surrendering to God is an unconditional "Yes." The first way we surrender is to God's word (Colossians 3:16).
Wait on God in Prayer
Surrendering may take some time. Get away with God in prayer. We can do so for an occassional extended times away to hear from God or more frequent, but quick times to ensure we're surrendering throughout the day.
Avoid and Confess Sin
We seek to avoid even a hint of sin. We ask the Lord to shine His light in our hearts to show us the sin we need to repent of. Similarly, when this sin is revealed, we must confess it to the Lord and, if appropriate, to those we've sinned against.
Pursue the Promptings of the Spirit
All of the preceding points (S through A) have been building to this point. When the Spirit fills us, He will begin to prompt us. In the book of Acts, we see the filling of the Spirit correlated to speaking the word of God with boldness. His promptings may look differently at different times for different people, but we must listen for them.