WALKING IN THE SPIRIT #5 ROSS SMITH
(ALL REFERENCES FROM AMPLIFIED VERSION)
Today we will look further at the means of walking in the Spirit. We stated previously that to walk in the spirit is not a popular choice and there are many reasons for that. Let me give you several of them and see if you can identify with them.
1 To walk in the Spirit is a rare phenomenon. And it seems that it becomes more pressing yet rarer as the days go by as yet our heart after God is interfered with by many other ambitions.
2 When we walk and live in the Spirit, we can no longer be one of the mob, it makes us stand apart.
3 It demands commitment. Now not too many people are real sure that they want the degree of commitment that is required to walk and live in the Spirit. It means that Hebrews 10v25 which is one of the basic instructions of Scripture, it being “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the habit of some is but so much more as you see the day approaching”. So that is the very lowest level of commitment.
4 It carries great responsibility without much authority. Now we in our human nature like to have it the other way around – plenty of authority but not much responsibility. To walk and live in the Spirit changes that, it places great responsibility on us because we are accountable to God before His people, but it doesn’t give us much authority.
5 Lastly, and probably one of the most difficult areas to handle, it brings us into direct conflict with spiritual forces. When we live and walk in the Spirit, we will be confronted on every hand by spiritual forces of darkness. In the spiritual realm we can either walk in THE Spirit or we can walk in A spirit. There is a difference. You see there are many people today who walk in A spirit. On the very opposite end of the scale, we have the clairvoyant, the medium, the stargazer and the necromancer – all those who are involved in occult activities. But then Romans 8v6 says that SENSE AND REASON WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS DEATH and so there is a man who walks in the spirit of his mind but is not living and walking in the Spirit.
Micah 2:11 If a man walking in a spirit [of vanity] and in falsehood should lie and say, I will prophesy to you of wine and strong drink, O Israel, he would even be the acceptable prophet of this people!
That is the popular choice – to tell us what we want to hear.
When we come into New Testament times in
2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming [of the lawless one, the antichrist] is through the activity and working of Satan and will be attended by great power and with all sorts of [pretended] miracles and signs and delusive marvels–[all of them] lying wonders–
2 Thessalonians 2:10 And by unlimited seduction to evil and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing (going to perdition) because they did not welcome the Truth but refused to love it that they might be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:11 Therefore God sends upon them a misleading influence, a working of error and a strong delusion to make them believe what is false,
2 Thessalonians 2:12 In order that all may be judged and condemned who did not believe in [who refused to adhere to, trust in, and rely on] the Truth, but [instead] took pleasure in unrighteousness.
This is why the Word is so important to us, we must come to grips and grasp and love the Word. You see the pursuit of supernatural guidance is not something that is unique to the Twentieth century. Back in Old Testament times, men used to read the entrails of chickens, looking for ways to be superior to the run-of-the-mill citizen.
Ezekiel 21:21a For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the fork of the two ways, to use divination.
(I see that this relates to James 1v8 where is says that a double minded man is unstable in all his ways, in what he thinks and what he feels.)
The king of Babylon will stop at the fork of the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen, to look for guidance, to look for guidance, to see some supernatural indication of what he should do. It says
NIV He will cast lots with the arrows. He will consult his idols, he will examine the liver.
AMP He shakes the arrows to and fro, he consults the teraphim (household gods), he looks at the liver.
This is where they disemboweled an animal, and lay it out before the priest, and the priest would peer into the liver and depending on how it was marked and the colour, this gave them guidance – well, some sort of guidance!
But in the same perverted sense today, men are using drugs to expand their minds, to lead them into realms of fantasy which then becomes a playground for forces of evil. Those involved in horrific crimes have often been involved with drugs. They have opened themselves to the forces of evil. Man has always been keen to get out beyond the realms of their minds. Much of the reason why we’re not able to walk and live in the Spirit today consists in the four propositions that I gave you last time and I will reiterate them because I think they are important.
1 We will get nothing unless we go after it. We will never achieve anything unless we pursue it.
2 We can have as much as we insist upon having.
3 We will have a little as we are satisfied with.
4 We now have as much as we REALLY want.
If we were hungry and thirsting for righteousness, we would be filled, and so it describes in detail what the state of the church is.
But also combined with this is the necessity to know where we are going and how to get there. We can have, as James 3 puts it, “the wisdom that comes from above or the wisdom that is earthly”. Now both of these are supernatural. The Bible says
James 3:15 This [superficial] wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual (animal), even devilish (demoniacal).
That is the wisdom from below, but the book says that we can have the wisdom from above:
James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). [It is willing to] yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering, and insincerity).
This is the same degree of wisdom that God wants to impart today. So, we can have wisdom from one of two sources.
We have the choice though and you will recall we shared from Hebrews 11v25
Heb 11:25 Because he preferred to share the oppression [suffer the hardships] and bear the shame of the people of God rather than to have the fleeting enjoyment of a sinful life.
Which says that if we want to reflect on the things of the past, those things from out of which we came, we will find ample opportunity to return to it. We make the choice, we can choose to live in the Spirit or we can choose to live in the natural. If we can’t get a hold of the fact that we can live and walk in the Spirit, from here to the day we die, we are going to be second rate, ineffective, Mickey Mouse Christians. If we choose to live and walk in the Spirit, God has promised us all that we need.
John 16:13 But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].
We don’t have to look at chicken livers; we don’t have to blow our mind on drugs, all we have to do is yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit and begin to tune in on the frequency of heaven and He will show us of things to come.
Now many are scared of this provision because it cuts across their ability to grasp it with their minds. They cannot comprehend how this could be, but if we come to understand what the word says in
Isaiah 55:8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord.
Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
But if we are going to walk and to live in the Spirit, our thoughts and His thoughts need to coincide, not collide.
1 Corinthians 1:25 [This is] because the foolish thing [that has its source in] God is wiser than men, and the weak thing [that springs] from God is stronger than men.
Even at our very best we can’t compete with the weakest thing of God, and so there is no problem with us submitting to the direction and control of the Spirit.
On that basis then, I should not be too ambitious to demonstrate my cerebral ability, for I will always be seen to be totally inadequate in comparison to the mind and the methods of God. I can depend upon Him to lead me in the routes and paths which will always be superior to that which I can choose, and I am not suggesting that we turn off our heads and become zombies. That’s what they do in transcendental meditation. They get on to a mantra and they use this word over and over until they can disengage their mind, then their mind becomes a playground for the enemy. I am not suggesting for one moment that we turn off our heads. I am suggesting that we turn them over to the control of the Holy Spirit. The book says in
Proverbs 16:3 Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.
We can expect that when we commit our works on a continuing basis to the Lord, to have our thought patterns adjusted, ad we can sure do with that.
Not only do we have that help by the Holy Spirit, but we also have His Word which will give us a plethora of instruction which will enable us to walk and to live in the Spirit. As yet we are not demonstrating that ability to take the Word and put it into effect, but we have to determine the means. I want to make a qualification here. When I say means, I’m not suggesting methods, that means that to live and walk in the Spirit are not methods. With regard to God’s word, we obviously have to accept it as truth. It is undiluted, unembellished, and complete in itself and all we require from the Word of God is the illumination of the Holy Spirit so that we can understand and grasp it.
John 8:31 So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples.
John 8:32 And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.
So we have the truth of God’s Word to guide us.
Much of the dilemma of folk today is they are not too sure of the source of their guidance. They are not sure that the voice they hear is God’s voice or whether it is a counterfeit voice.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
How do we do it?
1 Peter 1:13 AMP So brace up your minds; be sober (circumspect, morally alert); set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace (divine favour) that is coming to you when Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is revealed.
1 Peter 1:13 NIV Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep a clear head, and set your hope completely on the grace to be given you when Jesus, the Messiah, is revealed.
We have got to get our minds on things which are above.
We know that that guidance or direction that we seek, that ability to walk and live in the Spirit has to come from above, but there is that type that comes from other sources.
1 There is that wisdom that comes from below. James 3v15
2 There is that guidance that comes from our own mind running riot.
3 There is the area of dreams and visions that are induced not by the Spirit, but by many other means.
4 Circumstances are misinterpreted, too many people are looking for signs.
Matthew 16:1 Now the Pharisees and Sadducees came up to Jesus, and they asked Him to show them a sign (spectacular miracle) from heaven [attesting His divine authority].
Matthew 16:2 He replied to them, When it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,
Matthew 16:3 And in the morning, It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and has a gloomy and threatening look. You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
The book describes the era in which we live, we don’t need signs or fleeces, that was an era of Old Testament. When the Holy Spirit comes, He will guide you into all truth. These things have been done away with just as the legal system has been done away with.
We need to take care however, because,
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not put faith in every spirit,
Why am I labouring this point? When we live and walk in the Spirit, we are going to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit and we are going to find that there are counterfeit spirits. We need to be able to demonstrate the contrast, we need to be able to discern.
but prove (test) the spirits to discover whether they proceed from God; for many false prophets have gone forth into the world.
This is why we need to know the Word. One sure test for knowing that we are living and walking in God’s ways is that it is attended by peace. This is one of the real tests of whether we are walking and living in the Spirit. I’m talking about peace, not complacency.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]
We live in peace if we live and walk in the Spirit, if this guidance we receive is not of God, you can rest assured that it will be confusing.
1 Corinthians 14:33 For He [Who is the source of their prophesying] is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order. As [is the practice] in all the churches of the saints (God’s people),
God’s Word gives us clarity, that’s why we need to be thoroughly acquainted with it in all its directions and its counsels and its patterns for life, even though many times it doesn’t suit what we would prefer.
Colossians 3:15 And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].
(A Scripture in isolation can become a stumbling block, you have to take the pattern of the Word from cover to cover. The promises of God are always attached to conditions, God has given us promises but they have to be put into context.)
Colossians 3:16 Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.
Now we can see how to walk and live in the Spirit. When we can be thankful, when we can be appreciative, when we can give thanks to God always, then we can admonish and train one another, with all insight and intelligence and wisdom in spiritual things. Do you realize that it is difficult to do those things at the same time as you are complaining?
If we can get a hold of the principles of God’s word that says we need to live in this peaceful state, we need to be thankful, be appreciative and praise and then we will enter into that realm where we can train, encourage and admonish one another in all spiritual wisdom and intelligence, and then we’ll overflow with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
People fail to line up what they think God tells them with the Word of God, it maybe is diametrically opposed yet they don’t check it out. Others think that the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit is not for us today, they forget,
2 Timothy 2:15 Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analysing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.
The Book is full of instructions so that we can walk the route God has planned for us. Some think that to live in the natural with God’s Word and common sense to guide them is the safest way. It will be safe, and satisfactory to your mind, but they will miss out on the ecstasy of living and walking in the Spirit, guided by His presence, qualifying as a Son of God. What we become is a careful failure.
PETER WALKING ON THE WATER
The first thing Peter did was call out, “Is that You Lord?” He sought for confirmation. He said, “If so, call me over to you”.
There is a principle here that we need to get a hold of. When we hear the voice of the Lord, or when we experience something we think is God or of God, let’s get the confirmation.
You will notice that Peter got out and started to walk on the water but then he messed it up. He looked down and then he went down. He eventually stood on the water with Jesus. There were eleven others who were careful failures, they didn’t even try. This is exactly what the church is doing today., they know God is calling and yet they still sit in the boat, unprepared to throw their legs over the edge and say “I’m going to launch out in Jesus and I know He will never let me fail”.
To talk and live in the Spirit, we need to realize some things.
1 It doesn’t happen automatically. You can wish for it all you want, but if you want to do it, you have to launch out in God.
2 We have to learn to live and to walk in the Spirit. We do this by applying the things which we hear, which we think come from God and WHICH ARE SCRIPTURALLY SOUND, AND WHEN THEY DON’T AFFECT ANYONE ELSE, learn to get instructions which are personal, and don’t affect anybody else.
Once we become skilled in walking in the Spirit, and knowing and understanding the voice of God, skilled at receiving confirmation, knowing that that is the direction, then we can start sharing with others. There are too many people running around the church with a Word from the Lord for someone else whilst their own credibility is not established.
Ephesians 5:10 And try to learn [in your experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [let your lives be constant proofs of what is most acceptable to Him].
3 To walk in the Spirit is not a method, but a principle. If it was a method all we would need to do is get a list and follow it. But because it is a principle of the Word of God, it has to be implemented and carried through by faith.
4 To walk and live in the Spirit is a unique experience for each unique individual. It comes out of our intimate relationship with the Lord and then it comes out of His confidence in my reliability.
INSURANCE AGAINST ERROR
As we begin to seek the Lord for the ability to walk and live in the Spirit, we must be willing to submit the impressions that we receive to the test, God’s word must be the final judge. God’s Word must take precedence over our emotions, feelings, impressions and surrounding circumstances, all those signs and coincidences that seem to line up with what we need. All leadings of the Spirit need to line up with the Word of God, God’s Word has to take precedence over our subjective confidence if God has spoken to us in some personal revelations, IT MUST LINE UP WITH THE WORD.
Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
But to be a son we have to submit to His discipline and His training so that we become sensitive to His Spirit.
Hebrews 12:11 For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness–in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].
oOo
Ross Smith 