Filled: Learning to Walk in the Spirit, Part 2
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· 5 viewsBig Idea: Being filled with the Spirit is all about living in intimate fellowship with Him.
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Outline
Outline
Big Idea: Being filled with the Spirit is all about living in intimate fellowship with Him.
Walking in the Spirit.
Admit
pray
Trust
Eliminate
Immerse
Train
Act
Thank
Introduction
Introduction
Galatians 5:25
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
-----------------------------------------
I can’t help but feel small again
Tiny
Helpless
The hand extended toward me
The very sight of it
Invokes this
It is a mighty hand
Calloused
Rough
A carpenters hand
I can see the worn skin
The scars of splinters
The toughness of labor
A man's hand
A strong man's hand
A confident, steady hand
The sight of is both calming
And intimidating
Joy and delight at the invitation
Inadequacy and smallness too
Yes
Helpless
Tiny
I can't help but feel small again
It remains extended
Patient
Never demanding
But open and waiting
I want to grasp it
To feel the roughness of his flesh
Against my own
I know there will be comfort in it
Security
Strength
But I fear it too
I hesitate
I feel unworthy
Lacking
This hand
And the one behind it
Too great and too good for me
And yet at the same time
That very truth
Drawing me
I am conflicted
I look on
Desiring, yet fearful
Wanting, yet hesitant
It is the center scar
The one in the middle
In the palm
Exuding strength and goodness
It keeps my eyes, always
Of all the scars
All the roughness
None can match
Or exceed
That one
It is the pinnacle of strength
The deepest expression of love
The surest sign of justice
The reason I never fear wrath
It is why I hesitate
Why I feel small
Unworthy
He received it for me
I am the reason he bears it
The greatest of all his scars
It is the most attractive
Thing about his hand
About his HANDS
They are beautiful hands
Masculine hands
Just the sight of them
Producing this desire
To hold them
To be held by them
To be held as a small child
Held by the strength of a father
I feel small
But next to Him
This feels like a good thing
In my foolishness
I think I know what it means
To be a man
To be strong
To be complete
These hands of his
Tell me otherwise
They are true might
True masculinity
True wholeness
True perfection
Next to him, its ok to be small
Needy
Dependent
In fact, I long for it
And now those hands
They beckon me
To come
To walk
To keep in step with Him
To keep in step with the Spirit
To keep in step with Jesus
My Savior
My King
My Abba, Daddy
My God
Why do I hesitate?
Why do I fear?
His open hand produces
The opposite of fear
These rough, scarred hands
Exude strength and love
Acceptance and security
Identity and belonging
So why do I wait?
Why do I hesitate?
Because there is a cost
I decide
Like him
I must take something up
I must take up my cross
I must die to myself
And embrace His ways
I look at his hands
Would that be so bad?
I suddenly see in each callous
Each scar
Especially in the center one
But even more now
In them all
Each one possesses
A depth of love
Mercy, grace
Holiness, goodness
Justice, righteousness
I see in each one
A wealth of being
A richness of person
A display of character
And an invitation to grow
Into the same
Tentatively I reach out
The hand steady
Waiting
My fingers touch his
Fingertip to fingertip
The touch of his hand
Causes me to catch my breath
Surprising me
I pull back, embarrassed
His fingers catch mine
Steadying them
Halting them
Urging me to remain
The roughness of his skin
The strength I sense
Sending shivers through me
Yes, this is a hand I can trust
This is a hand I can embrace
This is a hand I can follow
This is a hand that will lead me right
Like a small child
Needy and dependent
Endeared to his daddy
Aching to be close
I close the distance now
I feel his hand tighten around mine
Palm to palm
His fingers curling around mine
Every scar
Every callous
Every roughness
As tender
As fresh new skin
Blessed contentment!
Deepest satisfaction!
Welling up in my childlike heart
Joy at being held
By my Abba's hand!
Rough but tender
Calloused but gentle
Strong and firm
But warm and loving
I feel him pull me close
His strength and presence palpable
Strength and joy surging into me
Then side by side
Hand in hand
We turn
The invitation accepted
Now we walk
Hand in hand
Step by step
This new life calls to me
HE calls to me
I surrender to it
I yield
I desire to be led
That I may now and always
Keep in step with you
Spirit
Jesus
Abba
Lead on
O Great God!
I keep in step
With you
My Abba
My Daddy
I follow
Learning to walk in the Spirit begins with a desire and willingness to do so.
And if you do not desire to do so, it begins by asking the Spirit to GIVE you a desire to do so.
It begins with learning to die to self and allow ourselves to be led.
Truth is, many of prefer leading...
And so, the starting place of learning to walk in the Spirit begins with Admitting…(jump down)
Body
Body
Walking in the Spirit
Walking in the Spirit
Admit
Admit
Admit our weakness to do any of this without His help.
The problem with a message like this is that we want a formula to follow that will give us a clear and unmistakable path to knowing how to walk in the Spirit.
I am not sure such a path exists. Though I DO believe we can know what it looks like. It just isn’t formulaic.
BUT IT BEGINS by admitting our weakness and crying out to Him for help.
And I would suggest that this admission also be made OUT LOUD to others. A private confession/admission to God AND a public one with ongoing accountability and support.
Romans 7:18.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
Learning to walk in the Spirit begins by understanding that we do not walk in the Spirit ON OUR OWN. It is not a self made effort.
And also…
John 15:5.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
This is NOT something we can do on our way. We cannot fill ourselves up with the Spirit.
We cannot walk in the Spirit without His power and enabling.
Like our salvation, our sanctification (our growth in Christ) is act of grace upon which we are dependent and not something we can accomplish on our own.
Listen, learning to walk in the Spirit begins with an acknowledgment that it is impossible for us to do this on our own.
It is more about SUBMISSION and SURRENDER than it is about EFFORT and WORK.
It is God works in us BOTH to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil 2:13)
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
We need to cry out in dependence upon Him.
Daily…
We need to acknowledge our weakness and helplessness to do anything about it.
Pray
Pray
In Ezekiel 36:27, God promises to put His Spirit within His people…
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
If it is God who put His Spirit within us, and causes us to walk in His statues and his commands, then we must pray for God to do just that.
Now, He HAS put His Spirit within us. Jesus sent the Helper, He sent the Spirit.
Through the Spirit’s working, he teaches, corrects, guides, reminds, restrains, etc.
THUS, we need to pray for the Spirit to work within us, helping us to ALLOW him to fill us, EMPOWERING us to walk in Him.
There MUST be a DAILY dependence expressed in prayer.
PRAYER should be a regular and active part of our day to day lives.
Private and community times of prayer should be the norm in our day to day operations.
We need to pray like David…
Psalm 51:10.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
We need to pray like the writer of Hebrews
Hebrews 13:21.
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
We need to pray for God to give us heart to change, a desire to change.
Pray for the Spirit to enable us to grow
Pray for us, in wisdom, to eliminate distractions.
Pray for the word to work its might and power in our hearts and lives
Pray without ceasing
1 The 5:17.
pray without ceasing,
Talk to God constantly, all the time about everything and anything. Get so used to talking to God about stuff, that you do not even realize when you are doing it; that it become second nature to you, that it becomes so common and comfortable you slip into without thinking.
When we make a conscious decision to walk in the Spirit, to allow Him to control us, we are going to have to deal with our control issues and learn to trust Him implicitly.
Trust
Trust
Proverbs 3:5-6.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Allowing someone else to control you every action, thought, and desires means that you have to trust them ENTIRELY.
There can be no room for doubt.
Do you trust God fully?
Because if not, you will NOT be able to be filled with/controlled by the Holy Spirit.
If you do not trust God to be GOOD, RIGHTEOUS, TRUE, and to do what is best for His glory and your good, you will not allow him control over your life and you will forever be locked in a power struggle between His kingdom and yours.
You do realize that is where our sinful anger is rooted right?
When are kingdom, our control is threatened and we no longer get what we want. ANGER flares.
RIGHTEOUS ANGER is produced when GOD’s WILL is thwarted and HIS GLORY is disgraced.
If we are going to allow the Spirit to control us, we have to trust Him completely….with both the good and the bad in our lives.
Fourthly…
Eliminate
Eliminate
Eliminate distractions.
We are too distracted.
One of Satan’s greatest tactics is NOISE, is BUSYNESS.
We drown out the word, we down out the Spirit with distractions and noise.
I believe that part of the problem for us is that we are TOO distracted, TOO noisy in our lives.
We need to eliminate things in our life that would distract us from God.
1 Cor 6:12-20.
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!
16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.”
17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
All things are lawful…
This was most likely a catchphrase used by the church at Corinth to justify their sinful behavior.
If you recall, the church had some gross sins going on that Paul was confronting.
They took some of Paul’s teaching and twisted it to justify their sinful actions.
They were not bound by the OT law anymore. They were not bound by the eating commands, etc, but they had taken this and twisted it to justify their sin.
In this case, in this context, sexual sin.
But Paul pushes back…
But not all things are helpful…
Even using this justification…
Even if it were true….(Which it is not)
Sin is never helpful. Sin always has a high cost. It always hurts more than it gives.
Sexual sin may likely be the sin that has the greatest number of pitfalls and devastations - which is why we also may tend to categorize sexual sin as the worst sins out there. It also tends to be the most enslaving.
But it is never helpful. It is never good. It never accomplishes anything of worth that lasts.
Paul is not giving a license to do anything we want or giving a free pass to sin.
I will not be dominated by anything…
For Paul…and for us…we ought NOT let our lives be dominated/CONTROLLED by anything other than the word and the Spirit!
Certainly sexual sin should have no place among us.
Paul will use this statement again in chapter 10 to reinforce his point…
1 Cor 10:23-31.
23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.
24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.
26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”
27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.
28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience—
29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience?
30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Same phrase…all things are lawful
Again, taking their justification and turning it around.
Not all things are helpful….not all things build up….
Context this time is food, what they are allowed to eat. It was becoming a problem and a source of contention in the church.
Paul’s conclusion….Verse 31.
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Listen, this reality applies, NOT JUST TO SIN ISSUES or the specific issues of sexual sin and food that we eat…
ANYTHING that enslaves, distracts, or does not promote the glory of God should be rejected.
I think that there are many things in our lives, things that may not even be sin, that have enslaved us.
What are they?
Entertainment, amusement, rest, comfort, pleasures of this life
The word, the Spirit have gotten pressed down in our list of priorities and importances.
We content ourselves with the milk of the word and we have not gone onto the meat.
We have justified our addictions and distractions with “all things are lawful…”
Maybe…maybe it is lawful for you…
BUT IT IS profitable?
It is helpful?
Does it build up?
Has it enslaved you? Is it dominating you?
Is it distracting you from the things that truly matter?
A lady once came to Mr. Moody and said, “Mr. Moody, I do not like you.”
He asked, “Why not?”
She said, “Because you are too narrow.”
“Narrow! I did not know that I was narrow.”
“Yes, you are too narrow. You don't believe in the theatre; you don't believe in cards; you don't believe in dancing.”
“How do you know I don't believe in the theatre?” he asked.
“Oh,” she said, “I know you don't.”
Mr. Moody replied, “I go to the theatre whenever I want to.”
“What,” cried the woman, “you go to the theatre whenever you want to?”
“Yes, I go to the theatre whenever I want to.”
“Oh,” she said, “Mr. Moody, you are a much broader man than I thought you were. I am so glad to hear you say it, that you go to the theatre whenever you want to.”
“Yes, I go to the theatre whenever I want to. I don't want to.”
Anyone who has really received the Holy Spirit, and in whom the Holy Spirit dwells and is unhindered in His working will not want to. Why is it then that so many professed Christians do go after these worldly amusements? For one of two reasons; either because they have never definitely received the Holy Spirit, or else because the fountain is choked. It is quite possible for a fountain to become choked.
Edwards, Jonathan; Murray, Andrew; Simpson, A. B.; Brengle, Samuel; Torrey, R. A.. 7 Classics on the Holy Spirit: Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit, The Spirit of Christ, Walking in the Spirit, When The Holy Ghost is Come, The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit (pp. 69-70). Kindle Edition.
It is not that these things are even necessarily wrong (depending on what you are watching, playing, or doing with them) but more that there is simply no desire for them because there is a greater desire and satisfaction found in the word, found in the Spirit, found in God.
Too often, I fear, our hunger for God is lessened because we are being satisfied by the cheap counterfeits of the world, of sin, of amusements and pleasures that DISTRACT us from the true satisfactions found in Christ.
Immerse
Immerse
This FILLING, this walking, this controlling along with the WORD OF GOD is what is necessary for spiritual growth.
1 Peter 2:2-3.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
What does an infant drink for the first 6-12 months of their life, without which, they would die?
Milk.
It is essential to life. It has all the nutrients that they need to grow and thrive as such a tender age.
If they are ever going to learn to walk, to live, to mature…they have to have the milk which bears the nutrients that they need.
Spiritually speaking, where is this spiritual milk found?
In the word…
If one is ever going learn to grow and mature in the spiritual faith, they must have NUTRIENTS.
Being filled with the Spirit, learning to walk in the Spirit requires the Word.
However, at some point, more than just milk is required, right?
Do babies live forever on milk alone?
No…
They move on to meat…
Heb 5:11-6:3.
11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,
13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.
14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
3 And this we will do if God permits.
Peter admonishes the church to long for the word in the same way that an infant longs for milk…
AND How does an infant long for milk?
Rather intently right!?
And yet here, the write of Hebrews admonished them for never going beyond the milk…
At some point in the Christian life, we will require more than milk.
And yet I fear that many Christians are stuck living on milk and are not growing and maturing. They are not advancing.
Listen, there is a direct link between being filled with the Spirit, learning to walk in the Spirit, and the amount of time we spend in the word.
Paul says in Colossians…
Col 3:15-17.
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Teaching; admonishing (present participle). We need to be indwelt with the Word of God as we teach for the purpose of growth, etc.
Let the word dwell in you RICHLY….
When this word dwells in us richly…
It will come out of us…
In our own daily lives..
It will come out in how we live
It will come out in how we advise and counsel
It will come out in our encouragement and comfort of others
It will come out in EVERYTHING we do.
And when it begins to flow out of us, it will be testament that we are being CONTROLLED by the Spirit, by the Word
Our walk WILL BE in the Spirit.
By the way, Dwelling in you richly IS more than just head knowledge. It is heart knowledge.
This same “dwelling” is used of the Holy Spirit in us.
This dwelling is about taking up residence
It is about FILLING
It is about CONTROLLING.
Let the word of Christ CONTROL you richly..
How can the word of God DWELL/CONTROL you if you are not actively taking it in?
How can it control/dwell with in you if you are not actively studying it?
Meditating on it?
Applying it?
If we are going to walk in the Spirit, if we are going to be controlled by the Spirit, the ministry of the living word is a KEY and VITAL part of that process by which we bring our life under the influence and control of the Spirit within.
The Spirit uses the word to lead, guide, direct, and shape our lives into the likeness of Christ.
Far too many Christians spend far too meager time in the word.
As we are taught and admonished, we grow in Christ likeness, we learn more how to walk in the filled, being filled by Him.
A walk in the Spirit will of necessity be a walk in accordance with the Word the Spirit has inspired. The parallel between Eph 5:18-21 and Col 3:15-17 is significant. The same results are said to flow from being filled with the Spirit in the first cast, and being filled with the Word in the second. To remain filled with the Spirit, and thus enjoy His continuing sanctifying work, will mean continuing to be filled with the Word. The relationship is obvious.
J.O. Sanders, Enjoying Intimacy with God, Moody, p. 91.
The Spirit has a FILLING ministry…one in which we have responsibility to walk humbly, live repentedly, and walk in the Spirit as we surrender and submit to His filling.
But His filling can be hindered, hindering our walk, if we choose to live according the flesh instead of the Spirit.
Train
Train
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
We need to train ourselves to be still, to be quiet, and to be moment by moment, conscious of his presence.
We need to be sensitive to His leading and guiding.
One of the ways we do this is by REJOICING and GIVING THANKS often.
and...
in prayer…
Directing that praise and thanksgiving to God.
For 19 goes on to say, do not quench the Spirit.
One of the ways we quench the Spirit is through grumbling, complaining, thanklessness.
It is ALL to easy to focus on negatives and not positives. Which is why we must train ourselves to reflect MORE on the blessings and reasons for praise.
We need to develop a lifestyle of PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING.
Of being in constant communion, constant conversation with God.
To develop thankful hearts instead of complaining hearts.
Do you talk to God all day, every day?
About even all the trivial things your talk to your close friends about?
Are your dinner prayers more than a memorized and ritualistic recitation of words? Are they HEARTFELT, INTIMATE? Do they reflect your relationship with God.
Are you training yourself to live with constant awareness of God, of the Spirit?
Are you immersing yourself in the Word and are those living words FILLING you, flowing through you, and dripping out of your because you are so supersaturated with them?
If not, perhaps you are too distracted and need to healthy elimination from your life.
Act
Act
2 Corinthians 1:3-4.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
There is a principle and truth here that is key to understand.
AS WE RECEIVE, SO WE GIVE.
“When the Bible comes to life for me, I’m being equipped with something worth sharing with others.
Every Christian has three elemental callings: To pray for one another, to give practically, and to speak words of wisdom and encouragement to each other. This demands that you are connected both to God and to what’s really going on with each other, that you may give grace to one another.”
David Powlison
This necessitates OUR BEING CONNECTED to God, being immersed in His word so that we have something to give away.
This necessitates training ourselves to be aware of the Spirit’s presence, leading, and prompting, not just for our own issues, but for the sake of others.
And when we are deeply immersed in the word, in tune with the Spirit, we ACT upon that which we have been given and we give it away to another.
Notice this is not step #1.
We are not giving another formula for works based effort.
Walking in the Spirit, being filled with the Spirit is NOT a fleshly powered effort. It is all Spirit enabled.
We give, we Act OUT OF the abundance that we recieved by being daily and intimately connected to the Spirit, immersed in His word.
THUS, we begin with these other steps.
But at a certain point, IN HIS POWER, we obey, we act.
But when we act, as Paul points out, it is HIS grace in us that causes us to act.
1 Corinthians 15:10.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
Galatians 2:20 also..
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
When we act, we act in utter and complete knowledge that we do so with SOMEONE ELSE’s power, motivation, and will. It is the SPIRIT’s with in us that enables us to act in obedience, to be filled, to walk in Him.
When we act, we need to trust Him in gives us both the will and the power to obey, to act.
Phil 2:12-13.
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Point is, we do have responsibility to act, but we can only act with his power in us.
I would suggest to you that the ACTING is a FRUIT of the ABIDING and FILLING.
Let’s take forgiveness for instance…
Someone you love, betrays you. Betrays your confidence. Hurts you deeply.
Now, you could TRY and FORCE forgiveness because you know that we are required to….
And how well will that work for you?
The hurt, the emotion, the anger will keep surfacing and at some point, you will lose the battle.
OR, You PRESS INTO Jesus. You come back to His word. You let your arsenal of scripture minister to your heart, comfort your soul. You let the presence of the Spirit, and the comfort he provides, be the calm in your turmoiled soul. You press in and keep pressing in until HIS SENSE OF LOVE AND FORGIVENESS FOR YOU brings the comfort and joy that you need.
THEN, out of that love, that forgiveness, that presence of the Spirit, that INTIMACY WITH the Spirit, you are able to extend forgiveness AS THE FRUIT of His love and work in you, to others.
It may still hurt.
It will still be an act of obedience, but it is one BORN out of your being filled with, walking in the Spirit rather than one FORCED because it is the Christian duty.
Forgiveness of others BEGINS with being filled with the Spirit, abiding in intimacy with Him, and letting HIS grace flow out of us in abundance to others.
We forgive then, out of our intimacy with Christ.
I remember hearing a story of man in ministry who had one person who constantly opposed it. Fiercely and intently. It became the source of much angst.
So terrible it had become that his man felt anger and hatred rising in his heart for the man.
He knew it was wrong.
He prayed about it, he sought to forgive, but the anger and hatred kept resurfacing.
He finally locked himself in his bathroom and vowed, he would not leave the room until he had Christ’s love in heart for that man. He prayed, he wept, for hours.
But to no avail.
When he finally stood up, prepared to leave, admitting defeat, he testified that in that moment, the Spirit spoke, and broke him. In that moment, when the Spirit spoke, his heart broke and he was able to forgive and love this man BECAUSE OF THE SPIRIT’S working in his life…not because he somehow conjured the grace up to do it himself.
Out of his intimacy with the Spirit, out of his brokenness before God, forgiveness and love flowed.
Remember, the characteristics of a follower of Jesus, those FRUITS of the Spirit, are exactly that…FRUIT of our abiding in, being filled with, and walking in the Spirit.
Thank
Thank
Eph 5:20; Col 1:12, Col 3:17; 1 Th 5:18.
20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Make thanksgiving, giving thanks, a REGULAR habit and practice.
Thank God for his enabling and filling. Give all glory and credit to him when we see the fruit of the Spirit rising out of us.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Big Idea: Being filled with the Spirit is all about living in intimate fellowship with Him.
Walking in the Spirit.
Admit
pray
Trust
Eliminate
Immerse
Train
Act
Thank
Walking in the Spirit is not about doing, it is about being.
BE in intimate fellowship and communion with God…
BE in the word…
Be submissive to God OUT OF TRUST and FAITH
and when you life is consumed by God, you will walk in Him
and as you walk in Him, you will forever be growing together to become more like Jesus for the glory of God.
Application
Application
What practical steps can you take, day by day, to learn to walk in the Spirit?
What makes admitting our weakness to walk in the Spirit without His help, such a hard step to take?
Pride
Blindness to the reality.
Ease/self sufficiency (at least a sense of it)
Why is making an admission of dependence both privately and publicly so important and helpful?
By vocalizing it, it has a great sense of solidarity. We are also then inviting others to help, pray, support, encourage us to live it out. AND we are agreeing to it for others.
What practical steps can we take develop a lifestyle of ceaseless prayer?
What steps can we take that will help build and strengthen our trust in God?
Study scripture to see evidence of his trustworthiness.
Look at your life/other’s lives and see evidence of his faithfulness and trustworthiness.
Surrender our will to his
Realize that we cannot see the whole picture
Realize that pain and hardship are often God’s means for growth in us.
What distractions do you need to eliminate from your life? Be specific. Confess these to an accountability partner who can pray for you and help you hold to them.
What kinds of things tend to serve as distractions that keep us from developing intimacy with God?
Work
Family
Relationships
Hobbies
Entertainment
Pleasure
Rest/relaxation
Ministry
Food
Sex/porn
Alcohol/other addictive things
What does it look like to immerse ourselves in the Word of God when we have daily commitments and responsibilities that we have to keep?
Regularly read, study, memorize and mediate on the word
Set alarms take time throughout the day to review scripture, mediate on it, apply it, etc.
Have regular conversations with others about scripture.
How do we train ourselves to walk in the Spirit? How do we train ourselves to be aware of His presence moment by moment?
What do we do when we do not feel like acting in obedience to God?
Confess
Repent
Sometimes it is just about DOING it even if we do not feel like it and trust God to use the act of obedience positively in our lives.
Have you taken time to give thanks today (to God) for something?