Imagine that we have set up an obstacle course; according to your imagination you can make it as easy or as difficult as you would like. Together we review what is required to successfully complete the course, and we are ready to go. As you stand at the starting line and are about to begin, suddenly and unexpectedly you are blindfolded; the obstacles before you disappear into darkness. With a blind path set before you, you are given a choice. You can either attempt to navigate through the obstacles alone, or you can follow the instructions of a guide.
What will your choice be? Will you attempt to make it on your own or will you accept the help of someone to lead you through the twists and turns, ups and downs, and all the other difficulties that lie before you? The gun sounds; the clock is ticking. How will you make it across the finish line?
Our imaginary obstacle course is more real than many of us may realize. The obstacle course set before us is the path of life. Each of us can choose to either navigate through the unforseen circumstances lying before us, or we can follow the directions of an unseen guide.
God knows the path set before us and offers to direct our footsteps with the help of the Holy Spirit. The choice is yours. You can go it alone and take the journey with uncertainty, or you can take each step with confidence following the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The question for us to answer today is this: HOW CAN WE WALK IN THE SPIRIT? How can we live our lives with the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit? How can we follow the leading of God who is able to clearly see all that is before us so that we can run the race with confidence?
In order to know how to walk in the Spirit, we¡¯re going to look at 3 ¡°R¡¯s¡±: RECEIVE, RELY and RESPOND. You don¡¯t have to go it alone; God is ready to help you cross the finish line with the Holy Spirit as your guide.
HOW CAN WE WALK IN THE SPIRIT?
I. RECEIVE THE SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE.
If you are going to let God be your guide directing you through the obstacle course of life, then your first step is to ACCEPT GOD AS YOUR GUIDE¨CRECEIVE THE SPIRIT.
1. Jesus gives us the promise that the Holy Spirit will be our Counselor and Guide.
+ John 14:16-17 16I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. 17This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! (MsgB)
Jesus tells us that the Father will give us ¡°another friend,¡± a ¡°Counselor¡± (NIV), or ¡°Comforter¡± (KJV). The Greek word used here is ¡°parakletos¡± (this is why you may hear the Holy Spirit called ¡°the Paraclete¡±).
Literally ¡°parakletos¡± means ¡°one called along side,¡± so the Holy Spirit is with us to guide and direct our decisions; He is our Counselor or Friend.
The Holy Spirit is comes along side to help us like I helped my kids learn how to hit a baseball; I stood over them holding the bat and said ¡°swing.¡± Together we hit the ball!
2. Jesus¡¯ promise makes a distinction between those who have received the Spirit and those who have not.
Those living apart from God cannot receive the help of the Holy Spirit; only those who have personally accepted Christ have received the Spirit into their lives and benefit from the direction of the Spirit. Until you accept Jesus as your personal Savior, your mind is on a different wavelength and you¡¯re incapable of ¡°tunning into¡± the voice of the Holy Spirit to receive direction and guidance; you¡¯re running alone and blind.
Each of us have started running the race of life; we have all run into various obstacles tripping and falling along the way. The Bible says, ¡°all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God¡± (Romans 3:23 NIV). You and I have failed to live up to God¡¯s expectations; we run off course and missed the mark.
Sin has infected us all and it is impossible for us to develop a cure. The virus of sin is deadly; the Bible says that the ¡°wages of sin is death¡± (Romans 6:23 NIV). Jesus said, ¡°no one comes to the Father except though me¡± (John 14:6).
Jesus is the only way to God; He took the penalty of your sin upon Himself on the cross. You can be forgiven and make a fresh start if you personally accept what He did for you. The Bible says, ¡°That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved¡± (Romans 10:9 NIV).
President Andrew Jackson once offered a presidential pardon to an individual found guilty and convicted in a court of law. The pardon was signed, but the guilty man did not want to be released from prison. The question was then asked in the supreme court, ¡°does the pardon automatically release a man from the penalty of his crime?¡± The court ruled that until the pardon is accepted by those convicted of a crime, it is just a piece of paper with no legal authority.
Jesus has offered you a pardon for your sin; He has freely paid the price and you can be released from your death penalty. However, the cross of Christ has no authority in the court of heaven until you personally accept Christ as your Savior. Each of us must acknowledge that we individually deserved to die, but Jesus took our place and we choose to receive His gift.
3. When we accept Christ¡¯s forgiveness, His Spirit comes to live in us.
Jesus knew the obstacle course that was laid out before Him. Following His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus knew that His time with His disciples would be short. Jesus told them that He would be returning to the Father in heaven.
Jesus said, ¡°I will ask the Father and He will give you ANOTHER COUNSELOR to be with you forever¡±(John 14:16-17 NIV). The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, ¡°Friend,¡± ¡°Counselor,¡± or ¡°Comforter¡± is ANOTHER OF THE SAME KIND; Jesus is telling His disciples that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ¨CJesus and the Spirit are One. Therefore, when you receive Christ as your Savior, you receive the Holy Spirit into your life.
The Bible says that we are the ¡°temple¡± or the ¡°sacred dwelling place¡± of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). God formed the human body to be the place where He would live on earth. God is not just ¡°out there somewhere;¡± God lives within those who have accepted Christ as their personal savior. God wants to live within you and me!
Walking in the Spirit begins as we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives. Each of us have to accept God into our lives through Jesus Christ, but that¡¯s only the first step.
II. RELY DAILY UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT.
God is trustworthy! When we choose to rely upon the Holy Spirit we can have absolute confidence in God for every step we take. No longer are we grouping in the dark unable to see the path before us. We choose to trust God assured that He will safely lead us, step by step.
1. Rely upon the Spirit to live differently!
Jesus called the Holy Spirit, ¡°the Spirit of Truth¡± (John 14:17). Half-truths, error and lies, anything false or counterfeit, comes in an infinite number of possibilities. However, TRUTH IS SINGULAR IN ITS REVELATION .
This will fly in the face of our ¡°tolerant culture,¡± but nevertheless truth is truth! Let me put it another way. Truth is not relative; truth is absolute. If something is true, then it is universally true for everyone. Furthermore, the truth is true regardless of whether you and I choose to believe it or not.
Therefore, when the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth comes to live within me, I will live differently because the Spirit leads me according to truth and not what may be popular or the latest fad.
+ Galatians 5:16, 19-25 (NIV) 16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the [flesh]. . . ¨C Live according the Spirit of truth now living within you; live differently and not the way you used to live. How do we live apart from the Spirit? ¨C 19The acts of the [flesh] are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. ¨C Sin will show itself in a lot of different ways, but irregardless, sin separates us from God. If we live just to please ourselves, then the Bible tells us that we are excluded from God¡¯s presence. Those who have received God¡¯s Spirit will live differently. ¨C 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ¨C God¡¯s Spirit within us will direct us to live our lives free from the entanglement of sin. When I am under pressure, or face the obstacles of life, the sweetness of the Holy Spirit flows out of my life instead of the bitterness of my flesh.¨C
2. Rely upon the Spirit to empower and energize your life.
+ Galatians 5:17 The [flesh] desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the [flesh]. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. (NIV)
You can¡¯t live your life differently in your own strength; you can¡¯t produce the ¡°fruit of the Spirit¡± on your own. The Spirit and the flesh contradict each other at every turn. You need the life of Jesus in you; only the power of Spirit can bring the character of Jesus out through how you live your life.
When God¡¯s Spirit is living within us, then everything changes. None of us should ever have to make excuses for our inadequacies or weakness; ¡°Oh that¡¯s just the way I am. I¡¯ve always been like that; I¡¯m doing the best I can.¡± In your own strength you¡¯re right you never will change, but you¡¯re not supposed to be living by your own strength. CHRIST IS OUR SUFFICIENCY AND STRENGTH THROUGH HIS SPIRIT LIVING IN US.
The Bible says, ¡°you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses¡± (Acts 1:8 NIV). The Holy Spirit will enable you to share the love of Jesus with an energized vocabulary to be an effective witness for Christ. However, the Spirit will do more than just give you words to say.
The Holy Spirit makes it possible for you to live a life that is consistent with your testimony. The words you speak for Christ will be validated by the life you live like Christ.
3. Rely upon the Spirit to give you wisdom and guidance.
When you trust God to help you live your life differently, you are depending upon the Spirit to lead you in truth. In order to follow the leading of the Spirit, you need to believe that God will give you understanding and insight that you could not receive apart from Him. You have to rely upon the Spirit for wisdom and guidance everyday.
+ Proverbs 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.(NIV)
As believers, each of us who have received Christ and have His Spirit is living in us, we want to live our lives differently. We want to honor God, to please Him in all that we do and say. Unfortunately, we all too often try do live a life worthy of God with our own understanding and strength.
Remember our imaginary obstacle course? Even the smartest among us will have trouble making it through each of the obstacles because we have been blindfolded! Our perspective and understanding is limited at its best. Only God has the perspective to see what¡¯s ahead and His perspective gives Him wisdom that we cannot have apart from Him.
When you get into an airplane and fly into the sky your perspective changes; you suddenly can see things that you could not see when you were on the ground. I recently flew with a friend over the church and our home in Windham. I was looking at familiar territory from 3,000 feet in the air. I looked down on the church and into the football stadium next door at the same time. As we headed over towards Windham, I could see traffic on both sides of ¡°deadman¡¯s curve¡± along State Route 82 at the same time. Looking down on our home, I could see how it fit together with the other houses and roads like the pieces of a puzzle to make up our neighborhood. Flying west back towards the airport I could see Cleveland and the shoreline of Lake Erie some 35 to 40 miles away; I could even make out the roads that I had driven to take me there.
God does not have our limited perspective; His wisdom and understanding is far above our own. God looks at our ¡°obstacle course¡± of life; He can see it from start to finish all at the same time. God knows the path we need to take; He can see the dangers around the next bend. He sees the valleys and the mountains that we need to cross. God will show us the way, if only we are willing to trust Him to do so.
+ Proverbs 3:5-7 5Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. 6Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. 7Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! (MsgB)
Are you trusting the Lord with all of your heart or are you still trying to figure things out for yourself? ¡°Don¡¯t be wise in your own eyes¡± (Proverbs 3:7 NIV); let God be the one to give you real wisdom that will lead you down the right path.
In order to walk in the Spirit we need to first RECEIVE the Spirit, and they we need to learn to RELY upon the Spirit. We ACCEPT Christ as Savior and have the ASSURANCE that God will direct our footsteps. However, we can¡¯t stop there.
Think with me again about our imaginary obstacle course. You have been blindfolded and can¡¯t see the way to maneuver past the obstacles. You have RECEIVED the Spirit to be your guide and you fully RELY upon God to help you safely make it through the course. In other words, you have ACCEPTED Christ as Savior and you have the ASSURANCE that His Spirit will help you, but if you¡¯re going to go anywhere then you have to ACT upon what the Spirit says.
III. RESPOND TO THE LEADING OF THE SPIRIT.
None of us will complete the obstacle course unless we are willing to take action. This is where the proverbial ¡°rubber meets the road;¡± we need to move with the Spirit in order to walk in the Spirit.
+ Galatians 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (NIV) ¨C Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. (MsgB)
1. We need to respond to the Holy Spirit as a congregation.
+ Acts 13:1-3 1In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. (NIV)
The church in Antioch was a great church; they had the prophets and teachers who knew the word of God. They had a great worship team and were committed to prayer. However these were not the things that made them a great church. What made them great? This was a church that responded to the leading of the Holy Spirit; they weren¡¯t doing their own thing; they did God¡¯s thing!
God has directed us as a church to ¡°BUILD IT THICK.¡± Each of us who are a part of the body of Christ that makes up Praise A/G need to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit and take our part in the ministry of the church. Get involved and find a place to strengthen our church as we minister to one another and reach out to our community.
Someone has said, ¡°The devil doesn¡¯t fear a big church; Satan fears a united church.¡± As we link our arms together we are united together to fulfill God¡¯s purpose. We need you to find your place of ministry at Praise and together with God¡¯s Spirit leading us nothing will be impossible!
2. We each need to respond to the Spirit individually.
I can¡¯t walk in the Spirit for you, and you can¡¯t walk in the Spirit for me. If we are going to successfully maneuver through the obstacle course of life then we each one must choose to take the step which the Spirit has set before us.
How do you need to respond to the Spirit? What action do you need to take?
In a moment I¡¯m going to ask for three specific responses that some of you need to make today, but first let me ask you a question? Have you taken the 50-Days to Pentecost Challenge to turn off your TV set and spend time with God and your family? Some of us have no room for God because our lives are so full of activity; all we do is run, run, run. You will not be renewed and strengthened by watching the ¡°idiot box.¡± You don¡¯t need to escape from reality to rest; you need an encounter with God.
When you make the commitment to do something as simple as turning off the TV, you and your family will be better for it. Because the noise of the world will have been diminished, you will learn to hear the voice of God in your daily routine, and you family relationships will be improved.
How do you need to respond to the Spirit¨Ctoday? Before we leave here, some of us need to take action upon what God is saying to us right now. How will you respond?
¡ñ Have you made the first all important step? HAVE YOU RECEIVED THE SPIRIT? Have you personally accepted Jesus as your personal savior? Jesus paid the penalty for your sin when He died on the cross. Have you accepted His forgiveness?
¡ñ Some of you have been making excuses for how you live your life. It¡¯s time for more of Jesus to be seen and less of you in your day to day life. You need to ask God to forgive you and then you need to change the way you¡¯ve been living, not in your own energy, but with the power of the Holy Spirit who is in you!
¡ñ Some of you today are filled with worry and anxiety. You can¡¯t begin to walk in the Spirit, because you really don¡¯t rely fully upon the Spirit, you don¡¯t trust God with all your heart. You¡¯re still trying to figure things out for yourself instead of letting God share His perspective with you. You need to be honest with God today about your fear and worry ask the Lord to give you a God-confidence.
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Portions are taken from a teaching series 50-Days to Pentecost, by John Palmer
