________ WHY NOT ________
Walking According to the Holy Spirit - Part 2
Walk by the Spirit or walk by the flesh. Those are the two choices we have as Christians.
Walking by the Spirit is living by faith; faith in what Christ has done and what He is doing in us and through us right now. He has given us his life and thus, our new identity is in Christ.
Because we are now complete in Christ, we can cease from our own efforts to get our God-given inner needs/desires met (love, acceptance, security, significance, adequacy, peace, joy, etc.). When we stop trying to get life on our own and simply start trusting what we have in Christ (2 Pet. 1:3), we will experience his life and his rest.
Faith Definition from the Greek words in Heb. 11:1 - But we are convinced and confident in our beliefs, which results in a life lived in full expectation of that which God has promised even though the proof of our beliefs cannot yet be seen.
Control
It’s hard to turn over control of our lives to anyone, even the Holy Spirit. Let’s face it, we all want to be in control. Husbands want to control their wives; wives want to control their husbands. Politicians want to control the people. Parents want to control their children. Pastors want to control their congregations (there are exceptions of course) and congregations want to tell their pastors how to preach. And certainly, men want to control the TV changer (as it should be). After all, nobody wants to be “out of control”.
How Do I Give Control of My Life to the Holy Spirit?
First of all, it is difficult if not impossible, to give control of our lives to someone we don’t trust and believe has our best interest in mind. Satan works overtime to convince us that God is not to be trusted. Recall in the garden, the lies he used - God was a liar; He was withholding something Adam and Eve needed to be OK, and therefore, could not be trusted.
But the truth is, God is the only person you can trust, and know that He will not fail! He really does love and accept you just the way you are – even while you were a sinner (Rom. 5:8). He’s not surprised when you “mess up”. He has already forgiven you by his shed blood/death on the cross. This was the ultimate demonstration of his love for YOU. God is good and he is for you! Until you believe these things, it will be impossible to walk by the Holy Spirit. Again, it is the walk of faith. Faith in God and his son, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Note – It is the Holy Spirit that is the agent of God that lavishly fills our hearts with His love (Rom. 5:5). When we know God loves us, we will not be afraid to trust him to control our life, because perfect love casts out fear! (1 John 4:18)
Read the following and ask God to make these truths real in your experience -
When I think of the greatness of this great plan I fall on my knees before God the Father (from whom all fatherhood, earthly or heavenly, derives its name), and I pray that out of the glorious richness of his resources he will enable you to know the strength of the spirit's inner re-inforcement - that Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith. And I pray that you, firmly fixed in love yourselves, may be able to grasp (with all Christians) how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ - and to know for yourselves that love so far beyond our comprehension. May you be filled though all your being with God himself! Ephesians 3.14 (Phillips NT)
Question - Since you trusted Jesus for your eternal salvation, can you not trust Him for whatever today brings?
So, Here’s the Bottom Line
The biggest hindrance to walking by the Spirit is us! We have more faith in our ability than we do in God’s ability.
"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water. Jeremiah 2.13
In order to walk by the Holy Spirit, we must develop an attitude of surrender. We see the perfect example in the life of Jesus.
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2.5-8
What is it that We Must surrender?
You must surrender your will and let the Holy Spirit control your thoughts and your actions. Your mindset/attitude becomes the same as that of Jesus. These were the words He prayed to His Father the night before He went to the cross –
“yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:41-42)
Ask yourself (and God) – Do I really believe God loves me? If you are struggling to believe it, ask God to reveal it to you in a way so that you will know it experientially.
My Struggle – For many years after I was born again, I did not believe that God truly loved me. I knew it intellectually but was never really aware of it experientially. As a result, I was constantly trying to earn his love by my religious performance. Through a series of painful circumstances, I came to understand that God really did love ME. As a result, I was set free from the bondage of religious performance!
Scripture References – Mat.11:25-30; Romans 5 - 8; Ephesians 3; Colossians 2; 1 John 4:7-21.
Back Next – Living a Surrendered Life