January 14, 2020 – Click here to listen
Despite the cesspool of evil in Washington D.C. (where Satan resides) and his vacation homes in NYC, San Francisco, and other hell-holes strategically located around the country that he uses to expand his dominion of our society and the world, we, the followers of Jesus, still love God, trust in Jesus, and walk in the Spirit. We still can live Spirit filled lives and for all practical purpose ignore him.
What does “walking in the Spirit mean?”
A “walk” in the Bible is often a metaphor for normal practical daily living and the definition of a Spirit-filled life is that we must continue to live year by year, month by month, week by week, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute in the Spirit. The Christian life is a journey, and we are to walk it in the Spirit — we are to make consistent forward progress. The biblical norm for all believers is that they walk in the Spirit – Galatians 5:25: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”
Believers receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who proceeds from the Father when they choose to follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit then becomes available to assist believers in prayer and “intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” He also leads the believer into righteousness and produces His purpose in those yielded to Him.
As believers we are required to submit to the will of God and walk in the Spirit. This means that we yield to His control, we follow His lead, and we allow Him to exert His influence over us. To walk in the Spirit is to go with the flow and is the opposite of resisting or grieving Him
Those who walk in the Spirit will desire to walk in love for God and for their fellow man. Those who walk in the Spirit will walk in joy – they joyfully appreciate what God has done, is doing, and will do. Those who walk in the Spirit will walk in peace and live worry-free lives and refuse anxiety. Those who walk in the Spirit will walk in patience and not lose their temper. Those who walk in the Spirit will walk in kindness and show genuine concern for the needs of others. Those who walk in the Spirit will walk in goodness and their actions will reflect virtue and holiness. Those who walk in the Spirit will walk in faithfulness and be steadfast in their trust of God and His Word. Those who walk in the Spirit will walk in gentleness and their lives will be characterized by humility, grace, and thankfulness to God. Those who walk in the Spirit will walk in self-control and display moderation, constraint, and the ability to say “no” to the temptations of the flesh.
Some of you may be thinking Egad! That sounds like God; I’m not God. I’ve thought along those lines at times too and realized that I could not achieve all that I wanted, BUT I have found that the closer I’ve come to exhibiting a Spirit filled life the happier I am. I want to be more like Jesus and I often ask myself, What would Jesus do in this situation? It is a humbling experience to compare what I’m thinking to what I know from Bible study that Jesus wants me to do.
We are living in trying times; however, walking a Spirit filled life will fill you with peace, joy and hope. Remember Jesus walked the earth during a brutal occupation of the Jews by the Romans and yet He didn’t give a whit about politics. He was concerned about lost souls and so should we. As we used to say to the attendant when gas stations were not self-service, “Fill her up with high test please!” Lord please fill me up with the Holy Spirit!
John 15:26
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”