“How to Find the Will of God” ~ Part 2
Philippians 4:8
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Many thanks to Stephen Robinson for being here in my place last
Sunday. I know you were blessed as Stephen is very gifted in
sharing the Good News!
And, I hope many of you, like me, had a wonderful Father’s Day!
It’s great to be remembered, isn’t it?
And that’s some of what we discussed the last time I was with you.
In particular, as we remembered Pentecost Sunday, the coming of
God’s Holy Spirit . . . and more importantly, what the work of the
Holy Spirit was to be about.
We talked about how it moved through the Christian Community in
a powerful way.
How, at first, it was described as something that people were
FILLED with as we remembered the way it was ushered in, in such
a mighty rushing wind as it says in Act 2.
But then, we discovered that it wasn’t restricted to JUST those
people in that room long ago.
That the Holy Spirit was purposed to allow us to understand the
things of God. To understand God’s will for all humankind in the
growth of the Character of Christ in us.
And that the Holy Spirit’s role was in LEADING us into this TRUTH.
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We looked at Jesus’ powerful words regarding the Holy Spirit in
John 14, where He knows what His imminent future holds . . .
knowing He will be taken away from them, crucified on a cross . . .
realizing that these people He’s been with will feel left alone . . .
and says, “16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you
another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 17 Even
the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it
seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” KJV
We looked at how our relationship with the Holy Spirit went from
being described as something that we’re FILLED with ~to~ the
description of it being a WALK.
Remembering Paul’s words in Rom. 8:29, “For those whom he
forknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of
his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large
family.”
In other words the Holy Spirit’s primary goal is to lead us into
Christlikeness . . . continuing the process of the Character of Christ
Jesus being developed in us.
Gal 5:16 reminds us, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will
not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
We need to see that the immediate result of this WALK is not
discovering which job to take, or which person to marry, or which
car to buy.
Rather, the immediate result is for us to lead us away from not
carrying out the desires of the flesh.
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And Paul puts it succinctly in this Gal. 5:16 passage because he
realizes that to do one is not to do the other.
And this is important for us to see . . . because Paul is doing more
than commanding us to not fulfill the desires of the flesh . . .
Paul realized that when we live in such dependency on and
sensitivity to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, then we would
WALK by the Spirit . . .
And when we walk by the Spirit . . . we wouldn’t and couldn’t fulfill
the desires of the flesh.
A few verses later we find another reference to walking in the Spirit.
This time, however, Paul uses a different and more descriptive
Greek word for WALK, in which he says: “If we live by the Spirit,
let us also walk by the Spirit.” Gal. 5:25
And the word for “walk” here means to “be in line with” or “agree
with.”
The New International Version of this passage helps by saying,
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Very much like a person walking through a mine field . . . if we don’t
follow the exact steps they take before us, we can step on a live
mine.
And the idea here is to walk in such a way as to avoid the moral
land mines buried all around us.
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And I say all of this because isn’t this a much more positive
approach than being told what NOT to do?
Because in this way we’re given positive direction that will result in
avoiding those things we have NO BUSINESS INVOLVING
OURSELVES IN.
Because our natural tendency will be to think about all the things
we are NOT supposed to do, and consequently, they become our
focus.
I believe that this is why so many believers don’t seem to make any
significant progress in their Spiritual Journey. They’re constantly
consumed with what they SHOULDN’T be doing, instead of
focusing their attention on following the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Believers MUST come to see that the Spirit-filled life isn’t a life of
DON’TS . . . it’s a life of DO’S.
Do walk in the Spirit, and you will avoid fulfilling the works of the
flesh <p>
But it’s not an automatic kind of a thing is it?
We have a part in this process . . . but our “part” depends upon
OUR WILL!
It depends upon US giving in to the more perfect way of the Spirit.
It depends upon US being willing to give up our right . . . giving up
what we want and how we want it.
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It depends upon US being FAITHFUL. Trusting that God knows
exactly what’s going on and that whatever we’re going through and
whatever situations and circumstances come our way . . . that we
will know it’s for the continued development of Christ’s character in
us.
But for this to happen we MUST SEE something very important . . .
we must see that because of Jesus’ death on the cross, He
changed our relationship to the works of the flesh . . . to sin.
Before our salvation, Rom. 6:20, reminds us that we were slaves to
sin.
It was as if Satan had a big collar around our necks with a leash on
it.
And whenever he pulled our leash, we followed . . . sure, we might
have fought back at times to show our independence, but
eventually, he had his way.
Practically speaking, we were slaves to our natural desires.
But upon Salvation, at that very point in time, we were set free from
slavery to sin (see Rom 6:22). The leash was cut.
We no longer had to give in to the temptations of the desires of our
sinful flesh.
But nobody told us! So when temptation came along, we did what
we had always done – we gave in . . . and we felt guilty because
the Holy Spirit was living in us (we grieved the Holy Spirit) . . . we
weren’t at peace . . . and we asked for forgiveness and STRIVED
(within ourselves) to do better.
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But the cycle would continue. And that’s because we didn’t
understand what it meant to WALK in the Spirit.
Because the one who walks in the Spirit, is the one who
understands the FACT that we are free from sin.
Otherwise, we will continue to assume that the tug of the flesh is a
tug we can’t resist.
Our inclination will ALWAYS be to follow your flesh. After all, that’s
what we’re used to . . . and, up to the point of receiving Christ
Jesus, that’s all we’ve ever known.
And, we think: “besides, nobody’s perfect.” And over and over it
goes . . . there’s no victorious living because we’re serving two
Masters.
And Jesus reminds us in BOTH Matthew’s & Luke’s gospels that
we cannot follow two masters . . . because we will either follow the
lead of the Spirit or the desires of the flesh.
And it’s sad because I believe that so many Christians follow their
flesh because they really don’t believe they have any choice.
They’ve lost the same battles so many times that they have given
up. The least little temptation sends them scurrying after their flesh
. . . thinking, “well, I’ll just ask for forgiveness and try harder
next time.”
And the next time comes, and the desires of the flesh well-up within
us, and we see the end of Romans 7 dialogue happen over and
over.
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But folks, God intended for it to be the other way around in this
scenario.
Instead of realizing at the end of our acts of the flesh the reality of
being set free by Jesus Christ . . . God had intended, by the work of
the Holy Spirit, and the finished work of Calvary’s Cross, for us to
realize that SIN NO LONGER HAS ANY POWER OVER US.
Sure, Satan can call to us. He can stir up our natural appetites. He
can do anything he wants – FROM THE SIDELINES.
BUT . . . he can’t touch us. His power over us is broken. WE
HAVE BEEN SET FREE!
That’s why Paul tells us in Rom. 6:11-14 says: “Even so consider
yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you
should obey its lusts . . . for sin shall not be master over you.”
We may feel the way we’ve always felt. We may desire the things
we’ve always desired. But the fact is, WE ARE FREE!
And the secret to remaining in the FREEDOM of Christ is in our
MINDS . . . we must begin everyday with the thought: “I’m going
to renew my mind to this transforming truth.”
Because we will never walk in the Spirit until we are CONVINCED
of our freedom from the Law of Sin and Death.
And the believer that truly walks in the Spirit . . . who’s truly LED by
God’s Holy Spirit, is one who understands these great TRUTHS
that Jesus reminds us was the Holy Spirit’s purpose.
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And as we hear these TRUTHS, the Spirit quickens that TRUTH in
us, because this is the work of the Holy Spirit, as we looked at this
from Jesus’ words in John 14.
But we also know that there is another who’s deceiving us within
our FLESH . . . who entices the lust of the FLESH . . . the desires of
the flesh.
There’s that voice that is at war with the voice of the Spirit.
The voice that deceives us into thinking that by gratifying the lust of
the flesh we will find fulfillment.
But it’s a lie because the gratification is fleeting and unfulfilling.
It’s the voice of: “If I just had __________, THEN I’d be happy.”
Instead of the realization that God has supplied ALL of our needs
according to His riches in Glory. (Phil. 4:19)
And I say all of this because we can see that there’s an important
relationship between our thinking and our ability to follow the
Spirit’s lead.
Paul described it this way in Rom. 8:5-6, when he said, “for those
who are walking according to the flesh set their MINDS on the
things of the flesh, but those who are walking according to the
Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the MIND set on the flesh is
death, but the MIND set on the Spirit is life and peace.”
Where we set our minds determines who we follow and what we
do.
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When we set our minds on the things of the Spirit and we Walk by
the Spirit.
And, by that, I don’t mean we’re to be walking around in some sort
of hypnotic state.
It’s far from that . . . In fact, there’s nothing mystical about setting
our minds on the Spirit.
And that’s Paul’s point . . . it’s that we’re simply to be to setting our
minds on the things pertaining to the Spirit.
And the same holds true for the mind set on the flesh. It’s not
thoughts about the flesh itself that lead us astray. It’s allowing
those thoughts to DWELL that cause us to fulfill the works of the
flesh.
It’s critical for believers (ANYBODY) to realize that ANYTHING that
we DO first originates from our MIND.
And that’s the way it is with fulfilling the works of the Flesh . . . as
any act of the Flesh is committed twice: once in our heads and
once in our behavior.
And in order to win the behavior battle, we must first win the battle
that takes place in our . . . MINDS.
For years I was defeated in this area. And part of the reason was
that I was focused almost exclusively on not DOING WRONG
things.
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My idea of walking in the Spirit was being preoccupied with good
behavior. But no matter how committed I was, at best I was
inconsistent.
And then I saw what my problem was. I wasn’t taking part in the
battle before the BEHAVIOR/ACTION.
As walking in the Spirit requires a mind-set, a preoccupation – if
you will – with truth.
The battle begins not with the temptation to do something I know I
shouldn’t do . . . but with the temptation to dwell on anything that
conflicts with what the Holy Spirit has made known to me.
This is the battle before the BEHAVIOR.
Once I became aware of this, a number of verses took on new
significance: 1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, gird your MINDS for
action, keep sober in spirit.”
Col. 3:2 “Set your MIND on the things above, not on the things
that are on earth.”
Rom. 12:2 “and do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your MIND.”
And then today’s scripture lesson, which you’ve heard as a
benediction from me many times: “Finally, brethren, whatever is
true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is pleasing, whatever is of good report, if there is any
excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, THINK
ABOUT THESE THINGS ~ let your MIND dwell on these
things.”
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When we refuse to get involved in the battle before the battle, there
is no hope for change at the behavior level. By then it’s too late.
As walking in the Spirit requires that we become hypersensitive to
any thought that conflicts with truth.
Anything that clashes or conflicts with what we KNOW to be true is
not of the Spirit.
And anything that is not of the Spirit only gets in the way of our
ability to be led by the Spirit and be conformed to the image of
Christ.
Therefore, to walk in the Spirit, we must get serious about
guarding our MINDS. <p>
Like so many people, I wasn’t always careful with what I allowed
myself to think about . . . to DWELL on.
But when I realized just how important the battle of the mind is . . . I
purposed to set my mind on the things of the Spirit.
And progressively, it began to transform my living to the reality of
who and what Christ is, and wanted to be, in me . . . through me . . .
as me.
And this reality translated to walking in the Spirit . . . which, in turn,
brought such peace . . . such joy . . . and such LIFE to my living!
Because, then, I realized who and what “LIFE” really was & IS . . .
Christ in me, my hope in Glory, as the great Apostle reminds us
(Col. 1:27) . . . the One who said, “I am the way, the truth, and
the LIFE.” John 14:6
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Lastly, let me give you a POWERFUL verse of scripture that helped
me get on, and stay on, track in this area: 2 Cor. 10:5 “We are
destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up
against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every
thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
And we’ll talk more about that next time as we continue to
understand the work of the Holy Spirit and our walking in the Sprit.
Prayer/Hymn of Invitation: “Take My Life and Let it Be” #379 (1 & 3)