Study 13: Walking in the Spirit
Proverbs 31:27 (Amp.) “She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness [gossip, discontent and self-pity] she will not eat.”
John 14:16 “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Comforter (Counsellor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, strengthener, and standby), that He may remain with you forever”
John 20:22 “And with that He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit…’”
Who is the Holy Spirit?
He is one part of the Trinity, Matthew 28:19; John 15:26; 1 Peter 1:2, who is on the earth today. He was involved in creation, Genesis 1:2; and He remained on Jesus through His earthly ministry, Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 3:16; Acts 10:38, and is now in believers, John 14:16,17; 1 Corinthians 3:16.
What the Holy Spirit does for us:
a) He regenerates. John 3:3-5.
b) He inspires true worship. John 4:24.
c) He gives a new boldness to witness. Acts1:8.
d) He gives power in prayer. Romans 8:26-27.
e) He gives understanding of the Bible. I Corinthians 2:12.
f) He guides and gives direction. Mark 13:11.
g) He gives ability to flow in the Gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:11; 1:5-7; 14:1.
h) He gives discernment between the Spirit of Truth and error. 1 John 4:1-6.
i) He will produce fruit in your life. Galatians 5:16-23,25.
j) He comforts you. John 14:16-26.
k) He gives you joy. Romans 14:17.
l) He encourages and strengthens you. Ephesians 3:16.
m) He enthuses you. Ephesians 5:18.
We must pay the price to walk in the Spirit…..
Pay the price to receive inspiration from heaven through the Holy Spirit…..
We pay the price by putting God first, spending time in prayer, and loving His Word above all earthly pleasures, knowledge or entertainment.
We do have emotions, like God, as we are made in His image, but He is not ruled by feelings. He operates by doing what is right, regardless of how He feels. He can be concerned by our attitude, but He never changes in the way He loves us and treats us. He has no self-pity, no discontent on His own behalf and no retaliation.
Walking in the Spirit means:
1. Desire to hear the Holy Spirit, Galatians 5:16.
2. Be ready to obey, Galatians 5:17-23.
3. Discern between the prompting of the Holy Spirit and our own feelings, Galatians 5:25.
Results will be:
1. We are controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit.
2. The Words of Jesus will be continually in our minds, Romans 8:5-6.
3. Having the love of Jesus in our hearts for all people.
4. The ability and power of Jesus will be evident in our behaviour.
5. That the power of the life-giving Spirit (is ours through Christ Jesus and) has freed us from the vicious circle of sin and death, Romans 8:2.
Your choice – flesh or Spirit
“Those who let themselves be controlled by their lower natures live only to please themselves, but those who follow after the Holy Spirit find themselves doing those things that please God. Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace, but following after the old nature leads to death, because the old sinful nature within us is against God. It never did obey God’s law and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their old sinful selves, bent on following their old evil desires, can never please God.
But you are not like that. You are controlled by your new nature if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (Remember that if anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ living in him, he is not a Christian at all.) Yet, even though Christ lives within you, your body will die because of sin; but your spirit will live, for Christ has pardoned it. And if the Spirit of God, who raised up Jesus from the dead, lives in you, He will make your dying bodies live again after you die, by means of this same Holy Spirit living within you.” Romans 8:5-11(LB).
Be led by the Spirit
The Holy Spirit has been given to us to help in all our needs, including our prayer-life, John 14:16.
As we develop that intimate relationship with Him and begin to walk in the Spirit, the things of God just flow out of the well of living water that we have in us, John 4:14.
We must ask the Father to show us how to pray His plans and purposes. We need to find out (through the Holy Spirit) what to pray. Seeing a need, pulling out our favourite scripture, and screaming it out, is not prayer! It’s crucial to wait on God for the way to pray for the individual situation. Waiting, in an attitude of listening and expectation, is often very hard. It’s far easier to jump straight in, in a ‘war-like’ manner. It feels as though we’ve done something too! “But My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways’ says the Lord”, Isaiah 55:8.
Loud voices, stamping feet, banging the walls or even all night prayer vigils, do not guarantee the answer, only when we’re led by the Spirit to do the things we do, will the breakthroughs come.
We all know of great miracles in individuals lives, when God simply said, “worship Me”.
Worshipping God is the last thing we ‘feel’ like doing when we have problems, no, we want to rant and rave at the devil!! “But we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into the obedience of Christ..” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
As we have been learning over the past weeks, everything we do, say and think must be based on the Word. If it doesn’t line-up with what God has already said, – forget it!!! He has not gone back on His Word so far – and He is not about to start now! Hebrews 13:8.
So, prayer that is based on the Word is not only advisable, it’s essential. You cannot separate God from His Spirit and His Word. God is the Word, John 1:1-18.
The sword of the Holy Spirit is the Word (Ephesians 6:17), so He will tell us what to do with it, to have victory in every situation.
“From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise because of Your enemies to silence the foe and the avenger”. Psalm 8:2
Proclaiming the Word
When God gives us words to speak out, He wants us to proclaim them. We are now His voice on the earth and He needs us! Amazing as it may seem!
God has already spoken out His will, plans and purposes, so it’s up to us now to complete the circle and speak it out so it will accomplish that for which it was sent, Isaiah 55:10-11.
We may be asking, “That’s all very well, it’s a big book! How do I know what to speak out?” By the Spirit. That ‘knower’ inside us who is helping us. He may give us a scripture to turn to, or maybe a verse that we know by heart will light up like a beacon. There are many ways He will communicate with us, and it will always be in a way we can understand Him, John 16:12-13. God will not bring confusion or condemnation, 1 Corinthians 14:33; Romans 8:1-2.
Jesus was given supernatural strength and ability that is also available to us, in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had times of such deep sleep that He didn’t even wake-up when a storm threatened the boat He was on!! All His needs, (spirit, soul and body) were met, Mark 4:37-38. God is not selective, and is willing for us all to have this supernatural ability too if we wish and are prepared to receive it from Him.
If He calls us to be awake at strange times in the night to be with Him in prayer, He’ll equip us to do that, and work the next day. We can believe Him for the same supernatural sleep He gave to His first Son.
He WILL lead you
“This I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Galatians 5:16.
Walking and living in the Spirit – That’s the key to overcoming the flesh. If you follow the prompting of the Spirit of God within, you won’t be dominated by the pressure that your flesh tries to put on you. It’s that ‘still, small voice’ that Elijah heard, that you will hear too. It’s that inward witness that leads and guides you every step of the way. It’s a stillness – a knowing – a peace that passes all understanding.
In fact the Holy Spirit, through Paul, tells us to, “Let the peace (soul harmony, which comes) from Christ, rule (and act as umpire continually) in your hearts, [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds…]” Colossians 3:15 (Amp).
As you listen to the Word and the Holy Spirit, telling you what to do, you’ll be constantly making little adjustments in your life according to what He says. And those little adjustments will keep darkness from overtaking you.
You see, God knows just what you need. He can look ahead in your life and see the traps and pressures the devil is laying for you. So follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and He will manoeuvre you safely around them to victory. Jesus says that one of the Holy Spirit’s tasks is to, “declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].” (John 16:13b Amp).
So we can trust Him to communicate to us – His job is to get through to us!! He is experienced in communication and is actually speaking all the time – we sometimes just need to listen to Him, then be bold enough to go with your “hunches”.
What do you do with your time?
Are you spending more time pursuing the things of the Holy Spirit than you spend pursuing the things of the flesh?
If we spend enough time with Him, He is going to rub off on us! His ways will become our ways.
We can make ourselves available to Him, by praying in the Spirit, worshipping Him, and loving His Word. We also need to be around people who love His Word and live it. Then we will notice we are changing and we are becoming more like Jesus.
How do you act?
In ALL that we DO, we need the Holy Spirit. Even Jesus said, “I am able to do nothing from Myself [independently, of My own accord – but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders.]” John 5:30a (Amp). ‘without faith it is impossible to please God,’ Hebrews 11:6. ‘We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us,’ Philippians 4:13. ‘If we walk by the Spirit we will not fulfil the lust of the flesh.’ Galatians 5:16.
So we will not:-
1. Shout at the children.
2. Have road rage.
3. Hate our enemies
4. Talk rubbish about ourselves or others.
5. Grow bitter about disappointments.
6. Have pride about anything except the Gospel
STAY CLOSE TO GOD, LISTEN AND GO WITH HIM !!!
Home Challenges for Joyful Woman No: 13.
1. What did you enjoy from the group question time last week?
2. Read the notes ‘What the Holy Spirit does for us’ Choose four headings from this list, that mean the most to you, look up the verses and claim them for your life. If you have the Holy Spirit you have all this potential in you. Let it out!!!
3. Give three things from the notes that will help you to walk in the Spirit.
4. Read Romans 8:5-11 from the notes. What challenges you and what encourages you from this passage?
5. Consider your prayer life over the past two weeks of ‘Joyful Woman’ Have you noticed any changes and is there anything in these notes that could help you?
6. Can people looking on your life at home see the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Which ones?
Proverbs 31:18. She tastes and sees that her gain from work (with and for God) is good; her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night (of trouble, privation, or sorrow, warning away fear, doubt and distrust).
7. What work are you doing with God? Do you think it is fruitful for eternity?
8. Do you feel you are in the centre of God’s will for your life at this time?
9. Does your daily activity allow you to spend time with God?
10. Is there any trouble that has happened to you, where you felt that you overcame fear, doubt and distrust?
11. Are you as passionate for God today as the day you asked Him to come into your life?
12. Read Matthew 24:10-12 What are the warnings in these verses?
13. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:14-24 Give a few points on how we can walk with God according to this passage ?
14. Write a short sentence about how you feel is the best way to overcome difficulties.
15. Memory verse 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ‘Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’
