Keeping in Step with the Spirit

 The Holy Spirit is an integral part of the Trinity. He is often ignored. Rightly so, the Father, and Jesus Christ the Son get all the attention. John wrote that the role of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus. Nowhere do we read in scripture where the Holy Spirit is to be regarded over the Father and the Son. That does not mean that the Holy Spirit does not play a vital role in the lives of believers and in the church. 

Earlier this week I read the phrase "keeping in step with the Spirit." It grabbed my attention. I can think of verses that reiterate this point. Galatians 5:16 and Galatians 5:25 exhort us to live by the Spirit. To stay in step with Him day in and day out. What does that even look like? Let me give an example. I had an incident this week that upset me greatly. I had a choice of how to react. My flesh, that natural carnal nature wanted to react one way. I mulled over different ways I could put those thoughts into action. The Holy Spirit opposes the flesh and directed me to react in the completely opposite direction. I prayed through it and settled on keeping in step with the Spirit and denying the flesh. 

We face situations like that constantly. Keeping in step with the Spirit pleases God. I think there is more to keeping in step with the Spirit than not just acting or reacting in natural ways. There is also following His leadership. We are called to live by the Spirit. To obey His promptings, yield to His guidance, and follow His directions. The Holy Spirit is constantly working in the lives of God's people to reveal the will of the Father. He does it various ways. For Abram it was a voice telling him to leave his homeland. For Moses it was a burning bush. Samuel heard a voice in the middle of the night. Elijah heard it as a still small voice. Paul had a dream that altered his course of ministry. 

The Holy Spirit is continually communicating with the people of God. He convicts of sin. He calls people to repentance and salvation. He comforts people who grieve and are brokenhearted. He empowers for service. He reveals the will of God. The Spirit is speaking. The question is are we listening?

Several years ago, I was leading a retreat for college students. One of the exercises we did was to spend an hour alone listening to God. It was a cold morning as the students scattered all over the campgrounds to pray and listen. 

I walked and prayed pleading with the Lord to speak to me. I felt this deep impression in my mind to go up to a girl named Courtney and tell her that God wanted her to go to Howard Payne University. Courtney was a high school senior who asked permission to attend the retreat. I knew Courtney. She was one of the smartest kids in her school. I heard her say numerous times she did not want to go to a small college. She grew up in a small town. She wanted to go to a large prestigious college. I questioned the impression in my mind whether it was really a word from the Lord. 

The impression persisted even stronger. I walked and prayed a little longer trying to discern was this the Holy Spirit or some random thought of my own imagination. The longer I prayed the more convinced I felt the Holy Spirit wanted me to share this information with Courtney. I cannot ever remember another time when the Holy Spirit revealed God's will for someone else to me. I did not even get this for my four sons when they were choosing colleges. 

I walked up to Courtney as she prayed. She sat on the ground bundled up with a heavy coat and a hood on her head. Her face was buried between her knees. I walked up behind her and said, "Courtney, I believe the Lord wants me to tell you that He wants you to go to Howard Payne University." I turned and walked away praying that I had not made a mistake. 

I saw Courtney every week at our church. I never spoke to her again about that matter. What happened? Courtney did choose to go to Howard Payne University. She met her husband there and graduated. She is a successful young wife, mother, and advancing in her career choice. I am thankful I heard the Lord that day and stayed in step with the Spirit. It was not in my comfort zone. 

I cannot tell you the number of times I will sit on the front pew of a worship service when suddenly the Spirit impresses on me that I need to change the message. It has even happened as I stood behind the pulpit and bowed to pray before preaching. Sometimes it happens in the middle of a song. Sometimes it starts with a random persisting thought. I get this deep conviction that I am not to preach what I prepared during the week. When I have the courage to keep in step with the Spirit and preach what He impresses trusting Him for the words, something special usually happens. People will come up to me afterwards and say, "That message was for me." I chuckle and tell them God changed the message in the service. 

Keeping in step with the Spirit is applicable for every part of our lives. Raising a family. The job. Ministry. Brenda used to pray before she went to bed that God would show her how to set up her floors when she worked as a merchandise manager for JC Penney. Each time she got a clear mental picture the next morning and know what to do. 

May we all devote ourselves anew to keep in step with the Spirit in every area of our lives. I am convinced we will see God do some amazing things when we do. 

Life Laid Down

 When a person comes to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that person becomes a follower. Another way to put that is the person becomes a disciple of Christ. When you go back and read the expectations put on His first disciples, they were invited to follow and leave everything. 

The Apostle Paul lived in that vein as well. He laid down his life to become a disciple of Jesus. He wrote so many powerful things in his epistles. One of them that has impacted me greatly can be found in Romans 12:1. Therefore I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. 

What possible motivation could a Christian have for laying down their life on the altar as a sacrifice to God? It all goes back to the cross. When people really consider the centrality of the cross, what our Lord did there, and the reason He did it, His sacrificial death changes our perspective. It was the sheer love and mercy of God to offer salvation. None of us deserved it. We certainly could not earn it. We can never ever repay it. God acted in mercy. How does a person respond to such mercy? Offer their whole life to Him in devotion and service. When people forget the cross, they think of our Messiah's death as nothing more than an insurance policy. 

God demands that we present our bodies to Him. The word present means to offer and to yield? When Jesus Christ saved us, He did so by purchasing us. Let me be very clear at this point. He therefore OWNS us. That is the reason Paul identified as a bond slave or bondservant of Jesus in his writings repeatedly. Some will take offense to the notion that Jesus owns us. I Corinthians 6:20 says we have been bought with a price and should glorify God in our bodies. When you buy something you own it. It is no different for our Lord. He owns us, but many people treat Him like He only rents them. Like He has to ask permission to make any changes. Absolute heresy. Jesus Christ does not have to ask our permission to require us to do anything. He can help Himself to our lives no matter how inconvenient that might be. 

Some would say this sounds like slavery. It most certainly does. There is one major difference. The true Christ followers voluntarily offer their lives. They choose to live surrendered to His Lordship. They yield to His wishes. They do this because they grasp the enormity of the sacrifice He made on the cross. Understanding that changes everything. They willfully lay their lives down. 

In the Old Testament when people offered a sacrifice, they brought their calf, goat, or lamb to be placed on the altar. The altar was the place of slaughter. It was a bloody gruesome place. They made multiple offerings, but that animal was only offered once. When the animal was sacrificed, the life ended for that animal. 

Paul exhorts us to present our bodies as a LIVING holy sacrifice. This is not something that is done only once. He is exhorting us to live daily offering our lives as a living sacrifice. What we did yesterday will not suffice for today. Each day we lay our lives before our Lord Jesus voluntarily offering ourselves in service to Him. What does that look like? 

It means living available. It means living surrendered to His will over our own will. It means living yielded to His invitation and calls to go on assignment for Him. I will be honest. This is not always easy. Hence the word Paul used to present our bodies as a living and holy SACRIFICE. That means to renounce our dreams, our plans, our wishes in subjection to His dreams, His plans, and His wishes. That appears to be a pretty foreign concept for many church people. It is what is expected for all Christ followers. 

It is kind of unnerving to live that way. You never know from day to day what God will reveal and demand next. A huge sacrificial financial commitment. Joining a new ministry. Helping a neighbor. Giving up time to help others. For some it might even mean relocation. 

Gary was our neighbor across the street in Runaway Bay, TX. He was much older and had really bad knees. A knee surgery did not completely fix the issues. At the time, I had a mowing business with our four sons, and therefore had a zero turn mower. Part of the sacrifice God required of me was to mow Gary's yard each time I mowed mine. It did not take that much extra time to mow it. I also trimmed the yard with the weedeater. He always came out to watch and then we visited. I got the chance to share the love of Jesus with him. He confessed to be saved, but I was never completely sure. I mowed for him free of charge right up until we moved from that home. 

That is one small example of living sacrificially. I have known people God required to make serious financial commitments. One lady sacrificed $1,400 monthly to a cause God instructed her to give to for years over and above the tithes she gave to her church. God has required people to give cars and even houses away. These are inconvenient and uncomfortable. That is the way His followers are supposed to live. 

It is the way we are all called to live. Do we dare lay our lives down to Him? Do we have the guts to take this call seriously? We will if we never forget the sacrifice He made on the cross for our salvation. Day after day we climb upon that altar and offer our bodies and our lives in service to Him. That is living life laid down.