Walking in the Spirit

          Gaining victories in the battle surrounding obedience:  MAIN HEALING LESSON 24

This teaching on being led by the Spirit is just one of the 24 lessons in our workbook for personal transformation, "Matters of the Heart."  All 24 lessons will be helpful to the person seeking restoration and freedom and have been posted on this web site. They are available as a complete set in our workbook which can be purchased as a download or ordered through the mail. The lessons are also available on CD and DVD as 24, 1/2 hour teachings. All scriptures are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.
 

Introduction  

It would hardly be fair or right, having given so much attention to the enemy’s ways of distracting us, mis-leading us, and hindering us with strongholds, to finish this course without giving time to the Lord and His ways of leading us in new life! After all the point is not to pull the emotional strongholds down (both of the past and of the present) just so that we can be free of them—as good as that is. But to become free so that we can now follow Jesus! The truly healed and surrendered life is one that is continually given over to the Lord, walking in the Spirit with Him as He leads the way. And for that we will need to learn how to walk in the Spirit He supplies.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Galatians 5:25

Our new life in Christ comes to us through the forgiveness of our sins (by the blood of Jesus) and through the gift of the Holy Spirit now joined to us (1 Corinthians 6:17; Ephesians 1:13). Just as Jesus died our death for us, so now He desires to live His life in us and through us. This happens beautifully whenever we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit and walk in the steps He shows us. Whenever we surrender to trust and obey, Jesus “comes to life” in us!

I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20 AMP
 

Teaching summary

Walking in the Spirit has two dimensions: conscious and unconscious! Though this may be a strange way of phrasing it, the truth is that all of us have been “sleep walking” with the Lord all of our lives. That is, He has been guiding us in countless ways all along, but we have not been consciously aware of the many specific ways by which He has done so. Our first task, therefore, is to understand, identify and acknowledge these hidden ways of un-self-conscious guidance. The Holy Spirit is like the perfect waiter who doesn’t make His service to us obvious. It is up to us to seek to acknowledge Him so that He can more intimately direct our paths.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 
 

Dimension one: unselfconscious guidance

Walking in the Spirit is a breeze
The Spirit empowered walk is easy and natural—like breating. It's child’s play! In fact it was the Spirit, the great Teacher and Giver of life, who taught us how to nurse, how to eat, how to speak, how to walk, how to play. Or will we have something to boast of apart from Him (Ephesians 2:8)? In fact scripture shows us that this Spirit empowered and sustained walk has been going on since birth. God “carried Israel”—led them through it all—and then had to remind them of it later (Isaiah 46:3-4).

…you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place. Deuteronomy 1:31

To this day the greatest exemplars of what it is like to walk in the Spirit and display the fruit of the Spirit, are little children (Matthew 18:2-4). They are masters at living into the Kingdom.

But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." Luke 18:16-17

You have never been without this help
The Holy Spirit has been with us all along—even from before birth. He is always teaching and leading us into life. He is the Giver and Sustainer of life (Isaiah 42:5; John 14:16-18). For more scriptures and a free download see The Holy Spirit and The Gift of the Holy Spirit.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men… That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. John 1:4,9    

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever —   the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:16-18
 
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. Psalm 139:16

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:4-5

An effortless grace
St. Augustine put it this way: "love God and do as you please." He means of course that once we “love God” by surrendering to Him our lives and loved ones and are willing to do His will above our own, then He begins to draw us by desires that please Him as well as us. Examples of how this graced filled way of living in the flow of God's will are eating, sleeping, befriending, parenting, working, loving, laughing (Galatians 2:20).

…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

Trusting is essential to guidance
We are admonished not only to acknowledge Him, but also to trust Him, that He may direct our paths. For the trusting heart guidance happens naturally.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6  

"Every peculiarly precious spiritual gift is always necessarily linked with some peculiar danger... but we must not be discouraged by this... That God cares enough about us to regulate the details of our lives is the strongest proof of His love He could give... above all else trust Him... God cannot guide the souls who never trust Him enough to believe that He is doing it."  Hannah Whithall Smith, The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life
 

Dimension two: Christ-conscious guidance

The Spirit led walk requires conscious and conscientious diligence and care in seeking it. It is the way of the wise.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:17-18

The first principle of seeking guidance is: don't ask, if you don't really want to know.  The Lord is not out to satisfy our intellectual curiosity about His will! And He may not tell you what you want to hear. So be prepared to yield to his will (see 1 Kings 22:7-8).

"An immediate obedience is the safest and easiest course."  Smith, Christian’s Secret
 

Communication by confirmation

There are 5 “voices” that should harmonize, should confirm each other: scripture, conscience, inward impressions, wise counsel and providential circumstances. Tread softly—guidance is an art, not a science.

1) Scripture
God in His Word provides boundaries and guidelines (see Psalm 119—all of it!) so that we can know right and wrong with clarity on many issues and see the general outline of a right path for our lives. We, therefore, need to thoroughly take to heart the scriptures so that the Holy Spirit may use them to direct us in the Way and keep us from error.

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. John 17:17  

This guidance takes precedence over all else. Hence there is a real need to search the scriptures and keep things in balance: whatever is plainly taught must be obeyed; adhere to principles, not isolated texts; keep the main thing, the main thing. At times the Lord will even quicken His Word to give guidance about specific steps to take.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalms 119:105

Remember, though, that in Biblical times they didn’t have airport searchlights! The lamp that lit their path on a dark night barely showed more than a few steps ahead at a time.

RULE OF THUMB: Don’t expect to "hear" a word spoken, if it has already been written.
Negative guidance:  Nothing the Lord will lead us to do will contradict His Written Word.
Positive guidance:  General principles of scripture point the way—but not all is made plain.  

2) Conscience
“Do the next right thing.” We are meant to cultivate wisdom and right understanding as a means of being guided by the Lord. We have been given the ability to make right judgments and are expected to use it. "Common sense" is a gift of God; its counterfeit is the natural mind. We have a duty to educate our consciences (renewal of mind) and are called to seek practical wisdom and understanding (Proverbs 4:5-7).  At the same time we are strongly admonished not to lean on our understanding at those times when trust is what is called for. How do you know it is time to trust? Whenever something happens that you don’t understand!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Curiously, it is not as hard to “get” wisdom as one might suppose. All that is needed is asking in faith—but the catch is that you have to at least realize you don’t have it (James 1:5).

There are 3 divine guides that right understanding can judge fairly easily:

Right desire (heart and feelings can safely lead if no moral law contradicts).
Obvious necessity (intellect and observation leave no room for doubt).
Genuine duty (the moral call is clear; it would be dishonorable not to do it).

3) Inward impressions
Movements of the Holy Spirit upon us, especially when we are "at rest" in the Lord, help to keep us in step with the Spirit (Hebrews 5:14).  Only the Lord can teach you this way of “continual guidance” (Isaiah 58:11). And because leadings are often so faint, it really is a process of trial and error—but He just loves it that we are seeking to be led! So, walk humbly—humility receives guidance (James 4-6)). Don’t go proclaiming you’ve heard from the Lord—let events unfold by themselves. His wisdom will become evident (Matthew 11:19).

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

Be quiet enough to listen
He speaks ever quieter, so learn to be still—it really is something that we can do (Psalm 131:1-3). Picture a pond surrounded by trees with the wind blowing and rain pelting the surface. A pebble tossed into it wouldn’t be heard or noticed. But see the pond on a calm day: the splash can be heard, every ripple followed to the shore. As with our speech, both the Lord and the enemy have a message (words) and an impression (tone of voice). Learn to recognize the ripple effect of their voice upon your soul. The Lord’s ripple effect is peace filled.

…and after the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:12

It is better to wait for the light to come, than to proceed in the dark. But the moment you are sure, yield a complete obedience.

RULE OF THUMB: When in doubt, wait it out; if you feel led, go ahead.
Negative impressions (checking, grieving, restraining) caution us to stop, look and listen.
Positive impressions (prompting, leading, impelling, calling) draw us forth.

WARNING:  inward impressions may come from wrong spirits or from un-renewed areas of our souls (unhealed wounds, wrong desires, unmet needs, etc.). Proceed with caution!

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

It is not enough... for the leading to be very remarkable or the coincidences to be very striking, to stamp it as being surely from God. Smith, Christian’s Secret

4) Consensus of wise counsel
This is no substitute for one's own judgment! God will use others to confirm, but rarely to give direction. Agreement of counselors may be a sign of God's leading. It needs to be heeded, but not followed slavishly (Proverbs 15:22). Who are the wise ones whose walk with the Lord you admire, and whom God has placed in your life? Make sure you seek them out—not people who will molly-coddle you (Proverbs 13:14)! Even so, keep in mind that His ultimate purpose is for us to be able to listen for ourselves. It is good to go to others for counsel, but we are not to lean on them—we are to learn to lean on the Lord.

No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. Jeremiah 31:34  

5) Providential circumstances
Reading providential signs is for confirmation only. Even open and closed doors are not a sign in themselves: closed doors need to be respected, but they are not always of the Lord; neither are open doors. As a rule don’t force your way past a closed door or turn from one in despair. Learn to wait upon the Lord to open what needs to be opened (Rv 3:7-8). But don’t race through every open door you see—it could be a snare. Walking in the Spirit requires patience and discernment all along the way.

Slow down signs:  closed doors, hindrances, disturbances “in the flow” of peace and order.
Proceed with caution signs:  open doors, free flow of events, coincidences; river of peace.

We are meant to let the Shepherd (not signs) go before us, leading us in the way. He is the Way (Jn 14:6). Sticking close to Him is the secret of guidance. We also are meant to mature to the point were we hear His voice. Lambs may not hear His voice—sheep do.

…and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  John 10:3-4 
 

The river of life

There is a vision in Ezekiel of water flowing from the temple that begins as a shallow stream and becomes a river no one can cross (Ezekiel 47:1-5). This gives us a picture of the life of faith flowing from the place of consecration. There is peace as we trust and obey, but it is easy to step out of the flow of it. With practice we learn to live in the peace Jesus supplies—a peace for our hearts (as we trust Him) and a peace for our feet (as we follow Him). The Holy Spirit is a river of life to all who learn to live in Him and walk by Him.

For thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river…” Isaiah 66:12

With practice, determined effort, childlike faith and lots of grace this flow of peace and divine purposes which once was so hard to find (only ankle deep) will become a mighty river that lifts and carries you into Great Adventures in the Lord. 
So what are you waiting for?

Go ahead—jump in with both feet!
 

Interested in going deeper?

Don't just give these truths a "head bob"!
For further study and for help working these truths into your heart and life, see Walking in the Spirit part 2 (Head to Heart Guide 24) and "work out" with exercises, discussion questions, review of main points, digging deeper, more scriptures, model prayers, renunciations/affirmations and practical steps of life application.

Or better yet, let us minister to you in person
     --at one of our Savannah Seminars...