If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Galatians 5:25.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
Do not go careening through life, go dreaming through life. Dreams are what great exploits are made of. It is all about a life lived in the Spirit and not in the flesh.
If you live by the Spirit, then walk by the Spirit. Do you understand what I am telling you?
When I tell you to “walk by the Spirit,” I am talking about how you live your daily life at each moment—in your dealings with others and self. It is your thoughts, feelings, emotions, words, conversation, and works every moment of every day and night that determine your walk. It is what you look at, ponder, focus upon, and speak. It is the way you organize and spend your time. It is your pursuits, your integrity, your desires and what you permit and what you deny. It is what you loose and what you bind in your life.
What does it mean to live by the Spirit? It means that you have confessed Jesus as Lord and believed that I raised Him from the dead to your justification and are now born again and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And that is eternal life in you. “But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:9-11.
But many, and this grieves My Holy Spirit, though they have the gift of the Holy Spirit, are not walking by the Spirit.
Let Me give you an example of living and walking in the Spirit in the life of My apostle Paul. After he triumphed over a storm and shipwreck by walking in faith (Spirit) and not by sight (flesh), a snake fastened to his hand and hung there as he was gathering sticks for the fire to warm himself and his shipmates on shore. Acts 28:3-4. You can liken this to an attack of the ancient serpent, better known as the devil or Satan, when he digs into you with thoughts of offense, hate, unforgiveness, bitterness, envy, fear, immorality, and the like. He will fasten on you trying to make you put your hand to those things so that he can poison your life and take you captive to do his will. But Paul just shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm. Acts 28:5. And because of that, the people who were observing him concluded he was a god. Acts 28:6. And then he went on to heal the sick among them by My Spirit in him.
You have My Spirit in you and you can be filled with all the fullness of God. People should see that in you. They should not see a bitter, immoral, offensive, fearful and depressed person in you who believe. If that is the way you are coming across to yourself and others, then you are not walking in the Spirit but in the flesh. And you need to know how to walk by the Spirit if you are living by the Spirit, Christ in you, your hope of glory. And the good news is that if you want to you can. It is simply a matter of where you set your mind.
My servant Paul had the same battle with the flesh that you do. The “flesh,” by which I mean walking by your five senses only and running your life at the soul level alone, i.e., where you analyze things in your mind with input only from worldly sources that are generally contrary to My Word and then base what you decide to do on these thoughts of your mind and the feelings in your flesh, and often letting your emotions lead you in directions that are unstable and ruin your life and the lives of those around you. It is being led by the desires and emotions of your flesh. It is looking at the circumstances of your daily life only at the level of the world, the flesh and the devil. It is never shaking off the snake. If you live this way you are trapped by the limitations of the flesh. But there is a much better and freer way to live.
How? You find it in Jesus of course, but you have to know how to walk it out. So now I will show you the Way to do it. Read what My Spirit says to you through My inspired writer, Paul.
“The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:2-4.
Simply put, the Law, which is from the outside and speaks to your flesh could not make you righteous because when you are walking in the flesh and trying to control yourself without the help of My Spirit it is impossible for you. But what is impossible to you is possible to Me. From the outside in My Law cannot control you but from the inside out it becomes you. My Spirit will not always strive with man for I made you a promise to help you in this through My prophet Ezekiel, saying, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” Ezekiel 36:25-27. And I have fulfilled this promise in Jesus, remember what He told His disciples after I raised Him from the dead just before He ascended back to Me? “Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” Acts 1:4-5. And on the day Pentecost was fulfilled, Peter told the crowds the same, “Repent (μετανοέω metanoeó: to change one’s mind or purpose), and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” Acts 2:38-39.
So what does it mean to walk according to the flesh? Simply put it means setting your minds primarily on the things of the flesh: how you feel, what you think, your pride, your self-interest, gratifying your flesh, and generally being overly sensitive in the sense of being easily offended and getting angry. It is hating others and yourself. Paul and Peter referred to it as making your god your belly. And it is the result of an unrenewed mind. Your mind has to be trained by you in the same way you train a child. Children are selfish but they learn from their parents to have broader horizons. You have to train up a child in the way he should go or you will have a disastrous future for yourself and for the child.
But let us go back to the eighth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans for there are many keys that open doors you need to explore further if you want a victorious life where sin is no longer your master.
“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are 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, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Romans 8:5-8.
“Setting your mind on things of the flesh.” This is key. It all has to do with where you set your mind. Abraham had to set his mind off his aging body and Sarah’s dead womb and get it on My promise of a son until his mind was fully persuaded of My promise. And how do you know you are fully persuaded? The voice of thanksgiving comes out in joyful shouts of victory before the promise manifests to your five senses. Glory and wonders come from your voice of thanksgiving.
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. Which do you prefer to have in your mind? Agitation, anger, fear, regret, and death or life and peace? It is all up to you. That is why I tell you: “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2. When Christ died you died with Him and when I raised Him, I raised you with Him and seated you in Him at My right hand. So that is where you mind actually is in the Spirit, so come up here and start seeing things from a heavenly perspective.
You walk in the Spirit when you see all things in the Light of Heaven, which is the realm of Light. Live as children of the Light. Draw close to Me and I draw close to you and in My Light, you see Light.
I think now you are ready for this passage, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, well-pleasing to God, which is your spiritual (logikos: reasonable, rational) service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed (metamorphoó: to transform) by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well-pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2.
Offer your bodies to My service by worship in spirit and truth and renew your mind in My Word, which is the only way you can prove My Will, for My Word is My Will for you and all things. My Word created, sustains, upholds, and governs all things. Let My Words renew your mind and govern your life.
But how do you stop that petty behavior and the hate and offense that comes in your heart even though you don’t want it? Only one way. Not by your power or might but by My Spirit. And how can you follow the lead of the Spirit? Get filled with the Spirit. And how do you do that? Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and giving constant thanks, even when your thoughts are yelling another way. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ by the Sword of the Spirit, that is, speaking out My Word against every stronghold and evil thought, and keeping on the full armor I give you for protection. Ephesians 6. But even better, sing it, shout it, and call out the victory over sin, hate, offense, illness, pain, death and shame even when it seems to be pulling you down. “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourself and one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.” Ephesians 5:15-20. And again, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:12-17. Set your mind to serve others, not to seek them to serve you.
And here is the key for all, cast all your care on Me because I care for you. Don’t try to do this on your own. I gave you Jesus and I gave you My Spirit so you could live your life through and with them. They are they to help you, empower you, bless you, lead you, teach you, train you, equip you, and guide you. Make use of them. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:4-8. And I the God of peace will be with you.
And never forget the key to all this is praying in the Spirit, for that will edify you. 1 Corinthians 14:1-2. “But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.” Jude 1:17-21.
“So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” Romans 8:12-17.
I love you. You can lean on Me to be your strength. I am an ever-present help in time of trouble and I have given you another helper, the Paraclete, who is in you with you forever. If you live by the Spirit you should also walk by the Spirit. Honor My Word above your emotions, feelings and worldly thoughts. That is faith. You must get serious about this. You cannot love Me and yet hate and gossip about your brethren. Guard your mind and heart and don’t let in the things that grieve My Spirit. Just read Ephesians 4 and you will understand. He will help you for He guides you to all truth and teaches you all things. I have not left you orphans and I never will. In My presence is fullness of joy. And for the joyful, life, even with all its ups and downs, is a continual feast for My banner over you is love. And nothing can take My love away from you. Would you pray and sing this? “Dream Your dreams in me, LORD, share your thoughts with me, sing your songs in my heart, let me bring them to be.” Let us dream and sing together.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25.