"LET US WALK IN THE SPIRIT"

(Sermon Notes by John Mitchell)

ACTS 2:1-11*17-18*37-38*41-On that first Pentecost in 31 AD, when God poured out His Holy Spirit on His disciples, then on all those that would gladly receive the word, and were baptized, A new dimension had come into those God would call. Not a person, not a member of any Trinity, but the Power of God known as the Holy Spirit. It's first power was seen in the preaching of the gospel in many different languages to those gathered in Jerusalem to observe this Holy Day of God. And what did they hear spoken through the disciples by this manifested power--The Wonderful Works of God!! So, we too, at one time in our life, gladly received the word of God, repented of our sins, were baptized, and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Each of us here today that has done that is a fulfillment of Peters prophecy on Acts. 2:38. You are prophecy fulfilled by the call and power of God!!

Now what? What did they, what did we, and what will be the next step of anyone who follows this same calling and acceptance?

GAL 5:25-States concisely what our next step should be. Paul is in full agreement with Peter and Jesus Himself that it is by the work of the Holy Spirit that we will begin and end a new life as God's people. 2 COR. 4:6-Just as God recreated all things then, He recreates us now in the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, using the Holy Spirit to perform "The Wonderful Works of God" in our lives. "If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit" means that if our new life in Christ began by the Spirit, then all our subsequent life ought to be carried out by the Spirit. "Walk in the Spirit" means do what you do each day by the Spirit; live your life in all its details from waking up in the morning until going to sleep at night by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit of God. But, What does that mean, practically speaking? How do we "Walk by the Spirit" from the day we received the Holy Spirit until that day when we will be changed into Spirit at the coming of Jesus Christ? Let's observe a few things in the immediate context of Galatians 5 and then being in some other Scriptures in order to get the full answer to this question. I’ll conclude by describing 5 things involved in "Walking by the Spirit".

GAL.5:**- The phrase "Walk by the Spirit" occurs not only in Verse 25 but also in Verse 16. Here we see what the opposite of "Walking by the Spirit" is, namely, giving in to the desires of the flesh. Remember, flesh is the old, ordinary human nature that does not want the things of God and prefers to satisfy itself from independence, power, prestige, vanity, jealousy, lust and greed. When we "Walk by the Spirit" we are not controlled by those drives of our carnal flesh. This is what Verse 17 means: the flesh produces one kind of desires, and the Spirit of God produces another kind, and they are opposed to each other. "Walking by the Spirit" is what we DO when the desires produced by the Spirit are stronger than the desires produced by the flesh. This means that "Walking by the Spirit" is NOT something we do in order to get the Holy Spirit to help us, but rather, just as the phrase implies, it is something we do as we YIELD to it’s direction in our lives.

ROM. 7:18 & ROM. 8:7--Apart from the Holy Spirit, we act only in the flesh. Ultimately, all the good inclinations or desires that we are given are from the Holy Spirit. Therefore "Walking by the Spirit" is something the Holy Spirit enables us to do by producing in us strong desires that in accord with God’s will.

EZEK. 36:26-27- This, when we "Walk by the Spirit", we experience the fulfillment of this prophecy as well as the prophecy of Joel 3 as Peter said on that great day of Pentecost. God's Holy spirit "causes" us to walk in God's statutes.

GAL 5:18- This explains the 2 parts of this verse. It is easy to understand, in view of what have seen, how Paul could shift from the phrase "Walking in the Spirit" in V.16, to "Being led by the Spirit" in V.18. The phrase "Being led by the Spirit", simply makes more explicit the working of god's Spirit in our lives. We don't lead it, it leads us!! We are being LED by God's Spirit through the stronger desires to obey God as we yield to that leading. Being led by the Spirit stresses the Spirit's initiative and help. "Walking in the Spirit" stresses our resulting behavior. The Spirit leads us by creating desires to obey God, and we walk by fulfilling those desires in action.

This explains why Paul says "You are not under the Law". This is in 2 senses.

ROM.8:1-4- First-You are not under the law's condemnation because you are fulfilling the just requirement of the law. When you "Walk by the Spirit", you fulfill the basic requirement of the law and so you are not under its condemnation.

2 COR. 3:17-When we "Walk by the Spirit" or are "Led by the Spirit" then we don’t have to feel the GUILT of the law demanding of us what we have no desire to do. Then God's law, His commands are a joy to us, not a burden. So, in that sense too, "Walking by the Spirit" frees us from being under the law. That is-- the death penalty of the law, the law is still in full force and effect. Without god’s law we would not know sin.!!

GAL. 5:19-24- In looking at these verses we find one more expression about the Holy Spirit which confirms and expands what we already have learned about "Walking by the Spirit" and "Being led by the Spirit". In these verses, Paul contrasts the "works of the flesh" with the "fruit if the Spirit". The opposite of doing the works of the flesh is bearing the fruits of the Spirit. This is exactly the same contrast as we saw in V16. The works of the flesh are what you do when you gratify the desires of the flesh. The fruit of the Spirit is what appears in your life when you "Walk by the Spirit". What we have in these verses are 3 images of the Spirit of God’s working our lives from the time He called us until He changes us.V16- "Walking by the Spirit". V18- "Being Led by the Spirit". V22- "Bearing the fruit of the Spirit"

The fruit of the Spirit is just that, it is the action that "pops out" in our lives just like a fig "pops out" on a fig tree, or any other type of fruit. It is not anything we can "work up", or works lead to death, the fruit of the Spirit leads to life. The fruits of the Spirit are what people see and judge whether we are truly who we claim to be!!!!.

VERSE 22: The last thing we want to notice in these verses about "Walking in the Spirit" is that it refers basically to one kind of behavior**Love. It is the first fruit mentioned and emphasized even more in VERSES 13 & 14-Here, giving in to the flesh and serving each other through love are contrasted. This shows that love is the all-encompassing lifestyle of one who "Bears the fruit of the Spirit", is "Led by the Spirit" and who "Walks by the Spirit". Loving you neighbor and being led by the Spirit are ALMOST synonymous. But not quite. If Paul simply said to "Love Your Neighbor" we probably would have set about trying to do it ourselves. And turned Love into a work of the flesh. What do I mean by that?

I COR. 13:3- I gain NOTHING!! This is important but understood by only a few. It is possible to undertake the most self sacrificial acts for other people and still NOT please God! Give away all your money, your goods, and even you own life and come to NOTHING!! You could be remembered by the world as the greatest philanthropist or most devoted martyr and still NOT please God! Why-Because what please God is "Walking by the Spirit" and "Being led by the Spirit" and "Bearing the fruit of the Spirit"!!

The great problem in Western Christianity is not learning the right things to do, but how to do the right things. The problem is not to discover what love looks like, but how to love by the Spirit!! This is what was lacking for so many years in our former affiliation and today is still lacking in many groups. Let it NEVER lack among us.

What should we do? What, very practically, is involved in obeying the command "Walk by the Spirit".

Let me finish by mentioning five things that I personally think we must do so that it can be truly said that we are "Walking by the Spirit."

1. ACKNOWLEDGE
   First, we have to recognize that we are helpless to do good apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. JOHN 15:5-Of course we can do something without Jesus: we can sin! But that is all we can do. So, the first step of "Walking by the Spirit" is to admit this fact and let it have it's devastating effect on our pride, ego and vanity. We can not do anything pleasing to God without the constant power of the Spirit of God leading us!!


2. PRAY
   Since it is promised that God will put his Spirit within us and cause us to walk in his statutes, pray the He does it to you by His almighty power. All of us know the experience of having and irresistible desire for sin overcome by a stronger desire for Go and his way. And as you look back, to whom do you attribute that stronger desire? Where did it come from? It came from the Holy Spirit. I THESS. 3:12- Pray as Paul did for the chief fruit of the Spirit. HEB.13:20-21-Again, pray as Paul did. If it is God alone who works in us what is pleasing in His sight, then above all, we must pray as David did in PSALM 51:10-"Create in me a clean hear, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me".


3. TRUST
   ROM. 8:14- The third step in "Walking by the Spirit" is faith. The reason we can have such faith is that we KNOW THAT God will cause his people to be led by the Spirit. If you are a child of God, you have a solid and unshakable promise that God will give you victory over the flesh.


4. ACT
   I COR. 15:10- The fourth step is to act the way you know is right. This is not step one, if it were our actions would be works of the flesh, not fruits of the Spirit. Only after we have appealed for the spirit's help and thrown ourselves confidently on its promise and power to working us, do we now work with all our might the righteous works of God.


5. THANK GOD
   2 COR. 8:16-The final step in "Walking by the spirit" is to thank God for any virtue attained or any good deed performed. If without the Spirit we can do no right, then we must not only ask it's help for it also thank God whenever we do it. Titus loved the Corinthians. Where did that come from? God put it in his hear. It was a fruit of the Holy Spirit. So what does Paul do? He thanks God. And Titus should, too.

"If we live by the Spirit, then let us also walk by the Spirit." Let us ACKNOWLEDGE today and every day that we are unable to please God without the constant help and power of His Holy Spirit. Let us PRAY for that help. Let us TRUST confidently in the Spirit’s power and promise to give us that help. Then let us do what we know is right. And having done all, let us say together "Not I, but the Spirit of Christ within me".

THIS IS THE HOLY SPIRIT'S ROLE IN "THE WONDERFUL WORKS OF GOD", SPOKEN ON THAT FIRST NEW TESTAMENT PENTECOST AND STILL BEING SPOKEN TO US TODAY!!!!!!!!!