How To Walk In The Spirit

There once was a man in a state medium security prison who wanted freedom. He came with a fool-proof plan to break out of prison. He was working in the laundry room and had the idea to hide himself in the laundry cart under the clothes as they were taken out of the prison in a truck. After a while someone pushed the laundry carts into a truck and drove for a while. Eventually the truck came to a stop and was parked. When the prisoner no longer heard anyone around he climbed out of the laundry cart and look up at the sign on the wall that read “Maximum Security Prison.”

Do you ever struggle to gain freedom from besetting sins? Sins that you thought you should have conquered long ago? Maybe you recently did something that you knew was wrong but couldn’t seem to resist the temptation. Maybe you have fasted about it and prayed about it but you end up falling into it.

I think if we’re honest we can all say that we struggle with sin in our lives and wonder how we can consistently live a life that pleases God. I realize that in this life we can never completely eradicate our sin nature but we can put it in subjection.

Last week I began this teaching on, “Walking In The Spirit”. There were three aspects to the teaching:

a. Call To Walk and we looked various scriptures in the New Testament were we are exalted to Walk in:

i. the Spirit

ii. the Truth

iii. Wisdom

iv. the Light

v. Faith

b. Continuous Nature Of Our Walk. It is NOW. We are expected to walk every day, every hour, every minute and every second.

c. Benefit Of The Walk:

i. We will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Free from committing Sin.

ii. We are not under the Law. Free from Legalism.

(Legalism is adding other requirements to faith for salvation or fellowship with God. Such as Keeping The Sabbath, God Does Not Accept Contemporary Music, Women Should Not Wear Trousers, Only KJV Is The Bible…)

iii. We Were Born Again In The Spirit.

iv. We Enjoy God’s Abundant Life.

v. Freedom Form Condemnation.

vi. The Law is Fulfilled In Our Spirit Through Christ.

vii. We Please God.

viii. Our Worship Is Acceptable To God.

This morning we want to answer the questions, “How Do I Walk In The Spirit?” If it is the only thing I need to do to enjoy a fulfilling, victorious life. How can I do it? I discovered from my study, the answer does not come very simply but I trust the Lord will give us a clear answer of what this means. People have different view to what walking in the Spirit is

a. Some have implied that it being led or walking in step with your spirit. I think they are right.

b. Some have indicated that it is being led or controlled by the Holy Spirit. And they have used such progressive illustrations

i. Like Soldiers marching in step with a regimental sergeant or

ii. A train pulling a set of carriages or

iii. A swimmer swimming in a River

And I think they are right also

How could they both be right?

It is matter of viewing the same subject matter from two different angles. Let me explain myself.

We probably recognize that we are made of three parts, body, soul and spirit.

a. The Body is that aspect of our personality that enables us to relate to the physical/material world. Most people define their identity or who they are based on this perspective:

They describe themselves with such phrases as:

i. I am black or white.

ii. I am tall or short.

iii. I am fat or thin.

iv. I am ugly / beautiful or handsome.

But this is not really you this is a part of you.

b. The Soul is the part of our personality that connects or relates both to the material world through the body and to the spiritual world through our spirit. It consist of your intellect/mind (which is your thought process unit), your will (which is your decision making unit) and your emotions (is your expressive unit).

People who view themselves from this perspective describe themselves with such phrases as:

i. I am sensitive person.

ii. I am stupid or intelligent person.

iii. I am dumb / bright person.

iv. I am sad / happy person.

v. I am a fearful person.

vi. I am a forgetful person.

Again this is a part of you

c. The Spirit is the most tricky part of you. It is the part of you that enables you to relate to the Spirit world especially to God. It is the life of God in you. It is the image of God in you. Without the spirit, your body and soul will be dead. It is the aspects that differentiates us from the animals.