Perhaps the most significant milestone in childhood development is learning to walk. This is a result of the development of coordination and the strengthening of the muscular system. This milestone marks the child’s first steps toward independence. Just as this is a milestone in physical development, I believe it is also an important milestone in spiritual development. To mature as a Christian, it is imperative for us to learn to walk with God. The main ingredient to walking with God is learning to live by the spirit. There is a tremendous amount of misunderstanding surrounding this concept. In fact a great majority is unsure of exactly what this looks like, let alone understanding how this will work in their individual lives. This message is extremely important if we truly want to grow to be like Jesus. What I would like us to do is open the pages of Scripture and find the answers to three vital questions. “What does it mean to walk with God in the power of the Spirit?” “How can we live this type of lifestyle?” “What do I get out of this type of lifestyle?”
I. Understanding the most basic aspect of the Christian life.
A. Insights from Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
1. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Galatians 5:16—NIV)
2. Living up to God’s standards is impossible for us to do on our own. In fact it can be quite discouraging when we realize how far we come short. This is the exact reason He sent us the Holy Spirit.
3. The purpose of the Spirit is to comfort and guide us. The spirit often points out those times when we stray from God’s will and guides us back on to the right path.
4. The Spirit empowers us to faithfully serve Him on a daily basis.
B. Insights from Paul’s letter to the Colossians.
1. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9-10—NIV)
2. Paul prayed that the Christians at Colosse would be filled with the true wisdom and knowledge that comes from the Holy Spirit.
3. What type of knowledge is this? This is the knowledge that allows us to apply God’s Word in our daily lives. God measures our wisdom by our obedience.
4. This knowledge and wisdom would be what enabled them to live a life pleasing to God.
C. Insights from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians.
1. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:10-12—NIV)
2. Paul cared for his spiritual children; he would not allow them to walk in circumstances that might be harmful or fatal.
3. Our goal is to come along side new Christians as they begin their walk and encourage them and teach them what it means to walk in Christ.
4. Our walk with God should become visible enough that it allows others to be influenced for Christ.
II. Understanding what it means to walk with God.
A. Paul outlines seven essential commands if we are going to able to consistently walk with God.
1. Be imitators of God…Since Christians have been given a new nature in the image of God, the family resemblance must be visible.
a. We must walk in love.
b. We must walk in the light.
c. We must walk in wisdom.
2. Impurity, greed or immorality must not be a part of our lives…Our lives should reflect God’s holiness.
3. When we talk our words should not reflect obscenity, foolish talk or course joking.
a. A carless use of the tongue is out of place for the child of God.
b. Our conversation should reflect spirit guided wisdom.
4. We must grow in our discernment so that no one will be able to deceive us.
a. We must be students of God’s Word so false teaching will not sway us.
b. If we are not spending time in God’s word, we are opening ourselves up to being deceived.
5. We are told not to engage in the darkened lifestyles of the world but we are to walk in the light.
a. It is impossible to truly be in Christ and yet do things the way the world does.
b. The fruit of the light is goodness, righteousness and truth.
6. Live wisely and make the most of every opportunity for the kingdom of God.
a. Living wise will be a life that reflects the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
b. We should be good stewards of our time using it wisely making it a resource for the Kingdom of God.
7. We are to come to the place where we understand God’s will.
a. Our understanding of God’s will grows through studying His Word, being taught and simply by walking with Him.
b. We live this out by following the example of God’s will.
B. How can we be obedient to these commands? They are beyond our ability.
1. In verse eighteen Paul states not to get drunk on wine. What Paul is doing is contrasting the old life and its selfish desires and our new life in Jesus Christ.
2. Instead of surrendering to our old life we are to live our lives in a way that they are completely surrendered to the Spirit’s control.
3. The Holy Spirit will influence our lives enabling us to be able to live out His perfect will.
4. We need to understand that our old life has been crucified with Christ and our new life has been set free to serve Him completely.
C. There are some very distinct benefits of walking with God.
1. Our relationships with others become deeper and more fulfilling than ever before.
2. Our relationship with the Lord becomes deeper, joyful and more fulfilling than ever before.
3. Our lives will begin to become characterized by a spirit of gratitude and humility.
4. Our reverence for God and gratitude for His grace becomes deeper.
5. The question we must ask is, “Does my attitude and actions reflect God or the world?
III. It is always up to us to take the first step.
A. Living the Christian life is not rocket science, in fact God has made it quite simple.
1. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. (Romans 6:6-7—NIV)
2. We must realize that the blood of Christ has freed us from the power of sin.
3. We must believe that our sins have truly been forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
4. We must depend upon God’s Holy Spirit to give us the power to live our lives for Him.
5. We must have our hope build on Jesus Christ and that eternal hope that we have through Him.
B. We must understand that walking with God in close fellowship is essential to the Christian life.
1. It is impossible for us to get to know God unless we are walking with Him on a daily basis.
2. Being filled with the Spirit is not a onetime event. As we walk with God we are continually being refilled by the Spirit.
3. You will know that you are living a spirit filled life when your life becomes characterized by worship and total surrender to God’s will and purpose.
4. Everything we do and say needs to be characterized by an attitude of thankfulness toward God and encouragement toward others.
5. Instead of whining and complaining which our culture has made an art form, we need to focus on what God has done for us and discover what we best can do for Him.
Consider Charles Colson, the aide to Richard Nixon who was sent to jail for Watergate. As a result of his experience as a convicted felon, Colson founded Prison Fellowship, now the world’s largest Christian outreach to prisoners and their families. Prison Fellowship has more than 50,000 volunteers working in hundreds of prisons in 88 countries around the world. A ministry that has blessed millions of people got started thirty-three years ago because Charles Colson committed a crime. God’s eternal purposes for that man included even the sin that sent him to prison. It was a part of God’s plan from the very beginning. But the story that matters most to you isn’t Peter’s, or Paul’s, or even Charles Colson’s. It’s yours. And what I want to say to you this morning is that the story of your life has not been ruined, not by your sin or anyone else’s. God’s good plan for your life is not buried under the mistakes of the past. God has a plan for your life, a good plan, a wise plan, a loving plan, a sovereign plan, and that plan is still in effect. You haven’t missed it. He is working out that plan in your life right now, today. Will you believe that?
