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179: Walking In The Spirit
Welcome to the Biblical Counseling Podcast!
In this episode Pastor Jeff continues the series about the Holy Spirit. Biblical Counseling is helping another person walk in the Lord. A passion to minister to others knowing that the Holy Spirit of God is there to convict and transform lives. The Bible gives us a truth that self has to be removed in order to do what is right and walk in the Spirit. To avoid giving in to the lust of the flesh, we must have the Holy Spirit at work within us. As always- make your comments on jeffchristianson.org
"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh...If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit...For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." Galatians 5:16, 25 and 6:8
It’s very freeing to yield to the fact that our transformation is a total work of God. It doesn’t depend on me at ALL. As you stated, in Colossians 3:1-2, that we must be dead to self is as an empowerment from/of the HOLY SPIRIT. Growing IN THE SPIRIT by Walking, Thinking, Speaking IN THE SPIRIT is the transformation process that empowers/enables us to help others. Helping others to realize that when we have fleshly thoughts, that’s what we will produce, freshly actions. But with spiritual thoughts, we will produce spiritual actions.
Gal.5:16, 25 & Gal.8 I appreciate you pointing out that it’s a process, not a procedure. Might I add, not a pill. It is sowing and reaping. Sow fleshly thoughts and actions, reap fleshly results/actions. Sow Spiritual thoughts and actions, reap Spiritual results/actions. As Biblical Counselors we help another to Walk. Walk With The LORD. Step by step, issue by issue, day by day – Walking according to The SPIRIT BY The SPIRIT. At that the Righteous Requirements may be fulfilled increasingly.
I find it funny, when I am talking with unbelievers in my family about me taking this BCA course. I tell them how behind I am, but I am getting through, and you know the first thing they say is “You can do it!” “Believe in yourself!” and I always say. “No, God will empower me and fill me, because I BELIEVE in HIM”
It saddens me that we do live in a society where many are absolutely aloof to the Bible! Where so many things are considered “Valuable, True, and Right” This is why God’s Words is so important to go out preach the Gospel. Like Pastor Jeff said, “The Holy Spirit gives us Victory over things of this World.”
We have to be open to the leading of the Spirit, seeking Scripture and reciting it on our hearts and minds as we pour into others. Teaching them about what really is Valuable, True and Right.
Society is being bombarded with all the “self-whatevers”! And the Holy Spirit has convicted me of some that I was not aware of in my life. I thought, “Oh I need to put up index cards in prominent places to help me walk by the Spirit!” And then the Spirit chided me that it would not be walking by the Spirit. Oh, my goodness! LOL The Holy Spirit really has some transforming work to do on me, I confess. Thank you for talking about the residual leftovers of the natural man, that there is a sure hope because He is perfectly pure and God Almighty and will guard, keep, guide, and give victory over the lusts of the flesh. There is no righteousness in man. Man needs to go to the source of righteousness day by day to sow and reap abundant life in Christ. It’s not our God-given abilities God is our source of recourses. Thank you, Jeff, for this lesson. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
Pastor Jeff. Thank you I think you outlined that in a very helpful way.
1.that we need to die to, renounce the flesh. Which has died with Christ and yet we drag around the corpse.
2. That mostly we are told to put off the flesh by self determination which is just more flesh!
3. That the escape from this frustrating corrupt flesh is to walk in the Spirit by
4.sowing constantly to the Spirit. And the word of God which is the will of God.
5. And as we do that we enjoy the transformative work of God here and now which is the abundant life.
Praise God.
AND there’s grace to do that.
Ann-Louise, I love the way you broke it down the way you did. I copied it (hope you don’t mind) so it can remind me of what was said. I think you nailed it.
Ann-Louise,
God’s Grace sure is good, isn’t it? We do walk around at times with the weight of all of our stuff, and that begins to wreak havoc on our lives and others. It is then that we need to escape our fleshy walk, murder the flesh in a sense and come completely undone to HIM! Seeking God and His Spirit to fill us up, rid us of the old man. Thank you for setting these bullet points. I too copied and pasted for some extra notes. Thank you, Ann-Louise.
I loved how Pastor Jeff said, “Biblical Counseling is helping others walk in the Spirit.” that is what the goal is. To help them be “doer’s” of the Word and to seek the mind of Christ.
I love the prayer of asking God to enable us to bear fruit in what ever He has set us out to do. such a good example when opening up in prayer with a counselee to ask the Lord to come, speak through us, and enable us.
I love how Pastor Jeff said that the carnality of man is not overwhelming or God. He can transform anyone and no one is beyond His reach. What we sow in the counseling or discipling session are seeds that God grows. Sometimes they grow right away or sometimes it takes more pressure to crack the hard exterior of the seed.
In Pastor Jeff talking about a hard walk in life and continuing down that path, leads to the deterioration of that life. I did an intervention of a mom and her young teen son. It was volatile, with yelling and a chair being thrown by the son. When my Pastor and I got there, the son was upstairs and the mom was still shaking, clearly upset. After she explained what was going on, talking until she calmed down, I could feel the pressure of the holy Spirit wanting to speak. So I talked to her in urgency. The conversation was in love but to the point. My Pastor was quiet. It was really incredible. I love when the Spirit does that.
Anita,
I love your name by the way. I have not met another Anita in years! It means Favored Grace, but you probably knew that 😉 I agree with what you wrote, when The Spirit of God moves and has something to say or urges us to be “doers” we need to have faith and be bold in that. How amazing that us as believers get this beautiful gift from God to use for others and to bring others to HIM, to help lead and as Pastor Jeff has said “Walk beside them in their walk” Just as Christ does with us.
Amen sister….and thank you!
Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. We must first crucify our flesh, surrender ourselves and pick up our crosses and follow Christ. This requires us to be in The Word daily and in prayer constantly. For me it can be difficult to not rely on my own strength throughout the day, especially on the easy days it can happen without me even noticing. It has gotten better through time thanks to the power of the Spirit. The book of Galatians has become one of my favorites as I mature in my walk with Christ.
Hey Mike, interesting point. Trying to teach about how to walk in the Spirit to a counselee is interesting to say the least. Especially new believers, but I found that working through situations and talking about different responses is very helpful.
I remember how frustrated I was as a new Christian when someone would say, “Well, you are trying to do it in your own strength,” without explaining to me how I was doing that. It is difficult because we are here in this body and we are doing the task or handling the situation. Sometimes we can forget that we are not alone.
Galatians is an awesome study! Good word Mike!
I agree Mike. I would struggle too. I think we are so bombarded with self in our western culture that we literally have to renew our minds to these truths. It’s so counterintuitive. Our flesh screams defend me. And God whispers trust me.
Thanks Mike,
Very encouraging statement. I agree that it can happen and we not notice it. It’s wonderful not to recognize yourself.
It seems like such a simple instruction: set your minds on things above. How hard could that be? Just focus on God, His glory, and the promises He has set before us. It’s easy right? If only. There is a reason that this command is given many different times and several different ways. God knows how easily we can get distracted and lose sight of the thing He has called us to and promised to us. Even in my own life; between social media, binge watching a TV show, even volunteering at church can be a distraction if our hearts are not in the right place. This is why we are challenged to set our focus up and out rather than in and down.
I agree Timothy, it can be very easy to get distracted when our hearts aren’t in the right place. I like the way you worded this “to set our focus up and out rather than in and down”, I have never heard it put like that. God bless
Hey Timothy,
Yes, those pesky distractions. Like highways, and traffic, social media, and binge watching shows. I am guilty along with you! We all want to walk holy and righteous but like Pastor Jeff said in the last podcast, we fall, we fail…but God.
Have any of you ever noticed that when your being led to step out in the Spirit and walk it out, the old man feels like what a shame you should trust your gut and feelings and just keep quite . But every time I walk in faith and obey the Holy Spirit I have never regretted it , and I have found it always worth it to obey Gods lead.
even when I felt like I failed …. the Lord worked through that obedience.
Have any of you had that experience?
Landon, I remember the day that I first discovered Galatians 5:17, “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other so you were not free to carry out your good intentions.” It was that last sentence in particular that made me realize that I’m not crazy! There truly is a war being waged inside of us – but praise God that Holy Spirit is warring FOR us, not against us!
That’s why I love Roman’s 6 v 6 . The old man is dead and sin has lost its power. Praise God. That by his Spirit we can have victory more and more.
Amen sister! Praise God that we our kept by His power!
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I absolutely have had that experience. It is always fruitful to step out in faith when called to. I also have found it to be very destructive when I keep to myself and obey my flesh instead. I have to pray for boldness and trust in the Spirit in times of wrestling.
Totally agree Mike I’m so greatful For the Holy Spirts Indwelling in us!
Bro. Landon,
YES & YES
Because we’ve obeyed so many times before it should be easier. And in some ways it is. But for the most part dying to self is painful. But the truth, the faith, the believing is Beyond Words.
as I was listening to this I could not get Hebrews 12:2 out of my mind: “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” how walking in the spirit is basically impossible if I don’t look to Jesus in what He has before me. Also what assured victory there is walking in the Spirit! I loved the comment that God has no struggle with carnality if the Spirit is what we are walking in and not the flesh the character it will produce in us is that of God!
How wonderful the Spirit is. What a considerable significance the word “in” has. So many verses that refer to in the Spirit and Christ. In my life over the years, I have grown so much with my walk. I have learned and failed in areas as I grow through each challenge. Learning to walk in the Spirit is a process for all of us. Knowing that we must die to self and only rely upon, trust and obey the Spirit to have a total surrender to Him, keeping ourselves also in prayer to stay away from pride and giving all glory to the Lord. The scripture in Galatians verse 5:22 says that the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, joy, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. These are the areas as we die to our self-life, self desires, and as we seek the Spirit to lead and guide us. We learn to walk in the Spirit, bearing in his fruit, and He transforms these qualities in us as he lives through us, depending on him (living according to the Spirit). Knowing we can then share with others how walking in the Spirit has many advantages and takes us to a new level of understanding. God is so much bigger and better than we could ever imagine.
When we reject God’s invitation to walk in the Spirit in our own lives, we are trusting ourselves. We end up making idols of our own ideas and abilities. Recognizing and inviting daily, throughout the day, in all circumstances our need and dependence on the Holy Spirit as well as pointing and releasing others to His power tears down the idols of self. There are consequences when a counselor is not God dependent and relies on themselves instead. Jonah 2:8, “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy.”
Mm, yes. Very convicting. I rely too much on my own understanding and fail to give grace and mercy to others. Being a fallen human is so hard! Recognizing my need for the Holy Spirit for daily dependance is my answer. Thank you, Howe.
Kayla, I have also been guilty of this. Picture this: I am in Honduras – in a very remote part of the country. My husband and I were there caring for missionaries that had come there to build housing in a country that had been decimated by a hurricane. We always traveled in 2 different vehicles for safety reasons. Because the poverty level was so high and kidnappings had become so common, we were warned to not be out after dark but to be in our camp by the time the sun set. Imagine then my shock and horror when the bus we were driving on, with all 17 of our missionary volunteers, ran out of gas. This meant that my husband had to leave with the second vehicle to go find gas. We had about 30 minutes left of daylight and I was left to be with the volunteers. I was so stinking angry at the bus driver for not paying attention! I felt vulnerable and I was concerned for our volunteers with each passing moment. In the height of my silent fuming, the Holy Spirit rebuked me with these words, “Laura, you love to receive grace and mercy, but you don’t like to extend it.” Talk about an immediate attitude adjustment! Naturally, because God is faithful, my husband was able to get back with gas and we were able to get back on the road and into camp. Not in the daylight, in the dark, with what I am sure were angels surrounding us.
Thanks Laura for sharing that with me! What a great trip – The Lord always knows what is in our hearts. It’s nice to know I am not the only one He has said those words to. God is so patient and merciful.
the times I end up embarrassed are the times when experienced wisdom tries to tell me something and I think I know better. If that’s true in my work and family how foolish to trust myself when God almighty is present within me teaching and instructing me how to walk. I think you’re right its idolatry of myself.
Good point about making idols. I read the book, Rekindle the Altar Fire (Making a Place for God’s Presence by Chuck D. Pierce and Alemu Beeftu, speaks of our heart-altar, how we can neglect it to the point of ruin, or build false altars/idols, tearing down the false and rebuilding/repairing the altar of God in our hearts. After this podcast, I think I need to reread it sometime.
People come to the counseling center here at FCC after living a life of planting to please their own desires and now they are reaping a crop of sorrow. Pastor Jeff mentioned at the beginning of his podcast that Biblical counseling is a process. One of the more difficult aspects of counseling is helping the counselee to see that walking in the Spirit is a process. It requires that the counselee take a life time of self and instead walk in the Spirit. Take our focus off of self and instead surrender self. Our society teaches us that we just need to try harder and I agree with Pastor Jeff as counselors it is part of our responsibility to help them see that trying harder is not the answer. Walking by the Spirit takes a change of heart not a change of habits.
Yes, I agree to try on our own is trying to do it yourself. There is so much joy in allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work through us as we learn to rely upon and trust and obey Him. Once we know how much relief we get from depending on and leaning on His guidance, we are proof of this work and the fruit of reaping. We can’t change all at once. It’s a process as we grow in Him.
Thank you Don, for that great reminder that it is a process. I too easily think everything is cut and dry – but there is a lifetime of surrender that happens one day at a time. Christ is faithful for all eternity, and that is the hope I must cling to.
“God doesn’t have a will-power problem.” That is kind of scary and also really awesome.
Galatians 6:8 really speaks to me, especially as Jeff explained it, “Whatever you reap is the end result, the consequences of what we sow.” I have felt those consequences and they are not fun. It is a warning I want to meditate on, to keep me spurred on to rely on The Holy Spirit given to me to walk in the way that pleases God.
Kayla I agree completely. Many of us have walked by the flesh and the results are not pleasant. When I am tempted to walk by the flesh I try to remind myself of the consequences of my fleshly desires. Thanks for the reminder.
Kayla, I too have known the consequences of sowing to my flesh. I am grateful for God’s ongoing grace and mercy. There is a grief when we hurt the One who loves us so much. Not only does He forgive us, He also sends us His comfort. John 14:26, ” “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
So true when we pray, seek, and learn to walk in the Spirit. Through the process of our growth, we learn to reap a harvest of love, grace, peace, and joy, extending to others as living examples to the lost and broken. We can share the word with them and lead them to look at the cross, not themselves.
Jeff, what a faithful and true reminder of what it is to walk in the flesh versus walking in the Spirit. I particularly love the phrase, “Empower me, Holy Spirit!” because left to our own devices we will try to accomplish it through our own strength and be dearly disappointed.
It’s a gift of mercy to know and share the truth that it’s important (aka critical) to walk in the Spirit or else we will reap the consequences of sowing to the flesh.
I’ve had the privilege to know a young woman since she was three years old and who is now 40. She reached out to me recently for prayer and counsel because her husband of 14 years was having an affair. A few weeks into our Counseling together, out of the blue, the Holy Spirit told me to ask her if she was having an affair with this current husband while she had still been married to her first husband.
Honestly I was SHOCKED at even the idea of that. In my human reasoning, I was certain that she hadn’t! Nevertheless, in obedience to the Holy Spirit, the next time we talked I asked her. Imagine my shock when the answer she gave me was yes! Imagine her shock when she realized that the Holy Spirit was conveying a message to her. She was convicted by the Holy Spirit that over 14 years ago she had sown the seeds of adultery and was now eating its fruit!
She repented to the Lord wholeheartedly and even went to her current husband and repented to him, for inviting him into the act of adultery – of which he was now showing the fruits of also!
What a beautiful picture the Gospel of Christ paints for us – that God loves us so much that He lovingly warns us of the effects of sin – and how much He desires that we would choose obedience to the Spirit – and to therefore walk in LIFE and not death!
Thank you for sharing that example of that couple. The Holy Spirit is a truly wonderful messenger to accomplish God’s Will here on earth. I love how much hope the Holy Spirit gives us to change our lives and the lives of others.
Laura, I was also glad to hear the simple phrase, empower me Holy Spirit. I am so glad transformation is not dependent on my abilities, ideas and ways. It is a simple confession to cling to, but everything in our flesh wants to fight against it. Praise God for His victory!