MY LIFE: #35 Walking In & After the Spirit.

It is my experience that indwelt Christians need to repent often by admitting to God, through Christ, of each of our selfish decisions that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.

WALKING IN AND AFTER THE HOLY SPIRIT

I discovered the massive difference between the believer walking after the Spirit and the believer walking in the indwelling Spirit of Jesus Christ. After I experientially discovered the meat within this passage, I was set free.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

(Galatians 2:20)

Amid a dark and exhausting period in my life, I found myself in a state of horrid confusion. The world around me seemed like a labyrinth, and I was lost in my self-justified intricate paths of practicing Christianity. The clarity I once had is now replaced by a fog of uncertainty. I yearned for understanding and guidance to navigate through this perplexing phase, but I was left wanting daily. I remembered I must practice what I preached, that it is okay to seek help when you’re “feeling” this way. I decided to reach out to one of my mentors, Keith Fredrickson, someone I trusted implicitly. So, I made that call with fear and trepidation.

Keith and his wife, Judy, converted their home into a pastoral retreat. While they lived on the top two floors, their basement was remodeled into a comforting/cozy apartment for struggling believers.

I showed up at their home with bags in hand, my Bible under my arm, and an eagerness and hunger that would describe a ravished wolf. Both greet me with smiles and courtesy worthy of a Saint. Keith hugs me; I begin to weep, and then Judy offers me one of her famous cups of coffee.

After a wonderful meal and sweet fellowship, Keith looks into my eyes and says Stephen, you have a troubled look about you. What lies are you entertaining that would cause such heartache? I began to explain, and he stopped me. He tells me to unpack my bags, get settled in, and then knock on his office door when the Spirit tells me It’s time. Sounds easy, right? It took several hours before he heard that knock.

He opens his door to a weeping prophet. The story I am about to tell you causes weeping at this very moment.

Keith invites me in and asks me to get on my knees. He puts his hand on my head and begins praying in a fashion I had never experienced before. As he was praying, I felt a warm glow pour over me, like a bucket of warm water, from my head to my toes. The only words I remember were at the conclusion of his prayer, Lord Jesus, kindle afresh the gifts You have imparted to my brother. In Jesus name, amen. With that, Keith asked me to rise to my feet, go to the apartment, and do a word study on the word Spirit.

That study went on for many hours. Toward the end, I asked the Lord to show me the power of His Spirit - and He did. Smack dab in the middle of this prayer, I began to speak in the Hebrew tongue. No joke. Keep in mind I had not studied this language at any time previously.

The next morning, I greeted the two of them in Hebrew. Both smiled. The odd part was that Keith interpreted what I said. The rest of the week, Keith trained me in Christ with the finer points of living life from within versus practicing what I had learned ABOUT Jesus. This experience changed my life! I have been functioning in walking in the Spirit since that retreat, which today I call my advancement.

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Today’s pictorial illustrates a person who has accepted Jesus Christ and is walking in and after the Spirit.

Please note that the “old self” or “old man” has been removed and placed on the Cross with Christ Jesus (Gal. 2:20). It is no longer the individual living life, but Christ living it through him. Satan can only influence the person through external temptation, whereas, in the first illustration – he ruled from within, as well as externally.

The Spiritual Man has the very nature of Christ living in him. This gives him a new identity - an identity that will clean the conscious mind and ultimately renew the trash the old man left behind in the deep recesses of the mind. The hand that blocks Satan from influencing the mind is a direct act of the will to submit to God and resisting the devil (James 4:7). Temptation can still come from the devil; however, sin’s power is broken, and this person is no longer a slave to the devil’s sin (Romans 6:14). The body is now the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). The Holy Spirit, who is in this person, is freely controlling every part of this person: mind, will, emotions, and body (Gal. 5; 16-17).

There is a huge difference between the Natural Man walking IN the flesh and the Spiritual Man walking IN the Spirit.  It is such a difference that eternal security in Christ hinges upon it.  What better way for Satan to deceive potential converts to Christ than with the myth of “following Christ = Christianity.” 

The next diagram clearly shows us how the spiritual man can make sinful choices and function as if he were still unsaved. We call this spiritual man functioning carnally (fleshly). Notice the hand is gone, and the believer is allowing the external influences of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Christ is still in the believer – wanting to influence, but the believer has chosen to allow temptation to fill his conscious mind with sins. Even though the identity of Christ is readily available, the person is re-focused on their old identity – that of sin. These sins continue to fill the mind, both consciously and subconsciously. In order for the person to enjoy internal fellowship with Christ again – repentance (renewal of mind) is in order. Repentance helps the person move from functioning carnally to spiritually, walking after and in the indwelling Holy Spirit. Keep in mind that nothing has changed in the person’s position in Christ, but conditionally, sin begins to take over once again.

One of the most common mis-phrases “Christians” use today is “walking in the flesh” when trying to describe a believer choosing sin over the Holy Spirit from within.  True indwelt believers cannot walk IN the flesh because the Old Nature has been put to death, but they can “walk after” the trash the Old Nature left behind - housed within the memory banks of the brain. 

Coming up next is #36, “The Boy Doing What He Hates.”