A Spirit-Led Life

Charles Spurgeon said, "A church in the land without the Spirit is rather a curse than a blessing. If you have not the Spirit of God, Christian worker, remember that you stand in somebody else's way; you are a fruitless tree standing where a fruitful tree might grow."

Francis Bacon said, "In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present."

Galatians 5 is a section of Scripture that reveals the powerful importance of the Spirit-led walk.  Galatians 5:16 says, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”  The Spirit is God’s agent to keep us from spiritually destroying ourselves whenever the sinful nature gets out of control. 

The Spirit does an extreme makeover within us.  He transforms us.  Remember the old you?  You know, the one who lacks patience when the person in the checkout line needs to go back and get a price check.  Remember how impatient you were?  Or, how about the time when you lost all control and you blasted away at your spouse, kids, co-worker, parent, or friend because you were controlled by you, not the Spirit? 

 

The spirit-led walk gets tiresome and at times, we are totally depleted of energy.  This is why it is vitally important to: “get dressed is before we ever get out of the bed.”  If we leave the bed spiritually undressed, we leave vulnerable and an easy target for the flesh to take over.  However, if we leave the bed spiritually dressed, then the Spirit is fully engaged and prepared to get us through that days walk. 

Surrendering to God is a spiritual process.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:14 “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolish to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

The Portrait of a Spirit-led Person

From nursery school onward we are taught how to succeed in the world.

A carnal person says:

                        ►  The early bird gets the worm

                        ►  No pain, no gain

                        ►  There is no such thing as a free lunch

                        ►  Demand your rights

                        ►  Get what you pay for

                        ►  I want people to get what they deserve – nothing more, nothing less.

A Spirit-led person says:

                        ►  I did not get what I deserved

                        ►  I deserved punishment and got forgiveness

                        ►  I deserved wrath and got love

                        ►  I deserved debtor’s prison and got a clean credit history

                        ►  I deserved lectures and got grace

Carnal Christians have a negative affect on the world.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-14, “You are salt!  You are Light!”  A NO Salt life means:  “ A Christian life with no spiritual flavor has value.”   A flavorless Christian walk means:  Mean-spirited.  Pessimistic.  Suffers from the “ME” syndrome.  Shows no affection for the lost. 

In order to keep in step with the Spirit, every aspect of our lives must be seasoned with the flavor of Christ.  A Salt life means: “A Christian life with spiritual flavor has godly value.”  The results of a flavored spiritual life is:  Optimistic. It’s not about “ME.”  And, loves people for who they are and not for what they do.

Jesus also said that we are the light of the world.  Light life means:  We help others see what Christian values are all about.  In order to help others see the value in having a relationship with Jesus, we must light up our churches and communities by demonstrating spiritual values of mercy, grace, fellowship, unity, love, and forgiveness. 

Spiritual believers realize that life is not the “ME” philosophy, but rather to be someone who is seasoned with Christ and one who gives off a light that will radiate the glory of God through their spirit-led walk. 

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian