The Spirit Led Life

On March 1st, during the early morning hours, a time in which the Lord sometimes speaks to us, a prophetic experience began to unfold. In it I could hear an audible Voice begin to speak and highlight a specific scripture that I knew was of particular importance at the present time…it was Romans 8:13.

Rom 8:13-15 — if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

I would like to share what I believe to be at least part of the Lord’s heart from this passage and the insight given to us in speaking this scripture in such a powerful way.

WARFARE THROUGH OBEDIENCE

The Holy Spirit has been teaching us that obedience can be one of the highest forms of spiritual warfare. So often we visualize warfare in a variety of expressions, verbal declarations, and spiritual proclamations. However, we sometimes fail to recognize the power and magnitude of a faithful heart living in simple obedience to the Lord and the impact this generates in the realm of the Spirit. It had an eternal effect when the Lord Jesus demonstrated that He was fully yielded to the will of the Father to the point of death; for through the obedience of the One the many were made righteous. In so doing, the Bible tells us He made a public spectacle of principalities and powers and disarmed them.

Col 2:14-15 — having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

THE PLACE OF SUBMISSION

Great power is released as we walk in simple obedience to the Holy Spirit. The Lord provided that example to us which we must strive to follow. Nonetheless, He is also teaching us there is a place of yielded-ness even beyond obedience…it is total submission. We must and should be obedient, but even greater than obedience, I believe He desires submission.

We have all heard the story of the little boy who was standing on the front row during church service. The pastor finally insisted the little boy sit down. The lad did so reluctantly, and commented, “I may be sitting down, but in my heart I’m still standing”. I’m sure we can all relate to this story at some point in our lives. Very often, we obey from a place of deference but the action is not the result of a thoroughly submitted heart.

OUR HIGH CALLING

HEAVEN IS A GIFT and we can have a mind-set to simply stroll through this life knowing that at some point we will make it to the place prepared for us and yet never know the power of His Kingdom on this side of eternity. There is a much higher calling and destiny and that is to know Him in this present age and become an expression of His life on this side of heaven. He desires that we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Loving Him with all our strength has to do with the yielding of our will. In order to do this we must spend time with Him.

If we are yielding to the flesh with its CARNAL THOUGHTS, desires and purposes, it will be impossible to please God. If we are yielding to the life of the Spirit, we are no longer enslaved to the THINKING of the “bondwoman” (fear, flesh, selfishness) but we have received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry “Abba Father”. During the days of Moses, it was His intent from the beginning to reveal Himself to all, but the people shrank back because of fear. If we are Spirit-led we are no longer in bondage to fear.

Exod 20:18-21 — All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw {it} they trembled and stood at a distance.

Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.

RELATIONSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP

We have been called to liberty, but it is imperative that we do not abuse this great privilege to gratify flesh and our carnal or soulish thoughts.

Gal 5:13— For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

It is the issue of “Relationship” that is of primary importance to our heavenly Father. It is the highest purpose for the creation of man…that He might have fellowship with those who will freely yield their will to the will of the Father. It was from the place of intimate fellowship with the Creator that Adam was given Dominion of the Earth. It was the Fathers good pleasure to come in the cool of the evening to visit with His son and view the progress Adam made while dressing the garden. What a beautiful picture for us in our High calling.

It is from a place of trusted fellowship and intimate relationship that true spiritual authority is derived. We’ve made it far too complicated. Our formulas and strategies have not gotten it accomplished. It is evident they simply have not worked. Far too much of our flesh still dominates. Self -imposed religion is of no value against the indulgences of the flesh. It can weary one to the point of giving up because it seems too difficult for our human strength. Only in Him can we overcome.

The mandate and privilege for this generation is to develop a heart to know Him personally and hear His Voice for ourselves. As the scriptures point out, using His name presumptiously can be very dangerous. Too often, people speak in His name who do not know Him intimately at all, as demonstrated in the life of the sons of Sceva.

Acts 19:13-16— But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

THE SPIRIT-LED LIFE

From the insights the Lord has been sharing with us, we are beginning to understand a SPIRIT-led life consists of obedience and commitment; but even greater than these, SUBMISSION. It is becoming clearly apparent that we must lay down our own agendas, ambitions, motives and purposes and yield fully to His Spirit to walk in Kingdom life and purpose. Jesus did, and His example was to express only what he saw and heard from the Father.

When we become a “love slave” for Him we will no longer obey from the realm of soulish knowledge of Him, but a submitted heart. Soul must decrease that Spirit may increase in walking with Him and serving Him. There are those declaring this is a time for radical obedience and we agree, but we also believe radical obedience will come from the heart of a radical lover. There is no greater prize than Christ being formed in us to full stature.

Rom 8:14— For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

The Amplified version of this scripture seems to capture the heart of this message more thoroughly.

Philippians 3:9-14— And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law’s demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God by [saving faith].

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in hope]

That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].

Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.

I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. (Amplified Bible)

AMEN