Good Morning Friends,
You know it is our responsibility to yield to the direction and guidance of God’s Spirit who abides within our very being. We are to yield to the promise, purity and power that God has graciously given to his people. And when we do, it is sacred, it is Holy. And it should remind us of Pentecost when we do. So, Do You Know Why It Is Important To Be Led By The Spirit?
Scripture: Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16-25 (NRSV)
and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8:8-17 (NRSV)
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.
John 20:19-23 (NRSV)
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
Acts 2:1-11 (NRSV)
Message: We need to submit ourselves totally and unconditionally to the Holy Spirit living in us. This takes a decision and commitment on our part. We will we be slaves to sin, which leads to death or we will be slaves to obedience, which leads to righteousness and life. Though we do not want to be slaves at all, we cannot have it any other way. We cannot serve two masters. Therefore, for many who are double minded, the topic of the Holy Spirit creates some anxiety. The idea of having another person living inside of us sounds too mystical and spooky. For some it prompts shame. Others reject the idea of such a miracle to another time and place, rationalizing that if it were true we would certainly see more people witnessing to such a power today. For them seeing is believing. Some even believe sporadically, counting the Holy Spirit as a reality that is not for them all the time. There is something these people are missing, and it is the fruit of the Spirit. For there is no greater love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control than having the Holy Spirit present and active in our lives. There is no greater comfort and companion than living in the purity, sanctification and justification of the Lord. When we devote time to this purpose we bring ourselves into the presence of God, we enjoy life more and glorify God as well. The great evil here is the rejection of fruit that Jesus died to provide to us.
And So, here we are on the day of Pentecost and the celebration of the church. But the church has too often had leaders that structured burdensome traditions and controlled people using scripture more so than being led by the Spirit. Too many have experienced a spirit of slavery and discouragement leading to fear more so than a spirit of adoption. The only answer is to have an abiding faith in God. Here we learn that the world exudes a false confidence. The Holy Spirit grants us true confidence that we are children of God. For those of us that doubt if God could love sinners such as us, the Holy Spirit is sent to reassure us, and our testimony is that we call God Father. Friends, there is no inheritance unless we are children of God, and we are not children unless we experience a spiritual rebirth, and we cannot have spiritual rebirth without Christ, and faith in Jesus Christ. We are no longer to be dominated by fear but are to grow in faith led by the Spirt of God.
Pray we yield to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Pray we see the Spirit of Jesus in our daily life. Pray we choose to live in a way that leads to life. Pray we seek with all our heart the will of God. Pray we listen to the nudges of the Spirit. Pray we do what we can to strengthen the work of the Spirit and the Spirit’ influence in our lives. Pray we devote time to praise, worship and prayer. Pray we witness God still manifesting his gifts here on Earth. Pray we devote time to bring ourselves into the presence of God. Pray we guard our thoughts and confess our failures. Pray the fruit of the Spirit and its love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control be manifested in us. Pray the remembrance of the first great revival at Pentecost prompt another revival in us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 