Christian Living
Some years ago I was in a meeting where the speaker said that people can be exerting energy in the wrong direction or for the wrong cause even as pertains to the things of God. That sounded really interesting because naturally it would seem that no effort put into serving God should be wasted effort; every bit of it should count!
But then I realized that truly someone can be fanatically or innocently heading in the wrong direction while thinking they’re serving God.
In the days that followed that meeting, I spent some time thinking about that message- am I exerting energy in the wrong direction in my service to God?
As I thought on these things, these words dropped in my spirit- ‘for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God “.
I said to myself……. “oh, that’s a bible verse!“
So I immediately reached for my Bible, confirmed the bible verse and started meditating on it.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Romans 8:14 NKJV
Then ofcourse I went on my blog and started writing my thoughts down. It took several reviews of my article before I finally got the simple meaning of that verse of scripture, which is that ‘GOD LEADS HIS SONS‘.
Now understand that every human being is a tripartite being, meaning that there are 3 parts to you- you are a spirit, you have a soul and you live in a body.
Your soul consist of your mind, will and emotions (Proverbs 2:10, Proverbs 19:21, Psalm 139:14). And your body is the housing for your spirit and soul.
What Happens When You Get Born Again?
When you confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, your natural sinful human spirit inherited from Adam, is recreated and you have a brand new spirit- the spirit of God (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is how you become born again- you become born of God’s Spirit and so you become a son of God. Now, your recreated human spirit is born perfect, however your mind and body retain their natural state. While we work hard at taking good care of our bodies as long as we live on earth, the good news is we will get new bodies at the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). ?
Halleluyah!
As a newborn Christian, just like a newborn baby, you need to grow. And you grow by feeding on the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2). The Word of God feeds your spirit and renews your mind. So, the more you take in the food of God’s Word, the more your baby Christian spirit grows and your natural human mind becomes renewed (Romans 12:2, Matthew 4:4).
Now being born of the Spirit of God ensures a smooth line of communication between you and God. Proverbs 20:27 tells us that the spirit of man provides the light through which man communicates and leads man.
“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.”
Proverbs 20:27 NKJV
The ERV translation provides a clearer meaning of Proverbs 20:27…
“Your spirit is like a lamp to the Lord. He is able to see into your deepest parts.”
Proverbs 20:27 ERV
What Is A Lamp?
A lamp is a device which provides lighting. It lights up a path and shows direction. Therefore Proverbs 20:27 is saying that God leads man by man’s spirit.
Naturally as humans our senses receive impulses from the world around us which is communicated to our minds for processing. Our responses are determined by our mind’s interpretation of these impulses. So really, a Christian has 2 sources of information- (through his/her recreated human spirit) and from his/her physical senses. Hence we cannot overlook the critical role the mind plays in interpreting impulses from both our spirit and our senses?
Now going back to what the preacher said and putting that against Romans 14:8 and Proverbs 20:27, which kind of Christian do you think is more prone to be exerting energy in the wrong direction?
Answer- the Christian that is more attuned to his senses than his spirit.
Question 2: what can a Christian do in order to be in sync with God’s leading: he/she should be more spirit-minded; more Inward-minded.
How do you know if it’s really God speaking to you?
-Work on your mind- get your mind renewed by the Word of God (Romans 12:2). Because when your mind is renewed by the Word, then every impulse transmitted to your mind passes through the lens of God’s Word. ?
Do You want to clearly know God’s Mind Concerning a Situation in Your Life?
-First, renew your mind with His Word…because if your mind is not renewed with God’s Word, you are likely to misinterpret and misunderstand what God is speaking to your spirit.
When your mind is renewed with God’s Word then it is equipped to see/interpret every thought/impulse through the lens of God’s Word.
“Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.”
Romans 12:2 ERV
You will Understand what God’s Perfect will is when you have in depth knowledge of His Word (Proverbs 9:10b).
Halleluyah!
Another way to increase your spiritual sensitivity and alertness is by speaking in tongues regularly. Speaking in tongues regularly strengthens you spiritually (1 Corinthians 14:4).
Friend, God leads His sons, and He leads them primarily by their recreated spirit. Help your mind to rightly interpret what God is saying to you by renewing your mind with God’s Word. Don’t miss God, don’t assert energy in the wrong direction, —be more inward minded.
