Be Led By the Spirit
I think the major problem in the area of righteousness is a startling lack of sensitivity to the direction of the Holy Spirit. This is a believer’s true nakedness and hence the Adam-and-Eve-like tendency to want to hide from God and cover himself with something that he does rather than what God does. This lack of sensitivity leads to believers anxiously asking God what He wants them to do. This attitude assumes that the only thing a believer needs in order to please God, is a list of easy-to-understand instructions. Man needs a new nature to be able to do the will of God. Israel’s failure to obey the Law was evidence of that.
Being led by the Spirit necessitates a heart that is submitted to the will of God with nothing held back. It is only by receiving the love of God that we can be truly be led by the Spirit of God in order to do His will. God could tell a person to do something, but if he has fear, pride or a hidden agenda in his heart that opposes it - he is likely to shy away from such a request.
We all know that it is sin that blocks the love of God, but it is not so much what we do or don’t do which conflicts with God. Galatians 5:17 says, For the flesh lusts against the Spirit. The Greek word used for “lust” here means to desire and to long for. It is our desires more than our actions that conflict against the leading of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, Galatians 5:17 might read, For the flesh acts against the Spirit. Desires arise out of a person’s beliefs, which in turn, are established through their thoughts. It is the way we think and believe that gets in God’s way; this is what sin truly is. The wrong actions that a person commits to are the expressions of his wrong beliefs, thoughts and desires.
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