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Walking in the Spirit – Week 18 / April 29th
The year has become with awesome reminders of the sovereignty of God. Natural upheavals and disasters of the strangest type are abounding across the globe and sadly the Islamic jihad has now been broadened out to include Christians across the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa. It will not stop and the world will generally continue to live in denial as to the extent of this assault against Israel, the West and the Church of the living God. This is a very somber time and as Christians we should be thinking about our relationship with Jesus and commitment to the God of the Bible.
Israel enters her 64th year besieged on every corner and the possibility of war in the Middle East is looming greater with every passing day. This is no exaggeration. Jerusalem has become center stage in this on-going conflict that not only involves the Palestinians and the Arab world but also the international community. The world is determined to disinvest the Jews of Jerusalem. Naturally, they have ignored the warnings of scripture in this regard and, as Zechariah states in chapter twelve of his book, the nations are going to rupture themselves and fall under the wrath of God over this matter. In the process, I fear, days of great difficulty are coming to Israel. She is alone and faces a missile threat that is huge and alarming. We must be a people of prayer!
Jesus spoke of these days in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. We should not be surprised at their arrival because we have been forewarned. The God of the Bible is going forth to “shake all things” (Hebrews 12:25-29) and this shaking is only going to become more evident as time goes by. We must then be unswerving in our commitment to Jesus, to living holy lives and to standing with Israel. Even the Church is being shaken to its very foundations. Liberal theology, liberation theology and various forms of replacement theology are infiltrating it. Christian leaders of repute are failing and embracing what Paul called “doctrines of devils!” Oops, one shouldn’t mention the devil because he doesn’t exist! So, we must not simply live “in the Spirit” but we must “walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)
This means:
• Being Spirit filled all the time (Ephesians 5:18)
• Being obedient to the word of God (Acts 5:32)
• Being transformed by the power of God (2Corinthians 3:18)
• Being sure of the purpose of God for our lives (Matthew 7:21)
• Being steadfast in suffering (1Peter 4:1)………and;
• Being faithful to the local church (Hebrews 10:23-25)
Walking in the Spirit means being influenced by the Spirit and we can only be influenced by Him if we place ourselves in the place where he speaks to us. This “place” is the one of prayer, the one of reading and hearing the word of God and the one fellowship. (Acts 2:42) The Spirit of God is not a “force” or an “it” but in fact a person. We must learn to hear His voice and follow Him because this is the “trademark” of a true Christian!
Note John 16 and verse 13:
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come
He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak
on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will
speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
So, there is no substitute for walking in the Spirit because if we do not we shall indulge the flesh with all its harmful consequences. Sadly, many have! Paul writes these words, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:16) True Christians, walking in the Spirit, are a “product of the cross” that has stamped on it, “Made in Heaven!” (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Malcolm Hedding.
©Malcolm Hedding Ministries
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