Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.
The Lord is our Savior but he wants to be our leader. God is a trinity. His work is trinity work. The Father draws the sinner. The Son saves. The Holy Spirit convicts and rebirths the sinner into the new birth. Even while we were yet sinners Jesus died for us; the Holy Spirit worked on our hearts. He kept knocking on the door of our heart. It’s hard to keep sleeping when someone rocks your bed. Mommy used to do that to us. She yelled for us to get up but when we didn’t she’d come and rock the bed. I’m thankful the Lord wakes us up. He can “shake our mattress.”
If we don’t have the Holy Spirit, the Bible tells us we are “none of his.” After salvation the Spirit didn’t shake his hands and say “I’m done.” He dwells within us. I have the ability to remain a Christian because of the indwelling of the Spirit. When this body falls down in death, the same Spirit will quicken my body and I’ll be translated at the rapture. In between now and then we have battles to fight and a life to live.
The fog was thick this morning. I know from flying a little that when fog sets in that you must rely on the instruments to get you where you’re going or you’ll end up disoriented and doing the wrong thing or going the wrong way. The fog of life can overtake you and you lose direction. I’m glad in those times we have a pilot who can get us through. He knows where we are. We want the Holy Spirit in the co-pilot seat–ABSOLUTELY! He’s a helper but we need him in the PILOT SEAT. It’s not us leading him. He leads us. We don’t know more than him. Never pray for God to help you be a good leader of your life. Ask him to lead you! David said sheep can’t lead themselves; they need a shepherd, a leader. God has given us the third member of the Trinity to lead us. I’ve heard many say “I’m just doing what the Lord is leading me to do” but what they do doesn’t line up with the Word of God or his will. The angel of light has led many wrong as they follow him. I want to be led in the true and right way. The only One who can do that is the triune God.
We cannot bargain with the Lord. We ask. We don’t demand and set contracts up with God. We are not our own. We have been bought with a price. We belong to God. That makes the Holy Spirit our leader. He doesn’t give up on us. Peter followed afar off. I’m glad for a leader who takes his hook and gets us back on the path. This is a triune leadership. They are not leaders–plural–but leader. Father, Son and Spirit are one leader.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Don’t use your nature as an excuse for willful sins. Verse 13 says For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Can the flesh be overcome? Can we say no to the devil? No to the old person we were saved from? Can we have victory? Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! By the new presence in our lives–the Holy Spirit–we can put the flesh down. It keeps popping up like a spider in the house but if we follow the Spirit he’ll crush every satanic spider that pops up. God helps us overcome and mortify the deeds of our body. Then ye shall live!
What better leader could we ask for? The very Spirit that breathed into Adam’s nostrils and made him a living soul, the very Spirit that raised Jesus up, is ours. We won’t meet him at the rapture; he’s with us now. If we’re saved we’ve already met him. Maybe Christianity is difficult for some because they have a leadership problem. Surrender to the Lord. Recognize you cannot lead. You’re not qualified to do it. We don’t have the control over ourselves. Submit to the leadership of God. To do that we must submit to his lordship. Jesus took the pain and suffering. He bore the wounds so we won’t have to. The only way to make it is to be under the leadership of the Spirit. We can rejoice as the children of God.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 