Get in My Word

18 November 2000 10:53

This mailing list has not forwarded many Protestant contributions but the testimony (‘I finally heard God’s call’) sent to the list a few days ago has prompted the following response from a Baptist:

Reading the ‘I finally heard God’s call’ testimony (and other teaching I’ve recently heard that was illuminated by the Spirit) caused me to “know” (in my spirit) …not “think” in my mind alone… that TLIG is one of the many anointed ways that God uses for His children to have the full inheritance (the full victory) that Christ died for. That’s not only salvation unto eternal life, but the full restoration of man’s spirit (heart), man’s soul (mind, emotions and will) and body to the complete, perfect fellowship that Adam and Eve had before the fall… i.e. all the blessing He predestined in the heavenly places, before the foundation of the world.

The key is (and there is one line in the testimony that says exactly this): Once saved (converted, I guess, in Catholic lingo) God will use many (anything necessary) ways to get us to walk in the Spirit instead of walking in the flesh. And we can only do that when we regularly, and deeply, get the Word of God into us.

The Word is heard or read and enters us through our minds, but doesn’t get into our spirit (“where the seed will grow to harvest”) until we have our MIND RENEWED (cf. Rom 12: 1-3). We can only know the perfect will of God for each of our lives if we open the door to the Holy Spirit and the Word (the Truth…that will set you free!). We do that by not conforming to the world (any of it’s behaviour, thoughts, or wisdom) AND by flooding ourselves with the Word of God. Then and only then, can we begin to walk by the Spirit.

We have to divide ourselves into spirit and soul. In the soul of the believer IS the perfect righteousness of Christ. It has to get it from our heart to our mind (the renewing process). If this doesn’t happen (and God “pants” for it to happen, because only then will the perfect fellowship that He intended for us be restored), we are Christians, walking around with a real, sincere saving faith, but no victory this side of heaven. No victory looks like: depression, anxiety, fear, restlessness, lack of peace, little joy… NOT ENJOYING OUR LIVES.

Jesus came that we might have life and have it abundantly… that our joy might be full. Unfortunately, most Christians are not walking around in this kind of abundant life, because we are not walking in the Spirit. Our spirits are made new, but our souls are still captive to the ways of the world… starting with our minds not being renewed. We can even be anointed in certain areas and produce fruit, but still not have a renewed mind. God is drawing us, pleading with us (through TLIG and many other ways) to fully receive the Jesus He sent… not for salvation only, but for sanctification.

He is saying (again, see that line in the testimony you forwarded): GET IN MY WORD, SO THAT YOU CAN WALK IN THE SPIRIT. Jesus
truly did come to set the captives free. Even for a truly converted (saved) believer, Satan (the world) will control our soul (mind, will, emotions) if we allow it. In fact, we choose it… through unbelief, that at it’s root is that we don’t know what God has promised us, because we haven’t heard or read it. Then when we finally hear, we don’t “do”, because our unrenewed mind doesn’t “think” it’s for us.

This is why the only remedy is to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice”… daily… then fill ourselves with the Word… the Truth that will set us free (from the old habits and thoughts of the unrenewed mind). We can know when we are beginning to walk in the Spirit. It will feel

natural, not like a struggle. We’ll have peace (that passes all
understanding). We’ll have Joy. Joy is a free gift of God. Happiness
(activities of the world) is costly, and momentary. Think of a
vacation… the best you can remember. Its happiness is temporary

and incomplete.

Walking in the Spirit can be known, because the joy and excitement about the area in which God has anointed us gives us an excitement, satisfaction and fulfilment that comes no other way. Each of us is anointed for different things, but the source is the same. That’s why we can only know this joy by searching the Word and allowing it to renew our minds by completely changing our will, emotions and attitudes. God will show us (in our spirit) how and where He wants us to obey Him. Then I can know His specific will (not just His permissive will) for my life, by walking in the Spirit, and then I’ll enjoy my life every day, the way God always intended (regardless of circumstances in the world).