Working with the Spirit

In a previous blog I mentioned that in order to grow as a Christ-follower you need to work with the Spirit and foolishly said I could write a whole blog just on the topic! In that same blog I said that people try to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps to try to be "good people" when they really need to let God do the work to shape them. A couple of friends called me on this (thanks Mary!) and said I should write it. So here goes...

... but maybe a quick disclaimer first.  I'm not a pastor and I've never been to seminary. So the thoughts here are drawn from my own personal experiences of what I've read in scriptures, what I observe around me, and what seems to have worked for me over the years.  There are nuances to how you work with the Spirit in terms of what you do versus what He does that I might miss when making general statements but my hope and prayer is that you'll see the need to let God lead and we follow...

Self-help; help yourself

“God helps those that help themselves” is not a biblical quote. While the Bible does warn against laziness in several places (my favorite being "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat"!) the idea of us having to initiate the change we want to be is not Christian. There are numerous self-help books and motivational speeches that are fine in themselves but their origins are usually from humanist thinking, psychology or even eastern religions.

Now I'm not knocking the self-help movement if it works for you, particularly if you're not a Christian and you simply want to improve yourself. But it doesn't work for me. Worse still, if you are a Christ-follower then I think there's a danger of missing the whole point of how God wants us to live now, trusting Him for everything.

I can see two dangers with a Christ-follower trying to improve themselves through self-help (i.e. not working with the Spirit):

1. Faking it. If we act like Christians, adopting some habits that are Christian, going through the motions of what Christians are supposed to do with the goal of being nice Christian people, I think there is a real danger of becoming counterfeits. To the outside world we look like we've got it together, but inside or in private perhaps we don't.
2. Frustration. You keep taking two steps forward and then three back as you try to live up to the high standards listed in the Bible or the social norms of the people around you (maybe some doing number 1 above faking you into thinking they've got it figured out and pressuring you to do the same). You'll be forever beating yourself up when you slip back into old sins and maybe give up altogether.

Of these two dangers, I think #1 is the most insidious and most dangerous for the church.  Superficially it seems right to be "acting Christian" but if we are just "acting" then it's not real, it dishonors God and often turns people away from Christ. We miss the point that God, through Jesus, wants us to have a relationship with Him, not practice a religion about Him.

4 keys

Alright then, so I've said we shouldn't take the self-help approach, and previously I mentioned the need to work with the Spirit. So how do we do that?  The old fashioned name for this is "sanctification" and there are numerous writings about this. But I'm a simple fella and like to boil things down to just a few points (mostly so I actually remember them!)  Below are 4 keys, drawn straight from the Bible that have helped me most in understanding how to work with the Spirit.

1. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. If there's any work to be done by us, then it's not to act a certain way or develop a better character trait, but primarily it's to seek God; to spend time with Him.  For me the best way to do this is what has been coined by many as the “Quiet Time” i.e. setting aside a time to visit with God to pray, read and ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Ideally you do this every morning as a minimum and make it a priority before anything else.
2. Be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Give the Spirit material from which to draw by putting good stuff in your head. Read your Bible and read inspirational books. Listen to music and lyrics that turn your focus to God and not the world.  Listen to podcasts or watch videos with good, sound teaching. Watch inspirational movies. Another excellent scripture says... "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Oh and turn off the TV and change the radio station while you're at it!
3. Walk by the Spirit, ...not gratify the desires of the flesh. Here's a radical pivot point for this blog.  Don’t do whatever you feel like (in your flesh). Don't “just do it”, but seek the guidance of the Spirit to do what He wants.  There is a tension between our earthly desires and what the Spirit wants us to do.  In obedience to God, recognize the tension and ask Him to guide you.
4. Not neglecting to meet together.  Be part of the body of Christ.  Jesus loves the church which should be reason enough to want to be part of it - warts and all - but there's also the practical aspects that you can hit items 1 and 2 above to draw near to God and have your mind transformed much easier if you are part of a good church, plus you get the encouragement you need to walk by the Spirit alongside others.

In wrapping up this blog, I should give full disclosure that I'm a 48-year-old work in progress and although I know these keys and generally follow them, I mess up plenty of times. Then I rely on the fact that "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." My walk with Christ is about deepening my relationship with Him. It's not about fulfilling religious duties.