Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, July 30th. A proper understanding of the work of the Spirit of God is essential for a joyful and fruitful Christian life. Today we continue with Part 1 of Walking in the Holy Spirit. One of the most neglected subjects in the Bible is the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. You would think that as important as that subject is that more people would be talking about it, more people would be referring to the Holy Spirit. But there are millions of people who sit in church week after week after week, year after year, never hear a single sermon dedicated to the Holy Spirit and His work in our life. When it's so crystal clear from the Scripture that you cannot live a godly life, you cannot serve the Lord adequately, unless you understand how He works in your life. And you certainly cannot understand the truth of God's Word apart from the Holy Spirit. One of His primary responsibilities is to interpret the Word of God for us properly.
And yet, sometimes you think, well, whose fault is that? Is it the people who sit in the pew or is it the men who stand in the pulpit? And I think primarily it is the men who stand in the pulpit. And the truth is, not anyone who preaches the gospel apart from the Holy Spirit and the anointing of the Spirit and the enduement of God's power upon his or her life, doesn't make any difference who it is. Apart from the Holy Spirit, it's not going to be nearly as effective. It's not going to have the fruit that that work would have where the Spirit of God, the one upon whom the speaker was depending to get the job done.
It's His responsibility. It's the work of the Holy Spirit. And for a lot of people, it's just sort of on one of those subjects they just say, well, I talk about Jesus and God and I don't know who this Holy Spirit is because I used to read the Bible and it talked about the Holy Ghost. Well, I can remember growing up, naturally, we only had the King James Version and it was translated Holy Ghost instead of Holy Spirit.
And I remember thinking as a kid, I'm not sure how I handled that because I didn't understand that. And then, of course, some people think, well, the Holy Spirit's all about tongues. You have to speak in tongues.
And so they just totally disregarded. The truth is you cannot interpret the Word of God properly. You cannot live a godly life and you cannot serve God adequately apart from the power of the Spirit of God working in your life. So, what I want to talk about in this message is walking by the Holy Spirit. And I want you to turn, if you will, to Galatians chapter five. And I want us just to look at a couple of verses here because there's so much that we could talk about.
But I want to put it all in one message because I want you to get the full impact of how important the Holy Spirit is in your life as a believer. And if you'll notice in the fifth chapter of Galatians, here's what he says in verse sixteen. But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Now, what are the desires of the flesh? We're talking about those desires that find their source within that part of us that has a desire to live outside the will of God. In other words, when Paul speaks of the flesh, he's not talking about flesh and blood.
He's talking about part of something within us. That is, when a person is saved, the Spirit of God comes into your life to dwell. And so, we're transformed, we're brand new creatures in Christ, but that does not remove that propensity, that tendency at times that desires to do something outside the will of God to sin against God. And so, when a person is living in the flesh, they are expressing that inner desire to do something, go somewhere, have some attitude that is not godly.
We all have to deal with it every single day of our life. And so, when he says here, I said you walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Then if you look in the twenty-fifth verse of the same chapter, Paul says again, if we live by the Spirit, that is controlled by Him, dominated by Him, the Holy Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. That is, if He is really in control of our life, let us walk by the Holy Spirit.
Now, where we have to start is we have to start in first of all answering the question, well, who is He? And somebody says, well, I don't know who He is, I know who Jesus is, I know who God is, I don't know who the Holy Spirit is. Oh, I've heard that He's a person of the Trinity. Well, let's start where the Bible starts, and that is in the first book of the Bible, in the first chapter of the Bible, in the second verse of the Bible, you find the Holy Spirit hovering over this earth that is not totally complete. And then you find in the twenty-sixth verse, God says, let us make man in our image.
Well, who in the world is us? Well, there's the Holy Spirit in that second verse, us is also the Lord Jesus Christ because if you notice in Colossians, for example, when Paul is talking about Jesus and who He is and our response toward Him, he says, for by Him were all things created both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through Him and for Him, which simply says this, that this whole creation is involved with God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, all three persons of the Trinity. So, also you'll find throughout the Scripture that the Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit. And in Zechariah, for example, that fourth chapter, the Scripture says, not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord. That is, that's the way we're to live and that's the way we're to serve Him, independence upon Him. Somebody says, well, do you all believe in three gods?
No. There are three persons of the Trinity. There is one Godhead, one God, three persons. The Father does His work, the Son does His work, the Spirit does His work, and the work of the Holy Spirit is a vital part in every single believer's life. So, we're talking about someone whom the Father has sent into your life and my life because we could not be, nor could we become, nor could we ever accomplish what He has in mind apart from the Holy Spirit. If I were to ask you, what is the Holy Spirit? Who He is, that is, what does He mean to you? And for many people, they'd have to say, well, I know it's in the Bible because I read the Holy Spirit. Well, is He a person?
Yes, He is. The Holy Spirit is as much a person as Jesus because the Scripture, if you'll notice, calls Him He and the Holy Spirit whom. And when you look at the work He does and what He does in your life and my life, He has to be a person. So, the Holy Spirit is a vital part of every single believer's life.
So, I want us to look for just a moment. I'm going to take you through some of these verses just to sort of get you oriented here. And I want to start with this fourteenth chapter of John.
And we just mentioned a couple of them here. And I want you to see what the Holy Spirit does in our life. And in this twenty-sixth verse, notice what He says. He says, but the Helper, and the Helper here in the Greek is parakletos, which means one who walks beside us. One who is, and He calls Him here our Helper.
It is the same word translated comforter. So, both of which mean that we have someone with us who helps us, who comforts us, along with some other things here. And you'll notice in verse twenty-six, He says, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom, not it, which, but whom, the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things. That is, the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is that He teaches us the truth. And unless the Spirit of God interprets the truth for us, it won't be correct.
There are all kind of theologists and all kind of ideas and all kind of religions out there believe all kind of stuff because it's man-made religion, man-made theology apart from the work of the Spirit of God when there are no contradictions in this Book. Now listen, He says not only will He teach us all these things, but secondly, He will bring to your remembrance all that I teach you and all that I meant for you to understand. That is, He is also our reminder.
For example, let's say somebody says, I'd like to witness to somebody. I'm afraid I'll forget the verses. Remember this, you have the Holy Spirit to remind you.
One of His responsibilities is to remind us of the things we need to remember. And primarily, of course, that is the Word of God. Then if you will look in the fifteenth chapter and look in the twenty-sixth verse of this fifteenth chapter of John, He says again, when the Helper, that is the Holy Spirit comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth. He's often in the Scripture called the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about me. That is, the work of the Holy Spirit is to testify about who Jesus is. Watch this, the Holy Spirit never talks about Himself. It's always about Jesus.
That is part of His responsibility. Then if when you look at the sixteenth chapter and the eighth verse, here's another work of the Holy Spirit. You think, for example, that you got saved because you chose to be saved.
Well, that's true to some degree. But first of all, what got you realizing that you needed to be saved? You got under conviction. Verse eight of the sixteenth chapter, when He, the Holy Spirit, when He comes, He will convict the world, listen, concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment, and concerning sin because they do not believe in Me, concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me, and concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been judged. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. And so, but when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He convicts us of our sins, He is our teacher, and He guides us into all truth. And verse fourteen says, He will glorify me. That is, the Spirit of God is continually pointing us to Jesus and helping us to see who He is, how He fits into our life, and why we so desperately need Him.
So, watch this. We, listen, we talk about being filled with the Spirit. A person is filled with the Holy Spirit when they are living in obedience to Him and following Him and walking in His ways. And so, He says the Spirit indwells us. Look, if you will, in the fourteenth verse. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.
He not only guides us, but He, the Scripture says, He leads us and indwells us. And in verse fifteen, For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, Abba Father. That is, He is the one who gives us assurance of our relationship to the Father. The Holy Spirit testifies to every believer, you are one of God's children.
You have been adopted into the kingdom. And so, we come by that through the Holy Spirit. And then He says in verse sixteen, The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God, that is, bears witness. And for example, somebody says to you, Well, are you saved? You say, I'm sure I'm saved.
Why are you so sure? Well, you could give them a lot of reasons, but the real truth is the Holy Spirit bears witness, gives you assurance, reminds you that you trust that Christ is your Savior, reminds you of the promises of God. Therefore, you can with assurance say, Yes, I know that I'm saved. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that does that. Then if you will turn back to Acts chapter one for a moment, remember what He said to them. He said, Now look, you sit down in the city of Jerusalem, sit down in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.
That is, you're not ready, for example. And in the twenty-fourth chapter of Luke, He gives us that part of the Great Commission. And then He says, of course, in Matthew gives us a Great Commission, and then also in Mark. But in Acts, look what He says now in verse seven. He said to them, It is not for you to know the times of the seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and in the uttermost parts of the earth. So, what was He saying? He's saying simply this. Even though you've seen all this, even though you've heard all this, even though you've witnessed all the things that I've done, you are still not ready to do the work that I've called you to do until the Spirit of God indwells you.
Now, there are a lot of people, for example, who say, Well, now, I think I try to do the best I can. I think about Sunday School teachers who take their Sunday School lesson book or maybe the Bible and they read the lesson and they get it down pretty good and they go to Sunday School class and they teach the lesson. Who's the teacher? The Holy Spirit.
Who's the equipper? The Holy Spirit. Who gives interpretation of the Word of God? The Holy Spirit. Listen, it is the work of the Spirit. It is the power of the Holy Spirit within you.
That's why He told them, You're not ready until the Spirit of God has come upon you, and then it is the authority of the Spirit, the power of the Spirit, the unction of the Spirit that teaches through a Sunday School teacher, through a pastor, through an evangelist, sings through a musician, you name it. God intends for all of us to do our work in His power, in His energy, in His strength, and by His authority. What is done apart from the Holy Spirit is flesh.
It's man's own human effort. We can never carry out spiritual work, God's work in the flesh in our own energy apart from the Holy Spirit. That is one of the primary reasons He sent the Holy Spirit. You may be a pastor and you think, Well, now I study and I pray and God gives me a message, and I just get up and tell it and you ignore the Holy Spirit. You're not relying upon Him for wisdom. You're not relying upon Him for courage. You're not relying upon Him for inspiration. You're not relying upon Him for motivation. You're not relying upon Him for interpretation. You're not relying upon Him for power. You're not relying upon Him for authority. You cannot do what God has called you to do the way He intends for you to do it apart from the Holy Spirit. That's who He is. That's why He came. There's no substitute for the Holy Spirit. You can't put enough PhDs, THDs, RFDs, any other kind of Ds behind anybody's name and make them adequate to do the work God's called them to do.
You cannot do it. And so, I remember one of the most significant times in my life. I'd only been in seminary a year, and I was in my second year, and I had a place over in the corner where I prayed in the living room in our very small apartment. And so, I was praying one night, and the Lord just spoke to my heart crystal clear, I'll never forget it. Whatever you accomplish in life, you will have to accomplish on your knees in prayer.
Not by education, not by talent, not by gifts, by calling out to me, crying out to me, it has to be on your knees. And God knew that that meant for me total dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Because you see, when you and I pray and write, He's involved.
Because one of, listen, one of His responsibilities is in Romans chapter eight twenty-six, when He says the Holy Spirit prays for us and through us, intercedes for us, because we don't even know how to pray sometime. Haven't you been on your knees and crying out to God for somebody? You didn't know what to ask. You just knew they were in trouble.
You didn't know what to say. You just said, God, help them. Lord, I'm just trusting You to work in their life. The Spirit of God takes your prayer and interprets it, listen, personally, perfectly before the Father, because He knows, at heart, personally, the Trinity knows all things about all times, situations, and circumstances. And so, when I look at what He does and the awesome power available to us, I think, how foolish for us to try to do anything apart from the Spirit of God. Now, that's who He is, that's what He does, and the issue now is, what does it mean to walk by the Spirit? How do we walk by the Spirit? Well, to walk in the Spirit or by the Spirit, either way you want to call it, is to live moment by moment, and not today and maybe tomorrow, moment by moment, what? Independency upon Him, sensitive to His voice in our life and in obedience to Him.
Those three words, dependency, sensitive to Him, and obedience. So, if I'm walking in the Spirit, you'll notice that I'm not doing that on Monday and then on Thursday and next on Sunday. But how often?
Come on, tell me, how often? Moment by moment. That is, every day of our life as a believer, I am to walk aware of the Spirit of God in our life. You say, well, now how can we do that?
How is that possible? Well, I'm going to talk about that. But what it's really saying is, I'm to live a godly life. You can go to church every Sunday. You can pray a little bit every once in a while.
You can give a little money. You can read the Bible once in a while. That's not the Christian life. The Christian life is living submissive to the Holy Spirit who indwells you for the purpose, the primary purpose, of Jesus Christ living His life in and through us.
That's why He came. He came to do in us and through us and for us what you and I could never do ourselves. And so, to walk, listen, to walk by the Spirit is to walk moment by moment.
Look, depending upon Him, sensitive to His voice in our life, and as a result of that, what's going to happen? We're going to live a godly life. We're going to live a life of obedience. So, I hope you wrote that down. That's what walking by the Spirit, that's the Christian life, because would you not agree that if a person goes to church and listens to sermons, even takes notes, goes to work the next day and just curses somebody out?
Well, you laugh because you've probably known a few folks like that. That's not Christian living. Now, I didn't say they weren't saved, but it's not Christian living. Because the Christian life is a life in whom the Holy Spirit is dwelling and through whom the Holy Spirit is expressing the life of Jesus. So, that comes to the whole question here of being filled with the Spirit. What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? To be filled with the Spirit means that I'm totally submitted to Him, that He has His way in my life moment by moment.
It's His way, not my way. Thank you for listening to Walking in the Holy Spirit. If you'd like to know more about Charles Sandly or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia. We'll see you next time on It's Supernatural!
