To be a Spiritual person is not just to act in a holy way, nor is it about clothes, good deeds or being mystical. Being Spiritual means that one listens to God’s Spirit. Here are some practical tips from the Bible about how to be Spiritual, that is, how to live in the Holy Spirit:
1. Know the word of Jesus and try to live by it
“When the Helper, the holy Spirit comes… He will remind you of all I taught you.” John 14:26
One of the Spirit’s main purposes is to remind us of the word of Jesus. But how can we be reminded of Jesus’ teaching, when we don’t know it? But even having head knowledge of Jesus’ teaching isn’t enough, we also need to live it out. On the surface, we may find that we are heading for a failure, for selling our possessions and loving our enemies are superhuman requirements. But if we depend on the Lord for strength to do His will, then we will have some success. And it is at this point—knowing Jesus’ word and having tried and failed, that the Spirit can begin working with us.
2. Do not quench the Spirit
“Do not despise prophetic utterances.” I Thessalonians 5:19-20
Before we can hear the Spirit, we must first be open to listening to the Spirit. Many of us doubt that the Spirit speaks to anyone, and if someone says “I heard from the Lord…” we tune them out simply because we don’t believe that God speaks directly to people. The Bible says that the Spirit does speak directly—not just through feelings, but with a voice. The Bible also says that the Spirit works through healings, through visions and through dreams. If we are to really be Spiritual, then we need to believe that the Spirit really works, is really powerful and can really speak to us.
3. Take time to listen to the Spirit
“Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.” Acts 10:9
Just as Peter took time alone with God to pray (and so had a vision), so we must also. It is not enough to ask the Lord to speak to us, we also have to meet with the Spirit. If we have someone we consider a good friend, how much of a friend could that person be if we never went out together to talk together? The same with the Spirit—we cannot be a Spiritual person unless we take time to listen to the Spirit and allow us to pay attention to Him. This means time without distractions, without other agenda, without media. Just you and the Spirit, nothing else.
4. Test the Spirits
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God,” I John 4:1
Just because we know that we are being spoken to from a spirit-world being, that doesn’t mean it is from God or the Holy Spirit. We have to be careful because there are many voices, many spirits and many of them want to destroy us. In order to know if a Spirit or a voice in our heads is from God, they must first pass the test of saying that Jesus is their Lord—not just A lord, but that Jesus rules over them. Secondly, what they say must be in agreement with Jesus’ word. Once again, this requires that we know Jesus’ word to be able to know if a spirit is true or not.
5. Do not speak everything the Spirit gives you, at anytime you receive it
Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only? I Corinthians 14:36
Paul says that the spirit is under the control of the one who speaks (I Cor. 14:32), and just because we feel we should speak what we have heard from the Spirit, that doesn’t mean that we should. There are times in which we are told by the Spirit to speak, but even then we need to understand to whom, and how and when. We can’t just assume that because a time is convenient for us that it is the right time. Often a message from the Spirit can be lost not because it wasn’t spoken, but because it was spoken in a way that others cannot hear it.
Also, we need to take into account that others have heard from the Spirit, and not just us. Just because we have a message, it doesn’t mean that everyone must obey our message. When the Spirit speaks to us, the first one whom the message is for is us, not others. Often, in fact, the Spirit isn’t speaking to others, but only to us. We need to be careful about how we apply the Spirit’s message, and not do so universally.
6. Walk by the Spirit
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Galatians 5:25
The point of us listening to the Spirit is not speaking the message, or having a connection with God, but obeying the message. If we only hear and do not act out the message of the Spirit, then the message has fallen upon deaf ears and it is fruitless. When the spirit speaks to us, then we should not seek first to speak the Spirit’s message, but to obey it. No, it is not always easy, but this is how we become a Spiritual person—that we both listen to the Spirit and obey Him.
7. Live by the fruits of the Spirit
“You who are Spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.” Galatians 6:1
Living and walking in the Spirit is not just about doing crazy things, either. Yes, the Spirit could lead one to have visions, to say strange words, to collapse on the floor or to act like a prophet of old. But these things are not the real indications of the Spirit. Rather, we know that we have God’s Spirit if, in obeying the Spirit, we do so in an attitude of gentleness, care for others and support of others. The natural outcome of the Spirit is not tongues, prophecies or dreams—rather it is love, joy in others, offering other’s peace, being faithful to others, having self-control so others are not harmed, and remaining humble.
The Spiritual person hears the Spirit of Jesus telling him to do the acts of Jesus with the attitude of Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment