Now What?

Dec. 7

The Transformed Life; Lesson 6

Read: Joshua 1:8, John 14:15-30, James 1:22 , Prov. 4:20-22

Now What?

We have studied a good bit of scripture together and unpacked a lot of ideas so far this new year! The question then becomes, “How do we put this all into practice?” Let’s take a quick look at what we have covered (a review) and then some practical next steps:

1.) We are made new in Christ - and to fully engage and participate with this truth we must understand what exactly it is we are made of… who are we in all of our “parts”

2.) Humans are both material and immaterial… physical + nonphysical; we are more than just a body.

3.) At first, we may think that we are simply 2 parts… the physical and the nonphysical; but our immaterial self (the mysterious, metaphysical self) is actually 2 separate parts: SOUL and the SPIRIT

4.) In truth, as humans we are Body, Soul, and Spirit

5.) Apart from Christ, our spirits are dead; in Christ our spirits are made alive

6.) Our spirit is what communes with God and interacts with the Spirit of God in us / the Holy Spirit

7.) The “natural man” functions with the flesh as top priority, and has a spirit that is dead; this is opposed to the “spiritual man” who has been brought to life in Christ and gives the Spirit of God in him priority through his own enlivened spirit.

8.) The right order for the being of a person is an enlivened spirit leading their soul as an intermediary with their body. In short: Spirt - Soul - Body

9.) The Body must be kept in check with its fleshly desires, and the thoughts and emotions of a person must be shaped by the spirit of God. The Spirit/spirit within us serves as a conscience that guides us.

10.) Our identity is actually rooted in our spirit + soul, that is our truest self. The spirit of a person is their CORE identity. The body is wasting away; the “seen” is transient the unseen lives forever.

11.) In Christ, our bodies may be wasting away, but our inward self is being renewed every day.

12.) As we “walk in the Spirit/spirit” we must feed our spirit to strengthen it so that it may be energized for relationship with the Holy Spirit and have “fuel” for the journey of life.

So what are the practical ways that we can live this out? How do we move forward in this spiritual / transformed life?

a.) “Meditate on God’s word”

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” - Joshua 1:8

We need to spend time both reading the bible and meditating on it… thinking about it… talking about it with others. Remember, the word is what feeds and strengthens our spirit so that it may shape our thoughts and emotions (soul) and reign in our body. This also means we speak the word to ourselves, telling ourselves regularly what is true and comes from the word of God. We must speak it to ourselves first before we can speak it to others.

b.) Do what they say! ; Obey the word and the Holy Spirit

We don’t just read the bible and think about it. We don’t just hang out with the Holy Spirit and talk. Sooner or later we must actually begin to DO what it tells us to do. James says “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22) We are actually lying to ourselves… tricking ourselves… f we say we love the Lord and are his children if we are not doing what he calls us to do. Jesus said this: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments…Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:14, 21)

c.) Give the Holy Spirit and the Word priority as they shape your spirit

We cannot let our flesh rule. We cannot let our own human ideas and emotions run away with us. In each and every situation we must depend on God the Father to lead us through the Son and the Spirit. I first thoughts should be, “what does God’s word say about that? And Holy Spirit, what does the Father want me to do?” When our own emotions run rampant, we need to “take them captive” and let the Spirit and the Word guide us and shape us.

d.) Obedience is first time, every time, with a happy heart

Try to obey your spirit right away, the first time ever time. Don’t procrastinate on doing what you know you need to do. Take action. This is how you keep a sensitive spirit, and practice walking in the spirit. Your spirit within you knows… you know what you should and shouldn’t be doing. (Assuming you are a follower of Christ) When we drag our feet and ignore the Spirit/spirit we just create bad habits that drain us of life and hinder our journey with the Lord.

I love you guys, and hope these are practical tools for you. Try them out today! - JDP