Walking With God & Filled With His Holy Spirit

‘He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?’ ~ Mic 6:8

We have now received the message of the Kingdom and Jesus with a joyful obedient heart and in faith, repentance, and baptism into Christ; we are now true Disciples of Jesus! Praise God!

What does God now require of us as his Disciples? How shall we now live this life in a manner that is pleasing and acceptable to God? What assistance does God offer us as we seek to walk in this new way?

1.1 Love God, Walk With God & Walk In All His Ways

Micah 6:8 ~ He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

God beautifully summarizes his requirements for you as a disciple.
Do justly, meaning always act according to truth and never be biased in your actions or beliefs. Love mercy, meaning do not be judgmental and looking to condemn but look to forgive and help others.
Lastly, simply walk with God. This is key to everything. The life of a disciple should not be a list of do’s and don’ts but rather it is to be a life of walking with God and the do’s and don’ts are taken care of naturally as a result of this tight communion and fellowship with him.

Deuteronomy 10:12 ~ And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

God wants you to fear him and make him the center of your entire life. Love him with your entire heart!
Seek out what pleases the Lord, then walk in all these ways, and serve him fervently with all your time, talents, and resources!

Joshua 22:5 ~ Take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Love God with all your heart and do not disregard any of his commands or ways. Walk in all of them and keep all his commandments.
Tightly grab hold of God with all your heart by faith. Constantly commune and fellowship with him and refuse to let go!

1.2 Be Baptized And Remain Filled With The Holy Spirit

God has a special gift for all his Disciples who love him and want to live wholehearted powerful lives for him and his Kingdom. This gift is The Baptism of The Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:11 ~ I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.

John prophesied that although he baptized people with water, there was another baptism that God had for his disciples. This was to be the baptism of the Holy Spirit with fire.

Luke 24:49 ~ And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Jesus told his disciples that God his father had promised a special baptism of the Spirit. This baptism would result in them being given a great Power from God in heaven!
They were to diligently seek and wait for this baptism of the Holy Spirit and power before they set out to make disciples and convert the world.

John 14:15-17 ~ If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Jesus revealed that this special gift was promised to all those who already loved him and were keeping his commandments. These only would receive the Holy Spirit from his Father.
This gift is called the Spirit of Truth and The Comforter. The spirit had dwelt with the disciples and influenced their conversion but would now be in This signified a much deeper more powerful relationship then they had previously experienced.

Acts 5:32 ~ We are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

This gift of the Holy Spirit is only for those who have obeyed the Gospel of God. It is something that those who are already disciples are to receive.

John 14:23 ~ Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Jesus says the gift is for those who already love Jesus and keep his commands.
He also reveals that this gift of the Holy Spirit was actually the full presence of God and Jesus Christ coming to live within a person!

Acts 15:8-9 ~ And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Although many look at the Spirit’s work as primarily for gifts and miraculous abilities, the main work of the Holy Spirit is actually to purify our hearts or to make us holy. This is why it is termed the Holy

Acts 4:31 ~ And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

The second great work of the Spirit in us is to make us powerful witnesses, able to speak God’s word with boldness and win people to Jesus and his Kingdom!
Note that these disciples had already experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit and that this was an additional filling. This teaches us that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a one-time event. Rather, this experience is available to us for repeated fillings at all times in our lives!
You can be filled and then become drained but God’s great gift and outpouring of his spirit is always available for another dose! This filling can happen over and over again in your life and in differing degrees according to your faith.

Ephesians 5:18 ~ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.

We are commanded not to simply settle for an initial filling of God’s Spirit but to always live a life that is full of the Holy Spirit.
Drunk with wine is not just referring to alcohol. The principle is that we are not to find our pleasure in things of the world [adrenaline rushes, gluttonous eating, sexual excess, etc.,] but rather we are to find great pleasure in walking with God and being fully filled his spirit.

1.3 How To Walk As Jesus Did Pleasing To God In All Things

We understand we are to walk with God, be filled with his Holy Spirit and walk in all his ways, but how do we practically walk in all God’s ways? How does the Spirit lead us to do this? Is there a list of rules to follow?

2 Corinthians 5:15 ~ He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

The foundation for how you live as a disciple is the core principle found in this verse. It is that Jesus died for you so that you would no longer live for your own personal desires or follow your own ambitions, but rather, would live solely for him and his purposes.
Therefore, we see that holiness is not about following a list of rules. As a disciple you are simply now motivated by love for Christ and desire to live for him because of the great sacrifice he made for you.

Romans 14:7-8 ~ For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

Disciples consider themselves 100% owned by Jesus. Therefore, they do not live for themselves, their careers, or even their families. They live first and foremost for the Lord.
Always check your actions by asking ‘is what I am doing for the Lord?’ If the answer is yes, then proceed. If it is not, then forsake it.

1 Peter 4:11 ~ If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

When you doing anything do it as though it is a work of God and do it with the ability God has given you.
In addition, whatever you do let your sole motivation be that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus!

1 Corinthians 10:31-33 ~ Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Whatever you do, even the most menial tasks such as eating and drinking, do everything with the intended outcome being that God would be glorified. Now you eat to nourish your body but why are you nourishing your body? Is it so that you can love the world with your body or is it so that you can use your body for Christ? If it is so you live for Christ then you are eating for the glory of God.
Therefore, when considering whether or not to partake or not partake in something ask yourself, ‘will God be glorified in this?’

Colossians 3:17 ~ And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

This is another great check. Anything that you do you should be able to say ‘I am doing this in the name of Jesus’.
Try running everything you are going to be involved with by this standard. Say to yourself ‘I am now … in the name of Jesus’. Does it sound good, sweet, and peaceful to the soul?

I John 2:6 ~ He that saith he abideth in him ought [to be in debt for] himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Lastly, John sums up nicely what we have learned by saying if we claim to be disciples of Jesus then we owe it to our master to walk just as he did. John shows us that our standard in this journey to please God is not in a rulebook but rather it is in the life of Jesus himself as revealed in the Scriptures.
Many are familiar with the popular bracelets or items that have the letters WWJD imprinted on them. These letters stand for ‘what would Jesus do?’ and imply that the wearer is always using WWJD as the standard for their actions. This is one of the few times the modern church got it right!
This is most biblical and when we want to know whether we should be doing something or not we can simply ask in the presence of God and his spirit ‘what do I think Jesus would do in this situation?’ When we believe we have the answer, then do accordingly and you will be walking as Jesus walked and fulfilling God’s requirements of you.

1.4 Be Led By The Holy Spirit & Not Our Mind Or Flesh

So we know now that we are walking according to godly principles such as WWJD but how do we actually determine what Jesus would do and how do we live like this?

Jeremiah 10:23 ~ O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

It is important that we realize that our own hearts can be deceptive. It is easy to walk in our own understanding and rationalize the things we want to do.
For this reason, we must rely upon God and his Holy Spirit to lead, guide us, and direct our reasoning as we seek to please him.

Romans 8:5-6 ~ For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

We can choose to be led either by our fleshly minds reasoning and desires or by the Spirit of God.
The warning is that being led by your fleshly mind will result in death and destruction and that only being led by the Spirit will result in life and peace!

Romans 8:13-14 ~ For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

These verses are written to disciples and are a solemn warning not to let the fleshly mind guide you and your life. The consequences for doing so are death and missing out on the Kingdom.
The way to gain eternal life is to put to death your fleshly mind with its desires and the way to do this is by the power of the Spirit of God.
It is only those who are thus led by God’s spirit that are truly counted as his children and will inherit the Kingdom.

Galatians 5:16 ~ This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

The bible teaches that if we want to experience freedom from fulfilling the desires of our flesh, then the key is to walk in the spirit.
In fact, you have here an absolute guarantee that it is impossible to be led by the spirit and to fulfill the lusts of the flesh at the same time. You are guaranteed 100% complete victory over the flesh if you will simply be led by God’s spirit.

Galatians 5:22-25 ~ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

How do you exhibit goodness, kindness, love, joy, peace, self-control etc.? The Scriptures teach that these are all fruits of being led by the Spirit of God.
We do not just decide to have all these character traits but rather we who truly belong to Christ, crucify our flesh and its lusts by faith and live a new life led by the Spirit. When we do this, these traits become the natural fruits of this new life.

1.5 Live A Continual Holy Life In The Power Of God’s Spirit

Lastly, as a disciple, find all that you need in the power of God’s Spirit.

Titus 2:11-12 ~ For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.

Many define God’s grace as simply unmerited favor. It is this, but it is also much more. It is God’s great spiritual power to help you!
God’s grace is our Divine Teacher. It teaches us how to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and desires.
It is by living in this divine grace and power of the Holy Spirit that we stay pure and blameless and live righteous godly lives while we wait for the second coming of Jesus.

2 Peter 1:3 ~ His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.

In fact, everything that we need in life and to live godly lives is made available to us directly by God’s Divine Power!
Live in this Divine Power by faith and you are promised to have everything you will ever need!

2 Peter 1:5-7&10-11 ~ Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Peter continues his first chapter in revealing that the fruit of walking in the Divine Power will be a great increase in a multitude of virtues and holiness. If we have these fruits in our lives due to walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are promised that we will never fall!
Praise God, those who are standing firm in a life of holiness when Jesus returns, will be given a wide abundant entrance into his great Kingdom!