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think of what they mean. Just the little while I have been doing this, it has enriched my life so much!” : What will his life be at the end of >a year? Outward Control: Walking “After the Spirit” Let us now consider the Holy Spirit’s control as manifested outwardly. Walk after the Spirit—“that the righteous ness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” What does “walk” mean? It is our daily, living, our habitual conduct before the world, our life in the open. It is what we are, translated into what we do. Walk not after the flesh. There is a walk that befits each sphere. When we are on the former side of the Cross in the flesh, we cannot walk any other way but after the flesh. There is no other way to walk. But does it look reasonable and right and con sistent when we get on this salvation side of the Cross in a totally new posi tion, “ In the Spirit,” to be still walk ing after the flesh? Why did we take this new position, anyway? Why dis-, honor our Lord by coming to this side of the Cross and by so doing to tell people that we will walk differently, that we will walk as Christ walked, and then continue to walk as self dic tates and desires? Oh, if we just had some conception of what our manner of living means as we move in and out among men! They know that we publicly confessed Christ through bap tism, and that by baptism we were saying that we now belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we walk just the same as those who have not ac cepted Christ as Saviour. Oh, the dis honor we bring to our Lord! It is no wonder that they say, ‘Tf being a Christian means being what he or she is, I do not want to be a Christian!” Over and over again I hear that said. Could it be said of any of us today? Now how are. we to walk? “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Col. 2:6). You are in Him. That is y.our position. Then "walk ye in him.” “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked”». (1 John 2:6). Oh, what a standard!. God set it, friends. Are you and I willing to take it—to walk even as He walked? I believe He walked so that His very face, His manner, His habits, His companionships told people who He was. It should be so with you and with me. He walked according to the will of God, the Word of God, the (ways of God, when He was 'down here on earth. And that is what “walk after the Spirit” will mean in your life and mine. “Walk after the Spirit.” Let the Spirit take control, and a \Valk after
the Spirit will be a walk in which the convictions of the Spirit rule, not the opinions of other people. Walking in the Light of God’s Word A few months ago, I was in a Christian college in a southern city and four dear girls asked whether they could come to see me together. I surmised what they were going to ask about. One of them was spokes man, and she said, “Well, Miss Pax- son, we have just come to ask your opinion about dancing. We do not think it is wrong.” Notice that—they came to ask my opinion and gave me theirs, and that is usually the way we do with the Lord. We come and say, “Lord, show me if this is wrong. I do not think it is.” And we get out of His presence before He has a chance to tell us what He thinks, and we continue in the very practice that we questioned. I disarmed those four dear children by saying, “My opinion is not a bit better than yours about this.” Their eyes opened as wide as could be! I continued, “No, neither my opinion nor the opinion of any one else is any better than your opinion on this subject. But when you come right down to it, neither your opinion nor mine is worth anything. What mat ters is this: what does the Lord say about it? Now you girls told me you were Christians. As Christians you ought to be willing to go to God’s Word and to find out what He says, and then take His thought. Now are you willing to do that? It will not do a bit of good for us to talk to gether if you are not willing to do that, and I do not want to waste my time nor yours unless you are willing to open God’s. Word and find out what He thinks. Then if you are willing to be obedient, we can really accom plish something.” “We really do want to know, Miss Paxson,” one girl replied. I spent an hour or more with those four girls over the Word of God, study ing the teaching regarding worldli- ness, taking it point by point. When I said, “Now, will you accept this?” those dear children did, and gave up dancing, not because of my opinion, but because'of God’s Word. Are you and I willing to come to this Book regarding every, single thing in our lives that relates to our walk, to find out what God’s thought and will are, and what His Wore says? That is walking after the Spirit. A Hatter of Obedience The very heart of walking .after the Spirit is obedience. Are we willing for that Word to come into our lives? I do not think there is any word we squirm under, we evade, any word, we fight shy of in all of God’s Word, as we do that word “ obey.” "Any-
“Walk in the light" (1 John 1:9)
SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE ;■ f Continued from Page 369]
ever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil. 4:8). Glean your thinking. Take out the chaff and let only the wheat remain. If a thought comes into your mind like a fiery dart, you are not to blame, but you are to blame if it stays there a moment. If it is a thought that is untrue, put it out instantly. If it is dishonest, if it 'is impure, if it is not of good report, put it out. Do not let it stay a moment. Think on "these" pure and holy "things" of which Paul writes, and only these things. You and. I should cooperate with the Holy Spirit in this matter of the objective of our thinking. ' \ . ‘‘Mind the things of the Spirit." The Spirit will choose the object of our thoughts if we will let Him. The Holy Spirit will take that inward control over the mind, bend our mind toward Christ and heaven, will make and keep us spiritually minded—if we will let Him. He is there to take control inwardly over the mind. How will He do this?. He always Uses the same instrument. It is the Word! He will lead us to the study of the Book, so that He can carry our minds to Christ, can fix our minds on rChrist, can fill our minds with Christ and the’ things of Christ. And no person can be habitually spirit ually minded except as he is feeding upon Christ through the Word. It will mean we must dig deep and dwell deep in this Book so that “ in Christ” will become the home of our thoughts and aspirations, our motives and de sires. It means that in our leisure moments our mind will go back to Him and to this Book. Recently I was talking with a fac tory worker who had been a Christian only a year. He had been in a Bible . class for that length of time. As we talked together, he said, “ I have never studied the Bible, and I do not know much about it. But now in the morn ing before I go to work, I am taking time for study, and I take two or three verses to learn. When I get over to the factory, my work is automatic and I do not have to keep my mind on it; so as I am working with my hands. I repeat those verses and I
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