Living Life In The Holy Spirit (Part 2) - Nancy Wheatley

Last time, we looked at two aspects of being in the spirit: consciously engaging with and cooperating with the spirit in prayer and in the way that we see other people.
In this teaching, we carry forward that discussion and talk about practical helps in learning how to be aware and led by God’s Spirit.

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Full transcript generated by ai (please excuse errors):







​Hi, thanks for joining us. Today, this is going to be part two of a message that I began about a month ago called people of the Spirit. And it came out of a curiosity that I had about the biblical experience of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. And what happened in the early church as a result. And I've been just fascinated as I have spent time, just considering that it from some new angles and in some new ways. And so I'm just hoping to invite you along on a journey with me of discovery about that and of of considering it, and the implications that it has for us now today. So would you just pray with me? Thank you, Holy Spirit that you're here that you love to dwell among your people. Thank you, Holy Spirit that you are the same today. As you were over 2000 years ago, when the events that would forever change, human history occurred, the death and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the thing that he pointed to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the reunification of the people created in the image of God, with the Spirit of God. We are living still, in the stunning aftermath of that. And yet Holy Spirit in so many ways, we've lost the plot. We've lost the vision. And so I just bring you, Holy Spirit, this opportunity. We say Come Holy Spirit, you who are our teacher, you who are the one who leads us into all truth, would you strip off layers of familiarity? Would you strip off layers of disappointment and diminished expectation? And would you refresh our hearts and our minds, to see you and this human divine partnership that we have with you in brand new ways today, so that we are poised to go with you where you're going in this season of Earth's history? Come Holy Spirit, we are so dependent on you. In Jesus name, and for the sake of His glory we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, so we talked last time, just a quick refresher for those because it's been a little while. And maybe for those of you who didn't hear that first message, we talked last time about the fact that the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Holy Spirit, was massively significant to Jesus. If you read through his his discourse, in John, chapters 12, through 17, the last evening he spent with his disciples, the coming of the Holy Spirit was a main theme of that conversation that he had with them. It was the thing he pointed to beyond his own death and resurrection, that was going to carry forward the work of the Kingdom of God. That was it. We also talked about what happened when the Spirit of God was poured out, that being people of the Spirit became the distinctive among the people of God. Yes, they were followers of Christ. But according to Paul, what distinguished them as followers of Christ was not that they said that, but that they actually had the Holy Spirit. He said, the ones who do not have the Spirit of God, they don't belong to Christ. So being people of the spirit was the distinctive among the people of God. And those early Christians got to discover day after day, with no roadmap, no handbook, just all of a sudden this experience what happened when the kingdom have God rested on and more than that resided within a group of people? What gifts did he make available that hadn't been there before? What changed in them, and in their gatherings as the third person of the Trinity dwelt among them, He came as helper, but also as Lord. And they quickly discovered that he was not to be trifled with learning to cooperate with him. As he carried forward, the work of Jesus became the main task of the church. So then we considered some aspects of what it means for us to be people of the Spirit today, since the Holy Spirit has not changed, and the mission of the people of God has not changed, it makes sense that our cooperation with him would look very much as it did in the early church. What should we expect to find when the Holy Spirit dwells within and rests upon a group of people, well, anointed evangelism, where people come to a saving knowledge of Christ, not by our human reasoning, but by the power of God. power in prayer, Earth Shaking power in prayer, boldness to stand against the kingdoms of this world, without fear of persecution, or even fear of death, supernatural gifts that build up the church, other worldly love, unity and generosity, and an intimacy with the Godhead through the agency of the Spirit living within us. And so last time, we looked at two aspects of what it means to be in the spirit, consciously engaging with and Cooperating with the Spirit in prayer. And then also in the way that we see other people, I'm not going to go into that today, feel free to go back and find that I'm pretty sure it's on the teaching library, to listen to more in depth about that. But today, I want to carry forward that discussion of being in the Spirit, and also talk about some practical helps, that can assist us in learning how to be people who are aware of yielded to, and led by the Spirit of God. We'll see how much we have time for today. Because as I was writing, I was realizing this might yet again be more than one message. So we'll see there may be a part three. But I mentioned last time, that my own early introduction to the Holy Spirit left just honestly a lot to be desired. In the churches that I was part of, he was presented as sort of this mystery, who we know from Scripture lives inside us, and has some sort of mostly unnoticeable influence. But we could just trust that he was in there doing his thing. And what that thing was, was not readily apparent sometimes. But we could trust that he was doing it. And that was honestly like this sense of, Well, yeah, we have the Holy Spirit. And we know he were sealed for the day of redemption by the Holy Spirit. And other than that, it's just kind of all a big mystery. Now, in this spiritual family, that is not the case, we have a much greater familiarity with the Spirit of God, and how to cooperate with the Spirit of God, in this spiritual family for which I am so so grateful. And as I said, last time, I feel as though that is part of what we have as a spiritual family, to impart to other people who may be where I was going, this Holy Spirit, what, what am I to do with that? Exactly? How does that help me, you know, as a Christian, because I find myself still pretty much doing the same things that I used to do, and not knowing you know anything more about God, other than what I see in Scripture. And, you know, there's just sort of this lack of power, for transformation for for, you know, demonstrating the kingdom of God, there's in much of the church, and that's not supposed to be the way it is. Amen. And so that's why I want us to really consider then, what is it? How do we do what we do? And how can we share that with someone else so that they can do it too. Okay. So let's consider how the early church saw the Holy Spirit we have to start there for Jesus, in this cooperative, redemptive effort of the Trinity, right, all three members of the Godhead are involved in our salvation one way or another. For the church to have the Holy Spirit was much better than for us to have him in bodily form. That's what he said. Because if the church had the Holy Spirit, then they all had the very spirit of Jesus live thing within them. And that meant that his life force on the Earth would be exponentially multiplied. Instead of the Spirit of Jesus just being in one person in him. The very spirit of Jesus would be an every person who was a follower of Jesus. Multiplication, here comes heavens invasion force. Okay? Now Paul has lots to say about the Holy Spirit in his letters. And I'd like to focus on one picture that he paints for the early church, that should give us a little bit better understanding of how the Holy Spirit was received by the early church. So in First Corinthians three, in a discussion about divisions in the church, Paul makes this very startling statement in verse 16. Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst? Now in in chapter three, every you there is plural, he's talking to the corporate church. Now for a Jew to refer to God's temple would have meant one thing, and only one thing. God's temple was an impressive building in Jerusalem, the most holy piece of geography for any Jew, that was the place where the manifest presence of God dwelt. It was a sacred space that every Jew knew was the place where heaven and earth met. That was the intersection of heaven and earth. This was serious stuff. Everybody knew that the Holy of Holies was nothing to tamper with, or take lightly. You didn't approach the temple without a sacrifice. And only Jews meeting certain criteria could even enter the inner courts. And then only certain priests could enter the holy place. Most Jews would never lay eyes on that. And then only one man could enter the holiest place, and then only with great fear and trembling because of the unspeakable holiness, of the presence that dwelt their sin attempting to enter that place would be obliterated. And yet, here's Paul, a devout rabbi, telling a bunch of Gentiles that they collectively are now the temple of God. God's Spirit, that manifest presence of God, that dwelt between the cherubim now dwells in the midst of these people. He's no longer confined to a geologic, geographical location, the veil had been torn. The electrifying sin destroying power of God had left the building. And they the gathered people of God, were now the place where heaven and earth meet. what's the implication? For Paul, that meant that there should be tremendous reverence in the way they treat the gathered Body of Christ. Paul's point here is that the divisions and factions that were threatening to divide the church are an affront against the holiness of the manifest presence of God among them, and that they should approach the gathering their gatherings with the same kind of reverence, and holy fear that they would have felt if visiting the buildin building in Jerusalem when the Shekinah glory was there. Now later, in the same letter, Paul presses the point even further. And in First Corinthians six, verses 19 and 20. And this time, it's in a discussion of sexual morale immorality, he uses the same stunning language, but this time, it's not to the gathered believers, it's to individual believers, that he addresses the words, do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God, you are not your own. You were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. So not only is the gathered Church, the resting place of the the Spirit of God, the temple of God, but now, every individual believer is sacred space, the place where heaven and earth meet each person, not just their spirit, but their body is now a place that hosts the very presence of the living God. And because of this reality, what they do with their bodies, matters, to join their bodies to a prostitute is to put to feign the sacred resting place of the Spirit of God. Now this was the reality that the early church was exploring. And I don't know about you, but I that to me when I consider that, that brings a sense of awe. The very resting place of the Spirit of God is among us when we gather together. It is among us in the relationships that we hold dear when we are not gathered in one place. There is a supernatural element to our our corporate relationships as the Church of God, but also that each one of us has within us the Holy of Holies. Essentially, we are the resting place of the Spirit of God, what does that look like? So we should feel inappropriate, or when we consider this astonishing reality, we are now the hosts of the Spirit of the Living God, He lives within our mortal bodies. This is what much of the New Testament was written to speak to this new reality of the presence of the Holy Spirit in all who follow Christ, individually and corporately. What should that look like? How do we cooperate with that what happens when we don't? The Holy Spirit is the central figure in the book of Acts. In every one of Paul's epistles, the Holy Spirit is lifted up as the power given by God to bring Christ's kingdom reign and rule through surrendered lives. In Hebrews the Holy Spirit is the teacher who reveals mysteries and leads into all truth. James doesn't name the Holy Spirit, but he clearly describes the wisdom from above, which echoes the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians, five, in contrast to the worldly wisdom, that bears a lot of resemblance to Paul's list in Galatians, five of the works of the flesh. Peter points to the Holy Spirit is the power behind preaching and prophecy. And although John does not mention the spirit by name in his epistles, he clearly points to the supernatural love among the people of God, that Paul calls the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And John also points to the righteousness available to us, as we yield to the Holy Spirit who enables us to walk in the light as He is in the light. Jude tells us that building ourselves up in our most holy faith, and praying in the Spirit, are the ways to posture ourselves to walk in victory in the last days, I think we should pay attention to that, amen. And John's whole vision and revelation came to him and to us, because John was in the spirit, on the Lord's day, available for the Spirit to give him messages for the church, and to show him things that were to come. So the whole New Testament presumes the presence, the power, and the activity of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the church. He was present and active in their gatherings moving among them, and to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. There isn't any teaching in the New Testament, on how to conjure up the Spirit's presence among them. Because they didn't have to. He was already there. Instead, what we see is teaching on how not to mess it up. Now, isn't that interesting, because I don't know about you, but a lot of church services that I've been to over the years, there's a lot of like, trying to get the Holy Spirit to come. Well, that we should pay attention to that, don't you think? So, the message that I see of the of the new church, the early church is, your sin has been forgiven. The promised Holy Spirit has been poured out. You are now one spirit with Jesus, a new creation. Here are some do's and don'ts for living in that supernatural state. If we read the New Testament through those eyes, we will see it everywhere. So if we want to be people of the Spirit, who are filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit, anointed with the Spirit, who live by the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit, there is so much we can learn by looking to the early churches example. There is some helpful information on how not to do it. So let me give you a few of those in Ephesians four verses 17 through 32. Paul is explaining to the church that carnal living grieves the spirit. This is good information for us. The Holy Spirit is at home, in certain environments, those in which the nature of God is honored and practiced. So Paul explains that lying, anger that's allowed to become bitterness, stealing, unwholesome talk, bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice are all attitudes and actions, that grieve the Spirit, they create an inhospitable atmosphere that the spirit does not like to dwell in. Paul also gives us a glimpse of the atmosphere that honors and welcomes the spirit, speaking truthfully to one another, working so that we have something to contribute to the common good, in other words, seeking to be a blessing to others, instead of seeking to take from them speech that builds others up according to their needs. kindness, compassion, and forgiveness that mirrors the way God in Christ has forgiven us. In other words, forgiving one another completely, graciously, without reservation, with hope. And before they even think, to repent. When we engage in these behaviors, we prepare a landing place for the spirit, where he loves to dwell and release his power. Now, Paul also tells us in Galatians, five, that the spirit and the flesh are at war with one another, and that if we're indulging the flesh, we're rejecting the spirit. So what does that look like? Well, he gives a list sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. He explains that these things exclude us from the kingdom, or the reign and rule of God. In Ezekiel eight through 11, it was unrepentant idolatry that resulted in the glory of God leaving the temple. He doesn't leave in anger, he leaves in sadness, waiting, he he left and then wait it, went a little further and then waited, went a little further and then waited in each case waiting for the people of God to repent so that he could return. Nothing has changed. The Spirit of God will not compete with idols, if we choose them, he will let us but then we have them and not him. So Paul tells us that not only do we live by the Spirit, in other words, we're born again by the regenerating work the spirit, but that we're also to walk by the Spirit in step with the Spirit and empowered by His work in us. The Spirit is given to us to continue and extend the victory of the cross over sin. He has given to us so that we can live out of the nature of God, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self control. God now lives in us and his nature is available to us. If instead we choose to partner with the nature, nature of the devil, in the works of the flesh that I just named, then we are choosing to forfeit the life giving spirit and his work in our lives. We still have agency, we still have choice. Yes, the Holy Spirit dwells in us, but he is never forcing his way on us. That is not the way of God. We still have the dignity of freewill, and he waits for us to choose him. So let's talk about application. The Spirit wants to dwell in us. He wants for the fullness of His presence and power to dwell in us. And He will show us anything that is hindering our union with Him. If we ask Him. If we ask him, Search me, O God, and know my heart. Show me if there's any wayward way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. The psalmist says, We can still do that today. If we feel that our lives are lacking the power and presence of the Holy Spirit then, my goodness, ask him why. Our role in that as we asked Him He will show us is to recognize those things that are grieving his spirit. And then we do what is the only thing to do with sin. We crucify them. We crucify them. We recognize this thing is dishonouring to Christ, it is preventing me from the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I hate it, I don't want it, I choose to crucify it. And then we yield because the power to live righteous is not in us. It never was. The power to live righteous is in the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. And as we get rid of the idols as we get rid of the works of the flesh, as we get rid of indulging the flesh, that power of God to help us to live from the nature of God is fully available to us. And we can rely on him to do His work in us. So we need to remember that He indwells us to extend Jesus victory over sin. Whenever we repent of sin, He is present to make the nature of righteousness available to us. It's a divine human partnership, and we have a role to play. What else grieves the spirit. In Romans eight, five to 17, Paul explains that there's an important role we play in where we set our minds. If we set our minds on the things of the flesh, some translations say the things the flesh desires, then we're living according to the flesh, and we're shutting out the spirit. If on the other hand, we set our minds on the things of the Spirit, then the spirits influence brings life and peace. Okay, so what might that look like? Well, it doesn't mean that we can't think about earthly things. God isn't saying don't pay the bills, or do laundry or go to a job. earthly things are not the same as fleshly things, okay? Paul gives us a clue in verse seven, when he says, the mind governed by the governed by the flesh, is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. So the thoughts we choose to give airtime to in our minds have substance, they take up space, and they determine our experience. Those things that we just listed from Galatians, five that are the outcome of the flesh. Well, when we set our minds on those things, they're what we get. our thought life is the result of millions of micro choices, day after day, if we will yield our thoughts to our union with the Spirit of God, He will fill our thoughts with life and peace, He will guide us, he'll comfort us, he'll teach us He'll lift us up to see from his viewpoint, he'll share his desires with us. And he'll empower us to walk them out. So what might that look like? It's a constant turning, it's a constant decision for that micro choice to turn toward him and not toward our flesh. Holy Spirit, thank you that you're here. Thank you that you are giving me the very thoughts of God to think with you. I want to think your thoughts with you. So I turn from these futile thoughts of the flesh. They're hostile to God, tell me what you're thinking. I can remember one time when I was it, when we lived in Pennsylvania, I was out in my yard weeding so many weeds. And so it was a long job. And as I'm weeding, I suddenly became aware of the babble of thoughts in my head. And they were just unpleasant. It was this rant rant rant rant, right? And such and such, and so and so and Right. Right, right. And as I became aware of that, I just went, Oh, that was that those are the thoughts of the flesh, like unredeemed carnality, there is nothing redemptive in those thoughts. And in that moment, like I just sent to the Holy Spirit saying, we have a choice here. I went, you're absolutely right, Holy Spirit, what are you thinking about? Because I need you to bring me up higher so that I can give my mental attention to something more worthy. And immediately he was there and immediately he did, but it was a choice on my part. What are you thinking about Holy Spirit? Now in that, what are you thinking about Holy Spirit, there is so much fun to explore there, because the Holy Spirit is brilliant. And he knows everything. He knows everything. And so there is not a single subject under the sun, that we can't ask him to teach us more about. I'm sure most of you know the story of George Washington Carver and the delightful little conversation that he wrote about in his autobiography, where he was like, Lord, teach me the mysteries of nature. And the Lord answered him and said, Oh, that's far too big a subject for your humble little mind. And he's like, Okay, well then teach Mita you know, when he went down and down and down until he finally said, Okay, Lord, teach me the mysteries of the peanut. And the Lord said, That is a question that I think you can wrap your humble little mind around, I will be happy to teach you the mysteries of the peanut do this. And so when he gave him the instructions, do this, like take it into the laboratory and divided into fats and whatever's that he began to discover the incredible power that God had placed in the humble peanut. And like our whole society is different. Because of that, you know, unless you have an allergy, I guarantee that in the past week, you've eaten something with peanuts, or peanut oil in it. And that's because of that exploration that George Washington Carver did with the Holy Spirit of God who knows everything there is to know about the creation of God. So it's not just, you know, the Holy Spirit telling us where we're wrong. It's the Holy Spirit going, there's an entire world of beauty to explore Come with me. I want to show you the mysteries. They're hidden for you Come. Okay. In First Thessalonians five, Paul uses one other word that's instructive in his how not to interact with the Holy Spirit. In the middle of some very practical instructions to the church, he tells them not to quench the Spirit. And he follows this by saying not to despise prophecies, but to test everything and to hold fast, what is good. So apparently, another way we can exclude ourselves from the life in the Spirit, is by sensing his movements, his desires, and then squashing them. In this case, it seems that the Thessalonian church was repressing the gift of prophecy, maybe because there'd been some words, given that were not from the spirit that happens. It's part of the learning curve of being people with a spirit. But Paul's response is that you don't shut down the spirit because of that. A mature church is able to consider the words that are given under the counsel of the Holy Spirit and discern what is good. Okay, so this is really important to consider, we can quench the Spirit, not only by ignoring his leadings within ourselves, in other words, the Holy Spirit tells us to do something, and we say, No, thank you very much. We've all done that, at one time or another, where the Holy Spirit leads us to say something, or pray something, or give something or do something, and we just don't do it. That's quenching the spirit. But we can also quench the Spirit by ignoring his expression through others. Right, that's what he was saying was don't despise prophecies, not just your own but other people's, there is an honoring of the gift of God in one another, that allows the spirit to flow freely in our midst. So interesting to consider that it is that humility, and honoring of one another. That is an again, it's just a big clue for us how to set an atmosphere that the Holy Spirit loves to dwell in. So a few months ago, the Lord had led me to spend significant time considering humility. And I did a few teachings on that, that I think are in the teaching library. The Lord has been showing that there's such an important tie in with that teaching in this one, because it takes humility to be people of the Spirit. Because we are acknowledging another. We he is a person we now share space with. And our lives as people of the Spirit are a process of learning to yield to that person. We submit our thoughts, our opinions, our courses of action to another, yielding our wills to him. We are choosing not to do the things that grieve or quench him, even if there are things that part of us very much wants to do. And we are choosing to do the things he wants to do even when part of us really doesn't want to do it. When my kids were little, and they'd have friends over. There was sometimes a struggle, because my kids wanted to play one thing, but their guest wanted to play something else. And so I would intervene and help my kids to understand that when you are the host, being a good host means that you find out what your guest wants to do, and you do that. That's being a good host. We have consented to be perpetual hosts of the living spirit of God and therefore what he wants to do. That's what we do. It takes humility to be used by the Spirit to see ourselves as small, hosting a mighty God when people want to move in power in ministry, and they struggle to do it. Usually it's because of one of two things, either sin or lies operating in their life. So that there's something blocking them from realizing from either being used by the Spirit or wanting to be used by the Spirit. Or they're trying to do it in their own power. They think somehow it's in them to heal the sick or to give a word of prophecy, or you know, whatever it might be. No, that's why it's humility. Because in when we come to it with humility, we realize it's not in us at all. It never was. We are small, but we are the containers for a mighty God, who still wants to do all the things he's always done. Amen. So Paul talks about having a treasurer in clay pots, amen. I'm just a clay pot. That's what I bring to this role. That is exactly all the sum total of what I bring, I'm a, I'm a cleansed clay pot like that, you know, it's, it's my job to make sure that as much as possible, there's not filth in inhibiting the operation of the Spirit of God. But if there is not, if I you know, have repented of sin, and as much as it's possible for me, I'm walking, you know, not with any known sin in my life, then I am a vessel for the Holy Spirit of God, and He can do anything that he does through me. That's, that's what we see in the New Testament, right? And so, we are consenting to be inhabited by another who comes as Jesus did, both as servant, and as Lord. He comes to enable us to fulfill the purposes of God. Which begs the question, is that what we want? Do we want to fulfill the purposes of God, if our intent is to fulfill the purposes of God, if we are ready to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus, then Holy Spirit is here for it, bringing all of his power, all of his wisdom and all of his heavenly resources to bear. If that isn't what we want, then his presence is without much effect in our lives. Not that we're not sealed with him for redemption. I'm not saying it's a salvation issue. I'm just saying that we will miss out on what it means to be people of the Spirit. Now, Holy Spirit has an agenda. And if we are ready to serve that agenda, then we will experience all of the flow of being people of the Spirit, we are to remember, we're not our own, we are bought at a price, we are no longer to live for ourselves, but for him who died for us. And that is what the Holy Spirit is here to empower. So the very first and most important part of learning to live in the spirit, getting our hearts right, and our spirits resonating with the Holy Spirit's agenda. That's it. That's so much of it. There are lots of spiritual disciplines that we can do. And I think I will talk just briefly touch on a few of those today. But I think a lot of that's for part three. But if we will just get our hearts right, and our spirits resonating with the Holy Spirit's agenda, then that's going to clear up a whole lot of misconception about the power of the Holy Spirit that's available to us. We cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit by recognizing and crucifying the works of the flesh, yielding to the spirit, as he makes us more like Jesus, and extending Jesus reign through us. Everything else, the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit, the supernatural manifestations, everything the Spirit is given to the church to accomplish in bringing the kingdom of God that will culminate in Christ's return flows from that place of humility, and yielding. So, can we make ourselves more available for that? tune our ears and hearts to hear him better? Absolutely, we can. And this is what the people of God have been doing through spiritual disciplines, or practices for two millennia now. There is a personal yielding, that we can do as we engage in spiritual practices, to tune our ears and our hearts more to the Holy Spirit of God. But there is also a corporate yielding, that we can practice that enables us as a group as a gathering to be more yielded to the Holy Spirit of God. Just two examples of that is the Quakers have that's always been their, their way of gathering. They gather in silence, and they wait on the Holy Spirit. And then when someone gets a word, or a song, word of prophecy, they stand up and they give that and there's just this flow of the Holy Spirit among them. That's the way that it worked in the early days of the Azusa Street Revival, is that there was not you know, William Seymour was the kind of de facto leader, but he was was so yielded to the Holy Spirit that they would gather and they would wait, they would tarry, waiting, recognizing that the Holy Spirit was an actual presence among them, and that he had something for them that day. And that he was going to distribute that among the people gathered as they were yielded and receptive and willing for that. And so he would do exactly that. And it's, I love the story, I don't remember exactly how he did it. But anytime someone would stand up and try to give something that was, it was off, you could tell it wasn't that flow of the Holy Spirit, it was something that was coming from their flesh. I don't remember whether he stomped or like pounded something on the floor. But that was how William receiver would respond to that he didn't even say anything, he would just go. And everybody there would go, Yeah, that wasn't the spirit. And that person would just be quiet. And then they would wait. On the Holy Spirit. Again, there is a qualitative difference in something that is coming from the Spirit, and the and the Holy Spirit will confirm it to all those listening, and they will begin to flow with him. That's what happens on our prayer calls. That's what happens in our prayer gatherings, is that as we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, and as we come without an agenda, he gives something to someone in a prayer to this one, and a scripture to this one and a song to this one. And eventually, we see that he's orchestrating this according to the purposes of God. Okay, I'm just going to touch on a couple of disciplines. And then I'm going to leave that for another time. There been there's been so much wonderful material written on the spiritual practices or spiritual disciplines over the years. And I love to talk about those things, and I will dive into them in more depth in another teaching. But for now, I just want to mention that Dallas Willard, in his lovely book, it's called the spirit of the disciplines. He breaks the disciplines, that spiritual disciplines into things we choose not to do. Those are disciplines of abstinence, and things we choose to do. Those are disciplines of engagement. And so things that we choose not to do, like fasting, silence, solitude, frugality, chastity, secrecy, and sacrifice. When we intentionally enter into that place of forgoing something that we normally do, that helps us to become more aware of where our flesh is rearing its ugly head and getting in the way of our life in the Spirit. And that allows us as we record, recognize that then to crucify it, and to yield to the spirit, the things we choose to do, or the disciplines of engagement, are positive practices that then serve to open us up to more of the spirits life in us. And so just a few of those would be worship, and study, celebration, service, prayer, fellowship, confession submission. If we will do those things with the intentional purpose of communion and yielding to the Holy Spirit, they'll all be fruitful, I, we can probably all testify to the fact that you can fast and have it do absolutely nothing except make you really hungry. That's unpleasant. I don't like unfruitful fasting. No, that's just not for me. If we will do the discipline, saying Holy Spirit, I want to see more of the flesh crucified in my life. And I want more of your presence, more of your power more of your voice in my life. And if we'll do the disciplines from that angle, they will be fruitful in our lives. Okay. Two quick ones that I want to mention. A few months ago, maybe last year, I did a teaching on the spiritual discipline of noticing. And I have personally found that really helpful in paying attention to the work of the Spirit in my life. When we are employing the spiritual discipline of noticing we're noticing the effect that things have on us, both positive and negative. Because if my intention is to be conscious of the spirit, yielded to the spirit, walking in His power, like they're there that feels like something, and I can begin to notice, when do I notice that more? What are the activities that I take part in where I sense that more and what are the things that I do that make that sense? Go away? What a great thing to just pay attention to the effect that things have on us. So here's just one example of one of the things that I really love in my worship time is to burn either a candle or some incense, and to put on certain music. Well, I noticed really quickly as I was doing that, there are some there's some music that just, Oh, nope, spirits gone. I don't know what just happened there. But he's not here anymore. I'm not. Now that might not be the same for everybody. But for me, there are certain types of music that put me into that place of being able to receive from the spirit. And there are certain things that just shut it out for me immediately. When I'm not necessarily in corporate worship, although that too sometimes, but just when I am alone, and I'm wanting to receive from the spirit, incense, things like that. No, I don't think and you all can correct me if you think I'm wrong, because there's, there's, I don't have a big stake in this. But I personally do not think that when you burn candle or incense, the Holy Spirit goes, Oh, incense. I love that stuff. Let me go see what's going on over there where the incense is, I don't think that's how it works. I think that what happens is that when we burn incense, or a candle or something, or put on certain music, that it draws our hearts, and our attention to the presence of the Spirit. And so our hearts then open to him, and we create a landing place for the dove. It cues our senses, hey, we're going to pay attention to the spirit now. So we talked about the importance of setting our minds. So it's important to notice, what is the effect of my current way of thinking about something rather, like when I think in a certain way, about certain events, or people or something? What is the effect of that on me? Is it life and peace? Or is it a downward spiral of self? Notice the effect that your thought life has on your interaction with the Spirit? Is that the effect of that empowerment for godly action? So here's why I think that's so powerful, what you notice, you can do something about so get curious. Notice the effect of watching certain shows or participating in certain conversations, where's the Holy Spirit? Is he at home in that activity? Is he at home in that thought process, if we will cherish his presence. And notice what makes it harder or easier, easier to be consciously in communion with Him, then that allows us to consciously cooperate with that. One of the things that has been so powerfully floating through our spiritual family lately, it's just the power of Sabbath and, and the impact of nature. I know for me, being out in nature, is one of those things that allows me to easily be consciously in the presence of the Spirit. There. It's just this immediate sense of okay, the beauty is there. It's cueing my senses in to pay attention to the spirit, the work of the Lord, the handiwork of the Lord is all around me. It's so easy to hear from the Lord. In nature. There's a an overlap with that in the teaching that Lucy and Riley had been doing about Sabbath. As we find rest for our souls and connection with God in nature. Those things also create space in our lives for the Spirit to fill. Okay, that's all I'm gonna do for today. I've got, as I said, you know, plenty more about disciplines that can help. But I think that's enough for now. And so I look forward to anything that you all have to share about just things that you have found that help you to cooperate with being the temple of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for joining us today. Aaron ova is raising up spiritual leaders in many nations through our spiritual enrichment events, syndicated NetCast international prayer Council network, and numerous international seminary scholarships. Together, we are lighting the fires of revival, fueling prayer movements and raising up friends of Jesus in the nations. We invite you to partner with us in this extraordinary movement. You can sign up as a prayer and financial partner today by going to air nova.org and clicking give. 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