 Okay. Good morning everybody. Welcome to BC214, our course on developing the human spirit. Thank you for joining the class. Hope all of you are doing good. Let's take a moment to pray and we'll get started. Get somebody to pray with the class, please. Lord, we thank you for this time. Lord, we humble ourselves before your presence. Pray your God as you continue to learn from your word today. You minister to us and help us to understand the mysteries of your word, God, and we will be able to walk in the spirit more according to your spirit. Thank you for this time and Jesus. Amen. Thank you. Alright, so last week we talked about developing the five faculties, or we kind of concluded that part, the five faculties of the spirit. That means we said our spirit can hear, see, feel, and also taste and touch, taste and smell in the spirit and what spiritual faculties. And so the encouragement for us is to continue to develop this, keep pressing in to sharpen our ability in all of these areas. And it's a journey. I'm still working on it, keep praying and keep pressing in to see here and sense God or feel God even more so that we can be led in the things of God, in the spirit. So that's one aspect. And then what we said last week was in order to do that, we continue with the seven practices that we had outlined in the very beginning. Those are very basic practices, but that's what we continue. If you want to think of it, you can think about our physical training. If we continue with that physical training and just intensify it, what's the difference between somebody who is a professional athlete and somebody who jogs a little bit every morning? So think about a person who gets up and he goes for, maybe he runs for one kilometer every morning. And think about an athlete who is training for the Olympics or some high-level event. Both are running, but they're doing it at a different level. And so the athlete is at a higher level of achievement, and of course, this is what we're talking about in physical terms, is in a much higher level of achievement because he's pushed his training to that level. So also we push our spiritual training. Keep pushing it, keep pushing it. Nobody is going to go from getting up in the morning, running for one kilometer to coming to the world champion, getting to that level overnight. It doesn't happen overnight, but it's a slow progressive training that we do in our spirit and slowly we're getting better and better and better. And as we keep pushing that training in the spirit, in the spiritual things, we get sharper and sharper, stronger and stronger. So the seven practices that we outlined earlier and which we reviewed last week, we just keep doing the same things, but we keep doing it at a greater intensity and keep developing ourselves in the spirit so that our spirit, our spirit faculties can get sharper and in tune with God. And while we do that, one very important part of developing the human spirit, very important part, is learning to walk. I'm just using a biblical term, which is learning to walk in the spirit. That's what we want to do in this lesson today. So just look at two main passages in scripture that teach us about walking in the spirit. That means I as a believer, my spirit has to walk in the spirit, in the Holy Spirit, sort of walk in the spirit. This is so important for us to live in the spirit and to be led by the spirit. So we want to deal with this. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 5 and also we will look at Ecclesians 5. These are our two scripture texts for today. Ecclesians 5, first we're going to look at Ephesians 5 and then we come to Ecclesians 5. So Ephesians 5 was 15-21. We will look at that first. Somebody could read that for us. Ephesians 5, 15-21, please. Ephesians chapter 5 was 15-21. So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these abilities. Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don't be drunk wine, because that will ruin your life. You will ruin the whole spirit. Sing songs and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves and making music to the Lord. And thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the summit on another Buddhist reference for Christ. Thank you. So notice as Paul is giving the believer instruction how to live life. Walk wisely or 16, you know, take control of your time, because there are so many evil things going on. 17 unbiased you with God is giving instructions to us as believers how to live, and that instruction verse 18, let's don't be drunk, don't live in drunkenness, but instead be filled with the spirit, so contrast, contrast, a man who is drunk versus a believer who is filled with the spirit. So there is similarity, there is difference, the similarity is a man who is drunk, he is under the influence of the alcohol, a believer is filled with his spirit, he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the difference is a person who is drunk, he is kind of lost control, he is given up his control, a believer who is filled with the spirit, he is still in control, meaning it's not like the Holy Spirit overrides all our faculties and you know, we become robots, no, we are still living our lives, but we have brought all our, every part of us under the influence of the Holy Spirit, so that's, you know, we'll talk more about that, about being filled with the spirit, but right here in verses 19 to 21, he tells us, look, this is the, this is what will happen when we are filled with the spirit, that when we, our spirit is under the influence, is under the governance, is under the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, this is what will happen, we'll be speaking to one another, in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, we will be singing and making melody in our heart to the Lord, so notice in verse 19 he's talking about to one another to the Lord, right, so us being filled with the spirit affect both these, to the Lord, to one another, right, so if I'm filled with the Holy Spirit, how I commune or communicate with the Lord and to one another is affected, so he says to one another we are singing Psalms and spiritual songs, it means, it doesn't mean like I'm always singing to everybody, obviously that's not the point, the point is we are releasing, our communication is edifying, our communication is what is building the other person up and also we are singing, making melody to the Lord, that means my commune with God, my communication with God is one of worship and adoration to the Lord, right, next verse verse 20, again verse 20 and 21 is continuing with to God and to one another, so really being filled with the spirit is affecting or can be is seen in how we relate to God to one another, so you see in verse 20 giving thanks always for all things to God, once again to God, that means our heart is filled with gratitude that full as to God, then verse 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God, so if you look at verses 19 to 21 actually it's very simple, he's saying this is the evidence that you are under the Holy Spirit, just look at how you're relating to God and to one another, that's it, to God he says singing and making melody in your heart and you're giving thanks always for all things to one another, you're speaking things that are edifying and you are in submission to one another, because we are walking humbly before one another and he says this is the evidence of being filled the spirit, being under the influence of the Holy Spirit, so really a spirit filled life is observed relationally, it is observed in how we relate to God and how we relate to one another, in our relationship to God, two things, we are singing, making melody, we are worshiping God and we're giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus, to one another, we are singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, which means we are edifying one another and we are submitting to one another, we're walking in humility towards one another, so this is the posture in which my spirit, my human spirit can be fully influenced by the Holy Spirit and that's what we are after, we want to be in a place where we are filled with the spirit meaning I'm fully under the influence of the Holy Spirit but Paul teach and Paul is teaching us, look if you put yourself in this place to God to one another, to God to people, then you are a person who is filled with the spirit, you can be filled with the spirit, the Holy Spirit can really influence, guide and direct to God, giving thanks, singing, making melody, to people, you speak psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, you're singing and blessing them, edifying them and you're walking in submission, so these are two things in our relationships that we have to always guard, if there's anything that's causing me not to be thankful to God or not to be able to worship God, I need to guard that, I need to keep it out of the way because that will disturb my ability to be in submission to the Holy Spirit, then I cannot walk into spirit, I cannot be led by the spirit and I cannot live in the spirit, that's in Galatians chapter 5, we'll come to it, so guard that part very carefully, always having a heart of thankfulness, always having a heart of worship, singing and making melody, God I thank you, God I worship you, God you are God, you are Lord, you are true, always keep that, so then we can be under the influence of the Holy Spirit, then relationally with one another, always, always seek to identify people, seek to identify people, so even if you know now as a pastor, there are quite a few occasions I have to correct people, now that's a tough thing to do, how do you, you know, you've got to tell them, hey guys, it's not easy, but if the goal is to identify, the goal is to bless, the goal is to make them better, you can even do that in a very edifying way, without destroying them, right, so you're doing it, you're singing, or you're bringing in Psalms and spiritual songs, you're doing it for them, and you just walk in submitting to one another in the fear of God, that means I'm walking in humility before others, I'm here to submit, serve them, so you may be a leader, but you're still serving the people, whatever capacity, you're still serving the people, and as we guard our relations to one another, Paul is saying, we are in this place where we are filled with Holy Spirit can care us, okay, so that's the posture we need to be, related to this we'll go to Galatians chapter 5, and I want to read another passage there, Galatians 5, we're gonna read verse 16 to 26, Galatians 5, 16 to 26, Paul once again here is talking about our spirit under the Holy Spirit, but very interesting, as we read this passage, I want us to look for three things, he talks about walk in the spirit, he talks about live in the spirit, he talks about being led by the spirit, in this passage, Galatians 5, 16 to 26, three things, he mentions all three, and I want us to look for this as we read this passage, could somebody please read this passage, Galatians 5, 16 to 26, please. I say then walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, for the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are the things that you wish, but if you are led by the spirit, you are not under law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jesses, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murderers, drunkenness, revelries, and the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in the time past, that those who practice extents will not inherit the kingdom of God, but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such there is no law, and those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit, let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Thank you. So, notice the phrases verse 16, he says, walk in the spirit, verse 18, led by the spirit, and verse 25, live in the spirit. So, walking in the spirit, being led by the spirit, living in the spirit, all connected, all connected. But what is the essence of what Paul is saying here? So, in this passage, he's telling us our problem, he says, look, our problem is the sinful desires of our body, or if you want to expand it, you could say the sinful desires of the body and the mind, this comes under that flesh. So, the flesh is standing in way of the spirit, that's in verse 17. The flesh is against the spirit, the spirit is against, meaning these are opposite, right? The flesh is actually a hindrance, it's standing in the way of the spirit. Now, you're not saying the body is a hindrance, we need the body to live and operate in this world, but we're talking about the flesh, which is the wrong sinful desires of the body and the mind, that's the flesh. It's standing in way of the spirit. So, we are talking about developing the human spirit. As we are developing the spirit, we are feeding on the word of God, we are praying, we are praying in tongues, we are communing with God, we are meditating in this world, we are, you know, in the spirit, we are doing wonderful things to develop and, you know, grow spiritually, to sharpen the faculties of our spirit. We are doing that very good, but there is this, almost like an obstruction here, it's the flesh. The flesh is coming in the way from us being that powerful people in the spirit. The flesh comes in the way. So Galatians 5 is what the Holy Spirit is telling us. This is how you have to deal with the flesh. So he says, look, we know what the works of the flesh are. It's basically the works of the flesh are all these wrong things. He lists them out. But how do we know that the flesh, the spirit is overcoming the flesh? Well, you're going to see these other things. Instead of the works of the flesh, you're going to see the fruit of the spirit. You're going to see the love and joy and peace and kindness and all those things are going to become evident when the spirit is overpowering the flesh. I also understand, I want to think through this, that in the Greek, there's only one word, numa, that is translated in three different ways. The word numa is translated sometimes as Holy Spirit. Sometimes it's translated as a human spirit. Sometimes it's translated as evil spirit. It's the same Greek word. So how would you understand? How would we understand? The word numa simply means wind, something that blows. So that word numa, wind or breath, sometimes it's translated as Holy Spirit or spirit with a capital S. Sometimes it's translated spirit, referring to the human spirit with a small S. Sometimes it's translated as evil spirit, spirit with a small S. So how do we know what spirit is talking about? It depends on the context. But Galatians 5 is interesting because was Paul writing the fruit of the small spirit or the fruit of the big spirit? The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, kindness. Which spirit was he referring to? Was he referring to Holy Spirit or was he referring to human spirit? Human spirit. So you will find people who take either one of the sides and that is fine because we know in the Greek it's the same word. And both are correct because the human spirit is empowered by the Holy Spirit to produce this fruit. It is coming through the human spirit. The human spirit by itself cannot produce love, joy, peace, kindness, makings. But these things are produced by the Holy Spirit in the human spirit as the human spirit is yielded to the spirit of God. Then we're able to walk in these things. And then we are able to put an end to the works of the flesh. That means the flesh which is an in hindrance is now subdued. It's kept under, it is literally moved out of the way so that the Holy Spirit through the human spirit can be fully expressed. But in doing that, so there is the crucifying of the flesh which Paul writes in Galatians 5 24. Those who are Christ have crucified the flesh, got to deal with the flesh. And then he also, these three things, walk in the spirit, be led by the spirit and live in the spirit. So in our dealing with the flesh, in our overpowering, in just bringing an end to the works of the flesh and letting the Holy Spirit produce these wonderful things of love, joy, peace and so on. Three things, walk in the spirit. We'll explain these, right? I'm just highlighting these three things. Walk in the spirit, be led by the spirit. Live in the spirit. Let's think about each of these three things. Walk, the word walk simply means I'm ordering, walking is you're taking steps, how you go about your life. You're walking in the spirit. The Holy Spirit is directing our day-to-day life. We are taking steps. You're walking in the spirit. So you can imagine the steps you're taking, the walking, the steps you're taking are under the guidance or direction of the Holy Spirit. So walk in the spirit. So in the day-to-day decisions and day-to-day things of life, you're at the Holy Spirit or stay under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit guide me. You're always thinking, Holy Spirit, what do you want me to do? Walking in the spirit as opposed to walking in the flesh. So in Romans 8, Paul contrasts this. A person who's walking in the flesh is yielding to the desires of the flesh. A person walking in the spirit is being impelled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is motivating him. On one side, the person in the flesh is being pulled by his flesh. On the other side, the person who's walking in the spirit is being moved by the spirit. The Holy Spirit is moving him, do like this. These are your words. These are your actions. You're walking in the spirit. So the Holy Spirit is governing your thought word and deed. You're walking in the spirit as opposed to walking in the flesh where the flesh is dictating your thought word and deed. How can you be in a place where the human spirit is under the influence of the Holy Spirit? Let my thought word and deed be guided by the Holy Spirit. Have its originate from the Spirit. Holy Spirit, what would you have me say, think and do? What should my thoughts be so that it's aligned to the Holy Spirit? You're walking in the spirit. Second, we are led by the Spirit. So this is a conscious leading by the Spirit. So we are asking God, asking the Holy Spirit for his guidance. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will tell us, even before we ask, saying, I want you to do this. I want you to go. So being led by the Spirit is yielding to the directives of the Spirit. You're asking him for his directions. Holy Spirit, you lead me. You guide me. What is the decision I'm supposed to make? Or sometimes they're going to tell us, go do this, go do that. You're being led by the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit. Then he says, let's also live in the Spirit. That means you can't trust it with living in the world versus living in the Spirit. If I'm living in the world, I'm letting the world dictate my actions and reactions. But now I'm supposed to be living in a different realm, although physically I am in the world. We are living in the Spirit. So that means I am being influenced by the Holy Spirit. He is my influence as opposed to the world being the influence. So just walk in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, live in the Spirit. Then what will happen? The flesh will be kept under and the Spirit can dominate. If we will truly live Spirit-filled lives, we'll be able to exercise the faculties of our Spirit more and more. And ultimately the life of Christ will be manifested. Who we are in the Spirit will be manifested in our everyday lives. So to practice this, I just mentioned three points in the notes and three simple points. How do we practice this, both what we saw in Ephesians 5? Which is we be in this place where our relationship with God and relationship with people is kept right, keep it safe, so that the Holy Spirit can have influence on us. And how do we make sure we walk, be led and live in the Spirit so that the flesh is kept under? So there are two things. Relations, flesh. Relationships, dealt with Ephesians 5, flesh being dealt in Galatians 5. Two things, deal with so that the Spirit, our human spirit can be in submission to the Holy Spirit. So practically I feel these three things are very important. Number one, we commune with the Holy Spirit. Commune, that means we're in constant communion with the Holy Spirit. You're very aware of his being with you all the time. Because that's what Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 13-14. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God our Heavenly Father, and the communion of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. That means we're constant fellowship with him. It's like he's your friend, he's with you all the time. So if you have a friend, for example, if you have a friend with you, and you're always talking, hey, would you like to go there? Hey, no, no, I don't feel like going, okay, don't. Would you like to go there? Yeah, let's go. Always, always together, fellowship, fellowship. So that's communion or communion with our Holy Spirit. Always staying in touch, in communion with him. And in this fellowship, he is the leader and the follower. That means, so that's the second point. We are staying yielded to the Holy Spirit. So it's not like I'm going to dictate things to him. No, he is leading, he is guiding. So we stay yielded to the Holy Spirit. And the third important thing I mentioned is to fast, to silence and subdue the flesh. So we can fast food, fast or give up certain food, or we can give up certain things in our lives. So fasting is comprehensive. That's also give up certain things, refrain from certain things in order to silence and subdue the flesh, put the flesh down. So that our fellowship with the Holy Spirit is kept strong and we can walk in the Spirit. We can be led by the Spirit and we can live in the Spirit. So that's the main thing I wanted to get across with us today as we talk about developing the Spirit, which is this aspect of our life in the Spirit. Our spirit, human spirit must be yielded to the Holy Spirit. Must be under the influence of this Holy Spirit for us to be able to really live out the life of Christ. And both these passages, Ephesians 5 and Galatians 5 show us how to do that. I'll quickly summarize it and we will see if there are any questions. Then we'll close. Ephesians 5 teaches us two important things. Two God, two people. Two God, always worship, always be thankful. Two people, always edify, always be in submission. Then what will happen? I will keep myself under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5 teaches us the problem is the flesh, but to keep the flesh down, you walk in the Spirit, you be led by the Spirit and you live in the Spirit. To walk in the Spirit means my thoughts, words and actions are under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. To be led by the Spirit means I am submitting to the directives of the Holy Spirit or I ask him for his directives. And to live in the Spirit means my influence is not the world, but the Holy Spirit. He influences me. I'm going to live out of that, out of the influence he puts on me. So we walk in the Spirit, you're led by the Spirit, you're living in the Spirit, the flesh is kept under. And then the Spirit, what God is doing in your Spirit can come forth and be a blessing to people. Practically, we are in constant communion with the Holy Spirit. We stay yielded to the Holy Spirit and we also fast. We refrain from things that would stir up the flesh, silence and subdue the flesh, keep the flesh down. That will help us keep the spirit, our spirit, in submission to the Holy Spirit. Any questions on this? You're following me, everyone? Is all clear? That's it. Alright, so next week we will get into the seven functions, seven functions of the Spirit. That means our human spirit will be here within our body and soul. What functions do is itself? Look at the seven functions. So then we know that this is what can come out of our spirit. We talk about that. Then the last lesson after that would be imparting and nurturing in the Spirit. That will be the closing lesson, which means we can receive imparting and nurturing and we can also give imparting and nurturing in the Spirit. So as we develop our spirit, one goal is to impart and nurture other people just like in the natural. When you grow up, you're not going to be a child forever. You're going to grow up and then you're going to nurture other people. So like that in the Spirit, that's the goal. So we can receive imparting and nurturing. That is good. We'll talk about that. But ultimately we want to be in a place where we are building other people up spiritually. That will be our last lesson. So two more lessons to go. We'll pick this up next week. Somebody please close this class in prayer. That's great. Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you under the name of Jesus. We thank you for this day. We thank you for the beautiful class that we had. Now we thank you for your Holy Spirit, Jesus. Thank you, God, that you chose to dwell in this Lord. God, I pray that as we learn today, Jesus, help us to walk in the Spirit. Help us to be met by the Spirit, Jesus. So that we can glorify Him so that the fruit of the Spirit will be revealed through our lives, Jesus. And God help us to fast and subdue the flesh. Help us to always stay in communion with you, Jesus. What's more than talking with you, what's more than spending our time with you, Jesus. God, I pray that we will understand that the Holy Spirit is our influence. We will not let anything else influence us in this life, but we will always come to you. But we will always listen to your word. But we will always surrender things into your feet and we will always listen to what you are doing in our life, Jesus. Let us always stay in communion with you. Let us always be led by the Spirit, Jesus. Let us put everything into practice that we learned so that we can live an amazing life for you and glorify your name above all else. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen, amen. Thank you, Rowan. See you again next week. God bless.