Parkview Training Podcast

As we continue to talk about our DWD our definition of a whole disciple, we're gonna talk in the category of live Jesus. And one of those subcategories is pursue the spirit’s leading prayerfully. I I love this one. Scripture has a lot to say about it, and I wanna share some scriptures with you that I think are significant. The psalmist in the 143rd Psalms says, teach me to do your will for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on level ground. There's just a prayer there of, I, I need your leadership. Romans eight. I'm gonna read more here than, than some of the other texts, but I think it's so good cuz it's leading us up to it. It starts out with those wonderful words. There's now, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death for God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do by sending his son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous right, the requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.
For those who live according to the flesh, set their mind on things of the flesh. But those who live according to the spirit, set their minds on things of the spirit. For to set your mind on the flesh is death, but to set your mind on the spirit is life and peace for the mind that is set on flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. In fact, fact, the spirit of God dwells in you. What a thought. The psalmist also writes, make me know your ways. Oh Lord, teach me your paths. Lead me in your truths and teach me for you are the God of my salvation for you I wait all the day long. the words of Jesus in the gospel of John chapter 14, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I've said to you. in the 16th chapter He writes, when the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into truth and he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak and he will declare to you things that are to come.
I know it's one everybody knows, but I couldn't help but throw it in here in Proverbs three, five and six, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding. in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. Another one that maybe you wouldn't have thought of in this Matthew chapter seven, verse seven, ask, and it will be given you seek and you will find knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks, receives, and the one who seeks fines and is the one who knocks, it will be opened. or which one of you, if his son asks for bread, we'll give him a stone. Or if he asks for a fish, we give him a serpent. If then you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?
All right, so why that passage? Let's go back to what it would mean just in plain language to pursue the spirit's leading prayerfully. I think simply put the, the Christian is committed to prayerfully seeking the guidance and instruction of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Practically, it, it is continually surrendering each day to the Lord and asking that he would take over or take control of our lives. And, and it's based on a recognition that our life is not our own. We've been bought with a price. And, and when we think about how the Lord did that through Christ and, and that that giving of himself to us and then that he would give us the spirit to indwell us. How amazing, if we have a, the spirit of the living God indwelling us and we're not then prayerfully asking that spirit to take control. That's crazy.
It's like having a relationship that there's no communication. Why, why would we not want to seek the power and the guidance that the Spirit offers? And what God gives us, he gives to us appropriately. It's right. That's why I shared that Matthew seven passage to ask, to seek to knock and and we have a, a father who gives to us, well, who, whose spirit will, will answer our questions, will guide us and give us what we need. So a good diagnostic question then would be, what does health look like in this area of discipleship? If you're healthy, what does it mean to pursue the spirits leading prayerfully? I think one of the great evidences of this would be peace. There's a comforting surrender that comes with this discipline.
It's that acknowledgement that, that God has taken up residence in me. You know, in our day and age, we come to appreciate gps, right? We don't pull out those paper maps. I remember my father used to take 'em out, he'd highlight routes and he would time it all out. But we, we just turn on a device and it tells us, turn here, turn there. And it used to be in, in, in the early days, if if a GPS was wrong, you'd pass it. All of a sudden it would say, recalculating. They had to redo it. And, and, and if you've ever been on a GPS path where it led you astray, it was frustrating, right? And you, because it was not where you were going, was not there. Think of the Holy Spirit as, as sort of a life GPS within us. It's, and, and he's never wrong.
He, he, he never has to recalculate. He, he, maybe when we go against what he leads, we follow the flesh and not the spirit, then he's gotta help us find a way back. But his instruction is never wrong. So why would we not seek it and ask for it? If you wanted to grow in this area, A practice that I might embrace to get established would be one that I actually took it personally from, from an old Newsboy song. And, and the phrase was, I want to say a prayer before my feet hit the ground. Lord, I give this day to you and they'd sing, breathe in, breathe out. And, and honestly, that song comes to my mind many mornings, if not most mornings. And, and I, I just find myself singing in my head. But it, it follows with a prayer that says, today is your day. Spirit of the living God guide me. Help me not to say things I shouldn't say. Give me truth to speak. Give me eyes to see what you want me to see this day is yours. I'm your servant. You empower me to do what you want to do. And even the breathe in and breathe out. I love that idea of just, one of my prayers is just, just as I, even as I breathe this Lord, empty me of me. Fill me with you. Empty me of me. Fill me with you. And that speaks of the, you know, John passage from John the Baptist. He must increase, I must decrease. And that, that's that same mindset. Lord, I I just need to try to get my own ways, my flesh out of the way so that you can take control and lead me so it's empty me of me.
Fill me with you if you want to grow in this area a resource I think Paul Miller writes some great books on prayer and a praying life is a great one. Why Pray by John Devrees. It's a 40 different, 40 day reading on prayer is really good. Pray big by Alistair Beg. He, he's always, always good. Never disappoints. Just ask by JD Greer. There's others. If you wanna help others grow in the area, I think another church or another book by Paul Miller is a praying church. I think what I would say to this, if you're going to be making disciples in this, you have to, you have to live it first. And I would say live it out and it will be noticed when your life is surrendered to Christ, where you're prayerfully saying, God, lead me today. Show me what to do. Help me to run from the things that tempt me and to run to, to the spirit. Galatians 5 says we're either surrendered to ourself or to our sinful nature, or we're surrendered to the spirit. And its spirit, just take control, lead me and guide me and when the spirit is in control of a life, people notice and people will want to follow if they seek to do that as well.