26 - THE HOLY SPIRIT AND YOU
July 11, 1973
Pastor Henry F. Kulp
Galatians 5: 16 Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
We read “walk in the Spirit”, and it should be “walk by the Spirit,” and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. But now the question comes up, how can we know when we are walking by the Spirit. What is the true test? This is the command of God. And God would certainly let us know when we are walking by the Spirit.
John 16: 12 - 14 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
John 7: 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
The Holy Spirit’s ministry is glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. So when you are walking by the Spirit you will glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. You will do it for Him. You will do it that He will be lifted up, that He will be exalted, that He will get the honor.
1/ You do have two natures, and it is important to understand this—the old nature and the new nature. And according to Galatians 5 they are constantly fighting, they are constantly in conflict.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. 7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? 8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. 9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. 11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offense of the cross ceased. 12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you. 13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
You have a civil war going on in your life. And this civill war is that when you walk by the Spirit, you will glorify Jesus Christ. But when you walk by the flesh, the old nature, you will glorify yourself. So the whole problem is, where are your eyes? Where is your mind? We told you that the mind is the most important part of you. Is your mind upon Jesus Christ, or is your mind upon self? For self is your biggest enemy.
2/ There is an Old Testament character who reveals much to us about keeping our eyes upon self. So let us look at Elijah for just a few minutes.
I Kings 19: 1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and with all how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
Remember that Elijah had had a great victory in the Lord over the prophets of Baal. Over Ahab and Jezebel, and Ahab returned and he came into the house and the first thing he did was tell his wife, Jezebal everything. Jezebel was the leader of the ecumenical religious system of Palestine of that day. And, of course, they worshipped Baal. She immediately took steps to get rid of Elijah, and she was a pretty smart woman. She had no idea of making a martyr out of the prophet, because that would spread the revival among Israel, however, she knew she must get rid of Elijah in some way, and that is exactly what she had in mind when she sent him a threatening note.
3/ I Kings 19: 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
Jezebel was referring to the prophets of Baal. The preachers whom she had been supporting with public funds for the past few years. Elijah had all these prophets slain.
I Kings 18: 40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
And now she wanted to scare him because he would run away, he would leave this area. Up to this time, Elijah had his eyes on the Lord, and as a result he had been used of the Lord. But now Jezebel gets him to put his eyes upon himself, and he fell right in with Jezebel’s plan.
4/ This is exactly what we are studying here. This is exactly what we have in mind. Getting our eyes off the Lord, and putting them on ourselves. This is a very dangerous thing to do.
5/ Vs. 3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
Elijah’s life suddenly became very important to him, he did a lot of running. The Scriptures tells us that he came to Beersheba which belonged to Judah. That is a distance of over 100 miles from the palace at Jezrael.
6/ Vs. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
One of the things that happens when we get our eyes on what is going on around us, we get our eyes on ourselves. Remember Elijah had been a spiritual giant at Mount Carmel, but now suddenly he feels very sorry for himself. It is the same old problem—I wish I were dead. Of course, people don’t mean it. How many times have you said, how many times have I said, I wish I were dead. We don’t mean it. It is just a means of being sorry for ourselves. It is an expression of our self-pity.
7/ Elijah had just ignored the grace of God. No one had ever said he was better than his fathers. Elijah had been used of the Lord, not because of who he was, or what he was, but because of the grace of God. He was not any one special. You could always count on it. When you get out of fellowship with the Lord and you get your eyes off the Lord, you are going to feel sorry for yourself, and you are going to have the wrong attitude toward yourself.
8/ You know, sooner or later, all who are saved, those who are believers in Jesus Christ reach the point where they are sitting under the juniper tree, so you and I can understand and even sympathize with Elijah, because we have all been in this same place, where everything looks terrible, everything has gone wrong, and no one loves us and the Lord can’t possibly use us.
9/ Vs. 5 As he lay and slept under the juniper tree, we are told that an angel touched him and said unto him, arise and eat.
Elijah didn’t earn, or deserve the right to have food, or anything else. He was out of fellowship with the Lord, but God in His grace always provides.
10/ Now we discover that the angel of Vs. 5 is the Lord Jesus Christ, The Angel of Jehovah. So the Lord came in his hour of difficulty, in his hour of trial.
11/ Vs. 6 - 8 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baking on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. 8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
This is very interesting passage. I haven’t the slightest idea what the food was, but I would like to have one meal like that every day. Apparently, it contained all the vitamins, all the minerals that were necessary, because after just this one meal, Elijah traveled 40 days.
12/ He was needy, he came to a cave and lodged there. The word, lodged, is a very interesting word. The Hebrew word for lodging. First of all, there is a word, GUR—it means TO LODGE SOMEWHERE AS A GUEST. The idea means to come and spend a short time and spend just that specified short time. This is what we would call a good guest. Then there is a second word, DUM—it means to lodge in the state of depression, you are upset. Then #3, DUR—it means to dwell in restlessness. This word was used in connection with any kind of caged animal. Then #4, JASHAB—it means to dwell in peace and happiness, blessing and prosperity. As I look at this word, I guess it is the word that should refer to every married couple. They should have this in their dwelling.
Then the next word is LUN it means to go to move into someplace with the idea of spending the night there and staying a long time. This is the word that is used here in our verse. Elijah moved into this cave just to get some rest for one night, but he stayed a long time. The cave was dark, and I imagine it was cold and clammy. So what happens? He again begins to feel sorry for himself. So he sat in there and sulked. Here is a great spiritual giant, who once had his eyes on the Lord, and now he is just a depressive, sulking child of God.
13/ The Lord Jesus Christ came to him again to teach him the lesson of spirituality. A lesson that we all should learn. It is easier for us, because we have the indwelling Holy Spirit. We have the Word of God, and so He says, Elijah, what are you doing here? That was a very good question. What was he doing there? Here was the spiritual leader of the great revival in Northern Israel, and Elijah was never meant to be a track star, a cross-country runner, but that is exactly what he had become a here we find him pouting in a cave.
14/ Vs. 10 The key to this verse is the first personal pronoun, I. The Lord Jesus Christ being God, knew that Elijah was jealous, or literally that means, zealous for the Lord. He also knew that the children of Israel were out of line, they weren’t the individuals they should be, but notice the emphasis—I, I, I, MY. The only things we can see—ELIJAH HAD HIS EYES ON HIMSELF. Every time we do this, we are in trouble.
15/ Now we have to see that the Lord is very gracious. How we should love the grace of God. He was not willing to give up one of HIs trained servants for Elijah had been trained by the Brook Cherish, and he had been trained in the house of the widow of Zarephath.
I Kings 17 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. 8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. 12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. 17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. 22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.
We must remember, he was falling apart. He was at the place of carnality. His eyes were only on himself, so why did the Lord do?
16/ Vs 11 The Lord said, Go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord, and the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and break in pieces the rocks before the Lord.
So Elijah stood there in front of the cave and watched this tremendous wind tear up the mountainside and destroy the rocks. Then there was an earthquake, but the important words are, The Lord was not in the wind, the Lord was not in the earthquake. What was the lesson? The Lord does not operate through the energy of the flesh, through human power. God operates through Divine power.
17/ Vs 12 But after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. It is well at this point that we stop and look at a principle that is in the Bible.
Proverbs 14:14 The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
The backslider in heart shall be satisfied with his own ways, and God is teaching Elijah that very thing. He has been satisfied with his own ways.
18/ Then we read of a still, small voice. The Hebrew word for still is the one employed in Psalms 107: 29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
The Lord addressed His servant not in an angry and austere manner, but in gentleness and in tenderness to show him grace. There was a lesson Elijah needed to know, and it is found in Zacheriah. 4: 6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
It is not my might, nor by my power, but My Spirit saith the Lord of hosts. Elijah needed this knowledge, and so do we.
19/ Elijah still didn’t learn his lesson, and he had to be set aside for several years until he woke up to the importance of the power of the Spirit. The control of the still, small voice. God can use any broken stick, but when He doesn’t, the greatest talents, ability, personality, eloquence, are absolutely useless in His work.
20/ We see this principle again in Ephesians 3: 16, 17 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, —
You will notice the principle here, the Holy Spirit controlling the inner man is the source of power. And he tells us it is you so that Christ may be at home in your heart. Heart, of course, means your mind. BEING AT HOME MEANS TO DWELL IN RELAXATION AND EASE.
It is possible to be in a house, to live there, and not to be at home there. I am sure all of you have experienced this at some time or another. This says in effect that the Holy Spirit, controlling the inner man results in Christ being at home in your life. This again is the principle of Proverbs 23: 7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
21/ Philippians 1: 20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
With all boldness is literally WITH ALL CONFIDENCE. In the last passage, Christ was to be at home in our hearts and our minds, now we have a little different phrase, CHRIST MAGNIFIED IN OUR BODY.
22/ Galatians 4: 19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, —
Paul is using the title, My little children to rebuke the Galatians. Occasionally, when adults start scraping, we tell them to stop acting like children, stop being childish. But with this phrase Paul immediately gains the attention of those folks in Asia Minor. They had been conducting themselves with a rather childish way by devouring and biting one another with words. They had been fighting among themselves, because they had been suckers for false doctrine. So Paul is using the term, my little children, as a rebuke, not as a term of affection.
Of whom I travel in birth again, can best be translated, I AM SWEATING YOU OUT.
Here is the phrase we need. Until Christ be formed in you. This again is the principle. Put your eyes on the Lord, not on yourself.
AMEN
Ref: 07/11/1973/ 26 - THE HOLY SPIRIT AND YOU / 2020
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