HOW TO WALK IN THE SPIRIT

By: Rick McFarland

Copyright 2018 ©

All rights reserved. This text cannot be reproduced in

any form or fashion without the express permission of
the author.

All scripture unless otherwise noted are taken

from the NKJV of the Bible. Used by permission.
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 Table of Contents

Introduction- My Story 4
Chapter 1- The Two Sides of Grace 9
Chapter 2- Spiritual or Carnal? 14
Chapter 3- A Bright Light Shining in a Dark Place 19
Chapter 4- Paul’ Struggle 25
Chapter 5- Two Laws 33
Chapter 6- It’s a Mindset 38
Chapter 7- Flip the Switch! 43
Chapter 8- Set Your Mind 49
Chapter 9- Killing the Rats 56
Chapter 10- The Downward Spiral 62
Chapter 11- The Law of Focus 70
Chapter 12- You need a 4:8! 77
Chapter 13- The Power of Beholding 82
Chapter 14- Let your Dagon be a By-gone 88
Chapter 15- Graze and Gaze 94
Chapter 16- Worship, Praise, and Thanksgiving 101
Chapter 17- Prayer 106
Chapter 18- What about Maturity? 111
Chapter 19- The Discipline of the Mind 118
Chapter 20- In Conclusion 122
Epilogue- 126

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4
 Introduction
My Story

My story is probably not much different than

yours. When I began my relationship with Christ I had
an assurance in my heart that I was forgiven of my past
sins and that I was going to heaven when I died. I asked
Christ to come into my life when I was twelve years old.
The church I attended did a good job of proclaiming the
gospel that Jesus Christ died for our sins so that we
would one day go to heaven. They did such a good job,
it was what they specialized in and preached on every
Sunday. Every sermon focused on what Christ did for
sinners which concluded with an invitation to give their
lives to Christ. Now, I do believe that an invitation to
receive Christ needs to be presented at each church
service, but those that have already believed also need
to hear the second part of the gospel message on how
to live the Christian life after they have believed. I
know some of you are saying, “I did not know there

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was a second part of the gospel”. Well, the second
part of the gospel involves how to live the Christian life
after you have received Christ. There is a gospel to
unbelievers. The gospel means good news. It is good
news to sinners. This message is, Jesus died for your
sins, and if you believe and receive what He did for you
personally, He will place you in right standing with
Himself, which ultimately will allow you to enter His
presence when you die. Again, this is the gospel,
however, it is only part of the gospel. It is good news
for the unbeliever. However, there is another part of
the gospel. It is good news for those who have
believed! Many Christians have heard the good news,
which led them to trust in Christ for the forgiveness of
their sins, but they have not heard any good news
since! Praise God there is a gospel to the believer. This
is what this book is all about. I want to proclaim, by the
grace of God, this great gospel to you - the believer,
which involves walking in the Spirit.
After I began my relationship with Christ, I
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strayed from Him when I discovered cars and girls at
the age of sixteen. I remember very vividly as a
teenager imagining what awaited me out “there” in
the forbidden things of life, much like the prodigal son
did which led him to leave his father for the far country
(Luke 15). Because I was not taught how to walk with
Christ I strayed from Him for five years. Praise God that
He did not let me stray longer! He got my attention
one night in a bar. Suddenly, I had the feeling that I did
not want to be there anymore. The next night I went
back but the same thing happened to me again! I
decided to go home and turned on the T.V. and heard
a preacher talking about giving your whole heart over
to God. I knew within myself that God was saying to
me that He wanted all my heart. I did not know if I
could give up some of my sins, but I was willing to allow
God to help me overcome them, so my heart would be
totally His. I decided to go back to church and see
where it would lead me. At the nearest church, I found
a college group and plugged in. They encouraged me
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to participate in a discipleship program that met at
6:00a.m. in the morning. I guess starting that early was
to develop discipline or to see how sincere we were! I
was taught what most Christians were taught. To live
a victorious Christian life, you needed to do certain
things. First you needed a quiet time with the Lord
every day. This really needed to be the first thing in the
morning and it did seem the earlier the better. Second,
you needed to get into the Bible and read it every day.
And third, attending church and staying in an
accountability group or meeting with an accountability
partner was a must. I could not argue with any of these
disciplines because they are all found in the Bible. It
was a surprise to me then that after doing all these
things I still struggled with certain sins in my life. I
found myself in a cycle - the more I tried to live up to
the standards I was taught to be victorious, the more I
fell short and sinned more than ever before. I
remember feeling disgusted at myself and crying to
God to help me get victory over my sin. I would be
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depressed for days until I decided that I did not try hard
enough, or I was not committed enough, and I would
try again. Of course, after a while I would fall again and
the whole process would start over. I came to realize
that this failure wasn’t due to me not trying hard
enough to get victory, but from trying to get victory in
the first place. This may sound strange, but hang on as
we look at the truth of the gospel that brings freedom
and liberation from misconceptions and sin patterns
that keep us in prison.
After years of living in defeat the Lord showed
me what my answer was - walking in the Spirit. I had
heard this phrase many times but did not really know
what it was, let alone how to do it! Thanks be to God
in his mercy He showed me both. This book entails
what God has shown me about walking in the Spirit. It
has transformed my life and I believe it will do the same
for you.

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 Chapter 1
The Two Sides of Grace

I have lived to see two major movements in the

body of Christ. I experienced the Word of Faith
movement in the eighties and now the current Grace
movement. These two movements complement one
another. Faith without grace becomes works and
grace without faith is fruitless. We need the balance of
grace and faith. I am glad that God has brought the
revelation of grace to the
body of Christ. Without it we
are left to our own works to
try to merit salvation and
blessing from God. This is
impossible because God only
accepts perfection. There has
only been one person who
has met this requirement,
and you are not the one!

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Jesus Christ is the One! He lived under God’s law and
completely fulfilled it in his perfect life and death. Our
vertical relationship with God is based upon the perfect
obedience of Jesus Christ, not our imperfect version of
obedience. Jesus is the reason for our blessing from
God, not our own works. I thank God that this message
is being preached in a growing degree in the body of
Christ. It is the basis for the Christian life. I call this
“cross grace”. This is the grace that comes by way of
the cross. Through the cross we have forgiveness of
our sins and justification vertically with God. However,
there is an aspect of grace that has not been taught
much at all. It is the horizontal aspect of grace. I call
this “resurrection grace”. There is grace that came to
us through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. We
received the new birth, the indwelling presence of the
Holy Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit through the
resurrection of Jesus. We could not have received any
of these if Jesus had not risen from the dead. Cross
grace governs our vertical relationship with the Father,
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however, resurrection grace governs our lives in this
world, in our relationships at home, work, and toward
all people. Resurrection grace is God’s power,
strength, and ability to live a supernatural life that one
could not live by their own strength. This resurrection
grace is given to us to be a
“We are
billboard for Jesus to called to live
everyone around us. a powerful
Walking in the Spirit has life energized
everything to do with by the Spirit
walking in this resurrection that will be a
grace. If we don’t walk in
testimony of
God in you to
the Spirit, we are still saved
all that you
but no one around us can
encounter”
tell! I think if a Christian only
understands cross grace then they will still live the
same way they did before they got saved but just not
feel as guilty about it! Jesus did not die and rise again
so we can live like we used to. We are called to live a
powerful life energized by the Spirit that will be a
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testimony of God in us to all that we encounter. This
outworking of the resurrection grace of the Lord is
what is referred to in the Bible as “walking in the
Spirit”. In this book we will look at what this means and
how to do it.

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 Questions for Discussion

1. What is the difference between cross grace and

resurrection grace?

2. If a believer does not understand resurrection

grace how will it impact their Christian life?

3. What connection is there between walking in

the Spirit and resurrection grace?

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 Chapter 2
Spiritual or Carnal

Before we look at what walking in the Spirit is, let’s

first look at what it means to be spiritual. What does it
mean to be spiritual? What does it mean to be carnal?
For years I thought that to be spiritual I must go
through a long process of maturing to get there.
However, I have discovered the Bible does not teach it
that way. Spirituality or carnality is not a process you
arrive at. Walking in the Spirit is intergral to being
spiritual.
Let’s look at the what the Bible says about being
spiritual or carnal.

“Walking in the Spirit is

integral to being spiritual”

1 Cor. 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as

to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in

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Christ.

Here we see that a Christian can either be spiritual

or carnal. A Christian is different than an unbeliever in
that a Christian has been made spiritually alive unto
God. The Holy Spirit is joined to a believer’s spirit. 1
Cor. 6:17 This enables the Christian to receive God’s
life and revelation.
“spirituality
and carnality However, a Christian

are not also has flesh. They can

processes, but either live from the
rather decisions Spirit within them or
on what source they can live from their
to live from – flesh. Being spiritual
the Spirit or the means that one is
flesh”
influenced by and walks
in the Spirit. Being carnal means that one is influenced
by and walks in the flesh.
We will look at what it means to walk in the Spirit
later, but for now I want you to see that spirituality and
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carnality are not long processes, but rather decisions
on what source to live from – the Spirit or the flesh. It
is important to note that an unbeliever is never
referred to in the New Testament as carnal.

1Co 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the
things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to
him; nor can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned.

Here we see that an unbeliever is called the

“natural man”. An unbeliever is spiritually dead and
does not possess the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 8:9) An
unbeliever is completely natural, living by his five
senses and his own resources. A Christian is hooked up
spiritually to God and can receive His empowerment.
A Christian is a superman or woman! However, it is also
true that a Christian can walk naturally and live
according to their flesh. Again, this means they are
carnal.
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 Now that we see that being spiritual or carnal is a
decision we make and not a process that we go
through, let’s look at the subject of walking in the Spirit
because it is the decision we must make to be spiritual.

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 Questions for Discussion

1. What does it mean to be carnal? What does it

mean to be spiritual?

2. Does it take a long time of maturing to become

spiritual? Why or why not?

3. According to this chapter what is an unbeliever

called?

4. Why is an unbeliever called the natural man

but a believer ruled by their flesh is called
carnal?

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 Chapter 3
A Bright Light Shining in a Dark Place

I don’t think anyone likes to be stuck in a dark

room. If you try to move around in a dark room you
are liable to trip or fall over something you did not see
in front of you. The answer to a dark room is simple –
turn on the light! The solution is simple but when it
comes to dealing with the spiritual darkness in our
lives, we seem to complicate things! If a person tried
to deal with natural darkness like many Christians try
to deal with the spiritual darkness of sin and addiction
in their lives, it would be a sad sight to behold. Can you
imagine someone sitting in a dark room and trying to
make it leave? Yelling at the darkness will not make it
leave. Praying and fasting to make the darkness leave
would only frustrate us with the lack of progress.
Trying to bind the darkness would fare no better.

“The answer to a dark room is

simple – turn on the light!”
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Trying to take authority over it in Jesus’ name would
also fail to solve the matter. Some might even try to
find out when and how the darkness started in hopes
of finding an answer to the darkness. All that is really
dumb, is it not? Well, it is equally dumb to try to deal
with spiritual darkness that way. The same way you
overcome a dark room is the same way you will
overcome the spiritual darkness of sin and addiction-
turn on the light!

Gal 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall
not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Here Paul offers a bright light that shines in the

darkness. The lust and sin of the flesh are spiritual
darkness. Walking in the Spirit is tantamount to
turning on the light. I don’t know about you, but I see
hope in this verse! If I will only walk in the Spirit, I will
not fulfill the lust of the flesh. There is our answer to
sin and the flesh! But…there is just one problem, Paul
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 did not tell us how to do
“Walking in it! It appears like Paul
the Spirit is
had taught the Galatians
tantamount to
how to walk in the Spirit
turning on the
light” when he was with them
before, and here he just
brings it up in his letter to them. I am sure they nodded
their heads in understanding on what he meant but it
leaves me scratching my head 2000 years later! It does
me no good knowing the answer to something if I don’t
know what that answer means or how to arrive at it.
There have been times in which I wish I could go find
Paul in heaven and grab him by his robe collars and say,
“Paul you told me to walk in the Spirit in Galatians, but
what in the world does that mean and how do I do it?
You did not leave me with that information!” I can
imagine Paul gently removing my hands from his robe
and quietly telling me, “Rick, I did tell you what walking
in the Spirit means and how to do it, but I didn’t tell you
in my letter to the Galatians. I did tell you however
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what it means and how do it in my letter to the
Romans.”
Romans is the first book written to the church. It
is the first of 21 epistles, or letters, written to the
church. God had Romans put first for a reason.
Romans is the foundational book for the church. In the
book of Romans, we see every major doctrine first
mentioned that reappears in subsequent books. This
is true concerning walking in the Spirit. The Law of First
Mention is foundational for bible interpretation. This
law means that to understand a word or subject in the
Bible, it is important to study how the word or subject
was first used.
The book of Romans first defines what it means to
walk in the Spirit and how to do it. This definition in
Romans is how we are to understand walking in the
Spirit in the book of Galatians and elsewhere.
We see the first mention of walking in the Spirit in
Romans chapter 8. We will need to examine Romans 8
to see what walking in the Spirit is, but first we need to
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look at Romans 7 or we will not properly understand
Romans 8.

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 Questions for Discussion

1. What are some ways the world or religion tries

to deal with the spiritual darkness of sin and
addiction? Are these methods found in the
New Testament letters written to the church?

2. What is the answer for darkness?

3. Where is walking in the Spirit first mentioned?

4. Why is it important to see the first instance of

where a word or phrase is used in the Bible
and how it is used?

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 Chapter 4
Paul’s Struggle

In Romans chapter 7, we see the testimony of Paul

as a young believer. He details his struggle against sin
and his flesh. If we will be honest we can relate to this
struggle because we either have had or are having the
very same experience. I am glad Paul left us his
personal testimony of struggle because in it he leaves
clues to what his problem was and to the answer he
found.
I want to look at the opening line of his testimony
and see something and then we can look at the rest of
his testimony.

Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I

am carnal, sold under sin.

I want you to see something in this verse. Paul

called the law spiritual. This means the law can only be

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fulfilled spiritually. However, Paul calls himself carnal
here. Please remember that only a Christian is called
carnal. An unbeliever is called the natural man. Paul’s
testimony in this chapter is an example of a carnal
believer trying to get victory over sin and their flesh. In
nine verses Paul lays out his testimony of carnality. In
these nine verses he leaves plenty of clues to what his
real problem is. When I teach on this section of
scripture I like for the audience to count how many
times he uses the word “I” as I read it. As you read
these nine verses please count how many times he
uses the word “I” and how many times he uses the
word “me” and “my”.

Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I

am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For what I am doing, I do not understand.
For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I
hate, that I do.
Rom 7:16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree
27
with the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin
that dwells in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh)
nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but
how to perform what is good I do not find.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do;
but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no
longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that evil is present with
me, the one who wills to do good.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God according to
the inward man.
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin which is in my
members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver
me from this body of death?
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 Did you count them? If
“What is a
you did, you will find that Paul navel-
uses the word “I” 24 times in gazer? It is
nine verses! He uses the words someone
“me” and “my” 10 additional who only
times. So, in total he uses 34 has their
personal pronouns in detailing eyes on
his personal struggle with sin
themselves”
and his flesh in just nine verses! He left us ample clues
to his problem! Paul had “I” disease! Paul had his eyes
on himself and was trying to find deliverance in himself
and by his own resources of will-power. Paul uses the
words “will[s]” seven times. Paul’s testimony here is
one of being a “navel-gazer”! What is a navel-gazer? It
is someone who only has their eyes on themselves. Sin
in the flesh is a spiritual power that can only be
defeated by a higher spiritual power. Trying to
overcome sin and the flesh by will-power or by fleshly
schemes is absolutely hopeless and very exasperating!
You can’t defeat the flesh with your flesh!
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 Paul finally came to the end of himself and cried
out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me
from this body of death?” This was one of the best
days Paul ever had even though he was at his lowest
point. This was the day he tried for the last time to free
himself and looked away from himself to another for
deliverance. He ran up the proverbial white flag.
Notice Paul did not ask, “How can I get free from this
body of death?” He instead asked, “WHO will deliver
me from this body of death?” He knew the answer was
to be found outside himself and it was in the hands of
another person, not himself.

“Paul turned from being a

navel-gazer to a Son-gazer! In
doing so he found his freedom!”

This is when Paul received the revelation that

changed his life! Paul turned from being a navel-gazer
to a Son-gazer! In doing so he found his freedom!
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What was Paul’s answer to his struggle? It was,
“thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” vs.
25.
I want you to notice how complicated Paul’s
testimony was. Whenever you read those nine verses
in Romans 7 of his struggle with sin you can’t help but
start smiling or laughing in the middle of it because it
becomes a real tongue-twister! You get tripped up
pretty quick! You will also notice that Paul seemed to
repeat himself frequently and seemed to be going
around in circles. That was on purpose folks! He
wanted to let us know that when we try to free
ourselves from sin and flesh through our own energy it
gets complicated really quick! You will also find out
that you end up going around and around the same
mountain again and again hoping to get a different
result! That is insanity folks! Living as a carnal
Christian is insane!
It was not until Paul took his eyes off himself and
set them on Jesus that he found freedom. Notice that
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in contrast to Paul’s complicated testimony in the
flesh, that his testimony of freedom was only nine
simple words! Really you could boil those down to one
word- JESUS! Paul got the revelation of what it meant
to walk in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit is all about
Jesus and not about us! Let’s look at Romans 8 and see
what Paul learned about walking in the Spirit.

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 Questions for Discussion

1. Was Paul’s testimony of defeat in Romans 7

given about him as a young believer or before
he knew Christ? What do you base your answer
on?

2. Why is the law impossible to keep by your

flesh?

3. What clues did Paul leave in his nine verse

testimony as to what his real problem was?

4. Have you or do you relate to Paul’s testimony

of struggle with sin?

5. What was the answer Paul found to his struggle

with sin? When did he discover the answer?

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 Chapter 5
Two Laws

In Romans 8, we find Paul’s answer to sin and the

flesh. It is our answer as well. The answer is going from
being a navel-gazer to a Son-gazer. It is walking in the
Spirit! The first thing Paul received victory over when
he took his eyes off himself and put them on Jesus was
condemnation!

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for

those who are in Christ Jesus.

“Condemnation is the pit

navel-gazers are destined to fall
into”

Condemnation is the pit navel-gazers are

destined to fall into. Condemnation and guilt are by-
products of navel-gazing. When you focus on yourself

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 and your failures you will
“You will
find freedom feel condemned. It is really

from self-condemnation, because

condemnation it does not come from God!
by looking You cannot move on into the
unto Jesus life of the Spirit and be
Christ, your under condemnation and
High Priest” guilt. You cannot live and
walk according to the Spirit and be a navel-gazer. It
only works if you are a Son-gazer! You will find
freedom from condemnation by looking unto Jesus
Christ your High Priest who is sitting at the right hand
of God interceding for you and unto the blood that
speaks better things than that of Abel. Heb. 12:24
The next verse shows us that there are two
competing laws that operate in every Christian.

Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you
free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

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 The first law mentioned in this verse is the law
of the Spirit of life. This law works in our reborn spirit
at all times. It is continually giving life to our spirit as a
Christian. However, there is another law at work in us.
It is the law of sin and death. This law operates in our
flesh. It is always at work to bring us into sin and death.
Both laws are wanting access to our soul, and our mind
in particular. Our mind is the determinate on which
law will have dominance over us.
Most Christians try to overcome the law of sin
and death by their will-power or fleshly schemes. Did
you know you can try to use biblical disciplines such as
prayer and other scriptural principles and they can end
up being fleshly schemes. You try to use them to free
yourself from sin, habits, and addictions. They were
not given for that purpose! They were given to receive
what Jesus did, not try to accomplish what Jesus
already did! The law of sin and death can’t be
overcome by will-power or fleshly schemes. It can only
be overcome by a higher law. Just as gravity can only
36
be overcome by the higher laws of thrust and lift, so
the law of sin and death can only be overcome by the
higher law of the Spirit of life. If that is true, then how
can we operate in this law of the Spirit of life? We can
by walking in the Spirit! Before you grab me by my
lapels in frustration like I wanted to do to Paul, we are
ready now to see what it means to walk in the Spirit, so
relax!

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 Questions for Discussion

1. What was the first thing Paul got free from

when he took his eyes off of himself and got
them on Jesus? Why do you think this was?

2. What two laws operate in every Christian?

Where do these two laws operate?

3. What are these two laws wanting access to?

4. How do most Christians try to overcome the

law of sin and death in their flesh? Does this
work? Why or why not?

38
 Chapter 6
It is a Mind-Set!

Where is the first mention of walking in the Spirit

in the New Testament? It is found in Romans 8:4.

Rom 8:4 in order that the righteous requirement of

the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

“The fulfillment of the law is

something that happens in us and
through us, not by us and by our
own effort”

Here we see that the righteous requirement of

the law will be fulfilled IN US, who walk according to
the Spirit. Notice Paul says, “in us” not “by us”. The
fulfillment of the law is something that happens in us
and through us, not by us and by our own effort. So,

39
the Law of First Mention says that how something is
used the first time it is mentioned will be the standard
of how it is used afterward in the Scripture. We find in
the next couple of verses that Paul explains what it
means to walk according to or in the Spirit.

Rom 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set
their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who
live according to the Spirit set their minds on the
things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the
mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.

These two verses give us the Scriptural

foundation for what it means to walk or live in the
Spirit or in the flesh. This definition is the standard by
which we should understand it’s use later in the New
Testament. This would include when it is used in the
book of Galatians. Again, this is based upon the Law of
First Mention that governs Bible interpretation.
40
 Walking in the Spirit is equivalent to “walking
according to the Spirit” and “living according to the
Spirit”. It is three ways of saying the same thing. We
see in verse 5 that to live according to the Spirit means
that one sets their mind on the things of the Spirit. To
live according to the flesh is to set one’s mind on the
things of the flesh. According to the Scriptural
definition then, walking in the Spirit is based upon a
MIND-SET! This is what it means to be spiritual.
Someone who is spiritual sets their mind on the things
of the Spirit. Someone who is carnal sets their mind on
the things of the flesh. Spirituality and carnality are
both a MIND-SET.
Many people who try to define walking in the
Spirit use Galatians 5:16 as their jumping off point, but
this is not wise because it does not provide a sufficient
foundation to do so. You are left with defining walking
in the Spirit yourself and not allowing the Bible to do
that for you. When you try to define things instead of
letting the Bible do it you are bound to get off into the
41
weeds! So, taking the scriptural definition of walking
in the Spirit found in Romans 8:4-6, let’s plug that into
Galatians 5:16. You can safely translate Galatians 5:16
this way:

Gal. 5:16 If you set your mind on the things of the

Spirit, you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

“According to the
Scriptural definition
then, walking in the
Spirit is based upon a
MIND-SET!”

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 Questions for Discussion

1. According to Romans 8:4-6 what does walking in

the Spirit mean and how do you do it?

2. According to Romans 8:5-6 what is walking in

the Spirit based upon?

3. Understanding what walking in the Spirit is, how

is this good news for someone who has been
carnal?

4. What will happen if you don’t let the Bible define

biblical words, phrases, or principles?

5. Why is using Galatians 5:16 to define what

walking in the Spirit is not wise?

6. What does it means to set your mind on the

things of the Spirit? What are the things of the
Spirit?

43
 Chapter 7
Flip the switch!

As we have seen that walking in the Spirit means

that you set your mind on the things of the Spirit. It is
not a long drawn out process of growth you must attain
to do it. Walking in the Spirit does not mean to walk
around with your eyes rolled back in your head hearing
heavenly voices! No, it means to set your mind on the
things of the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit and being
spiritual is not a process, but a decision you make on
setting your mind on the things of the Spirit. This is
good news folks! This means that if you have been
carnal you can change in a split second by changing
your mind-set! You can go from setting your mind on
the things of the flesh to setting your mind on the
things of the Spirit in a snap. However, as with most
good news there is also some bad news! The bad news
is that you can switch from being spiritual and walking
in the Spirit to being carnal in a moment as well.

44
 What does it mean to set your mind on the things
of the Spirit? It means that you set your mind and
focus on the spirit realm and what is true there. There
is more to existence than just the physical world we
see. Everything we see in the natural comes from the
spirit realm. There is another realm more real and

“You unchanging as this one! It is called

can’t the spirit realm. Jesus is seated in
know heavenly places next to God the
what is Father. This is true in the spirit
true in the realm. This is good place to set our
spirit minds on! Anything that is true of
realm by
our reborn spirit is the “things in
you five
the Spirit”. The law of the Spirit of
physical
life in Christ Jesus is in the spirit
senses”
realm. It is operating in your
reborn spirit right now. You can’t know what is true in
the spirit realm by your five physical senses. You must
receive revelation of what is in the spirit realm from
the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
45
 It is comforting to know that the law of the Spirit of
life is working in my spirit, but I need it to work in my
soul and body giving me freedom from the law of sin
and death that operates in my flesh. How do you get
that law to flow into your soul and body? You just need
to flip the spiritual light switch that controls the flow of
the law of the Spirit of life. What is that switch? The
switch is your MIND! Whenever you are a navel-gazer
looking down and your eyes are on yourself or just on
the natural realm this switch is turned off. When you
look up you become a Son-gazer, and you set your
mind on the things of the Spirit. When we do this the
switch turns on and the Law of the Spirit of life will flow
into your soul and body. It is a law that will work
whenever you cooperate with it. If you look back at
any time in your Christian experience that you were
flooded with life and peace your mind was set on the
things of the Spirit. There are no exceptions.

Isa 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose

46
mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

Here we see this spiritual

“You can’t
keep your law. God will keep us in perfect

mind peace if our mind is stayed on

stayed on Him. Where is God? He is a
Him and spirit and He is in the spirit
have your realm. You can’t keep your
mind set mind stayed on Him and have
on the your mind set on the natural or
natural or
on yourself at the same time!
on yourself
The Hebrew in the verse says
at the same
time!” that if your mind is stayed upon
the Lord you will experience -
“shalom shalom”. It is repeated twice. The translators
did not know how to translate it so they chose, “perfect
peace”. Shalom is an all-encompassing word of
wholeness and peace. It is similar to the New
Testament word for saved, which is the Greek word
sozo.
47
 Let’s see how this process works when you are at
church. If you go to a good church, you really get into
the worship time. Your focus in completely on Jesus.
You are filled with life, peace and joy. When the Word
comes forth and Christ-centered messages are
preached you are pumped! You walk away from
church full of life and peace. Why? It I because during
that whole hour or so your mind as been completely
set upon the things of the Spirit. However, you walk in
the foyer and sister Bucket-mouth meets you and says
something that does not bless you, or brother Flip-a-lip
has something negative to say to you. Also, the
problems you had going into the service are still there
waiting for you when you get out and your mind goes
back onto them. You quickly lose that life, peace, and
joy. Why? It was because your mind moved from the
things of the Spirit to the things of the flesh. You
flipped off the switch to the law of the Spirit of life.

48
 Questions for Discussion

1. What is the switch that causes the law of the

Spirit of life to flow into your soul and body?

2. What do you think “perfect peace” means

practically in your life?

3. Why do many people find themselves

experiencing life and peace in church more
often than out of church?

49
 Chapter 8
Set your Mind

It is crucial where we set our mind. We have

been conditioned our whole life to have a mind set on
the natural realm. It will take a while to develop a new
paradigm of spiritual thinking. However, it is more
than half the battle knowing how to walk in the Spirit
and operate in the law of the Spirit of life. It greatly
helps when you know what walking in the Spirit is and
how to do it. Let’s look at a passage that talks about
walking in the Spirit but does not use that particular
phrase.

Col 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those
things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the
right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things
on the earth.

50
 Here in the book of Colossians, Paul tells us to
seek those things which are above. He is not talking
about physical things here. We are not to go on our
roof and look for the things up there! He is talking
spiritually. We are to see those things above in the
spirit realm. Paul goes on to say, “Set your mind of the
things above.” Do you remember what Romans 8:5
said? Paul told us there that those who live according
to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
Paul is saying the same thing here in Colossians. We
are to set our minds on the things of the Spirit, not
natural things like our flesh or our circumstances.

Col 3:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ
in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you
also will appear with Him in glory.

In verse 4 we see that Christ is our life. He is seated

in Heaven, but He is vitally connected to our spirit by
51
His Spirit. There is an invisible connection between us
and the glorified Lord Jesus in heaven by the Spirit.
When we set our mind [our switch] on the risen Lord,
that law of life in Jesus flows into our soul and body.
We experience life and peace. This is so simple most
Christians miss it. They make it much more
complicated than it is. That always happens when we
try to serve God by our flesh. If we move on to verse
five in this chapter we see something Paul tells us to
do, but it is important to take this verse in context or
you will miss how we are to do it.

“There is an invisible connection

between us and the glorified
Lord Jesus in heaven by the
Spirit”

Col 3:5 Therefore put to death your members which

are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion,
evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

52
 Paul tells us to put to death your members which
are on the earth. Many Christian hear this and attempt
to kill themselves! They try by their will-power to kill
the fornication and evil desires that lurk within their
flesh. In doing so they end up with the same testimony
Paul had in Romans 7. It just seems as if we can’t pull
this off. God never intended for us
to pull this off! I want you to see a “How are
pivotal word in verse 5. The verse we going
starts off with the word
to put to
death our
“Therefore”. When you see this
members
word you need to ask yourself why
which are
is it there for? It is a connective on earth?
word from the verses that precede It is by
it. Actually, the way we are to put setting
to death our members on the your
earth is by doing what He told us minds on
to do in verses 1-4. How are we
things
above”
going to put to death our members
which are on earth? It is by setting our mind on things
53
above. When we do this the Spirit will put to death our
members which are on the earth. Let’s look at a verse
in Romans that shows us this.

Rom 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will
die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of
the body, you will live.

In this verse we see how we are going to put to

death the members of our body, or here, the “deeds of
the body”. It is BY THE SPIRIT! Do you see that? It did
not merely say for you to put to death the deeds of the
body. It says by the Spirit you put to death the deeds
of your body. That is a huge difference! How does the
Spirit put them to death? It is when you set your mind
on the things of the Spirit, the Spirit will flow into your
soul and body and put them to death! The law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us free from the law of
sin and death!

54
 You might be thinking that this is just too easy!
It can’t be that easy! Beloved, salvation is simple.
When you accepted Jesus, you took your eyes off
yourself and put them fully on Him and the greatest
transformation took place - you went from sinner to
saint, from dead to alive. Why do you think the other
transformations you need would be any different or
more complicated? We make things complicated!
Now I want to talk to you about rats!

55
 Questions for Discussion

1. How do the verses in Romans 8:5-6

correlate with Colossians 3:1-2?

2. How are we to fulfill Colossians 3:5? How

can you know this?

3. According to Romans 8:13 how are the

sinful deeds of your flesh going to be put to
death? Please explain how this works.

4. Why do many struggle with God’s way of

victory through walking in the Spirit?

5. Do you think if getting saved is easy, that it

would be hard to experience sanctification
and freedom from addiction?

56
 Chapter 9
Killing the Rats

No one likes rats! If you find one in your house

you want it out as soon as possible! Sin and addictions
are rats in our life. Many have tried to exterminate
these spiritual rats by using their own methods and
will-power. This just does not work, it just makes the
rats grow bigger and bigger! We must learn to deal
with the spiritual rats in our life the way the Bible
teaches us to.
An interesting story comes from the flight of
Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic Ocean. He tells
of the account of being mid-way over the ocean and he
heard a rat in the back of his plane. One of those
miserable creatures had gotten on his plane and was
hitching a ride to the other side of the pond! To his
horror, Charles realized the rat was lunching on his fuel
line. If that rat ate through it, he would perish in the
ocean for sure. He had to take care of the rat quick! He

57
could not leave his cockpit to take care of the rat, so he
quickly understood what he had to do. He turned the
nose of his plane upwards and began to climb and
climb and climb. He rose so high it was hard from him
to breathe but suddenly the noise of the rat stopped!
The rat could not breathe at such a high altitude and it
died. This is how we are to deal with the spiritual rats
in our life! We saw in the last chapter how we are to
kill the rats of sin and addictions.

Col 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those
things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the
right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things
on the earth.

How are we to kill the rats in our lives? We need

to take them up higher! Hallelujah! Take them higher
folks! We need to take those rats to the throne of God
where Christ sits! When we set our minds on the things
58
 above where Christ sits at the right
“How are
hand of God, then those rats will
we to kill
the rats in suffocate and die! Charles
our lives? Lindbergh did not have to kill the
We need rat himself, he just made the
to take decision to go up higher and the
them up rarified air killed it. Likewise, we
higher!” don’t kill our rats ourselves. We
just make the decision to go up higher and the Spirit
kills the rats!
Romans tells us that we are to reckon ourselves
dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

(Rom 6:11) Even so consider yourselves also dead to

sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God
[living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ
Jesus.

What does it mean to be dead to sin? It is the

same as when someone disowns another and says to
59
them, “You are dead to me!” What does that mean? It
means that all remembrances of that person are
removed. All pictures are taken down and thrown
away. That person’s name is never again mentioned.
All thought of them is avoided.

Psa 31:12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;

I am like a broken vessel.

This verse in Psalms gives us the idea of what it

means to be dead to something. It is forgotten, out of
mind! What does it mean to be dead to sin? It means
you do not focus on it anymore at all. To be made alive
to someone means you put all your attention on them.
You put your full focus on them. Many struggle
attempting to overcome sin by their own power. In
doing so, their focus is on sin. This is not being dead to
sin, it is being alive to sin! If you are dead to sin, then
when temptation comes, you turn your focus from the
object of the temptation and turn it fully upon the Lord

60
seated at the right hand of God. In doing so, the rat
will be killed by the Spirit! It’s just that easy folks.

“Many
struggle
attempting to
overcome sin
by their own
power. In
doing so,
their focus is
on sin. This
is not being
dead to sin, it
is being alive
to sin!
61
 Questions for Discussion

1. What spiritual rats have you dealt with in your

past? What spiritual rats are you dealing with
right now?

2. How did Charles Lindbergh deal with the rat in

his plane? How does that natural example
show us how to deal with the spiritual rats in
our life?

3. What does it mean to be dead to sin? What

does it mean to be alive to God?

4. If someone focuses on their sin trying to

overcome it, are they dead to it or alive to it?
Why is this?

62
 Chapter 10
The Spiral Downward

After Adam and Eve ate us out of house and

home, things went down pretty fast from the life in the
Garden of Eden! They had enjoyed a perfect
environment with all they needed. It also says
something interesting about them in the Garden
before the fall.

Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his
wife, and were not ashamed.

Here we see that they were both naked and were

not ashamed. We know from Genesis chapter 3 it was
not until after they ate from the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil that they knew they were naked. God
asked them in chapter 3, “Who told you that you were
naked?” Gen. 3:11 Apparently they were not aware of
it until that point. Some teach that Adam and Eve were

63
clothed with glory before the fall, so they could not see
they were naked. This is a fabrication! Where does it
say that in the Bible? It doesn’t. It does say they were
naked and not ashamed which implies they were just
that - naked!
So how could they not realize
“The fruit
of self- they were naked in chapter 2 and

focus is then realize they were naked in

shame and chapter 3? Before the fall they
fear. If both were wholly God focused!
YOU deal Their minds were fully set upon
with fear the spirit realm. When they ate
and
of the tree of the knowledge of
shame,
good and evil the curse of self-
then you
awareness came upon them. I
are self-
focused. think this is the worst part of the
You my curse - self-focus. The fruit of
friend, are self-focus are shame and fear. If
a navel- you deal with shame and fear,
gazer!” then you are self-focused. You
64
my friend, are a navel-gazer! I believe that in heaven
we will return to a state of complete God-focus again.
You can get some heaven on earth now if you will just
turn your focus off yourself and put it fully upon the
Lord.
We see that the spiral downward of humanity was
similar as Adam and Eve’s.

Rom 1:21 because, although they knew God, they did

not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became
futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were
darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible
God into an image made like corruptible man—and
birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Therefore God also gave them up to
uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor
their bodies among themselves,
Rom 1:25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie,
65
and worshiped and served the creature rather than
the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Rom 1:26 For this reason God gave them up to vile
passions. For even their women exchanged the
natural use for what is against nature.
Rom 1:27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural
use of the woman, burned in their lust for one
another, men with men committing what is shameful,
and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error
which was due.
Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God
in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased
mind, to do those things which are not fitting;

In these verses we see the downward spiral of

humanity. What was the problem? They moved their
focus from God to focus entirely on the natural world
[creation]. Vs. 28 says they did not retain God in their
knowledge [thinking]. They refused to think on
anything that was spiritual and become carnal in their
66
thinking. Once they did this the law of sin and death in
their flesh had full control over them. They were
handed over to the lusts of their flesh and enslaved.
If that was how they spiraled downward then what
would be the answer to move upward? It would be to
reverse the process! Instead of focusing on oneself or
just the natural, you would put your focus on God and
glorify Him as God in your mind. In doing so the Spirit
will keep you in holiness and sanctification! Let’s see
another verse that describes this process of a
downward spiral.

“put your focus on God and

glorify Him as God in your mind.
In doing so the Spirit will keep
you in holiness and
sanctification!

Eph 4:17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that
you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the

67
futility of their minds.
Eph 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding,
alienated from the life of God because of the
ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of
heart.

Here we see that we are not to walk as the

Gentiles walk in the futility of their minds. They were
darkened in their own understanding because they
alienated themselves from the life of God. They were
alienated because of their ignorance. They were
ignorant because of the hardness of their heart.
Hardness of heart was their root problem. How does
one become hardened towards God? It is by refusing
to think on or focus on Him. The Gentiles were
completely focusing on the natural realm. Whatever
you focus on your heart will be softened to. Whatever
you neglect or don’t focus on your heart will be
hardened to. That is a law folks! Start moving higher
today by putting your focus higher- where Jesus is
68
seated at the right hand of God. You will soften your
heart towards God and harden your heart against sin!

69
 Questions for Discussion

1. Describe what it means to be God-focused

rather than self-focused.

2. What was the reason for the downward spiral

of humanity found in Romans 1:21-28?

3. What does it mean to be hard-hearted? How

can you become soft-hearted towards God?

70
 Chapter 11
The Law of Focus

The law of focus is the law that what you focus

on will influence you and you will be conformed to.
Although the phrase “law of focus” is not found in the
Bible, neither is the “law of gravity”! However, it is a
law all the same. The law of focus can be seen in the
Scriptures.

Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be

transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by
testing you may discern what is the will of God, what
is good and acceptable and perfect.

How does one become conformed to the world?

By focusing on the things of the world. We are told
rather to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
The actual Greek says the “renewal” of our mind. This
does not just mean gaining new truths about different

71
categories of things like healing, righteousness, faith,
etc. but it also refers to a new way of thinking entirely.
It speaks of a new paradigm of the way we think- from
the natural to the spiritual. When we focus on the
things of the Spirit will be transformed by the Spirit.

(Eph 4:23) And be constantly renewed in the spirit of

your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual
attitude], AMP

What does it mean to be renewed in the spirit of

your mind? The Amplified brings out that it is having a
new spiritual attitude or way of thinking. It means to
be renewed by developing a spiritual mind. When you
focus upon the Lord you will be renewed!
We can see this law in the Old Testament in
picture form. We can see this in what God directed
Jacob to do when his uncle Laban was trying to cheat
him out of his wages.

72
Gen 30:37 But Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and
almond and plane trees and peeled white streaks in
them, exposing the white in the rods.
Gen 30:38 Then he set the rods which he had peeled
in front of the flocks in the watering troughs where
the flocks came to drink. And since they bred and
conceived when they came to drink,
Gen 30:39 The flocks bred and conceived in sight of
the rods and brought forth lambs and kids streaked,
speckled, and spotted.

“This law of focus will work for

us as well as we look through the
water of the Word and behold
the Lord”

Here we see that when the flocks came and

drank they looked through the water and saw the
streaked rods they gave birth to what they saw! This is
the law of focus at work. This law of focus will work for

73
us as well as we look through the water of the Word
and behold the Lord.
We see the law of focus at work in the life of
Moses. God called him up for a 40 day and night
retreat on Mt. Sinai to get the law. This is what it says
about this encounter Moses had with the Lord.

Exo 34:28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days
and forty nights; he ate no bread and drank no water.
And he wrote upon the tables the words of the
covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Exo 34:29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai
with the two tables of the Testimony in his hand, he
did not know that the skin of his face shone and sent
forth beams by reason of his speaking with the Lord.
Exo 34:30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw
Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they
feared to come near him.

Moses spent 40 days and nights in direct face to

74
face contact with the Lord. His complete focus was
upon Him. This encounter with the Lord had a
dramatic effect upon his physical body! It says he did
not eat nor drink for 40 days. Many people have gone
40 days without food, but no one has been able to go
40 days without drinking water! Moses’ body was
supernaturally sustained in the presence of the Lord.
This encounter so effected Moses’ body that when he
came down off the mountain his skin was shining!
What do you think would happen to you if you just
focused upon the Lord? It will have a direct impact
upon your soul and body!

The Law of focus works in this life and the next..

We see the law of focus will be in operation when you
pass from this life.

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it

has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we

75
know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him as He is.

In this verse, we see that it has not yet been

revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He
is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him
as He is. The degree to which we see the Lord Jesus, is
the degree to which we will be like Him! One day when
we see Jesus fully as He is, we will be made like him by
just beholding Him! This transformative work in us can
happen now to the degree we see and behold Him as
He is now at the right hand of God! Behold and
become!

76
 Questions for Discussion

1. What is the law of focus?

2. What was the impact on Moses body by being

in God’s presence for 40 days and nights?

3. How important is it that you accurately see

Jesus as He is? What happens when you do?

77
 Chapter 12
You Need a 4:8!

Walking in the Spirit is very practical. Again,

walking in the Spirit is not someone walking around
with their eyes rolled back in their head hearing voices.
It is far from that! Let’s see just how practical walking
in the Spirit is. Let’s talk about the subject of worry.

Php 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by

prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
requests be made known to God;
Php 4:7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,
whatever things are noble, whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely,
whatever things are of good report, if there is any
virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—

78
meditate on these things.

First, I want you to see that worry is a focus on

the natural realm. When we worry we cut ourselves
off from the law of the Spirit of Life! Therefore, Paul
tells us to be anxious for nothing. That is all inclusive!
It is important to note that Paul did not
say be anxious for nothing and put a
“worry
is a
period on it. He continued talking.
focus
What is so important about that? It is
on the
because Paul did not tell us to try to
natural
stop thinking bad thoughts. Trying to realm”
stop thinking something is useless. You
will think about them by trying not to think about
them! Since everyone uses a pink elephant to teach
about this, I will use a blue gorilla instead! Try not to
think about a blue gorilla. Do not think blue. Do not
think gorilla. Don’t think blue gorilla! What are you
thinking about? A BLUE GORILLA! This shows how
fruitless it is to try to not think something. How are you
79
going to forget about the blue gorilla? It is by replacing
it by another thought. It is by taking your focus off the
blue gorilla and placing it on something else- maybe
the pink elephant!
So, am I telling you in this book that you need to
stop thinking about sin, temptation, and your natural
circumstances? No! I am saying replace them with
thinking on the things of the Spirit! We are not to try
to not think on things that worry us. We are to take
them to God in prayer. When we do this where does
our focus turn? That’s right, to God in the Spirit. They
are replaced by a change of our focus. When we turn
our cares into prayers and focus our attention on the
Spirit what will be the result? Verse 7 says the PEACE
of God will guard our heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
Remember, from the book of Romans what the fruit of
being spiritually minded is- life and PEACE. Rom. 8:6
I don’t know if you are like me, but I have
received peace from a time of prayer and later the old
anxious thoughts came back, and I started dwelling on
80
my problem again. What happens to the peace I had?
Yep, it goes away. Paul goes on to say in verse eight
that to keep the peace we need to filter our thinking
through eight things and meditate on them. The only
things that can make it past this filter is the “things of
the Spirit”. When we meditate on the things of the
Spirit, we will be kept in perfect peace.
When I was younger there was a TV commercial
for V-8 vegetable juice. It pictured a rundown person
slapping his forehead exclaiming, “I should have had a
V-8!” I have seen so many rundown, down-trodden
Christians in my life. I wanted to yell to them, “You
should have had a 4:8!” A Philippians 4:8!

“When we meditate on the

things of the Spirit, we will be
kept in perfect peace”

81
 Questions for Discussion

1. Where is your focus when you are worrying?

2. How easy is it to not think something? Why?

3. How do you get free from negative thoughts?

4. Why is it important to take a Philippians 4:8?

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 Chapter 13
The Power of Beholding

Walking in the Spirit is really a simple concept.

We need help to misunderstand it! Transformation
and freedom are really simple to experience. We see
this in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 3.

2Co 3:14 But their minds were blinded. For until this
day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of
the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in
Christ.
2Co 3:15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a
veil lies on their heart.
2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the
veil is taken away.

Here we see a problem with the unbelieving

Jews. They have a veil on their face when the law is
read. When you have a veil over your face, your vision

83
is restricted everywhere except upon yourself. There
is nothing to look at under a veil than down upon
yourself. You have no other choice but to be a navel-
gazer if you have a veil over your face! How do you get
rid of the veil? By looking up to Christ. When anyone
does this, the veil that causes you
“When you
to be self-focused is removed. If
have a veil
you read the law and only see over your
what you must do to satisfy a face, your
holy God, then you will have a vision is
veil over your face. To a veiled restricted
person reading the law, the law is everywhere
all about them. However, if you
except
upon
see that the law was a shadow
yourself”
that was fulfilled by Jesus and put
your eyes on Him, that restrictive veil is removed! Col.
2:17 Your gaze will be upon the loveliness of your
Savior!
When we turn our focus upon Christ seated at
the right hand of God, the law of the Spirit of life in
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Christ Jesus kicks in!

2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

When the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus

kicks in you will experience freedom! Trying to change
yourself into God’s image by your own self-effort is
very complicated and takes constant strain. With all
that effort it does not even work! You don’t have to
try to change yourself brother or sister. You can
experience transformation by the Spirit of God!

2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as

in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Here we see God’s plan for transformation and

just how easy it is. The one qualification for this
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transformation process to work is that we have an
unveiled face. This means our focus can’t be on us or
the natural. Our focus must be on the risen Lord in the
Spirit. Transformation takes place when we simply
behold through a mirror the glory of the Lord. The
mirror we look through is the Word of God. We would
not even know there is a Jesus without the Word.
When we focus on the things of the Spirit shown to us
through the Word then this process will take place.
Also, notice where our focus is to be on? We are to
behold the glory of the LORD, not the ugliness of us!
When we simply behold the glory of the Lord and keep
our focus there, the law of the Spirit of life kicks in. We
will be transformed into the same image from glory to
glory. Will this be by “Transformation
our works and will- takes place when
power? No, it will be we simply
by the Spirit of the behold through a
Lord! This is how
mirror the glory
of the Lord”
simple it is folks. Many
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just can’t believe it is that easy. People stumble over
the stumbling stone which is Jesus! They think they
must change themselves more into the image of the
Lord. No, child of God, just come and behold the Lord
through the Word and the Spirit will do it for you! This
is the glory of God’s grace! Grace is what God does for
us! Stop struggling and start beholding! You will be
amazed at the transformation in you!

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 Questions for Discussion

1. What does it mean to have a veil over your

face?

2. How is a spiritual veil removed from your face?

3. How does transformation into the image of

Jesus occur according to 2 Cor. 3:18?

4. What is the stumbling stone many stumble

over? Why is that?

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 Chapter 14
Let your Dagon become a By-Gone!

Many Christians have become enslaved to

alcohol, drugs, food, smoking, pornography…etc.
These have become idols in their lives. They go to
these for comfort or pleasure. Instead of offering
freedom and satisfaction they bind and destroy. An
idol is something that replaces God. An idol is
something you put your focus and affection on other
than God. As we seen that the law of focus will cause
that thing focused on to have dominion and control in
our life. If we will focus on God, we will experience His
keeping power of holiness in our heart and life. If we
focus on something other than God to meet our needs,
we will soon find that thing will exercise authority and
power over us. We will be enslaved. How do we break
free from an idol that has taken us captive? Well for
certain it won’t be by trying to break free by our will-
power. The more you struggle against the idol telling

89
yourself that you must not submit to it, you are actually
strengthening sin in your flesh. Telling yourself that
you can’t or shouldn’t do something is operating in the
principle of law. Sin is strengthened in the presence of
the law- I can’t, I must not, I shall not. Sin at its root is
rebellion. When there is no law there can be no
rebellion. Once law is introduced then rebellion can
manifest. If you try to break free from an idol by your
own efforts by telling yourself you must not submit to
it, you will only strengthen the desires for it. It is a no-
win situation. How do we break free from an idol? It is
by bringing it into the presence of God!
We see this principle in the Old Testament when
the Ark of the Covenant was taken captive by the
Philistines and placed in their idol temple of Dagon.

1Sa 5:2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they
brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by
Dagon.
1Sa 5:3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early
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in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to
the earth before the ark of the LORD. So they took
Dagon and set it in its place again.

Here we see that the Philistines set the Ark of

God, which is also called the Ark of God’s Presence, by
Dagon the great Philistine idol. They left it there
overnight and in the morning they came in to find that
their great and powerful idol had fallen on its face
before the Presence of God! Instead of falling down
and worshipping God, the Philistines propped up their
idol again and left it for another night.

1Sa 5:4 And when they arose early the next morning,
there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground
before the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and
both the palms of its hands were broken off on the
threshold; only Dagon's torso was left of it.

In the morning they once again found their great

91
and powerful idol Dagon prostrate before the Presence
of God, but something else happened this time.
Dagon’s head and hands had been broken off! The
head speaks of authority and the hands speak of
power. The authority and power of this idol were
destroyed by being exposed to the presence of God for
a protracted period of time. Notice, the head and
hands were not broken off until the second night the
idol was in God’s Presence.
How will the strong and mighty idol that has
been holding you captive be broken in your life? The
same way Dagon was broken! It is by you coming with
that idol in your life and you setting before the Lord’s
Presence and beholding Him. Most people will not
come to God with an idol in their life because they
think God will reject them. God knows you can’t free
yourself from the power of the idol in your life. He will
break its power for you! It might not break
immediately, but most assuredly it will! Just keep
coming into God’s presence and beholding and
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worshipping Him and your Dagon will soon become a
by-gone! Put your focus on the Lord instead of the idol
and its head and hands will be broken off and you will
find yourself free from it! Praise God!

“Just keep coming into God’s

presence and beholding and
worshipping Him and your
Dagon will soon become a by-
gone!”

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 Questions for Discussion

1. What is an idol?

2. Have you or do you have an idol in your life?

3. What does it mean to operate under the law in

trying to say no to an idol that has taken hold of
you?

4. What caused Dagon to be broken? How will an

idol in your life be broken?

5. What do the broken head and hands of Dagon

represent?

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 Chapter 15
Graze and Gaze!

We have seen the importance of setting our

minds on the things of the Spirit. In the next few
chapters we will look at spiritual disciplines that will
help us do that. In the last chapter we saw the
importance of beholding the glory of the Lord Jesus
through the mirror. The Word is the mirror that shows
us the glory of the resurrected Jesus Christ. Meditating
on the word is setting your mind on the things of the
Spirit!

Jas 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers

only, deceiving yourselves.
Jas 1:23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not
a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a
mirror;
Jas 1:24 for he observes himself, goes away, and
immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

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Jas 1:25 But he who looks into the perfect law of
liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful
hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed
in what he does.

The Word of God is a mirror that shows us the

glory of the Lord. Just as a man can look into a natural
mirror to see His natural face, we look into the spiritual
mirror to see the reflection of Jesus. In the new birth
we have been born again in the image of Christ. As we
behold the resurrected Jesus and see Him as He is, so
we have a glimpse of our new self in Christ.

“The Word of God is a mirror

that shows us the glory of the
Lord”

1Jn 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this:

that we may have boldness in the day of judgment;
because as He is, so are we in this world.
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 John reveals to us that as Christ is, so are we in
this present world. How can we know how we are in
the present world in the eyes of God? It is by us
beholding how Christ is right now at the right hand of
God. To do this we must look regularly in the mirror of
God’s Word and see the perfect law of liberty, which is
the gospel and person of Jesus Christ. We can’t see
how we are in this present world in the eyes of God
without seeing how Jesus is right now at the right hand
of God, and we can’t do that without the Word. The
Word is our only way to see what is true in the spirit
realm. We can’t connect with the spirit realm with our
natural five senses. We can only know and see what is
true in the spirit realm by the Word of God and
revelation of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, it is vital that we spend time in God’s
Word. If we look at the Word as a mirror to look at
ourselves and how we fail to measure up to God’s
standards, then it will minister condemnation and
death to us. However, if we use the Word as a mirror
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to behold the glory of the Lord we will be transformed
into the same image outwardly as Jesus is now at the
right hand of God. When we look through the mirror
in this way, then the Word is spirit and life to us.

Joh 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits
nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and
they are life.

The words of Christ and about Christ are spirit

and life. They are the connectors to the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. They are the “things of the
spirit”. Any and all truths of the Word that reveal what
is true in the spirit realm are called the “things of the
Spirit”. We are to set our mind on the things of the
Spirit. When we do this it produces nothing but life and
peace. Rom. 8:6
It is important to learn to graze and gaze! When
we feed on the Word, we also need to see the glory of
the Lord through it. The Word shows us what the Lord
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is like. Through the revelation of the Word we can gaze
at the Lord. When we do this, we are transformed into
the same image from glory to glory, even by the Spirit
of the Lord.
If you did not have the mirror of the Word to see
how the Lord is you might think Him to be quite severe

“It is and harsh. However, if you look

important at the New Testament you see
to learn to Him as love and having taken our
graze and sins and judged them at the
gaze! cross. We can see His grace and
When we mercy! Reading and meditating
feed on the
on the Word are disciplines in
Word, we
which we can set our mind on
also need
to see the the things of the Spirit and

glory of therefore walk in the Spirit.

the Lord I would encourage you to
through start in the letters written to the
it” church and underline every verse
that uses the words, “in Him, through Him, by Him, by
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whom” and meditate on these. These verses show you
what is true in the spirit realm and what is true in your
born-again spirit. As your mind is set on these things
of the Spirit you will experience the divine flow of the
law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. You will see
transformation outwardly into the same image from
glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord!

100
 Questions for Discussion

1. When we look into the mirror of God’s Word

whose reflection do we see?

2. Why is it important to behold just how Jesus is?

3. What does the phrase “graze and gaze” mean

to you?

4. Why is it important to focus on the Words of

Jesus?

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 Chapter 16
Worship, Praise, & Thanksgiving

Meditating on the Word of God is a powerful

way to set you mind on the things of the Spirit, but it is
not the only way. In this chapter I want to look at other
ways we can do this. They are worship, praise, and
thanksgiving. These are connected to the Spirit-filled
life.

Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is

dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
Eph 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the Lord,
Eph 5:20 giving thanks always for all things to God
the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Here we see Paul telling us to be filled with the

Spirit. Paul does not really define or tell us how to be

102
filled with the Spirit, but he does tell us to sing and
make melody in our heart and to give thanks. These
are avenues in which we will be filled with the Spirit.
What all these practices have in common is that they
put your focus completely in the Spirit and upon the
Lord and off of you and the natural. When we do this,
the law of the Spirit of Life is switched on and flows into
our soul and body.
The presence of God is directly tied to worship
and praise.

Psa 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the
praises of Israel. KVJ

The presence of God is experienced when we

praise and worship God because our focus is upon Him
and not us! The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
flows to us.

2Ch 5:13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and

103
singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard
in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they
lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals
and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD,
saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever:
that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the
house of the LORD;
2Ch 5:14 So that the priests could not stand to
minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the
LORD had filled the house of God. KJV

We see when the temple was dedicated, that the

priests praised and thanked God, and the house of the
Lord was filled with the presence and glory of God.
Again, the presence of God is connected to praise,
worship, and thanksgiving. When we do this the law of
the Spirit of life goes into effect!
You cannot truly worship God and be focused
upon yourself at the same time - that would make you
cross-eyed! In worship our full attention is upon the
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Lord as we behold His glory. As we do this, the law of
the Spirit of life works in us to transform us.
I would encourage you to download Pandora® or
Spotify® on your phone and make a playlist of many
songs that exalt or speak of the person of Jesus. This
will help keep your mind set on the Lord in the Spirit.

“You cannot truly worship

God and be focused upon
yourself at the same time.
That would make you cross-
eyed!”

105
 Questions for Discussion

1. Why is worship and praise of God important?

2. Is the law of the Spirit of life connected to

worship? If so, how?

3. How is self-focus and worship of God

incompatible?

106
 Chapter 17
Prayer

Prayer is another thing that will set your mind on

the things of the Spirit. Prayer is communion with God.
The Greek word for prayer is proseuche. This word
means face to face prayer. You cannot rightly pray
without being focused upon God. I have noticed, or
rather let me say my wife has noticed that I can’t have
a real conversation with her until my focus is upon her.
Prayer is the language of dependence. It is
interesting to note that out of the 613 commands of
the Law, not one of them is to pray. The Law depended
wholly upon your own
“Under the
strength and resources
New Covenant,
God offers to to meet God’s demands.

satisfy His own Under the New

demands for Covenant, God offers to
us, in us, and satisfy His own demands
through us” for us, in us, and through

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us. That is why we see exhortations to pray day and
night in the New Testament. As we draw upon God by
prayer we can see God working in us and through us
with His power to fulfill His will.
As we have seen, true prayer is a focused
communication with God. Many people’s prayer time
is during the busyness of their day, either driving or
working. I am not saying it is wrong to pray at those
times, but we need consecrated times of undistracted
focus upon God to communicate with Him.
Communication is both talking and listening. I find it is
best for me to listen first and then speak!
I will be honest with you, I have struggled the
most in this area. Most of my praying has been during
times where I am doing something else - driving or
working. For some reason it has been a challenge for
me to get quiet and talk with God. I have found that
just sitting and beholding the Lord in my heart opens
up times of communication with Him.
While we are on the subject of prayer, let’s talk
108
about praying in tongues. I think in some charismatic
circles praying in tongues is the great panacea for
everything. Praying in tongues is important and very
useful but it does not do everything for us. I was under
the impression for years that praying in tongues is how
I would be filled with the Holy Spirit. I would pray hour
upon hour in tongues and still fall into certain sins that
plagued me afterwards. I thought tongues would make
these sinful habits disappear, but they did not. The
truth is, praying in tongues is not the way we are filled
with the Spirit. Let’s look at the book of Acts.

Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit
gave them utterance.

Here we see that the early disciples were all

filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other
tongues. Notice it does not say, “they spoke in tongues
and were filled with the Spirit.”
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 Speaking in tongues does not automatically
cause the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus to flow
into your soul and body. What does? Setting your
mind upon the things of the Spirit does! So, I
encourage you that while you are praying in tongues to
set your mind on the things of the Spirit and you will
get the maximum benefit from praying in tongues.

110
 Questions for Discussion

1. Where is your focus when you rightly pray?

2. Why is it important to have undistracted time

for prayer?

3. Why is prayer the language of dependence?

4. Will praying in tongues itself cause the law of

the Spirit of life to flow into your soul and
body? Explain

111
 Chapter 18
What about Maturity?

In chapter two, we looked at the subject of

spirituality. We saw it is not something your grow into,
but rather it is a mind-set upon the things of the Spirit.
Rom. 8:5 If we don’t grow into
“Spiritual
maturity is spirituality, then what is

seen in how spiritual maturity? Spiritual

long we maturity is seen in how long
maintain a we maintain a spiritual mind-
spiritual set and how fast we get back
mind-set to the mind-set when it gets
and how off onto the things of the
fast we get
flesh. One thing about small
back to that
children is that they have a
mind-set
when it gets very short attention span! You

off onto the can tell them to do something

things of and it does not take much to
the flesh” distract them off their task.

112
The same thing goes for young Christians. They are
easily distracted from spiritual things by fleshly things.
They spend more of their time focused upon
themselves, the natural things of life, and their
problems. They often focus on their sins and try to
overcome them by their self-efforts. This is carnality as
we saw with Paul in Romans 7. A young Christian will
not be able to start growing until they put their focus
on the Lord through the Word of God.

1Pe 2:2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the

word, that you may grow thereby,

It is possible for a Christian to remain a baby for

an indefinite period of time as long as their focus is on
themselves or just the natural realm. This was true of
the saints in Corinth.

1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to

spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
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1Co 3:2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food;
for until now you were not able to receive it, and even
now you are still not able;
1Co 3:3 for you are still carnal. For where there are
envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not
carnal and behaving like mere men?

The Corinthians had never grown past baby

stage. Why? It is because they were so self-centered!
Paul in 1 Corinthians deals with a number of problems
in the church and all of them were rooted in them
being self-centered.
We can see the same thing in the church today.
There are some Christians that have never grown past
baby-hood and they have been saved for 30 years!
Would it seem strange if you went over to a basinet
expecting to see a beautiful little baby, and you look in
and the occupant in the basinet had a beard? Yes! This
happens every day in the church! This should not be.
It is possible to remain a baby, but when a young
114
believer sets their mind on the things of the Spirit they
will start growing. Their maturity level will be seen in
how long they can maintain a spiritual mindset and
how fast they recover from a carnal one. Let me say
this.. One cannot start growing, spiritually speaking,
unless they are spiritual first. This means to have their
mind set on the things of the Spirit.

“One cannot start growing,

spiritually speaking, unless
they are spiritual first”

Progress in the Christian life is not static. You are either

maturing or you are digressing in maturity. It is possible
to have grown as a Christian and then digress back to
being a baby again. This happened to the saints in the
book of Hebrews.

Heb 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be

teachers, you need someone to teach you again the

115
first principles of the oracles of God; and you have
come to need milk and not solid food.

Here we see that these Christians needed to be

taught again the first principles of the Word of God.
They had come to need milk. This means they had at
one point advanced beyond just milk, but they had
come again to need only milk because they could not
handle the meat anymore. What happened to these
Christians? These Hebrew saints got saved by looking
to Jesus for salvation. They also heard the message
that Jesus was returning quickly. They started
witnessing to their fellow Jews about the soon coming
King. However, years had gone by and the Jews started
mocking them and asking where this Jesus was. They
started being persecuted for their faith and they
started wavering. Some had left church and returned
to the temple and were even sacrificing animals that
represented Jesus. They returned to the Law. The Law
is based upon you and your own abilities to perform for
116
God. They took their eyes off Jesus and looked to
themselves. They became carnal. In doing so they
reverted to baby-hood stage again. What was the
antidote for their problem? The writer of Hebrews tells
them towards the end of the book.

Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher

of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God.

How would they start growing again? It was by

LOOKING UNTO JESUS! This is how we will become
spiritual and start growing ourselves. This is how we
are to walk in the Spirit.

117
 Questions for Discussion

1. How can you see maturity in a Christian

according to this chapter?

2. Why do many Christians not mature in their

Christian life?

3. What is needed to start growing as a Christian

according to this chapter? Explain

4. Why did the Hebrew saints regress in their

spiritual maturity? What was the answer for
them to start growing again?

118
 Chapter 19
The Discipline of the Mind

If we are going to walk in the Spirit, we will need

to set our mind on the things of the Spirit. Our mind
needs to be disciplined and trained to think spiritually
and not carnally. A carnal Christian will immediately
set themselves to trying to discipline their mind. This
is a focus upon yourself and is the definition of
carnality! We are not called to do anything in our own
strength. No, we are to discipline our mind by the aid
of the Spirit of God and His grace!

2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of
power and of love and of a sound mind.

Here we see we have been given a spirit of a

sound mind. The Greek word for “sound mind” literally
means saved thinking. The Holy Spirit will lead and
empower us to discipline our mind. You need to invite

119
the Holy Spirit to do this. The Holy
“The Holy
Spirit helps some Christians much Spirit
more than He helps others. Not helps
because God is a respecter of some
persons, but because some Christians
Christians depend a lot more on much
the Holy Spirit than other people more than
do. If we will but ask the Spirit to
He helps
others”
help us in this and to remind us
when our mind is on the things of the flesh, He will. We
are not called to control ourselves. One of the fruits of
the Spirit is self-control. Self can’t control self! The
Spirit will help you control self!
When you start practicing setting your mind on
the things of the Spirit you will notice how often your
mind strays back upon the natural realm. Most people
do not realize just how carnal they are until they start
practicing setting their mind on the things of the Spirit!
Don’t be discouraged with yourself. When you notice
your mind is downward on yourself, your problems, or
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just natural things, look up and focus upon Jesus. The
law of the Spirit of life will kick in. You will experience
life and peace! You will find yourself more proficient
at this as you practice this as a new lifestyle.
I think it is important that we make this a
lifestyle and not just something we try to do when we
are tempted with sin. I have found that as I have made
this my lifestyle that I am not really tempted very much
with areas that held me in bondage for years. I have
found new freedom. Praise God!

121
 Questions for Discussion

1. How does the Holy Spirit help us with walking in the

Spirit?

2. Why does the Holy Spirit help some Christians more

than He helps others?

3. Why is it important to make walking in the Spirit a

lifestyle and not something you just try to do when
you are tempted with sin?

122
 Chapter 20
In Conclusion

In conclusion, to walk in the Spirit you only need

to keep your eyes on Jesus and get them off yourself
and the natural realm. As you keep your mind off
yourself, you will find a new level of life and peace in
your soul. Just enjoy Jesus! Don’t make it more
complicated than that.
When you are tempted with something sinful,
resist the urge to focus on it or try to overcome it with
your will-power. You will lose this fight in the end.
When you are tempted, just look up and focus on Jesus
on the throne in heaven. In doing so the Spirit will put
that sinful thing to death for you. The Spirit will kill that
rat for you!
Spend time in the Word and look for and at
Jesus! Spend time worshipping and praising the Lord.
When you do this your mind is set on Him fully.
When you find yourself anxious about life or find
yourself upset, this is a sign your mind is set on the
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things of the flesh and this world. Don’t get
condemned, just look up and pray! Your answer is
found up, not down! Your main objective should be to
continue to behold the Lord and then walk in the flow
of grace that comes from that.
I hope this book has been a blessing to you and
that the simple but profound revelation we studied will
make a huge difference in your life! Now, go and walk
in the Spirit!
If you have a testimony on how this book has
helped you, I would love to hear about it. You can send
it to howtowalkinthespirit@gmail.com

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 Questions for Discussion

1. What will you find if you keep your mind off

yourself and your problems?

2. When you are tempted by something sinful

what should you do?

3. What should your main objective be?

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 Epilogue

This book has been designed for personal and

group use. If this book as impacted your life please
consider sharing it with others by holding a small bible
study. I encourage you to find four friends in which you
would like to share this book with. I advise you to hold
five sessions and at each session have each of the
group members read one chapter and then go over the
discussion questions at the end of each chapter. You
should get through four chapters per meeting. The
chapters are short so you should be able to do this. If
you find that you are progressing more slowly and
need more session times that is fine. When you finish
with the book I encourage you to in turn ask that if any
in your study group were impacted by the study to find
four other people and hold the same kind of bible study
in the same manner.

Rick McFarland
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