Sometimes we hedge on the things Jesus says that in some ways indict us and the conviction can at times be overwhelming. The Holy Spirit reveals an area of our life that is not right with God and we have to make a choice. Will I follow God? Or will I follow the natural man? The Holy Spirit shows us the "spiritual" side of everything, and we do not want to "hedge" when following the Spirit. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2: 10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. 13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. 14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For,
“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”
The Natural Man will look at these things much differently and they will assess with a slant toward a worldly perspective and leave the leadership of the Holy Spirit out of the mix. Hedging on the leadership of the Holy Spirit will always lead down a wide path that leads to destruction. Jesus sets the course for salvation by giving a clear, concise way to heaven and that way is a narrow path that few find. Matthew 7:13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. Just as important is the continued growth in our walk with God that leads us to a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father. If we begin our faith by hedging on true born-again salvation, everything in our life will continue to be compromised and that kind of faith will lead us to a double-minded faith, which is a weak and lifeless faith.
We are called to an "all in " faith that exalts Jesus and shows Him to a lost and dying world, but the power is in the message of salvation. In this challenge by Jesus, we see that there are definite ways to draw closer to the will of God in everything we do and live the life He has called us to live. If we hedge in the truth of God's and the leading of the Holy Spirit we are on a slippery slope that leads to a dead faith that is visionless and produces nothing for the Kingdom. To hear this will make us realize that God's ways are higher ways, but he gives us the power to live in those ways if we follow His Word.
The Pilgrimage Continues
David Warren
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