Which Spirit Will You Follow? by Brother Duke Hansen

         This morning, we will be touching on several scriptures for the sermon. If we really would dig in deep into the text, this would be a very long message. As such, we will have some text, with other passages given to you. You can take those passages and read them this week in your spare time. It is important that you make time to read God's word. The first place we will start reading from is in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 2. We will start at the 11th verse.

        11 For what man knoweth the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

        There is a tendency among people in raising and teaching their children in the spirit of man. The spirit of man has thoughts, opinions, and lessons on a whole swath of subjects ranging from sin, emotion, lust, suffering, rebellion, business, commerce. Those last two are pressed upon too often in some churches because the subjects are mistaken with walking with God. There is a repetition of man through out history as a whole when it comes to total and complete failure, it just seems that with each generation that follows the previous, their failure is worse. If the spirit of man is what we use as a tool to make all our decisions in life, we are in a horrible way. Leaning into the spirit of man, your own understanding negates the spirit of God, the power of the finished work of Jesus, the imparting of his Holy Spirit. You are lying to yourself and others if you profess your life is truly saved to Jesus and you operate in man's spirit day to day in the world. That is not being saved. That is living a lie. In 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 38, Paul tells the church the following;

        38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

        These are words of wisdom to apply in your life. There are so many stories as to believers trying to convert others, getting upset at their lack of progress. If they don't want the truth, don't give them the truth. There are scriptures some people will use for their own peace of mind of security in how God has chosen his people, or he has an elect already, but, God wants his people to choose him over______ fill in the blank because it changes daily. The spirit of man leads us to hell quickly. The spirit of God will reveal things to us if we are still and seeking his face. It is important to have the Holy Ghost. There are denominations which deny the Holy Ghost all together. Going back to chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians.

        12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

        God gives knowledge if any man asks of it.

        13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

        Repentance alone will not get you into heaven. "Why preacher?"you may ask. "It worked in God's Not Dead with that atheist professor!" Because the Bible says so. Going to the last part of verse 13; do you know what the Spirit of God teaches? It teaches truth, submission, healing, righteousness, love, mercy, grace, profitability, among other things.

        14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

        Man will resist and fight something he reads in the Bible because he disagrees with it. There are a lot of proclaimed believers who will pick and choose what they believe in the word. Noah's ark? That's an old Hebrew fairy tale! Jesus' death and resurrection? Science hasn't proved it. How do we really know he died? You know someone like that. Often times they're the same ones who question everything, reject the Holy Ghost, yet will sit in abandoned homes or graveyards with a flashlight chasing ghosts because ghosts are real! You have to have spiritual discernment to understand the spirit of God. If you are to develop spiritual perception, you have to pass the 1st lesson. 

        15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 

        This scripture means man's word doesn't matter despite his muttering and talking behind your back. Consider the source and let it roll off you. It's always funny that we will learn some cherry picked verses like "Judge not lest ye be judged" to justify our self righteous life. Judgement happens in both man and spirit. Spiritual discernment does more than judgement. 

        16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

        I wanted to remind you that Paul wasn't speaking to a select few people in this letter, nor was it addressed to the general public at Corinth. He was speaking to a born again church suffering with sin amongst its members because they were surrounded by idolatry and all manners of sin.

        Now we are going to make a brief stop in the book of 1 Kings chapter 18 verse 21. I advise you to read this whole chapter at home in your spare time because this is such a great testament to God's Almighty power. It is the story of Elijah and his challenge to King Ahab. Before the challenge begins, Elijah says the following in verse 21.

        21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

        His question is still relevant today. Another story for you to look up this coming week to read and study is in the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 3 verses 16-28. This is the account of the three Hebrew boys put into a furnace for not worshipping the false God the Babylonian king had. The bible states God is an all consuming God. Go over to Matthew chapter 3 and read of John the Baptist in the wilderness. John was baptizing people into repentance. There was no sacrifice made to roll back sin. To baptize is to submerge underwater. 

        God can pour out his Holy Spirit on us when we aren't 100% prepared for it. There have been those who have received the Holy Spirit when they weren't actively looking for it. The question for this day and the coming week is this; What version of the two of you do you want to be? If God is able to sustain a bush while it was burning he can sustain you. Do you want the version of you to follow the spirit of man? Or the spirit of God? It's an important decision not to just sit on and meditate. It is an understatement to say that the world is waxing worse and worse. Many denominations are following the same downward route. When you go to a church where its abusing grace and mercy as crutches to prop itself up, while not feeding any sliver of truth or scripture, those crutches are propping up you sinful lifestyle. People in those churches like to use the example of the thief on the cross, as a gotcha of radical grace, but the reality is the thief is their self justification for their life. If you want something, really want it, there is nothing that will stop you. You might be sitting there reading all this and think this is a lot scripture and history dropped in front of you. You need to be aware of it and not just merely aware but you need to remember it.

        As you grow in your relationship with God, so will your spirit man and you know what? Your spirit man is going to irritated in a lot of spots you put him in. From wrong conversations in public, to what your eyes take in for comfort. I leave you with this last question. Which spirit man will survive and thrive in you? Spirit of man or spirit of God?