Living Out of Our Spirit

Following up on their previous podcast with Kevin Smith, Brad and Wayne continue along those same themes talking about their own growth in learning to trust in God's ability to manage their lives. That has come through their own growth in learning to engage an ongoing conversation with God and how he makes himself known to them. With a further clip from Kevin's discussion with Wayne they find their way into a conversation about learning to live out of our spirits, than out of our intellect or our feelings. It is a major component to learning to live beyond religious obligation and embrace a life of relationship—first with a loving Father, and then with others in freedom and authenticity.

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21 Comments

  1. I lost count of how many times I nodded in agreement with everything you guys said in this week’s podcast. Because I have LIVED it and experienced it first hand, even in this past week. God is good! 🙂

  2. It’s why some silence and solitude is so necessary. There is an unbroken conversation that is happening between the soul and the spirit inside each of us that people often never get in touch with. We spend our days distracted. Often it’s by the conversations we find ourselves in that never serve us when it comes to this reality. They instead keep us caught up in building walls and doors and obstacles that keep the light out.

    It seems the pace people are caught up in continues to increase and works against us hearing that ancient internal unbroken conversation. Wonder if it’s that people have become afraid of what the silence will reveal to them so they instead choose the busy path? Or wonder if it’s due to the powers that be knowing that if we slow down and come back into touch with what’s real and at peace inside us, the place we really belong, their gig is up?

  3. Good point, Kent. Maybe both; our fear that silence will reveal us so we stay busy, AND the powers-that-be fear that if we slow down they will be revealed… and both are driven by fear. The fear–theirs and ours– distracts us from that “ancient internal unbroken conversation.”

  4. Jesus told the woman at the well that the pathway to God is “spirit and truth”. For me, that translates to “my true self”. That true self is my spirit, my essence, the me God created and placed in the earth suit I’m wearing.

    The mind is just part of the earth suit. When it’s making too much noise, it interferes with spiritual communication. But unfortunately, Western Christianity taught me to constantly keep chatter going on in the mind about who God is, what His rules are, how He feels about me, what He wants from me and how well I’m doing with all that. Sad to say, I had to step outside that box a little to discover how to quiet the mind and listen to my spirit. But ironically as I revisited the words of Jesus, I discovered that He also taught that the way to God is through the spirit and not the mind, as I had been taught by “Christianity”…

  5. This is a must listen to podcast for anyone who does not understand how God communicates with us. Few believers that I have met understand their own human spirit. Nor do they understand how God communicates through our human spirits by His Holy Spirit. It is a mistake to dismiss our soul and body as merely “earth suits,” however. The Lord speaks to our spirits in the ineffable, but our souls express that communication to us in thoughts and emotions. The ineffable communication from God is an intuitive apprehension of the communication, but comprehension of that communication requires our souls.

    Quiet times are valuable religious disciplines, but no expectation should be placed upon God to answer our prayers during that quiet time. Sometimes He does, sometimes He does not. As Wayne had said, sometimes God speaks to him during his showers. God speaks when He chooses to speak. I do not believe that most believers can’t hear God. I believe all believers hear God, but what most do not understand is how they heard God.

  6. Another great podcast! The “born again” idea you interjected Wayne, may be worth pursuing more in-depth in a future podcast. It seems like the life we are now living definitely compares more to a birth process than anything I’ve experienced in the past.

  7. Len,

    I second that, my wife and I listened to the pod cast this afternoon in the park, and made a similar agreement.
    And Alex, I loved what you said here; “God speaks when He chooses to speak. I do not believe that most believers can’t hear God. I believe all believers hear God, but what most do not understand is how they heard God.”

    The language of the spirit is an unfolding revelation, not a seminar.

  8. I believe Watchman Nee had great insights/revelation knowledge into these things of the Spirit, along the lines you guys are talking about. ( See his mammoth book: “The Spiritual Man”. )

  9. “If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.”
    ? Stephen Colbert

    I appreciate the discussions on getting in touch with God by withdrawing and having a place of peace and reflection. But Jesus example of touching people, people that no one else wanted to touch was an integral part of who He is. If we live our Caucasian middle/upper class lives only having relationships with people of like social, economic status how does that translate into what Jesus represents on the earth.

    Don’t we need to get OUTSIDE of our comfort zone to be like Jesus? If I am being “led by the Spirit” to only “walk alongside” someone who looks like, talks like, eats like me am I not missing the mark? Are not I missing seeing God in His fullness?

  10. Tamara, when was that way of being in the world (withdrawing from people) ever suggested?

    The suggestion of slipping away from the noise to a quiet space was very much a part of the life of Jesus described in the text.

  11. echo the many positive comments about this podcast. This is one that i have downloaded to make part of my thumb drive library of Godjourney podcasts.

    There is one point where I have to disagree with Wayne & Brad, however much it pains me to do so. Sorry guys. It is a strange almost dogma on their part about talking out loud to God. Not just on this podcast, but in others in the past, both have talked about the “need” to talk out loud to God.

    I think this can be very helpful for alot of folks in developing their journey with Jesus and entering into the reality of that, but it is not necessarily so for everyone. I don’t see anything in Scripture that says that states that the saints of old always spoke out loud to God. In fact, the mother of Samuel was praying inwardly to God when she was rebuked by the corrupt priest for being drunk because he could not hear her prayers, so there is at least one example of inward prayer.

    Don’t want to make too much of this, but this podcast is like the 2nd or 3d time I have heard the Guys make this point about audible prayer and it is starting to sound like a doctrine. If you want to say that talking audibly “can” be helpful, fine. But if you go beyond that it smacks a little of a program or steps to follow.

    All in all, though, great podcast. Keep it up Guys! (Spirit leading, of course).

  12. Glen,

    Amazing how the filters we see and listen through can so easily distort what is being communicated. For me and my wife hearing what you are pointing out, has never been an issue and in fact it was encouraging hearing their thoughts on learning to live in and out of the flow of this intuitive life we share in Christ.

  13. Glen,

    I don’t think we put out anything here as a program to follow, least of all this. It certainly is no doctrine on our part, nor do we feel like it is a mandate from the Lord. Our hope is that our conversations encourage people along this journey. For people who are having a tough time connecting relationally with God we think it can be helpful to pray out loud. But we’ve never talked about that being a requirement or even preferable. I know for a fact that Brad and I often pray “inwardly” as well. Encouraging people who are trying to connect to pray out loud, certainly wasn’t meant to make people feel criticized who find praying in their hearts an effective means as well. I’m sorry if that wasn’t clearer…

    Wayne

  14. After telling my husband one day that I am really worried about where I am with God, not where He is with me, he sent me this quote by Martin Luther.
    “It is not enought to tell believers, ‘You are accepted through your faith in Christ.’ We must tell them also, ‘You are delivered from the bondages of sin through the power of the indwelling Christ.’ For our consciences are also deeply deluded with respect to the possibilty of overcoming the flesh once its dimensions are known. Even if we are assured that our sin is covered, we do not want to face the despair of having to live in conscious, helpless awareness of its tyranny, abusing the grace and forgiveness of Christ. If we have to go on running further and further into spiritual debt, we would rather do this in the dark without realizing what is happening.”
    I relate to this, and along with Colt cry out for the ability to know God. This faith thing is still hard, and I don’t know why after 25+ years. Leaving the institution has not made it better, not worse either. Without the peer pressure of that environment I seeing, atleast partially where I really am- and it still scares me. I am obviously missing something big. God help me.

  15. Wayne,

    Could you unpack your view on human composition? I had always thought that soul and spirit were interchangeable in the bible so we have a two part composition, body and soul (or spirit). In relationship with God we have body, soul or human spirit, and Holy spirit–God living in us.

    In this podcast, you and Brad contrast “soulish” behaviour and living out of our human spirit. Is this like the living by the “flesh” and living by the “Spirit” Paul talks about? Were you and Brad talking about a view where we have: body, soul, human spirit, and the Holy Spirit in us?

    Does it matter for living in relationship with God? Do you find it helpful?

  16. Colt & Nancy Jo….God wants you to feel safe in His love….faith is letting God love you…..let go and let Him…it really is ok…..love you.

  17. Love the “e-conversation” happening back and forth. I am so very encouraged to know that there are others experiencing the same emotional reality as me. There are times when intellectually I can know truths about God’s love. When life is overwhelming there are times when my heart is in a dark place of feeling “punished”, “bad”. I am seeing very slowly that my Father is winning me into a place where I can see He loves me even when it’s “dark”. A prayer that I have been praying often this last couple of weeks is “Please open my eyes to see these realities”. I echo your pleas to Him for help.

  18. Yes, Sue, so very true.

    The prayer I find my heart/soul/spirit (ha ha) saying ( and not always just inwardly– thanks, Wayne!), is the same one of the man who asked Jesus, “If you can do anything, please heal my daughter.” When Jesus responded, “If? Anything is possible for the one who believes,” the man replied, “I *do* believe. Help my unbelief!” That is my heart in so many areas: I do trust you, Jesus, help my UN-trust! I do believe you love me, Jesus. Help my UN-belief!

    Every time I find myself hitting any kind of spiritual brick wall, I find it so comforting to think of that exchange between Jesus and that man. Most of us have experienced and do live a certain level of faith and trust in God, but it is never absolute or as much as it could be and where God is steadily bringing us. We can relax into him to supply what we are lacking, whether that is joy, hope, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control… even the strength to just take one more step and live another day. I believe you are enough, Jesus. Help my unbelief.

  19. Thanks Glen for sharing that story from the life of Jesus. It’s encouraging to think of different encounters Jesus had w/ people who were experiencing confusion and “darkness”. Mary and Martha with the death of Lazarus…the conversation Jesus had with them there is also very moving. He handled the anxiety and pain that people felt with so much compassion (perfect blend of love and light). May we be won into an ever growing sense of His life working trust in us.

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