Keep in Step with the Spirit: Expect the Unexpected

What does it actually mean to live as a Christian?

For some, Christianity can appear to be mainly about believing the right things, attending church, following certain moral principles and trying to become a better person. Those things may all feature somewhere in the Christian life, but the Bible describes something much more dynamic.

It speaks about a life led by the Holy Spirit.

In Romans 8:14, the Apostle Paul writes:

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”

Then, in Galatians 5:25, he gives this simple challenge:

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Together, these verses present both an invitation and a challenge. Christianity isn't simply about knowing things about God. It is an invitation to know Him, to belong to Him and to allow His Spirit to shape the way we live.

And when we begin to live like that, perhaps we should expect the unexpected.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

If you are exploring Christianity, talk about the “Holy Spirit” might sound strange.

Christians believe in one God who has revealed Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit isn't simply a feeling, an atmosphere or some mysterious spiritual force.

He is God present and at work.

The Holy Spirit isn't a late addition to Christianity either.

Right at the beginning of the Bible, Genesis describes the Spirit of God hovering over the waters as creation begins. Throughout the Old Testament we see God's Spirit at work in the lives of particular people, equipping and empowering them for what God has called them to do.

One of those people was Gideon.

When we first encounter Gideon, he doesn't exactly look like the obvious candidate to become a courageous leader. He is frightened and hiding. Yet God calls him a “mighty warrior”.

God could see something in Gideon that Gideon couldn't yet see in himself.

Throughout the Old Testament there is also a growing sense that something greater is coming. The prophet Joel records God's promise:

“I will pour out my Spirit on all people.”

Not simply kings. Not simply prophets. Not simply particularly impressive or religious people.

All people.

The New Testament presents Jesus as the fulfilment of God's promises. After Jesus' death and resurrection, we reach the extraordinary events of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is poured out on Jesus' followers.

What had been promised was happening.

And Christians believe the Holy Spirit is still at work today.

When God nudges us

There is a story of a Christian sea captain crossing the Atlantic who felt an unexplained prompting to change course and investigate an island in the distance.

From a purely practical point of view, it didn't make much sense. Changing course would cause delays and there was no obvious reason to go there.

But he couldn't shake the sense that he should investigate.

When the ship reached the island, the crew discovered a group of shipwrecked sailors who had been stranded there without adequate food or water.

The decision to change course saved lives.

Stories like that naturally raise questions. How do we know when something is God and when it is simply an idea in our own heads?

Christians certainly shouldn't assume that every impulse is a divine instruction. Following the Holy Spirit isn't about abandoning common sense. We need wisdom, prayer, Scripture and sometimes the counsel of other people.

But there is still an important challenge here.

Are we open to being interrupted by God?

Our lives can become incredibly planned.

We know where we're going, what we're doing, what time we're arriving and what we hope the outcome will be. Churches can do exactly the same thing. We create programmes, rotas, calendars, strategies and plans, many of which are good and necessary.

But following Jesus also requires an openness that says:

“God, if You want to redirect me, I'm listening.”

Sometimes that might be something dramatic. More often, perhaps, it is very ordinary.

Speak to that person.

Send that message.

Offer to help.

Stop and listen.

Apologise.

Pray for them.

Give something away.

Change your plans.

Keeping in step with the Spirit means learning to recognise those moments and being willing to respond.

You have been adopted

Romans 8 takes us somewhere even deeper.

Paul writes that those who belong to Jesus have received “the Spirit of adoption”. Because of that relationship, we can cry out to God:

“Abba, Father.”

For Paul's original readers, adoption carried enormous significance. In the Roman world, adoption wasn't merely sentimental. It involved a genuine change of identity, family and belonging.

Paul takes that familiar picture and applies it to our relationship with God.

Through Jesus, we are invited into God's family.

Christianity therefore begins not with what we can do for God, but with what God has done for us.

That distinction matters.

Many of us spend significant portions of our lives trying to establish our value. We want to prove that we're successful enough, good enough, useful enough, attractive enough or respectable enough.

Religion can easily become another version of the same exhausting pursuit:

Perhaps if I'm good enough, God will accept me.

The Christian gospel turns that around.

We don't earn our way into God's family. Christians believe that through Jesus we can be forgiven, reconciled to God and welcomed into a new relationship with Him.

We are adopted.

And that changes how Christians are invited to see God. He isn't a distant examiner waiting for us to make a mistake. Jesus invites us to know God as Father.

What about fear?

Being a Christian doesn't mean that we suddenly stop being afraid.

There is a story of a trainee teacher faced with the daunting prospect of getting 29 fourteen-year-olds into a classroom and under control.

The fear was real.

The answer wasn't to pretend that she felt completely confident. Instead, she had to step forward despite the fear, trusting what she had been taught and acting with confidence even while she was still nervous.

There is something recognisable about that.

Fear comes in many forms.

Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of change. Fear about our families. Fear about money. Fear about the future.

Faith doesn't require us to pretend those fears don't exist.

Romans 8 offers something different. We can face them knowing who our Father is.

For the Christian, “Abba, Father” can become a prayer in itself.

Father, I'm frightened.

Father, I don't know what happens next.

Father, I need You.

Faith isn't always the absence of fear. Sometimes faith is choosing to trust God while our hands are still shaking.

Keep in step

Galatians gives us another picture:

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Imagine people walking or dancing together. Keeping in step requires attention. You can't simply head off in whatever direction you fancy while claiming you're still following.

There is a challenge here for Christians.

Sometimes we're very good at asking God to bless our plans.

We decide where we're going and then invite God along.

But following Jesus reverses the order.

Instead of saying, “God, here's what I've decided, please bless it,” we learn to ask:

“God, where are You leading?”

That matters for us individually, but it also matters for us together as a church.

At CHCC, we want to plan wisely, serve our community well and think carefully about the future. But underneath all our planning must be something deeper:

Are we keeping in step with what God is doing?

Sometimes the Spirit might encourage us forward. Sometimes He may slow us down. Sometimes He may challenge an assumption. Sometimes He may open an opportunity we hadn't considered.

Following Jesus means being willing to listen.

The Spirit changes us

But how can we tell whether the Holy Spirit is genuinely at work?

One important answer is that people begin to change.

Galatians 5 famously describes the “fruit of the Spirit”:

“Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

Notice that these aren't spectacular supernatural abilities.

They're character.

The work of the Holy Spirit should make us increasingly like Jesus.

That means those of us who call ourselves Christians need to be willing to ask some uncomfortable questions.

Am I becoming more loving?

More patient?

More gentle?

More willing to forgive?

More generous?

More self-controlled?

Or have I simply become more knowledgeable about Christianity?

It is possible to know plenty about the Bible while remaining impatient, unkind and difficult to live with. Christian maturity isn't measured solely by how much information we possess. The question is whether what we believe is transforming who we are.

Sometimes that transformation begins with conviction.

Perhaps we suddenly recognise our impatience with someone. Perhaps God exposes pride, bitterness or selfishness that we've excused for years. Perhaps we become aware that the way we speak, behave or treat somebody isn't consistent with the Jesus we claim to follow.

The Spirit doesn't simply point these things out. He invites us to change.

Christianity isn't about presenting ourselves to God as finished products. It is about allowing Him to continue His work in us.

God chooses to live in ordinary people

The New Testament makes an astonishing claim about those who follow Jesus:

“Your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.”

For the original readers, a temple was associated with the presence of God.

Paul takes that image and applies it to ordinary Christians.

God chooses to make His home in His people.

Not just church leaders.

Not just particularly spiritual Christians.

Ordinary followers of Jesus.

That means Christianity isn't something we switch on for an hour on Sunday morning and then switch off again.

God is interested in Monday morning.

He's present in the workplace, the school run, the supermarket, the difficult conversation and the quiet evening at home.

Every part of life can become a place where God's Spirit is at work.

Sometimes Christians simply need to pray:

“Holy Spirit, fill me afresh.”

Because we get tired.

We become distracted.

We become impatient.

Our priorities drift.

We need God to continue His work in us.

Sometimes following Jesus looks like cleaning toilets

There is a story from a church that was running a children's holiday club.

At the end of each busy day, volunteers stayed behind to tidy everything. One volunteer noticed that a woman named Sylvia always seemed to disappear when the clearing up began.

Eventually someone discovered where she was.

She was in the toilets, on her hands and knees, cleaning.

Nobody had asked her. Nobody was applauding her. Most people hadn't even noticed.

She simply saw something that needed doing and served.

That may be one of the most useful pictures of Spirit-filled Christianity.

We can sometimes imagine that being “led by the Spirit” must involve dramatic experiences.

Sometimes it might.

But sometimes being filled with the Spirit means becoming the person who quietly notices.

The person who encourages.

The person who welcomes.

The person who forgives.

The person who stays behind.

The person who gives.

The person who cleans the toilets when everybody else has gone home.

The Holy Spirit gives different gifts to different people, but those gifts aren't given so that we can look impressive. They are given so that we can serve others and point people towards Jesus.

Sometimes the most Spirit-filled thing we can do is something nobody else will ever notice.

What might God do next?

Perhaps that's where the challenge lands for us.

For those of us who have followed Jesus for years, it is possible to become comfortable.

We know how church works. We know the songs, the language and the routines. We know when to stand up and when to sit down. We can become very familiar with Christianity without necessarily expecting God to do very much.

So perhaps we need to ask ourselves:

Are we still listening?

Are we still willing to be challenged?

Are we still asking God to change us?

Are we prepared for Him to interrupt our plans?

Are we keeping in step with the Spirit, or have we simply become very good at walking our own route?

And if you're reading this while exploring Christianity, your next step might be much simpler.

You don't need to understand everything before you begin exploring who Jesus is.

Christian faith starts with Him.

Christians believe that through His life, death and resurrection, Jesus makes it possible for ordinary, imperfect people to be forgiven, reconciled to God and welcomed into His family.

The God Christians believe in isn't simply asking you to adopt a religious lifestyle or become a slightly nicer version of yourself.

He invites you to know Him.

Perhaps a simple prayer is enough to begin:

God, if You are there, help me to know You. Show me who Jesus really is. Help me to recognise what You are doing in my life.

And for those of us who already call ourselves Christians, perhaps our prayer needs to be:

Holy Spirit, fill me again. Show me where You are working. Change what needs changing in me, and give me the courage to follow where You lead.

Because if we genuinely ask God to lead us, we cannot always predict where He will take us.

And perhaps that's exactly the point.

Keep in step with the Spirit.

Expect the unexpected.