This Bible study lesson is based on Chapter 12 of The Abiding Room, a book by Kevin Seacat.

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You may remember the Bible passage below from the three types of people described in chapter 2. This passage is used to describe the worldly person living in the flesh in Level II. The NIV translation uses the word “worldly,” while the ESV translation uses the word “flesh.” That’s because the words “worldly” and “flesh” are interchangeable in describing our hearts, as shown in the ESV version below.

“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?” (1 Corinthians 3:1–4 NIV).

“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?” (1 Corinthians 3:1–4 ESV).

When we’re living in our no-good flesh, the behavior that flows out of our hearts is worldly. When we’re living fleshly, worldly lives, we’re choosing to live in Level II. We are wandering in the wilderness rather than thriving in the Spirit in the Abiding Room.

Here’s the Abiding Room diagram illustrating these verses again:

The apostle Paul laments he couldn’t even talk to the Corinthian church in spiritual terms because he was too busy addressing the problems of jealousy and quarreling arising from their operating in the flesh. It seems safe to assume Paul would much rather be celebrating the spiritual victories that would have been occurring in their lives if they had been living in the Spirit.

I wonder how many pastors in churches today can relate to Paul’s disappointment. They long to teach us the deeper things of Christ, but they are too occupied solving the problems caused by our fleshly, worldly hearts. If it’s true that few of us are consistently living in the Spirit, then unfortunately, it is quite likely many pastors can empathize with Paul.

How do we expect to hear from the Holy Spirit when we are choosing to live in a worldly fashion in the flesh? Just as Paul was sad that he couldn’t address the deeper spiritual things to the members of this church, today the Holy Spirit is often grieved that He cannot speak to us in a deeper spiritual language because we’re living in the flesh.

How, then, do we begin to get out of the rut of worldly, fleshly living? The answer once again lies in the word “surrender.”

Surrendering Worldliness

In just two verses, Romans 12:1–2 packs a great deal of instruction regarding surrendering our worldliness. This includes the exciting promise that the blessing of this surrender is to know God’s will:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1–2 NIV).

This passage instructs us to surrender our whole selves. When the apostle Paul says to offer your body as a sacrifice, he means to give God all of you—your heart, mind, and soul. But also give Him your calendar, your checkbook, your ambition, your relationships—everything. Give God your complete, absolute surrender. Surrender precedes the outpouring of the blessings of the abiding, Spirit-filled life God the Father has planned for you.

Surrendering your worldliness is an ongoing, lifelong process. It involves developing an attitude of wholehearted release of your life to God every moment of each day. Expect God to lovingly and repeatedly reveal worldly attitudes of your heart you hadn’t noticed. Embrace these new moments of awareness as growth opportunities to yield your heart and your life to Jesus.

These verses instruct you to not be of the world but to be encouraged that by surrendering your life to God, you will be able to discern God’s will. Note the word “then.” “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is.” The word “then” connects your surrender to the promise you will receive a greater capacity to know God’s will.

This passage explains there is a prerequisite to clearly knowing the will of God. This requirement is that you do not align your priorities with what this world says is important. The beginning of the blessing of knowing God’s will is the surrender of your worldliness.

The Message paraphrase of Romans 12:1–2 says this for us in everyday language: “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

When we let go of our desires and passions for the things of this world, we can fix our minds on the things of God. This is part of the gradual process of being “transformed” to be more like Jesus. We change from the Level II fleshly person who craves what this world has to offer to the Level III Spirit-led person whose thinking is guided by the mind of Jesus as described in 1 Corinthians 2:15–16: “The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (NIV).

Surrendering Your Worldliness—a Recurring Biblical Theme

It’s up to us whether we live Level II lives, conformed to the world and living by the flesh, or Level III lives, transformed by God and living by the power of the Holy Spirit. At its heart, worldliness is having any worldly god rather than the one true God. Those worldly gods are idols.

God has always been serious about our choosing Him above worldly idols. In the Old Testament, God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments before they entered the Holy Land, telling them He was to be their first priority.

Here are the first two commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3 NIV).

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:4–6 NIV).

Surrender calls on us to align our priorities with those God has for us. One of my favorite verses is a rather obscure one in the Old Testament. The prophet Jonah spoke it while inside the big fish, and it speaks of the enormous cost of loving the things of this world: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs” (Jonah 2:8 NIV 1984).

God’s grace lavishes us with many, undeserved blessings. However, when our ambition is to love, pursue, and cling to the things of this world, such as recognition, money, and power, we miss out on many of the blessings God intends for us. But when we abandon these temporary worldly trinkets that distract us from God, He pours out His grace on us.

The apostle John describes surrendering our worldliness in the New Testament: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15–17 NIV).

Surrender is the remedy to worldliness. To leave behind the wilderness, you must leave behind your worldliness.

Surrender Your Worldliness—Time

Our resources of time, talent, and treasure are truly from God, and we’re blessed when we devote them to His plans and purposes. As has been said plenty of times: look at your calendar and your checkbook and you’ll know your priorities.

Let’s look at those two areas of surrender—time and money.

When you surrender your worldliness, your desire will shift from serving yourself to serving others. You will become a radiant blessing to your community. The needs of those around you are endless. Through community service, you can establish new friendships and learn to better understand the needs of others.

Serving others will broaden your perspective and contribute to your spiritual maturity. You can trust the Holy Spirit to guide you into opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who don’t yet know Him. If you attend church but are still not feeling connected to others, I have a simple, one-word recommendation for you—serve!

Surrendering your worldliness includes ignoring the world’s message to be independent, and instead choosing to be engaged in a local church. The world tells us to live for self and make our own way, but God has chosen and gifted us to be part of a local church body.

The Bible puts it this way: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:24–25 NIV).

In today’s world of technology, there are plenty of opportunities to fool ourselves into thinking we can be part of a church solely through online worship. But God intends us to be interrelated. When we gather together, we’re able to encourage each other, sharpen each other spiritually, and join together in fellowship and service to bless others using our gifts within and outside of the church.

A wonderful part of being connected to Jesus and living the abiding, Spirit-filled life is enjoying all the blessings that arise from fellowship in Jesus’ body, the local church. Colossians 1:18 tells us Jesus is the head of the church: “And he is the head of the body, the church” (NIV).

Some of the most significant experiences of seeing the Holy Spirit at work are when He empowers you in your service within the church. When we’re operating in the flesh, we think like the world, asking, What’s in it for me? On the other hand, when we’re living lives surrendered to the Lord, we’re looking for ways to serve others, which is what Jesus modeled for us in His earthly ministry.

When our children were young, the temptation for Juli and I was to attend church to be served. After a long week, it can be a challenge just to get everyone fed, dressed, and out the door. But as we relinquished our rights for a leisurely Sunday and began serving, we were blessed in ways we couldn’t have predicted. There is no end to how God will bless you in your involvement in serving in small groups, in children’s ministries, and other areas within your church. A surrendered heart is a selfless, serving heart, and a prerequisite for experiencing the fullness of the abiding, Spirit-filled life.

Spirit-filled, Level III followers of Christ are fully engaged in their local church. Regardless of your age, the number of years you’ve been following Jesus, or your biblical knowledge, God’s plan is to utilize the gifts He has given you to bless others. How has God gifted you? Ask your local church leaders how you can identify and utilize your gifts to serve others in your church.

Now, having said all of that, it’s entirely possible to serve others in the flesh. The real evidence of being filled, led, and empowered by the Holy Spirit is when your life displays the fruit of the Spirit. It isn’t so much that service to others is evidence you are experiencing the abiding, Spirit-filled life, but an unwillingness to serve may be a sign that you’re not.

Surrender Your Worldliness—Finances

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10 NIV).

It has been said this verse is the only time in the Bible that God says we should test Him. God challenges you to relinquish control of your finances to Him, and then watch Him keep His promises as He blesses you.

Is this a guarantee against job loss or that the investments in your retirement plan will soar in value? Not at all. It is a statement intended to encourage you to trust God and release your finances to Him so you can experience Him and the blessings He gives you with your finances.

Everything you have is God’s: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1 NIV). But He has entrusted His resources to you to manage faithfully. And the point is clear—what you do with your finances reveals your priorities. How you use or invest your finances is an accurate picture of what you truly treasure.

The Bible gives this guidance as to the attitude of your heart concerning giving when it says: “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:7–8 NIV).

Jim Elliot was a young man when he and four other missionaries were killed while taking the gospel to a remote village in Ecuador.

After his death, an entry was found in his journal, written several years earlier. It presented a crystal-clear picture of what surrendering our worldliness for eternal purposes looks like. It read: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose. Jim’s life illustrated this principle and serves as a dependable reminder that we are wise to invest our temporary resources of time and money in what is eternal.

When it comes to wisely utilizing the resources God has entrusted to us for kingdom purposes, the term “investing” rather than “giving” is perferrable. The funds you invest in your church and in ministries are stored for eternity in heaven. As a follower of Jesus, it is healthy and appropriate to have an Eternal Kingdom Portfolio mindset. That is, just as you may have (or plan on having) personal investments such as a 401k or IRA for earthly purposes, you can set your mind on investing for eternal purposes. God invites you to join Him in His kingdom work so you can experience the joy of participating in activities that will last for eternity.

When you support your church financially, you are part of everything God is doing there. What you do with your finances matters. God wants you to both be blessed and be a blessing. “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38 NIV).

Let’s be clear, however, we can be generous givers while still in the flesh. It’s possible to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. The real evidence of the abiding, Spirit-filled life is, once again, when your life exhibits the fruit of the Spirit. It isn’t so much that generous giving is evidence you are experiencing the abiding, Spirit-filled life, but an unwillingness to fully release your finances to God is a pretty good sign that you’re not.

Surrender, Not Checklists

As we finish these three lessons on surrender, it’s possible you are beginning to think this sounds like a checklist of requirements to experience Level III living. There is a fine line between making sure our relationship with Jesus is where it should be and falling into the trap of turning our walk with Him into trying to keep a list of dos and don’ts. Following a list of rules is just legalism and religion.

Abiding in Jesus is not about checklists; it’s about the condition of your heart. Your heart’s condition, as revealed by your attitudes and actions, is of utmost importance so you can experience the abiding, Spirit-filled life in all its fullness. When your heart is fully surrendered to Jesus, the actions we’ve mentioned flow naturally from it. Moreover, you experience joy and peace from being wholly yielded to God.

ABIDING TRUTH: To experience the fullest blessings of the Spirit-filled life, surrender your worldliness.

Reflection Question

Reread Romans 12:1–2. What stands out to you?

Write down your answer to the box below (“Your Response or Question”) and send it to us. It will appear in Messages.

This Bible study lesson is based on Chapter 9 of The Abiding Room, a book by Kevin Seacat.

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“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another” (John 15:9–17 NIV).

In the last lesson, we studied the first eight verses of John 15 in which Jesus illustrated that the bearing of much fruit is fulfilled by our abiding relationship with Him. Now in verses 9–17, He describes this relationship in very personal and relational terms. In these verses, Jesus applies the vine and branch metaphor to His abiding friendship with His disciples, which includes us.

Hopefully the term “friendship” describes your existing relationship with Jesus. But regardless of how you may currently describe your relationship with Jesus, in this chapter we’ll learn how you can deepen that relationship.

Your Friendship with Jesus

In John 15:15, Jesus describes to His disciples (and us) what the abiding friendship looks like: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15 NIV).

When you think of the people you call your close friends, what comes to mind? What do you do with a good friend? You spend time with them. You enjoy each other’s company. You laugh. You tell each other your hopes, dreams, and fears. You enjoy and trust them.

Well, that’s exactly how Jesus thinks of you—as His friend! Jesus doesn’t just love you—He likes you! That’s why these are the same things Jesus wants to do with you on a daily basis. He not only loves you enough to save you, He enjoys you and longs to be with you every minute of every day.

The Joy of Abiding

On His last night before the cross, after telling His disciples about abiding for the first time, Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11 NIV). He was telling them they would be joyful regardless of their circumstances if they remained in relationship with Him.

The same is true for you today. The good news is Jesus has given you the key to your own joy! Even in times of turmoil—health problems, financial issues, a job loss, others’ antagonism toward your faith—we can still have joy. Joy is spiritual because it comes from God. God and His Holy Spirit never change, so you can be joyful regardless of your situation. Unlike happiness, which is dependent on the unpredictable circumstances of the world, joy is available at any time to you when you’re abiding in Jesus.

What Does Abiding Look Like in Your Life?

“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27 NIV).

What is abiding? Abiding is a restful, obedient activity. It’s not lazy or inactive. It is peace in the midst of obediently carrying out your work. Abiding in Jesus is letting Christ live out His life in and through you by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Abiding means you’re in tune with the amazing reality that Jesus is right beside you. Regardless of the circumstances, you are with Jesus. He’s always with you in all things. He’s right here, right now. Having Jesus alongside you in an abiding relationship makes any of life’s experiences better.

Abiding means staying in harmony, in fellowship, and in union with Jesus. As you walk through your day with Him, the truths you read in the Bible about Him are no longer just words on a page; they come alive through your life. For instance, the patience of Jesus you read about becomes reality in your life as Jesus lives out His patience through you. The peace of Jesus is lived out in your heart and mind, even in the surprises and setbacks of the day. Just as Jesus was never truly alone because He and the Father were one, you, too, are never alone because you are one with Him.

It’s often easy to turn our faith into an expectation of performance. But practicing the presence of Jesus as we go through our day turns what can become religion into a loving relationship with Him. It’s not a checklist to constrain you or a restrictive set of rules to follow, but rather a restful relationship that actually frees you from slavery to them.

You can confidently rest on Jesus’ promises in each area of your life as you acknowledge and understand He is always available to you, and you make yourself available to Him. When you mess up or drift away from Him, don’t ignore it or agonize over it. Quickly acknowledge it (that is called confession), ask Him for help, then simply and confidently move on.

Acknowledging our mistakes with Jesus is much easier than addressing our mistakes with other people. Since we often have trouble getting over our mistakes, we incorrectly assume it’s the same with Him. But Jesus is loving, caring, kind, and gentle. He loves you and is eager to forgive, instruct, reconnect, and move forward with you.

Be reassured by this promise God made to Israel, which is also a promise to us: “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12 NIV). Should you stumble, Jesus’ grace, mercy, love, kindness, and gentleness that you experienced when you first began a relationship with Him is always available to you. Go to Him quickly and be refreshed. Jesus loves you.

And let’s say it again—Jesus likes you! He calls you friend! There is nothing He wants more than to hang out with you. That’s why He made you His—to walk alongside you all day, every day. He wants to talk about what you are going through today and guide you through it.

We should not approach Jesus just to receive something from Him. Instead, we are to go to Jesus to just enjoy Jesus. Just resting in Jesus. Just Jesus. Take heart in knowing there is nothing better than simply resting in Him. Nothing we accomplish in our feeble strength compares to simply enjoying staying connected to Him.

God wants us to become receivers, not achievers. The trying and the striving in our limited strength, even if the intentions are good, is not God’s way. He wants us to be fruit bearers, not fruit producers or achievers. Jesus didn’t say, “I want you to go out and produce fruit.” He said, “Bear much fruit.”

As we discussed in the previously, bearing much fruit is a certainty as we abide in Jesus. Remaining connected to Him is the first and foremost thing. Abiding not only takes priority ahead of even doing the ministry God has called us to, but is actually how Jesus intends for ministry itself to be done. By our staying joined to Him, Jesus actually does the ministry in and through us, rather than our attempting to do it through our own self-effort.

Obedience Maintains the Abiding Connection

Once begun, how do you keep abiding? Jesus explained it to His disciples this way: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:10 NIV). And earlier in the evening He had said similarly, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15 NIV).

In these verses, Jesus says the way you continue to abide is by obeying what God instructs you to do through His Word and His Spirit. These words are firm instruction regarding your friendship with Jesus, describing how to maintain the special, intimate, abiding friendship with Him. Jesus is explaining that you can continue enjoying the fullness of your moment-by-moment abiding relationship with Him through moment-by-moment obedience.

How do you know if you are abiding in Jesus? Since abiding in Jesus causes you to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the confirmation that you are abiding is the same as the confirmation that you are filled with the Spirit—do a fruit inspection. If you sense the fruit of the Spirit at work in you—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—then you know you are abiding in Jesus. At any moment, a fruit inspection can reveal whether you are a part of the vine, or apart from the vine.

But regardless of where you are at any given moment, remember Jesus is always waiting and available to regain full connection and fellowship with you. He loves you, enjoys being with you, and is always lovingly waiting to be asked to guide you.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20 NIV).

A Biblical Example: Mary the Abider of Bethany

The Bible has an encouraging story for all of us ordinary people. Some people might say, “Well, you know, I’ve never had lots of blessings, I’m not sure I’m that kind of person.” Let’s look at someone in the Bible who was an ordinary, common person who had a wonderful, intimate friendship with Jesus and was commended by Him for it. Her name was Mary of Bethany. I like to call her, Mary the Abider of Bethany.

Mary of Bethany was the sister of Lazarus and Martha, and perhaps as much as anyone in the Bible, Mary understood what it meant to abide in Jesus. Luke 10:38–42 tells the story:

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:38–42 NIV).

In the last part of His response to Martha, Jesus makes three statements that contain significant truths for us to embrace today:

1. Only one thing is needed. Though there was much to do, Mary did only one thing—stay near Jesus and listen to Him.
2. Doing the one thing is a choice. Mary made a choice—to remain and rest in Jesus’ presence. She chose to be with Him over all the other things she could have chosen.
3. It will not be taken away. Mary’s experience of being close to Jesus and learning from Him would always be available to her. Similarly, its impact on her would be permanent. The same is true for you today. That’s so reassuring, isn’t it? In a world where friends, family, finances, health, etc., can be taken away, this one thing (the better thing) cannot be taken away—your abiding relationship with Jesus.

Jesus’ Comforting Presence During Difficulties

Though the abiding, Spirit-filled life comes with the promise of the love, joy, and peace of Jesus, and the bearing of much fruit, it does not come with the promise of a life without difficulty. Jesus’ promise and provision is that He will be right next to you as you go through hardship. As others have said, Jesus doesn’t keep you from the fire; He’s with you in the fire. Jesus doesn’t keep you from the valley; He’s with you in the valley. Your problems aren’t extinguished, but they stay in proper perspective.

In fact, God may allow hardships in your life in order to put your faith in Him on display to others. What is better evidence of Jesus’ life being lived in and through you than when you handle trials and difficulties with joy and peace?

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit despite hardships, others—even those who may have never set foot in a church—may begin to ask themselves or ask you directly how you’re able to cope with these challenges. They may begin to wonder how you’re able to approach each day with such calmness when others are anxious or angry. Often, that’s the beginning of God using your abiding life to bear much fruit!

When you’re living the abiding, Spirit-filled life, your life will impact those around you as they see you living above your circumstances. Your spouse, family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors cannot help being attracted to your joy and peace in the midst of life’s uncertainties. Godly character itself bears fruit that remains.

Here are some encouraging words from the Bible reminding us that God is with us during trials:

God will guide you in the midst of your trial.

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21 NIV).

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them” (Isaiah 42:16 NIV).

God will comfort you in the midst of your trial.

“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him” (Nahum 1:7 NIV).

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken” (Psalm 55:22 NIV).

God will help you in the midst of your trial.

“Though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand” (Psalm 37:24 NIV).

“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble” (Psalm 9:9 NIV).

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Psalm 46:1–3 NIV).

God will restore you after the trial.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10 NIV).

Journaling

Consider journaling. Journaling will allow you to capture what is going on in your life and what God seems to be saying to you, and will connect the two. Use any type of journal. It doesn’t need to be fancy. It can be inexpensive spiral-bound notebooks. Keep your journal beside you when you do any type of Bible study. If something is impressed on your heart, jot it down. You could even start by using one of the verses listed above and thank God for how He was with you in the midst of a trial.

Don’t be concerned about the quality of your writing. Just get it on paper. Write the private thoughts of your heart to Jesus, not to others. Every few days, go back and see what’s been happening and ask God to reveal to you what He’s showing you from the events and thoughts of your life.

Your entries do not need to be profound. Some days nothing is written, some days a little is written, and some days a lot is written. Each day start a new page, even if the previous entry was very short. There’s no particular pattern, other than perhaps start with Lord, you are showing me … or Lord, thank you for … But strung together, they will show the blessings of God’s leading in your life.

You can journal in any style that fits you. The important point is you’re in consistent communication with God and are creating a record of His work in your life. As you look back, you can thank Him and praise Him for His loving provision.

Abide in Jesus and Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

Jesus instructs you to abide in Him and promises He will abide in you. Rest in Him, and He will rest in you. He’s always there for you. He’s always waiting for you. He won’t turn you down. But it’s your choice. Abiding in Jesus is choosing Level III living in the Abiding Room.

Spend a few minutes in prayer, resting in Jesus’ presence and sensing what the Holy Spirit is saying to you.

ABIDING TRUTH: Jesus calls you friend and enjoys spending time with you.

Reflection Question

As you start each day in the coming week, ask yourself, “What is one blessing of being friends with Jesus?” Write each one down in your journal and review it each morning before adding to this list.

This Bible study lesson is based on Chapter 10 of The Abiding Room, a book by Kevin Seacat.

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“Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42 NIV).

As we begin the chapters on surrender, the word “Surrender” is shaded in the diagram:

We now know the key to being filled with the Holy Spirit is abiding in Jesus. This means the reason so few Christians are consistently experiencing the abiding, Spirit-filled life is because they aren’t abiding in Jesus. Why is that? I believe the primary reason is simply very few are aware abiding exists and what it entails. Hopefully, the information presented on these pages will help enlighten and inspire many in that regard.

First, it’s important to explore what prevents us from abiding. I think two primary barriers exist for most of us: (1) living for ourselves in the flesh, and (2) sin. Before we can truly abide in Jesus, we must address the effect the flesh and sin have on our lives. The remedy for living in the flesh is surrender. After that, we’ll consider the remedy for sin, which is repentance.

Before we proceed, let’s briefly look at the words we’ll be using. While most things in our spiritual lives exist in varying degrees, in the next few lessons we’ll use absolute and direct terms to make the point about the importance of the abiding, Spirit-filled life. The assumption is that experiencing the full, consistent blessings of the abiding, Spirit-filled life explained previously is only possible if we are obedient to the instruction on surrender and repentance in the upcoming lessons.

In some cases, we’ll be speaking as if the area being addressed is either all or nothing. We will say things along the lines of, “If you want to receive the full benefits, you must pay the full cost.” The hope is that, in our making direct and absolute statements, you will experience an increase in the quality of your life and, ultimately, greater eternal rewards.

Therefore, keep in mind we are using emphatic words for only one purpose: to experience more of the abiding, Spirit-filled life now, and in anticipation of the day when Jesus says to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (see Matthew 25:23 NIV).

In addition, it’s worth noting we’ll use the term “surrender” to refer to the surrender of our will to God’s will after our salvation. Surrender is the ongoing, repeated, daily act of surrendering our will to the Father’s will. Surrender may be known by other names, such as abandon, release, relinquish, or yield. All these terms imply the giving up of ourselves and our rights to Jesus and trusting in His indwelling Holy Spirit to bring about the desires of our hearts in His time and His way.

What might the absolute surrender of your whole heart look like? Let’s explore the possibilities.

The Ultimate Surrendered Life

The ultimate example of a surrendered life, of course, is Jesus. Perhaps as amazing as the fact that Jesus lived a perfect life, is that He left a perfect life. He surrendered His rights and left His perfect life in heaven to be nailed to a cross for us on earth. He did not consider Himself first. In fact, He did not consider Himself at all.

The Bible describes Jesus’ surrender to God the Father this way: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:3–11 NIV).

As we humble ourselves and surrender our will to the Father’s will as Jesus did, our hearts come into alignment with His plans for our lives. Then we can fully know the joy of living out the purpose for which God created us.

Remember, God wants you to experience Him in fullness even in the seemingly minor moments of the day. These minor moments are the pathway to the major plan He laid out for you since the time He chose to create you!

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).

God’s Way or Your Way?

Too often my plans, strategies, and tactics take me off course and bear little fruit. This occurs because of my independence from God rather than the perfect will of God playing out as a result of my surrender and dependence on Jesus.

In many ways, our ongoing spiritual battle is the opposite of a physical battle. In physical battles, you throw all your effort into pummeling the enemy into submission until they surrender and the battle ends. In contrast, to win the spiritual struggle between our flesh and the Spirit, we must begin with surrender. Victory in the spiritual battle within us is assured when we surrender at the outset.

As you follow the example of surrender Jesus modeled, and surrender your rights to self, you can trust the indwelling Holy Spirit to do the work in and through you. Giving up your independent ways sets you on the path leading to victory over your flesh.

Surrender Your Comfort

The fullest blessings of God follow the person living in wholehearted surrender. God sees our hearts as surrendered when they are emptied of our self-centered plans and in a state of ready obedience to His will. Surrender often means leaving the comfortable present circumstances we know for the unknown future God has planned for us.

Let’s look at two biblical examples of people whose surrender meant leaving the life they knew to follow God wherever He led them. The first example is Abraham in the Old Testament, and the second is Peter and the disciples in the New Testament.

The earthly blessing Abraham and the disciples received was the result of abandoning their agendas and accepting God’s invitation to follow His plan for their lives. While we don’t know exactly what they gave up, we do know they couldn’t have experienced the blessings God had in store for them if they had clung tightly to the safety of their present circumstances. These principles of the blessing of surrender are still true in your life today.

We might not even know Abraham’s name (which was Abram at the time of God’s invitation) if he hadn’t left behind the life he knew for the unknown life God invited him into. Because Abraham trusted God, he became the father of the Jewish nation:

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing’” (Genesis 12:1–2 NIV).

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8 NIV).

It’s also unlikely we would know the disciples’ names if they hadn’t left behind the lives they knew for the unknown plans God had for them. In a dialogue found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the apostle Peter expressed the disciples’ surrender to Jesus in this way: “And Peter said, ‘See, we have left our homes and followed you’” (Luke 18:28 NIV).

Jesus responded to Peter with this affirmation of their surrender and the blessings that follow it: “And he said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life’” (Luke 18:29–30 NIV).

Surrender Daily

What might surrender look like in your life? Is it possible Jesus is the Lord of your life but not the Lord of your today? Is it possible you turn to Him for the big, insurmountable obstacles that occur occasionally in your life but don’t give Him all the little things that are occurring every moment of the day?

Surrender can look as simple as beginning each day with heartfelt attitudes and prayers, such as:

• Lord, this day is yours. I’m going to trust you for everything today.
• Lord, not my will, but your will be done today.
• Lord, I have no idea what this day looks like, but you do, so I’m giving it to you and trusting you for it.
• Lord, I surrender control of this day to you. Take it and use me for your glory.
• Lord, show me how to be your hands and feet today.

An attitude of surrender sets your heart and mind on trusting God to guide you through the upcoming day. A surrendered heart keeps your chocolate milk stirred up. What a wonderful blessing it is to live with a heart fully surrendered to and trusting in Jesus!

Fasting from Self

When we’re in the flesh, we’re very likely motivated by our desire to be esteemed, noticed, admired, and respected by others. Sometimes we long to be the center of attention. With the immense influence of social media today, many sources encourage us to put the focus on ourselves in an attempt to portray ourselves in a positive light. This can become habitual.

As you may know, when the Bible speaks of fasting, it means going without something for a period of time in order to focus on God, to pray about something in particular, and to listen to and hear from God. Try “Fasting from Self.” For three days, try to fast from self by doing as little as possible to draw attention to yourself in both writing and conversation.

Here’s what it involves:

• Don’t tell anyone you’re taking the challenge.
• For three days—if possible, including the weekend when you’re more likely to be around friends and family—don’t talk about yourself.
• Participate in conversations, but don’t express your own opinions.
• If the conversation turns to you, respond briefly, and, without being too obvious, turn it back to others.
• If someone expresses an opinion that’s the opposite of yours, hold back from expressing yours.
• Humble yourself and be genuinely interested in anyone and any topic. Don’t redirect the conversation to something that interests you, even if you are bored and you completely disagree with what’s being discussed.
• If you find yourself in a discussion that seems to have no end in sight, or participating in something that is completely disinteresting to you, stay engaged and enjoy it.
• Last, take a break from posting anything on social media.

If you feel led to try this, you may be surprised at how many times you want to express an opinion or draw attention to yourself. It can be a challenge to yield yourself to such a seemingly easy task, but it may reveal something that will bless your obedience in practicing surrender.

Surrender to God’s Plan for You

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

Although this beloved message from God is directed to the Israelites as a people group, Jeremiah 29:11 describes God’s heart for all His children. God has a unique plan for you too. And if you look in the rearview mirror of your life, you can probably see how God has blessed you when you listened to His directions in the past. You celebrate when you think about these times of trusting Him.

But you may also remember choices you’ve made to go your own way that brought regret. Everyone can look back and see both types of experiences. Take a moment to recall some choices in your past, both good and bad.

You undoubtedly also remember times when the Holy Spirit gave you whispers, hints, and nudges, telling you which way to go. Sometimes you chose to listen to them, and sometimes you chose to ignore them. These experiences remind you of the value of listening to the Spirit’s guidance.

When you completely yield your life to God and abide in Jesus, you can hear the Holy Spirit more clearly as He guides you in the next direction you should go. The view out the front window is not always clear. That’s the point. You have to trust God for where He is taking you and listen to instructions for the next turn. As a follower of Jesus, when you come to a decision point in your life, you can have confidence that the Holy Spirit living within you will guide you in the right direction and help you make the right choice. In those moments, it’s reassuring to know other names for the Holy Spirit are Helper and Comforter!

God created you to live a surrendered life so you can enjoy intimacy with Him. As you increasingly surrender your life to God, you’ll experience the plan He has intended for you from the beginning. It’s a life filled with joy, peace, and the power to live for His glory.

ABIDING TRUTH: To experience the fullest blessings of the Spirit-filled life, surrender your will to God’s will.

Reflection Question

What did Abraham need to surrender to God? What did the disciples need to surrender to God? How can you move forward with this concept of surrendering? What would it look like to daily surrender to his will?

Write down your answer to the box below (“Your Response or Question”) and send it to us. It will appear in Messages.

This Bible study lesson is based on Chapter 11 of The Abiding Room, a book by Kevin Seacat.

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NIV).

Do you ever find yourself working to the point of exhaustion? Does it feel like you often check two things off your to-do list, only to find three more have been added, which leaves you feeling overwhelmed? Do you often feel hurried and worried? Do you feel the frustration of doing it well, but knowing it could have been done better? Do you have trouble saying no to the many good things you could do, and as a result, you don’t have the energy to do the best thing? Do you find yourself irritated at others who, in your mind, aren’t giving 100 percent to the cause?

You’re not alone! Many well-intentioned followers of Jesus feel exhausted. We all need to continue to learn to put into practice the reality that following Jesus also means resting in Jesus.

If we know only striving, we are missing out on the abiding life. And if we aren’t abiding in Jesus, sadly, we’re very likely too familiar with exhaustion. Serving in our own strength will not only wear us out, it will also result in not bearing “much fruit” (John 15:5, 8 NIV). Thankfully, when we fully surrender our striving and self-effort, and our hearts are fully connected to Jesus, we can experience rest and the bearing of much fruit!

Doesn’t that sound contradictory—less effort leading to more fruit? That’s because, in many ways, the surrendered life is the opposite of what today’s world teaches—if we want better results, we must try harder. This counterintuitive nature of the abiding, Spirit-filled life likely helps explain why a minority of Christians today are experiencing it.

When, however, by faith, we give Jesus our absolute surrender, He graciously reaches out, inviting us to abide in Him and receive the fullness of His life and Spirit! We discover Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life to not only eternal salvation, but to contentment in this life as well!

Martha the Tireless Worker

An excellent example of the contrast between abiding in Jesus and relying on self-effort is found in the story of Jesus with Mary and Martha. This is the same Mary we referred to as Mary the Abider of Bethany in chapter 7. Both Mary and her sister Martha were devoted followers of Jesus, but they demonstrated their loyalty in different ways. Let’s look again at how Martha put her faith into action.

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:38–42 NIV).

As we read this story, we need to understand Jesus wasn’t condemning Martha. He was fully aware she was working hard out of her desire to serve Him in the best way she knew. Yet He was gently instructing her that there was a better way.

Martha was giving it her all. She was fully invested, all in, sold out. She fully recognized Jesus was the Son of God, and she was serving Him with all her heart. Because of how she was living out her faith, however, she was missing out on the very best of Jesus in her life. In spite of her passion, she was operating in the flesh and floundering in frustration in Level II. Her focus on the task was distracting her from being teachable.

Martha needed to embrace the rest found in abiding in Jesus by surrendering her self-effort. Jesus was telling her there was rest available in Him, and she could put aside all the world’s ways of working in her own strength by instead choosing to simply abide in Him. Jesus was pointing Martha to abiding in Him rather than striving for Him.

Nothing on Our Own

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise … I can do nothing on my own’” (John 5:19, 30 NIV).

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works” (John 14:10 NIV).

Jesus described His life as letting God the Father live in and through Him. He was not only describing how He lived, but foreshadowing how we are to live—by letting the life of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit do in and through us what we cannot do ourselves.

Realizing we are operating in our own strength is not always easy. Similar to Martha, we may have good intentions, but our method is misplaced. While the deeds of the flesh (such as fits of rage, jealousy, and envy) may not describe your typical daily attitude, the fruit of the Holy Spirit (such as joy and peace) may not seem to describe your daily experience either. You may find yourself caught somewhere in the middle.

That middle is the wilderness of Level II living. Do contentment and restful satisfaction seem to elude you as you follow Jesus? Instead of experiencing the freshness of the fruit of the Spirit, do you find yourself fatigued, disillusioned, and, at times, even hopeless? Jesus, who knows your heart, compassionately lets you know He understands. He tenderly instructs you that, regardless of how hard you strive, feeble branches like you and me cannot bear fruit all alone. He says, “The branch cannot bear fruit by itself” (John 15:4 NIV). Even our best efforts cannot produce the authentic spiritual fruit such as joy and peace that come only from the life of Jesus flowing through us.

Thankfully, it does not have to be this way! Just like Martha, the solution is right next to you—Jesus. He invites you to surrender your reliance on your own strength and instead, rest, trust, and abide in Him. He will accept even your smallest act of faith in turning to Him, lovingly take your burden upon Himself, and walk alongside you.

Three Key Verses Regarding Self-Effort

Three verses taken from three letters written to three churches nicely fit together to encourage us to live by the Holy Spirit and guard against self-effort.

1. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him” (Colossians 2:6 NIV). You’re instructed to continue to live your life in Christ Jesus just as you started. How did you start your life with Jesus? You received Jesus as Lord. You did not achieve salvation; you received it.
2. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9 NIV). How did you receive Jesus and were saved? It was by God’s grace, through faith, not by your works, that you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior. So, referring back to Colossians 2:6, you are to continue to live just as you started—by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus, not by your own self-effort (or works).
3. “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3 NIV). The phrase “not by works” means not by your own self-effort. Nevertheless, it is extremely easy for us to slip into doing works by self-effort. Remember, we said self and flesh are essentially the same. While it may not be intentional, it’s very common to try doing good works in the flesh. Self-effort is doomed to failure because your no-good flesh cannot bear much fruit. Apart from Jesus, we cannot bear as “much fruit” as we can when we are resting, or abiding, in Him.

Just as you received, not achieved, the gift of salvation, so do you continue to bear fruit, not produce fruit. The bearing of much fruit is not accomplished through your well-intentioned reliance on yourself. Bearing fruit is accomplished by trusting God, surrendering your self-effort, and letting the Holy Spirit do His work in and through you as you abide in Jesus.

As we connect these three sets of instructions from Paul, we see they give us guidance for how we’re to restfully follow Jesus.

Living in the Spirit vs. the Self-Effort of the Flesh

Too often in our desire to carry out good works, we do so while forgetting the One who inspired us to do them in the first place—Jesus. If we begin with the abiding relationship with Jesus, we can trust the Holy Spirit to guide, direct, and empower us to complete our work.

God created us for a life of purpose that flows from our relationship with Him. If our priority becomes more focused on obedience rather than on the relationship, we end up getting less of both. But as we abide in our relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit fills us (The Great 2 for 1), and we discover that, not only does the will of God become clearer to us, but the work of God becomes easier for us too.

It’s as C.S. Lewis wrote: “Put first things first and we get second things thrown in; put second things first and we lose both first and second things.” Meaning, if we make our relationship with Jesus our top priority, the good works flow naturally from that relationship. However, if we get things out of order, and thrust forward into attempting to carry out the work in our own strength, we’ll experience less of both Jesus and fruit.

Let’s compare the difference between attempting to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit through our self-effort and watching it appear naturally as we trust in the power of the Holy Spirit.

First, what does it look like to attempt to live out the fruit of the Spirit in the flesh of self-effort? If you get up in the morning and effectively say to yourself, Today I’m going to do all I can to be loving and joyful and peaceful and patient and kind and good and faithful and gentle and self-controlled, you may find (1) at some point you’ll stumble, and (2) at some point you’ll be exhausted. Why? Because you can’t produce those things in the flesh.

The tree of the flesh can produce some meager levels of fruit for a while through self-effort, but eventually a storm will arise that washes away the topsoil and reveals the root of these things is the flesh. You may discover the fruit vanishes, and the deeds of the flesh such as anger, frustration, harsh criticism, and their accompanying fatigue and discouragement appear.

On the other hand, if you get up in the morning and acknowledge, Lord, I surrender this day to you. You know what is ahead, and I know I can’t exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in my own strength, so I am trusting you to do it, then you can likely count on three things: (1) that the fruit of the Spirit that appears is genuine, (2) at some point you may still stumble, and (3) if at the point of stumbling you quickly acknowledge to Jesus that you messed up and simply start over by surrendering again, you can trust you’re back on track, abiding in Jesus.

We will mess up, and Jesus will not be surprised because He knows we’re in constant training. The Holy Spirit will let us know when we’re off-track, but Jesus is not waiting to condemn us. Rather, He’s eager to encourage and guide us. At this point, our faithful friend Jesus will gently say to us what He said to the apostle Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).

As you begin each day, isn’t it comforting to know that Jesus’ grace is constant? His grace is present at the start, the middle, and the end of the day. His grace is present during both your successes and failures. We can rest during the events of the day, knowing it’s no longer us attempting to do things for God in our own strength, but Jesus living out His life through us by the Holy Spirit. The secret is to remain connected to Jesus, not to chase perfection.

Life in the Spirit doesn’t eliminate the problems and difficulties the fallen world brings into our lives, but if somebody else is doing the work, we won’t become nearly as exhausted. By consistently living by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have Jesus’ assurance of bearing much fruit. That’s because it’s not us striving to produce the fruit; it’s Jesus living in us who is doing the work.

Surrendering our self-effort doesn’t mean we spend all day napping and expecting things to get done. God didn’t save us for leisure and laziness but for kingdom purposes. As we live by the power of the Spirit, we can know what to do and can enthusiastically embrace God’s plan for us, experiencing the Spirit’s presence and power throughout the day.

Here’s how Paul described the transforming work of the gospel in and through him: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV).

Abide during the process, obey at decision points, and trust God for the results. Over time, you will have fewer and shorter detours in the flesh. And what is even more exciting is that as you increasingly walk in the Spirit, you can be confident that, step-by-step, you are becoming more like Jesus!

The Love You Had at First

“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” (Revelation 2:2–5 NIV).

Jesus gives us an invitation, saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary” (Matthew 11:28 NIV). Does this describe you? If so, He invites you to surrender your self-effort and rest in Him.

Do you remember the freshness of your faith when you first came to Jesus? You knew so little; yet you knew all you needed to know because you knew Jesus. You knew your childlike faith alone was enough. Jesus says everyone, no matter their gifts or experiences, must come to Him as a child.

When Jesus calls you friend, He gently invites you to leave behind your self-effort and enjoy His company. Friends don’t require our performance; they just enjoy our presence. When you’re with your best friend, you’re relaxed, rested, smiling, laughing, and enjoying their company. Your friend Jesus is inviting you to throw away your attempts at pleasing Him with your self-effort and simply come alongside Him and abide.

ABIDING TRUTH: To experience the fullest blessings of the Spirit-filled life, surrender your self-effort and rest in Jesus.

Reflection Question

How did Jesus describe the contrast in how Martha and Mary lived out their faith?

Write down your answer to the box below (“Your Response or Question”) and send it to us. It will appear in Messages.

This Bible study lesson is based on Chapters 13 – 15 of The Abiding Room, a book by Kevin Seacat.

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God Is Holy

“Be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44 NIV).

In this final lesson, we’ll look at another Biblical illustration of the reality of the Abiding Room—the temple of God. We’ll see how the Abiding Room is actually the holy place of God where we dwell in His presence.

The Definition of Holiness

God describes Himself as holy. Holy means to be set apart. It means absolutely pure, perfect, or sacred.

Holiness is the essence of who God is, and because He is holy, He cannot be pleased with anything impure. And since there is nothing good in our flesh (Romans 7:18 NIV), God cannot be pleased with His children when we are living in the flesh. But our actions are always pleasing to Him when we are filled, led, and empowered by His Holy Spirit. Even in our imperfect, human state, as a loving Father, God is pleased with His children when we’re living in the Spirit.

Encountering God’s Holy Presence

Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly emphasizes His holiness. When people encounter God’s holiness, it is overwhelming and can be terrifying.

In the Old Testament book of Leviticus, as God gave Moses and Aaron His regulations for living lives of cleanliness and presenting acceptable offerings to Him, He said: “For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44–45 NIV).

When God was about to save the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt, He appeared to Moses in a burning bush. The voice of God didn’t proclaim His love to Moses, but rather God’s own holiness. When Moses encountered God, it wasn’t a comfortable experience. It was a frightening one, a momentous event that was recounted in the early church more than 1,000 years later in the book of Acts: “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt’” (Acts 7:30–34 NIV).

Later, Moses asked God to show him His ways so he might know how to find favor in God’s sight. God responded by saying His face of unfathomable goodness and holiness could not be looked upon even by Moses, the man of God: “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.’ Moses said, ‘Please show me your glory.’ And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name “The Lord.” And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen’” (Exodus 33:17–23 NIV).

At the end of the Bible, in the book of Revelation, the apostle John gets a glimpse of Jesus seated on His throne in heaven, and the overwhelming spectacle of heavenly creatures worshiping Him day and night without ceasing. They never stop praising God and His holiness: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come” (Revelation 4:8 NIV).

Ignoring or underestimating the importance of the holiness of God leads to a diminished relationship with God. The insightful author and thinker of the previous century, A.W. Tozer, writing on God’s holiness in his classic book on the nature of God, The Knowledge of the Holy, wrote, “Because he [God] is holy, his attributes are holy; that is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy.”

The Tabernacle and Temple of God

The reality that God’s holiness sets Him apart from sinful mankind is clearly illustrated in physical terms in the architecture of His temple. There, God is distinctly separated from man.

As the Israelites wandered in the desert in the early chapters of the Old Testament, God was with them in the first temple called the tabernacle. The tabernacle could be disassembled and moved when God instructed them.

Many years after the Israelites had entered the Holy Land, Solomon built an extraordinary temple for God in Jerusalem. Solomon’s temple was destroyed around 586 BC. Later, the prophet Ezekiel received a vision of another magnificent temple that, to date, has not yet been built. Centuries after Ezekiel’s vision, King Herod had another temple built. It was less magnificent than Solomon’s temple, and, in AD 70, it was also destroyed.

While people may look at the architecture and marvel at one temple more than others or compare the temple of God with other man-made structures, the true magnificence of any temple is due to God’s presence.

Physically, one of the commonalities is that each temple consisted of essentially three parts—the outer court, the inner court, and the holy places. God resided in the innermost part of each temple—the holy places. In the Old Testament, only the priests had access to the holy places, and they entered for the purpose of making sacrifices for the sins of the people.

The holy places consisted of both the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. We will refer to them together as the holy places, which is the term the book of Hebrews uses, as we will see shortly. The Abiding Room is the holy place of God. We can depict the holy places as Level III, as shown in the next diagram:

The Glory of God Fills the Temple

In the Old Testament, there are descriptions of special events where the glory of God fills the temple. Each is an overwhelming occasion.

Moses experienced this with the first temple, which was referred to as the tabernacle: “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34–35 NIV).

When Solomon prayed at the dedication of the temple, whose construction he oversaw, the glory of the Lord again overwhelmed the people as it filled the temple: “As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, ‘For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever’” (2 Chronicles 7:1–3 NIV).

The prophet Ezekiel describes a truly awesome experience as the glory of the Lord fills the temple: “And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple” (Ezekiel 43:2–5 NIV).

God’s presence, power, majesty, and holiness are in His temple and are apparent to all who encounter Him. Throughout history, God’s glory filling the temple was a staggering revelation of God to man.

Jesus Made a Way into the Holy Places

Much as God dramatically revealed the salvation of mankind through the parting of the Red Sea, He revealed a new relationship with mankind through the profound tearing of the temple veil that separated us from the holy places: “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land … And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open” (Matthew 27:45, 50–52 NIV).

God tore the veil in a way only He could—from top to bottom—at the exact moment Jesus died for mankind’s sins. The tearing of the veil symbolized the death of Jesus made a way we could enter into the presence of God. By Jesus’ blood, a new covenant (agreement) with mankind had begun, and we can now have a wonderful abiding fellowship with God through Jesus.

In the Old Testament, the priests entered the holy places to repeatedly make sacrifices on behalf of the people for their sin. But now, because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross for your sin, He has made a way for you to enter into fellowship with your Holy God.

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:11–14 NIV).

There is no more need for a physical temple where priests make sacrifices for your sins. Jesus’ death means you can experience intimate fellowship with God without the need for a physical temple: “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:24–26 NIV).

Jesus made a way for you to enter into the holy places that were once off-limits to ordinary people like us. He made a way for you to enter that no longer requires the blood of animals. You can walk through this door that is made possible by His blood.

Because God is holy, however, the presence of any sin must be addressed. The wondrous reality of entering the holy places of precious intimacy with Jesus exists by God’s grace but requires your humble submission. You may approach the throne of Jesus having first responded in faith by confession and repentance of any sin the Holy Spirit reveals to you. The writer of Hebrews describes your confident entry into God’s presence this way: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19–22 NIV).

Fear Has Been Replaced by Joy

The Abiding Room is the holy places. Jesus has made the holy rooms once reserved exclusively for priests the new Abiding Room for ordinary people like you and me! Jesus has made a way so that the holy places even priests once entered with fear can now be entered by all God’s children with joy. Fear has been replaced by joy!

The reality of this new privilege gets even better. Jesus sets no time limit on how long you can remain in His holy presence. It is up to you. As long as you abide and obey, you can remain in the joy of the Lord: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:10–11 NIV).

Praise to the name of Jesus, who made a way for you to both enter into and remain in the joy of His presence and the presence of His joy!

You Are the Temple of the Holy Spirit

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV).

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NIV).

Beginning with Pentecost in the New Testament, God’s Holy Spirit took up residence in a new temple without walls—the hearts of Jesus’ followers. Once again, it’s not the externals of God’s temple that matter, but to what extent the occupant of the house—the indwelling, almighty God—is put on display.

In the verses above, twice Paul teaches the Corinthian church that they are the temples of God. In each case, Paul is reminding them of their great privilege of being indwelt by the Spirit of God and of the accompanying high calling it entails. The Spirit of God is holy, and as a result, the church at Corinth, as well as you and me today, are called to lives that are pure and devoted to God.

When you were first saved and the Holy Spirit made your heart His permanent home, He didn’t move into an immaculate residence. He moved in with the mandate from God to gently and intentionally begin a cleaning project that will last your entire lifetime. It’s up to you as to when you are obedient to actively carry out the Holy Spirit’s instructions. You get to choose when to start and how deep you’re willing to clean. You can procrastinate, or you can quickly initiate changes to begin experiencing the joy and peace that accompanies the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Know for certain that, even when you are living in the flesh, the Holy Spirit is still living in you. And be encouraged that the entire time you are taking actions of obedience, Jesus is smiling. He is watching in delight as you are becoming the person He’s always known you will be and as your heart continually becomes a more beautiful palace for the Holy Spirit to reside in.

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11 NIV).

Today, God is still glorified when His temple is filled with the Holy Spirit, but now that temple is you! Every follower of Jesus is the temple of God and indwelt with the person of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s desire that you, your body, and your life put His glory on display. This is accomplished when you are filled with the Holy Spirit. As you abide in Jesus, God’s temple is being continuously filled with the Holy Spirit.

Pursue Holiness

“Pursue peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14 NASB).

Think about how, so many years ago, great men of God such as Moses, Solomon, and Ezekiel were overwhelmed by the glory of God filling the temple in the Old Testament. Isn’t it almost incomprehensible that as a follower of Jesus you have the same Holy Spirit residing in your heart? Isn’t it astounding you have access to the very same power every minute of every day through the indwelling Holy Spirit? What an immense gift the gracious God of the universe has given you as His child in the person of the Holy Spirit!

No one in this lifetime becomes and remains entirely holy, but God tells us to pursue holiness. Since God alone is holy, when we desire to be holy as God is holy, our only option is to pursue God Himself. This is a lifelong pursuit. But just as a loving, earthly father takes joy in running with his small child and letting himself be caught, so, too, does your heavenly Father. In His love and grace, when you wholeheartedly pursue Him, God takes joy in letting you “catch” Him—and then filling you with His Holy Spirit!

Repentance

Now we will discuss repentance for followers of Jesus after salvation. Repentance relates to God’s holiness and your ongoing choice to live in the flesh or in the Spirit at any given moment.

“Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4 NIV).

The word “Repent” is now shaded in the diagram:

What is repentance? Repentance means having a change of heart and mind that causes us to turn from going our own way and instead go God’s way. It means turning from our sin to God.

Restoration Not Condemnation

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1–2 NIV).

While God’s unconditional love means we will never lose our relationship with Him, repentance brings us back into the fullness of that relationship. It’s part of God’s plan for our continual, full, relational restoration with Him. It does not lead to punishment or condemnation, but rather to restoration!

Repentance, like surrender, is another condition required for believers to experience the deeper, abiding fellowship with Jesus. Our sin is a barrier that keeps us from abiding. Repentance is the remedy to this barrier. Having repented of known sin, we can abide in Jesus and thus be filled with the Spirit.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17–19 NIV).

As followers of Jesus, we need to continually renew our minds. Repentance is part of the transformational thinking that brings transformational living. God lovingly accepts our repentance when we acknowledge our sin. When sin is present, God is always eagerly awaiting our repentance. It is certain that when you repent, God will forgive you!

God Is Holy

Let’s briefly review the diagram that shows God is both love and holy:

Once more, it is important to understand God is holy. And again, the word “holy” means set apart or sacred. God is without any trace of sin or evil.

As we learned, when Adam and Eve sinned, they could no longer live in the Garden of Eden. A barrier was placed between God and all humankind. Why? Because God is holy, and as a result, there were consequences for man’s sin.

Because God is holy and because you are His beloved child, He cannot be pleased when you sin. When we sin, it negatively impacts our relationship with Him. While God’s love is unconditional, His pleasure is conditional, because He is holy: “For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy for I am holy … For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44–45 NIV).

God’s Holiness Reveals Our Sin

Isaiah 6 tells of the prophet Isaiah’s dramatic encounter with God’s holiness: “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’” (Isaiah 6:1–3 NIV).

There is no hiding our sin from our all-knowing God. When we seek God, His character and His holiness are revealed to us. His holiness reveals to us any sin that is present. This is when we see ourselves as God sees us.

Isaiah experienced the conviction of sin in his encounter with God’s holy presence: “And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’” (Isaiah 6:4–5 NIV).

When the presence and work of the Holy Spirit convicts us of the presence of sin in our lives, our correct response is repentance. We repent because of who God is. He is holy. God desires the best for us, and that means He leads us to repentance.

Even in repentance, our depraved hearts will always fall short of God’s holiness. Thankfully, His grace bridges the gap from our repentance to His holy presence. Isaiah experienced this firsthand when God reached out and restored him: “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for’” (Isaiah 6:6–7 NIV).

God’s Best for You Leads You to Repentance

“Your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Corinthians 7:9–10 NIV).

Note how this passage distinguishes godly sorrow from worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow does not lead to repentance. We can be sorry we got caught in sin or that we are experiencing the consequences of sin, without repenting.

Godly sorrow brings repentance, not merely regret. Godly sorrow leads us to genuine repentance not merely because it will relieve or reduce our pain but because we see our sin as God sees it. Godly sorrow produces a deep conviction and a sincere hatred toward sin because it is a detestable offense toward our Holy God.

Disconnecting by Disobedience

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17 NIV).

In the next diagram, the word “Sin” is highlighted on the out arrow:

Sin impacts our abiding relationship with God. When you sin, God still loves you because He is love, and you are His beloved child. But God cannot be pleased with your sin because He is holy. When you receive instruction from the Lord through His Word or His Spirit’s promptings, and you know what to do but choose to disobey, that is sin. A stubborn refusal to repent leads to the loss of the fullness of the blessing of abiding in Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning” (1 John 3:4–6 NIV).

As we saw earlier, sin grieves the person of the Holy Spirit and quenches His power, as described in Ephesians 4:30 and 1 Thessalonians 5:19. And though the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in you forever, sin creates uncleanliness that diminishes the fullness of your intimacy with Jesus.

There’s more at stake than simply whether or not you will repent. It’s a choice of whether or not you will abide in Jesus and be filled with the Spirit. All the wonderful blessings of the abiding, Spirit-filled life we have examined in previous chapters are available when we acknowledge our sin and repent. The decision to repent carries with it the choice to either be part of the minority who generally reside within the Abiding Room or among the majority of Christians living primarily outside of the Abiding Room.

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14 NIV).

Stated in absolute terms, if you won’t repent, it displeases God. If you refuse to repent, you cannot expect to fully abide and thus be filled with the Holy Spirit. Our refusal to repent is a personal choice to not be filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s a choice to live a Level II life rather than experience the full abundance of a harmonious relationship with God in Level III, Spirit-filled living. Yes, God’s love, mercy, and grace remain, but so does His holiness.

Is it worth the loss of God’s full favor and blessing to stubbornly refuse to repent of known sin?

The “Continual” Way of Living

Just as with any other relationship, our relationship with Jesus is constantly changing. In John 15:5, when Jesus said, “Abide in me,” He was in essence saying, “Remain in continual fellowship with me.” Ephesians 5:18 essentially says, “being continually filled with the Spirit.” Similarly, Colossians 2:6 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him” (NIV).

This principle of continuity applies to repentance as well. Walking in the Spirit is a life of ongoing repentance. Repentance is not only how you were saved initially; it’s also how you are renewed continually.

As he prepared the way for Jesus’ ministry, John the Baptist said, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8 NIV). You began your walk with Jesus by repenting. The good work God started in you carries on within you as His grace continues to lead you to repentance.

In his book, Repentance, The First Word of the Gospel, Richard Owen Roberts says, “When a Christian grows careless about repentance, sin and self begin to crowd back into the life, and moral and spiritual decline set in as God demonstrates His displeasure by withdrawing more and more of His manifest presence. When true repentance occurs, a moral and spiritual recovery is made as God returns in refreshing power. If one lives in perpetual repentance as one ought, neither the decline nor the renewal occurs, but rather a steady upward movement is discernable. But alas, few live in consistent repentance, and thus an erratic lifestyle characterizes most professed Christians.”

Confession and Repentance Together

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8–9 NIV).

Confessing means agreeing with God about your sin. Confession precedes repentance. It’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of “sin, confess, sin, confess” but never come to repentance. If you keep repeating the same sins in your life, perhaps it’s because you’re going the same way and haven’t turned around. It’s quite possible to agree with God that you’re going the wrong way (confession) without turning around (repentance).

To experience the abiding, Spirit-filled life, when you sin, the only thing that will get you going back in God’s direction is the life-changing, heartfelt turnaround of repentance. When the Holy Spirit reveals your sin, you need to agree with God that what He says is true, and turn back to Him by repenting.

Jesus Welcomes Repentance

Jesus is always giving you an open invitation to repent when sin is present so you can experience the fullness of His presence and blessings. It is His desire for you to become more like Him, so He gave you the Holy Spirit to reveal your sin so you will turn from it.

Let’s look back at the Last Supper when Jesus was with His disciples and described the abiding relationship. First, He described the people in the relationship—the Father as the Vinedresser, Jesus as the true Vine, and His followers as the branches. Then He told the disciples they were already clean. Next, He said, “Abide in me,” and began describing the blessings of bearing much fruit, answered prayer, etc., that flow from the abiding relationship with Him. The disciples were attentive listeners and learners as Jesus spoke.

What if instead of being submissive, obedient, teachable, and attentive, the disciples were constantly debating Jesus on what He was teaching them? What if each time He taught them something, they were saying things such as, “No, I disagree. I think you’re wrong. Here’s what I think”? Do you think Jesus, the Son of God, would have ignored their resistance and continued to share with them the intimacy of the abiding life if they were exhibiting those types of attitudes toward His teaching?

Or, what if while Jesus was speaking, they were all sitting around the table looking at pornographic drawings? What if they were sexually involved with women who weren’t their wives? Do you think Jesus would have ignored these sinful behaviors? It’s more likely He would have spoken to them as He often spoke to the crowds following Him—speaking direct truths so they might understand and make important adjustments in their lives. It’s much more likely He would have dealt with their sin before He invited them to abide in Him.

Rest assured that when you mess up, Jesus is never looking to harshly say “Gotcha!” Far from it. Instead, He is always there to catch you and gently say “Don’t worry. I gotcha.” He stands there with open arms, ready to embrace you with His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

The Restoration of Joy Arising from Repentance

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:12 NIV).

Can you wholeheartedly say you’re experiencing the joy of the Lord? The beginning of the restoration of the joy of your salvation, as King David asked for in Psalm 51, is one U-turn away. Repentance triggers an outpouring of God’s grace and mercy that brings the joy of the restoration of a right relationship with God.

It is worth noting that while repentance is turning to go in the right direction, typically it won’t immediately bring you to your destination. Any journey begins by taking a first step in the right direction, and you will need others to accompany and help you.

Long-term ingrained sin patterns and addictions take time to overcome. You may need to talk to a pastor, seek counseling, or enroll in a program specifically designed to assist you in your commitment to change.

As you consider the truths of repentance, which can be an uncomfortable process, don’t get discouraged. Don’t stop! Keep going—this is the process that leads to blessing! This leads to God’s best for you and all that He has in store for you.

God’s Word reminds you of this: “God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:10–11 NIV).

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV).

Search Me, O God

Do you long to have the blessings of intimacy with Jesus poured out on you richly as the previous verses remind us? Do you long for the regeneration and daily renewal of the fullness of the Holy Spirit? The awareness of any sin in your life is merely a short prayer away. It simply involves asking your merciful heavenly Father to search your heart and open your eyes, mind, and heart to any sin that exists.

Meditate and pray Psalm 139:23–24 below with sincerity right now. Go before God and genuinely ask Him to search your heart: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24 NIV).

God sees your heart as clearly as you see the words on this page. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you at this moment? Did He bring to mind something you need to do? Did He bring to mind someone you need to go to?

Right now, you might be squirming as you think about what it might cost you to fully follow Jesus and repent of your sin. If I were sitting across from you, I’d do everything to keep you from squirming out of this. There’s too much at stake. You have too much to gain! Don’t let your pride stand in the way of you making a spiritual U-turn. Take action.

Turn around now so you are heading in the right direction. Repentance restores, refreshes, and revives.

Listen to what God is saying to you and obey. The rewards await! “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 24–25 NIV).

ABIDING TRUTH: Because God is holy, to experience the fullest blessings of the Spirit-filled life, repent of all known sin.

Forgiveness

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:30–32 NIV).

Perhaps you’ve had the experience of receiving a notice of a gathering, reunion, wedding, or some other event you would like to attend, but your mind quickly jumped to the thought, “Oh no! THAT PERSON who did THAT THING to me will be there!” Instead of being excited about attending the event and seeing family and friends, you begin fretting about having to be in the same room with THAT PERSON. Have you ever felt like that? I know I have.

We Are Commanded to Forgive

We have looked at many aspects of how we can experience the abiding, Spirit-filled life. Now let’s look at an important, common hindrance to experiencing the fullest blessings of Level III living—unforgiveness. It falls within the category of repentance, but it’s addressed separately and saved for last because it merits special attention.

Jesus commands us to forgive each other. In Matthew 6:14–15, he said,

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (NIV).

Unforgiveness is a difficult issue that comes in many forms and often lingers for years. It digs deep into our hearts and is tough to get out permanently, often reappearing suddenly as a major barrier to Spirit-filled living. Is anyone immune to its impact?

We have all had people do things to us that hurt deeply. Perhaps you’ve had some things done to you that are horrendous. But the Word of God is consistent—the path to freedom and the overflowing blessing of Jesus is forgiveness in your heart.

Ephesians 4:30–32 at the beginning of the chapter shows us the connection between unforgiveness and grieving the Holy Spirit. When we have unforgiveness in our hearts, it grieves the person of the Holy Spirit. When in our flesh we choose to not forgive, we are also choosing to forfeit the fullness of the blessings of abiding in Jesus. The lack of love in our hearts brings with it a loss of joy and peace not just toward the unforgiven person, but across our entire lives.

Jesus instructs us to love each other as He loves us. Therefore, if we choose not to forgive another person, it is direct disobedience to His command. Even partial disobedience is disobedience, and disobedience is sin. As we’ve seen, going all the way back to Adam in the garden of Eden, sin separates us from the abiding relationship with God. It was that way in the garden, and it is that way today.

Experiencing the fullest measure of fruit bearing Jesus described when we are abiding in Him is negated when the poison of unforgiveness resides in us. God, however, will bless your obedience to repent of unforgiveness with the power to live in freedom that cannot be experienced otherwise.

Forgiveness, then, is the obedience that comes about after we confess (agree with God about our sin) and repent (turn from our sin to God). Obedience to forgive others can take us from Level II to Level III living. Be assured, God still loves you unconditionally and can choose to bless you even if you don’t forgive. It’s not that God will abandon you if you are unrepentant, but He longs to pour out even greater blessings to those whose hearts have been made clean by repenting of their unforgiveness.

Unforgiveness in Our Lives

The reasons for unforgiveness are extensive and may include when someone:

• ignored you
• continually disappointed you
• continually criticized you
• snubbed you
• failed to appreciate your efforts
• claimed your work as theirs
• cheated you
• excluded you from their group
• used you and then dumped you
• fired you
• lied to you or about you
• gossiped about you
• harmed you financially
• harmed you verbally
• harmed you physically
• harmed you sexually

Of course, this is not a complete list. Someone may have done some other awful thing to you. But whatever the offense, our unforgiveness can often reveal itself in a desire to see the offender punished. We may fear they’ll get away with it and even think of ways to get even with them. This may manifest itself in actions such as ignoring them, being rude to them, telling others about their offenses, or other forms of revenge.

God, however, is clear that He is in charge of repaying them for their sin:

“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:17–21).

Doesn’t knowing that God is aware of their sin, of how it hurt you, and that He promises to deal with them in His way and timing give you greater freedom to forgive them?

It’s possible THAT PERSON may be unaware they’ve harmed you. You may have even discussed the situation with them, and they downplayed or refused to acknowledge their offense. But your forgiveness cannot be dependent upon their viewpoint and actions, because those are out of your control. What is within your control is your ability to choose to give up your devotion to your unforgiveness and allow the Spirit of God to empower you to forgive them.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting what was done to you. It doesn’t necessarily result in reconciliation. It may or may not result in trust being restored in the person who harmed you. It is possible to forgive and still wrestle with the emotions of having been hurt. The process of forgiving may very naturally lead to feelings of anger, mourning, and sorrow.

Jesus understands the heartache you feel from the wrongs done to you. While Jesus forgave everyone who sinned against Him, He still felt pain as a result of the hurtful actions of others:

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3).

God recognizes you will feel pain from the unkind or hostile actions of others and is always available to let you unload your burdens on Him. He promises to be with you and comfort you in the midst of your pain:

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

Again, it’s possible—and reasonable—to mourn, grieve, and feel anger as you process your unforgiveness. Ultimately, what you choose to do with those emotions is what matters to God.

In the never-ending spiritual battle going on in your heart between your flesh and the Holy Spirit, your flesh may continue to remind you of the unjust actions of THAT PERSON. Do not be discouraged—this is a battle you can win by the power of the Spirit within you.

The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent as a Counselor to indwell your heart, continues His work to bring you to full spiritual maturity as you become more like Jesus. The Holy Spirit will minister to you as you take steps to forgive. He will guide you in the same way as Jesus always has—in love. Freedom from the burden of unforgiveness is available to you if you choose to be obedient to His leading.

Love and Forgiveness Go Together

On His last night before the cross, as He introduced and connected the abiding life with the upcoming arrival of the Holy Spirit, Jesus also tied love and obedience together. Jesus knew unforgiveness would be a problem. And He knew we can’t be both unforgiving and loving toward someone at the same time. So just before He began laying out the abiding, Spirit-filled life at the Last Supper in John 14–16, He spoke about loving each other:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34–35 NIV).

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:10–12).

Jesus connected abiding in Him with loving others. He didn’t say, “Love and forgive if …” or “Love and forgive except …” or “Love and forgive when …” Jesus never said to love and forgive others if they acknowledge they are wrong, or if they say they are sorry, or if they make things right. He simply said, “Love one another.”

Love and unforgiveness cannot co-exist. If we won’t forgive someone, we’re unable to love them as Jesus loves us. When we choose to not forgive, we’re also choosing to disobey Jesus’ instructions regarding loving others. He said:

“We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:19–21).

Without question, forgiving others is easier said than done. You may need to talk to a pastor or leader in your church, a good friend, or a biblical counselor. It may be a process that takes weeks, months, or years. It may pop up again in your heart and need to be revisited. But regardless of the challenges, pursue whatever actions are necessary to rid yourself of unforgiveness.

“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled” (Hebrews 12:14–15).

The Blessing of Forgiveness

Is it possible your unforgiveness is robbing you of the joy and peace of Jesus?

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, “You will become free”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’” (John 8:31–36).

Jesus’ heartfelt desire is for you to have the full measure of His joy flowing through you. He longs for you to experience an abundance of His presence. But consistently experiencing the fullness of the blessing of the abiding, Spirit-filled life is conditioned upon repenting of the sin of unforgiveness.

Think of the relief it will be to let go of your grudge toward THAT PERSON. You’ll be freed up in your mind and your heart to fully enjoy resting in the presence of your friend, Jesus. Think of the contentment you will have, knowing you have been obedient and are no longer bound by the grip of unforgiveness. Rather than repeatedly replaying the offense in your mind, you will be free to embrace this peaceful, life-changing, biblical thinking. Think of the peace you will experience when you choose love over bitterness.

While Jesus was on the cross being crucified despite being sinless, He looked on the men crucifying Him and said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34 NIV). The same power and grace that Jesus had to forgive them (and to forgive us), He will give you to help you forgive your offender. Why settle for a few drops of God’s blessing and mercy when you are promised an outpouring of God’s blessing if you’re obedient to forgive?

Don’t Wait to Forgive

How many hours, days, or even years have you wasted agonizing over your initial hurt and bitterness toward THAT PERSON or THOSE PEOPLE? Aren’t you tired of lugging your unforgiveness with you everywhere you go?

Imagine how much more God would do through your life if you were released from those thoughts and filled with His peace and the power of the Holy Spirit instead. Again, it may require you going to a pastor or counselor for guidance and help, meeting with the other person, perhaps apologizing and asking for forgiveness for your actions, or other steps. But whatever steps are needed, don’t wait.

All the promises of blessings of Level III living will be yours when you forgive. Don’t wait another minute to get started. Go to Jesus now and ask Him to give you the strength to forgive. Jesus will accompany and guide you through it, and it will change your life in ways you never imagined.

Dear friend, my hope for you is that you will experience freedom from unforgiveness as expressed in the apostle Paul’s words to the believers in the Corinthian church:

“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. By all this we are encouraged” (2 Corinthians 7:8–13 NIV).

ABIDING TRUTH: Because God is holy, to experience the fullest blessings of the abiding, Spirit-filled life, forgive THAT PERSON who did THAT THING to you.

Reflection Question

What are some ways you could pursue the holiness God asks for? How are repentance and forgiveness related to holiness?

Write down your answer to the box below (“Your Response or Question”) and send it to us. It will appear in Messages.