Driving in the HOV Lane:
The Importance of the Holy Spirit to Living the Christian Life
by Pastor Matthew E. Walker, 17 November 2006
Around most major cities are highways with HOV
lanes (High Occupancy Vehicle) where people can drive faster and
usually in less traffic than in the normal highway lanes. The
HOV lanes generally are only open to those traveling in the direction
of the majority of traffic (into the city in the morning and out
in the evening). Obviously, because of the speed at which you
can drive and the fewer cars that are on the HOV lanes everyone
wants to drive on them. But if everyone were allowed to drive
on them they would be packed with cars and no one would be getting
anywhere. HOV lanes are not open to every driver. They are only
open to cars where there are at least three people riding. People
driving alone or with only one other person on the normal highway
can only look on with jealousy as they sit idling in traffic watching
people whiz by them on the HOV lane. If you have ever experienced
the difference of HOV driving versus driving on the regular highway
you know how wonderful it is.
The Christian life has an HOV lane. It is not
a literal paved highway made for driving. It is a spiritual highway
that God has made for those who want to live the Christian life
in all its fullness and experience all its blessings. It is the
Autobahn for joy-riding Christians. It is the place where Christians
really move.
Unfortunately, most Christians don’t drive
there. They do look on with jealousy to other Christians who are
driving there. Most Christians continue to sit in a horrible traffic
jam on the highway God did not intend them to take. The traffic
there is so snarled because so many Christians are idling there.
This should not be. Every Christian should be
experiencing the Holy Spirit’s power to live the most enjoyable,
blessings-filled, Christian existence here on earth with their
eyes firmly fixed on the unimaginable joys that God has waiting
for them in heaven.
The question is, why do most Christians not take
the HOV when it is open to them? The only requirement for driving
there is to have a car (life) where there are two present (you
and God the Holy Spirit). Every Christian is filled with the Holy
Spirit at salvation. Why then would most choose to drive in the
lanes of life reserved for people who do not have the Holy Spirit?
In other words, why do most Christians choose to live the Christian
life without the enabling grace and power of God’s Holy
Spirit choosing instead to live as if God was not with them and
choosing to avoid all the things He provides?
If you are just starting your Christian life
this is a paramount question for you to ask. It is vitally important
that you make the transition from flesh guided living that you
are used to in living a godless life prior to salvation over to
a Spirit guided (and enabled) life that God-filled people are
supposed to be living.
Acts 8:26-40 provides a perfect illustration
of this kind of life. A man named Philip (not the disciple but
the deacon mentioned in 6:5) was busy evangelizing Samaria and
many people were coming to Christ. During this time of success
God led him into the desert. A fleshly saint would question God’s
leading here wondering why God would lead him away from a prosperous
ministry into a desert where there are few people and the ministry
opportunities are scarce. Philip didn’t do this. Instead,
he “arose and went.” Obedience is the very best way
to show that you believe. This is trusting that God knows more
than you and that His wisdom is greater than yours so that no
matter how obvious it seems to you, His leading is strictly honored.
Along the journey Philip witnessed a covered wagon, probably one
of many moving along the Gaza to Jerusalem road, moving southward.
In the wagon was the treasurer of the Ethiopian court. He had
been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, probably because he was a God-fearing
Gentile and desired to worship God there. Though he would not
have been allowed admittance to the temple he did purchase a scroll
of Isaiah. He had been reading it carefully but clearly the story
in Acts shows how an unsaved man struggles to understand what
is so clear to Christians (and becomes clearer all the time).
At this point he was at the section in Isaiah 53 where Messiah
is being revealed as the suffering servant. Vs. 29 shows the Holy
Spirit telling Philip to go over and help the man in the wagon.
That vs. 30 shows Philip running only demonstrates again that
Philip values highly the Spirit’s leading in his life. The
words “come up and sit with him” mirrors the work
of the Holy Spirit in our lives. God comes along side us and dwells
with us so that we can benefit from His leading us. At this point
Philip takes the very text where the man in the wagon is reading
and witnessed to him about Jesus Christ. The next three verses
reveal that this man who traveled to Jerusalem to meet with God
but left empty found Him on the way home through the ministry
of a Spirit-filled Christian. Then vs. 39 provides the incredible
transition with Philip being “raptured” away from
that situation by the Holy Spirit to a place called Azotus, “and
passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to
Caesarea. This story in Acts 8 reveals the life of a man driving
in the HOV lane. At every turn the Holy Spirit is leading, enabling,
empowering, and blessing. The man in the wagon turned out to be
an important man in the government of Ethiopia. His influence
is still remembered as the Christian churches of that region point
to him as the founder of their church.
There are so many “exits” off of
the HOV lane that Philip could have taken and which would have
led him away from the place God intended him to be. He could have
questioned God’s leading him away from the successful ministry
in Samaria. He could have wandered off the road when God told
him to join himself to the Ethiopians chariot. He could have taken
the service road exit at the point where he was to “preach
Jesus” and instead taken the opportunity to influence a
government official for some political gain. Philip could have
chosen to get off the HOV and sit in traffic.
Now why do things like this not happen to you?
Maybe they do. Perhaps you are “walking in the Spirit”
so that you know experientially what this passage is revealing.
Most Christians do aren’t. Most Christians choose to drive
in the traffic jam of the natural life highway missing the blessings
and joys of God’s HOV.
Continuing this car analogy in different directions
I would like to show you three things about the Holy Spirit’s
ministry that is available to every Christian. It is important
that as you begin your Christian journey that you realize that
God has installed in you His super-performance engine. You also
need to realize how foolish it is to drive with the parking break
on. Finally, you need to learn how liberating the Holy Spirit’s
ministry is so that you have no fear of being ticketed for “driving”
too fast.
My super-performance engine
When someone becomes a Christian he brings everything
he is into the situation and hopefully invests it into service
for the Lord. If a man is a business owner his business becomes
a Christian business. If a woman is a realtor she will use her
many contacts as opportunities to witness for Christ. If a teenager
comes to Christ he will try to use what limited resources he has
to serve Christ. It does not matter who you are or what you are—all
of it belongs to God.
It should not surprise you though to know that
all that you are is not enough. If God could only glorify Himself
through what you are He would be a much lesser god than He is.
If our abilities were like the stadium lights that make night
games possible the competing teams would never be able to see
the ball. God wants us to bring ourselves, whatever we are, into
the equation. We just need to be aware that what we bring is not
much. Fortunately God provides the rest. He makes up the difference
so that we can shine like lights in the world reflecting His glory
back to Himself. He is the Light of the world and we are His little
lights. We are supposed to be conformed into the image of Christ
so that when others see our good works they will glorify our God.
We don’t have to become someone different than God has ordained
us to be or do something different than that which God has assigned
for us to bring Him glory. He has provided us the Holy Spirit
to make up our deficiencies so that we can bring Him the glory
that He deserves.
There were Christians living in Corinth in the
first century who questioned this truth. Some of them were slaves
when they were saved and others were married to unbelievers who
refused to trust Christ as they had. These Christians did not
want to remain in their present state. Were they not free in Christ?
Had not the gospel liberated them from cultural and social customs?
The issue was one of contentment with the will of God. The answer
that the Bible gives to them provides for us some understanding
of how we should live our Christian lives.
1 Corinthians 7:17
But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called
every one, so let him [live]. And so ordain I in all churches.
The apostle Paul reveals that God does not want
Christians seeking to change their social status or shirking off
some troublesome relationships because of their new found salvation.
Instead, God has assigned to every believer a calling and in that
they should live completely content.
How is that possible? How can I bring God glory
as I am or in my current condition? How can a slave be a light
for Christ? That is the question the Corinthians were asking.
The answer is that God’s Holy Spirit which indwells every
believer is like a super-performance engine that provides Christians
with the ability to live the Christian life as God has willed.
That will bring God glory, even if it is the life of a slave.
During my college years my brother, who is six
years older, was already out in the career world and making some
money in marketing. His college days being ended his car passed
down to me and he got a new car. It wasn’t new. It was a
used but gorgeous navy blue Jaguar with a tan leather interior.
It was a sweet car. I had never sat in such a luxurious car as
that one. The body and interior looked nearly brand new. The dash
and carpeting was spotless. I immediately rejected my used car
(a Mazda 323) in favor of this new used Jaguar.
There was only one problem with the Jaguar. The
engine was not original. The original engine had been removed
for some reason (obviously this was a mechanical nightmare) and
instead there was a Chevrolet engine in the car. It was not a
very nice engine and the car broke down often. Rarely could it
even go around the block without some problem arising. It was
horribly unreliable. It was a beautiful, luxurious, unreliable
car. On the other hand, my car was a drab gray, dull looking,
reliable car. It got you from point A to point B. I didn’t
want to dull, drab reliable car. I wanted the fashionable unreliable
one.
The majority of Christians make this same mistake.
Instead of living the life that God has assigned to them using
the power of the Holy Spirit to bring glory to God they desire
to become something more fashionable so that they can give God
the glory they want to give. God only glorifies Himself by Himself.
Remember, any glory we can give is like the stadium lights that
have suffered a power failure. Jaguar Christians might look a
lot better to us on the outside and “produce” spiritual
fruit that appears to be something glorious but if it is not the
product of a life that is abiding in the vine it is not truly
spiritual fruit. Its beauty is false.
What you are now if you are fully surrendered
to God is what He wants you to be. He might lead you down a new
path later on that changes many aspects of your life or He may
not. That is up to Him. If you are now serving Christ as a “stay
at home mom” don’t consider your life to be something
less than the woman teaching the Ladies Bible Study at church.
If you are fully surrendered to God then being a mom is what God
wants you to be. If you are a “grease monkey” working
in a local garage serving Christ as a Christian mechanic don’t
consider yourself to be something less than the man teaching Sunday
School at church. If you are fully surrendered to God your blue-collar
job is no different to Him than the ministry of Moses in leading
the children of Israel out of Egypt (and he was no slouch!). The
issue is not what you are but what He is. It isn’t how beautiful
your outside is but how powerful His engine is inside of you.
Do you know how incredible this Engine is? It
allowed Peter to preach to his countrymen at Pentecost and see
three thousand believe in Christ. This is the same Peter who had
denied Jesus less than six weeks earlier. This Engine allowed
Peter and John to heal the crippled man in Acts 3 and cause such
a stink in the religious world that the Jewish priests could not
even do to them what they normally would do to people preaching
something other than Judaism. Instead, these Christian men became
so popular that they were even able to preach Christ to the men
who murdered Him and they had to sit and listen in Acts 4. Moreover,
five thousand more men trusted in Christ because of this miracle
and the subsequent preaching. This same Engine brought Peter out
of prison though locked in the most secure cell. It shook the
prison in Philippi and cast out the demon from the slave girl
starting the great “missions minded” church there.
It allowed Paul to be pelted with huge rocks crushing his bones
and leaving him at the door of death and then caused him to rise
up, go with Barnabas to Derbe and continue preaching the gospel.
It opened the minds of proud philosophers in Athens. It saved
Paul through shipwreck, guided him through his trial before pagan
governmental leaders (without a high-priced legal team), healed
his hand after being bitten by a poisonous snake. You can sit
in your driveway and look like a great Christian and go nowhere
but for me, I’d rather look like the drab, dull, inconsequential
me and let God’s power flow through me to bring glory to
Him. I’d rather have His super-performance engine in the
ugly, old car than have the unreliable one in the luxury one.
It isn’t about who you are or what you know or how much
you have. It is about how submissive you are to Him.
Driving with the parking brake on
Yielding up your life to God is important because
if you fail to give your heart to God you will give your body
over to fulfilling its selfish desires. Just because you are a
Christian does not mean that you will never sin again. A new believer
might finish confessing Christ for the first time, feeling the
incredibly wonderful emotion that comes from understanding that
every sin has been forgiven, and then resolve never to sin again.
His resolve will be quickly tested by the Tempter, by the crushing
force of worldliness, and by his own flesh. Since no Christian
can control the Tempter—that is God’s sphere of control
—the Christian is advised to avoid fulfilling the sinful
desires of the flesh by living under the controlling and guiding
influence of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 This
I say then, [Live] in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the
lust of the flesh.
The Christians living in the area described as
Galatia were some of Paul’s own converts. They were very
dear to his heart—he loved them. The message of this letter
to them reveals that they had welcomed him and his gospel message
enthusiastically, that they were baptized, filled with the Spirit,
and then lived rightly before the Lord. However, some Jewish Christians
were causing trouble by trying to steer these believers back to
the Law of Moses. Paul calls this “another gospel”
that is to be shunned as being from Satan. Their message was similar
to modern day Roman Catholicism—that faith in Christ is
where we must start but that added to our faith must be good works
(church membership/confirmation) in order to be saved. This was
a direct attack on the doctrines of grace. Paul considered it
a huge step backward if they accepted this false teaching as being
true. He asked them why they would want to lose their liberty
in Christ for the bondage that comes from the Law. Reverting to
a legalistic system is not progress. It is like driving with the
parking brake on.
The last car I owned was too big to fit into
the garage so I had to park it in the driveway. My wife was always
uncomfortable that just turning the car off and putting the gear
into the “park” position would prevent the car from
rolling down our driveway and across the street where it could
hurt the neighbor’s cars or house. Because of that we always
put on the parking brake. It didn’t happen often but sometimes
I would forget to take it off right away. Putting the car into
reverse the car would sluggishly pull back from the house and
into the road. Then as I put the car into drive I would notice
why it was responding so poorly—I had the parking brake
on! Cars do not drive well with the parking brake on.
Christians do not live the Christian life well
in the flesh. Reverting to the legalistic system for salvation
will not bring about true change in the life but will force believers
into building self-made walls in order to prevent doing wrong.
Paul knew that would not work out. It was essentially the same
thing as what he had attempted to do as a Pharisee trying to live
out the Law. In the flesh you cannot please God. How does a Christian
live when “walking in the flesh?” Paul describes what
living in the flesh looks like. It is described as living in sexual
immorality, having impure thoughts, being eager for sensual pleasures,
practicing idolatry, participating in demonic activities, being
jealous and braking out into fits of anger, being selfishly ambitious,
causing divisions, rejecting all others than those in your own
group, being envious of others, drinking intoxicating beverages,
and all that being intoxicated brings with it. This laundry list
of sins is not exhaustive. Flesh-filled living is best understood
as doing anything that is motivated by bringing pleasure or satisfaction
to self in place of doing God’s will. It brings glory to
self instead of bringing glory to God.
In direct opposition to living in the flesh God
commands us to live under the guiding, controlling power of His
Spirit. Living in the Spirit produces qualities that are totally
different than the list previously described. When you live in
the Spirit you begin to love God as you should and, consequently,
begin to love others. You will even love other people who are
hard to love. You will find joy saturating every part of your
life, even in areas of conflict and struggle. Because of the Spirit’s
power and enabling you will have peace flow through you at times
when before you would crumble under the strain. You will find
that tolerating other people will be less difficult (even that
mother-in-law!). You will be milder and more serene expressing
kindness to others. You will begin to develop godly habits of
living. You will learn what it means to make decisions based on
your faith (discussed in the next chapter). You will develop what
my elementary school principal called “God-control, not
self-control.” You will develop a Biblical balance to your
life. How different is the life that is lived with the Holy Spirit’s
leading and guiding as opposed to the flesh-filled one! The tempting
promise that by living in the flesh according to your own set
of rules you will be able to please God is seductive but false.
The truth is that only by letting God control you will you find
the wonderful release of self and the sublime splendor of “walking
in the light.” You can either choose to drive with the parking
brake on and smell the smoke billowing out of your wheel wells
or you can take off the brake and feel the freedom that only God
can give. It isn’t about what you do or don’t do,
but about how submissive you are to Him.
No chance of being ticketed!
The best part of living in the Spirit is that
there is no possible way that you can come under God’s judgment
for doing it. Those who live in the Spirit have been completely
freed from any judgment that comes to those who are still in sin
under penalty of death. Justification that comes from the righteousness
of Christ being applied to your account changes your outlook entirely.
Because of your faith in the blood of Jesus God has declared you
to be righteous, even though all have missed the mark falling
short of God’s eminent glory. Where sin abounds in your
life, grace super-abounds. You are no longer under the condemnation
of God. Read these verses and note the opening declarative statement.
Romans 8:1-4
(1) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus, who [live] not after the flesh, but [live] after
the Spirit.
(2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
me free from the law of sin and death.
(3) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
(4) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who [live] not after the flesh, but [live] after the Spirit.
The Christian who determines to drive the Christian
life in the HOV lane without the parking brake cannot be ticketed
for speeding. You cannot speed when God is really behind the wheel.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if a
policeman pulled over a student driving car for speeding? Who
is really driving, the student or the instructor? I know that
in the student driving car at my high school the instructor had
a steering wheel, gas and brake pedal, and could take over the
car any time he wanted. It is like the “old timey”
cars in the children’s section of an amusement park. They
give children the feeling that they are driving but never go more
than two miles per hour and always stay in the tracks. When God
is behind the wheel of your life there is no chance that you will
get a ticket. Did you see that word in Romans 8:1? It says that
there is no condemnation. What condemnation is deserved has been
paid for by Jesus at the cross. Now all those who are in Christ
do not fear being condemned by God for their sin. This does not
give liberty to live a licentious life. “Christians”
who live that way are probably not really Christians. They are
just claiming Christ for some human benefit—to fit in at
church, to get other Christians to stop witnessing to them, etc.
Nevertheless, some Christians do sin. They do fulfill the temptations
of their flesh or succumb to the pull of the world or fall under
a barrage of Satan’s fiery darts. That doesn’t mean
that they are unsaved, even if they are not living like it at
the moment. What is means is that they are living uncharacteristically
in their flesh and not as they should be in the Spirit. How can
we determine who is a fleshly Christian from those who are claiming
to be Christian but are just fleshly? That is difficult to determine.
However, that is not for us. We must consider our own lives only
and pray for those who are living in sin, whether they be saved
or unsaved.
Your Big Decision
Ultimately, you have a big decision to make.
Will you choose to live in the Spirit or not? If you choose to
live in the flesh there will be no possibility that you will ever
be able to live as Jesus did or see some replication of His character
in you. These things come exclusively to Spirit-filled Christians.
If you are a new Christian, yielding yourself to the Spirit will
begin a radical transformation of your life. More than any other
thing, this is the most important decision you can make after
choosing salvation in Christ. If you have been saved for quite
some time but have not seen any real change in your life you need
to ask yourself if you really know Christ. Go to appendix A and
read the article on “knowing peace with God.” If you
are a Christian but are stagnant and going no where spiritually,
repent of your self-willed ways and ask God to begin controlling
your life again.
A few months ago I was leaving Washinton, DC
and headed back to my home in North Carolina. As I entered a stretch
of highway called the “mixing bowl” I marveled at
how backed up the traffic was. Because it was after eight o’clock
at night, I was able to enter the HOV lane even though I was driving
alone. Local traffic cannot take the HOV because it has so few
exits. If you must get off relatively soon you have to avoid the
HOV. Even though the HOV lanes were open to everyone they were
still relatively empty compared to the heavy traffic on I-95 South.
As I whizzed past the lines of cars I was so happy to be on the
HOV and not stuck with all the other people just beside of me
on the highway. I probably passed more than one thousand cars
that night as if they were standing still. Not until the HOV ended
and dumped back onto the main highway did I have to slow down.
Living in the Spirit is like taking the HOV.
You can either drive in comfort and peace knowing that an all-powerful,
all-knowing, and loving God is guiding you or you can make it
on your own stuck in the traffic jam of life. It is completely
up to you. For me, I’d rather ride the HOV.
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