Introduction
September is often a time when people like to start new things. As the start of a new school year, it can provide a great opportunity to assess where you want to move forward in life—whether that’s in your skills and abilities, relationships, physical or financial health or in your relationship with God.
In this eBook, we’re going to focus on being Spirit Contemporary, because this approach can propel your life forward in any area.
Now, what is Spirit Contemporary? This term describes a balance of walking in favour with both God and man. The reality is that if we want to move forward, we need to know about the spirit realm. At the same time, we need to keep growing in practical knowledge and wisdom, being careful not to get in the ditch on one side or the other.
Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.
Luke 2:52 (NLT)
As we unpack this over the next few pages, I’m going to show you six practical ways you can walk in every bit of power and authority that is yours in Christ...at the same time as you grow in wisdom and in favour with people. But first, I want you to meditate on Luke 2:52. Think of it in the context of goal-setting, because if we really want to level up in this life, we have to be like Jesus, who grew in favour with both God and people.
As you think about your goals, don’t get overwhelmed by trying to plan too far down the line. You don’t have to have the entire path figured out to create change. Just take it one step at a time.
Get Out of the Spiritual Ditch
There are extremes that Christians get into that prevent us from reaching our goals. We’ll call this first extreme the spiritual ditch—when we become so spiritually minded that we forget to use wisdom.
A woman I know once experienced an example of this at a Christian women’s conference. One afternoon she took part in a scheduled trip to the mall, but when it was time to return for the evening service, the bus didn’t show up.
As time passed, she decided to grab a cab, but not before passing a group of ladies standing in a circle in the middle of the mall. They were praying that God would intervene to get them back to the conference on time.
There’s nothing wrong with prayer, but sometimes we forget that God is more likely to give us ideas we can implement to get us out of trouble—like the idea to take a cab—than He is to miraculously deliver us while we do nothing. We have to remember not to be so spiritual that we forget to be practical.
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
James 2:17 (NLT)
To stay out of this ditch, we need to keep growing in practical wisdom at the same time as we keep growing in our knowledge of the spirit realm. This balance is called Spirit Contemporary, and it’s the key to walking in the blessings of God in every area of life.
If you have a problem or goal you’ve been praying about, is it possible that implementing some sort of practical knowledge could help?
Use the Power You've Been Given
Have you been dealing with a stubborn problem?
Being Spirit Contemporary is the key to moving forward in life. We have talked about the spiritual side of the ditch—now let’s cover the other extreme. When we’re on this side of the ditch, we get into such practical thinking that we forget we have an advantage as believers. We become so consumed with solving our problems or growing our skills that we forget to exercise our authority in Christ.
When we forget to claim God’s promises and our problem is of a spiritual nature, then no matter how hard we try, the problem will keep coming back. You see, sometimes problems hang on because we have faulty belief systems in that area. This is crucial because Proverbs 23:7 teaches that we experience what we believe in our hearts.
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)
The truth is that changing your heart beliefs is more powerful than getting a miracle. It’s along the same principle as, “Give someone a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach someone how to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.” If someone gets a miracle, they get delivered today. But if someone changes the belief systems that were keeping them locked in a situation, they’ll walk out of it every time with God—because they’ve dealt with the belief that was destroying them.
Have you been forgetting to exercise your authority as a believer? Get into God’s Word and begin to understand His principles and promises. Then start to claim those promises over your life, and you’ll be sure to look after the spiritual aspect of the problems you encounter.
Address Weariness
How can you tell if a problem you’re having is a practical or spiritual issue? We need to address both types of issues in life, but how can we tell the difference?
The truth is you can’t always tell, so it’s important to always address things from both angles. We always need to pray and claim God’s promises, and we always need to apply practical means to solving our problems.
However, one example of a spiritual problem we can encounter is when we experience weariness. Galatians 6:9 says not to grow weary in well-doing—and that's talking about something other than tiredness. Weariness causes us to lose hope. It’s usually the result of negative thinking, and it can be of a spiritual nature because the enemy loves to try to plant defeated thoughts in our minds.
Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
Ephesians 6:16 (NKJV)
Ephesians 6:16 tells us how to stand against these “fiery darts” Satan tries to use on us. But first let me clarify that fiery darts aren’t tragic situations, illnesses or other problems. Satan doesn’t have that much power.
All he can do to us is try to plant thoughts in our minds, which is why it’s so important to renew our minds in the Word. If little fiery darts—negative thoughts—keep coming at you, just continue meditating on and claiming God’s promises. Then you can begin to put those little fires out with your faith, knowing that God has great plans for you and His promises are yours!
Use Faith and Wisdom
We need to be Spirit Contemporary to overcome the problems that we will encounter in this lifetime. We need to grow in confidence that we have favour with God by knowing His Word. We need to understand demonic attacks—how they work and their limitations.
At the same time, we need to understand how to manage our finances, how to build our businesses and careers, and how to build rapport with people and build great relationships. These are all contemporary, practical issues, and believers need to be both spiritual and practical.
One time a guy asked me if getting house insurance showed a lack of faith. If we lived in a perfect world, then I guess we wouldn’t need insurance, but that’s not the case. The fact is that getting house insurance shows wisdom. The Bible doesn’t promise a perfect, problem-free life to believers, and a little bit of preparation and foresight goes a long way.
Wisdom calls aloud outside; she raises her voice in the open squares.
Proverbs 1:20 (NKJV)
The Bible also doesn’t say that faith replaces wisdom. It doesn’t say that you should just pray and trust God to look after all your problems without any effort required on your part. According to Proverbs 1:20, wisdom is crying out to us. Opportunities to grow in knowledge and skill are all around us, but it’s up to us to go after them and become more like Jesus, who grew in favour with God and people.
Using knowledge and hard work to solve problems does not show a lack of faith. It just shows wisdom. Let’s be Spirit Contemporary and take advantage of these opportunities in every area of life!
Power Up
I want to delve deeper into the spiritual side of things. You see, Ephesians 6:10 says that you can be empowered through your union with God. The other option is to live off your own energy, but as Christians there is a supernatural power we can tap into.
In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].
Ephesians 6:10 (AMPC)
How do we access this power? We do so by finding time to marinate in the things of God without the distraction of cell phones, computers, TV, radio or other people.
It’s something you need to train yourself to do, because as soon as you sit down to spend time with God, your brain will naturally begin to zone in on all the things you’re supposed to do that day. I’ve found that it’s easier to put my “to do” list aside if I keep a pen and paper beside me. That way I can jot things down as I think of them and then go right back to focusing on God.
You’ll probably be tempted to get up and do the tasks that come to your mind, but don’t cut short your time with God. If you’re not sure where to start, try doing an online search for scriptures that relate to a topic that’s on your mind. Then, as you’re reading, ask Holy Spirit to show you what He wants you to learn.
Keep spending time with God, meditating on His Word, and you will begin to draw strength from His boundless reserves—strength for every area of life.
Rise Above
How do we get strength from God? Well, according to Isaiah 40:31, we do so by waiting on the Lord.
Waiting on the Lord isn’t necessarily about waiting for Him to come through for us. It has more to do with focusing on His Word and spending time with Him. You see, as believers, we often forget that we can be empowered by God’s might. But to do so, we need a daily dose of the Word. It’s our spiritual food. And just like you might need that cup of coffee and scrambled eggs to get your physical body ready for the day, meditation time in the Word gets your mind and spirit primed for the day.
But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)
One of the reasons eagles amaze me is that you never see them flapping their wings madly to fly against the wind. Instead, they seem to fly effortlessly above the storm, using the storm’s updrafts and wind currents to soar higher.
In a similar way, when we begin to wait on God by focusing on and spending time with Him, we tap into His strength. Then, when the storms of life blow against us, even though God didn’t send those difficulties our way, He helps us to use them to soar higher.
No matter how busy you get, don’t skip your daily “meal” of God’s Word, which helps you become more aware of the power and strength in you as a believer.
Conclusion
If you want to walk in all the blessings of God, you need to know how to use spiritual weapons.
We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.
2 Corinthians 10:4 (NLT)
Second Corinthians 10:4 speaks of spiritual weapons, but it’s really talking about renewing your mind. You see, if you don’t develop the right beliefs from God’s Word, you are susceptible to believing the enemy’s lies. And here’s what’s interesting. When you’re in a crisis, those deep-down beliefs come out.
When there are only seconds left in a sports game, many players fold under the pressure. But there’s a percentage of players who seem to bring out their A game during those times. There’s a powerful belief deep within them, and because of it, they rise up and play their best.
The same is true for Christians. When financial pressure hits, sickness pushes in or relationships begin to fall apart, that’s when your deepest beliefs rise up. This is why meditating on God’s Word is so special. Then, when the pressure is on, it’s like someone squeezing a squirt bottle—whatever is inside is what comes out. And what’s inside of you is the right beliefs that cause you to overcome.
I encourage you to reread this eBook and meditate on the Scriptures throughout. As you renew your mind with these truths, you're equipping yourself with both the spiritual and practical power you need to face any challenge. Using faith and wisdom, you can solve problems, reach goals and rise to incredible new levels with God!
