Background Story: The book of Ephesians was written as a letter from the Apostle Paul to the church of Ephesus.

Read Ephesians 4:17-24

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹ Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

²⁰ That, however, is not the way of life you learned ²¹ when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Big Idea: I must learn to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

For all you drivers out there, you learn pretty quickly to pay attention to those little lights on the dashboard. You’re driving down the road listening to music and all of a sudden, the check engine light comes on alerting you to a problem happening in the car’s engine. You might be able to keep driving the car for a little while; but that light has come on for a reason and ignoring it could seriously hurt your car.

As Christians, we get up every morning, put on our shoes, and walk out the door starting a new day. Out there waiting for us are temptations that are contrary to God’s plan. The purity and holiness of God is in direct contrast to the way the world lives. In the passage above, we read that the world lives in ignorance, “due to the hardening of their hearts” and has “lost all sensitivity.” So how do we live everyday in this world without becoming insensitive to God’s leading?

The Holy Spirit lives inside the believer and is the check engine light inside our heart alerting us to avoid temptation. As you are walking through your normal day and temptation comes, the Holy Spirit will often alert and nudge you that this is not the right choice or path. As we pay attention to these alerts in our heart, we become more sensitive and attentive. As we ignore the Holy Spirit’s alert, we become hardened and insensitive to His leading. Just like a car, ignoring those alerts will end up destroying your future.

Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” To follow Christ, we must learn over time to keep “in step with the Spirit.” As we follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, the blessings and peace of God follow us. Today, pray asking God to help you be more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. If you’ve messed up and taken a wrong path, come to Him in repentance. Never keep on driving with that light blinking!

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