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Here’s the problem. Some people think they can’t have a real and close friendship with God. Some think they can replace Jesus with rules, doctrines, and religion. Others think they can replace God with ideas based on assumptions based on a worldview. You can’t replace Jesus. And yet, God wants to flow through you by His Spirit of life, wisdom, and love every moment of every day.

Your own thoughts and ideas are tricky, and they don’t want to follow God’s way. Your carnal mind might try to make God’s teachings into a set of rules or principles instead of letting the Holy Spirit guide you freely. It might tell you to do what everyone else is doing even when everyone else is doing wrong.

The Holy Spirit is like a flowing river—it can’t be trapped in man-made rules, memorized doctrines, forms, or rituals. “For My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” (Jeremiah 2:13).

It takes courage to listen to the Holy Spirit instead of caving in to those who pressure you. You need to trust the Holy Spirit to guide you. Your efforts to obey laws and rules won’t keep you true to God, but the Holy Spirit will. The Holy Spirit will never lead you to do what’s wrong but will give you power to do what’s right.

The carnal nature (the heart) will offer to help you overcome the carnal nature. It will try any religious thing to keep you from standing in the presence of God listening to God’s voice and allowing God’s Spirit to work through you. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) This verse emphasizes the deceptive nature of your carnal thoughts and feelings. It reinforces the need to stay connected to God.

Ask God to answer these questions.

1. What does it mean for you to have a close friendship with God?
2. Why can’t you just follow rules to be close to God?
3. What does it mean for the Holy Spirit to flow through you?
4. What is the difference between following God’s way and following man-made rules?
5. Why is the Holy Spirit compared to a flowing river?

Bonus questions:

1. What is a cistern, and why is it broken in the article?
2. What does it mean to trust the Holy Spirit to guide you?
3. How can the Holy Spirit help you do what’s right?
4. What is your “fleshly nature,” and why does it try to stop you from listening to God?
5. Why is your heart described as deceitful and sick in the Bible?

1. Pray for the Lord to protect you and keep you in His presence and His presence only.
2. Direct your mind toward the Lord only.
3. Ask God what He want’s to talk about.
4. You can ask God any questions. In all of this, be led by the Holy Spirit. God promises that He will answer you if you ask Him.
5. Do not edit or change what God says even if you don’t understand it.
6. Reject the lies and receive the truth.
7. Take notes.
8. Transfer your notes to your journal without editing what God said to you.

Keep in mind that God doesn’t want you to ever disconnect from Him. He wants to flow through you constantly in knowledge, wisdom, and love.

Mind Map Exercise

Create a mind map suitable for this unit. Define the central point, and put that in the center of your mind map. Next, find the sub-points and put them on your mind map. Then, look at sub-sub-points. Go down as many levels as you can. (Mind Mapping Info)

Let the Holy Spirit lead you in this. (Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.) Take what you learned, your notes or what you produced and videotape yourself. Be a kid influencer for Christ with your own social media platform by uploading your video as God leads.