- Home
- Speakers
- William MacDonald
- How To Walk In The Spirit?
William MacDonald

William MacDonald (1917 - 2007). American Bible teacher, author, and preacher born in Leominster, Massachusetts. Raised in a Scottish Presbyterian family, he graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA in 1940, served as a Marine officer in World War II, and worked as a banker before committing to ministry in 1947. Joining the Plymouth Brethren, he taught at Emmaus Bible School in Illinois, becoming president from 1959 to 1965. MacDonald authored over 80 books, including the bestselling Believer’s Bible Commentary (1995), translated into 17 languages, and True Discipleship. In 1964, he co-founded Discipleship Intern Training Program in California, mentoring young believers. Known for simple, Christ-centered teaching, he spoke at conferences across North America and Asia, advocating radical devotion over materialism. Married to Winnifred Foster in 1941, they had two sons. His radio program Guidelines for Living reached thousands, and his writings, widely online, emphasize New Testament church principles. MacDonald’s frugal lifestyle reflected his call to sacrificial faith.
Download
Sermon Summary
William MacDonald teaches on 'How to Walk in the Spirit,' emphasizing that it involves starting each day with prayer, confession, and worship to become a clean vessel for God. He explains that walking in the Spirit includes feeding on the Word of God, performing daily tasks with faithfulness, and being responsive to God's will in everyday interruptions and disappointments. MacDonald encourages believers to continually confess sin, praise God, and obey the Holy Spirit's leading throughout the day, ultimately resting in His guidance and management of their lives. The sermon highlights the importance of depending on the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in our lives for God's glory.
How to Walk in the Spirit?
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit…” (Gal. 5:16) Exactly what is involved in walking in the Spirit? Actually it is not as complicated and impractical as some tend to think. Here is what a day’s walk in the Spirit would be like! First, you start the day in prayer. You confess all known sin in your life; this makes you a clean vessel and therefore usable by God. You spend time in praise and worship; this gets your soul in tune. You turn over control of your life to Him; this makes you available for the Lord to live His life through you. In this act of rededication, you “cease from needless scheming and leave the ruling of your life to Him.” Next, you spend time feeding on the Word of God. Here you get a general outline of God’s will for your life. And you may also receive some specific indication of His will for you in your present circumstances. After your quiet time, you do the things that your hands find to do. Ordinarily they will be the prosaic, routine, mundane duties of life. This is where a lot of people have wrong ideas. They think that walking in the Spirit is foreign to the world of aprons and overalls. Actually it is mostly composed of faithfulness and diligence in one’s daily work. Throughout the day you confess and forsake sin as soon as you are aware of it. You praise the Lord as His blessings come to mind. You obey every impulse to do good, and refuse every temptation to evil. Then you take what comes to you during the day as being His will for you. Interruptions become opportunities to minister. Disappointments become His appointments. Phone calls, letters, visitors are seen as part of His plan. Harold Wildish quoted the following summary in one of his books: “As you leave the whole burden of your sin, and rest upon the finished work of Christ, so leave the whole burden of your life and service, and rest upon the present inworking of the Holy Spirit.” “Give yourself up, morning by morning, to be led by the Holy Spirit and go forth praising and at rest, leaving Him to manage you and your day. Cultivate the habit all through the day, of joyfully depending upon and obeying Him, expecting Him to guide, to enlighten, to reprove, to teach, to use, and to do in and with you what He wills. Count upon His working as a fact, altogether apart from sight or feeling. Only let us believe in and obey the Holy Spirit as the Ruler of our lives, and cease from the burden of trying to manage ourselves; then shall the fruit of the Spirit appear in us, as He wills, to the glory of God.”
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download

William MacDonald (1917 - 2007). American Bible teacher, author, and preacher born in Leominster, Massachusetts. Raised in a Scottish Presbyterian family, he graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA in 1940, served as a Marine officer in World War II, and worked as a banker before committing to ministry in 1947. Joining the Plymouth Brethren, he taught at Emmaus Bible School in Illinois, becoming president from 1959 to 1965. MacDonald authored over 80 books, including the bestselling Believer’s Bible Commentary (1995), translated into 17 languages, and True Discipleship. In 1964, he co-founded Discipleship Intern Training Program in California, mentoring young believers. Known for simple, Christ-centered teaching, he spoke at conferences across North America and Asia, advocating radical devotion over materialism. Married to Winnifred Foster in 1941, they had two sons. His radio program Guidelines for Living reached thousands, and his writings, widely online, emphasize New Testament church principles. MacDonald’s frugal lifestyle reflected his call to sacrificial faith.