Barnabas ~ 0175
LEARNING TO BE LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14, KJV). The Christian life is one of a growing relationship with Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit that He has given. The Holy Spirit has been sent to us so we can know the will and purpose of God for our lives more clearly. He speaks the truth of Jesus to our hearts and, whatever He speaks to us, will always be confirmed by the principles of Scripture. As we grow in the Lord the Holy Spirit’s desire is to lead and guide us in the ways of God. To discover those ways we have to listen to His voice and be willing to so trust His voice that we will do whatever He asks of us. We have to learn that His ways are best, and when we do what He asks of us then things always turn out right to the glory of God. Jesus said that if we love Him we will do what He says (John 14:23). Being led of the Holy Spirit means we have given our rights and wills over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and we now have a commitment to do whatever pleases Him. Being led of the Holy Spirit is a life-style that demonstrates we have grown to maturity as true sons and daughters of the Living God. We fit into His plans for our lives, and not us trying to get God to fit in to our plans. To be led by the Holy Spirit means developing sensitivity to, and a discernment of, His voice. His voice is different to all other voices!
WHY DO WE NEED TO BE LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Why do we need to be led by the Holy Spirit? Simply because our ways and ambitions are not of God’s best choosing for us. He has called us to a walk and relationship with Him, and it can only work as we listen to what He says to us, and then to obey. When we do that we are being led by the Holy Spirit. This is more than having Bible knowledge or attending Christian church gatherings (we can have and do those things and still not know the voice of the Holy Spirit). And if we do not know the voice of the Holy Spirit, then how can we know the experience of being led by the Holy Spirit? What we think might be right may not necessarily be right as far as God is concerned. Take Philip for an example. In Acts 8 he went to the city of Samaria and had a city-wide revival, where wonderful things of God took place. In the midst of that revival God spoke to him and told him to leave Samaria and go out into the desert. To us that would not make sense, as Philip seemed to be the central figure that God was using in the Samaria revival. But Philip demonstrated that God came first in his life ~ even in the midst of a revival ~ and walked away from it and went out to the desert region. Out there he saw an Ethiopian eunuch sitting in his chariot. The Holy Spirit told him to go and talk to him. Philip obeyed again and the result was that he led the eunuch to Salvation in Jesus Christ, baptized him in water, and then experienced a supernatural transporting by the Holy Spirit that instantly took him to Azotus (about 30 miles away).
Our reasoning would be: “Why would God ask a man to leave a revival that was touching a whole city and ask him to go and talk to one man out in the desert”? God, Who knows the end from the beginning, knew that Philip’s obedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit, would bring far greater results than that which he had seen in Samaria. That Ethiopian eunuch went back to his country and shared the good news of Jesus Christ wherever he went. As a result Ethiopia became a Christian nation for many generations, and scores more people were saved than ever were in the Samaria revival. If we were Philip, what would we have done? Most likely argued with God, stayed in Samaria, and not fulfilled our destiny in God. If we had asked others what we should do, they would all tell us that we were needed in Samaria, as God has used us to cause the revival in the first place. Sensitivity and obedience to the Holy Spirit will bring much more fruitfulness in our lives and ministries than our trying to reason things out with the natural mind.
AN EVIDENCE OF MATURITY
Being led of the Holy Spirit is evidence that we are maturing in God.
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To mature in God means we are learning to put God first, no matter what.
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It means we have grown to know the ways of God more than in former years.
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The more mature we are, the more we can trust God ~ and God can trust us to do things we have never done before.
The more we can trust God and obey what He says to us, the more “divine appointments and encounters” He can give us with people. Learning to be led by the Holy Spirit also means that we have to be flexible to what He wants of us. Sometimes that means we have to make decisions that cut across our original plans for the day, or do a detour when we are going somewhere because the Holy Spirit prompts us to do so. Unless we are flexible to His desires, then these things do not happen in our lives; we just keep doing what we set out to do, and then we wonder why we do not see much of the supernatural of God in and through our lives. Friends, we have to do it His way, as “our way” does not work.
Over the years I have experienced the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to me about going somewhere. At times He tells me what country He is sending me to, and even shows me the person I will meet there (even though I might not have been to that country before). It is such a joy to go to that country and then to meet that very person the Holy Spirit told you about (while I was still back home in New Zealand). The end result of that is that God has opened up a new country for me to minister in ~ through that very person He told me I would meet.
GOD’S VOICE CAN BE TRUSTED!
God’s voice can be trusted!! May we all demonstrate to God more and more that we are indeed growing in spiritual maturity as a result of our trusting whatever He says to us and our obedience to His voice. Let me remind you that the whole of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is all about the voice of God. Every great person in the Scriptures all started off as a total unknown nobody, until one event happened in the life of them all: they heard the voice of God and obeyed. Out of that obedience they became great men and women of God! And so can we!
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Are you listening?
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Are you available to be led by the Holy Spirit . . . today?
May God speak to us all more and more ~ and we respond in active obedience. God bless you ~ Rodney W. Francis.
Bible Reading: Romans 8
Prayer: “Dear Lord, I come to You in Jesus’ Mighty Name, and I ask You to help me to have a more sensitive heart towards Your voice so that I can be more obedient to whatever You ask of me. I want to do Your will, dear Lord. Please help me to be free of all excuses and natural reasoning so that I can be wholly dedicated and committed to Your plans and purposes. Thank You. In Jesus’ Name I ask these things, Amen.”
The Gospel Faith Messenger Ministry, New Zealand. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.