The Leading of the Holy Spirit
There was a preacher who was supposed to fly for his ministry work. But
before he could board the flight, he heard from Holy Spirit asking him not to
board the flight. He obeyed the Holy Spirit and did not board the flight. He
bought another ticket for a different flight. Later he got to know that the flight
which he did not board had a crash.
My topic for today’s sermon is “Leading of the Holy Spirit”.
We have been listening to a series of Holy Spirit. Last week, we listened to the
sermon on fellowship with Holy Spirit and how important it is. Today we will
look into leading of the Holy Spirit. What does the Bible say?
1. Children of God should be led by the Holy Spirit
Romans 8:14 - For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the
children of God.
Galatians 5:16a - So I say, walk by the Spirit
Romans 8:13 - For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if
by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
The Bible says that we, as believers should be led by the Holy Spirit.
What is the meaning of this?
When we are led by the Holy Spirit, it is not us who is leading our lives. It
is the Holy Spirit. When we are in a daily fellowship, we are led by the
Holy Spirit.
It is a good thing to ask ourselves – Where am I? Am I led by the Holy
Spirit?
Those who are led by the Holy Spirit are marked with obedience.
We as human beings can set our minds according to our own will. Let’s
look at Peter in Matthew chapter 16. When Jesus predicted His own
death, Peter took him aside and rebuked him. Immediately Jesus said,
“Get behind me Satan”.
If we are led by the Holy Spirit, then we are confident about what we
hear from Him.
2. Leading of the Holy Spirit is for our advantage
John 16:7 - But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go
away; for if I do not go away, the [a]Helper (Comforter, Advocate,
Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you;
but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close
fellowship with you].
The Bible says that Holy Spirit is for our own advantage. Jesus himself said that it is for our advantage that he was going away and that if He doesn’t go away, the Holy Spirit will not come.
The Holy Spirit he promised is our helper who comforts us, advocates us
and interceded for us. He is our counselor, strengthener and stands by.
Jesus also said that the Holy Spirit will be in close fellowship with us.
Luke 4:1 - Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by
the Spirit into the wilderness,
I have a question for you all – If Jesus being God, needed Holy Spirit,
then we as humans, how much more do we need Holy Spirit?
Jesus didn’t even start His ministry without filling of the Holy Spirit.
Q. How is leading of Holy Spirit advantageous for us?
Helps us in not gratifying the desires of the flesh
Galatians 5:16a - So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the flesh.
When we are led by the Holy Spirit, we will not satisfy the desires
of our flesh.
Helps us in praying
Romans 8:26-27 - Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit
himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for
words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of
the Spirit, because[a] the Spirit intercedes for the
saints according to the will of God.
Weakness can be anything – persecution, feeling low, confused
etc, whatever be the weakness, Holy Spirit helps us. He may give
utterances. When we can’t pray, we let Holy Spirit lead us. He may
prompt us to pray. He may give us names of people to pray and
intercede for them. Sometimes you may not know why. But we
still need to obey Him and not neglect His voice. Even if it is in the
middle of the night, we need to obey Him. Sometimes its not for
our edification. It’s just a work for you to do it.
Helps us in studying the Word
John 14:26 - But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind
you of everything I have said to you.
Holy Spirit is our teacher. He teaches us and reminds us of
everything that we study. He gives us revelation. He leads us and
gives us understanding while studying the Word.
Gives us wisdom
Acts 6:8-10 - Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power,
performed great wonders and signs among the
people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the
Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of
Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and
Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not
stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
Stephen had a lot of opposition but they could not do anything
against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
Gives us peace
Romans 8:6 - For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set
the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
When we are led by the Holy Spirit, we will have peace in our
lives.
Tells us things that are going to happen
John 16:13 - But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide
you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak
only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
I want to share something from my own life. I had a vessel which
was very beautiful. Holy Spirit showed me a vision in which the
handle was broken. The next day, I saw that the handle was
actually broken. Guess who broke it! It was my dear husband. I
could have ben angry but Holy Spirit prepared me in advance and I
was didn’t lose my temper. Holy Spirit helped me to do the right
thing.
Another incident was that one night, Holy Spirit had put a great
burden on my heart. I got up and prayed in tongues as led by the
Holy Spirit. But the kids were hungry and I had to go cook for
them. And then I was tired and I just went to bed and slept. Next
morning, in my devotional, I heard Holy Spirit say to me that He
was going to heal me of my sickness. I was confused because I
didn’t have any kind of sickness in me. I was sitting in the living
room and even Manu was sitting there. Usually he doesn’t sit
there during that time. But that day he was there and I just
collapsed and I died. I could feel my spirit leave my body and go
up slowly. Manu, having led by the Holy Spirit, got up and prayed
over me and then I came back to life. Later when we went to see
the doctor, we found out that there was a cyst in my brain. But we
prayed and I was completely healed.
Leading of the Holy Spirit is for our advantage
3. Heroes of the Bible were led by Holy Spirit
All the heroes of the Bible were led by the Holy Spirit.
Stephen – Acts 6:5-8
Philip – Acts 8:26-40
Paul – Acts 16:6
What did we learn from all this?
When we are baptized with Holy Spirit, filled with Holy Spirit and have a
fellowship with Holy Spirit, He will lead us. If you are waiting to get married, be
filled with Holy Spirit and have fellowship with Holy Spirit so that you would be
guided in choosing your partner.
Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again), Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.
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