The Holy Spirit – Our Guide

The Holy Spirit – Our Guide

 

INTRODUCTION

What is God like?  How involved is he in our lives and in this world?

Does he have a “hands-off” attitude towards this world? “I made this world, but now you’re on your own unless things get really bad.” We could call this Deism. God might be interested in the happenings of this world, but he doesn’t really intervene. Deism is impossible to find in the Bible. In fact, the coming of God’s Son into the world crushes arguments of Deism. The God revealed in the Bible is very, very active in the world, revealed best through the Person and Work of Jesus.

Does God decide everything? After all, he created the heavens and the earth. He rules over all things. So maybe he determines every single course of action. Every move we make is scripted by him. Not just known by him, but determined by him. There essentially is no free will, for God is the determiner of everything. We could call this Determinism. God determines everything.

Instead of either of these options, I believe God is very engaged in life here on earth, and he wants to work with us and through us. This doesn’t mean God isn’t the Ruler of All, and can do anything he likes. But it means he has set this world in motion, and now he calls on every one of us into relationship with him. To walk with him and talk with him. To direct and guide our lives. To help and encourage and empower us. That help is available for us from our Helper, the Holy Spirit.

While prophesying about the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, Isaiah describes the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 11:2 ESV "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord."

This is the Holy Spirit who came to rest upon the Lord Jesus at the beginning of his 3-year ministry. And this is the very same Holy Spirit who indwells the heart of every believer in Jesus.

Today I want us to develop a greater thirst to be led and guided and helped by the Holy Spirit.

 

To everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus, God sets his Holy Spirit inside us.

Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

The significance of this is staggering. The Holy Spirit does many things in us and around us: He leads, speaks, fills, reveals, teaches, and helps. He sends, forbids, constrains, convicts, and warns. He also gives life (new birth), intercedes, empowers, sanctifies, and loves. He dwells within, seals (or better, is the seal), gives gifts, and grieves. 

What a God we have, to be so near to us and so active in our lives!

 

In spite of the clarity of what the Scriptures say, we can be confused about the Holy Spirit’s role. There is a bit of mystery to us. How does it all happen? How does he lead and direct and fill and empower? Does something fall down from the sky? That little quiver in my gut….was that the Holy Spirit? Or was it my imagination? Or was it something I ate at dinner?

Does he overcome us so that we are completely under his control and no longer under our own control? Should we look for and expect the miraculous every day? And if we don’t get that, should we determine the Spirit is not working? 
We have to make a major decision, and we want the Lord to guide us, but honestly it simply doesn’t seem that clear. Now what?

So we are often left confused and unsatisfied. We want God’s guidance made more clear. But is it really unclear?

 

Examples of the Spirit’s Work in the NT

We can read the Gospels and the book of Acts and easily see the active role the Holy Spirit played in the 1st-century church. It begins with the Lord Jesus. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

Matthew 4:1 ESV  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

The Holy Spirit LED the Lord Jesus to a place where he would be tempted.

[A SIDE NOTE: Sometimes the Holy Spirit may clearly lead us to places and times of difficulty. In this case, he led the Son of God to a place and time where Jesus would encounter the most severe trial of his 30-year life. To be tempted and lured by Satan himself.]

[My point is this: Sometimes the Lord’s will is Hardship.]

 

Then note Mark’s description of this same moment: 

Mark 1:12 ESV  “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.”

That’s a strong word. He DROVE the Lord Jesus into the wilderness. We sense something very active and urgent about the Holy Spirit’s action here.

The Apostles needed some godly leaders to serve the widows in the church in Jerusalem. So they got the entire church together and said this: 

Acts 6:3 ESV  Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

While we may wonder what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the early church had no problems discerning it. The apostles expected the entire church to know what it meant to be FULL of the Holy Spirit and how to recognize it. It wasn’t a mystery. If I asked you to select leaders who are FULL of the Spirit here at Stonebrook, could you do it confidently??

One of those disciples chosen in Acts 6 to serve the church was Philip. 

Acts 8:29 ESV  And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”

How the Spirit told Philip—audibly or quietly in his spirit—we aren’t told. But it was clear. Philip obeyed, and shared the Good News about Jesus to this man, a eunuch from Ethiopia, who then believed and was baptized.

Then in a remarkable move, right after he baptized the man, Philip was transported by the Spirit to another place. A miraculous moment.

Acts 8:39-40 ESV  And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus…

Forget the make-believe Harry Potter ability to APPARATE. The Holy Spirit did this!!! It’s real. Azotus was about 20 miles from Gaza where he had been. It’s seems the same thing that happened multiple times to the Prophet Ezekiel in 1 Kings.

The prophets and teachers in Antioch were serving the Lord and fasting,

Acts 13:2 ESV  “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”

Somehow, the Holy Spirit communicated to these prophets and teachers, which included Saul, whose name we know better as Paul.  The Apostle Paul. Don’t we all long for such clear direction and guidance from the Holy Spirit??

A couple years later, in a major doctrinal discussion with all the apostles and elders in the church in Jerusalem. We have no indication that anything miraculous happened. No voice. But they made a major decision about the gospel message of Jesus.

Then they wrote a letter to all the churches. One line from that letter said this:

Acts 15:28 ESV  “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements…”

I find that a fascinating expression.  “…seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…”

Obviously, they somehow understood the will of the Holy Spirit. We’re not told how. And it may not be fruitful to speculate too much. The point is, the Holy Spirit has a will, and it’s important to know that. And he CAN communicate his will to us.

And HOW they knew it seemed good to the Spirit is an important question for me. Because when I’m investigating a problem or studying a topic or making a decision, I want to be able to confidently say, “It seems good to the Holy Spirit that I do and say this.”

All things stories are really quite astonishing as we see the Power and Direction and Wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit. It makes our lives seem a bit mundane. Very earthly, and not very spiritual.

Then we go to the Epistles, and we see commands to us about the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:16  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

He is commanding us. This is something we CAN do.

Galatians 5:18  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Galatians 5:25  If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 ESV  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…

We are commanded to be “under the influence”….not of alcohol, but of the Spirit of God.

 

WALK….LED…LIVE…KEEP IN STEP….BE FILLED.

It seems at first glance, we’re told so little about what these actually mean, and how we do this. At times, all this seems a bit mysterious to me. So instead of plunging in to study and examine, I can ignore it.

Jesus called the Holy Spirit “OUR HELPER.” So how does he HELP?How does God’s Spirit communicate with our spirits? How does he FILL us?

While it seems a bit mystical and mysterious—and some of this mystery may always be there until we reach heaven—I think more is apparent than we realize. Overall, I think the Spirit’s work in us is more a normal part of life than we often realize.

I do not think that he works in the Miraculous in our lives on a every day basis. Note:  I’m not saying that he doesn’t work in the miraculous. But I am saying that it’s not the norm.

Even as you read through the Bible, aside from the ministry of Jesus Christ and the Apostles (and the period with Moses and the Exodus), the miraculous is not the norm.

Now, hear me clearly: Ask for the miraculous. Pray for the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. But at the same time, do NOT assume that simply because there is no miracle today that the Holy Spirit isn’t already very actively at work in our lives.

 

The Holy Spirit Guides Us

The Spirit is our Helper.  Our Guide. Remember our list??  He leads, guides, teaches, empowers, fills…. How does he do this every single day, even in the mundane chores of life??

In daily life through the Scriptures.

2 Peter 1:21 ESV  “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

What you read in the prophets like Isaiah and every other book of the Bible is what the Holy Spirit inspired men to write. So in that sense, the Holy Spirit wrote this book.

Do you want to be guided by God? Do you want a personal touch from him every day? You have to be in love with the words of this book. This is why we pastors—and every good pastor out there—tells us to read this book. To study it with friends. To listen to sermons.

Any and every chance we get, these are the words that the Spirit of the Living God wants to touch your heart with. 

We’re waiting for the miraculous. We’re waiting for life to get easy. I know we’ve all heard this many times. And I suspect right now, many of us feel guilty for how LITTLE we read and pray over and absorb the words of this book. But I don’t want us to feel guilty. I simply want us to do whatever we can to be LED and GUIDED by the Holy Spirit.

Annette and I had a long car trip last Tuesday. It was early in the morning, and so I opened up my Bible app and listened to 12 chapters of the OT book, 1 Kings. What a great way to start my day. If you don’t have a Bible app, try www.YouVersion.com 

God wants to speak to us. He wants to encourage us. Comfort us. Strengthen us. Correct us.

We’re waiting for something mystical and mysterious. And the miraculous. But the Lord is waiting every day to touch your spirit with His Spirit. WE NEED TO BE EXPECTANT OF THIS! Every day!

Many days when I read, I don’t walk away with anything spectacular. But my heart and mind are reoriented to God’s way. To the TRUTH. Generally, I would say we grossly underestimate the power of God’s Spirit to apply the WORDS here to our hearts.

Hebrews 4:12 ESV  “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

If you want heaven to touch your soul, walk by faith as you read the words here that were written by the Holy Spirit. Pray before you start reading. “Lord, teach me. Encourage me. Comfort me. Guide me.” Then read. Listen to it on audio. Have a Bible study. Pay attention during a sermon. Any way you can, get in this BOOK and trust the Holy Spirit to guide you.

 

He guides us through WISDOM. And Wisdom is connected to this BOOK.

Isaiah 11:2 ESV "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord."

Have you ever prayed for wisdom? I do almost every day. Where does that wisdom come from? Is it merely from your own brain cells, i.e., you thought of the answer all by yourself?

Wisdom comes from the Spirit of God. He is all-wise. All-knowing. All-understanding. He has the wisest counsel ever uttered. He understands everything. Every problem. Every heart. Every need.

He knows us better than we know ourselves. Literally, he does. He can and will guide us by giving us Wisdom and Insight and Knowledge.

 

He will guide us by Counseling us.

Again, we long for the miraculous. For the parting of the CLOUDS in the sky. Two clouds that together look like Jesus… “OH, IT’S a SIGN!!” But we fail to do the hard work of seeking after wisdom from the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit can make us wiser. And when we are wiser, not only will WE make better decisions and life choices, but we will be able to help everyone around us make better decisions and life choices.

I spoke about wisdom in mid-August, so you can listen to it or read it here.

 

Let me give you an on-going story about God leading by Wisdom that his Spirit gives. Two months ago, some Christians in a small Iowa town called Belle Plaine contacted us. Belle Plaine is 75 miles from here, on the other side of Tama/Toledo. These believers want to start an evangelical church in their town. There is very little strong gospel presence in their area. They are 50 minutes from Cedar Rapids, an hour from Iowa City. So it’s difficult to travel that much several times a week. So we have begun some very meaningful conversations about how to start a church in their town.

 

Let’s connect their story to today’s topic. Does the Holy Spirit lead us in decisions? If so, how does he do it?

These dear believers want to be in God’s will. So they are seeking answers in prayer. But how does God actually reveal his will? And not only his will in whether they should start a church, but also, if he says yes, how should they do it?

They want to know, “What is God’s will for us and our town?” BUT……There is no Bible verse that says, “Start a church in Belle Plaine, Iowa.” Just like there is no Bible verse that told me 30 years ago, “Brad, you should marry Annette.”

In these cases—which happen every day all our lives, small and large decisions—we have to rely on wisdom from the Spirit. But wisdom is not second-best to a miraculous sign or vision. It is God’s intended and normal design for us to walk by faith in his will.

So how does Wisdom matter in this story? I believe the Spirit has laid it on their hearts to want a church with a gospel voice in their town. And I don’t think that just because they desire it. I can see the work of the Spirit in their lives. The fruit of the Spirit is evident. Their love for each other and for their community.  Thei joy. Their service for the Lord proven by Bible studies they are having all over town.

I believe through some various circumstances, the Lord has laid it on our hearts to help them. I don’t believe it’s an accident we met them and that we have a strong desire to help. And I’m not so proud to think we have all the answers for them, but we think the Spirit has given us some wisdom.

But none of this absolutely PROVES that the Holy Spirit’s will is to start a church. Just because the circumstances all seemed to line up does not necessarily mean it’s God’s will. In the end, it has to be tested. Time, counsel, the Word, prayer, personal decisions.

So we are applying Wisdom to all this. Wisdom to apply Scriptures, the Truth of God, to this important and complex situation.

For example, what do the Scriptures say a church even is? One question they asked, “What is the difference between having some Bible studies in our town and actually being a church?” The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom to study and apply the right Scriptures.

This group of 10 is going to gather 3 or 4 times in the next month or so to study the Scriptures and PRAY. And the Spirit will give them Wisdom and Insight and Understanding from the Scriptures, and to know how to apply it to their lives and their situation. As we go further and further into all this, I believe his will will become obvious.

The Holy Spirit is the HOLDER of glorious wisdom. And he is more than willing to share that with us. And as the months and years go on, we get wiser and wiser. That’s not just AGE giving us wisdom. It’s the Holy Spirit. And so he will lead us.

What to do?  How to be led? So the Spirit guides us through the Word of God, the words HE wrote. He guides us through Wisdom that he give us. I love this. I agree with this.

But are you like me where you still feel a little confused? It still…even this morning…seems a bit mysterious and mystical. How does this Guidance and Communication actually happen? What should we do?

 

We are commanded to “walk by the Spirit…be led by the Spirit…live by the Spirit…keep in step with the Spirit…be filled with the Spirit.”

How? What does it look like? One place to start: FAITH. 

Believe that God is very near me. In me. Ever-present. This is walking by faith, not simply by sight. Faith simply means trust. So to walk by Faith means your life is characterized by Trusting in Jesus. Your hope is set on him. 

Ask, “Am I living my life any differently than the average person on the street?” Externally, your life may be very similar. But in your heart, with your attitudes and values, and with a dependence upon God, are you living differently? You see, walking by faith, acknowledging the presence and nearness of God will compel you to be very, very different than the man on the street. 

So we are living with an expectancy. Just because we don’t experience the miraculous very often does not mean the Spirit is not powerfully at work. Every day….even in the mundane of life… the Holy Spirit is actively HELPING us. He is the Helper. And really, this is remarkable.

Day in and Day out, he is constantly present to lead, guide, encourage, teach, help, empower. We should wake up every morning, worship the Lord for his constant, ever-so-near presence. And then live the rest of the Day in glorious expectation of good.

Open your heart to him in prayer and dependence. Don’t close yourself off to the Lord. Pray. Have some conversation with him throughout the day. At any moment, will we give our hearts to him and ask, “What do you have for me?”

Worship. Listen. Seek counsel. Read the Word of God. Obey what is clear.

Last, don’t get paralyzed by indecisiveness. We want him to guide us, and when that guidance is not clear like a miracle, we hesitate. We grow afraid. But don’t be paralyzed. You are to walk by the Spirit, not sit. You are to live life by him. He will lead you. 

In preparing this teaching, it’s tempting to be paralyzed in decision-making. “What verses should I share? What points should I make? What stories should I tell?”

Every week, I want to be convinced and guided by the Holy Spirit. But it’s not easy for me to know that. I want the hand-writing in the sky. And when I don’t get that, I can get paralyzed.

I’ve even PAN       ICKED a few times preparing for a teaching. “Oh no, what do I say? What if I screw up?”

Well, it is possible I might screw up. When I do, I have the Work of Jesus to bring forgiveness and mercy and power to my life AND to all the people who endured a horrible sermon.

But I don’t need to be paralyzed.  I have to go out and live life by Faith, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. I have to live with a spirit of dependence in Prayer and Study and getting advice. I have to still obey all week what I do know is clear. To love my wife. To have kind words to people I run into. To work hard.

 

CONCLUSION

We do all this remembering who it is that lives inside the believer in Jesus:

Isaiah 11:2 ESV “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”