Sermon Tone Analysis

The Importance of the Spirit's Leading

Knowing how the Spirit leads is vital to our lives as Christians.

- “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

– “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Not many people will disagree with the statement that the Spirit of God leads us today, but when you ask how He leads us, the debate begins.

Pretty much every religious group that calls itself "Christian" believes they are being led by the Spirit to believe and practice the things they do on a congregational level and on an individual level, but in spite of the claims of being led by the Spirit, all of these religious groups are going in different directions, even to the point that their beliefs and practices are brought into conflict with the clear teaching of Scripture.

There are many views on how the Spirit leads us today:

1.

Only through the word?

2. Through feelings and intuition?

3. Through dreams and visions?

4. New revelation?

5. Other?

There are religious groups that believe one, more than one, or even all of these are ways the Holy Spirit leads today.

But what does scripture say?

The phrase “led by the Spirit” is only found two times in the New Testament in referring to Christians.

I quoted both of these texts at the beginning of this lesson to show how important it is to be led by the Holy Spirit (; ).

What is interesting about this topic is that when a good number of people talk about being led by the Holy Spirit, they use these two verses as “proof texts” to show that the Holy Spirit leads the Christian today, but what they tend not to do is actually look at the context of these two verses to show what it means to be led by the Holy Spirit.

These two verses are the conclusion of the arguments made in their surrounding context.

Nowhere in the context does it mention that those who are led by the Spirit are led by feelings given by the Holy Spirit (nudges) that contradict scripture, or that the Holy Spirit leads us by giving each one of us, (or our religious groups) new revelation.

These texts do not make these arguments, or anything near these arguments.

Those Who ARE NOT Led by the Spirit

Those who claim to receive modern day revelation

(revelatory prophecies, dreams, visions, etc.)

As we studied a couple lessons back, God did at many times reveal truth through such means, but this was for a specific purpose for a specific amount of time.

The Spirit gave these revelations along with the miraculous to confirm these things were from Him until the word of God was complete ().

God’s word is sufficient for us.

The Spirit inspired the Apostles and Prophets, and Jesus said in that those He was speaking to at that time would be given ALL truth by the Holy Spirit.

Those who claim the Spirit leads through feelings and intuition

that contradicts Biblical teaching

Many people feel that the Holy Spirit is leading them in some way.

This may or may not be the case.

One thing we know for sure is that if you are feeling led to do something that is contrary to the will of God as given in the Bible, the Holy Spirit IS NOT leading you!

We must show caution in how we trust our feelings and emotions.

Our feelings are subjective.

They are not always a trustworthy basis for truth.

The Bible is clear that the heart is a deceptive guide:

"He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered" ().

"There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death" ().

Take Saul of Tarsus as a key example that we must be careful not to put too much stock in our feelings and intuition:

"Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

10 This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them" ().

The Spirit has provided an objective standard by which to know the truth: His word.

If you have a feeling that the Spirit is leading you/stirring you to do or believe something, submit it to the word of God.

If your feeling is based on what you see in scripture, it is possible that the Spirit may be working (which I will deal with some more shortly)

Those Who ARE Led by the Spirit

Received the Spirit

Having the Holy Spirit is a prerequisite of being properly led by the Spirit.

This point is made in :

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

The sons of God are the ones that are led by the Spirit and receive the Spirit.

The whole context of this verse contrasts those who are in the flesh and those who are in the Spirit.

The person living in the flesh is at enmity with God.

It is impossible for them to be pleasing to Him.

They "cannot please Him" (v8).

Verse 9 makes the point that because we have the Spirit of God we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, and because of this, we are able to be led by the Spirit and live according to the Spirit.

Set their minds on the things of the Spirit

You also cannot be led by the Spirit unless you set your mind to be led by the Spirit.

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" ().

Paul makes an important contrast here.

Those who live according to the flesh do so because they set their minds to do so.

This is where being led by the Holy Spirit begins.

If we don't set our mind on the things of the Spirit, we will be open to receiving leading of the Holy Spirit.

Our minds are unable to if we are setting them on the things of the flesh.

This will lead us in the wrong direction.

The question must be raised, "What are the 'things of the Spirit" that Paul is referring to in this passage?

I believe He answers the question in verse 7 when he says what the carnal/fleshly mind cannot submit to: the law of God.

What has the Holy Spirit given us to lead us?

We saw in our lesson two weeks ago that the Holy Spirit inspired and confirmed the word and He uses it as His tool to convict and lead sinners to Christ.

This doesn't end when we become Christians.

He continues to use His inspired word to lead us and work within us.

This is spoken of in the Old Testament:

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord.

For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” ().

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” ().

As the Holy Spirit indwells us, He uses His word to convict us and to push us in the right direction as God’s people.

If we remember from our lesson a couple weeks ago, the Holy Spirit, who is referred to as the Finger of God in , literally wrote the Ten Commandments on those two tablets of stone.

Under the New Covenant, He would write His law somewhere else: On the hearts of those who are under the covenant.

The law of God is written on our hearts, and as Ezekiel says in the passage I just quoted, the Spirit who is within us will cause us to walk in God's ways.

He works in us to lead us to observe His law.

As Paul says in :

"work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God (through the Spirit) who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

The Spirit is working in us and leading us to desire the will of God.

He is working in our minds to transform them and renew them so we can discern what the will of the Lord is ()

He will also work in us in our emotions to lead us to do His will:

If there is one subject that is debated hotly about how the Spirit leads, it is this one.

But as we have talked about before, we need to be careful not to take an over-reactionary position on a subject because of the misuses and/or abuses of other religious groups.

This is one area in which we miss the boat at times because of its abuses.

When we examine the scriptures, we can know that there are some feelings or emotions that the Spirit uses to lead us to do His will (not our own will; His will).

There are feelings we know the Holy Spirit gives.

One such feeling He uses to lead us to do what is right was mentioned quite a few times in the last lesson: CONVICTION

Conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment ()

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” ()