THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR GUIDE

STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (III)

THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR GUIDE

SCRIPTURE:

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:10

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. John 16:13

Did we not walk in the same footsteps by the same Spirit? 2 Corinthians 12:18

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

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

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Acts 15:28-29 (From the Council in Jerusalem to the Gentile believers)

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. Acts 16:6

OBSERVATION:

Another important role of the Holy Spirit is as our Guide. The Greek meaning of guide here means to lead the way, like to lead a blind man. On our own, we are spiritually blind, and we need the Holy Spirit to help us and guide us as we walk this earth and live this life. We can choose to walk on our own, but will end up stumbling and making lots of wrong choices, but if we choose to let the Holy Spirit guide us, He will lead us on level ground.

In the book of Acts, we see that this is how the early Christians lived. The Church Council consulted the Holy Spirit before passing their decision regarding requirements for the Gentile believers, and later Paul and his companions found themselves being kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching in the province of Asia. It is the Holy Spirit who knows best, whether in day to day decisions or important church policy matters.

APPLICATION

Remember how the Lord said not to worry about tomorrow, but to take each day as it comes, seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Practically, we seek this in the best way by seeking to be led by the Holy Spirit. There are many times that we fail, many times that we fall back and make carnal decisions. However, whenever we can, let us come back to that spirit of wanting to be led by the Holy Spirit, of being conscious of how He may lead us. Our attitude should be one of uttermost humility, like a blind man dependent on his guide and we should learn to trust the Holy Spirit more and more, all the while becoming more and more ingrained in His Word.

How do we know we are being led by the Spirit? There are many who have thought they were led by the Spirit but went down wrong paths. Here is where, being grounded in the Word of God is so important, and understanding the tone of Scripture. The Scripture was inspired by the Holy Spirit Himself, and His leading cannot deviate from the Scriptures. Rather, it will bring out portions of Scripture all the more clearly to us in our time of need. Word and Spirit must always go hand in hand.

PRAYER

Precious Holy Spirit, we thank You so much that You are our perfect guide, and we can depend on You and trust You to lead us in everything. Help us, Lord, learn to develop a lifestyle of seeking You and listening to Your guidance. Sustain us, O Lord, and bring us back to trusting in You, even when we fall, and become ashamed. Let us always learn to look forward, forgetting our past, and straining towards what is ahead, always hoping and aiming to be led by You more and more! Be so real in our lives we pray, precious Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen.