Meeting: Sunday Service
Date: 14 July, 2024
Sunday School Theme: How to be Led by the Spirit of God.
Minister: Sis Ore Idowu
(Romans 8:14 -16) – “14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
(Proverbs 20:27) – “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.”
(Galatians 5:16) – “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
(3 John 1:2) – “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
The reason why the Father gave the Holy Ghost is for salvation and to attain this, He’ll need to guide us to all truth – “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13) The Holy Ghost was prayed for by Jesus to show us the way to God (God is our salvation). Now that we know that the Holy Ghost was given a mandate to do this, why are we not responding by enquiring His leading? Or why are we not yielding to His leading?
A lot of us chart the course of our lives too much, we reason things out to fit into the picture we have in our heads – this is dangerous because we can be led away from God through it. This is why God sent the Holy Ghost, to help us navigate our way in this world – to God. Every natural thing we do on earth, the holy ghost is meant to be the one to chart the course for us and even teach us how to navigate them such that they lead us to God. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” – (John 16:13)
(Romans 10:10) – “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The first work the Holy Ghost does is to bring an assurance for you to believe that you are indeed a child of God in your heart. We believe things with and in our hearts and that is the work of the Holy Ghost that gives assurance to the heart. New birth is also a work of the Holy Ghost, he works in our heart to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and confess with our mouth that He is lord. After this has been done, the Holy Spirit brings nudgings to our hearts to start speaking in tongues. Baptism of the holy ghost happens first when the holy ghost stirs us within and we respond in our heart and open our mouth to speak in tongues. This stirring can also seem like a burning inside of your belly – “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38)
Alot of christians have been hindered from starting their fellowship with the holy spirit because they don’t desire to speak in tongues by reason of not sounding gibberish, others have not responded to the stirring of the holy ghost inside of them, while some feel that speaking in tongues and fellowship with the Spirit is reserved for pastors, bishops etc. But, that is a lie from hell – the holy spirit and infilling of the holy spirit was promised to every child of God. The holy ghost is living inside of you, so He assures you that you’re not sounding gibberish when you speak in tongues.
There is a time that has been placed over every soul and the Holy Spirit is eager to ensure every soul accomplishes everything it has been destined to. The overarching destiny for every believer is to be saved to the uttermost – to get to God. Without the holy spirit, no believer can accomplish this destiny. So, the quicker you respond to the holy spirit nudgings and stirrings, the closer you are to fulfilling this destiny so you can be saved to the utmost. Jesus Christ was in his thirties when he fulfilled this destiny on earth here, so you can do the same because your spirit is Christ. There is a timeline for us as believers, there is a place we need to get to, stop wasting time. The Holy Spirit is ever present to direct us to get to our destination which is God.
The more we respond to the holy spirit, the more we’re being led, the more we hate the world and its things. So, you need to respond quickly. Anything hindering you from responding quickly, deal with them now. If you don’t understand what the messages, bible scriptures, ask for help. Don’t wallow in the lack of worldly things like a job, marriage or money to steal away your fellowship with the holy spirit. The Spirit can provide all the things these worldly things give and even more.
Pant for fellowship with the holy spirit, desire it – don’t be left behind. Being led by the holy spirit is a deliberate effort if you want to get to God. The Holy Ghost is eager to lead us than we yield to Him. The leading of the spirit does just happen by happenance the leading of the Spirit has to be exercised. The Holy Ghost wants to be so intertwined with us that when He speaks, we would be quick to respond to Him. Don’t judge anything by your mind, always follow what the Holy Spirit is saying from your inward witness. If you are sincerely following the Lord, you would not miss it.
If as a believer, you’re not fellowshipping with the holy spirit or you’re not being led by Him, then you need to start checking the intent of your heart concerning your christian journey. Question why you do certain things, question why you engage in spiritual activities. Question it. Are you really doing it all to get reconciled back to God? If yes, then you can’t do without the leading and fellowship of the holy spirit in getting back to God.
(John 10:27) – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” You are not too small, too big, too young, too old to not hear the Holy Ghost. Nothing should stop you from hearing from Him, not even marriage or your job or school, or even church activities. As long as you identify as a child of God, you should always be led!
We’re already used to living life in a particular routine, and even spiritual activities are part of this routine, but are we changing in the midst of it all? “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2) – The leading of the spirit changes us by renewing our minds, this way, we would not be conformed to the things of the world. And the first way to be led for mind renewal is to meditate on the Word of God. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” – (Joshua 1:8)
Some of us can burn candles all night to study for exams and all, but we can’t do the same to study the scripture or meditate on them. If we don’t do this, we can’t be led. If we can be intentional in being dedicated to carnal things, we should exert the same energy in being dedicated to staying on the scriptures and listening to messages. Our sensitivity to the Spirit develops when we do these things, and we can become assured overtime that the Holy Spirit speaks to us and leads us in matters pertaining to our lives. And even when we’re not sure, we need to be sincere and ask for help to become better in picking the leadings of the Holy Spirit. This is where we submit leadings to other believers, elders and spiritual authorities.
(Romans 8:6-8) – “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, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
From now on, we should live from our spirits because we’re first spirit beings. As long as you are reasoning with your head/mind for your living, you are dying. You won’t please God if you are making decisions with your head. This is why you need to be led, and the leading of the Spirit is surely faith based. A life of faith is a life that is solely dependent on God, and such a person is being led towards God. Every situation pressuring us to make decisions based on our minds and reasoning, they will surely pass, but God is eternal. So, it’s best to be led by the Spirit of God for an eternal purpose. The Holy Spirit is a safe haven, His hands are safe. Believe and follow the Holy Spirit and you are sure you are in safe hands.
If you’ve not developed sensitivity to the Spirit, start picking leadings for little things and every day routine. Also, learn to talk to the holy spirit like He’s a friend, a lover, a gist partner. Pour out your heart to the holy ghost, let Him be waiting for you always, eager to hear from you. Nothing should take the place of the holy spirit fellowship with you, not even marriage. This is how you grow and ensure your stance in God. We have to be trained to follow our inward witness.
Leading of the spirit is not fleece, fleece is a lazy man’s way of trying to know supernatural things, it is not how God wants to lead His children. Also, any leading that the end of it is not reconciling you to God, or making you bear fruit is from other spirits and not the Holy Spirit. And their intent is to destroy.