THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDES US

Penge Baptist Church14th November 2010

Lost in a dark

alley?

God has a plan for our lives….

Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you”Ephesians 2:10 “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

….and the Holy Spirit guides us into it

He guides us from wrongdoingHe guides us into God’s truthHe guides us into God’s way for our lives

He guides us from wrongdoing

John 16:8 “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” Acts 2:37 “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?””. Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Also when we are Christians

“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” Romans 7:18-19

The Spirit guides us into truth…

John 14:26 “But the Counsellor, 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.”John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all 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.”

…often using Scripture

For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Peter 1:21).

The Spirit guides us into God’s plans for our lives…

Decisions: “Paul and his companions travelled 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)Appointments: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2) Words: “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say”. (Luke 12:12)

…and into living life God’s way

Romans 8:4-5: “do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires”Romans 8:14: “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God”

Feeling dry and far from God?

Have you committed your life to Jesus?Prayer and the Holy Spirit – speak but also listen!And also let the Spirit speak through us “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” Romans 8:26

The challenge of ScripturePsalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path”Acts 17:11 “the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

Spurgeon, Scripture and the Spirit

“the Holy Spirit is with us, and when we take his book and begin to read, and want to know what it means, we must ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the meaning…..Seek then very earnestly the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for if the very soul of reading be the understanding of what we read, then we must in prayer call upon the Holy Spriti to unlock the secret mysteries of the inspired word.” C.H. Spurgeon, 1879

The Spirit is free“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.” (John 3:8)

Test the spirits1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God,”

Led into a hope and a future!

“that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19)“for I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)