You Can Be Led By the Holy Spirit

God, the perfect and all-wise father, desires to lead His children. He does not force, but guides in love. He leads His own in paths of righteousness; He leads in paths of truth; He leads in paths of prosperity and of victory.

We need not fear to step out and walk in the path that He sets before our feet. For the Lord Jesus Christ once said to us: “the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God” (Joh 16:27). So we can boldly and wholeheartedly follow Him, and follow Him all the way.

As Many as are Led by the Spirit of God; They are the Sons of God

The LORD our Father and our God wants to lead us by the Holy Spirit who Himself dwells in us. The Holy Spirit speaks to our inner man, our spirits, who in turn guides us in the way we should walk. The Holy Spirit  uses our spirit to guide us because “the spirit of man is the candle (lamp) of the Lord” by which He shines His light in the darkness around us and guides us in the way to go.

Let us pray this prayer in the eighteen Chapter of Psalm with David the Psalmist: 

“For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness” (Psa 18:28).

Oh! What a privilege to have the Lord as our Shepherd. In the 23^rd Psalm, David describes the Lord, who is the good Shepherd, as the guide for the sheep. Paraphrasing what the Scriptures says about the Lord our Shepherd. 

He goes before them, leads the way and His sheep follows Him. The good shepherd leads his sheep to the right place. The good shepherd leads his sheep in the paths of righteousness.

We need to cultivate the habit of listening to God’s voice. We need to meditate on His word continually so we can grow in our ability to recognize His voice. And then we obey what He tells us. He wants to lead us daily in all our decisions; He wants to direct our footsteps in the paths of righteousness. This is one of the most important things in our life here on earth. 

We need to constantly hear from God, first and foremost to help us get acquainted with Him and learn His ways; But also to enable us make right decisions in the affairs of life. It is also true that if you’re certain in what God wants and what He’s saying about a situation in your life and you follow His leading, this will increase your faith concerning the matter. And that faith will release the power of God and bring victory and a breakthrough for you. Because you’re being led by His words, you just know that He’s with you, and that He will help and guide you through. Let’s see this in the life of Isaac in the 26th Chapter of Genesis.

“And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.  And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 

Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father;  

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:” (Gen 26:1-6)

Don’t forget that the opening verse of this Chapter states that there was a famine in the land. It was a very difficult time for everyone. This same situation had occurred once in the life of his Father Abraham. The famine must have been so great like in Abraham’s days that many inhabitants of the land were migrating towards Egypt where it always seems they could get provision. Let’s read on. The 12th verse states:

“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold, and the Lord blessed him.” (Gen 26:12)

Isaac heard from God during this difficult time. He knew it was the voice of God and he understood the direction God was leading him. He was probably trying to make a decision whether to go to Egypt like the other inhabitants who were already migrating to Egypt. His Father had done the same several years before under the same circumstance. Then, God Almighty called him and told him not to go down to Egypt. 

Isaac made the right decision; he would follow the leading of God. Even though it was a time of famine and the land was not bringing forth crops and bareness abounds everywhere, God told him to sow his seed and he did. 

If Isaac followed the circumstances, he would have left the country with the other inhabitants. But God told him not to. He listened and followed God’s plan for his life and that made him very successful. He sowed his seed in the land, in that same barren land in the time of famine, and he reaped in that same year, a hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him, “for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him and they said, ‘We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you ” (Gen. 26:14, 28)

How To Be Led By the Spirit of God

Now we must ask: “How can I be led by God”?

First, we must make this clear, that the way God deals with us today is somehow different from the former ways in which He spoke to them in time past. If you are a child of God, a new creature in Christ Jesus, then God Almighty already dwells in you. He does not need to come to you from outside. He is already resident inside of you. For the Scriptures declare that “Greater is He that is you that he that is in the world”. 

If He is already inside you, and wants to talk to you; then something must be seriously wrong if He has to come from outside to communicate with you. If He has to do this, then it must mean that He’s been trying unsuccessfully to get your attention and finally had to reach you from outside.

If He dwells in you and with you, and you have fellowship and communion with Him, then He would freely talk to you, Spirit to spirit, from the inside. This is the bread and butter of hearing from God. By frequently communicating with Him, we become conversant with His voice, and like Samuel, we grow into one who has a “Thus says the Lord.” 

As God’s children, we have the advantage and great privilege of having a personal relationship with God. He is always near; He is in us. So we can speak with Him anytime. Speak with him openly about everything in prayer and conversation.

He is our Friend, and He is our Lord. We can listen to him from His Word, the Bible, and we can listen to Him from within us.  

Therefore, Child of God, let Him expound the Scriptures to you and let Him reveal to you things to come. He wants to speak to you. So spend time praying His words from the Scriptures, and use them as your own words in prayer. Worship Him with words, and worship Him in your spirits with “groaning and yearnings too deep for words.”

Praise him in your known language and also in unknown tongues. Dwell and rejoice in His Presence and He, the Spirit of Truth and Grace, will reveal Christ unto you and you’ll become proficient in hearing from, and being led by Him.

A Stranger, They Will Not Follow

We have heard that bank employees get to know a real note,  an authentic currency note, by examining and studying genuine notes for some time. After the employee has by experience learnt how a genuine currency note really looks, he or she can quickly spot the counterfeit amidst the authentic ones. When we fellowship in an intimate relationship with God, it becomes easy to recognize His voice and get guidance. We are also able to quickly recognize the voice of the false shepherd and not follow. 

  “And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.” (1Sa 3:10)

 “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.  When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand (Joh 10:14; Joh 10:4-5;  Joh 10:27).

How do you get to know someone’s voice? There is only one way by which we can know His voice, and that is by constantly hearing it. There is only one way we can hear it, and that is by listening to it. “Blessed are those that know the joyful sound, the still, small voice of the Master.” Those that habitually listen to and know His voice will never be deceived. A stranger they will not follow. These ones are governed by His words; they are led by His Spirit, and they are maturing into sons of God.

There are so many voices in the world today. Never in human history were there so many voices in the world all clamoring to be heard, all clamoring for attention and seeking for disciples to follow them. Every gimmick is been employed to gain our attention. Every imaginable scheme and device is put forth to arouse the masses, to gain public interest, capture the mind, and cause them to open their pocketbooks. Every conceivable artifice is being used to compel the attention of the unwilling ear.

This clamor of voices is by no means confined to the advertisement of salesmen, but also the clamor of religious organizations in the world. It is incessant, unceasing day and night. These voices are always seeking to grab us like the octopus’ arms from which it’s difficult to get away; you escape one arm and the other wraps around you, and with its suction cups, pulls you in.

The only people who are safe and secure and will not be distracted are those who know the voice of Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep. These ones can shut out all these strange voices and hear the voice of the true Shepherd clearly and distinctly. These are His sheep and “a stranger they will not follow, for they know not the voice of strangers.”

We must not become so busy with daily activity and service that we have no time for prayer and fasting, no time to meditate on the word of the Lord, and no time to sit quietly at His feet and learn his ways. We must not allow the hurly-burly of activities around prevent us from hearing when He’s calling or speaking to us. Those who would set time apart to listen to His voice and who would let His words abide in them would know His will. And His desire will be their guide. These ones would ask what they will, and it will be granted unto them because they, like their Master, have no will of their own but the will of God. They know His will, and this has become theirs also. They know His voice because they are acquainted with Him from much time spent at His feet listening to His words.

We must be cognizant of this natural fact that though healthy sheep know and will only follow the voice of their shepherd, a sick sheep could follow the voice of a stranger. This, then, must be the reason many Christians follow man’s organized religion instead of following Christ and Him alone. They have become sick from starvation and spiritual malnutrition. They have lost their sensitive discernment for the voice of the Good Shepherd, and they have turned to following hirelings whose care is not for the flock, but for their personal gain.

I wish there is some simple formula by which believers could know the voice of the Good Shepherd and by which they could easily distinguish it from every other voice in the world, but no such simple formula exists. We come to know the voice of Christ, our Shepherd only by constantly hearing it. Just as a mother can distinguish between the voices of her children from continually hearing them, so also by familiarization we come to distinguish the voice of Christ from that of a stranger.

This is spiritual understanding which cannot be mistaken as we live in contact with him. He said, “My sheep know My voice.” There is only one way His Sheep could possibly now His voice and that is by hearing it in the depths of their heart. It is an inner hearing, an inward discernment. It is a spiritual thing. It is not that our Shepherd speaks in audible tones, for He seldom does, but that there is an inner voice that comes from the Holy Ghost residing in us. This still small voice is through which God speaks to us bringing us the revelation of Jesus Christ and unfolding the will of the Father for our lives.

Silence the  Voice of the Flesh

One way of helping ourselves to hear this voice more clearly is by silencing all other voices, especially those loud voices of the flesh. To help us hear the voice of Christ speaking to our spirit within, we ought to give ourselves to seasons of prayer and fasting. Fasting cleanses the body and when done in an atmosphere of prayer and worship can enlighten our spiritual eyes by silencing the clamoring voices of the senses and thus allowing us to hear the Master’s voice.

Fasting can be effective in breaking the bandages that tie us to the world and the flesh so that our spirit is liberated from the flesh to meet with God. But fasting must be done with prayer otherwise it is just another dieting exercise and indeed may offer our body some benefits but will be of no spiritual value. What we need to practice is “prayer and fasting”. We must also not let fasting become a religious ceremony, or something that we do to let others see how spiritual we’re; otherwise, it becomes feckless, a form of godliness that is void of the power of God.

Prayer and fasting can loosen us from the power of the flesh and from her passions and desires which resist and stand in the way of the spiritual man. It is during these hours dedicated to prayer and fasting that the believer can cultivate the spiritual skill of knowing His voice.

Learn to listen to the voice of Christ and by constantly listening and practicing to listen you will become conversant and able to discern the voice of the Good Shepherd. Give ear to His voice much more than you do to the clamoring voices of men. You will be surprised, when you wait before Him, to see just how many wonderful things He’ll reveal to your heart. His voice is a still, small voice that can only be heard when we are quiet, and all other voices are stilled and when personal ambitions fade from our hearts. When the soul is hushed, and the ceaseless demands of the body are put to naught, then the voice of the Good Shepherd is heard speaking in His holy temple, which is your inner man; for “the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him” Hab 2:20)

The more you live in communion with Christ the more obvious will be the voice of strangers. No one can explain this inner voice to you; you must experience it for yourself. As we constantly live in harmony with the Spirit of God, we are able to smell the rottenness of the flesh, even at a distance and we are able to heed His call to cast off the works of darkness.

“The night is far spent; the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Rom. 13:12-14.

“When He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them; and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.” (John 10:4)

Matured saints of God are not made by continual association with religious people or the religious system of the world. They are made by continual association with God our heavenly Father. These ones make themselves available to Him, listen to His voice, read His word,  enquire of His wisdom, and acquire His understanding.

“One thing have I desired of the Lord,” said David, “that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple” (Psa 27:4).

 The world is yet to be governed by a race of “manifested sons of God”, everyone fully formed in the image of Christ, and everyone a brother of Jesus the mature Son. These ones will reign in Christ over the whole earth in the coming kingdom of God and of His Christ. And the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.