Peculiar Misunderstandings Chapter 12

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Peculiar Misunderstandings
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1989
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

Message #12

MISUNDERSTANDING THE CURRENT ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
(Part #8)

"How to Know You Are Being Led by the Holy Spirit"

Text * Romans 8:11-14

IV. THERE IS A PROPER WAY BY WHICH ANY BELIEVER CAN EVALUATE HIMSELF TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT HE IS BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD:

A. First, to be sure you are being led by the Holy Spirit, you must have a completely willing attitude:

1. In short this is submission of your will to God's will. Remember that self is the biggest enemy to Holy Spirit control. It is Jesus who said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself," Luke 9:23. He also said, "For whosoeuer exalteth himself shall be abased," Luke 14:11. To exalt self is to act in pride; and since God wants to rule on the throne of our lives, self-exaltation is to rebel against God. I Samuel 15:23 says "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." And when our hearts rise in rebellious pride and self-will, God's Spirit is quenched, I Thessalonians 5:19. "God resisteth the proud," I Peter 5:5.

2. A willing, yielded attitude dethrones self-will and in truth prays to the Father, "Thy will be done," Matthew 6:10. The Lord's will involves every crook and cranny of life. He tells us the kind of persons to vote for, the kind of person to marry and not to marry, how to treat our employees or employer, how to dress, attitudes to have and not to have, and plenty more. His will may be that you suffer and be poor, go to a hostile and foreign people as a missionary, change jobs, or stay put in the midst of your storm. He may have you lose your job, some friends, and your health.

But, a willing attitude says "Alright Lord, I am willing whatever you want. I'll go wherever you say, do whatever you want, marry whoever you choose, dress the way you say, (styles not withstanding); and suffer, give, or even die as you see fit." No one with a willing spirit tries to tell the Lord what to do, even with himself. Instead, as David expressed in Psalms 23:1, the Lord is the shepherd or boss. Though he did not wholly mean it, Simon Peter expressed the attitude of submission well when he said, "Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death," Luke 22:33.

3. Over and over, God calls for "A willing heart" in us as in Exodus 35:5,21 and II Corinthians 8:12. David wrote, "I delight to do thy will" (Psalms 40:8), and to Solomon God said, "and thou Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind," I Chronicles 28:9.

Jesus himself provides the perfect example of submission through which the Spirit of God can function. He said in John 6:38, "For I came down from heauen; not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." That is stated again in Hebrews 10:7-9. His completely yielded spirit is stated again in John 5:30, "I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." In anticipation of his own death by crucifixtion and the breach in fellowship with the Father as he bore our sins, Jesus prayed, "Not my will, but thine, be done," Luke 22:42.

4. The Holy Spirit doesn't have to have our consent to do much of what he does, and he may even use providence to break our stubborn self-wills and stop us. But, that doesn't mean we'll react properly to what he does, nor that our actions are following his leadership. Leadership not only involves someone out front showing the way; it also involves someone following. The Holy Spirit is faithful to do his work of leading; but sadly we are too often not faithful to recognize his leadership and submit to it. To the contrary we have our own plans. And, instead of following his leadership, we are really "doing our own thing"; yet often claiming we're being led so by the Holy Spirit.

5. Let no man deceive himself. Until a person's heart is submitted, he can never be sure he's being led by the Spirit, nor can he be sure that in what he did or said God was leading. Before anyone says, "God is leading me to do or say this" or "God led me in this or that matter," he'd better be very sure his heart is and was yielded: that self-will was not involved. Otherwise, it may be that what he did or is doing is not of the leadership of the Holy Spirit at all; but is the deceiving of the devil, or the results of self-will and personal motives or desires. No person can be sure he's being led of the Holy Spirit who has not given up on self, and yielded himself to whatever God wants.

B. Although, as important, essential, and good as total submission of the will to God is, it alone is not enough. It's first and without it the rest doesn't count; but in addition to submission, there must also be consistency with the Bible, the Word of God:

1. The Holy Spirit of God never leads anyone to do anything inconsistent with his Word. Regardless of how sincere and good-spirited anyone is in what he does, if it is contrary to the written Word, God is not in it. Whether as Father, Son, or Spirit, God never changes, Malachi 3:6. He will not say one thing in his Word only to contradict it in action by leading someone contrary to it.

2. As Proverbs 6:23 says, "For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is a light: and the reproofs of instruction are the ways of life." Regarding the written Word, God said in Joshua 1:8, "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." He had already said in Verse 7 that thou shalt "turn not from it to the right hand or to the left."

In practical terms that means one can not violate scripture and honestly claim God led him to do so. Regardless of how earnestly he may claim God is leading or led him to do so, no believer is ever led of God to lie, commit an immoral act, date or marry an unsaved person, embrace a false doctrine, go to an unscriptural church, take up an offense against a brother, or do many of the things people claim the Holy Spirit led them to do.

3. Even where the Bible gives no specific statement on an issue, it gives guiding principles. And, the Holy Spirit is also always consistent with his stated principles. Thus, for one to be being led by the Holy Spirit, he must be acting in harmony with the statements and principles of the written Word. Violation of or dis-harmony with the written Word is an undisputable testimony that the word or action was and is not of the Lord.

C. Ascertaining whether or not a thing be of the Holy Spirit of God may often involve the workings of providence:

1. Sometimes regardless of how submitted one is, and how carefully one searches the scriptures, he can not find clear direction in the making of certain decisions. For example, a pastor of a fine church may receive a pastoral call from another fine church. His heart is open to the will of God, and to go or stay would not violate any Biblical directive. How then can he perceive the Holy Spirit's leadership in the matter? The answer must come by a careful consideration of God's arranging of providence in the matter. Sometimes a consideration of the providential handiwork in a matter makes his will and leadership obvious. Considerations such as job changes, geographical relocations, certain purchases, decisions related to your children, the timing on preaching certain sermons, the timing on when to bring up certain issues in conversation, and the making of certain investments are just some of the matters which can fall into this category.

2. Remember that it is the Holy Spirit of God who controls providence (Colossians 1:17), and he can open or close doors of providence, I Corinthians 16:9 and II Corinthians 2:12. And, Romans 8:28 promises that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." God will arrange providence in favor of those who are the saved of God.

3. There is a story of a man aboard a ship many years ago. As the ship approached the narrow entrance to a Norway harbor in the darkness of night, the man was amazed that the captain would attempt to pilot the ship into port under such dark conditions. As he inquired, the captain called his attention to three red beacon lights in the far distance. The captain explained to the passenger that entry to the port was not as hard and dangerous as it first appeared. He said he needed only to navigate the ship in the open sea until he got all three beacons lined up to appear as one light. Then the captain said he simply drove the ship straight to the light. As long as the three lights all stayed in a perfect line, the ship would go straight into port without danger.

Likewise, those who would know they're being led by the Holy Spirit of God must line up with the three major spiritual beacons we've considered. There must be a submitted heart, strict conformity to the written Word, and recognition of and conformity to the providential workings of God. Once our lives are brought into harmony with all three of these, we can be sure the way we're taking is of the Holy Spirit of God.

D. Once we are led of the Holy Spirit, he will confirm his leadership of our lives by his fruit:

1. Remember Galatians 5:22-28, "But, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." These are the natural, spontaneous results of the control or leadership of the Holy Spirit in our lives. One who is led of the Spirit does not have to try to have these characteristics; they'll be there automatically. Yet, their absence says one is not being led of the Holy Spirit, regardless of how strongly he may claim the Spirit's leadership.

2. So, in checking yourself as to the leadership of the Spirit of God in your life, ask yourself, "Is the fruit of the Spirit there?" If the Holy Spirit is in control, the fruit will be there. The heart will be permeated by a peace. Love will characterize the life. There'll be a meekness and patience in the Spirit-led person. Self will be under control, and there'll be faith, goodness, and a joy in life.

Yes, there is evidence to Holy Spirit leadership, and that evidence is not a super-pious claim of his leadership; nor highly emotional religious activity, however sincere. His leadership in one's life evidences itself in fruitfulness, peace, love, and spiritual productivity.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"