Lesson 5: How Inner Leading of the Spirit Works
A. INTRODUCTION
1. OTHER NAMES:
a. Inner voice.
b. The Lord told me.
c. The Lord led me.
d. God spoke to me.
e. Internal leading.
f. Forbidden of the spirit (Acts 16:6-7).
g. Inner light (Quaker).
2. BIBLICAL BASIS: “Led by the Spirit of God” (Rom. 8:14). “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit” (Rom. 8:16). “Walk in the spirit” (Gal. 5:16).
a. Spirit-controlled emotions, I feel as God feels.
b. Spirit-filled memory, I realize what God wants of me.
c. Spirit-guided decisions, I choose what God wants.
d. Spirit-taught convictions, I know what is right.
B. TEN THINGS GOD USES TO LEAD US
1. Scriptures. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105).
2. Memories of the past. “Remember all the ways the Lord hath led you” (Deut. 8:2).
a. Negative. “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32).
b. Positive. “Remember the words of the Lord” (Matt. 26:75).
3. Spiritual understanding. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God” (I Cor. 3:14). “Howbeit, when He the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).
4. Human teachers. “Understandest thou . . . how can I, except some man guide me” (Acts 8:30-31)?
5. Warnings. “I have refrained my feet from every evil way” (Ps. 119:101).
6. Counsel of friends and spiritual leaders. “But in the multitude of counselors, there is safety” (Prov. 11:14).
7. Inner negative compulsion. “They were forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). “The Spirit suffered them not” (Acts 16:7).
8. Inner positive compulsion. “Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness” (Matt. 4:1).
a. Claim God’s promise that says He will lead you. “I am the Lord thy God . . . who leads you by the way you should go” (Is. 48:17).
b. Study illustrations of God’s leading. “Remember all the ways which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years” (Deut. 8:2).
c. Pray. “Lead me O Lord” (Ps. 5:8).
d. Expect. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14).
e. Get help. “Thou shall guide me with thy counsel” (Ps. 73:24).
f. By his inner presence. “It was Thou . . . my guide” (Ps. 55:13).
9. Natural decision making.
C. STEPS IN DECISION-MAKING
1. Honestly face your decisions.
a. Know you have a problem.
b. Know you must do something.
c. Know you can solve it.
2. Define your problem.
a. Don’t work on symptoms.
b. Write out the problem (a well-defined problem is half-solved).
3. Gather information.
a. Write out facts about your problem.
b. Look at causes.
c. Evaluate assumptions.
4. Develop as many alternate solutions as possible. Evaluate each alternative. (It is important to write out as many solutions to your problem as come to your mind).
5. Choose the best decision.
a. To make a decision without the above process is guessing.
b. Decision-making is not thinking up what to do, it is choosing the best solution suggested.
c. In an imperfect world, there is no perfect answer only the best solution at this time.
6. Make the decision work.
a. Communicate to those involved.
b. Constant evaluation.
c. Check your goal.
D. WAYS GOD LED IN THE PAST
1. Angels. “The Lord will send His angel with thee” (Gen. 24:40). “I being in the way, the Lord led me” (Gen. 24:27).
2. Actual voice. “The Word of the Lord came to me saying” (Jer. 1:11).
3. Dreams. “Joseph dreamed a dream” (Gen. 37:5).
a. No longer revelatory with a message.
b. A dream is your recessive memory and God leads us by our memory.
4. Vision. “I saw visions of God” (Ez. 1:1).
5. Appearance of Jesus. “Then spoke the Lord to Paul in the night in a vision” (Acts 18:4).
6. Trance. “Peter went up upon the house top to pray . . . he fell into a trance (Acts 10:9-10).
E. GOOD ATTITUDES ABOUT GOD’S LEADING US
1. You can have confidence when circumstances agree with Scripture.
2. Be leery of predicting the future. “God told me you would be my wife.”
a. Don’t get your desires mixed up with facts.
b. Don’t project inner desires onto God’s will.
3. Know what you know.
a. You know all are influenced by sin.
b. You know you have been wrong before.
c. You know when your motives are pure.
d. You know God will not lead you to sin.
e. You know God wants you to do right.
4. You judge all things by their results. “Prove all things, hold fast to that which is good” (I Thess 5:21). “You shall know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:16).
5. Jerry Falwell said, “I know that I know that I know.”
a. First know: by observation.
b. Second know: by rational understanding.
c. Third know: by assurance of the Holy Spirit.
6. Be yielded to God to accept success or failure as His will. “Yield yourself to God” (Rom. 6:13).
7. Pray constantly. “Lead me in thy way everlasting” (Ps. 139:24).
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
