Is it intuition or the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit? This subject is extremely important but by the same token it can be extremely risky. Risky? We can go too far and read the Holy Spirit into every whim or hair brain idea that passes through our minds. To reduce these risks, many have gone to the opposite extreme of strictly confining the Spirit to doctrinal discussions. By doing this you definitely can avoid having to get too close to Him. The question is though, “Does God communicate with His people through the Holy Spirit?” I know…that question is really pushing the limits but if we honestly read Scripture we can’t help but ask it. What makes this difficult to sort out is that we will never know when, where or how exactly the Spirit will touch our lives. Solving this dilemma is beyond our ability and that is not the intent of this message. The purpose of this message is to honestly look at Scripture and discover the fact that God does often communicate with His people through those inner promptings of the Holy Spirit. Too often we have been guilty of crediting luck, intuition or coincidence with something that was actually the Holy Spirit. Our goal today is to develop a deeper personal connection with the Sprit. This will allow us to discover that besides those obvious workings of the Spirit, there are some more subtle ones that we miss. So decide for yourself, coincidence or the Spirit.
I. Understanding some basic truths about the Spirit’s work in our lives.
A. God’s Spirit is present everywhere.
1. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (Psalm 139:7-10—NIV)
2. David shows that it is impossible to hide from the presence of God.
3. The Hebrew word used for Spirit is ruah and can also be translated wind.
4. Regardless of where we go we are still subject to the authority of God.
5. David does not view this as a negative; in fact He views this as a reason for hope.
B. When we understand how we were made, we will understand how we can hear that still small voice.
1. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13-14—NIV)
2. The creation of a human being is one of the most amazing divine acts in the universe.
3. Because of the care that God took in creating us we are wired to be able to know His presence.
4. We are created to be able to connect with Him and communicate with Him and hear when He communicates with us.
5. God has given us the ability to think, feel and choose and the Spirit uses this to communicate with us through His Word.
6. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12—NIV)
II. Four Examples of the Spirit’s unique work in an individual’s life.
A. During those times when we are desperate and feel all alone the Spirit provides hope and encouragement.
1. Elijah fresh off a mountain top experience where he overcame the prophets of Baal in a spectacular contest begins to melt in fear.
2. Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (1 Kings 19:1-4—NIV)
3. Later on in this chapter you see God ministering to His distraught and discouraged prophet in a very special way.
4. In fact God decided to reveal Himself to Elijah but notice something very important. God was not in the earthquake, violent wind or fire.
5. God’s presence is revealed in a unique way. The Hebrew word is qol which can be translated as a calm quiet voice.
B. When we face difficult situations the Spirit provides us with determination and encouragement.
1. “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. (Acts 20:22-23—NIV)
2. Not only was Paul being urged to go Jerusalem by the Spirit, the Spirit also warning him of the risks he would take by going.
3. Despite the hardships that Paul is told to expect along the way, he stands firm and moves forward with courage.
4. For Paul obedience to God outweighed everything else. This enabled him to pass on with determination.
C. When confronted with uncertainties the Spirit provides us with reassurance.
1. In Acts 27, Paul is on a ship being taken to Rome and they were faced with the decision of spending the winter in Fair Havens which was an unprotected harbor or making their way on to Phoenix.
2. The Spirit warned Paul that this would be a dangerous move but the ship’s captain decided to take the risk of trying to reach Phoenix.
3. After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ (Acts 27:21-24—NIV)
4. The Spirit provided reassurance that God’s purpose was still going to be worked out and he needed to remain faithful.
5. This held true as all 276 passengers arrived safely on the shore after being tossed around on the sea for fifteen days by a vicious storm.
D. When dealing with sorrow, grief and pain the Spirit provides comfort.
1. To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9—NIV)
2. The Lord has allowed Paul to have a physical difficulty to keep his pride in check.
3. The Lord tells Paul three times that He will not remove it but yet He takes that weakness and uses it in a mighty way to accomplish His purpose.
4. Paul wanted relief but God responded by extending grace.
5. God offers His grace and strength when we are going through those times of pain and sorrow and His message is always the same, “My grace is sufficient.”
III. Guidelines to help you determine whether or not it’s the Spirit.
A. If you are unsure if it is the Spirit, be careful in drawing a conclusion.
1. Have you ever felt an inner prompting to do something that turned out to be foolish or immature?
2. The Spirit will never lead us in a way that will contradict the Word of God.
3. There are those who have used the excuse of being prompted by the Spirit to justify questionable behavior.
4. Spending time meditating on God’s Word and listening to Him in prayer can enable us to be able to distinguish between the promptings of the Spirit and our own desires.
B. If you are sure it is the Spirit stand firm.
1. Have you ever been prompted to do something that everyone said was crazy or there is no way that God is in this?
2. This is very much a part of walking by faith, because God often does things in improbable ways. In fact, God often accomplishes what human logic says is impossible.
3. When you are walking in God’s will expect difficulties, resistance and even criticism.
4. God has wired us to hear His voice. Are you ready to begin listening for that still quiet voice?
In water-safety courses a cardinal rule is never to swim out to a drowning man and try to help him as long as he’s thrashing around. To do so is basically to commit suicide. As long as a drowning man thinks he can help himself, he’s dangerous to anyone who tries to help him. The reason why is because his tendency is to grab the one trying to help him and the result is he ends up taking them both under the water in the process.
The correct way to rescue someone who’s drowning is to stay far enough away to where he can’t grab you. And then you wait. And when he finally gives up and quits thrashing around, you make your move. At that point the drowning man won’t work against you. Instead he’ll let you help him.
The same principle applies in our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Until we give up, we aren’t really in a position to be helped. Have you given up ownership of your life to the Holy Spirit who wants to live within you? Because until then you can’t experience His power.
