Discipleship in Being Led by Holy Spirit
Sunday, October 2, 2022 – RECAP/Study Points Assistant Pastor Dewayne Freeman
Romans 8:14 (NKJV)
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God; these are sons of God.
Notice it says led by Holy Spirit, not driven or forced. However, we have to choose to follow Him.
Therefore, Being led by Holy Spirit is a decision by the believers, not Holy Spirit.
Revelation 3:20 (NKJV)
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me.
This scripture is normally used by Christians to get a sinner born again, but here Jesus is talking to believers.
Most of us will fellowship around food. In this verse, Jesus is trying to have a more personal and intimate meal for fellowship.
Fellowship was designed to give you knowledge about the person you are in a relationship with, which in turn gives you the confidence to follow them.
Fellowship is important to God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, so it should be important to you.
Matthew 11:29 NKJV
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
1 Thessalonians 5:12 KJV
“And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;.”
Philippians 3:10
“that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,”
All the above scriptures let us know how important fellowship is.
When you fellowship with Holy Spirit, you find out He has increase on His mind, and He wants to increase you and your children more and more.
If He has increase on His mind, those who fellowship with Him should have increase more and more on their mind in every area.
Say I receive the more and more!!!
Psalms 115:12-15 (KJV)
- The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel (rep. People ). ; he will bless the house of Aaron (Pastors ministry gifts) God isn’t leaving anyone out).
- He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
- The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
- Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.
If God has increase on His mind for us, then the Holy Spirit has the same thing on His mind for us.
Here are Ways that the Holy Spirit communicates or leads with us:
Word of God Audible voice Inward witness
Men and women of God Check in your spirit/ peace Visions
Dreams Prophecy
Let’s look at some examples that have one or more ways Holy Spirit leads us.
The Holy Spirit will let you know when and when not to receive
2 Kings 5:10-13 (NKJV)
- And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”
** Here Holy Spirit uses Elisha to lead Naaman.
Naaman was mad because Elisha’s plan didn’t line up with his plans
- But Naaman became furious and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’
- Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
- And his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash and be clean’?”
** But another man help Naaman to see he needs to do what the man of god said 2 Kings 5:14-16 (NKJV)
- So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
- And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now, therefore, please take a gift from your servant.”
- But he said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.
** Elisha was led to not receive the gifts from Naaman. How many people would have followed that inward witness because his servant didn’t think he was right, so he went after the man and received from him
2 Kings 5:20-22 (NKJV)
20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”
21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?”
22 And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’ ”
In our day, what he received would be over $15,000.00
Holy Spirit led wise men and Joseph in a dream Matthew 2:3(NKJV)
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Matthew 2:8 NKJV
“And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
Bring back word so I can go worship- Herod was lying…
But look at our Helper warning wise men in a dream, then Joseph to protect Jesus.
Matthew 2:12-15 (NKJV)
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
13 Now, when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,
15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
** Holy Spirit uses a dream to get more information to Joseph
Matthew 2:19-23 (NKJV)
19 Now, when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”
21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
- But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.
- And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
There’s a famine, and Isaac is ready to move but look at Holy Spirit leading again.
Genesis 26:1-6
- “There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar.”
- “Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you.”
- “Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham, your father.”
- And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands, and in your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;
- because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
- So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.”
Isaac obeyed, and God proper him in a time of lack.
12“Then Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold, and the Lord blessed him.
13The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous;.”
Genesis 26:12-13 NKJV
The Holy Spirit actually was forbidding them to do something we normally think of as good.
Acts 16:6-7 (KJV)
- Now, when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
- After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
They could have said that’s not God we going anyway because there is a scripture
in Mark 16:15 (NKJV)
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
… but they would have missed God look at verse: 8
Acts 16:8-10 (NKJV)
- So, passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
- And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
- Now, after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Later on, God did send Paul to preach to those in Asia.
Holy Spirit wants to and cares about every detail that pertains you.
Some ways that the Holy Spirit has led Lisa and me:
Lisa has this thing that when she misplaces something, she says, “nothing is hidden from me and then she thanks Holy Spirit for revealing to her where whatever it is has been misplaced. Notice I said misplaced because unless Holy Spirit tells her she’s lost it, she just says it’s misplaced. One day I had misplaced about $700. So, I was telling Lisa, and she said ok, nothing is hidden for us. In Jesus’ Name, the Holy Spirit will reveal it and went on about her business. On the other hand, I went on a search looking in everything that I had worn that week.
She had taken some clothes to the laundry, and the next day, the lady from the laundry place called her to say she had found about $400 in the laundry. Remember I told you I had misplaced about $700. She comes home with the $400, and I am thinking the lady must have taken the rest. Lisa still stands on the fact that it will be revealed where it is or if the lady took it, that will be revealed. That evening a little while after she got home, the lady called and said she was cleaning out the machine and some more money was in the vent. Holy Spirit will let you know where things are through and inward witness; you just have to be in fellowship to know His voice.
Luke 8:17, for there, is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed.
You know one of the hard times to yield to Holy Spirit is when He ask you to look wrong when you know you are right and have the receipts for it.
There was a time when we first got married when I thought Lisa was wrong, and I pray I heard Holy Spirit say to me before we prayed tonight to apologize to her, and I’m saying to Him she’s wrong. She needs to apologize. Back then, we prayed together every night on our knees, so before we begin to pray, I apologized to her, and I said let’s pray then she said before we pray, I want to apologize to you, and I’m saying to myself why did you apologize before I apologize but there will be times when you will look wrong knowing you are right to make a wrong by others right.
Isn’t that how Jesus looked when he was on the cross, He looked wrong, but how many know He was right, but sometimes you have to look wrong to make what’s wrong right.