Discipleship in Being Led by Holy Spirit
Sunday, September 25, 2022 – RECAP/Study Points Assistant Pastor Dewayne Freeman
We’ve been talking about being led by Holy Spirit. Pastor Mike said some time ago, and he was giving us this scripture over there in Ecclesiastes 5; he said, watch your step when you enter in. When somebody tells you to watch your step, what are they saying to you? Be careful! Why are they saying, be careful, because you may what? You may trip, you may stumble. Watch your step when you enter into God’s house. Because it said, “enter to learn.” And I believe with all my heart; there’s a lot of people who have been tripping. I think a lot of people have been stumbling when they come into the house of God because we’ve been using this place when we come inside to entertain sinners. And nothing about coming inside this building was designed to entertain sinners. As a matter of fact, when I get up to teach, am not teaching sinners, because my assignment is for the body of Christ it is to perfect the saints so they can do the work of the ministry.
And while we’re entertaining sinners when we are teaching many people cannot represent Jesus the way Jesus should be represented, because we’ve been talking to the sinners instead of talking to the saints. And the saints are supposed to be learning when they come into this building and learning about this man named Jesus, and some are misrepresenting Jesus because we’re so busy dealing with the sinners.
Now there’s a time for the sinners; we are to minister to sinners when we leave this building. When we go out into the world, we’ve got to preach a message to the sinners, but there’s a message to the saints that’s different from the message to the sinners. And there’s a message to the sinners that’s different from the message to the saints.
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2 Timothy 2:2 (NKJV) – And the things that you have heard of Me, among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
If you can’t teach what you have learned, then either one of two things; you haven’t grabbed hold of it yet, or you’re not committed, you’re not faithful. Faithful in the Greek and Hebrew, means “worthy of trust.” That word faithful means a person that is reliable. However, the English language is kind of lazy, we call it faithful. But when you look at somebody that you can count on. Say, count on! That word faithful means somebody who’s committed; say committed! And when you are reliable, committed, and worthy of trust, then you are considered to be trustworthy. He said, “commit thou to that person, and they’ll be able to teach others also.” You should be able to teach what you have learned.
We’ve been talking about being led by Holy Spirit, and since we’ve been talking about it, as the committed ones, the reliable ones, the faithful ones; you should be able to teach what you have been taught.
John 14:16 (NKJV) – And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-
When you look at this same scripture in the King James Version (KJV), where it says another helper, the KJV says comforter. Jesus said He will pray the Father and He will give you another helper or another comforter that may abide with you forever.
Now when I’m looking at this, I see the word “another.” Jesus said I’ll give you “another” helper, another comforter. So that’s telling me that Jesus considered Himself a helper. Jesus considered Himself a comforter. Because He said, I will give you another. This word, another, can be something that is different, or it can be something that is the same. Dewayne, go get me some cereal, but I want another brand. Or, Dewayne, go get me some cereal, but I want the same brand. It can be another that is different or another that is the same. And Jesus is telling them, I’m going to send you another helper, the same just like Me. But this one, right here, can do a little more than what I can do. This one right here can stay with you forever.
When Jesus was walking this earth physically, He couldn’t be with all of us at the same time. He only could be with us one at a time or a group at a time. But He couldn’t be with Lottie, Dottie, and Everybody at the same time.
When you look at this another comforter, we found out that it means Parakletos. That word, Parakletos, is made up of two words: Para, then, kletos. The word Para means to come alongside of or beside. That’s why when you see the word, parable is made up of two words. I’m going to throw something alongside of this story. It’s an earthly illustration, but it has a heavenly meaning because He’s throwing something alongside of this story. Not just a story; something is coming alongside of it to help you.
This word kletos means to throw or walk with. So when you look at Parakletos, this is somebody to come alongside of you, to walk with you. Holy Spirit says I’m not just going to be in you; He’s going to come alongside of you to be with you. Anytime you see Him walking with you, He really wants to manifest Himself. See, when He’s in you, it’s for you. But when He’s walking with you, He’s ready to do something in your midst. That’s why I love that scripture of how God anointed Jesus Christ from Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. And he went about doing good. You know who was with him? The Holy Ghost! And he was healing all that was oppressed of the devil. You know why? Because God, the Holy Ghost, was with him.
That word Parakletos we found out, is like someone who wants to walk alongside of you. The Holy Spirit, He wants to. Come alongside of you and walk with you. We also found out that this word Parakletos has a nine-fold meaning. What’s the 9-fold meaning? In the Greek Holy Spirit is defined as Parakletos, which is the 9-fold description of Holy Spirit:
- Helper
- Advocate
- Comforter
- Teacher
- Intercessor
- Stand by
- Strengthener
- Guide
- Counselor
He’s not just a counselor, but He’s a mighty counselor. Because He’s all-knowing, that’s why I love John 14:26. I thank God that Jesus told us some of this stuff about the Holy Spirit. Because I found out the Holy Spirit does not talk about Himself.
Some of the stuff we found out by the Holy Spirit, someone else had to tell us because He’s not going to talk about Himself. Every time the Holy Spirit talks about you, He’s talking about Jesus. This man has got to be smart. If He’s going to teach you…I don’t know one person who’s going to teach you everything about everything. But notice this, He, not it, He shall teach you.
John 14:26 (NKJV) – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
John 15:26 (NKJV) – But when the (Comforter) Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
John 16:7 (NKJV) – Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
I’m looking at this, and the Holy Spirit said this to me, when has there ever been a time when somebody was getting ready to die in your presence? And they told you their death was an advantage to you. There’s not one person. If somebody told you, “you know it’s good for me to die because it’s for your advantage,” If somebody tells you that, you’re lazy. You are a freeloader, and they say if they don’t get away, you won’t even grow up. And they say, “I’ve got to die in order for you to grow up.” Very few people are going to tell you that. But if somebody’s dying, it normally comes from the person that’s alive. My loved one is suffering so much; it’s good that they’re going to depart. Only saying it because it’s to their advantage that they go ahead; I’m just tired of seeing them like that. You never see the dead telling the living, “It’s to my advantage that I should go.” But Jesus said that to us, and you know why He said that to us. Because He knew there would be thousands upon thousands of people who were going to get born again all over this world. He knew that He wouldn’t be able to be with everybody at the same time.
And He said, “It’s good that I go because if I don’t go, the Comforter, the Helper, the one that’s in you that’s going to want to walk alongside you. That’s going to show you some things, that’s going to tell you some things that you didn’t know. That one right there, that’s to your advantage. That’s what’s going to give you the upper hand in life. I don’t know about you; I don’t know why people don’t want to fellowship with Holy Ghost and get to know He, Him, Holy Spirit even more.
The Holy Spirit is God in His unlimited form. The Holy Spirit is a person; He’s not it; He’s a person. The One who wants to come alongside of you. To walk with you, to talk with you. You can tell He’s a person because He has a will. You can tell He’s a person because has a mind. You can tell He’s a person because He speaks. You can tell He’s a person because He’s intelligent. You can tell He’s a person because He can be grieved. The Holy Spirit is a person, and He wants to walk with you, Child of God! He’s the One that wants to tell you some things to cause you to live a successful life. And you listen to everybody else except for your unseen partner.
You’ve got a partner who wants to walk with you and talk with you and show you things to come. And Jesus said it will give you the upper hand in life. Because He knows there’s a devil out there who wants to kill, steal, and destroy.
And you’ve got to know; there’s a person, a greater One, locked up on the inside of you. And let me tell you something, it’s impossible to be led by Holy Spirit without denying yourself and taking up your assignment. If you don’t know how to deny yourself and take up because you just cannot deny yourself. There are a lot of people trying to deny self, and it’s a lot of hard work. You will exhaust yourself out.
I’ve seen people in relationships they know they’re not supposed to be in, and this is what they do. “I’m not going around there anymore; I’m not going to call her anymore; I’m going to change my number.” They block the number and do all kinds of stuff. That devil does not care. He knows your habits and knows about you. He has been with you all of that time. He doesn’t care if you don’t come around.
You’re out at a restaurant wanting to treat yourself; you’re in line waiting for the person to come. You turn around and guess who’s behind you? The one you’ve been trying to run from. Then he says, “girl, you know the Lord moves in mysterious ways.” I wasn’t coming here today; you normally don’t come here; this got to be God, the Spirit.” No, you’ve got to deny yourself and take up something.
Because if you don’t fill yourself up with something, when that thing comes back and finds out that you’re empty, swept, and clean, it’s coming back. And it’s going to be worse the second time than it was the first time.
Pastor Mike said it, and I can’t improve on it, “In order for you and I to be led by Holy Spirit, you have to divorce yourself from your five physical senses.” Because if you don’t divorce yourself from your five physical senses, you’re going to be in trouble. Because the Holy Spirit does not think like man. The Holy Spirit will tell you some things that will mess up your natural mind if you didn’t understand He, Him, Holy Spirit.
2 Kings 4:1 (NKJV) – A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” V. 2. So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” V. 3. Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. V. 4. “And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” V. 5. So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her, and she poured it out. V. 6. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. V. 7. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons live on the rest.”
I love the way this woman approached the prophet. She knew that the Spirit of the Living God would come upon certain men and people knew that, and they could see that on their life. And so when they wanted to hear a Word from God, they would run to the prophet. And when she started off, she said, “you know your servant, my husband.” Notice she didn’t say “my husband”; she said “servant” my husband serves you with all his heart. After that, she said the creditors are coming. Back then, if you did not pay people, the word spread around by word of mouth.
All of her neighbors already knew that she couldn’t pay. Asking her neighbors and borrowing got her in trouble in the first place. The woman was thinking, “I came to get a word from God, I’m in debt; that’s how I got in debt by borrowing. Now you’re trying to get me into more debt. And you’re going to ask me to borrow from my neighbors, and my neighbors already know my business. Is there anybody else up there I can talk to?”
She only had a jar, but the jar never went empty, as long as she was obeying the voice of Holy Spirit. The first thing the prophet wanted her to do was to pay her debt. Some of you, as soon as you get your money, you don’t want to pay your debt. One Word from God acted upon changed her life. Who would have thought of something like that? This is the One who knows everything. This is the One who’s with you, walking with you; He’s in you. Some of you have been ignoring Holy Spirit and running around the neighborhood and asking everybody and the Holy Spirit is in you. He wants to work with you. And you haven’t inquired from He, Him, Holy Spirit.
Now let’s look at 1 Kings 17:1 (NKJV) – And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” V. 2. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, V. 3. “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. V. 4. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
It’s amazing how the Holy Spirit is talking Elijah. He told him to get away from here (here was the place that Elijah was in). What you’re about to experience, you can’t experience here. Get out of here. That’s a word for some of you. You’re in a place called here, and God wants you in a place called there. Notice, not only did He tell him to get away from here. Then He gave him some directions. Now God told him to go someplace. And the place He told him to go, there were some ravens. Why didn’t He say eagles or something like that? Ravens don’t leave anything. They don’t share their food. God said, “I commanded them to sustain you.” Not only in the morning but also in the evening they’re going to bring you some bread. And then He told them, “I’ve got a brook there, and I want you to drink from there.” That boy went there, and everything happened like the Spirit of God spoke to him.
The Spirit of God told me anytime He’s speaking to you about something, He’s already spoken to someone else. That’s why it’s really to our advantage that He left. He can be in you; He can be in me; he can be in this, and that…He’s in you too.
Let’s look at 1 Kings 17:8 and Elijah is still being led by the Holy Spirit. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, V. 9. “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” V. 10. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink.” V. 11. And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” V. 12. So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a [a]jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” V. 15. So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days.
In verse 11, she told Elijah that she only had enough for her and her son, “it’s just enough, to take our last supper, and then we’re going to die.” Then the prophet of God said, “she’s in fear. She knows what God told her to do. But now she’s in fear. Do you know why she’s in fear? She doesn’t know that God spoke to me as He spoke to her.”
Holy Spirit is the one that’s on your side, and the reason why you don’t talk to Him the way you need to talk to Him is because He’s unseen. You don’t look at Him like you see your friend, but I’m telling you He’s real; He’s right there with you right now.
Notice this woman who is gathering sticks, and He says, “fear not, do what I told you to do.” And all of a sudden, she did it. She was about to eat her last meal, but she obeyed the voice of God. Holy Spirit won’t talk to you and give you all of the instructions all the time Himself. Sometimes He speaks to you through a vision, a dream, a man/woman of God. He uses people at certain times. Notice she obeyed the voice of God. Her whole household ate for many days because she obeyed her unseen partner.
While I’m reading the Good Samaritan story, the Spirit of God said, “I’m the good Samaritan. I’m the One that came out of nowhere. I’m the One that people didn’t really know because I’m a foreigner. I’m a stranger in this particular inn. I come and got a hold of you. The devil left you for half dead. He thought he killed you. But I came, I bounded up your wounds, I poured oil on you, I put you on my ride Dewayne, and I knew I had to go somewhere and wanted to leave you with the innkeeper. And I told the innkeeper this is his assignment. And his assignment is to take care of you until I come back. And whatever you need, the innkeeper is going to provide for you.”
He said, “Dewayne, that innkeeper is the Holy Ghost. I left you in the hands of the Holy Ghost. I assigned Him, I’m the head of the church, and I’m the one who assigned Him to take care of you. I don’t know why you’re so worried; I don’t know why you’re so blown away. The head of the Church told the Holy Ghost to take care of you and keep you.
He’s coming back. That’s why we’ve got to get the message to the world. When we come in here to learn about Jesus, have fellowship with Jesus, and serve the living Jesus, then we have a message for the world, that Jesus loves you, He paid a price for you, and He’s got a plan for you. The only sin that will have a sinner to remain a sinner, is the sin of rejecting Jesus.
We have a responsibility to present to the world, this loving Jesus that loved you so much that He left you in the hands of the innkeeper (Holy Spirit).