Ephesians 5:15-17 | AMPC (15) Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), (16) Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. (17) Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.
Colossians 1:9-10 | AMPC (9) For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and make [special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things– (10) That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition].
God is saying that He wants us to fully understand what His will is for our lives, clearly and specifically. It is possible for us to know what He wants for our lives, what He desires for us and what pleases Him.
I do not believe that God desires for us to have to seek after the knowledge of His will like an Easter egg hunt where we waste so much time trying to figure out what it is but rather just walking in it.
How Does the Holy Spirit Lead Me?
The four primary ways that God will lead the Born-Again believer are:
- The Written Word of God
- After the Word of God, God will lead you first and foremost through the inward witness.
- The third way the Holy Spirit will lead you is through the inward voice or the voice of your recreated human spirit.
Sometimes we call this our conscience.
Your conscience is the voice of your spirit, and it is your conscience that will relate to your mind what the Spirit of God is saying to you in your heart.
Romans 9:1-2 | NKJV (1) I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, (2) that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.
Paul, speaking of the burden he felt for the Jews, said that his conscience bears witness by the Holy Spirit that this was the truth.
Let’s look at the working of our conscience.
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- The Holy Spirit does not convict us of sin. It is our spirit that convicts us of sin in our lives.
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1 John 3:20-21 | GNB (20) If our conscience condemns us, we know that God is greater than our conscience and that he knows everything. (21) And so, my dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have courage in God’s presence.
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- The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin.
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John 16:7-9 | NLT (7) But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send Him to you. (8) And when He comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. (9) The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in Me.
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- It is very important that we remain tenderhearted especially in the things of God.
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1 Timothy 4:1-2 | NIV (1) The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (2) Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. (lost all feeling)
1 Timothy 4:2 | TPT …and their consciences won’t bother them at all!
Unless you keep a tender conscience, spiritual things will become indistinct to you.
We must realize that our physical bodies have a voice called your senses and our soul has a voice called our emotions. There will be times when we must discern which is being led by the Spirit of God and then ignore the others.
- The fourth way that God will lead you is by the voice of the Holy Spirit.
This way is the more authoritative voice of the Holy Spirit versus the still small voice of your spirit. This can almost seem like it is audible, but it is not. It is the Holy Spirit in your spirit speaking to you.
Acts 10:19-21 NKJV While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you. (20) Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.” (21) Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?”
1 Thessalonians 5:21 AMP (21) But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast.
Always remember that the Bible teaches that the Spirit of God and the Word of God agree. Anytime that the Spirit of God speaks to you, it will always be in line with the Word.
We are not to seek voices. We should not follow voices. WE SHOULD FOLLOW THE WORD OF GOD.
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- God can lead you through outside circumstances, but this must always line up with the Word of God AND confirm something that you already have in your heart.
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This would also apply to dreams or personal prophecies. They must always line up with the written Word of God AND confirm something that God has already ministered to your heart.
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- If it does not confirm something that you already have in your heart, then you put it on “the back burner” and roll it over to the Lord and not get disturbed about it.
- Learn to trust the Holy Spirit in you. He is big enough to reveal to you exactly what you need to know – clearly and concisely.
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