BE LED By The Spirit SECTION 1: A Story of Being Led Read Acts 13:1-12 1 LESSON 2 Barnabus and Saul were two men full of the Holy Spirit and faith. Both men had been marvelously converted and were totally dedicated to following Jesus and obeying Him in everything. Barnabus was instrumental in passionately defending and commending Saul to the disciples in Jerusalem who were wary of Him because he had been an enemy of the church in the past. This proved to be the beginning of a dynamic, Spirit-led ministry partnership between these two men. After Barnabus was sent to the city of Antioch and saw the powerful work of the Spirit that was being accomplished, he sought out Saul to come and join him in teaching and training the disciples there. Together, they ministered powerfully and effectively for over a year. Around this time the Holy Spirit revealed that there was going to be a great famine in the world. A relief offering was taken and it was determined that Barnabus and Saul would be sent to deliver it. After successfully completing their mission they returned to Antioch to discover what their next ministry assignment might be. During a time of fasting and prayer the Holy Spirit spoke prophetically through leaders in Antioch that Barnabus and Saul were to be sent out to specific regions to declare and to demonstrate the power of the gospel. Hands were laid on them and they went out by the leading and life of the Spirit. As they journeyed they trusted Christ s Spirit to give them guidance and grace for the work. They were not disappointed. They ministered powerfully in word and deed to the extent that a certain governing official was astonished at what he heard and saw. The clear and undeniable leading of the Holy Spirit marked these two men s lives and ministries. Because of this, they were consistently at the right place, at the right time, with the right people, doing the right things. God s will was fulfilled and Christ s name was glorified. Any believer who is submitted to being led by the Holy Spirit will find this to be true in their lives as well. The Definition What does it mean to be led by the Spirit? Read John 16:7-15 and Romans 6:1-14 The Greek word ago [ä'-gō] is the word led in English. It means, to lead, to take with one, to lead by laying hold of (and this way to bring to the point of destination). To lead, guide, direct, to lead by accompanying. This is exactly the life that the Lord has called you to: to be led by Him as He goes with you. He doesn t call you to figure life out on your own or live life by your own strength. He calls you to be filled with His Spirit on a daily, moment-by-moment basis, and to listen to Him as you walk out the great plans and purposes He has for you. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit have one will. The Spirit is the One who communicates that will to you. Being led by the Spirit means that you are not led by sin, your flesh, your will, your emotions, your preferences or even your understanding. You are no longer the one in control; you are dead to self-rule and sin and are alive as a slave to God s will of righteousness, being in right relationship with God, living in trusting obedience to Him. Being led by the Spirit means you are in constant surrender to the will of the Father as revealed by the Holy Spirit, who leads you into truth, Jesus will. Why do I need to be led by the Spirit? Read Romans 8:7-14 and Galatians 5:16-25 In the Scriptures, Paul teaches that living by the flesh versus living by the Spirit is essentially death versus life. He states that those who are carnally minded (focused on gratifying their flesh) are against God and therefore, cannot please God. But when you are led by the Spirit you are not one of those people. You are alive because of the Spirit of God that dwells within you, and you are no longer carnally minded, but instead, led by the Spirit. You must be led by the Spirit because it is the only way to live a holy and righteous life that is pleasing to God. The only holy, pure, righteous and just God has called you to a life that is led by His Spirit. 2
Though there are many things that seek to lead you (circumstances, opened/closed doors, others ideas, your will, etc.), you must recognize your God-given call to be led by His Spirit. The flesh is at war with the Spirit, but you are dead to the flesh. Your only recourse is to be led by the Spirit, which will bring forth the fruit of the Spirit 1. Just as Jesus, the Son of God, was led by the Holy Spirit, we too must be led by the Holy Spirit. How can I be led by the Spirit? Read Luke 4:1, James 4:6 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 You must allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in all ways. Being led by the Spirit encompasses all parts of your life. Your thoughts, words, actions, perspective and preferences, should all be led by the Spirit. Humility, prayer and yieldedness are all part of how you are led by the Spirit. When you humble yourself before the Lord, acknowledging that you need Him in all things at all times, He promises to give grace to the humble and to exalt you in due season. Humility is one of the hallmarks of a disciple s life. In humility, you must recognize, and live by, that you don t have it all together or have all the answers, but He does. You need the Spirit of God to lead you at all times. You are called to be a person of prayer. Prayer is an act of humility in which you seek the One who can help guide your life to be dynamic and powerful for the work of His kingdom. Ask for the Spirit s guidance in all things, and ask the Spirit to lead you as you move throughout each day. Take 10 minutes and ask the Holy Spirit to show you times when you have leaned on your own understanding and preferences instead of being led by Him. Did it feel like you were opposing God? What was the result? How did it hinder your relationship with the Lord and ministry to others? Using the journal pages provided, write about any re-occurring situations where you are easily led by your preferences or your own understanding, instead of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you areas in your life where you do not submit to Him. Document the areas where it is most difficult to surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit. After journaling about the areas where you ve resisted the Holy Spirit s leading, repent for surrendering to your own understanding and will. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you as you commit to submit to and follow His leading. You must be yielded to the Spirit, not insisting on your way. Stop to humble yourself to His will as you ask for His perspective to be able to see and hear what He is doing. Practice yielding to the Spirit in the time you spend daily in the secret place. 1 Galatians 5:22-23 3 4
SECTION 2: Inductive Bible Study Worksheet The Study This inductive Bible study will help you respond in obedience to the truth of God s Word. Use the Inductive Bible Study Guidelines for Examine, Express and Exercise at the beginning of your handbook and the worksheets provided on the next pages to help you. As you look at each passage of scripture below, examine what it says, express what it means, and consider how you will exercise it in your life. Read Romans 8:9-14, write it down using the journal pages provided, and specifically follow the instructions at the beginning of your handbook entitled Inductive Bible Study Guidelines: EXAMINE. Now read these scriptures aloud and declare your commitment to the truth of them in your life. Use the worksheets provided to rewrite these scriptures in your own words. Write down 2-3 action steps that you will take based on the truth of Romans 8:9-14 using the journal pages provided. 5 6
Inductive Bible Study Worksheet Inductive Bible Study Worksheet 7 8
SECTION 3: The Memorizing of Scripture Follow these guidelines as you commit Romans 8:12-14 to memory. 1. Set aside the time you need each day to memorize scripture. 2. Pray and ask the Lord to help you commit scripture to memory. 3. In addition to the help you ll receive from the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), the key to memorization is repetition, repetition, repetition! 4. After locating the scripture in your Bible, read out loud through the chapter and, if helpful, the book where the scripture is found so that you understand the context of the scripture. 5. Speak the scripture aloud several times, saying the scripture reference before and after. 6. You may find it helpful to break up the scripture into smaller portions, repeating those portions by themselves, and then putting them together. Or you might utilize the help of 3x5 note cards or sticky notes to write out the scriptures so that you can keep them before you each day. 7. Once you have memorized a scripture, dedicate yourself to living what the scripture says, as well as sharing the scripture with those in your sphere of influence. SECTION 4: The Discussion Use the journal pages provided to write your response to each of these questions in preparation for a group discussion. Examine your last week. Share a situation where you were walking in the flesh rather than being led by the Spirit. How would this situation have been different if you had been led by the Spirit? 9 SECTION 5: The Marks of Maturing Make a list of all of your daily roles and responsibilities. This list may include being a spouse, a parent, a student, etc. Where in your daily life are you relying on yourself, rather than being led by the Spirit? Are there areas that the Holy Spirit is highlighting where you have been self-centered or distracted from following His lead? Share what you have learned with your discipleship small group. Do you sense the Holy Spirit speaking to you and directing your day? Share a time this week when you were led by the Spirit and it bore fruit. Exercise your faith that the Spirit of God is calling and equipping you to walk moment-by-moment with Him. Pray in faith for one another, believing that Jesus will fill you with the Holy Spirit. These are the Marks of Maturing as someone who is led by the Spirit. How well do they describe you? Use the journal pages provided to write your response. A disciple is someone who is led by the Spirit and not led by sin, their flesh, their will, their emotions, their preferences or even their understanding. A disciple is someone who lives in constant surrender to the will of the Father as revealed by the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth and in the ways of the Lord Jesus. A disciple is someone who asks for the Spirit s guidance in all things and asks the Spirit to lead on a daily, moment-by-moment basis. 10
SECTION 6: Go Further Here are some additional readings for you as you are led by the Spirit: In our day heaven and earth are on tiptoe waiting for the emergence of a Spirit-led, Spirit-intoxicated, Spirit-empowered people. All of creation watches expectantly for the springing up of a disciplined, freely gathered, martyr people who know in this life the life and power of the kingdom of God. It has happened before. It can happen again. Indeed, in movements all over the world we are now beginning to see the breaking forth of the apostolic church of the Spirit. Many are having a deep and profound experience of an Emmanuel of the Spirit God with us; a knowledge that in the power of the Spirit Jesus has come to guide his people himself; an experience of his leading that is as definite and as immediate as the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. 2 9-11 But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells even though you still experience all the limitations of sin you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the aliveand-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's! 12-14 So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go! 15 This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" 4 God s divine executive agent in the world today is the Holy Spirit. He is continuing the work that Jesus began. He is moving among millions of believers and unbelievers all over the world in homes, churches and prisons, behind the Iron and Bamboo Curtains, and in countries where the gospel has been resisted for centuries. He is moving and working in response to the pleas of God s children everywhere. His work is powerful and continues steadily in the lives of Christians who have sought His help. 3 2 Celebration of Discipline, Revised Edition, Richard J. Foster, Harper San Francisco, October 5, 1988, p. 175. 3 Holy Spirit, My Senior Partner, David Yonggi Cho, Charisma House, July 31, 1996, p. 7. 11 4 The Message Bible, Eugene H. Peterson, 2005 12