Introduction: We have discussed the gifts given by the Holy Spirit.
We have discussed the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our life. What else
does the Holy Spirit do for those who are willing to work with Him?
Have you ever felt impressed by the Holy Spirit? Have you ever felt
the Spirit was guiding your actions? Let’s explore what God has to
say about the practical leading of the Holy Spirit in the life of the
willing and attentive Christian!
- The Holy Spirit and Simeon
- Read Luke 2:25. What kind of a man is Simeon?
- Our text tells us that he is on a mission. What is
it? (It is sort of a passive mission. He is waiting
“for the consolation of Israel.”) - What is the “consolation of Israel?” (The
Messiah – Jesus.) - Why would Jesus be called the “Consolation of
Israel?” (When you are feeling bad, you need
someone to console you. Israel (and humanity)
had become enemies of God. Jesus reconciled us
to the Father. Romans 5:10. That reconciliation
not only consoles us, but it gives us joy!
Romans 5:11.) - What is significant about Simeon in the context of our
lessons? ( Luke 2:25 – The Holy Spirit was upon him.) - We have been having this discussion about why the
disciples had to wait for the Holy Spirit until
Pentecost ( Acts 1:4-5), and whether the Spirit was
present before that. What does this text tell us?
(This clearly shows that the Holy Spirit was present
and working at an earlier time.) - Read Luke 2:26-27. What, as a practical matter, did it
mean for the Holy Spirit to be “upon” (v.25) Simeon? (The
Holy Spirit did two things for Simeon. First, it revealed
part of the future to him. Second, it guided his
movements.) - Let’s discuss this for a little bit. We often mention
the Holy Spirit helping us to understand the Bible.
We often mention the Holy Spirit convicting us of
sin. Rarely does anyone tell me that the Holy Spirit
has revealed some future event in their life to them
or guided them to a certain place. Why do you think
this is true? - Simeon’s steps into the temple were guided by the
Holy Spirit. Have you felt the Holy Spirit guide you
to specific places? Have you heard the voice or felt
the impulse of the Holy Spirit?(I did an electronic
search of the Bible for the word “voice” and got 198
matches. A large percentage of those matches referred
to the voice of God speaking to humans to give them
direction.) - A week ago, my daughter and I were driving back
together from Andrews University, where she is a
student. We stopped at a rest area and a woman
opened her car door and asked me for gas money. I
gave her $10.00 – which seemed to satisfy her. When I
was talking to my daughter about this situation, and
how it made me uncomfortable because I was uncertain
whether this was “need” or “fraud,” she reminded me
of a prior incident years before at a rest area on
that same toll-road. That time I saw a couple
sitting in a truck and felt God was impressing me to
give them money. I walked over to the truck, told
them that God had impressed me to give them money,
and handed them $20.00. They took the money, thanked
me – but did not say anything about having prayed for
money. I felt I had done God’s will, but was not
sure. How can you know unless the other person
confirms it? (My wife has had these impressions and
has had them confirmed by the “donee.” Maybe the
people in the truck were praying for more than
$20.00. Seriously, I think the problem is that I am
not yet so attuned to the Holy Spirit that I can
clearly discern His message.) - Read Luke 2:28-33. Did the parents of Jesus confirm the
leading of the Holy Spirit in Simeon? (No. They were
surprised (“marveled”) by this.) - The Holy Spirit as Physical Guide
- Read Acts 8:26-39. Notice that we start out with an angel
giving Philip directions to travel down a certain road.
Then, in verse 29 we have the Holy Spirit giving Philip
directions to stay near a chariot. What purpose is being
fulfilled by the Holy Spirit? - Since we have learned that the Holy Spirit can teach
us, why didn’t the Holy Spirit just directly work
with the Ethiopian? (God wants us to be co-laborers
with him. In this specific case God absolutely needed
a human partner because Philip ended up baptizing the
Ethiopian.) - What does Acts 8:39 teach us about the means by which
the Holy Spirit can guide us? (This is literal
transportation. Anyone recall “Beam me up, Scotty?”
This is what I call real partnership with the Holy
Spirit.) - Read Acts 10:17-20. In this case the Holy Spirit seems to
guide by being a simple messenger. Is there more to this
than simply alerting Peter that he has visitors
downstairs? (Read Acts 10:27-29. The Holy Spirit is used
to correct a “law” that discriminates on the basis of race
and religion.) - What does that say about the law which Peter was now
violating? - Read Acts 13:2-5. What new aspect of the guiding of the
Holy Spirit do we see here? (This is more than just the
Holy Spirit speaking to the mind of an individual. Here
the Holy Spirit is speaking to an entire group. The
direction is so specific that the Holy Spirit provides the
names of individuals to the group and then tells those
individuals where to go.) - Read Acts 16:6-10. What do we learn about Paul’s first
understanding of his mission? (He was not clear on what
God had in mind. He had in mind something that God did not
have in mind.) - How does the Holy Spirit guide in this situation?
(The text says that He “would not allow them” to
enter Asia. Although it is not clear, this seems to
be something more than just a word of advice.) - Why would the Holy Spirit prevent someone from
sharing the gospel in a new area? In the examples we
have looked at so far, the work of the Holy Spirit
was to lead persons to people who wanted to hear the
gospel – not to keep people from hearing the gospel.
(We read that the Holy Spirit had a better place for
them to go. Paul went to Europe instead of Asia. If
you read 1 Peter 1:1 we see that God used him and
perhaps other means to reach the people in Asia.) - What practical lesson do we learn from this?
(Paul was a mighty evangelist, and Asia was a
great open field for work. What is obvious to us
is not always the will of God. God had in mind
a different person for Asia and a different
mission field for Paul.) - The Holy Spirit as Spiritual Guide
- Read Romans 8:5-8. What can we do to be sure that the Holy
Spirit guides in our life? (Paul teaches us to make the
decision to “have our minds set” on what the Holy Spirit
desires.) - What does it mean, as a practical matter, to “have
our minds set on what the Spirit desires?” (Paul sets
out two alternatives. We can either set our minds on
what our human nature desires or we can set our minds
on what the Holy Spirit desires.) - Read Romans 8:9. Are we alone in making the decision and
summoning the will to “set our minds?” (No. We ask the
Holy Spirit to come into our life and the Holy Spirit will
then control our desires. But, the decision is ours to
make.) - How important is a mind controlled by the Holy
Spirit? (This verse tells us that we do not “belong
to Christ” if we turn our mind over to be controlled
by our sinful nature.) - Friend, are you open and listening for the direction of
the Holy Spirit in your life? Have you invited the Holy
Spirit to live in your heart and mind? If not, why not
confess this right now and ask the Holy Spirit to make you
more aware of His leading? - Next week: Life Through the Holy Spirit.
