How to be led by the Holy Spirit Jn. 14:26; Jn. 10:27- A REVIEW

1. John the Baptist: Fill in the missing words: “He will baptize you with the ____ ____ and with ____.” (Matthew 3:11)

• Holy Spirit, water

• Holy Spirit and water

• Holy Spirit and fire

• Holy Spirit, fire

2. As he left Miletus to go to Jerusalem, who warned Paul the apostle that prison and hardships were facing him? (Acts 20 vs 23)

• Barnabas

• Silas

• Luke

• The Holy Spirit

3. We live in a world of mobile phones, instant messages, constant notifications, and a high potential for information overload. It’s a real blessing that we can be so connected, but if we’re not careful, we can end up living in continual distraction as so many things demand our attention. And that can have an impact on the time we spend alone with God.

How do you think Christians can still spend quality time with the Holy Spirit to receive guidance?

Answer explanation

Jesus understood what it was like to be in constant demand; multitudes pursued Him at all hours of the day and night. But the Bible tells us: ‘Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray’ (Mark 1:35 NLT). Jesus made time to be alone with His Father. It takes spiritual discipline to shut out life’s noise and just be still and listen. But if we try it, we’ll discover heart-satisfying intimacy and fellowship with God.

Tip: If you struggle to spend time with God without being distracted, try finding a quiet room, shutting the door, and turning your phone off for 10 minutes while you talk to Him each day. As your focus improves, try increasing the time a little each day.

4. In the New Testament account, Jesus told his disciples, ‘I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.’ (John 14:16 KJV) The Greek source for the word ‘Comforter’ is Parakletos, which means ‘one who comes alongside’ to strengthen, encourage, and advise you.

Paul also tells us, ‘He [the Holy Spirit] will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won’t always be doing the wrong things your evil nature wants you to’ (Galatians 5:16 TLB)

Based on these passages- what should direct our lifestyles as Christians? And why?

Answer explanation

‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God’ (Romans 8:14 KJV). Praying and taking your best guess isn’t God’s way.

The Holy Spirit’s guidance – not our guesswork – should direct our lifestyle.

And Why? Because our fleshly nature can never be subdued by human thinking; that just produces defeat and discouragement.

When God gives us a green light, we must go. And when He gives us a red light, we must stop. ‘Paul and his friends went through Phrygia and Galatia, but the Holy Spirit would not let them preach in Asia. After they arrived in Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them. So they went on through Mysia until they came to Troas. During the night, Paul had a vision of someone from Macedonia who was standing there and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” After Paul had seen the vision, we began looking for a way to go to Macedonia…sure that God had called us to preach the good news there’ (Acts 16 v.6-10 CEV). After a series of green lights, God gave Paul a red light.

Why do you think God gave Paul a red light here?

Answer explanation

1) Because the timing wasn’t right. Apollos had to go there first and lay the groundwork.

2) Because God needed Paul and Barnabas elsewhere.

It's so reassuring to know that God loves us so much that He'll save us from our own misguided plans.