Now, it's of very, very great importance to
you and to me, being enthralled by the
Holy Spirit of God, that He has His
way in our lives.
He will occupy us with Christ.
As we said the other night, and I
think it bears repeating, the burden of the
Spirit of God is to bring Christ before
us.
The burden of Christ was to bring the
Father before us.
And what blessed anticipation when the Spirit of
God has His way in our lives.
He will not only bring Christ before us,
but He will bring us, by His mighty
power, into the very image of Christ.
Now, we already have the Christ, the life
of Christ, within us.
That life was put within us, as we
noticed last night, by the Holy Spirit of
God.
The Spirit of God took the life of
Christ and put that life within us.
And the life that I now live in
the flesh.
The apostle says in Galatians 2.20, I
am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me.
Christ liveth in me, and the life that
I now live in the flesh, I live
by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Christ just wants to live through us.
He wants to live in us and through
us.
That's the life that counts.
That's the life that wins.
The life of Christ.
But that life, of course, is His life.
It's from Him.
He is the author of all life, in
Him was life.
And the life of the light of men.
But, of course, that life must be nurtured,
that life must be empowered, and the Spirit
of God will produce Christ in us.
That life will grow and be manifest through
us.
Now, the ministry of the Spirit in teaching
us will cause us to remember, cause us
to review the fact and consider it, that
He is the author of the Bible.
The Spirit of God is the author of
the Bible.
And then we will notice that the Spirit
of God is the expounder of the Bible.
He explains the book that He caused to
be written.
Now, we read in 2 Timothy chapter 3
about the
Scripture.
This is important as a preliminary to the
little study, the ministry of the Spirit in
leading us, because the Spirit of God leads
us in accordance with the Word of God.
In 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16.
This is one of the famous three 16's
of the Bible.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
Now, the Spirit is not singled out here,
but it's God the Spirit that's before us.
We'll notice that from Peter in just a
moment.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
The inspiration here is God breathed.
And, of course, breathed strongly suggests that wind
that we talked about last night, which is
the Spirit.
The word for spirit and the word for
wind are the same word.
They're God breathed.
That's highly suggested.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man
of God may be perfect, truly furnished, and
to all good works.
Now, Peter tells us what is not told
us here.
We're simply told in 2 Timothy 3.16
that all Scripture is given by inspiration of
God.
But Peter does not leave us in doubt
as to which member of the Godhead is
before us.
Shall we notice, please, 2 Peter, chapter 1,
verse 16, For we have not followed cunningly
devised fables, when we made known unto you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
But we're eyewitnesses of his majesty.
What Peter is writing to these Christians scattered
abroad is not the concoctions of men, not
the vaporings of a mind, however cleverly presented,
and he wants them to know it.
We've not followed cunningly devised fables, when we
made known unto you the power and coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But we're eyewitnesses of his glory.
For he received from God the Father honor
and glory, when there came such a voice
to him from the excellent glory, this is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.
And this voice, which came from heaven, we
heard when we were with him in the
holy mount.
And, of course, he's talking about the Mount
of Transfiguration.
And will you please notice here that Peter
doesn't even mention Elijah and Moses.
You remember on that occasion he was so
occupied, so overwhelmed by the presence of Elijah
and Moses, that he makes the suggestion, Lord
let us build here for thee three tabernacles,
one for thee, one for Moses, and one
for Elijah.
And you remember there was a bright cloud
overshadowed them, and there was a voice out
of that cloud, and that voice said, this
is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased.
Hear ye him.
Not Peter.
But Peter, after that experience, they were seized
with fear.
And when the Lord opened their eyes again,
they saw no man save Jesus only.
Yet, it wasn't long when Peter began to
make that suggestion that Moses and Elijah and
the Lord have a tabernacle built to their
memory.
It wasn't long until God just took Moses
and Elijah off the scene.
And when they opened their eyes, they saw
no man save Jesus only.
And you know, God will do that.
God will do that for you and for
me.
We should never idolize men.
We should never give man a place that
he does not deserve.
We are doing that person a grave injustice
when we exalt man and put too much
confidence in him.
Because it may be absolutely necessary for God
to deal with that man, or perhaps take
him off the scene.
That he and he alone might reign in
the hearts of men and women.
Now, I'm not saying for a moment that
God takes one's mates away from him, that
he might put his trust more in God.
But I have heard the testimony of many
Christians that God meant more to them when
their mates were gone.
Now, here he does not even mention Moses
and Elijah.
It was Christ and Christ alone.
Wouldn't that be wonderful if you and I
could only see Christ?
Christ and Christ alone.
Well, he speaks about that wonderful experience.
This voice which came from heaven we heard
when we were with him on the holy
mountain.
This is my beloved son in whom I
well please.
But then he goes on in verse 19
to say, We have also a more sure
word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that
ye take heed as unto a light that
shineth in a dark place.
Now, lest we feel cheated, lest we feel
cheated that we haven't had a mountaintop experience
like this one, Peter says, the word of
prophecy is more sure than my experience.
Because experiences can be enlarged, they can be
emphasized, they can be blown up out of
proportion, and they can also be forgotten.
But Peter says we have a more sure
word of prophecy.
Now, you and I have that right here.
Here it is.
What a treasure offered by the Holy Spirit
of God.
We have also a more sure word of
prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take
heed as unto a light that shineth in
a dark place, until the day dawn and
the day star rise in your hearts.
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the
scripture is of any private interpretation.
It must be taken in its context.
And it must also be taken in the
light of the rest of the word of
God.
For the prophecy came not in old time
by the will of man, but holy men
of God speak as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost.
Now, the word moved here has been translated,
carried along.
And it suggests how the wind may carry
along objects that are caught up under its
power.
They were carried along by the Holy Spirit
of God, and it was not the will
of man.
It wasn't that Isaiah decided to write a
prophecy.
My, when he saw the failure in Israel,
and especially when Jeremiah saw the failure in
Israel, writing even later than Isaiah.
One might say, well, Jeremiah just was so
overwhelmed with the failure of Israel, he decided
to write a prophecy.
To rebuke the children of Israel and to
lead them back to the Lord.
No, that wasn't it at all.
Amos, on one occasion, you remember, was reproached.
Amos was a prophet, and he rebuked the
children of Israel.
And they told him, Amos, go someplace else
and prophesy.
No prophesying here.
Go someplace else and prophesy.
And Amos says, I was a herdsman.
My father was a herdsman.
And the Lord told me, now I'm not
a prophet.
I don't have a prophet's background.
But when God speaks, what can you do?
I wasn't a prophet.
That wasn't my business.
I didn't even make my living that way.
Most people are very, very concerned about their
living.
And I'm sorry to say tonight, that in
this world today, that some preachers are in
the ministry because they get a living out
of it.
I heard a man say to another man,
whom he had not seen for years.
I heard of this.
I did not know the man, but I
heard of it.
That they compared notes.
So, finally, one asked his pal of former
years, he says, what are you doing now?
He says, well, I'm a preacher.
A preacher?
He says, you a preacher?
He says, that's hard for me to believe.
He says, yes, I am a preacher.
And he says, believe me, I'll tell you,
it's the slickest racket you've ever got into.
How about that?
Now, Amos wasn't in it for the money.
He had his living.
He was a herdsman.
But he says, the Lord told me to
prophesy, and I'm doing it.
What can you do when God tells you
to do something?
And believe me, he impressed them with the
fact that that just wasn't his business.
It wasn't his vocation.
Now, God spoke through these men.
It wasn't their idea.
The Spirit of God spoke through these men.
The prophecy came not in old time of
the will of man, but holy men of
God speak as they were carried along by
the Holy Ghost.
Now, in the first chapter of 1 Peter,
we have another reference here that I think
is very significant.
Verse 9 of the first chapter of 1
Peter, receiving the end of your faith, even
the salvation of your souls, of which salvation
the prophets have inquired, and searched diligently who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto
you.
Searching what, or what manner of time, the
Spirit of Christ, which within them did signify
when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ
and the glory that should follow, unto whom
it was revealed that not unto themselves, but
unto us did they minister the things which
are now reported unto you by them that
have preached the gospel unto you, with the
Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things
the angel did say.
Now, the Spirit of Christ gave these men
their writings, and what did they do?
They searched their own writings.
They puzzled over their own writings.
They prayed for wisdom to understand that which
had been written.
Now, do you think that that was of
their making?
It was not.
They studied their own scriptures, and God had
to reveal to them that they weren't writing
for themselves, they were writing for us.
They were writing for you and for me,
and those men couldn't understand even parts of
their own writings.
We see that in the book of Daniel.
Daniel was given revelations, and then he pondered
over them, and he prayed over those revelations
that were given to him.
The Spirit of God is the author of
this book.
It is not offered by man.
We could talk for the rest of the
evening over the wonder of the Bible, the
continuity of the Bible, how that it dovetails,
how it fits together, the beautiful way that
the Word of God supports it.
Written by some 40 authors over a period
of some 1,600 years, 66 books, and
a wonderful integrated message.
Well, there's a reason for it.
It has one author, and that author is
the Spirit of God.
Now, of course, he did use human instrumentality,
and the style of those instruments, the human
instruments that he used, is preserved.
I think of that wonderful statement that David
made in the 45th Psalm, and I'd like
you to see that.
Psalm 45.
David says, Now,
David's tongue, of course, would sound like David,
wouldn't it?
Now, when Paul writes, he has his peculiar
style.
When Peter writes, he has his peculiar style.
Isaiah does not sound like Ezekiel, and Ezekiel
does not sound like Jeremiah or Daniel.
There is a peculiar style in the Pentateuch,
and I love that style, too.
John wrote with a most remarkable style, the
Apostle John.
And you can see the personality of these
men in their writing, and one might be
inclined to say, well, they authored them, but
they didn't.
The message, as it reaches you and me,
takes on the characteristics of the channel.
But the message is from the Holy Spirit
of God.
It is God-breathed.
And though these men spoke these words, we
have the truths of God, as the Spirit
of God intended that we should have them,
but we also have the personality of the
writers.
Now, this is not hard to understand.
You know, you and I can give the
same message.
We won't, perhaps, use the same words.
Now, I'm not undermining, and I trust that
I'm not undermining your confidence in the Word
of God, because I believe in the verbal
inspiration, the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures.
Every word comes from God, but God knew
that these men would use those words.
Now, how did the Spirit of God do
it?
Was there a still, small voice that Elijah
heard at Horeb?
I don't know.
Was there an audible voice in the room?
I don't know.
But I do know that there is plenty
of evidence in the Word of God that
these Scriptures are Spirit-breathed, that we have
the mind of God in the Holy Word
of God.
It's a marvelous book, and it's a treasure.
Thank God for it.
And you and I ought to treasure our
Bibles more and more.
We sing that little song of A.P.
Gibbs, Precious Holy Bible, Treasure Rich and Rare.
Oh, what a treasure we have.
In the Word of God, just think of
it.
You and I do not have to accept
what we, our knowledge of God, pass down
through tradition.
It has been frozen.
Frozen in words.
Words that were authored by the sphere of
God.
And you have the mind of God, and
I have the mind of God, uncolored, untainted
by human instrumentality.
I say uncolored.
Perhaps I shouldn't say that.
I say uncolored in the sense that it's
not the wrong color.
It does bear the personality of the writers.
But believe me, we have the message that
God intended that we have.
Precious, Precious Holy Bible.
Now, the Spirit of God is not only
the author of the Bible, but he teaches
the Bible that he writes.
He explains the Bible that he writes.
1 Corinthians 2, verse
9, But as it is written, I have
not seen nor heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man the things which God
hath prepared for them that love him.
Now, man here I believe is the unregenerate
man, because we see it right down in
the verses that follow.
The unregenerate man does not realize the wonderful
things that God has got in store for
you and for me.
I have not seen nor heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man the things
which God hath prepared for them that love
him.
They don't love him, they don't know him,
and therefore they cannot understand the wonderful provision
that we have in Christ, in God.
But, we read in verse 10, But God
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.
For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the
deep things of God.
Now, in contrast to man, I should have
read it with this emphasis.
But God hath revealed them unto us by
his Spirit.
Men can't see them.
Men cannot see the glories of God.
They just do not see them.
But we do.
Why?
Because they're revealed to us by the Spirit
of God.
He is the author of this book, and
he expounds it.
He is the expounder of this book.
But God hath revealed them unto us by
his Spirit.
For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the
deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a
man, save the Spirit of man which is
in him?
Even so, the things of God knoweth no
man but the Spirit of God.
Now, we have received not the Spirit of
the world, but the Spirit which is of
God, that we might know the things that
are freely given to us of God.
Which things also we speak, not in words
which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy
Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
But the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness unto him.
Neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned.
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things,
or discerneth all things, yet he himself is
discerned of no man.
For who hath known the mind of the
Lord, that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ revealed,
of course, by the Spirit of God.
Now, the Spirit of God is the teacher.
This same truth is brought out in 1
John chapter 2.
And what a precious holy ministry this is
to you and to me.
The Spirit of God is the teacher.
Verse 20 of the 2nd chapter of 1
John.
But we have an unction from the Holy
One, and ye know all things.
Now, an unction means an anointing.
And the anointing is connected with the Spirit.
The Spirit coming down on Christ is spoken
of as an anointing.
The anointing which ye have received of him
abideth in you.
And, of course, this is the Spirit of
God that's abiding in us.
The anointing which ye have received of him
abideth in you, and ye need not that
any man teach you.
But as the same anointing teacheth you of
all things, and is truth and is no
lie, even as it hath taught you, ye
shall abide in him.
That anointing is the Holy Spirit of God.
Now, we're not indebted to men.
Man in all his wisdom is not qualified
to teach the Bible to you and me.
I don't care how well informed he is.
I don't care how highly educated he is.
If he does not have the Spirit of
God to teach him, he has absolutely nothing.
Oh, he might give you some historical information,
but he will not be able to teach
you the deep things of God, because he
doesn't have the Spirit.
Now, I don't say that he wouldn't know
them as he had been taught.
Now, I'd better clear this up, because it
may confuse some of you, and it might
even stumble some of you.
Now, this is true.
That man may go to a seminary that
is fundamental in character.
He may be able to absorb some of
that teaching and pass it on to you.
But that's really not from himself.
That came from his instructors and by the
writings which they taught, and those writings may
have been directed by the Spirit of God.
All that you and I know about Christ
comes by reason of the ministry of the
Spirit of God.
Now, you may be studying your Bible, and
the Spirit of God can reveal to you,
can teach you.
He can teach you as an individual, and
I think that's the best way that our
teaching has possibly received, is when the Spirit
of God gives us good things.
But if he gives you anything from any
speaker, that speaker had to get it from
the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of God had to reveal it
to that speaker, or if that speaker is
quoting another speaker, the Spirit of God had
to reveal it to him.
You trace the truth back, and you will
find that the Spirit of God reveals the
truth of God to you and me.
We do not obtain it through human wisdom.
Sometimes we hear the Word of God taught.
We hear things brought out from the Scriptures,
and they are so evident, so precious, and
they so thrill us that we often ask
the question, well now, why didn't I see
that before?
Well, I'll tell you why you didn't see
it before.
The Spirit hadn't revealed it to you before.
That's why you hadn't seen it, and you
don't see it until the Spirit does reveal
it to you.
He is the revealer of the Word of
God.
He reveals Christ.
He opens up this book to you and
to me.
But I'll tell you, in all reverence, the
Spirit of God cannot reveal to you truth
that you've never read.
It's your portion, and my portion, to read
the Word of God.
It's our privilege, perhaps I'd better say this
is a better chosen word.
It's your privilege, and my privilege, to read
the Word of God.
And then the Spirit of God has something
to work on.
It's very, very important to read the Scriptures,
and to store your heart and mind with
the Scriptures, because it's the good seed, and
the Spirit of God can work on that
Word, both to the unsaved and to the
saved.
I heard of a man that went away
to Australia to escape a Christian environment.
And he went down under, to the land
down under, and stayed there for all his
long life.
Until that poor man, now many, many miles
away from home, all that he knew, many
of his loved ones dead before him, passed
on before him, and he became troubled about
the fact that he knew that he was
going to leave this life.
And he was not prepared to leave this
life.
He did not know the Lord as his
Savior.
And that man went over some of the
things.
He got a hold of the Bible, and
he went over some of the things that
he had gone over in his youth.
I don't know whether he even got a
hold of the Bible.
I've read the story, and I'm not clear
on that point.
But I will say this, the things that
he had taught, the memory verses that he
had memorized in his youth, were used of
God the Spirit.
And the man would say, it's a good
seed.
It's a seed that never rots.
You can't burn it.
You cannot destroy it.
The indestructible Word of God.
And the Spirit of God can use it,
and he can reveal to you and to
me, he must reveal to you and to
me, what we know of the Word of
God.
Now, it's true that we do have teachers,
God-given teachers.
They are part of the gift of Christ
to the Church.
I certainly reverence the men from whom I
receive so much from the Word of God.
C.
W.
Ross, A.
M.
O'Brien, and men of that caliber.
I thank God for them.
But I'll tell you one thing, God wants
to give it to us directly, and I
say it's best straight from the Lord.
It is best when the Spirit of God
just shines upon the written page, so to
speak, and speaks to your heart and to
mine.
It's the sweetest.
And it thrills the soul.
And I'll tell you, I think there ought
to be more among us of sharing these
things, and being able to say, when God
has thrilled our heart and we have seen
something that we never saw before, and nobody
has ever brought to our attention before, and
be able to take it to a brother
or sister in Christ, let me show you
what the Lord showed to me.
And then open it up.
Maybe you'll have two happy hearts.
Maybe you'll have two hearts that are thrilled.
And I say that's the best way to
get it, is directly from the Lord.
But the Spirit of God, and the Spirit
of God alone, can give it to you.
You'll not discern the things of God by
human ingenuity and human intelligence.
It's a revelation of the Spirit of God.
Salvation is a revelation.
The truths of the Scripture come to you
and to me by the gracious ministry of
the Spirit of God.
And, if he uses a human instrument, that
human instrument must get his teaching from the
Spirit of God.
You trace it to that source.
And he occupies us with the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Now, the Spirit of God can also lead
us as well as teach us.
And these two thoughts go together.
Because often he leads us through the Word
of God that he has taught us.
But lead us he must, and lead us
he will, if we will be subjected to
him.
There is a verse, I think, that is
one of the key verses of this thought
in the 8th chapter of Romans.
Romans chapter 8.
This is the chapter of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is mentioned 19 times in
the 8th chapter of the book of Romans.
The book of Romans is divided into three
parts like Gaul of old.
But those three parts, the first eight chapters
are doctrinal, the next three chapters are dispensational,
and the last five chapters are practical.
But this is the end of the doctrinal
section of the book of Romans.
First of all, in the book of Romans
we have God the Father active, God the
Father before us.
And then we have Christ the Son of
God following that.
And then in the 8th chapter of the
book of Romans you have the ministry of
the Spirit.
The Spirit is not mentioned much in the
chapters prior to this.
But in this chapter it's mentioned some 19
times.
And it's a chapter of comfort.
The 8th chapter of Romans is one of
the favorite chapters of the Bible.
It's one of my favorite chapters.
And it's a chapter of great comfort.
We can't, perhaps when we talk about the
Spirit, the ministry of the Spirit of God
and comforting us, perhaps we can consider the
8th chapter of Romans.
But for the moment, verse 14 says, for
as many as are led by the Spirit
of God, they are the sons of God.
Now, the characteristic of a son is to
be led by the Spirit.
Now, this is true of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
He was a son.
He was the perfect son.
Notice in the 4th chapter of Matthew, Matthew
chapter 4, the
last verse of chapter 3 reads, and lo,
a voice from heaven saying, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
This was the occasion of the baptizing of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted of the
devil.
Now, unfortunately, in this portion, the word Spirit
is not capitalized.
But in Luke, it is capitalized.
And it is capitalized in such a way
that there's no mistaking that it's the Spirit
of God that is before us.
We might notice that.
That might be interesting to you.
Luke chapter 4.
But I'm reading the Matthew account because of
its connection, and I want to mention that.
I want to mention the connection, the significance
of it occurring as it does where it
occurs.
Luke chapter 4, verse 1, And Jesus, being
full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan,
and was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness, being tempted of the devil, and so
on.
Now, God announces from heaven itself when our
Lord Jesus Christ is baptized, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Immediately, immediately, Jesus is led by the Spirit
into the wilderness for some glorious experience.
Now, to be hungry.
For he fasted for forty days and forty
nights.
Now, the Spirit does not always lead us
into a glorious experience.
Some people seem to think that being led
by the Spirit of God is to have
a supernatural power, and to have an overpowering
look out of your eyes, almost a hypnotic
look.
To be able to speak in tongues, to
sway people to tears, or to transport them
to joy, and all that sort of thing.
And they think that's being led of the
Spirit.
Now, the Spirit of God will really, actually,
sometimes quiet us down as we read about
the effects of being filled with the Spirit
in the fifth chapter of Ephesians.
It'll certainly lead us to obedience.
Husbands to wives, masters to servants, children to
parents, and so on.
The effects of the Spirit.
The effects of being filled with the Spirit.
Now, Christ was led by the Spirit into
the wilderness for a very, very trying experience.
And after he was there for forty days,
the devil came.
The devil came and he tempted Christ.
The first temptation was that he should cause
the stones that he pointed out, that the
Lord should make them into bread.
To satisfy his hunger.
He said, if thou be the Son of
God.
Now, Satan can hear.
And he heard the Father say, this is
my beloved Son, in whom I am wealthy.
And Satan attacked him on that basis.
If thou be the Son of God, prove
it.
And man these stones be made bread.
You know, I can't prove this from the
Bible, but I think the stones that he
pointed to looked like loaves of bread.
Because Satan uses the lusts of the flesh,
the lusts of the eyes, and the pride
of lies as well.
Each temptation was upon the basis that he
was the Son of God.
Show your dependence on your Father.
Cast yourself without reservation on your Father.
The subtlety of it was that if Christ
had done it, he would have done it
without the permission of his Father.
As the suggestion of the devil.
The type doesn't fall for that.
He is the omniscient Son of God.
God manifests in the flesh.
And each time he quoted to Satan a
passage from the Word of God.
And Satan couldn't touch him.
Couldn't move him to act in independence of
his Father.
Now, it is true of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the more severe the temptation that he
endured, the greater he glorified his Father.
The more severe your temptations and mine, the
greater we failed.
Now, the important point was he was the
Son of God and he was led by
the Spirit.
Now, you and I have a great example
in our Lord Jesus Christ himself.
He was led by the Spirit of God
into the wilderness.
Now, you and I, as sons, have the
privilege of being led by the Spirit of
God.
What does it mean to be led by
the Spirit of God?
Well, I'll tell you one thing.
The Spirit of God wants to lead me.
And we're told in that eighth chapter of
Romans, as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God.
He wants to lead me.
How can he lead me?
Well, we noticed in the book of Acts
the other night that he led by direct
command.
I still wish it were that way.
It would be a lot simpler.
I just wish sometimes that the Spirit of
God would say, all right, go.
Or don't go.
Just like he did in the book of
Acts.
Or just like he did in the case
of Peter.
I don't think we referred to that the
other night.
Let's notice it in the tenth chapter of
Acts.
I wish that I could have an experience
just like Peter's.
Acts chapter 10.
Peter has been given the vision of the
great sheep let down from God, and he
is being prepared to receive the Gentiles.
In verse 17, now while Peter doubted in
himself what this vision which he had seen
should mean, behold, the men which were sent
from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house,
and stood before the gate, and called and
asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were
lodged there.
While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit
said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee,
arise therefore, and get thee down, and go
with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent
them.
I wish it were that way today.
I wish the Spirit of God would say,
all right, go.
Or don't go.
As he does in the sixteenth chapter of
the book of Acts in connection with the
apostle Paul and his company.
But unfortunately, it's not that way.
Now, the Spirit of God can lead us.
How does he do so?
Well, he leads us by the Word of
God.
As you and I know the Word of
God, the more we know the Word of
God, the easier it is to be led
of the Spirit of God.
Now, the Spirit of God has the power
to recall certain things to our mind, to
recall scriptures to our mind.
You remember what the Lord said in the
fourteenth chapter of John, do you not?
I'm going to suppose that you may have
forgotten.
John, chapter fourteen, please.
The Lord Jesus says in verse twenty-six,
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name,
he shall teach you all things, and bring
all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have
said unto you.
Now, the Spirit of God can bring things
to our remembrance, but we have to know
the scriptures.
We read in the Bible, Thy word have
I hid in my heart, that I might
not sin against thee.
All right, store your heart with the Word
of God.
The temptation comes, and something reminds you of
a certain scripture, and you're delivered.
I say something, excuse me, someone.
Someone reminds you of that scripture, and you're
alerted immediately.
The Spirit can remind us of things.
The Spirit can call scriptures to mind, brethren
and sisters in Christ.
It is important to know this book.
It is important to read this book.
It is important to store our hearts and
our minds with this book, and the Spirit
of God will bring these things to our
remembrance at the right time.
It's amazing.
This to me is one of the sweetest
confirmations of my faith in Christ.
One of the sweetest evidences of the supernatural
character of the Christian life, the promptings of
the Spirit of God, when we're at wit's
end's corner and don't know which way to
turn.
Now, that not only takes on the form
of leading us in regard to our pathway,
it takes on the form of comfort.
For He is the Comforter.
He is even sent to be the Comforter
in that verse that we read in John
chapter 14, that when He the Comforter has
come, He shall guide you into all truth.
He shall teach you.
He shall bring you to remember the things
that I've said, and He can.
He has access to our mind, and He
does bring things to our remembrance.
Now, as we grow older, and as we
read the Word of God more and more,
it is easier to determine the will of
God for remembrance.
The Spirit of God will never lead you
contrary to the will of God.
He will lead you into the will of
God.
And I say, it is a matter of
experience with me, and I think many of
you would say, amen, you have borne this
out in your own experience, that as you
grow older, determining the will of God becomes
easier.
Now, I say easier.
I'm using the comparative.
I'm not saying easy.
I'm saying easier.
We read that the path of the just
shineth more and more, and then the rendering
is under the full-orbed day.
The sun is rising in the beginning of
the verse.
The path is becoming lighter and lighter until
the full-orbed day, until the sun is
clear up.
The path is becoming brighter.
That's experience.
Experientially, the path becomes easier to detain.
The path of the just shineth more and
more.
Now, you and I need to know the
Word of God.
The Spirit of God will lead us, but
never contrary to the Word of God.
Now, also, the Spirit of God is God,
and He gives the God of circumstances, and
if we're depending upon Him for His leading,
He will shape those circumstances.
I have heard this.
I believe it was Miss Gillian Darby that
said this, and it's history with me.
Miss Gillian Darby said that oftentimes Christians are
puzzled about their pathway, and they will ask
the Lord to lead them, and definite guidance
does not seem to come.
And, they ask in humility, they ask in
meekness for the guidance of the Lord, and
the Lord has promised a meekly guided judgment.
They ask for that guidance, and finally the
deadline has arrived.
They must make a decision, they must do
something, so they just do the best they
can, and J.
M.
Darby says, God will remember their decision, and
then the circumstances to meet their decision, to
further their decision, and I believe that's true.
Now, you and I have a right to
expect leading and guidance, and the Spirit will
do it, and the Spirit will do it
as we are indeed the sons of God.
Now, that implies a lot.
They that are led by the, they that
are the, I am a bad one when
it comes to just quoting scripture.
The Lord doesn't seem to let me learn
it.
I've got tons.
I think he wants to keep me coming
back.
For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God.
That implies a lot.
We're like Christ.
We have our finite interests at heart, and
believe me, the Spirit will lead us.
He must be earnest, he must be real,
he must be seeking the Spirit, but he
will lead us, and his leading ministry is
wonderful.
Now, we could talk about the fact that
he gives a certain impression.
I'll tell you one thing.
If you have any doubt, if you have
any doubt about a certain pathway, or a
certain course, or a certain thing that you're
doing in your life, don't do it.
If there is any doubt in your mind
whatsoever, don't do it, because I believe the
Spirit can give us impression.
Now, this is dangerous ground, and I trust
you'll take me very carefully here.
I want to speak carefully, but the Spirit
can bring things to our memory, and I
think the Spirit can give us an unceasing
uncertain occasion.
There's something that we can't quite analyze, but
things don't ring true.
They don't sound right.
Don't you ever, I beg of you, move
when you're in uncertainty and doubt about these
things.
That is, I mean if there is a
doubt, if there's a shudder, a test of
going that way.
If there's an uneasiness, wait, if you possibly
can, until the matter clears up, and I
don't know what you would do to be
practical about this matter, if the deadline comes
and you have to act.
But, I think the Scripture says that we
need plenty of guidance and judgment, and I
think if we're me, if we're dependent upon
the Lord, I think that that Scripture will
be proven true to your heart and to
mine.
A sister asked me, yes, but she says,
I don't know, and I hate.
And I said, well, are you asking the
Lord for guidance?
And she says, I certainly am.
She had a specific problem of mine.
I said, all right, you're me.
You're asking the Lord for guidance.
You're not depending on what you say.
You're not depending on what you determine.
Your task is on the Lord, and the
Lord has promised that he will guide us
in judgment.
Now, our time is up.
I hope I haven't said anything, and I
do beg of you, if I have said
anything or do say anything, I get myself
into more trouble by not saying enough on
certain subjects.
Now, sometimes I get myself in trouble by
saying too much, but more often than not,
I'll get myself in trouble by not saying
enough.
I'll introduce a thought, and I'll drop it
in mid-air or not saying enough about
it, and I'll leave people with the wrong
impression.
And I'm certainly wide open to keep corrected,
and believe me, I would appreciate it.
You're frankly speaking to me as if I
have not made anything if I have not,
if I made something unfair to you, and
I would really appreciate that.
Brother Lyon, would you please close with us?