Guidance of the Holy Spirit

Christ's will for us is not some subjective thing to divine or vote on, but simply to do what He already plainly told us. In day by day matters, if we truly love God and other people, we can do just about what we desire, because our desires will be pure. We will want to do only good, wise and just things because our love is born of the Holy Spirit.

Unwise decisions come by working alone rather than as a cohesive task force as Christ and His apostles always did. Unwise decisions also come from following culturally insensitive ideologies, heavy-handed organization policies and spiritually sounding traditions rather than New Testament commands.

To confirm God's will for strategic church multiplication or even career planning, we do the following:

Study Bible passages related to the matter.

Ask God for wisdom.

Consult with godly advisors (including books or articles written by those who have gone before us).

Look at the fields to discern if they are ripe for harvest.

Use common sense.

Question: How do I get the Holy Spirit to help me?

Answer: Do what Jesus’ disciples did to get Jesus to help them. When they had a question, they asked Him for the answer. Since the Holy Spirit is a person just like Jesus, you can pray to Him and ask for His help. Sometimes he will give you help without asking.

You will feel Him telling you what to do and what not to do. In John 16:12-13, Jesus says, “He will guide you into all truth.” The Holy Spirit will never lead you into error. When we are walking to a strange place, we sometimes ask a guide to show us the way. The Holy Spirit is our guide who takes us to where we can understand the truths that are strange to us. The Holy Spirit walks alongside us and makes sure that we get to the right place in our thinking and in our living.

Question: “There are many spirits. How can I know that the one that is guiding me is the Holy Spirit?

Answer: You can be sure, because the Holy Spirit will never say anything bad about Jesus. He will never tell you to do something that Jesus told you not to do. He is not here just to cause you to jump up and down and shout and feel happy--He is a teacher and a guide.

False spirits try to lead us astray. They deny that Jesus is God or that God came to earth in human flesh. “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And those spirits who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the Spirit are not of God” (1 John 4:1-3)

What a wonderful plan God has provided for us to help us to grow and to teach! He has decided that the best way is for Jesus to not just be with us, but to be in us. Our job is to let Him be our ‘supervisor on the job.’ Our supervisor lives inside of us and tells us what to do and what not to do. All we have to do is hear him and obey him.