Romans 8:14 Leading and Sonship

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

You can't be led by the Spirit of God if you don't do anything. It is not knowing but doing that shows sonship.

Does being led by the Spirit of God mean we don't do anything if we don't sense God leading us? One thing I have as a guide is the Holy Scriptures. I use these as a general guideline. God leads us by these. I don't have to have God tell me to have devotions. I know that by the Bible telling me to have devotions. It is a basic leading of Scripture. When I stop and have devotions I am being led of the Spirit because the Bible says to have devotions. John 6:63 says it is the words of God in the Bible that are of The Spirit and are God's leading generally. Then as I have devotions I will get a leading more directly from the Spirit of God. If I don't get a more specific leading, I still go by the general leading of the Scriptures.

I knew a guy who skipped work to have devotions. This is not the leading of the Lord. We need to fulfill our responsibilities.

Being led by the Spirit is being led by the word of God sensitive to further leading specifically by the Holy Spirit. We don't always need a specific word from God to do what He is calling us to do. Paul was led to go as a missionary in Acts 13 and as he was going the Spirit directed him more directly by a dream.

It also says in Isaiah 30:21 we will hear a word behind us saying go this way as we are moving.

It is important to be moving in obedience to the direction we have and it is by this obedience we will receive more direction of the Holy Spirit. Acts 5:32 Obedience brings direction. First wait and understand the will of the Lord. Then act on the will and the Holy Spirit will give us more direction as we are going in the light we have. If we wait for specific before we go we may never get started.

Link to my articles on God's will.


Proverbs 4:18 “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” Notice it is a path that grows brighter and brighter not our understanding while we are sitting in a chair. It is our going in obedience that brings more light.

God leads His sons. When we become Christ's followers we are His sons.  God's sons are known by being led by the Spirit of God.  A person that is not being led by God, would not be known as a son of God. They could be God's son but they are not walking in it. They would be drifting away from God's leading. Hebrews 2:1

Lord, I ask for your leading and willingness to be led by you. Let us be effective in your kingdom. In Jesus name this will happen.

How can we tell the difference of our own desires and the Lord's desires for us? Walk in the light you have. 1 John 1:7 As you share your faith walk with others and they with you, encouragement will come. Philemon 6 The more you are in the light the more your light or direction will come. Stay in the word and relationship with the Lord and fellowship with others and direction will come.

Does the direction you think is from God, bring you closer to the Lord or further away? Do you want to share it or do you want to hide it. What is of God will bring eagerness to share it. John 3:19-21

Are you walking as a son of God? If you are you will be led. Live as a son. Talk to God as a son. Expect God to meet your needs and spiritual desires as a son. Learn what is your inheritance as a son and use this for His kingdom. What has God put on your heart to do for the Kingdom? Use the storehouse of your inheritance to accomplish and help you accomplish what God is leading you to do.

Notice that in verse 13 the context is to put away the deeds of the flesh. We are led in how to walk with God by hearing from His word.

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Psalm 29 Worship, Hear and Obey

 

Ascribe to the Lord O sons of the mighty. Are we sons of God? Yes we are! Jesus called God His Father and the Pharisees thought it was blasphemy. They knew the Bible but they did not know God. 

Jesus said if they knew Moses they would follow the works of Moses and know that Jesus did the works of God. They rejected the works of Jesus. 

 There are 3 ascribes and one worship in the beginning of the psalm. Then in the Psalm there are 7 voices of God. When we worship God we will hear God. 

 Ascribe to the Lord O sons of the mighty. As we act on the fact we are sons. As we know we are sons. As we become confident we are sons. As we rely the true fact we are sons and act accordingly, we hear. 

 Ascribe to the Lord the glory and strength. As we state that God has glory and power to fulfil what He is leading us to do we hear God. When we hear God we are empowered. If we believe God, we will act on what we hear. Because God will do what He says if we believe.

 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name. God deserves our praise. When something is due we owe it to Him. God has given, we have life. Responding to what God gives allows life to flow. To withhold, to block what God gives, stops the flow of ability. 

 Yes we can continue to live by not ascribing to God the glory due His name. But kingdom living responds to the gift in worship. 

 Worship the Lord in holy array. What is holy? It is what is used for God. What do we put on to use for God. The robe of righteousness. The armor of God. The armor of light. We worship standing ready to serve. 

 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. What are the waters. It is God's people. God's voice goes forth to us. When we are with the people of God we hear the voice of God. 

 On the waters there is no building, trees or hills obstructing His voice. Put yourself in a place to hear God. God of glory thunders. There is power in hearing God. And be assured God is over many people and many tribes, nations and groups. 

 The voice of the Lord is powerful. What an understatement! And God said let there be light and there was light. And this command is continuing to expand the universe at the speed of light. And God said be fruitful and multiply and there are seven billion people living on earth today. What He says empowers. Respond to what He says and you will have His power working for you. 

 The voice of the Lord is majestic. Spurgeon – “As for the written Word of God, the majesty is apparent in its style, matter and power. Blessed be God, it is the majesty of mercy wielding a silver scepter. Our salvation is full to overflowing with this majesty.-” 

 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. There is nothing that can stand before God. The cedars are majestic, but this majesty is nothing when compared to the voice of the Lord. 

 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. There is revival in hearing God's voice. There is youthful vigor in hearing God's voice. There is vitality in hearing God's voice. Do you lack energy? Do you need strength? Do you need direction? Hear God and you will be energised. 

 The voice of the Lord hews out flames of fire. God is a consuming fire. God baptises in the Holy Spirit and fire. God spoke to Moses from the fire of the bush. God purifies with fire. Lightening of God's voice changes everything. 

 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness. God causes what has been rejected, what has been ignored, what has been left for being useless to whirl and be stirred up. Has your life been useless and of no value? Hear the voice of God and everything will change. 

 The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve. God brings to birth what has been barren. There will be no one barren who lives in God's kingdom. Ex 23:26 

 He strips the forests bare. There is no hiding from God. There is nothing hidden from God. God knows all and sees all. 

 And in His temple everything says, Glory! Come before God with praise. Come to Him in holy array. Come boldly before Him Hebrews 4:16 

 God is king and sat at the flood and continues to be king and sits on His throne today. 

 There will be strength and peace for  God”s people. Worship, hear and obey.

God Leads

Psalm 139:9,10
“If I take the wings of dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.”

The Holy Spirit brought to my mind the phrase in a hymn, “He Leadeth Me”  by Joseph H. Gilmore 1862

“Whate'er I do, whaer-e'er I be, Still tis God's hand that lead-eth me!

He led-eth me, he lead-eth me, By his own hand he lead-eth me:
His faith-ful fol-l'wer I would be, For by his hand he lead-eth me.”

I can trust God to lead me by His hand. It doesn't make any difference where I am or what I am doing God will lead me.

Because God leads by His hand, I want to be His faithful follower.

The famous Psalm 23 talks of God's leading. Verses 2 & 3 “He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.”

Again there is a promise of God's leading. We can be led into the place of rest. We can be led into a place of God's quiet waters. A place where we can be nourished and fed.

The thing about God's leading is our willingness to listen to Him. Spend time in quietness and listen to the Lord.

We can trust in God. He will protect us as well as lead us. In Ex 3:20 and Ex 7:4,5 God is showing His strength by His hand against the Egyptians. God brought miracles and judgments against the Egyptians to guide them out of bondage. God also will lead us by His mighty hand out of bondage to a life of peace and fulfillment in living for Him.

Therefore we can trust His leadership. He does not lead us to folly. He leads us to a place of provision. We don't have to be slaves to sin, Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

Read the Word of God and gain insight to His strength for you. Spend time considering the passages that speak to you. God will show you the path of life from these passages that bring light to your way. Proverbs 4:18

Steps to Life

Here was a teaching I gave this week.

Hear the Lord

Ps 29:1 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters
Rev 1:15 Jesus voice was the sound of many waters.
Ezek 1:24 the sound of abundant waters the sound of the Almighty
Ezk 10:5 The sound of  Cherubim wings like the sound of God Almighty.
Job 40:9 Thunder like a voice like God
Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven like a sound of many waters.

John 4:14 The water Jesus gives will be a well of water springing up to eternal life. Jesus gives the spoken word. Which has been written. 1 John 1:1-3 This word is the water of healing. Eph 5:26 Washing of water with the word. Water baptism is a testimony of the washing of the water. Our sins are washed away and we are risen in newness of life.

God's voice brings life. Cultivate your ears to hear and you will have life to live daily.

ONE THING

There are 2 passages of Scripture that speak directly of this. Psalm 27:4 and Philippians 3:13. I was reading Psalm 27 in my normal Bible reading and the first 3 verses really stood out to me.

Psalm 27:1-3

“The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident. “

It was the power of these Scriptures that made me take notice and look for what was the reason for the confidence and lack of fear or worry in the midst of great opposition.

Psalm 27:4 is the answer. One thing David asks for. To be with God always. When we are with God who can be against us. This is the key to life in my estimation. Our life is better and fulfilled when we are serving instead of just taking. It is much better to give than to receive. Thought all of us need to receive at times.

Why do I say this?

Philippians 3:13,14

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Being with God will entail serving or seeking Him. So the “One Thing” of the Bible is being with God and pressing into the things God has for us to serve Him.

God has laid hold of us to walk in grace by living sensibly, righteously, and Godly Titus 2:12. He has laid hold of us to go, Matt 28:19. He has laid hold of us to be ambassadors to the world 2 Cor. 5:20. We are to be a light in the world. Matt. 5:16

But all this activity will come to naught if we neglect the one thing God has for us and that is to dwell with Him, and get our nourishment from Him and all we have comes from Him. James 1:17.

Use this nourishment to give to others as you are called in Him. Then the nourishment will continue to flow.

Satisfaction does not come from pleasing yourself, it comes from serving others from the leading of the Spirit in our life as we rest in Him.

With this resting in Him and pressing into what He has for us will give us the confidence and peace to live. Psalm 112:7

Knowing God's Will

I have some decisions I need to make. So I decided to review a teaching I have on knowing God's Will.

The book is called "Change the World School of Prayer" Edited and written by Dick Eastman. Also some of the ideas I have written here come from things I have learned.

1 John 5:14 answers come from praying according to God's will

We don't ask God to do our will we ask God to do His will.
Matthew 6:10

Prayer is talking life over with God and carrying out His orders.
The 3 lights should line up to be safely in God's will.
1. The Word of God shows His will.
2. The will of God is made known through circumstances.
If there is a way provided and you were seeking God on the issue it may be an answer from God.
3. The voice of the Holy Spirit.

A forth area is leadership.
4. Is leadership directing you a certain way?

God's will should be founded on a heart to follow after Him.

God's kingdom is within us Luke 17:21
So a lot of what we hear from God will come from within.

Holy Spirit will direct our prayers with inner promptings.

God's word is the foundation of all guidance.

God's peace comes with His direction.
Some exceptions:

1. If we are not willing to do His will. God's will won't bring peace if we are set on doing our will instead of God's. Bring your heart to a place of openness to do whatever God is asking you to do.

2. Paul shared the gospel with fear and trembling.
1 Cor. 2:3
Phil. 2:12 Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

3. Some instructions are urgent. Elisha and the arrows.
God will accomplish things through us as we are full of zeal from the Holy Spirit.

Peace comes if we have accepted the tree/cross as part of our life. Ex 15:25
The tree referred to in Ex. 15:25 is referring to the cross of Christ. Jesus died on a wooden cross. And it is referred to as a tree. 1 Pt. 2:24 The waters were bitter and God directed Moses to throw a tree into the waters and they became sweet. God's word will become sweet to us as we accept the yoke of Christ referred to in Matthew 11:28-30

God guides the humble, meek Psalm 25:9

Resist Satan flee from Him draw neigh to God
We can easily fall into the trap of accepting our own desires for the will of God. To counter this we should first be submitted to God. If love for God and others is put first then mistaking our own desires for the voice of God is less of a problem.

6 steps of George Muller
A. Get your heart to a place that you have no will in the matter.
B. Do not leave the result to a feeling or simple impression.
C. Seek the will of the Spirit in connection with the Word of God.
D. Providential circumstances.
E. Ask God in prayer to reveal His will aright.
F. Focus through prayer study of the word and reflection. I come to the will of God to the best of my ability.

Here is a good contrast between's God's voice and Satan's voice.
I got this list from Roberts Liardon's Facebook.

God's Voice                            Satan's Voice
Stills you                                  Rushes you
Leads you                                Pushes you
Reassures you                          Frightens you
Enlightens you                          Confuses you
Encourages you                        Discourages you
Comforts you                           Worries you
Calms you                                Obsesses you
Convicts you                            Condemns you


Here is a link to Andrew Wommack's article on God's will.

To hear God means that we should act.

When we act according to what we think the will of God is, we will hear a voice behind us directing us to turn to the right or the left. Isa. 30:21

Many promises of God come with conditions. Meet the conditions and God will fulfill the promise. Our faith will be exercised as we wait patiently for God to fulfill what He promised.

Guidance is not knowing the future. But we will know some things that will happen.

Guidance is not always pleasant because His ways are not like our ways. Many times they are the opposite. Isaiah 55:8,9

Dangers to watch for:
Not all inner voices are from God.
Satan and yourself also are involved.
God does not always use spectacular means.
Fleeces are not the best way. They could signify a lack of trust in God's guidance.
Don't treat voices and visions above the Word of God.

O Lord, let Your will be done in my life as it is in heaven. Speak to me letting me know when I get off Your path. Lead me to the rock that is higher. For with you is the power, with You is the glory, and with you comes the peace of abundance of a full life lived in you. You must increase, but I must decrease. Thank you Jesus for your guidance.