Charles Stanley: Tips for Being Led by the Holy Spirit

CHARLES F. STANLEY

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(Charles F. Stanley)

One of the world’s most beloved Baptist pastors shares how to walk in step with the Holy Spirit’s promptings

Several years ago during a photographic trip, my group had been traveling up a trail for almost three hours, and I began to have a funny feeling that we were going in the wrong direction. I asked the guide about it, and he assured me that everything was fine. Not wanting to be presumptuous, I kept walking. After a few minutes, I noticed that my sense of uneasiness persisted; in fact, it was growing stronger. I pulled out my compass and looked at the map. Sure enough, we were headed away from our intended destination.

It took us close to an hour and a half to return to where we had taken the incorrect turn off the trail. Sadly, this meant that by the time we got to the site, our window for taking photographs was cut short.

Charles Stanley: 10 Ways to Know You're Following the Holy Spirit

CHARLES F. STANLEY

 

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(© Britvich | Stock Free Images)

Not sure if you’re being led by the Spirit? Here are a few key Scriptures to help discern.

1. The Holy Spirit guides us into God’s will.

Ps. 143:10: “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.”

2. The Holy Spirit guides us to pray God’s will.

Romans 8:26-27: “The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ... He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

3. The Holy Spirit guides us to live by God’s Word.

Ezekiel 36:27: “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

The Great Escape

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Once you start stepping out in faith and walking in the Spirit, the devil will see to it that you have ample opportunity to fall flat on your spiritual face. He'll try to get you into some jams where there appears to be no way out.

But take it from me as one who's been there, if you'll look to God and trust His wisdom instead of your own, He'll always show you a way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13). Not only that, but He'll do it in such a way that He'll get the glory and you'll have the last laugh on the devil.

I remember one particular Wednesday night in Wichita Falls, Texas, where I was faced with just such a situation. I was preaching on the reality of the righteousness of God, and the anointing was really strong. Just as my message reached its climactic moment, a woman in the audience suddenly burst forth in tongues. I told her to stop three times, but she only continued to grow louder. By the time she hushed, the anointing had gone and the message was forgotten. So I looked at that woman sternly and began to correct her for being out of order.

Are You Experiencing the Spirit Filled Life?

Campus Crusade for Christ

What words would you use to describe your current experience as a Christian?

Growing. Frustrated. Disappointing. Fulfilled. Forgiven. Stuck. Struggling. Joyful. Defeated. Exciting. Up and down. Empty. Discouraged. Duty. Intimate. Mediocre. Painful. Dynamic. Guilty. Vital. So-so. Others?

Do you desire more? Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37, 38). What did Jesus mean? John, the biblical author, went on to explain, “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:39).

Jesus promised that God’s Holy Spirit would satisfy the thirst, or deepest longings, of all who believe in Jesus Christ. However, many Christians do not understand the Holy Spirit or how to experience Him in their daily lives.

The following principles will help you understand and enjoy God’s Spirit.

Don’t You Know ( ... what God has freely given us? )

Gail Rodgers

Join us every week day for Daily Devotional Chat in women’s chatroom at 10:30am Eastern

“We have not received the spirit of the world but the spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” (1 Corinthians 2:12)

The beautifully wrapped gift sat under the Christmas tree. All the other gifts had been claimed and opened. This one just sat there. Each day someone told the woman to open it – it was hers. Each day she felt content to just know the gift was there, with her name on it. It belonged to her. But she never possessed it… she never used it… she never enjoyed it. 

What a waste!

Yet that is so often what we do with the gift of the Holy Spirit. We know, as Christians, that when we receive Jesus as our Savior, He gives us the Holy Spirit as our helper and our comforter. But many Christians never really claim this gift. They seem content to just know it’s there, with their name on it.

Are You Experiencing the Spirit Filled Life?

What words would you use to describe your current experience as a Christian?

Growing. Frustrated. Disappointing. Fulfilled. Forgiven. Stuck. Struggling. Joyful. Defeated. Exciting. Up and down. Empty. Discouraged. Duty. Intimate. Mediocre. Painful. Dynamic. Guilty. Vital. So-so. Others?

Do you desire more? Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37, 38). What did Jesus mean? John, the biblical author, went on to explain, “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:39).

Jesus promised that God’s Holy Spirit would satisfy the thirst, or deepest longings, of all who believe in Jesus Christ. However, many Christians do not understand the Holy Spirit or how to experience Him in their daily lives.