Why Should We Follow Him?

Spirit Led Life: Why Should We Follow Him?

Why should we

Spirit Led Life

Welcome to the second week of the sermon series “Spirit Led Life”. I am Christopher Wiley, lead pastor here at LWF, and I am so glad that you are here. The first message on this series was extremely powerful. The Holy Spirit showed up. We had some baptisms of the Holy Spirit. It was an amazing time.

In this series we are discussing three principals of the Holy Spirit.

1) Who is the Holy Spirit?

2) Why should we follow Him?

3) How does that impact the church?

We talked in the first part that the Holy Spirit is a person. Not an it. The Holy Spirit is not a force that you can control. He has personal attributes. He can be grieved. He can be lied to. He leads. He speaks. He teaches and many more things. We also talked about Him being God. So that we should reverence Him. Praise Him. Love Him. All of those just as we do Jesus and just as we do the Father. They all hold the same place. They are equal. There is no separation of power.

Since we know who He is, the next question is Why Should I follow Him?

There are three main points that I have as to why we should follow Him.

We should follow Him

1) Because of what He does.

2) Because of things He brings.

3) Because he knows where we goes.

There should be reasons as to why you follow someone. We talked last week about who the Holy Spirit is. That should truthfully be number one as to why you follow him because of who he is. After that though, we need to get down past just name recognition. Every single person in here knows who Trump is. If he were to walk in here today and say follow me, some of you would go and some of you wouldn’t. Why? Because of the things he does. You either like what he does or you don’That should be why you follow me as your pastor. If I am doing what the bible say or what Jesus taught, follow me. If i am not, then don’t. It is really that simple. So then if that is a basis for following the Holy Spirit then we better find out what he does.

What He Does

The first thing he does is found in And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

John 14:16 KJV 1900

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

The first thing that Holy Spirit does if you are going to follow him is stay with you forever.

He will abide .

He will abide .

You may be thinking, what does it mean to abide? I thought the same thing when I read that. So I looked it up and you get the benefit of that without having to do it yourself. But you still can in fact I encourage you to. First the Greek word is meno. Which means this: to stay, to continue, to remain as one and to not separate. Now you talking about Jesus said he sticks closer than a brother. That is close yall. So He will abide.

The New King James Version. (1982). (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

The next thing the Holy Spirit will do is in

John 14:26 KJV 1900

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.

Jesus says

He will teach.

There have been countless times that people have come to me and said, what does this mean. Or I am afraid to talk with people because I don’t know. Or even, I don’t read my bible because I don’t understand it.

“99 percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” You don’t know because you haven’t tapped into the resource that lives in your. You can’t understand because you haven't given time to the teacher long enough for him to teach you. It is silly to think that you have a teacher who is abiding with you and he knows all but can’t reveal to you the very nature and the mystery of the bible. When Jesus was walking around on the earth, the holy Spirit revealed things and taught things to him. You don’t believe me do you. I knew you didn't because y'all are smart and don’t just take my word for it. First example is when Jesus is baptized the bible says that the Holy Spirit ascended on him like a dove. Then he started his ministry. If we were to really apply that then we might say that if you don’t have the holy spirit you cant do ministry either.

George Washing Carver said this, “99 percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”

You don’t know because you haven’t tapped into the resource that lives in your. You can’t understand because you haven't given time to the teacher long enough for him to teach you. It is silly to think that you have a teacher who is abiding with you and he knows all but can’t reveal to you the very nature and the mystery of the bible. When Jesus was walking around on the earth, the holy Spirit revealed things and taught things to him. You don’t believe me do you. I knew you didn't because y'all are smart and don’t just take my word for it. First example is when Jesus is baptized the bible says that the Holy Spirit ascended on him like a dove. Then he started his ministry. If we were to really apply that then we might say that if you don’t have the holy spirit you cant do ministry either.

You must be filled before you can be emptied.

Now I know that you can talk with people and share about God before being baptized in the spirit because the spirit has come to dwell in you, but all i know is that before Jesus went out he was baptized. Before the disciples started theirs they were baptized. Why would you want to be any different?

We need Him because he teaches us. If you want to know things you have to go to the person who knows things.

The next thing the Holy Spirit does is

He testifies of Jesus.

That is found in . He is going to tell you things about Jesus. He is going to prove to you that He is real. When someone testifies it is because he has witnessed something. He has heard something. It is first hand knowledge. He was there. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will share with you what he has seen, heard, and done with Jesus. Prove that He is who he says he is. This is why we get to be witnesses because we know what God is saying. Because the Holy Spirit testifies of it.

Then Jesus goes on to say that the Holy Spirit will glorify Him, guide you into all truth, and shew you things to come.

Who doesn’t want a friend or a partner or a spirit like this abiding with them. The things that He does for us is amazing to say the least.

Now that we have talked bout what he does, we need to talk about

The things He brings

So what does the Holy Spirit bring?

First He brings you

Joint heirship with Jesus.

The bible says in

Romans 8:14 KJV 1900

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

You becuase of the Holy Spirit if you allow him to lead you are the son or daughter of the Father. Because He will lead you into aall truth. Who is truth. Jeuss Christ. If we are led into Jesus by the Holy Spirit and we by following Him give more glory to God, then we become sons and daughters. By becoming sons and daughters. Paul later says in

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Romans 8:17 KJV 1900

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

So then by following the Holy Spirit leading we become children and by becoming children we become joint heirs with Christ. So the holy spirit

Brings an inheritance.

Who in here would turn away from an inheritance that someone left you. Not me. I am still waiting to find out that I had a rich uncle that left me a big inheritance. So far I havent found the rich uncle but I am still looking. So the holy spirit is bringing you an inheritacne for eternity. When I think about what the inheritacnt will be, I get too excited. First thing look at what says

1 Peter 1:4 KJV 1900

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

1 Peter 1:4 KJV 1900

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

So according to Peter, our inheritance is first

1 Peter 2:4 KJV 1900

To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

Incorruptible

This mean that it is not subject to death. It is not subject to corruption. When a person is corrupt it usually means they have been bought for a price or they were bribed. Your inheritcance cannot be taken from you by the highest bidder. You inheritance is also

Undefiled

What does it mean to be undefiled. That means in pure. It is a perfect inheritance. Nothing has made it less valuable. There is no chip in the paint. No rust on the undercarriage. Nothing. Your inheritance also

Doesn’t Fade

You know even if I had that rich uncle and then he left me an inheritance, it would immediately fade becuase I would buy something. Then that inheritance would be less than what it was immediately.

The last thing about your inheritance is

It is preserved.

Your inheritance has your name on it. It is preserved for you in heaven. It is eternal. There is no one that can take it. No thing can destroy it. No spirit can spoil it. I mean you realize that when you buy a car, it immediatley goes down in value. When you drive it, it wears down. You have to replace things on it. But with our inheritance, it never has to be fixed, replaced or have maintenence. So what is our inheritacne?

What is our inheritance?

All things that pertain unto life and godliness – .

Partakers of the divine nature of Christ – .

Power and anointing in the Holy Spirit – , .

Forgiveness of sins and freedom from guilt – & .

Divine health and healing – .

Freedom from poverty – assurance that our needs will be met - Matthew 6:36

The prosperity in all things including our soul – .

Love, joy, peace and righteousness in the Holy Spirit – .

Victory and freedom from the bondage of sin – .

More than conquerors in all things – .

An abundance of grace for every good work – .

An understanding of the mystery of God's will – .

Divine guidance - .

Happiness – , Beatitudes.

Security – .

Co-laborers with God – .

Seated in heavenly places with Christ – .

So that is the inheritance you have in the Holy Spirit. It is everything you want and need.

The next thing the Holy Spirit brings is what called the fruit of the spirit.

The Fruit of the Spirit

King James Version Chapter 5

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, klongsuffering, kgentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22–25 KJV 1900

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-25

There are varieties of gifts, but one fruit of the Spirit. In , Paul lists nine different gifts of the Spirit. Other passages, such as ; ; and , , indicate that there may be many more. But there is only one fruit of the Spirit, which is love. It is unscriptural to speak of the “fruits of the Spirit.” What is listed in , are eight characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit, love. All these other virtues which are mentioned are but facets of love. When the Spirit of God comes into one’s life, He invariably sheds abroad His Love in the heart. In Notes From My Bible, by D.L. Moody, this characterization of love is found in terms of all these other virtues, as follows:

Joy is love exulting.

Peace is love reposing.

Joy is love exulting.

Longsuffering is love untiring.

Gentleness is love enduring.

Peace is love reposing.

Goodness is love in action.

Faith is love on the battlefield

Longsuffering is love untiring.

Meekness is love under discipline.

Temperance is love in training.

Gentleness is love enduring.

Then you have the next thing which are the

Goodness is love in action.

Faith is love on the battlefield

Meekness is love under discipline.

Temperance is love in training.

Gifts of the Spirit

Foundations of Pentecostal Theology D. The Difference between the Gifts of the Spirit and the Fruit of the Spirit

The gifts of the Spirit are bestowed by the Holy Spirit “dividing to every man severally as he will” (1 Cor. 12:11). These divine abilities are apparently given virtually instantly. The bestowal of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was “suddenly.” “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). It seems that one moment they were not able to speak with tongues and the next moment they were. Acts 19:6 confirms this fact, for we read of the believers at Ephesus: “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues and prophesied.” Fruit, on the other hand is always the result of a slow, gradual development. Because fruit suggests traits of character, it would of necessity involve a period of development.

There is a tendency among many to look with awe upon one who has many gifts of the Spirit as though this indicated a super-spiritual individual. It is well to realize that gifts are not, of themselves, the indication of the depth of one’s spiritual life. Paul said of the Corinthian church that they came “behind in no gift” (1 Cor. 1:7); in fact they were rather noted for the exercise of, at least some of, the gifts of the Spirit. At the same time the Apostle accuses them of being carnal and guilty of allowing many situations within their midst that were not evidences of spiritual advancement. Saul, the first king of Israel, was noted for his possession of the gift of prophecy. Just about the time of his anointing as king we read: “… and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, that when all that knew him before time saw that he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Sm. 10:10, 11). Later in his reign, after he had dishonored the Lord and disobeyed His word, and God said He would no longer hear Saul’s prayers, and the Spirit of the Lord departed from him (1 Sm. 16:14), Saul got among a group of prophets and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he prophesied (1 Sm. 19:23, 24). But this certainly did not indicate that Saul was again a spiritual man. The measure of the development of the fruit of the Spirit in an individual’s life is, however, a real indication of the steadfastness of his abiding in Christ. (See also Balaam, as an example of one with gifts, but little spiritual life (Nm. 22–27].)

There are varieties of gifts, but one fruit of the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:8–10, Paul lists nine different gifts of the Spirit. Other passages, such as Romans 12:6–8; Ephesians 4:11; and 1 Peter 4:10, 11, indicate that there may be many more. But there is only one fruit of the Spirit, which is love. It is unscriptural to speak of the “fruits of the Spirit.” What is listed in Galatians 5:22, 23 are eight characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit, love. All these other virtues which are mentioned are but facets of love. When the Spirit of God comes into one’s life, He invariably sheds abroad His Love in the heart. In Notes From My Bible, by D.L. Moody, this characterization of love is found in terms of all these other virtues, as follows:

Joy is love exulting.

Peace is love reposing.

Longsuffering is love untiring.

Gentleness is love enduring.

Goodness is love in action.

Faith is love on the battlefield

Meekness is love under discipline.

Temperance is love in training.

Foundations of Pentecostal Theology D. The Difference between the Gifts of the Spirit and the Fruit of the Spirit

The gifts of the Spirit are bestowed by the Holy Spirit “dividing to every man severally as he will” (1 Cor. 12:11). These divine abilities are apparently given virtually instantly. The bestowal of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was “suddenly.” “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). It seems that one moment they were not able to speak with tongues and the next moment they were. Acts 19:6 confirms this fact, for we read of the believers at Ephesus: “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues and prophesied.” Fruit, on the other hand is always the result of a slow, gradual development. Because fruit suggests traits of character, it would of necessity involve a period of development.

There is a tendency among many to look with awe upon one who has many gifts of the Spirit as though this indicated a super-spiritual individual. It is well to realize that gifts are not, of themselves, the indication of the depth of one’s spiritual life. Paul said of the Corinthian church that they came “behind in no gift” (1 Cor. 1:7); in fact they were rather noted for the exercise of, at least some of, the gifts of the Spirit. At the same time the Apostle accuses them of being carnal and guilty of allowing many situations within their midst that were not evidences of spiritual advancement. Saul, the first king of Israel, was noted for his possession of the gift of prophecy. Just about the time of his anointing as king we read: “… and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, that when all that knew him before time saw that he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Sm. 10:10, 11). Later in his reign, after he had dishonored the Lord and disobeyed His word, and God said He would no longer hear Saul’s prayers, and the Spirit of the Lord departed from him (1 Sm. 16:14), Saul got among a group of prophets and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he prophesied (1 Sm. 19:23, 24). But this certainly did not indicate that Saul was again a spiritual man. The measure of the development of the fruit of the Spirit in an individual’s life is, however, a real indication of the steadfastness of his abiding in Christ. (See also Balaam, as an example of one with gifts, but little spiritual life (Nm. 22–27].)

In short of these two, seek fruit not gifts.

The main gift that causes all the issues with this type of teaching is the gift of tongues. Speaking in tongues first came from the day of Pentecost. In which the Bible says in 2:1-9

    1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia

2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.

7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?

8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?

9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia

That is the first time in which we see tongues of different languages being mentioned. You notice that the Holy Spirit came upon them and then they began to speak in other tongues. Now there is some debate as to what type of other tongues. Was it human tongues from other countries or was it what we call a heavenly language. I have said that I personally believe it to be a heavenly language and I will give reference for that but I want to give you sides of both because both have merit. First the greek word Glossolalia means to speak in a human language in which you have not learned in order to preach the Gospel. Meaning that it is a language that could possibly learned if you knew where to start studying. That is the word everytime used for tongues when spoken about like this.

However, the second time is is spoken of is in is in which Paul speaking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So what the Holy Spirit brings us. Reading that chapter you will see that Paul says some got the gift of tongues and some got the gift of interpretation of tongues. Then Paul goes on in chapter 13 to talk of love and its importance. He says that if I speak in tongues of men or angels but don't have love... So this is my reference for heavenly tongues versus tongues of other countries. 

Whether it is a language from heaven or of men is irrelevant. It is the reasona

In chapter 14 Paul goes on to speak about tongues. He says that he wishes that everyone could speak in tongues. But it is better that we have prophecy because a person can understand prophecy. If we are going to speak in tongues then we want someone to have the gift of interpretation of those tongues. Which again are both given by the Holy Spirit which means that they cannot study for this. 

This is me being teacher for a moment because there are a lot of things that have happened in the name of the Holy Spirit that were not so. There are a lot fo things still done today in the name of the Holy Spirit that are not so. So while we are on this series I want to address them.

Tongues is not something that is foolish or crazy. In fact it is powerfully annointed. The gift of tongues as we have already shown and I will show further is truthfully for personal use unless interpretation is given. I just showed you that Paul says prophecy is better than tongues why? Because if I speak prophetically, you can understand that. If I speak in tongues from other places: Spain, india, China, Russia, Germany, Iceland, or Heaven, you are not from there so you would not understand me. Which is why you would need an interpreter. The interpreter of my tongues would be the Holy Spirit whether given me or given to you. So if I will be speaking in tongues to deliver a message to this congregation, then it must have interpretaion or it is pointless.

Now in the original time in Acts there was no interpreter. Except they had an ear to hear. Where did that ear come from? God. Jesus talked about the ear. He says all the time those that have an ear to hear let them hear. Paul said this,

Romans 10:17 KJV 1900

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The Greek word for the word “word” is not the word for the word. Let me break that dwon. The Greek word used there is Rhema not Logos. Rhema means spoken word while Logos means written word. Both come from God don’t get me wrong, but you can receive a rhema without having the logos but your rhema better line up with the logos or your rhema isnt rhema. Let me take a step further for you. The miracle that happened was two fold on the day of epntecost. They spoke in tongues which they did not know and the people who had an ear given them by the Hly Spirit heard and understood what they hsould not have heard nor understood. Most people don’t see the double portion miracle there but it is there. We don’t know what language the apostles actually spoke just that the poeple around them heard their language. That was the beautifulness and the power of God at work. So as some who didn’t have the ear thought they were drunk, while others who did heard in their language what they were saying and repeneted and I can with almost 100 percent certainty say that the 3000 saved were the ones with ears. This is the Holy Spirit.

What other purpose does tongues give. Paul tells us that also. Back to 1 COrinthian that he prays in tongues and it isn’t him that prays but the Holy Spririt and his mind is unfruitful. Meaning he doesn’t know what he is praying. Which is agood thing.

Because if you are always praying for what you know, then you are missing out on what you don’t.

Romans tells us also that the Holy SPirit prays when we don’t know what to pray. Jude tells us that we build ourselves up in the last day when everyone is turning away , to the most holy faith by praying in the HOly Spirit. So tongues is a part the church. It is something we should be doing. It is something you need to be doing.

I hear people say that tongues is not of God. I hear people say they have ceased. Here is a list of scriptures they ignore in saying that. We should know these for the sake of keeping out mind grounded in the word. They ignore Acts. , , , , and 11 all speak of speaking in tongues. Some are a new tongue, some are a repetition tongue, some are a foreign tongue, a diverse tongue, and an unknown tongue. They ignore , , , , , , and they ignore what Paul says in that there are times when we’re going through tough times that we don’t even know how to pray as we ought.  But the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings, which cannot be uttered, signs to deep for words. also as mentioned speak of it.

Now the last part of why follow the Holy Spirit.

Because he knows where you goes

Would you follow me to a place that I have never been, and I don’t have GPS? Especially if i had no sense of direction as to where it was. Our ultimate goal is to enter into eternity with God in heaven. If that is the case then you should follow someone that has been there. How do we know he was there. Jesus told him. He said unless i go back He can’t come. So Jesus had to go back to heaven to send the HOly PSirit. There is a powerful truth there if you want it. But I don’t have time to dive into right now. we see all over scripture where the spirit descended on people or came down to people. SO I have I am trying to get to heaven then I want to follow the person that knows the way amen. It only makes sense.