Rev. Jaerock Lee
Passage
[Romans 8:12-16]
“So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh [13] for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. [14] For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. [15] For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” [16] The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.”
Introduction
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
There was a believer who once gave the testimony that follows.
The bus she had been waiting for finally came, but she suddenly felt a strong feeling urging her to not get on the bus.
If she didn’t take that bus, she would have had to wait until the next bus came, but she didn’t take it anyway.
So she got on the next bus. Later she saw that the previous bus had been involved in a big traffic accident.
It was the urging of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit knew what would happen to the first bus and urged His beloved child not to get on it thereby saving her from a great danger.
The Holy Spirit is continually helping God’s children in amazing and delicately subtle ways.
He protects them and leads them to prosperity. He guides the workers of God so that the providence of God can be fulfilled.
1 Corinthians 2:11 says, “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”
Men do not know about the things that are to come.
But if the Holy Spirit moves our spirit, we can gain foresight and be ready for them.
Also, only the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God knows the will of God.
If we are able to hear the voice and receive the guidance of this Holy Spirit, our lives can overflow with blessings.
We can also accomplish the kingdom of God greatly as God’s workers.
This is the second session on ‘The Voice and Guidance of the Holy Spirit’.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will keep the message in mind and be able to hear the voice and receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
[Main]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s briefly review the contents of the last session.
It is very natural for God’s children to communicate with God.
Those who do so can go the way of prosperity and blessings.
Whatever they do, God leads them to take the best possible course of action.
Thus, they will have peace at home and places of work. They lives will be blessed.
Also, those who communicate with God can fulfill their duties well and bear fruit.
The ways of communicating with God are: hearing the voice of God the Father; that of the Lord; or that of angels.
But, it is not very common for the most believers to hear such voices.
The most common method of communicating with God is through the Holy Spirit.
Namely, it is to hear the voice or receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit do not come from the outside but from inside, namely from within the heart.
It’s because the voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit are given by the Holy Spirit who dwells in our heart.
Now, let me explain how the Holy Spirit’s voice is heard and what it is to receive the urging and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
First, how is the voice of the Holy Spirit heard? There are two main categories.
First case is the situation of the Holy Spirit reminding us of the word of God we had previously heard.
In John 14:26 Jesus said to the disciples that the Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance all that He said to them.
John 16:13 says, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.”
All the words of God in the Bible, the words of the Lord, are the truth.
For example, suppose somebody makes an unreasonable demand of you for his own benefit.
At this moment, you are reminded of the word of God telling us to give when asked to give and to love even our enemies, and that the one who serves is great.
You are reminded of the contents of the sermon, too. This is the voice of the Holy Spirit.
It is not something difficult to hear such voice of the Holy Spirit.
So, the more you are armed with the word and the more you meditate on it, the easier it is for you to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.
This is the reason why I always say we have to read at least a chapter and memorize a verse of the Bible every day.
The second case of hearing the Holy Spirit’s voice is when the Holy Spirit tells us something specific in our heart.
He explains to us about things to come or tells us what to say and what to do.
Luke 2:26 says that it had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
As the Holy Spirit revealed to him, he met with the baby Jesus during his later days.
Although the Holy Spirit hadn’t come in the hearts of people yet, Simeon could receive the revelation of the Holy Spirit for he was righteous and devout.
The apostles or the workers of the Early Church also clearly heard the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:29 says, “Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and join this chariot.'”
This is the voice that the Holy Spirit gave to Philip, for him to preach the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch.
In 1 Timothy 4:1, the apostle Paul says the Holy Spirit revealed to him the things to come. It says, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.”
Also, the prophets and teachers of Antioch church heard the voice of the Holy Spirit instructing them what to do to spread the gospel.
Acts 13:2 says, “While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'”
Jesus taught His disciples that the Holy Spirit speaks to us as a person and that they had to rely on Him.
Mark 13:11 says, “When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.”
But as I already explained in the last session, we have to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit very well.
I said that after hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit there are some people who think they heard the voice of God or the Lord.
Also, some others receive works of evil spirits and mistakenly think they are the Holy Spirit’s voice.
Some people misuse such a thing to lift themselves up or to deceive the believers.
Therefore, we have to discern the voices with the truth.
The first case, where the Holy Spirit reminds us of the word of God, happens relatively easily.
Even the new believers can hear this voice if they listen to the word of God attentively.
But the second voice that can be heard is more difficult to hear than the first case.
Those who have the truth in their heart, those who have cast away sins and become sanctified can hear it clearly.
We can see that the workers in the Antioch church heard the voice of the Spirit when they sanctified themselves with fasting.
Brothers and sisters, next, what is meant by ‘the urging’ of the Holy Spirit?
It is when the Holy Spirit in our heart moves our heart to take a specific action.
For example, we feel the urge to pray or fast. Or we feel a strong urge to help a certain person or preach the gospel to a certain person.
If we follow these urges of the Holy Spirit, we can bear the spiritual fruits by receiving the answers to our prayers or by saving souls.
Philippians 2:13 says, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
It may seem that it is we who have the desire of the heart and work to fulfill it.
But it is actually God who inspires us to work for His good pleasure, as long as we receive the urging of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, if we follow the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we will fulfill God’s good pleasure.
For example, in Acts 16:6 the apostle Paul says that he was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.
Paul planned to go to Asia Minor on his second missionary trip.
But he received the urging of the Holy Spirit not to do it.
Soon after that, he could reaffirm that it was right through a vision.
He saw a vision in which a Macedonian appeared and asked Paul to come and help them.
So Paul obeyed and went to Macedonia. When he preached the gospel there many churches were established and many people became believers.
He visited the Asia Minor in his third mission trip and preached gospel mostly in Ephesus.
The Holy Spirit knew when it would be the best time to preach the gospel in Asia Minor.
So, He urged Paul to preach the gospel there at the most appropriate time.
When Jesus preached the gospel, He sometimes openly preached before the Jews, while at other times He did it individually.
He worked according to the urging of the Holy Spirit in every moment.
Because Jesus ministered 100% by the urging of the Holy Spirit, He could fulfill the providence of God completely.
When I was conducting the ministry in Israel for 3 years, I received the urging of the Holy Spirit from moment to moment.
When we went there to preach the gospel, the local environment was very hostile toward Christianity.
Also, we had to fulfill the will of God through having only short conversations with those whom we met for the first time.
But when we preached the gospel by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God accomplished His providence for Israel beautifully and completely.
You also give many testimonies of receiving blessings when you followed the urging of the Holy Spirit.
You say when you obeyed the urging of the Holy Spirit, you were prosperous in your business or when you sold your houses or lands.
Many of you say you avoided traffic accidents or fire by the urging of the Holy Spirit.
The first testimony I gave you in the beginning of this sermon is one of such examples.
Brothers and sisters, I have explained what it is to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and what it is to receive the urging of the Holy Spirit.
