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Save your way long to.
Go and come.
Close one where it is.
We are not.
Gone.
Like the virtual soul.
And make my grace.
And Father.
The sunshine.
Goes on.
My Christ, my life.
Baby.
All right, brother Bob, how far did we get?
About verse 14 and I would suggest just to read down to verse 27.
Romans Chapter The Book of Romans, chapter 8, beginning at verse 14.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of ******* again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry ABBA. Father, the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and the 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. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who had subject the same in hope.
Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the ******* of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption.
00:05:03
To wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray for, as we ought, but the Spirit itself.
Maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the Saints according to the will of God.
I wonder if I could just give a quick summary of the 1St 11 verses and I'll be very quick.
He's bringing before us in this 8th chapter.
Really the.
What characterizes the full Christian position?
And in the 1St 11 verses we have a series of things that we've touched on already. We see the believers standing in a new position in Christ. That's verse one. And then verses 2-3 and four, we have a new law to govern us. And then in verses 5 through 8 we have a new sphere to live in the things of the Spirit.
And then we have in verses 9 and 10.
We dwell in a new state or a new condition where in the spirit of Christ is able to form the character of Christ in the believer.
And then lastly, in verse 11, we have a new prospect of being glorified when the whole person will be made.
As it says, to quicken their mortal bodies by the Spirit that dwelleth in you. Then from verse 12 on, we have some very wonderful results. We're able to live the life that we have at verse 12 and 13. Verse 14, we're able to be LED of the spirit. Spirit of God will never leave the flesh.
And if we walk in the Spirit, the Spirit of God can lead us. And we've touched on that yesterday. And what we come to in verse 15 is we're able to commune with God.
And intimacy as true sons, because the subject there in verse 15.
Is the spirit of sonship whereby we cry ABBA? Father? ABBA brings before us the thought of intimacy. Father brings before us the thought of intelligence. So we have intelligent communion with God his Father, because we are sons.
After the yesterday's reading, it was we touched on the question of being led by the Spirit of God and.
Several made comments as to maybe we could focus a little bit more.
About what it means to be led by the Spirit of God. It's the characteristic of the.
Sons of God to be led by the Spirit of God, but living in a world where there are so many.
Impulses that lead us according to the way people in general are LED. But we need to understand what it means to be led by the Spirit of God.
What do we mean?
Cecil.
Mentioned yesterday the importance of keeping in mind that the.
Spirit of God always leads us in conformity to the Word of God.
Very important point to keep in mind. Never contrary to the word of God. So that's a check.
And.
We, I think it would be helpful if we could have more thoughts about that. I mean, we talk about that sometimes in our meetings.
That we seek to leave liberty for the Spirit of God to lead us.
But it's the characteristic of the believer at all times, not only when we're collectively together, but in our own lives individually.
What does it mean to be led by the Spirit of God and.
I would like to put that forth so.
Meditate on a bit, I think it might be helpful.
For all of us, brethren, it seems like so many of our assembly lives. It seems like we leave it.
Come together and we leave it to certain brothers to function.
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When there really needs to be exercise before the Lord, each one of us to be led by the Spirit, the sisters too.
It's clear in Scripture that the sisters are not going to take part in a public way.
But their attitude?
Is of equal importance to the attitude of any brother.
And when there's attentiveness and the right spirit.
You, dear sisters, have as much an influence as to how a meeting progresses as the brothers do, so it's an exercise. We meet together as members of the body of Christ.
How many members of my body are functioning? I hope they're all functioning.
If there would only two or three functioning, how would my body work?
Wouldn't work very good, let me tell you.
Needs to be an alertness on the part of all the members to the directions of the head, and that's the way the body works.
We say these things, brethren, sometimes when we come together in assembly meetings.
We really forget about the practical implications of that truth.
Well, it's certainly a wonderful truth, and as I guess I have sometimes commented before, but it bears repeating, the New Testament is not written like the old in that respect.
We've already had it brought before us in these meetings. At one point, I can't remember just who mentioned it, but in the Old Testament there were minute instructions given that governed pretty well every circumstance, and worship was not in the spirit, but rather simply following.
The instructions that had been given by Jehovah. In most cases they didn't understand why they did things in a certain way. They simply obeyed what Moses had been given.
In the New Testament it's entirely different, isn't it? Because you and I have new life in Christ that is to be lived out in the power of the Spirit of God. And so the New Testament doesn't give us minute instructions in everything. For example, where do we find instructions in the New Testament about how to carry out the remembrance of the Lord? We do have the simple instruction as to the loaf and the cup, but.
As to anything else connected with it, we only have little hints here and there. It's the Spirit of God that is here to lead and guide. We don't have everything spelled out in that way, do we? And the same in our everyday lives. We have principles in the New Testament to guide us, but they are intended to be applied practically in our lives by the leading and guidance of the Spirit of God.
Which takes every circumstance into consideration.
As one brother once remarked, and I thought it was excellent, he said, the presence of the Spirit of God here on earth during this dispensation is at once our greatest potential strength, but also our greatest potential weakness.
If we're walking in communion with the Lord, the Spirit of God is there, dwelling in every believer individually. Dwelling among believers collectively is the House of God to lead and guide in everything. What a privilege that is.
Was never true before the day of Pentecost. It won't be true after the Lord calls us home that the Spirit of God is here on earth as an abiding presence. But.
You and I, in this dispensation of God's grace, have that wonderful privilege.
But if we get away from the Lord, if we're not walking with the Lord, Oh my.
What difficulty results and as you brought out Brother Bob?
If we're not careful, what happens is that as the power of the Spirit declines.
Then the spirit of clarity starts to rise up. Leave it to someone else. And we all know from the history of the church how quickly that came in.
And how, as the power of the Spirit declined, and the sense of.
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Walking in the spirit, individually and collectively, was lost sight of that.
Men began to look to others, to take the lead and to take the responsibility among them. Until, if I can say it kindly, and most of Christendom today, that is the norm. That is what is expected. You have a pastor, you have a minister who looks after a congregation and he is supposed to embody, I suppose, all the gifts wrapped up into one person.
But that's not the way God intended it, did He? And so it's a most wonderful privilege to live and move during this time when the Spirit of God is here on earth.
And.
Yes, to have the Word of God before us, we need that. But then it's the Spirit of God that interprets it to us. It's the Spirit of God that leads and guides in its use, whether in personal life or collectively as the House of God.
4/16.
Just give us a little.
Thought on what Bob was saying.
And.
Nurture says for whom the whole body fitly joined together.
And compacted by that which every joint supplier.
Corny effectual working.
Measure every part.
That's the whole body functioning together.
When you say, Bill, that the power of the spirit declines, you, the spirit itself, its power doesn't decline, but our perception and our evidence of it here on earth is declines and our action on it. That's what you mean. It isn't that.
Yes, thank you for that clarification. It's not that the power of the Spirit of God is in any way influenced by our low state, but the Spirit is grieved when we.
Walk in a worldly way and don't give him his rightful place. And then of course, the clerical spirit takes over. Yes, that's that's very true. It's not that the spirit, as someone has said, wherever Christians gather together collectively, the Spirit of God is there.
And if he's given his place, he will lead and guide. But all too often, man substitutes human arrangement for the Spirit of God and effectively displaces him. In our own personal lives, we can do the same thing. We can exercise our own wisdom and not allow the Spirit of God to lead and guide. And in that way, the Spirit is displaced from doing.
What he?
What God intended him to do.
We live in a time when there we do not see active evidence of power around us, we see much rather much weakness and there's a tendency perhaps for us to lose sight of the Spirit of God by faith and our in our way we act and.
Almost suppose that he's not present. Well, that's wrong, isn't it? And.
So we need to realize that the power of the Spirit.
Without actually focusing attention on the Spirit, that's another.
Error that we can fall into around us and I think it was referred to yesterday, but back in John 16 where the Spirit where the Lord Jesus speaks of sending the Spirit of God might just read those verses 13.
John 16 verses 13 and 14 again.
Because I think it might is helpful for us to realize.
The character that the Spirit has here on earth.
John 1613 How be it when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of or from himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak.
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And he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. So you see here clearly that the focus of the Spirit of God is to not testify of Himself.
Etcetera. He's in the background, but he's present. He testifies of Christ. And so this is something that we can focus on.
While waiting on the spirit, our brother was speaking yesterday too about being LED. It seems to me that's somewhat of the character that we need to be here.
In our meetings or in whatever the Lord gives us to do, whether individually or collectively.
Is to be in that state of waiting before him, conscious of his power to to direct and give us.
Something to say or do.
Rather than focusing on brethren, present or gift, or what we know.
Those are all important things.
If we wait before him, he is able to give direction.
He will lay go ahead like to make a few remarks on the 14th verse.
It says as many as are led by the Spirit of God. They are the sons of God.
There's a very important connection between being led by the Spirit and being a son of God.
And in order to be a son of God, we first have to be in the family.
And if you're not in the family, you can't be.
We might put an Ant here on the floor somewhere and it's not going to be led by the Spirit of God because that Ant does not have a life and a nature which is capable of being LED intelligently, led by the Spirit of God. It has no conscious relationship with God at all. So the very foundation of being led by the Spirit of God begins with being in the family and having the very life and nature of the family.
And if I have the life and nature of the family, then I am capable of following that which is appropriate to the family.
The Lord Jesus is the perfect example of what it is to be led by the Spirit of God. He is the eternal Son of God. He came into this world as a man.
But still the Son of God.
Still, having that, what was the foundation on which he was led by God? I suggest there are multiple things, but two very important fundamental ones about them.
Was first of all, not to have a will of his own.
Very often we miss the mind of God in every detail of life because we start with the will of our own.
The Lord Jesus, as a man was led by God, by the Spirit.
As having no exercise of his personal will.
It was focused entirely upon doing the will of another and the moment my will is introduced into the question.
And moments you hear words like, well, the Bible doesn't say I can't do this or that. There is liberty to do this or that. Not every time, but very generally it is. I have a will and I don't see some restraint.
Opposed upon me that I can't exercise my own will in the matter.
That's not being LED of the Spirit of God, the Lord Jesus.
In multiple instances in his life something came up and the circumstances would say act Lord act, go down there and save Lazarus life and so on. But.
He had to have a word from the Father.
That's why in his temptations he always went back to the Word of God, because it was the Word of the Father.
That brought him to action, and if there wasn't a word of the Father, he waited. That's where you wait on the Spirit of God. You wait on the Word.
To to do the act. But the other thing which characterizes the difference between what Bill was saying about Old Testament Saints and New Testament Saints, Old Testament Saints were not in the family.
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In the sense in which it's given to us in the new they were directed of God in a different way. But you and I who are in the family and to go back to the 14th verse. It says our sons of God that word sons here is very fundamental to being LED of the Spirit of God because.
To illustrate what God is saying to us, when you're brought into the family, you have the life that gives you the capability of being LED, but you start out as a little child, and a little child does not understand and does not follow father and mother's instructions.
Immediately. Very well.
They have the capacity, but they don't have the intelligence or the understanding yet, and so mother and father have to teach them.
Their will.
No, do this. Don't do that. But the intent and scripture of being a son is to be brought into that intelligence of relationship in which you know the heart and mind of the Father.
And to be led by the Spirit of God is to be LED according to the heart and mind of the Father, and we grow into that. We grow into that. We're not born in the family of God and immediately intelligent in that way.
But when you say, is it the mind of God to do this or not do that, it's often because.
We haven't entered into that nature of life in which we have fellowship with the Father so that we know his heart and his mind. That's the difference between the Old New Testament. In the New Testament, its principles, because its principles in which God brings us into a fellowship with himself as his children, as his sons, that we are brought to know his mind and so just like a husband and wife.
Relationship.
You want to know the mind of will say the husband in a matter who are you most likely to know it from the wife if there's a happy marriage relationship because she more likely than any other knows the heart and mind.
Of the one in whom she has this intimate life of fellowship together. And so when we want to know the mind of God and the Spirit of God delights to bring us into the fellowship and communion with the Father to get to know his heart and mind. And in that way when situations come up, we don't consciously say, well, Spirit, what do I do now? But rather our hearts are formed in such a way that.
We say, ah, I know what my father wants.
That I do.
And so, brethren, it's a wonderful thing to be a son of God. And it's as sons that we are led by the Spirit of God. If we're not sons, we'll never know God's will or life. And if we get into the mindset that, well, I wanted, I got this situation and I know what I want, or that very often we're not being led by the Spirit of God at all. We're being led by our natural natures and.
Our natural natures have some of us are pushy forward, some are hold back, and we all have different natural characteristics.
And they tend to guide or lead us in many decisions of life. But the child of God, the Lord Jesus personally was, I do always those things which please the Father. That was the foundation stone of being led by the Spirit in his life. I do always those things which please the Father. In other words, he, he took upon himself no will of his own. He didn't look at it as well. But God doesn't say I shouldn't do this or that. So I'm free to do this or that, no.
If the only one to do one thing, what does the Father want? I want to please him. That's the whole motivation on which I act is his will and none other.
So it's very important for everyone who is a child of God, son of God, to.
Take for granted that the Spirit will lead and guide us. He's there.
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In verse nine of our chapter, that's what it says, doesn't it?
Says Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so, be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
And verse.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, so the Spirit of God dwells in US, and he is the power of that new life.
And a comment that I remember as a young person that helped me a lot.
Taken from Galatians 5. We don't have to look at it, but it says there that the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, and those things are contrary to one another. The comment was this.
The allowing of one nature is the disallowing of the other.
If I allow my flesh to act, it will disallow the Spirit of God to act in my life.
If I give place to the Spirit of God, it will disallow the flesh, but it takes time and like Don says, we grow.
In understanding and we need to for that reason be reading the scriptures.
I enjoy looking through the book of the Acts because some people have said that it should be properly called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, and there you find one of the characteristic expressions is filled with the Spirit. When the Spirit of God came to those about 120 in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, they were all filled with the Spirit.
And as you go through the book, you find one person after another filled with the Spirit. What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit?
In Ephesians chapter 5 there's an exhortation about that and just mention it to.
Uh, be exhorted.
In chapter 5 and verse 18 it says.
And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess.
But be filled with the Spirit, and it seems to put those two things in contrast.
When a person is drunk with wine, he's under the influence.
The wine that he has drunk controls him.
But we are to be filled with the Spirit, and it is beautiful when there are individuals.
Their testimony we have in the book of the Acts filled with the Spirit.
You have one such testimony. And Steven, what a beautiful discourse he gives in Chapter 7.
And at the end, says Stephen, filled with the Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God.
The Spirit of God down here filling the human vessel to be occupied with a man in the glory of God. That's Christianity, brother, A man in the glory of God. The Spirit of God down here to occupy us with him.
And the testimony was so bright.
They put it out, but the Spirit of God is still here.
And I just asked myself, as I ask you, dear brother and sister in the Lord.
How much place do you give to the Spirit of God in your life? Are you filled with the Spirit? That's the exhortation. B Filled with the Spirit. And if it's an exhortation, it means that it's our responsibility.
Why are we not filled with the Spirit? It's because we allow things that disallow the Spirit of God in our lives, and so it's a thing that should exercise us.
And the Lord help us not only when we come together.
To be led by the Spirit, but every aspect of life, he's here.
He dwells in US, it says in John's Gospel, forever. He will never leave.
There are other exhortations that tell us not to quench the Spirit of God.
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Another exhortation not to grieve the Spirit of God.
And I think those are things that we do sometimes because of what we allow in our lives.
But the Lord help us, brethren, to give the Spirit of God place in our lives. It becomes so evident sometimes that the Spirit of God has hardly any place, so that people around don't even guess that that's a Christian person.
Brethren, if we give the Spirit of God place in our lives, people will know there's something different about us.
Lord help us in reflecting on those practical matters.
Christianity.
In Luke 2, it's Simeon comes by the spirit into the temple.
Because he has been long time occupied with the coming of the Redeemer.
And he takes the little child up into his arms and blesses. God is content to let life end now. He has seen God's salvation.
And I was thinking of.
Second Chronicles, chapter 16.
Also before the days when the Spirit of God is indulging the believer.
But in Second Chronicles 16 and verse.
Nine we are getting.
A. Some words from.
Kane and I the Seer.
Rebuking ASA because.
There is a lack of relying on the Lord in verse 7.
And he makes this remark in verse 9. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in behalf of them, whose heart is perfect toward him.
The question.
Well, the fact is God is doing something. The question is.
Am I up to doing it with him then in chapter 20?
There's another conflict comes up, but in this situation.
There is trust.
Verse 3 Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaim the fast there is.
Assessing the situation for what it is.
There is really assessing their own condition.
Verse 4. Seeking help of the Lord.
And.
Crying to him, verse 6.
And acknowledging.
Past History verse 7.
And.
It's just generally it's a beautiful portion to read because they they turn independent to the Lord.
And then they are told.
Verse 14 by Jahaziel.
The Spirit of the Lord comes upon him that verse.
And they're told to not be afraid. Verse 15.
The battle is not yours, but God's the end of the verse.
They're instructed they don't have to fight for 17.
Stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, be not dismayed, And so forth. And the result is worship.
And obedience.
Under singing verse 21. Verse 22.
Go over it when you have more time. But I'm just thinking the beauty even in those days.
Of dependence owning our condition. I read something the other day I thought a little amusing.
And instructive.
You can tell you're getting old if you've lost your marbles.
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Now, I didn't say lost your marbles.
You can tell you're getting old if you've lost your marbles.
We have a marvelous savior.
We have a marvelous person in the Holy Spirit.
We have a marvelous relationship.
With God our Father.
And let's turn to 2nd Corinthians 2.
2nd Corinthians 2.
The apostle Paul is stating.
Verse 14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ.
And maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place.
For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ.
In them that are saved, and in them that perish.
Thanks be to God, which always causes us to triumph.
He has not lost his marvel.
And neither should we.
At the end of our chapter 8.
We read the verse 37.
In all these things we are more than conquerors.
Through him that loved us.
And I really believe that's part of our problem today.
Is the lack of or the problem of unbelief is a big one?
And the unbelief of believers.
He's the saddest hindrance.
In our testimony.
We we need to acknowledge truly.
What he is.
As well as own our true state.
The the enemies against us. God is for us. We learn it right in this chapter.
I would like to mention.
2 examples that stand in contrast to power of the Spirit.
The example of King Saul when Samuel told him to go and wait seven days.
And when the seven days are ending?
Saul seized the Philistines gathering together and he's afraid and he forced himself and he made a sacrifice that was not appropriate. I know it's a different dispensation, but I think the principle applies. Not waiting on the Spirit of God to guide. And he forced himself and he as a result was he was rejected from being king.
His he saw the urgent need and he looked within himself for courage and to stand up to this great need. There's a tendency for us to do that instead of waiting on the Spirit of God.
Bob mentioned in Acts we have many examples of the being guided by the Spirit. Turn to the 13th chapter and I think that this is an example of just the opposite of what Saul did in verse two of chapter 13.
Of acts as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work were unto. I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Very special case, I know, but still you see this attitude of waiting before the Lord, dependence on him, fasting in prayer. And the Lord, the Spirit of God was present, and He guided them.
And they go forth with confidence. They're not afraid.
It's when we wait on the Spirit, we get directions. That's when there's real confidence to go forth and serve.
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Connection with this Bert well.
In the Gospels we see the disciples.
Lives.
Led by the personal presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He brings them into his relationship with himself. He calls them. They become his disciples, and as long as he lived, He personally directed their lives.
And so they waited upon him.
They came into his presence.
He sent them forth, they did what they were told to do, they returned to his presence, and in so doing they learned his mind and acted according to it.
What we had in John 16, the Lord said I'm going away.
And I'm not going to be there anymore to do that, to fulfill that need and that function in your lives.
But don't be sad.
As it says in John 16, it's already been read. I'm going to send the comforter and he's going to take my place.
In fulfilling that function in your lives, the word comforter isn't, to our English mind, a very adequate word to really express the thought in it. But I would suggest this, he said. I'm going to send your life manager.
I'm going to send one to guide and direct your life as I have done it, but I'm not going to be here to do it anymore and so I'm going to send the comforter.
To manage the affairs of your life.
Just as we had in this verse. Just read it, said the Holy.
Ghost said Separate Who's managing here?
Who's directing?
The Spirit of God.
And that's what the word lead means. That's the very sense of the word. Being led by the Spirit of God implies within it a submission to the leadership of someone else.
And the moment my own will gets involved in the matter, I am at risk at missing the leading and the mind of the Spirit of God, because now I have my mind and my will to apply.
To the situation, but here they simply the Spirit of God said.
Separate me, Paul and Barnabas, And so it is that the Spirit of God.
Is to have his authoritative place.
In the life.
And.
What we tend to do.
Is have a pattern of life.
In which we manage everything we think we're capable of managing.
And then when we run into situations which we don't seem capable of managing, then we stop and say, what's the mind of God? What's the will of the Lord? I'm having trouble with this one. I'm not quite sure, so I'll ask him.
And so in those cases we ask the Lord, and we say, Lord, what do you want me to do and when?
We are sincere.
But we kind of want to divide up the management of our lives into those things that we manage because, well, we think we can. We're not trying to be disobedient about it. It's just, well, I can handle that one and we handle that one. And we run into something we don't feel capable of handling or not quite understanding and so or.
Quite often somebody elses life, we don't think they're handling it very well and they need to see it differently. So we say Lord.
Work in them, make them see what they need to see so they can do it right and so on. But I believe the intent of the word is we need a manager for everything.
You're going to go sit down. I'm going to go sit down and eat.
You as much need, and I as much need a manager when we walk into that room as we do when we're making some major, just quote, major decision affecting our lives. But we're not conscious of it very often. We're not. We don't realize it very often. And so the word of God has to bring us into that sense of the Lordship of Christ.
00:50:21
He is Lord, and if he is Lord, it means that he has the.
Responsibility not only the right, but the responsibility of.
Directing every step of every day of our lives and the Spirit of God is God the Spirit acting with and in connection with the Lordship of Christ to direct us through the activities of each day. But quite often we sort of in practice.
Unconsciously I can manage this. So we manage it and then we run into something. Well, that's that's a big decision. I'm not quite so sure. So we then look to the Lord to manage it. But being led by the Spirit of God has that sense in it of dependence.
Dependence. If I don't think I need the spirit, I can manage. I manage and so.
Being led by the Spirit of God, the disciples were brought into that sense of Lord, what wilt thou have us to do? We don't manage the affairs of.
This or anything. And so often the Lord sent them out by His direction. You might say, like the Spirit sends us out by His direction. But when that work is done, then they came back into His presence, and they sat there until He directed them.
And part of being in his presence was to learn his mind so that they could go out and acceptably fulfill whatever function.
He had for them. And so I say we can learn about the leading of the Spirit of God by seeing the way in which the Lord Jesus personally directed the life of the disciples when he was here.
And apply that as to how the Spirit of God today will lead us.
Because He has taken the Lord's place in that function in our lives today.
That chapter that Doug read in Acts 16. Acts 13.
You go down to verse four, it says so they.
Being sent forth by the Holy Ghost.
So the Holy Spirit that sends out in the work of the Lord.
It's not a church, it's not an assembly that sends out.
They ministered to the Lord, they prayed, they fasted, they laid their hands on them, which shows fellowship.