Guidance of the Holy Spirit

13 June 2012

Opening Prayer/Worship

Hymn: Abide with Me

Theme: Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Topic: Guidance of the Holy Spirit

Reading: 1 Samuel 8:4-11, 16-20

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,⁵and said to him, ‘You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.’⁶But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to govern us.’ Samuel prayed to the Lord,⁷and the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.⁸Just as they have done to me,^* from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you.⁹Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.’ ¹⁰ So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king.¹¹He said, ‘These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots;¹⁶He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle^* and donkeys, and put them to his work.¹⁷He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.¹⁸And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.’ ¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, ‘No! but we are determined to have a king over us,²⁰so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.’

Introduction

The work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers are too many to enumerate. He is our Comforter, Advocate, Counselor, Helper, reminds us of all truth, gives us life, guarantees our eternal salvation, sanctifies, teaches and guides us. When we are too weak to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. In this study, we will learn more about how the Holy Spirit guides us and the implications of rejecting His leadership in our lives. The first step towards enjoying the guidance of the Holy Spirit is accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. Then, our sins are forgiven and we receive the Holy Spirit who will empower, guide and protect us till Christ returns. It is only the Holy Spirit that can safely guide us through life’s woes, troubles, pains and satanic attacks. It is only through the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we will, at the end of life’s journey, join the Saints Triumphant.

Questions/Discussion

1. How does the Holy Spirit guide believers of Christ?

Psalm 121

¹     I lift up my eyes to the hills—

      from where will my help come?
²     My help comes from the Lord,

      who made heaven and earth.

³     He will not let your foot be moved;

      he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴     He who keeps Israel

      will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵     The Lord is your keeper;

      the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
⁶     The sun shall not strike you by day,
      nor the moon by night.

⁷     The Lord will keep you from all evil;

      he will keep your life.
⁸     The Lord will keep

your going out and your coming in
from this time on and for evermore.

Psalm 138:3, 6-8

³     On the day I called, you answered me,

      you increased my strength of soul.^*

⁶     For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;

      but the haughty he perceives from far away.

⁷     Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

      you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;

      you stretch out your hand,

      and your right hand delivers me.
⁸     The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me;

      your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever.

      Do not forsake the work of your hands.

John 16:5-7, 12-16

But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, “Where are you going?”⁶But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.⁷Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate^* will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ¹² ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.¹³When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.¹⁴He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.¹⁵All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.¹⁶ ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.’

Acts 16:6-10

They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.⁷When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them;⁸so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.⁹During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’¹⁰When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

What are the benefits to the believer?

2. Why did the Israelites reject the leadership of God over them?

1 Samuel 8:4-9, 19-20

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,⁵and said to him, ‘You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.’⁶But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to govern us.’ Samuel prayed to the Lord,⁷and the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.⁸Just as they have done to me,^* from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you.⁹Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.’ ¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, ‘No! but we are determined to have a king over us,²⁰so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.’

3. In what ways do we reject the guidance of the Holy Spirit

     today and what are the implications?

1 Samuel 8:10-18

So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king.¹¹He said, ‘These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots;¹²and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.¹³He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.¹⁴He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers.¹⁵He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers.¹⁶He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle^* and donkeys, and put them to his work.¹⁷He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.¹⁸And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.’

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

God loves us so much that He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts- guiding, teaching and comforting us at all times. Let us live each day knowing that we are not alone; God is with us, now and forever more.

Closing Prayer - Psalm 23 (BCP)

¹     THE LORD is my shepherd; / therefore can I lack nothing.

²     He shall feed me in a green pasture, / and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.

³     He shall restore my soul, / and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for his Name’s sake.

⁴     Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; / for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.

⁵     THOU shalt prepare a table before me in the presence of them that trouble me; / thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full.

⁶     Surely thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; / and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

      GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

      As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.