The Leading of the Holy Spirit Pastor A.W. Weckeman Feb.27, 2021
“I being in the way…”
The 24th chapter of Genesis opens with Abraham sending his servant (Eliezer) back to his homeland (Mesopotamia) to find a bride, from amongst his kindred, for his son Isaac. Through a series of divine appointments, Abraham assures Eliezer that God will lead him to the right woman. Upon miraculously being led to Rebekah (Isaac’s second cousin), Eliezer, in verse 27, worships the God of Abraham, proclaiming, “I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” (Gen. 24:27). “I being in the way…” is pregnant with meaning, manifesting not only the essential need of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit but also the prerequisite principles of spiritual guidance; faith, obedience, and discernment. Consider the inherent danger of leaning on our own understanding. Prov.14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” And Isa. 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool…” (Prov. 28:26).
Receptivity
Receptivity to the indwelling Holy Spirit must be the motivating force behind everything we do in the name of the Lord. The only effective way to love, obey, serve, and please God is to “be led of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:18) and also (Rom.8:14) “led by the Spirit.” Consider Isa. 30:21, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” Herein lies the subtle difference between “a work of the Lord” as opposed to “a work for the Lord.”
God’s transforming truths are intuitively revealed, understood through the faculties of man’s spirit, or more precisely, through the movements of the Holy Spirit illuminating the believer’s spirit “… not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man [unsaved] receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED” (1 Cor. 2:13-14) [emphasis mine].
See the illustration below:
When yielded to, God’s Spirit exerts a dominating influence on man’s triune being (spirit, soul, and body), providing the essential “spiritual understanding” necessary to discern His will and access His power.
Serve With My Spirit
Consider the apostle Paul’s declaration in Rom. 1:9) “For God is my witness, whom I serve WITH MY SPIRIT in the gospel of his Son…” [emphasis added]. To be fully comprehended, the things of God require “spiritual understanding” (Col. 1:9), which only God can provide. Whether it involves serving Him or loving one another (Col.1:8), prayer (Eph. 6:18, Rom. 8:26-27), overcoming the flesh (Rom. 8:13), worship (John 4:23-24 & Phil 3:3), spiritual warfare (2 Cor. 10:3-5, Eph. 6:10-12 & 1 John 4:4), singing praise (Col.3:16); to be authentic and effectual all must stem from the leading of the Lord.
The preceding realities highlight the vital role performed by the Holy Spirit working through the believer’s yielded spirit, which must be the impetus of all that concerns both our service and personal interaction with the Lord. Jesus said, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:13). All thought, and action must flow from our sensitivity and obedience to the resident Holy Spirit’s leading to be fruitful.
“For it is God that worketh in you both to will and do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
“That he [Jesus]would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with all might BY HIS SPIRT in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to THE POWER THAT WORKETH IN US, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Eph. 3:16-21) [emphasis added].
Encapsulated in Ps. 25:4-5, we find an example of the effectual prayer of all who genuinely desire to serve and please the Lord, “Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.”