Who Is Guiding You?

John 16:13-14   "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you."

       What does it mean to be 'filled by the Spirit' or to have 'the Spirit living within me'?  When a person gives their life over to God thru Jesus Christ and acknowledges Him as their Lord and Savior, then they are right then given the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is our inner guide to what God would have us follow in our journey, but we do not always listen and are deceived by our sinful nature.  The Holy Spirit's leading always aligns with Scripture and brings glory to Christ.
       John 15:26  “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me."
       "Jesus promised to give us an internal and ever-present Guide. Starting at the moment of salvation, everyone who trusts in the Savior is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who promises to lead believers into all the truth. Like a built-in compass, He will direct us exactly the right way, regardless of the choice. He never makes a mistake.

So you may be thinking, If He is living in me and never makes a wrong choice, why do I keep messing up? His leadership is always right, but our reception isn’t always clear. Yielding to the Lord is an essential part of receiving His direction. We cannot tolerate sin and go our own way in one area and expect to receive His guidance in another." [intouch.org] 

  John 14:15-17  “If you love me, keep my commands.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

Holy Spirit can/does: [intouch.org]

1.  The Holy Spirit illuminates God’s Word to our hearts and minds.
2. The Holy Spirit recognizes our emotional and mental state and can identify exactly where we are in our Christian walk. Therefore, He can reveal to our mind the passages that will encourage, challenge, or convict us as needed.
3. The Holy Spirit empowers individuals for specific tasks and equips them to accomplish it.
4. The Holy Spirit seals us in Christ—proof of the promise that we are forever in God’s presence.  Ephesians 1:13-14 " In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.

       The world tells us to trust our gut feelings, but the Bible tells us to trust and follow the Holy Spirit as it is living inside of us, as believers.  The Spirit doesn't come and go based on our feelings, circumstances, or spiritual stability.  The Holy Spirit, once received, is a permanent advocate dwelling in you to guide you in truth of God's will.  

The Holy Spirit guides in:

1. Our friendships--1 Corinthians 15:33 "Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

2. Our priorities--Galatians 6:7-8  "Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.  Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit." 

3. The truths we dwell on-- Colossians 3:16  "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."