Church of God, Carmichael, CA

THE HOLY SPIRIT
and other spirits 

D. O. Teasley, May 15, 1903

[Original Page Numbers]

PA R T I.—THE HOLY SPIRIT

Leadings of the Holy Spirit

  It means much to be led by the Holy Spirit in all things. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Rom. 8:14. Not only does the Father draw us by His Spirit to the fellowship of His Son, but He also promises to be with us to the end of the world. Matt. 28:20. How much it means to always recognize and obey the voice which says, "This is the way, walk ye in it"; to steer clear of the gulf of fanaticism on the one hand and the rocks of formalism on the other, and take the narrow way of divine guidance. There are many things to lead the soul astray and turn the Christian pilgrim aside from the path of duty; and if the command to "watch and pray" is not heeded, we shall lose our way. Oh, how much we need the unerring guidance of the Holy Spirit! There are many who profess to be Christians who never think of asking the leadings of the Lord in every day life. And some even scoff at the idea of being led by the Holy Spirit, supposing that God never intended to guide but a favored few, such as the apostles and prophets, and expects the most of men to lean to their own understanding. Possibly some have been forced to such conclusions by the fanatic notions of some who profess to be led by the Lord. That God will lead us, is an undeniable truth; He led men of old, and He has promised to lead us if we trust Him; and He is faithful to fulfill His promise.

  DIVINE GUIDANCE DOES NOT MAKE US INFALLIBLE.— Neither divine guidance nor inspiration make us infallible. Yet the Holy Spirit is an infallible guide. But we being fallible and our minds being finite, we may be mistaken in the leadings of the Holy Spirit. This should not discourage us in the least, but should only cause us to press more closely to Jesus' side and listen more carefully to his voice. Peter was an inspired apostle, and yet he made a mistake, for which Paul sharply reproved him. Gal. 2 :11 14.

  LEADINGS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN DOCTRINE.—"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." John 16:13. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." John 7:17. [75]

  The Holy Spirit was given for the express purpose of leading men into all truth, and every man who is led of the Spirit speaks sound doctrine. A man who propagates a doctrine contrary to truth is not led by the Holy Spirit. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isa. 8:20.

  All who are led by the Spirit speak the same things. When two men disagree in doctrine, either one or both are not led by the Spirit. Things in which we are led of God we all see and understand alike. The things on which we differ are those things which we try to fathom by human wisdom. Some one has aptly said, "What we know we all know alike; but the things we are not certain of are those upon which we differ." A man who contradicts himself or is continually shifting from one position to another is not following the leadings of the Spirit, but is leaning to his own understanding.

  LEADINGS OF THE SPIRIT IN GOSPEL WORK.—Pastors evangelists, and gospel workers of every description need the Holy Spirit's guidance to help them in detecting evil spirits and coping with the craftiness of men. Workers should also have the leading of the Spirit in regard to where they should labor. Workers who depend on their own understanding exclusively, and choose the easy places, or go where they get the most money, need not be surprised if they find their work superficial and their own souls void of spirituality. H is not fanaticism in the least to suppose that God can lead us where He would have us go. Those who are guided by the Holy Spirit in their work not only find it a pleasure, but also profitable. Philip was directed by the Spirit when he found the Ethiopian, who was so willing to hear the Word of the Lord. When the Spirit told Philip to go, he went and his mission was blessed with the salvation of a soul. Peter was led of God to go to the house of Cornelius and all his house were filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 10:19. Paul once thought of going to a certain place, but the Spirit forbade him, and he at once submitted, and obeyed the divine impression. "And when they came into the region of Mysia, they were disposed to go from there into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus permitted them not." Acts 16:8.—SYRIAC.

  Minister of God, would you be successful and happy in your labor of love? Then wait upon God until you know what He would have you do, and when the Spirit whispers "go," you can go with an assurance that God is on your side and that you are in His order. E you run before you are sent, or go certain places before [76] you know God says go, when trials and adverse circumstances befall you, you may feel like giving the battle over; but if you know God sends you, the hardest battle will be sweet. Then when all seems dark and it seems that you are accomplishing nothing, you can hope in God and leave the responsibility with Him. It is true that at times it seems hard to ascertain the mind of the Spirit in regard to going to this or that place, but if God does not tell us in one way He surely will in another. If He does not make His will known by direct leadings of the Spirit, He will tell us by circumstances or some other way.

  CAN WE BE GUIDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT IN BUSINESS MATTERS?—By business matters we mean important transactions, such as are necessary to be made for the sustenance of natural life and the glory of God. That we should use our common sense proves too limited to give us a satisfactory solution of the puzzling questions of life. At such times every man who knows anything about God feels the need of His guidance. That the Holy Spirit will lead us in any legitimate business is not unreasonable, but is in accordance with the teachings of the New Testament and the experience of God fearing men and women. If they were all recorded, history would tell of many a judge on the bench, merchant behind the counter, tradesman in the shop, and farmer on the farm, who in puzzling affairs of life have sought and obtained the help of God and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

  IMPRESSIONS.—Our impressions are various, and come from various sources; some of them are good and some are bad; some are providential and some are circumstantial; some are safe to follow and some are extremely dangerous. This being the case we should look well as to where an impression comes from before following its leading. Impulses and sanctified judgment are vastly different.

  Our impressions may be divided into three different divisions, as follows: (l) We have impressions which are strictly human, or come from natural occurrences. Some of such impressions may be followed in some cases without bad results, and some may be misleading. (2) We may have impressions which are purely satanical, all of which are dangerous to give heed to. Such impressions may come in various ways, either directly from the devil by evil suggestions to the mind, or through natural circumstances. (3) We have impressions which are manifestations of divine guidance, all of which are safe to follow. [77]

  These impressions may also come through natural channels directly from God through the Holy Spirit.

  Sometimes circumstances impress us to do certain things which at first seem plausible, but afterward prove to be unreasonable and dangerous, and if we are not careful we may too quickly conclude that such impressions are from the Lord. "Those simple occurrences, which men snatch at and press into the service of their own wishes, and call them providential openings, may indeed be links of a providential chain, in reference to some other matter: but unless they be found to speak the same language in all their parts, occurrence corresponding with occurrence they are not to be construed as indications of the divine will in reference to the claimants. Many persons through these misapprehensions miscarrying have been led to charge God foolishly for the unsuccessful issue of some business in which their passions, not His providence prompted them to engage."—CLARKE. Sometimes the suggestion of a friend or a brother will impress us to do a certain thing that would be far from wise. Sometimes we may see some one else prosper in a certain thing, and their prosperity will impress us to do the same thing, in attempting which we utterly fail and wake up to find that our unwise zeal, and not the Holy Spirit or our better judgment has led us to be thus engaged. Some people are very easily influenced by others, and in this way are much hindered in ascertaining the mind of the Lord. While in the multitude of counsel there is safety (Prov. 11:14), and often we may be much benefited by consulting with others, God wants us to rely upon Him for our directions and leadings.

  Books and reading matter of all descriptions is also a source of various impressions, both good and evil. How careful then we should be in choosing our reading matter, when the world is deluged with erroneous books, papers, tracts, leaflets, etc., of almost every description. It has been said, "Tell me what a man reads, and I will tell you what he is." Whether this is absolutely true, or not, what we read has a great deal to do with molding our lives and impressions. Those whose minds are fed on such worthless stuff as novels, love stories, etc., are fed on worse than nothing, and their impressions and consequent lives will be more or less the same as what they read. Early impressions are the most lasting. This being the case we should endeavor to place before the minds of the young pure reading matter only. Many people would do well to make a bonfire of about nine tenths of the books in their homes. Dear reader. have you in your library, [78]           

NEXT

The Church of God