2. Many in the religious denominations and some in the Lord’s church claim to have a direct “leading from God” “I sensed God was telling…”, “I heard God telling me…”, or “I just know in my heart God is…” “A number of things happened that just told me that this is what God wanted me to do…” This issue is not, “Are we led?”, but “How are we led?”

3. Jesus was “led by the Spirit”, but we are not told how this was done, or that this leading is for us today (Mt. 4:1; Lk. 4:1) Christians are “led by the Spirit” and we are told how this is done – through the Spirit’s teaching (Rom. 8:14; see 8:2,6,7,16 [Jn. 15:16; Heb. 10:15; 1 Jn. 5:7]; and Gal. 5:18; see 3:4; 5:16-26; 6:6-8) The Holy Spirit is no less active today when he leads through the instrumentality of his word (Eph. 6:17)

4. Led by the Spirit (who)Led by the Spirit’s word (how) Convict (Jn. 16:8)Convict (Tit. 1:9; Jas. 2:9) Comfort (Acts 9:31)Comfort (Rom. 15:4) Love (Rom. 15:13)Love (1 Thess. 4:9) Guarantee (2 Cor. 5:5)Guarantee (1 Jn. 5:5-13) Faith (Gal. 5:22)Faith (Rom. 10:17) Strength (Eph. 3:16)Built up (Acts 20:32) Unity (Eph. 4:3)Unity (Eph. 4:4-5,13) Joy (1 Thess. 1:6)Joy (1 Jn. 1:4) Sanctification (2 Thess. 2:13)Sanctification (Jn. 17:17)

5. God revealed his word and will to prophets in Bible times through a number of means (Heb. 1:1-2; Acts 2:17-19) Gideon’s “sign” (Judges 5:36-40) Elijah’s “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12) Daniel’s “dreams and visions” (Dan. 1:17) Saul’s “light out of heaven … a voice” (Acts 9:3-4) Philip’s daughters who “prophesied” (Acts 21:9) John’s “revelation” (Rev. 1:2)

6. When God revealed his will to prophets directly… It was rare It was an intrusion It was supernatural It was clear It was against human wisdom We are not prophets who receive special revelations outside of God’s revealed will in the scriptures (1 Cor. 13:8-12)

7. When People “Feel” Led… Authority is given to one’s inclinations or feelings; man’s word becomes God’s word (Prov. 16:25; Jer. 10:23) Each person becomes a law to himself; subjectivism rules over an objective standard of truth Plain Bible teaching or wise counsel is often ignored There is no way of to truly determine whether or not God is speaking to someone (Deut. 13:1-5; Mt. 24:4,5,11,24)

8. Are You Led by the Spirit? God led his people miraculously in Bible times (Ex. 13:17-21; Deut. 8:2,15; 29:5; ; Acts 8:26-40; 16:6) God leads his people providentially today (Psa. 23:2; Mt. 6:13; Rom. 2:4) God leads his people through his word today (Psa. 43:3; 119:105) Allow yourself to be led by the Spirit’s word today (1 Cor. 2:14)!