We're going to read in Romans 8, turning there please to Romans chapter 8, and we're commencing reading at verse 9. We're going to read this passage in relation to the text that we will consider a little later in Galatians 5. But in this passage we have a verse that is very similar to that text. So we'll read from Romans 8 here, and we'll likely be referring much to it in the message today. Romans 8, verse 9, But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and of children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with them, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." And we know that the Lord will add His blessing to the reading of this, His own infallible Word. Let's bow together for a word of prayer. As we come to consider the Lord's truth and the message for this very service, let's all unite our hearts and let us pray. Our dear God and our Father, we thank Thee that we are privileged to just draw near to Thee now again in prayer on the very verge of turning to the Word. And we pray that as we do so, Thou wilt help us. We pray for that settling of our minds and our hearts in Thy presence. Pray, Lord, that Thou wilt give us that soul that is receptive to the Word and to the things of Christ. And, O gracious God, bless us this day. Breathe on us from heaven. Grant Thy help and Thy mercy as we wait before Thee. And may our souls be quickened and revived, blessed and strengthened. Build up the saints. Encourage those who may be downcast. Draw back those whose hearts may be cold. May the Holy Spirit do His mighty work on those who need Christ. May there be a work done for eternity. Hear and answer prayer and give us help from heaven. In Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen. Galatians 5 and verse number 18 is the verse on which we will focus our minds and we will tie it in with, as I said, what we have in Romans chapter 8. Because there we have a very similar expression. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Galatians 5.18. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now this verse essentially forms a conclusion to this section of Galatians chapter 5. Though it does not bring to an end the theme with which the apostle Paul has been dealing, down through these verses because he continues to deal with it on to the very end of the chapter. His particular theme is that of the conflict between the flesh and the spirit in the experience of the child of God. And that theme is one that he has already developed to some degree and that he continues to focus on in the following verses. Paul's discussion on this issue of the conflict between the flesh and the spirit flows out of his main subject in this part of this epistle. Namely, the truth that the believer has a blessed liberty in Jesus Christ, a freedom in Jesus Christ. That liberty is freedom from the law's condemnation. It is freedom that is based upon the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, giving us a perfect acceptance with Almighty God and also giving us a perfect peace in our consciences as we think of standing before God and being in His very view and in His very presence. That is the meaning of what Paul sets out to deal with in this chapter, this liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. But you see that liberty from the curse of the law. does not mean that we are exempt from giving an obedience to the law as a way of life for believers, for Christians, because the law of God is a way of life for the believer. The liberty that we have in Jesus Christ is freedom from the curse of the law so that we are then given this liberty to serve the Lord, do His will, and walk in His ways. That is our liberty in Jesus Christ. We're not free to serve the lusts of the flesh. but rather we are set free from the law and its curse, in that sense, in order to have liberty to do the will of God and to walk in His ways and fulfill the mind of Christ in our lives. Furthermore, as we have noted in the last message a few weeks ago, Paul shows us here that the way to victory, the way to enter into this victory that we have in Christ and live in the enjoyment of it in our daily Christian experience is through the ministry of the Spirit of the living God. As the Spirit of God controls us and He governs our lives, then we enter into the liberty experientially that we already have in Jesus Christ. And therefore, the theme of the control of the Spirit, the leading of the Spirit, is the theme in this portion in which our text lies today. And in this text, the apostle says that as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are not under the law. Now it's worthy of noticing here that the leading of the Spirit, this controlling power and influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives, is actually an evidence of being a child of God. Paul says that as many as are led by the Spirit are not under the law. Now again, that term, under the law, has to do, as it always does in the New Testament, it has to do with being in a state of condemnation, a state of unrighteousness before God, as opposed to a state of justification and acceptance with the Lord. And in that sense, the believer is no longer under the law. That's the great truth that he also states in Romans 6, verse 14, where he says, you are not under the law, but you are under grace, as I've just said. Every time the New Testament says to the Christian, you're not under the law, it always means that you're not under the law's curse and threat with regard to standing before God. With regard to acceptance with God. We're under grace. We're in Christ. His righteousness is ours. We're covered with His blood. We're accepted by Almighty God. We're not under law, we're under grace. That's the meaning of that kind of language. We're not under the law with regard to an obligation somehow or other to fulfill it in order to be right with God and be justified before God. But we're under grace because Christ is our righteousness and Christ is our merit before the throne of God. But those who are no longer under the law's curse are described here as people who are led by the Spirit. Look at this verse. If you'd be led by the Spirit, Ye are not under the law. I said to you earlier that in Romans chapter 8 you have very similar words. They're found in verse 14. You may have looked at them as we read. It says there, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. So there's brought before us in these two marvelous verses a very important aspect of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian's life that is the leading of the Spirit. And to be led by the Spirit, as we have said, is to be controlled by the Spirit. And to be led and controlled by the Spirit is a sign, is an evidence, of not being any longer under the law with regard to its curse and its condemnation, but as a sign and evidence of grace and of our standing with God. Here is a text, therefore, that gives us a genuine mark of one who is truly a believer, being led by the Spirit of God. If I could turn the words around and put them to you this way, I believe it will come to you more forcefully. Ye are not under the law if you be led by the Spirit. Ye are not under the law if you're being led by the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit, being led by the Holy Spirit is the evidence that we're no longer under the law. You see, no man truly knows the leading of the Spirit of God who is still under the law. That is, who is still unjust and condemned in the sight of God. That man knows nothing of the leading of the Spirit. As we will see today, he doesn't have the Holy Spirit. And he's certainly not being led by the Holy Spirit. And therefore, he's still under the law. He's under its curse and its wrath. But the man who has the Holy Ghost, and in his life there is a leading by the Spirit, has a genuine mark of grace, and has the evidence, therefore, that he's no longer under the law. We come, therefore, to this subject of the leading of the Holy Spirit. And both from this text, Galatians 5.18, and the related text, Romans 8.14, I want to bring some points to your mind about this theme of the leading of the Spirit of God. But first of all, we must deal with this, and that is that the Spirit leads God's people because He dwells in them. The Spirit leads God's people because He dwells in them. The basis of this rule of the leading of the Spirit is that He dwells in those whom He leads. Now really we have seen in Galatians this truth of being indwelt or having the Holy Spirit live in our hearts. Just look at two of the verses, Galatians 3 verse 5 where we read these words, He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and as you may remember the word minister means to supply. God supplies the Holy Spirit to His people in this sense If you turn now to chapter 4 and verse 6, in this sense of His dwelling in our hearts, look at it, Galatians 4, 6, And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. It is true, therefore, that already we have seen in this epistle this great matter of the Holy Spirit living in the people of God. He dwells in their hearts, as it says there. God has sent forth the Holy Spirit into your hearts. Now that is an experience. It's real. It's true. It is something that every child of God enjoys and has come to know. There's no one who is a genuine believer in whose heart the Holy Ghost doesn't live. It is as firm and as resonant as that. In every believer, the Spirit of God lives, and in that heart, He takes up His residence. This is taught right through the New Testament everywhere, in the epistles of Paul especially. But over and over again, we find this coming up. Ephesians 2.22 says that the church, that is the true body of believers, is built to be a habitation of God through the Spirit. Paul says to the Corinthians, Ye are the temple of the Holy Ghost. And terms like these are found continually throughout the New Testament in Paul's writings and in other writings, but in Paul's especially. He's the one who really sets it out that the Spirit of God lives in the heart of the Christian. Get it clear. Get it straight. That's why he then leads them, because first of all, he dwells in them. Now, he dwells in our hearts upon the basis of redemption. Turn back to chapter 4 and verse 6, just to note it there, because this is very important. The Holy Spirit takes up His residence only on the basis of redemption for one thing. That sixth verse again says, well, back up to verse 5, where it tells us, "...the Lord came to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Do you see that? The Lord Jesus Christ came to redeem a people, and on the basis of redemption they received the adoption of sons. And then the adoption of sons comes about, verse 6 tells us, because the Holy Spirit is sent where? Into your hearts. So He enters the heart on the basis or the ground of redemption. That is a cardinal feature of the whole doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the experience of the child of God. He does not enter a heart that's not washed in the blood of Christ. It's as simple and as straight as that. He enters only the heart. where redemption has been applied or is being applied. That's the ground, that's the basis of the entrance of the Holy Ghost into a human heart on the ground of redemption. There's a marvelous illustration of that truth if you turn to Leviticus 14. Leviticus 14. Marvelous illustration of this truth over there in the chapter that deals with the cleansing of the leper. And you know, you and I as sinners, naturally, what are we? We are lepers. We are spiritual lepers. We are sinful and vile and unclean. But thank God there's cleansing for the sinner. And that's what the whole ceremonial law here about the cleansing of the leper presents. The great truth that there's cleansing from the vileness of sin, from the wickedness of our hearts and our lives. And therefore, in Leviticus 14, you have this ceremony dealing with the cleansing of the leper. Verse 14, I want you to look at. It says, And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, upon the thumb of his right hand, upon the great toe of his right foot." Just taking those words, we notice this part of the cleansing ceremony for the leper. He is cleansed through the blood of the trespass offering being applied to these extremities of his body. the tip of his right ear, the thumb of his right hand, the great toe of his right foot. What's the significance of that? That the blood was applied to these extreme parts of the body. What is the significance of that? To tell us that when we're justified before God, we are entirely and, thank God, eternally cleansed through the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ. And we can say with John in Revelation 1, Unto him that loved us and washed us in his own blood from our sins. That's signified here in this ceremonial law where the blood was applied to these extremities just to bring home the fact that there's a complete and a full washing of the sinner when God justifies him. But then something else happened here. Go down to verse 17. where the priest has now taken oil." Verse 15 says, "...the priest shall take some of the log of oil." Then verse 17, "...and of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon," notice the places, "...the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, the great toe of his right foot," listen, "...upon the blood." The oil in the cleansing of the leper is put where the blood has been put first. There you have it. It's on the ground of redemption that the oil of the Holy Ghost is applied to the believer. It's on the basis of the blood of the Lamb that the Holy Spirit enters a human heart and takes up His residence right there. Tremendous picture of what Paul is teaching here. in Romans and also in Galatians. Turning back therefore to these verses in the New Testament where our text is found today, we notice that the Holy Spirit therefore comes upon the ground of redemption to dwell in the human heart. He comes upon the basis of the merit of our Savior's death and His own atoning work for us. And on that ground He enters in and He resides upon our souls. The Lord Jesus Christ did the whole work in order to redeem us. in order that we would have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts. And, brethren and sisters, this is what is the ultimate outcome of the Redeemer's work for men. It is that they become indwelt by the Spirit of God, and they become the habitation of God, not only in time, but for eternity. Imagine it. Don't imagine it merely. Reckon it. Take it to yourself. It's revealed truth. The ultimate goal of redemption is that you will be the dwelling place of God by His Spirit. Once He enters, as we will see, He never leaves. And forever, the hearts of the saints are going to be the habitation of God. And it's all upon the ground of redemption. Man lost the Spirit at the fall. He's without the Spirit. And the Holy Spirit will only come back into a man's heart in the manner that I'm showing you here on the ground of redemption, but also on the ground of regeneration. You see, the Holy Spirit will only enter into a heart where there is a true spiritual fitness provided and prepared in order for His indwelling. And of course, He's the one who brings about that spiritual fitness, and he does it in what we call the new birth, or as we may call it, regeneration. The Holy Ghost will not dwell in the hearts of unbelieving rebels. Of course, that's what we all are by nature. Unbelieving rebels, living without God, living in our sin, in the ways of the flesh. Some of you might still be living that way. Do you understand right now that if you're living according to the world and the flesh and its ways, and you are living in disobedience to God as your habitual lifestyle, you know nothing of grace, you know nothing of a work of God in your heart, do you understand that you have not the Spirit and you cannot have the Holy Ghost in you until something happens in your heart, which is regeneration? It must take place, and therefore the Holy Spirit enters. You will be familiar, some of you, with the old lie that's been peddled for generations called the fatherhood of God. And it's taught that He's the father of all men by virtue of what they say is an unbroken relationship that was formed at creation. And there was a relationship between God and men through creation, but men and women, it has been broken long ago. It's not an unbroken relationship. It's one that's severed and that's broken. And there's been a parting of the ways between God and men. But this fatherhood of God idea, peddled for, as I say, for generations now, gives the idea that all men are in the family of God. And all men have the Holy Spirit. And therefore, all men are habitations of God. Let me ask you a simple question. Would God the Holy Ghost Just to pick out an example or two from Scripture. Would God the Holy Ghost, do you think God the Holy Ghost was living in the heart of a Nimrod? Or a Pharaoh? Or any other wicked man you want to mention in Biblical history? Do you think for one moment that God the Holy Spirit was living in the heart of a Nero? Or a Hitler? or whoever you want to mention. These are all members of the human race down through time. They're well-known historical figures. They stand out in the annals of the history of this world. But by any stretch of the imagination, could we ever say that the Holy Ghost was living in the hearts of such men? Most certainly not. And the point is, you see, in the final analysis, the human heart's the same no matter who we consider. The Lord said to the Pharisees, those religious, those intensively religious men, ye are of your father the devil, and the works of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning. He's a liar. The Lord says you're his offspring. Was the Holy Ghost in the Pharisees? Was the Holy Ghost in Cain? who slew his own brother because Abel's works were righteous and were a condemnation of Cain's? Was the Holy Ghost living in that man Cain who lifted his hand and he slew his brother? Of course he was not living in Cain. You see, it's only when the Holy Spirit indwells a man that he actually is said then to belong to Christ. Turn to Romans 8 where we read earlier. Romans chapter 8. And you pay heed to these verses as I develop this thought that the Holy Spirit only leads men because He first of all dwells in them. And He dwells in them on the ground of redemption. And He dwells in them on the ground of regeneration. And it's only when He lives in a man that that man belongs to Christ and therefore is a child of God. Romans 8 verse 9, it says here so clearly, But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so be. that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now listen to the last words of this verse. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of this. Do you notice in that verse that there are three titles for the Holy Ghost? He's called the Spirit, He's called the Spirit of God, and He's called the Spirit of Christ. Not three spirits, but the one and same Spirit with three different titles. And of course, that's the way it is in the Bible. God has a variety of titles. Christ has a variety of titles. So does the Spirit. He's called the Holy Ghost. He's called the Holy Spirit. He's called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and so on. All these names, but they're simply setting forth some particular truth about Him. But the point is here, listen carefully, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. That is, he doesn't belong to Christ. The point is this. Go on down to verse 14. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. This means, therefore, that the Holy Spirit only dwells in those who are called the sons of God. And they are the ones only who are led by the Spirit of God for that reason, that the Holy Spirit lives in them and dwells in them. I think it is abundantly clear that not all men have the Spirit at all. Only those who are Christ, only those who are led by, only those who are the sons of God, only they have the Holy Spirit. And He's in them because of this marvelous work of what I've called regeneration. This moral fitness, this spiritual fitness that He produces. Now turn to John 14, and let us look here at our Lord's teaching on this very issue of the Holy Spirit coming into hearts. And furthermore, right here, notice that it's said specifically that the world, and that's the world of the unsaved, cannot receive the Holy Spirit. Look at it. John 14, verse 16, I will pray the Father, He shall give you another Comforter that He may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, there's another of His names, the Spirit of truth, the Comforter as well, verse 16, the same person but with different titles. Even the Spirit of truth, listen, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, listen, neither knoweth Him. The world of the unsaved, the world of the ungodly is what is meant there. Not the physical world, of course, but the world of humanity. The lost world of men, or the world of lost men. And here the Lord Jesus tells us that an unsaved man cannot have the Holy Ghost living in him. It's as plain as that. He just can't have him living there because he's still of the world. So what must take place? There has to be a new birth. There has to be a work of grace. There has to be a mighty miracle turned out to Ezekiel. Let's look here at Ezekiel chapter 36. And right here in the Old Testament, one of the most marvelous prophecies. In Ezekiel's book, you'll find a prophecy of this great matter of the Holy Spirit coming to live in people, dwell in their hearts. Ezekiel 36, verse 25. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you." God is talking to Israel here. You must keep that in mind. That's the context. He's telling Israel here what He's going to do for them actually on a future occasion. And he says here in verse 26, a new heart will I give you. A new spirit will I put within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh. I will give you a heart of flesh. Listen, and I will put my spirit within you. Now all this in verses 25 and 26 give to us a description of the preparatory work. There's the cleansing, there's the washing of the heart, and into that renewed heart, in other words, the Holy Ghost is placed. Men and women, here it is in clear, plain terms. It's in the Old as well as in the New Testaments. God the Holy Spirit comes to reside in a heart that has been prepared for His entrance. And it's described in terms of washing, cleansing. and the Holy Ghost coming to live there, and dwell there, and His Spirit residing there. He says, I will put My Spirit within you. What a marvelous, glorious truth that is. Maybe someone sitting here today, and there are such, and you're lost, and you're saying to yourself, I don't have the Holy Spirit. I know it, and I sense it, and I am aware of it. I'm lost. And you say to yourself, could I have the Holy Ghost in me? Could I have the Spirit dwelling in my heart and leading in my life? Oh yes, you could, man or woman. Because this is the whole essence of salvation. This is why Christ came. This is the whole purpose of God and redemption. As I said earlier, that sinners like us will have the Holy Ghost living in our hearts. And thank God He comes in upon the basis of the blood and on the basis of the great work, the great miracle of grace that He Himself performs. And I'm simply telling you today, sinner, for your own encouragement as you feel yourself lost and undone and hopeless and helpless. God is able to work a miracle in a heart like yours and make it the vessel of the Spirit of God and make you a new creature. That's sovereign grace. Sovereign grace can change the vilest, foulest wretch and make us hurt the dwelling place of the Spirit. You know, it's an astounding thing, isn't it? That the Holy Ghost would actually live in our hearts. Who are we? What are we? Poor, lost, wretches of humanity, undeserving, fit only for hell, in and of ourselves, I mean. And the Holy Ghost would enter hearts like these and actually live there. That's what the Bible says. That's what the Bible means. The Spirit of God dwelleth in you. That denotes intimacy. Do you realize that your heart is the home of the Spirit? It's the habitation of God. When you think about a home or a house or a habitation, and I'm not inventing language here, by the way. This is the language of the Spirit Himself. We are the habitation of God. And what is a habitation? It's a house. And the house, specifically, is your heart. But you think about that. A house is a place where we feel at home, isn't it? Intimacy, with your family around. You know what it's like on a cold winter night, snuggling up to the fire, and everybody there, and maybe having family worship, and seeking God. That's intimacy. That's what a home is to be like. And you know, that means that when the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts, there's this thought of this blessed intimacy. Because it's only in the heart of the believer that this work is experienced, as saving, gracious operations are felt and experienced in the heart of the child of God. The believer has something. The believer has a possession. of which the world knows nothing, as I showed you early in John 14, 17. The world cannot receive the Holy Ghost, but the Lord goes on to say this, He dwelleth with you and shall be in you. That's intimacy, but that's also permanency. When the Holy Ghost comes to live in a man's heart, He comes to dwell there forever. And again I use The Word of God to support that. Ephesians 4, verse 30. Sealed with the Holy Spirit of God to the day of redemption. It is the final day, the great day, called the day of redemption. Sealed with the Holy Spirit of God. Is that not constancy or permanency? Oh, I know that we can grieve the Spirit and quench the Spirit, and we often do. My friend, the teaching of the Bible is that the Holy Ghost does not depart from, finally and altogether, the heart that He has truly entered. Even when David was backslidden, and he wrote Psalm 51 as he was brought back to the Lord, you remember what he said in that great psalm or that great prayer? Thy Holy Spirit from me." The Holy Spirit was still with him. He hadn't departed. David had lost the sense of his presence. David had grieved him. But the Holy Ghost was still there. Let me put it to you this way. The Holy Ghost is God's permanent seal of ownership on a human heart. And the Spirit of God will never leave where He dwells. And then it's also a mark of sovereignty, or the thought of sovereignty here. Because the Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of the Lord's people as the owner of the house. You think about that symbol, that idea of the house. And we are the temple of the Holy Ghost. We are the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. That means that He is to be sovereign in the house where He dwells. And that brings us right now, therefore, to this point to which I have been working. that the Holy Spirit leads believers because He dwells in them. And now we come to consider this thought that the position of the Spirit in His role of leading God's people is a position of being the sovereign guide. He leads us, the Bible says. As many as are led by the Spirit. Do you see what God is saying there? The child of God has the blessed experience of being led by the Holy Ghost. You know what's wrong with so many Christians today that comes to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit? Really there are two positions in many cases. Some are scared of the doctrine because the doctrine has been abused terribly by various circles. Some of the wildest claims you could ever listen to have been made about the Holy Spirit and what He does. And therefore, many Orthodox Christians shy away and say, well, if I start singing about the Spirit or talking about the Spirit or preaching about the Spirit, they might think I've gone overboard. Oh, my dear friend, that's wrong. We must not abandon a precious truth simply because somebody abuses it. Whether it's liberals or modernists or excesses. Simply because they take a truth and abuse it and mar it with their wild theories and whatever else you want to call them, doesn't mean that you and I set it aside and say, I'm not going to touch this. No, it's a precious truth. Then on the other hand, there are those who never deal with the doctrine of the Holy Spirit because they're so dead in their orthodoxy that there's no place the moving and the working of the Spirit. And there's no praying for the Spirit, and there's no seeking after the Spirit. Paul, you know, prayed for the Holy Ghost to come. And Paul asked the saints to pray that the Holy Ghost would come upon him and upon the church. Oh, let us not err either way, in the way of the excessive wild theories about the Spirit, or in the other direction where we become so dead and orthodox, we can get on without the Holy Ghost. It's the way it is, you know, in many a life. I ask you a very searching question. I think I'm addressing people here today Well, I don't believe any of you are caught up in charismatism, at least I hope not. Let me ask you a question. Are you living your daily life in the enjoyment of the Spirit of God? Led by Him, enjoying His presence, rejoicing in what He's showing you from the book, finding His help in prayer, witnessing under His power, is this true of you? Are you enjoying the Holy Ghost? Or have you got what you think is such a handle on the book that you don't need the Spirit of God anymore? May God have mercy on you. Because my dear friend, the book will be dead if you haven't got an up-to-date living experience of the leading of the Spirit of God in your life and in your soul. The book will be dead and prayer will be dead and witness will be non-existent. Let us therefore avoid the errors and let us see that the Holy Spirit does lead the saints as our guide. He did that in the Old Testament. I haven't time to go there to show you a passage that would bear that out, but just one thing I want you to think about here. It says the Holy Spirit leads. The Holy Spirit It doesn't drive people the way the devil does. Let me show you what I mean by that. Turn to Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8 verse 29. Dealing with a man at Gadara. And notice what it says about him. Luke 8 verse 29. For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Then it tells us here something of what the spirit did with that man before the Lord drove him out. or commanded him to come out. For oftentimes it had caught him, and he was kept bound with chains and fetters, and he broke the bands and was driven of the devil into the wilderness." Do you see, my friend, that the evil spirit works in a completely different way from the Holy Spirit? The evil spirit drives men. because they are slaves to the devil and slaves to his ways. And he drives them, he dominates and he drives them. There's nothing gracious or tender or sensitive at all about the devil. The devil doesn't work in any way that's commendable. But listen, when you come to the Spirit of God, He leads. Those who are the children of God are led by the Spirit of God. Now, how does He do this? Well, Romans 8 again, verse 16. Romans 8, verse 16. It says, "...the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." Here is one way in which the Holy Spirit leads us. He leads us by operating upon our spirits. Now listen to what Paul says here. The Spirit itself, and I would love time right now to explain to you why it says the Spirit itself, not the Spirit himself. I haven't time, so I'm not even going to go any farther, but maybe someday I will. But here's the point. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit. Right here it is that we are the children of God. Now that can't be understood in any other way except that Those words are teaching that the Holy Spirit operates directly upon the spirit of the Christian. The sovereign Spirit of God, thank God, He's able to influence and to work upon the heart of a Christian, and He does. Some people, again, shy away from that. Oh, that's dangerous. I know there's an element of danger here because, again, of wild theories and wild claims. My dear friend, God the Holy Spirit tells us here Himself, I witness with the spirit of the Christian. And why should that be incredible? Because remember this, the Holy Spirit works directly and sovereignly in the hearts of unsaved people, and He's going to save them. What happened the day of Pentecost? when the Holy Ghost had been poured out and Peter preached. And we are told in verse 37 of Acts 2, and they were all pricked in their heart. What was that? That was the Spirit of God directly and immediately witnessing to the hearts of the unregenerate and bringing them to Christ. Now let me ask you a question. By any stretch of the imagination, since the Holy Ghost works in the hearts of the unsaved, in that direct supernatural way, and witnesses to their souls, Is He not going to work in the hearts of His own people? Of course, He's not going to fail to work in our hearts. This is how He leads us. Direct operation upon the spirit of the believer. Turn to Luke 2, verse 25. Here's an example of a man of God. The Holy Ghost was on him and in him. And notice what it says, Luke 2, verse 25. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Ghost was upon him, and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And listen, verse 27, and he came by the Spirit into the temple. What's in verse 27? The leading of the Spirit. The Holy Ghost was upon him, in him. And the Holy Ghost led him into the temple at the very time when Mary was there presenting Christ as was according to the law. At that moment, there's the infallible leading of the Spirit of God in the heart of a man of God. He comes just at the right time and the right moment, and he finds more of Christ than he ever could have dreamt he would find. Because remember, the Holy Spirit and all His leading will always lead us to Christ. Turn to Acts 16. I want you to see this, dear believer, that the child of God can live in the great experience of being led by the Holy Spirit. Acts chapter 16, and look with me at verses 6 and 7. Is this not the leading of the Spirit? It says in verse 6, that when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost, listen, forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia. After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not. Was that not the direct operation of the Holy Ghost upon the hearts of the disciples? Of course it was. Here are men in tune with God. Here are men who have the Spirit of God upon them, and the Holy Ghost leads them, directs them, even says, don't go this way, don't go that way. And then eventually He shows them. You see, what we have lost in our generation what I referred to a little while ago, that intimacy with the Spirit of God. Living in the Spirit, led by the Spirit, close and intimate in your fellowship with the Spirit of God, and He leads you. And I know there are many of God's people who could testify You take all that very thing. You take just this. You're sitting in a church prayer meeting. And then for a little while you feel kind of cold. And then suddenly you feel this quickening, this impulse, this moving within yourself, almost to the point where your heart starts to thump. And people might say, well, that's just wild enthusiasm. That's excessiveness. No, my friend, that isn't. Because then you find yourself led on and the Scripture's starting to flow into your mind. And you say, I must pray here. That's the Holy Ghost witnessing and leading and directing, prompting. And those are the movings of the Spirit that we must not quench. And He Himself we must not grieve, because the Holy Spirit does work that way. But may I say this, because this is where the balance needs to come in. The great instrument of the leading of the Spirit, while He does work directly upon the heart or the spirit of the Christian, the great instrument is the Word of God. Turn now to Hebrews chapter 10, Hebrews 10, verse 15. It says there, The Holy Ghost also is a witness to us. Now here's the same kind of language. The Holy Ghost, a witness to the believer. That means leading the believer, directing the believer, guiding him or her. So that's the subject. But then it goes on to say this. The word after there means according to. For according to that, or you could put it this way, according to what he had said before. Just read it that way, it will make very simple sense. for according to what he had said before." Then what do you have immediately? A quotation from Jeremiah 31-33. This is the covenant, and on it goes into verse 17. And what is going on here? We're being, well, in the immediate context, Paul is showing these people that the Holy Ghost witnesses to the Christian, to the child of God, about the sufficiency of the work of Christ. But the point I'm making is this. How does he do it? He's a witness to us. He's a witness to us through His own Word. That's why I mentioned the balance. Because let me go back to what I was saying earlier. There are people who will say to you, now the Holy Spirit told me to do this, and the Holy Spirit led me to do the other thing. And you say, well, there's a problem here because what you're telling me that the Spirit led you to do is really in contradiction of the book. Gee, that's the test. We are to judge ourselves by Scripture. And it is in the light of the Word of God that we know that we've been led by the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit will never lead a man to do anything that's contrary to the Bible. And therefore, that's what I mean by the balance that we must have. And that's why the child of God If you want to be led by the Spirit day by day, you cannot do without the private personal reading of the Word of God. You just cannot do without it. And I fear that there are many Christians sitting here today, I don't have any reason for saying this in the sense that I know your private life, but I fear, just from general observations, There are many Christians who are not reading their Bibles, because I see in their lives that they've been led away, that they're going astray. Worldliness, carnality, call it what you will. My friend, the Holy Ghost will never lead a Christian to enter into carnal things. Never. Never, never, never. If we read the book, the Holy Ghost will lead us according to the book. There must be the private reading of the Word if you want to enjoy the leading of the Holy Ghost. And there must also be a placing of yourself under the preaching of the Word. Because public preaching, and again it must be in the power of the Holy Spirit, is another chief way in which the Lord leads His people, the Spirit leads the people. You don't know how many times my heart has been thrilled, and I don't say this because I'm the preacher right here, but you don't know how many times my heart has rejoiced when somebody has said to me, maybe in visitation, I sat in the services was almost as if you were speaking right to me. And I had problems, and I had questions, and I had fears, and you know nothing about it, but the Lord did. And that message or those messages just answered all my needs. That's wonderful, brethren and sisters. And I trust that will happen in our experience as a church more and more. This is a day when we need to be led by the Spirit of God. Not led by impulse, not led by wild theories, not led by foolish notions, led by the Spirit through the book. In every area of life, in your private life, in your home life, family life, business life, you must be led by the Spirit through the Word of God and therefore subject yourself patiently and with great desire after God to the Word, privately and publicly, and God will never lead you astray. The Holy Ghost doesn't do that. He leads us in the right way. I have to close. Our time is gone. I have to come back to this another time next week at the will of the Lord. So don't let anybody lead you astray this week. We'll come back and look at this next week. I want to look specifically at the results of the leading of the Spirit. Brethren, sisters, we need to be led by the Spirit. We need God to teach us. May we know that, live in the enjoyment of that, and do so every day. If you're not saved, oh, thank God the Holy Spirit shows you Christ. Have you felt the tug, that pricking of the heart I mentioned a while ago? And you sit in that seat today and you're troubled and you're anxious and you're saying, what's going on in my life? What's wrong with me? What's amiss? Oh, my friend, the Spirit of God with His gracious common influences in any meeting shows men this is the way you ought to go. And may you obey that, and this day run to Christ, and trust Him with all your heart. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we pray that we will know the moving of the Spirit in days like these, Pray, Lord, that we will know great times of blessing and refreshing from the hand of God. Help us each one to live in the Spirit and to walk in the Spirit and to be led by the Spirit. Take us up with Thee, Lord. Help us to bring glory to Thy name. Help us to know the mighty heavenly influence of the Spirit within us. O Lord, come and work in hearts today. Where there has been a wandering off, may the Spirit lead back to Christ. Where coldness and carnality of commend and worldliness has taken over, lead that soul or those souls to the fountain open for sin and uncleanness. Lead believers into the center of the will of God. Show us Thy ways. Bless us, O Lord, we pray. And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with every believer both this day and forever. Amen.