Notes:

Led by the Spirit

Learning to hear His voice is how we develop a relationship with Him. 90% of all we need to know about God’s will is found in His Word. These are often in broad principles. But what about the details?

1) We learn to recognize God’s voice through experience

• 1 Sam.3:1-7. How can you differentiate the voice of God from other voices? Like counterfeit money the counterfeit voice is best recognized by studying the genuine, John 10:3-5.

2) We will only know the voice of God by living as sons

• 1 Sam.3:1-7. We must learn to differentiate the voice of God from other voices, Jn.15:15.
• Under the New Covenant there is a new level of intimacy based on a new kind of relationship.
• The further away from the Spirit you are the more you will behave like a servant. You will need rules and someone to tell you what to do, Gal.5:18.
• The Spirit helps us to make the transition from a servant-mentality to a son-mentality, Rom.8:14. This week we will look at learning to hear the voice of the Spirit. But foundational to that is that we know our status as sons, not servants.
• Gal. 3:23-25. During the OT period, the law was like a child custodian, i.e. a pedagogue, who was employed until the child came of age and was adopted as a son. (Adoption = son-placing).
• Paul uses this analogy because it typifies the role of the Law. Its purpose was to restrain, chasten and protect Israel until Christ; in fact it was to bring her to Him.
• Under the pedagogue a child had had less freedom than that of a slave, even though he was heir.
• Some pedagogues were tough disciplinarians, even using severe treatment. They abused their position by over-disciplining the children in their care in ways which the father never intended.
• In a similar way Satan has exploited the Law in order to tyrannize the people of God in ways God never intended. God intended for the Law to reveal sin and drive people to Christ; Satan uses it to reveal sin and drive people to despair.
• God intended for it to be a preparatory step to justification; Satan uses it for our condemnation.

• Usually there was a ceremony to mark the occasion when the child entered into the fullness of his position as a son and the pedagogue’s responsibility ceased and he was dismissed.
• Gal. 4:4-5. The defining moment in history when God’s people became sons of God was the Cross.
• There is freedom and intimacy in our relationship with God because we are now sons and heirs.
• Gal. 4:6-7. The Spirit helps us to feel like sons and to relate to the Father as Jesus did, (Lk.2:49; 23:46).
• The Spirit’s role is to bear witness to our sonship.
• It is not fitting that we who are sons should be made subject again to the restraints of the Law, Gal.5:18.

3) We become acquainted with the voice of God by becoming acquainted with the God of the voice

• Christ lives on the inside. When Christ speaks it is from the inside.
• A stranger’s voice comes from the outside, with an urging; no time to reason.
• It is a still, small voice. Not usually a spectacular voice. Don’t look for God in the spectacular voice. It’s a still small voice. The norm is for parents to speak in a quiet voice to their children.
• It is characterized by peace. ‘Let the peace of God rule in your hearts…  Col. 3:15. The peace of God will rule, arbitrate, act as a mediator to settle disputes in our course of action.
• It is gentle. ‘The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits…’ Col. 3:17.
• God leads, Satan pushes. Rom.8:14. There is an urging to act without the use of reason; no power to choose. The Holy Spirit is not pushy or demanding.
• The content of His message will never contradict Scripture.

# Answers to this quiz are found in the notes above. Click on quiz to commence. Only correct spelling is recognised. A minimum 70%  correct is required to advance to the next session.