“Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

Now in the New Testament, the phrase “the Lord” corresponds to the sacred name of God which we normally call Jehovah or Yahweh in the Old Testament. And it’s always a name of the true God. So when Paul says “the Lord is the Spirit,” he’s saying, “the Spirit is God.” He’s just as much God the Father or the Son. He’s just as much Lord. If you believe in the Lordship of the Father and the Lordship of the Son, you must acknowledge the Lordship of the Holy Spirit. Then he says, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is true liberty [or freedom].” That’s the key to true spiritual freedom. It’s not a set of rules, it’s not a kind of procedure, it’s not a clapping your hands or dancing or shouting or singing or falling on the ground or anything. It’s doing what the Holy Spirit directs to do at any time. If you get set in a rut, if you view liberty as simply one kind of expression, you’re not in liberty, you’re in bondage. You’re only in liberty when you let the Holy Spirit be Lord over every moment, in every situation. The services that succeed are the ones where the Holy Spirit is allowed to be Lord from beginning to end. Let me put it this way: Jesus is Lord over the Church, the Holy Spirit is Lord in the Church. The Lordship of Jesus over the Church is no more effective than the Lordship of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Only insofar as we allow the Holy Spirit to be Lord do we actually allow Jesus to be Lord. This is true of the church and it is also true of our individual lives.

Well, our time is up for today. I’ll be back with you again tomorrow at this same time. Tomorrow I’ll be speaking about the kind of person the Holy Spirit desires to relate to. My special offer this week is my book, The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, which explains in clear, practical language how you can have a personal, supernatural encounter with the Holy Spirit that can transform the rest of your life. Also, my complete series of talks this week on “How to be Led by the Holy Spirit, Part 1” is available in a single, carefully edited cassette. Stay tuned for details.

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It’s good to be with you again as we draw near to the close of another week. Our theme this week has been “How to be Led by the Holy Spirit.” I trust you’ve found it helpful. If so, please let me hear from you. Before I finish this talk we’ll be giving you a mailing address to which you may write. It means a great deal to me to hear how this radio ministry of mine has been helping you and blessing you. So please take time to write, even if it’s only a brief, personal note. Write today.

Now, back to our theme, “How to be Led by the Holy Spirit.” In my talk yesterday I explained that the Holy Spirit can do for us what no other power can do. Specifically, He’s the source of power, love and sound judgment. Paul tells Timothy, “The Lord has not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, of love and of sound judgment.” God had told us previously through the prophet Zechariah that there was no other power, no other person, no other influence that could produce in us the results which God desires. He had said in Zechariah 4:6:

“This is the word of the Lord... not by might nor power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”

He’s the Lord of hosts. He has all power, He has all might, but in dealing with us He does not use power and might because they cannot use the results which He desires. They can only be prod

How To Be Led By The Holy Spirit

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