The Sure Guide
The Holy Spirit is our guide into all truth, focusing on speaking of Christ and guiding us into the truth about Him.
D.L. Moody emphasizes the vital role of the Holy Spirit as our guide into all truth, urging believers to yield to His direction to avoid the pitfalls of sin and darkness. He illustrates how figures like Lot and David suffered due to their failure to be led by the Spirit, highlighting the importance of allowing the Spirit to counsel us. Moody stresses that the Holy Spirit's primary mission is to testify of Christ and bring His teachings to our minds, rather than focusing on self. He warns against teachers who neglect to center their messages on Christ, likening them to a messenger who fails to deliver the intended message. Ultimately, Moody calls for a deeper reliance on the Holy Spirit to navigate our spiritual journeys.
Text
Turn to the sixteenth chapter of John, in the thirteenth verse, and read:
"Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come. He will guide you into all truth.
Now there is not a truth that we ought to know but the Spirit of God will guide us into it if we will let Him; if we will yield ourselves up to be directed by the Spirit, and let Him lead us, He will guide us into all truth. It would have saved us from a great many dark hours if we had only been willing to let the Spirit of God be our counsellor and guide.
Lot never would have gone to Sodom if he had been guided by the Spirit of God. David never would have fallen into sin and had all that trouble with his family if he had been guided by the Spirit of God. There are many Lots and Davids now-a-day. The churches are full of them. Men and women are in total darkness, because they have not been willing to be guided by the Spirit of God. "He shall guide you into all truth. He shall not speak of Himself." He shall speak of the ascended glorified Christ.
What would be thought of a messenger, entrusted by an absent husband with a message for his wife or mother who, on arrival, only talked of himself, and his conceits, and ignored both the husband and the message? You would simply call it outrageous. What then must be the crime of the professed teacher who speaks of himself, or some insipid theory, leaving out Christ and His Gospel? If we witness according to the Spirit, we must witness of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is down here in this dark world to just speak of the Absent One, and He takes the things of Christ and brings them to our mind. He testifies of Christ; He guides us into the truth about Him.
Sermon Outline
- The Holy Spirit as Our Guide
- The Importance of Yielding to the Spirit
- The Spirit's Focus on Christ
- Speaking of the Absent One
- Witnessing According to the Spirit
Key Quotes
“He shall guide you into all truth.” — D.L. Moody
“He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come.” — D.L. Moody
“He takes the things of Christ and brings them to our mind.” — D.L. Moody
Application Points
- We should yield ourselves up to be directed by the Spirit and let Him lead us.
- We should focus on speaking of Christ and His Gospel, not ourselves or insipid theories.
- By letting the Spirit guide us, we can avoid darkness and sin.