Luke 12:6 says, “Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria?” Matthew 10:29 says, “Are not two sparrows sold for an assarion?” If one assarion could buy two sparrows, then by right two assaria should only buy four sparrows. But the Lord said two assaria could buy five sparrows. One assarion buys two, and two assaria buy four plus an additional one. This shows us the cheapness of a sparrow. However, even a cheap thing such as a sparrow is not allowed to fall to the earth if God forbids it. Although the fifth sparrow is an extra one that is given for free, no sparrow is forgotten by God. If our God does not allow it, no sparrow can fall to the earth. This clearly shows us that everything happens under God’s permission. If our heavenly Father forbids it, even a sparrow will not fall to the earth.
It is difficult to number a person’s hairs. However, the Lord said, “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matt. 10:30). No one knows how many hairs he has, and no one can count his own hairs, but God has counted and numbered our hairs. Our God is so fine and so exact!
If God takes care of a seemingly worthless creature such as a sparrow, how much more will He take care of His children! If God takes care of something as minute as a hair, how much more will He take care of other things! Once we believe in the Lord, we need to learn to know His will through the environment. Nothing that happens to us is a coincidence. Everything is measured by the Lord. Our career, spouse, parents, children, relatives, friends, and everything have been ordained by God. Behind everything that happens to us each day is God’s sovereign arrangement. Therefore, we have to learn to read God’s will in the environment. A new believer may not be that experienced in the leading of the Spirit, and he may not know that much of the teaching of the Scripture. But at least he can see God’s hand in the environment. This is a believer’s most basic lesson.
Psalm 32:9 says, “Do not be like a horse or like a mule, without understanding; / Whose trappings consist of bit and bridle to constrain them, / Else they do not come near you.” Many times we are just like a horse or a mule, without understanding, and must be harnessed with outward bit and bridle by God before we can avoid mistakes. Have you ever seen a duck farmer? He has a long stick in his hand. When the ducks wander to the left or to the right, he herds them back with his stick. The ducks have no choice but to take the right path. In the same way, we can commit ourselves to the Lord and tell Him, “Lord, I am truly like a horse or a mule that has no understanding. But I do not want to make mistakes. I want to know Your will. Please harness me with Your bit and pull me with Your bridle. Once You let go of me, I will take the wrong way. Please guard me with Your will and direct me into Your will. If I wander away, I want You to stop me. I do not know many things, but I know what pain feels like. When I reject Your will, please come in and stop me!” Brothers and sisters, we must never belittle God’s arrangement in the environment. Even though we may have fallen into shame and may have become like a horse or a mule, we often can still count on God’s mercy to bridle us in time. God uses the environment to stop us from making mistakes. He forces us to have no alternative but to follow Him.
God’s hand is seen through the environment. But He is not happy to always guide us like senseless horses or mules. He wants to guide us from within. Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” We are God’s children and God’s life is within us. God not only guides us through the environment but also speaks to us and guides us from within through His Spirit. The Spirit dwells within us, and God’s will is revealed to us through our innermost being.
The book of Ezekiel tells us that God will “put a new spirit within you” (11:19). Again it says, “A new spirit will I put within you....I will put my Spirit within you” (36:26-27). We must distinguish between “a new spirit” and “my Spirit.” “My Spirit” refers to the Spirit of God, whereas “a new spirit” refers to our spirit at the time of our regeneration. This new spirit is like a temple, a home where the Spirit of God dwells. If we did not have a new spirit within us, God would not have given us His Spirit, and the Holy Spirit could not have dwelt within us. Throughout the ages God has been trying to give man His Spirit. However, man’s spirit was defiled, sin-ridden, dead, and fallen in the old creation. It was impossible for the Spirit of God to dwell in man even though this was His desire. Man has to receive a new spirit through regeneration before he can be in the position to receive God’s Spirit and before God can dwell in him.
Once a new believer has a new spirit, the Spirit of God dwells in him. The Spirit of God spontaneously communicates to him His will; he spontaneously has an inner sense. Not only is he able to discern God’s provision in the environment, but he also now possesses an inward knowledge and inward assurance. We should learn to trust not only in God’s sovereignty in the environment but also in the leading of the Holy Spirit within. At the right time and when the need arises, the Spirit of God will enlighten us within. He will give us a sense and show us what is of God and what is not of God.
One brother loved to drink before he became a believer. Every winter, he would drink much wine. He even made his own wine. Later, both he and his wife were saved. He was not very literate and could not read the Bible very well. One day he prepared some food and wine and was going to drink as before. After thanking the Lord for the food, he asked his wife, “Can a Christian drink wine?” His wife said, “I do not know.” He said, “Too bad no one is here to tell us.” His wife said, “The wine and the food are ready. Let us go ahead today and ask others afterward.” He gave thanks again but felt that something was not right. He thought that, as a Christian, he should find out whether Christians can take wine. He asked his wife to take out the Bible, but he did not know where to turn. He was stuck. Later, he met someone and told him about this incident. His friend asked whether or not he drank the wine that day. He answered, “In the end I did not drink it, because the householder within would not allow me. I did not drink the wine.”
If a man has the desire to obey God’s will, he will find out what this will is. Only those who are callous about their inner sense will remain in darkness. As long as one has the intention to obey God’s will, the “householder within” will guide him. The householder that our brother spoke of is actually the Holy Spirit. When a person believes in the Lord, the Holy Spirit dwells within him. He guides the believer and becomes his Master. God reveals His will not only through the environment but also through the “householder within.”
There are two kinds of leading of the Holy Spirit. The first is an inner urging, as in Acts 8:29 when “the Spirit said to Philip, Approach and join this chariot” and in Acts 10:19-20 when the Holy Spirit said to Peter, “Rise up, go down and go with them.” These are inner urgings. The second kind of leading is an inner forbidding, as mentioned in Acts 16:6-7: “Having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, yet the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.” This is the inner forbidding. The story of the “householder within” is a case of inner forbidding.
In order to know God’s will, a new believer should be somewhat familiar with the inner sense. The Spirit of God dwells in the innermost part of man. Hence, the feeling of the Spirit is not something shallow or outward; it issues from the deepest part of man’s being. It is a voice that is not quite a voice, a feeling that is not quite a feeling. The Spirit of God within shows us whether something is according to His will. Provided we have the divine life within, we will feel right when we act according to this life, and we will feel terrible and uneasy within if we disobey and deviate slightly from this life. A believer should live a life that yields to this life. We must not do things that will take away our inner peace. Whenever we sense any unrest, we should realize that the Holy Spirit within is displeased with what we are doing; He is grieved. If we do something that is contrary to the Lord, we will surely have no peace within. The more we go ahead with it, the less peace and joy we will have. If something is of the Lord, spontaneously we will have peace and joy.
However, do not overanalyze your inward feelings. If you keep analyzing whether or not something is right, you will be totally confused. Some people continue to ask what the feeling of the Holy Spirit is and what the feeling of the soul is. They are always analyzing whether something is right or wrong. This is very unhealthy; it is actually a spiritual sickness. It is very difficult to bring a self-analyzing person back to the proper path. I hope that you can avoid such a trap. Actually, a person analyzes only because he does not have enough light. If he has enough light, everything will be clear to him spontaneously, and he will not need to waste his energy on such analysis. If a person is sincere in trying to obey the Lord, it will be very easy for him to sense the inner leading.