How to be led by the Spirit of God starts on the inside. In this second message of the series, Dr. William P. Hohman teaches that God guides His children through their spirit, the inner man, and not through moods, intellect, physical senses or signs in the sky. The same Holy Spirit who drew you to be born again keeps leading you, and the key is learning to yield your will and listen to that quiet inner prompting.
This message continues from How to Be Led by the Spirit of God, Part 1 — Born Again by the Holy Spirit’s Leading, the first part of the series. Below you will find the full video, a structured summary, the Scriptures he uses (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps for following the Holy Spirit this week.
Sermon at a Glance
This message comes from a Memorial Day weekend service at New Testament Church in Merrill, Wisconsin, posted on May 27, 2020. After worship, the offering and announcements, Dr. Hohman reads a letter from a woman in her mid-nineties who reports that her latest blood count came back perfect after the church prayed for her, and he gives God the praise for it.
He then picks up the series. People who are never taught, he warns, assume that any emotion or any thought that pops into their head must be the Holy Spirit, and that can lead them into real trouble. His goal is to keep believers grounded in the Word of God while they learn to follow the Spirit.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Speaker | Dr. William P. Hohman |
| Series | How to Be Led by the Spirit of God (part 2 of 6) |
| Main text | Proverbs 3:5–6 and Proverbs 20:27 |
| Key theme | God leads us through our spirit, not our feelings, intellect or senses |
| Length | About 92 minutes in total; the teaching begins near the 29-minute mark |
Trust in the Lord Every Day
The foundation text for the whole series is Proverbs 3:5–6: trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He shall direct your paths. Dr. Hohman notes that Jesus could not do many miracles in some towns because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:58), so growing in trust and confidence is our part.
Many people, he says, find it hard to trust God at first because they themselves have not been trustworthy. That is all right. Everyone is still on the wagon train, still learning, and God turns even our mistakes around for our good when our hearts are set on following Him.
He illustrates the danger of leaning on created things with his own love of the outdoors. He grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with a ten-thousand-acre state forest for a backyard and spent spring days in a rebuilt trapper’s cabin. Creation is beautiful, he says, but it does not compare one iota to the Creator. If you take your direction from the weather or the snow, you will never move. Moses could have said there was too much water, yet Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground (Exodus 14:21–22).
Every generation, he observes, claims that its own time is the most important one to be led by the Holy Spirit. He disagrees. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), and there is no partiality with God (Romans 2:11). The most important day to be led by the Spirit is the day you are living in. He had the church say it aloud: being led by the Holy Spirit is the most important for me right now.
Born of the Spirit, Like the Wind
Dr. Hohman reminds the church that no one gets saved without being led by the Holy Spirit. Nobody comes to Jesus unless the Father draws him (John 6:44), and God wants everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). If the Spirit led you to salvation, he asks, is anything ever going to lead you in a better or more complete way? Never.
In John 3:3–8, Jesus tells Nicodemus that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Dr. Hohman teaches that being born of water is not infant baptism but natural birth, when the mother’s water breaks. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Being born again is a new birth of the inner man.
Jesus then compares the Spirit to the wind. You cannot see it and cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes, yet you can feel it and see its effect. Dr. Hohman adds a fishing picture. You do not see or hear the fish, but with a line in the water you suddenly feel a little tug. That is how God draws a person to give their life to Him: a gentle tugging, prodding and prompting in the heart.
The Holy Spirit never overrides your will. He tells of a woman who wanted him to come to court and cast a devil out of her to prove the devil made her drive drunk through a grocery store window. He declined. She made those choices, just as Adam still had to decide to follow Satan. Many people pray a prayer, he says, but never truly submit their will to Jesus, and so they keep living by feelings and emotions.
He closes this point with an egg. Break it from the outside and the bird dies; let it break from the inside out and it brings life. Human effort pushing from the outside is religion. The Holy Spirit’s leading works from the inside out, and because it brought us into new life, every later prompting will lead us into a better life too, the abundant life Jesus came to give (John 10:10).
The Spirit of Man Is the Lamp of the Lord
The central text arrives with Romans 8:14, which the church read aloud: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Two verses later, Romans 8:16 says the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. When a man on the street once demanded proof that he was saved, Dr. Hohman told him he could not prove it outwardly; he has a witness in his heart.
Then comes the key verse. Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart.” God enlightens and guides us through our spirit, the inner man. He does not lead by a new moon, a comet or an eagle flying past your car. As Isaiah promised, when you pass through the waters and the fire, He is with you and holds you by the hand (Isaiah 43:2).
Nor does God lead through hurt feelings. Someone offends you and you decide God wants you to run away, yet the Word says to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39). God never contradicts Himself. The Spirit and the Word agree. Dr. Hohman summarizes his teaching on what does and does not guide a believer:
| Not how God leads | How God leads, as taught |
|---|---|
| Signs such as a new moon, a comet or an eagle flying by your car | An inner prompting in your spirit, the lamp of the Lord |
| Hurt feelings and emotions | A leading that always agrees with the written Word |
| Intellect and your own reasoning | Trusting Him and not leaning on your own understanding |
| Physical senses and circumstances like weather | Obeying even when the way runs through flood or fire |
| Your own will pushing for a decision | Patience, prayer and agreement in prayer with your spouse and pastor |
He shares how this worked when the Lord told him to move to Merrill and give away everything he owned. He took it to his wife, and she was not ready. They prayed, and months later she heard the same thing. His pastor also asked for time and, two weeks later, agreed. Only then did they give it all away. He stresses that he is not telling anyone to do the same unless God says so, and only after a season of confirmation.
You Are a Spirit, You Have a Soul, You Live in a Body
If God leads through the spirit, we need to understand what a person is. In Genesis 1:26–27, God made man in His own image and likeness. Jesus says in John 4:24 that God is Spirit and must be worshiped in spirit and truth. So we are spirits too, and the inner man is the real you. The body, Dr. Hohman says, is only the suitcase that brought the real you into this earth.
He explains that the Greek word for worship carries the picture of a dog that licks its owner’s hand and sits at his feet, waiting for a command. Worship and service belong together. Some people raised their hands that morning with no inner connection to God. True worship is the posture of saying, Lord, I love You and I am waiting for You to tell me what to do.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 prays that your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless, and Dr. Hohman points out that Paul lists the spirit first. Early in his walk he began to say, “I am a spirit, I have a soul and I live in this body.” That simple confession, said daily and out of the blue, makes you more aware of the still small voice than of your mind, will and emotions.
Paul shows the same reality in Philippians 1:23–24, torn between departing to be with Christ, which is far better, and remaining in the flesh for the church. A believer never has to fear death. 2 Corinthians 4:16 calls our spirit the inward man, renewed day by day, and 1 Peter 3:4 calls it the hidden person of the heart, of great price to God.
That is why daily Bible reading matters: the Word is food for the inner man, just as meals feed the body. Dr. Hohman adds a reading tip. In the New Testament, wherever you see the word heart, write spirit beside it, and notice how much Scripture directs your attention to the real you rather than to the body, intellect or emotions.
How to Be Led by the Spirit of God, Step by Step
Yielding the will is the hard part. In almost forty years of ministry, Dr. Hohman says, he has never seen it fail: people who push their own will against what the Bible says end up in trouble. His confession is “I have the patience of eternity” precisely because patience is a struggle for him. He prays, sleeps on it, and stops reasoning, because his own understanding can get him into trouble even though he holds two doctorates.
He tells of his mother, a former military nurse who had just been saved when she was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. He urged her to set her mind on God’s promises, that He forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases (Psalm 103:3) and keeps in peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him (Isaiah 26:3). He reports that her doctors later gave her a letter calling her recovery a miracle.
On habits, he warns against what Paul called will worship (Colossians 2:23), boasting in our own willpower. The law of the mind is stronger than the will: tell someone not to think of strawberries and they can think of nothing else. A man in the early church who drank and smoked was told to stop condemning himself and ask the Lord to take it. Weeks later, prompted in his heart, he threw his cigarettes out the car window and lost the desire.
The same man later called at two or three in the morning, drunk again. Dr. Hohman’s answer was that it is not about trying harder; it is about going to God and trusting Him with all your heart. That trust has to be built. When God leads, he says, there is peace even in the middle of war, because He is the Prince of Peace.
He then tells how a young French student on a mission trip in Cardiff, Wales, heard in prayer that a church must embrace the Holy Spirit. When she shared it, an 82-year-old man in the front row fell to his knees asking forgiveness for keeping the Spirit out of his life and church. The elders were filled with the Holy Spirit, a head Satanist in the area was saved, and a congregation of about 40 grew to over 350 in a week.
A final story concerns Dolores, a 72-year-old member who sensed the Spirit sending her to Egypt. Dr. Hohman asked her and her husband to pray for two weeks first. She went, and that trip led to his own visit later, preaching in a Coptic church where hundreds gave their lives to Jesus and ministering to doctors at a Cairo university hospital. One person heard from God, tested it, and followed step by step.
Following the Holy Spirit This Week
Galatians 5:25 sums up the message: if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Here are practical steps drawn from this teaching on how to be led by the Spirit of God:
- Say who you are. Confess daily, “I am a spirit, I have a soul and I live in this body,” to grow more aware of the Holy Spirit’s still small voice.
- Test every prompting by the Word. If a leading contradicts Scripture, such as running from someone who hurt your feelings, it is not God.
- Wait for confirmation. Like Dr. Hohman with his wife and pastor, and Dolores with her husband, give big decisions time and agreement.
- Feed the inner man. Read the Bible daily, and mark the word heart as spirit while you read the New Testament.
- Trade willpower for trust. Stop condemning yourself over habits and ask the Lord to take them, instead of practicing will worship.
- Worship with connection. When you lift your hands, posture your heart to wait on Him for direction.
The service closes with a prayer of commitment, asking God to forgive us for not trusting the Holy Spirit and inviting Jesus to be Lord, Savior, owner, master and ruler, so that from today on we are children of God led by His Spirit.
Timestamped Outline
- 26:27 A letter of praise from a woman in her nineties
- 29:12 Why believers must be taught to be led by the Spirit
- 31:15 Creation is beautiful, but trust the Creator
- 34:28 Today is the most important day to be led
- 37:42 Nicodemus and the new birth: John 3
- 39:41 The wind and the tug on the fishing line
- 41:44 “The devil made me do it”
- 44:07 Life breaks from the inside out
- 46:28 As many as are led by the Spirit: Romans 8
- 48:39 The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord
- 52:07 Giving everything away and moving to Merrill
- 55:03 Made in God’s image: Genesis 1
- 57:15 What worship really means
- 58:37 The patience of eternity
- 59:47 His mother’s healing testimony
- 1:05:05 Will worship and the law of the mind
- 1:07:52 A mission trip from Strasbourg
- 1:11:09 Revival among the elders in Cardiff
- 1:17:28 Spirit, soul and body: 1 Thessalonians 5:23
- 1:21:50 The inward man and the hidden man of the heart
- 1:24:13 Walk in the Spirit: Galatians 5:25
- 1:25:17 Dolores and the open door in Egypt
- 1:29:19 Prayer of commitment
How to Be Led by the Spirit of God Series
This message is part two of a six-part teaching series at NTC Ministries. Go back to the start or continue with the next message:
- Previous: How to Be Led by the Spirit of God, Part 1 — Born Again by the Holy Spirit’s Leading
- You are here: How to Be Led by the Spirit of God, Part 2 — The Spirit of Man Is the Lamp of the Lord
- Next: How to Be Led by the Spirit of God, Part 3 — Your Spirit Is New, Your Soul Must Be Renewed
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Holy Spirit ever force a person to act?
No. Dr. Hohman is firm that the Holy Spirit never overrides or violates your will. He prompts, tugs and leads, but no one can honestly say God made them do something. When people feel pressured into a decision, he says, that is usually emotions running amok, not God. He points out the inconsistency of claiming God forced an action when He did not force anyone to stop sinning.
How can I tell if a prompting is really from God?
Check it against Scripture first, because the Spirit and the Word always agree. Then give it time. Dr. Hohman waited months for his wife to hear the same thing and two weeks for his pastor’s confirmation before moving to Merrill. With Dolores, he asked for two weeks of prayer with her husband before she traveled. A genuine leading of God survives patience and confirmation.
Is this teaching only for ministers and missionaries?
No. Dr. Hohman says the leading of the Holy Spirit is not only about ministry to others. There is a ministry in your own life, too, and he describes how much he personally grew during the week in Wales. Every believer is meant to be led, because being led by the Spirit is how God shows He is our Father and we are His children, through the Holy Spirit living in the inner man.
Scripture References
All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:
- Proverbs 3:5–6 — trust in the Lord with all your heart
- Proverbs 20:27 — the spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord
- John 3:3–8 — born of the Spirit, like the wind
- Romans 8:14 and Romans 8:16 — led by the Spirit as children of God
- Genesis 1:26–27 and John 4:24 — made in the image of God, who is Spirit
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23 — spirit, soul and body
- 2 Corinthians 4:16 and 1 Peter 3:4 — the inward man
- Galatians 5:25 — walk in the Spirit
How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.
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