(2026_09_02) - Walking in the Spirit Part 3: Following the Inward Witness - Pastor Israel Ajiboye

In this episode, we continued our discussion on walking in the Spirit, with a focus on being led by the Spirit of God.It is impossible for a believer to walk in the Spirit without being led by the Spirit of God. The real man is the spirit of the man, and the Holy Spirit dwells in the spirit of the believer. This is how God communicates with man—through the spirit of the man. The Spirit bears witness with our spirits, not through our senses, minds, or bodies.Our pastor reiterated that one of the reasons we are unable to discern what is coming from our spirit is because we are often more body-conscious than spirit-conscious. The Holy Spirit does not lead us through our emotions, senses, circumstances, or coincidences. In order to discern His leading, we must become more conscious of our spirit.There are various ways the Holy Spirit can lead us, including the inward witness, the inward voice, prophecies, visions, and angels. However, the ultimate standard for every leading is the Word of God. The Holy Spirit will never lead us to do something that contradicts the Word of God.The primary way God leads us is through the inward witness. This is when the Spirit bears witness with our spirit. The inward witness is a spiritual perception produced by the Holy Spirit. It can manifest as peace, confidence, restraint, a warning, or a lack of peace. An example of the inward witness can be found in Acts 27:10, where Paul said that he perceived that their journey would result in danger and loss. The word “perceived” in this verse conveys the idea of an inward witness. The inward witness is often not dramatic; it is usually simply a spiritual perception or knowing within us.Another way the Holy Spirit leads us is through the inward voice. With the inward voice, you know what the voice is saying. However, we can sometimes become more focused on the dramatic aspect of hearing the voice because we hear people say things like, “The Holy Spirit told me this” or “The Holy Spirit told me that.” But the main purpose of the Holy Spirit speaking to us is not for us to show others that He speaks to us. The Holy Spirit speaks to us so that we can obey Him. It is not merely about hearing what the Holy Spirit says; it is about responding to His leading through obedience.Regardless of how God chooses to lead us, we must be willing to obey. Every leading must also be tested against Scripture. First John 4:1 instructs believers to test the spirits, which is why we need to be well-versed in the Word of God. We cannot accurately discern spiritual leadings if we do not know what Scripture says.There are several things we can consider when discerning whether a leading is from the Holy Spirit. Every leading of the Spirit must agree with the Word of God. We should ask ourselves whether the leading contradicts any clear commandment or principle of Scripture. We should also consider what fruit the leading produces and ask whether it is truly the Holy Spirit or simply our own personal desire. We must also examine whether our hearts were sufficiently quiet and still enough to discern the leading accurately.We can become more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit by meditating on the Word of God and practicing what we hear. We should not be merely hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word. We must allow the Word of God to take preeminence in our hearts and learn to obey quickly when we recognize a prompting from the Spirit. We must also learn to walk in love.Our emotions, minds, senses, and circumstances should never replace spiritual discernment. We must give ourselves continually to the Word of God and learn to obey the promptings of the Spirit. As we become more conscious of our spirit, grounded in the Word, and quick to obey the Holy Spirit, we become better equipped to discern His leading. This is how we can walk effectively in the Spirit