Who is Your Guide?

Who is your guide? The Holy Spirit or the world and world systems? What voice are you listening to? Does the Spirit of God lead you? 

Are other spirits guiding you and altering your God-given, purposed course?

Join Tammy Toney-Butler as she uses scriptural evidence to show how believers must be led by the Holy Spirit and have a relationship with the Lord Jesus, not just religion. 

Tammy Toney-Butler gives us powerful teachings and prophetic words. 

A purified bride (church) must rise in this hour and guide a lost generation to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A church that is non-compromising, loving, and following the steps laid out for all believers to follow throughout the scriptures and spoken Word of God. 

Tammy is a lived experience expert whose unique teaching style and trauma-focused lens perspective offer the learner an environment conducive to healing mind, body, and spirit.

Tammy Toney-Butler, as a teenager, survived the loss of her father to suicide. She overcame being a victim of child sex trafficking and is a powerful testimony of faith in action.

Tammy is outspoken in her mission to provide a trauma-responsive pulpit and compassionate, merciful lens through which one offers pastoral support. 

Join Tammy on the Reflective Hour Podcast and YouTube channel for healing support. https://reflectivehourwithtammytoneybutler.buzzsprout.com/

You can purchase her book on Amazon Kindle, "When you know, that you know, that you know there is a God." 

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tammy-Toney-Butler/author/B0DC1VXP45?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

The accompanying devotional titled A Journeying Journal to Wholeness Through The Lens of Faith can be purchased on Amazon at: 

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DN9VD5NZ/ref=monarch_sidesheet_title

Check out the ministry website at www.reflectivespacesministry.com

Click on the link to donate to further her reach and God's call on her life to minister to the sick, broken, hurting, and marginalized: 
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/4406377

https://account.venmo.com/u/Reflectivespacesministry

Hotline numbers: https://www.reflectivespacesministry.com/contact

About Tammy: https://www.reflectivespacesministry.com/about

Tammy is available to teach and empower women and men as they journey to wholeness through the Light and Love of Christ.

 Please email her at info@reflectivespacesministry.com today to book an in-person prophetic healing session.

Buy Me A Coffee
Please buy me a cup of coffee to support my work. Donations are gifts and not tax deductible.

Cash App
Support our show with a gift that is not tax deductible.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Hello, welcome to today's episode of Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney-Butler. I'm your host, but we all know who the real host of this show is, and that's Christ. Today, our episode is about who is your guide, the Holy Spirit or the world and the world systems? How do you know? How do you know who you're following? What voice you're listening to? Let's dive in and see what the Holy Spirit has for you today. Oh, Abba Father, in the name of your precious Lord Jesus, we pray. We ask that your Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. May they see you and not me. May they learn from you and not me. It's all about you. It's all about you and the good news of the gospel. Help us to have spiritual ears to hear and eyes to see so that we may be enlightened and that our human spirit is enlightened by the work of the Holy Spirit. In the mighty name of your precious son, Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen. Wow. Well, the Lord laid on my heart to begin this episode to say our hearts go out to all those in California, all those struggling, in the aftermath of the wildfires. He's with you in your storm. You may not see him, but he's there, tethered to the hem of his garment, and know he will see you through. He will see you through. He won't do it in your strength. He'll do it in his. He'll be there with you when you rebuild better than what you lost. For it's a time of stillness, looking inward, reflecting, and knowing whose you are in Christ Jesus. He's with you. He's with you even now, even when you're facing down the threat of the fires coming towards you. We get to have what we say. And as believers, we're going to join together, pray for our brothers and sisters in California and around the world who are struggling in the aftermath of traumatic experiences, natural disasters, man-made disasters, and who are forced to navigate the darkness of this world. But let the light of Christ penetrate it. Penetrate bone and marrow and renew your strength like the wings of the eagle. He's with you. He's with you. He's with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. That's part of today's episode is who's leading you? Are you being led by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit? What does that even mean? We're going to dive in and see what he's got for you now. He laid on my heart that do you have a surrendered heart? Are you led by the spirit or the world? We're going to stop and reflect and look in scripture to see how many times it speaks of being led by the spirit and not your flesh, not letting your mind, will, and emotions control you. Remember, we have a soul, live in a body, but our spirit beings. When we surrender to Jesus, make him Lord and Savior of our life, his Holy Spirit joins with our human spirit, indwells us, and we are now one in spirit with Christ Jesus. We're operating in spirit and truth, one spirit. with Christ. We're in Christ. Out of our heart should flow rivers of living water. Love, joy, peace should be our fruit. I ask you today, he asks you, what is your fruit? Does your life show Jesus to the world? That's the question that he has for you today. And does your character resemble Jesus' character, showing off his qualities to the world? Or is your flesh dictating which way you're going, what you're doing? Again, who's leading you? Is your stomach leading you? Is lust leading you? Your desire for maybe money, power, or greed? Does ego or pride or bitterness or anger or unforgiveness guide you? What motivates you? You will not find rest in man and in the world of the world systems. Only Jesus can protect you. Only our omnipresent God will be with us in times of trouble. And he wanted me to read that to you and have that front and center in what we discussed today. There's several mentions of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. It's over a hundred references of around a hundred of being guided by the Holy Spirit. And what helped me, and I'm looking at my notes, but what helped me was knowing that the Holy Spirit is also referred to as the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ. And that really helped me to know that the Holy Spirit is inside of me, guiding me, leading me into all truth, showing me the way through scripture, through the greats of the past. When we look in Romans, when we look in Acts, the book of Acts, when we look in Thessalonians and you know, the Timothys, and we just open up different books of the Bible and we look and we learn that they were led by the Holy Spirit. Remember, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. We are to follow the Holy Spirit, letting it guide us into all truth. Obedience is better than sacrifice. And faith without works is dead. Because when we surrender and come under the lordship of Jesus, then it's his will and not our own. And we operate from a place of surrender. And that surrendered heart, that obedient heart, that heart postured that allows us to be transformed and molded into little Jesuses walking around because we're his temple. We're to take him from place to place because he's the head and we're the body. But we're one in spirit. We're spirit beings. We need to look at that. We need to look closely at that when we strive for wholeness. We need to understand that we have to look at the impacts of the spirit, knowing what the spirit does, how it affects us, that we are spirit beings and we are to worship in spirit and truth. We are to worship in the spirit. So let's look at some of the scriptures and things that I had today I was looking at, I'm going to name these and you can go back and look at them. So I'm just going to name some of them. Romans eight, where it talks of following the spirit, being controlled by the Holy Spirit, us having the mindset of being led and controlled by the spirit of God. Something will control you. A spirit will guide you. Now, have you been saved? Have you accepted Lord Jesus into your heart and repented of your sins and asked him to live inside of you and ask the Holy Spirit to dwell in you, making you new from the inside out? Are you walking in the light and truth of the Spirit? Or are you still being led by other spirits? Remember, we don't wrestle against flesh. So are spirits of anger guiding you? Spirits of fear? Spirits of bitterness? There are spirits that will guide you, but you must be led by the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit leads you into all truth and down those narrow paths of righteousness for his name's sake. He protects you. He tells you. what to do, where to go, what to do. Look right, look left, or don't just look straight towards him. He will guide your every step and you will not even dash your foot on a stone because his angels will protect you. The word of God is living, breathing sharper than a two-edged sword. Remember, God spoke the world into existence. There's Acts, six to seven, where it talks about did not allow them, prevented them. So the Holy Spirit protects us. It prevents us. It convicts us. It helps us. Acts eight, twenty nine. The Holy Spirit said it speaks to our human spirit and leads us. It gives us commands. It guides us. It directs us. Acts one, seven to eight. That where the Holy Spirit comes on you. Acts two thirty eight, where it talks about repenting of your sins, turning towards God, being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The spirit of Christ. Again, Acts thirteen two talks about the Holy Spirit said he gave a command, a direct order. Remember, we're soldiers. in a war, spiritual war. And we must come under the obedience of our supreme commander and do the will of the Father. Remember, Jesus came to do the will of the Father. We are to do the will of the Father. We are to do the will, guided by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, into all truth, knowing this is the way, walk in it. This is where I need to go to speak the gospel of truth to where it will be received. This is the territory God's called me to. This is how we break off demonic strongholds. The Holy Spirit will guide you. He will be with you. He will give you the tools that you need to win every battle because it's not in your strength. It's in the strength. of Lord Jesus. When we look at Acts twenty twenty two bound by the spirit to go or controlled by your following the spirits, the commands of the spirit. Acts nineteen twenty one felt compelled by the spirit to go over again. It's this inward knowing where you're controlled, where you know where to go. or you're getting that whisper that's speaking to you to where you're following it. And um just flipping over again more in acts where it talks about in act seven fifty one not being stubborn not resisting the holy spirit not being an open rebellion knowing the way being convicted by your spirit but still choosing that sinful path still walking down that pathway of destruction of or being around that group, that crowd, and following that herd mentality instead of following the solitude and the isolation that comes from being unique and walking different from the world. Remember, we're not to fit into the world, into the world systems. We're not of the world. We're here, but we're not of the world. Our home is in heaven. None of this stuff on earth matters. This isn't our home. We are here on an assignment sent to do the will of the Father. So does your life mirror that? Or are materialistic desires, other desires getting in the way of you being able to be still and know that I'm God. Be still and follow the Holy Spirit. If he says to you, whispers to you, turn right, go into this coffee shop and maybe minister to this young woman. Nothing's by coincidence in God's kingdom. He will send you after the ones. even if the nine and nine are safe. But are you listening? Are you following? Are you being guided into all truth? Galatians five, five, five, where it says, we who live by the spirit talks about, and the spirit gives life. Faith expresses itself in love and the love of Jesus, loving your neighbor as yourself. One command, one order one directive love your neighbor as yourself talks about in five sixteen let the holy spirit guide you the the spirit gives us the desires we want to be like christ we want to you know to walk along the paths of righteousness we we crave to do the will of our father we're hungry for the word of god because we want to do what's right because we have a healthy fear of the lord when the spirit is guiding us the holy spirit and not the lust of our flesh the pride of of uh you know life um and then when we look at some more um zachariah four six not by force not by strength but by my spirit says the lord of heaven's armies And Mark, do not worry in advance what you'll say. Say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. And remember the Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Jesus, Spirit of Christ. So Christ is in us, that His Spirit, and it is bringing our human spirit into submission, our flesh into submission to His will, to where the Holy Spirit is guiding us, directing us, speaking directly into our human spirit, saying, this is the way, walk in it. This is what we should do. This is where you need to go. This is your purpose. When we look at John fourteen, twenty six, where it talks about Father sends the advocate as my representative, the Holy Spirit. He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything. John sixteen, thirteen through fifteen, the spirit of truth will guide you into all truth. It doesn't speak, does not speak on his own, but what he has heard. He'll tell you about the future. He speaks for Christ. All that belongs to God, the Father belongs to Jesus and Jesus intercedes for us. And it talks about in John four, twenty three to twenty four, worshiping the Father in spirit and truth. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. When we look at Psalm twenty three, one through six, look at the promises here. He lets me rest. He leads me. He renews me. He guides me. He is close beside you. He protects and comforts you. He feeds you, honors you, blesses you. He provides you a place to live forever and ever, a forever home. This is all our promises when we're living this Spirit-filled life, this Spirit-led life. Psalm one, forty three, ten, teach me God's Spirit leads you forward on firm footing so that we don't dash our foot against a stone. Proverbs twenty twenty seven. God's light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive. So it brings us into alignment, purging of the things that are inside of us, continuously renewing our mind and getting rid of the old mindsets so that we can step out into abundant life and to all that God has called us to be. Proverbs three, five or six. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do and he will show you the path to take. How does he do it? By the way of his Holy Spirit. Psalm one, thirty nine, seven to ten. Your spirit is always with me. No escape from it or your presence from heaven to the grave. You're with us. Your hand guides us. Your strength supports us. talking about in second peter one twenty one about the prophets were moved by the holy spirit and spoke from god so you know the lord may send you know people to speak into you and into your life and you know that it's god's talk you know god talking to you and he maybe speak to you through others so We need to be open to receiving words from others as long as they align with Scripture. And we use Scripture to back it up and it's not taken out of context. We look at Ephesians two, eight through ten, where it talks about in Christ Jesus again. we just look here philippians two twelve to thirteen uh works to help you do what is pleasing to the lord um and then you know we we look at uh james two one through twenty six where it talks about faith by itself isn't enough unless it produces good deeds it's dead and useless and it says I will show you my faith by my good deeds again does your life reflect the character of christ Does it show that you're being led by the Holy Spirit? Are you being led by flesh? Are you being led by flesh? Did God call you to that bar to drink with friends? To watch that football game? Or did he call you down the road or maybe to help your neighbor with something? Did he want you to go down to the local homeless shelter and volunteer? What are you following? The desires of your heart, which should be the heart of Christ, because remember, He lives in our heart. He dwells in us. He indwells in us. Out of the belly, another word for heart, flows rivers of living water. Do you have the heart posture of Christ, the character? When we look at Isaiah, you know, where it talks about the Spirit shows you, you know, guides you, shows you the way to go, whether to turn right, turn left. Again, Isaiah he sent his Holy Spirit to be among his people. He felt their infirmaries. I mean, we have a God. We have Lord Jesus that went to the cross. He knew what it was like to be persecuted, to be shamed, to be separated from the Father and to feel this weight that he had to carry, this burden he had to carry to set us all free. By his stripes, you were healed. I mean, we have a father that allowed his son to suffer so dearly on the cross so that we don't have to live in suffering today. We get to draw our strength from the wellspring of living water. We get to be guided by the Holy Spirit and strengthened, protected, tucked under his wing. When we look more, you know, Genesis one, one, one to two, the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. When we look in Luke two, twenty seven, spirit led Simon to the temple. Four, one, Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit, led by the spirit into the wilderness. Eleven, thirteen, he gave the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. when we look in you know titus three five where it talks of a new life a new birth through the holy spirit where the old is gone and the new is here uh second timothy three sixteen to seven where it talks about guiding us he equips us uh you know that all scripture is inspired by god in uh second timothy one seven god has not given us the spirit of fear but a power of love and a sound mind When we look at Psalm eleven talks about trusting the Lord for protection. Ezekiel thirty six, twenty six and twenty seven gives us a new heart, a new spirit in you. First John four one speak by the spirit to one Jesus Christ, our advocate pleads for us on behalf of the father. So when we look at this, we realize how important it is to be led by the Holy Spirit into all truth. And now he put on me to read, and I'll be reading out of the Life Application Study Bible, the King James Version. But first, I'm going to look at the commentary. Uh, where it, it, it, and I'm going to go into first Thessalonians where it, it talks about slowly. They walk one by one, scattering the leaves and trampling the grass under measured and heavy steps. The minister's words still echo in their minds. They hear workmen moving toward the terrible place. preparing to cover the casket of their loved one. Death, the enemy, has torn the bonded relationships of family and friends, leaving only memories and tears and loneliness. But like a golden shaft of sun piercing the winter sky, a singular truth shatters the oppressive gloom. Death is not the end. Christ is the victor over death, and there is the hope of resurrection through him. And that's part of the commentary. And it even goes on to say, you know, to be a follower of Christ meant to give up everything. Then we move down where I'm reading more of the commentary. We're looking at Paul. Then he gives the Thessalonians a handful of reminders on how to prepare themselves for the second coming. Warn the lazy, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. kind to everyone, joyful always, pray continually, give thanks, test everything that is taught, and avoid evil. Paul concludes his letter with two benedictions and a request for prayer. And so we're going to move a little bit towards five. First Thessalonians five. And I'm going to move down from twelve to about twenty eight. And there's a prayer in here. And this is Paul's final instructions. And before I do that, I just want to talk about five twenty three, which we're going to talk about. You can count on God's constant help. Realize that the Christian life is to be lived, not in our own strength, but through God's power. So remember that we don't do it in our own strength. We don't live the Christian life in our own strength. We have to do it in the power of the Holy Spirit. That's why we have the Holy Spirit to help us live this life, especially in a fallen world on earth. So Paul's final instruction, starting at first Thessalonians, and we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you. and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake, and be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit. Despise not prophesying. Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray, God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle to be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. And we see there in twenty three where it says in the very God of peace, sanctified and holy. I pray, God, your whole spirit and soul and body. so it delineates spirit, soul, and body. The spirit, soul, and body refer not so much to distinct parts of a person as to the entire being of a person. This expression is Paul's way of saying that God must be involved in every aspect of your life. It is wrong to think we can separate the spiritual life from everything else. Obeying God only in some ethereal sense or living for him only one day each week, Christ must control all of us, not just a religious part, not just one day a week. We are living in times that are dark. We can't just have religion. We have to have a relationship with Lord Jesus and be guided by his spirit. We need his strength to get through in this life that we have. For as long as we are here, we are here to fulfill a kingdom purpose. He knew it before he knitted us and put us in our mother's womb. He spoke the world into existence. God spoke us into existence. He knows everything. what it is in the assignment that we have. He already predestined us. You have work to do for the kingdom. You have work to do for the kingdom. If you're in a place of forced stillness, a lonely, dry desert place, a wilderness experience, call out to Lord Jesus. Ask Him to be Lord and Savior of your life. repent of your sins, know that he died on the cross. He was fully man, fully God, sent by Abba Father, the Son of God, who rose again three days later, is seated in heavenly places to the right side of the Father, and he guides us into all truth. Know that asking to be Lord and Savior of your life Live by the Spirit. Ask Him to have the Holy Spirit live inside of you and renew your heart and your mind so you have the heart of Christ and the mind of Christ so that you can be led by the Spirit of God and not by the world and not by spirits of fear or spirits of anger or spirits of greed or lust. You'll be led by the Holy Spirit into all truth, guided, protected, living an abundant life. That's what God has for us. Now, one more thing that he placed on me before we close this episode of Reflective Hour out. Remember, like us on Facebook. click the bell so that you get notified when we go live. Because I go live when the Holy Spirit tells me to go live. And that's when these episodes come out. Also follow Reflective Spaces Ministry on YouTube as well. And again, Reflective Hour on YouTube. Our website for the ministry is www.reflectivespacesministry.com. And you can also find hotline information there for support as well if you need it. Now, we're going to look at First Corinthians. I'm reading this time out of the New Living Translator translation. He wants me to read First Corinthians and I'm going to read into Paul's message of wisdom. When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn't use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God's secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you, I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness, timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and pervasive persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom, but in the power of God, but in the power of God. Yet when I'm among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world. who are soon forgotten know the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God. His plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it. If they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the scriptures mean when they say, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his spirit. For his spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets. No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit. And no one can know God's thoughts except God's own spirit. And we have received God's spirit, not the world's spirit. So we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it. For only those who are spiritual can understand what the spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For who can know the Lord's thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him? But we understand these things for we have the mind of Christ. We get to have revelation knowledge. We get to hear directly from God, directly in our human spirit. God's spirit speaks to our human spirit. And we get revelation knowledge. Paul said, I did not speak to you by man's wisdom, but by the spirit of God. Revelation wisdom. We get to have revealed direction of God, which guides us into all truth. That's what we get to have as believers. So I ask you again, who's leading you? Is Christ leading you? The spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit? Or is the world leading you? Use some time. Take some time to reflect. Look at your life. Does it mirror Christ to others? Can they look at you and know that you are sold out for Jesus, following him? Are you walking boldly and confidently but full of humility? Living a selfless life, not being selfish, it's hard. You won't do it in your strength, but you'll do it in his. God bless you and keep you. That's today's episode of Reflective Hour with Tammy Toney-Butler. Thank you for joining us. Holy Spirit, guide them into all truth. Strengthen them. Protect them. Give them the tools they need to have that abundant life in Christ Jesus. No fear in perfect love. There's no fear in perfect love. There's no fear in perfect love. Let his presence guide you, strengthen you, and replenish you. As you receive fresh oil, fresh oil. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Oh, thank you, Holy Spirit. Just drink from that wellspring of living water, never to run dry. Let that spirit guide you. Let it guide you into all truth. Thank you so much. That's what he has for you today. God bless you and keep you. Remember, Jesus loves you and I love you.