The work of the Holy Spirit

When a person repents of his sins and surrenders his life to Jesus, is he responding to the sweet gospel talk delivered with excellent rhetorics and apologetics, or to the skillful performance in leading a person to Christ, or to the conviction of the Holy Spirit (John 14:7) ? When a person experiences the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, light shines on him so that darkness leaves him. Then he feels the warm manifestation of God's great love, making his hardened heart soft and his feelings pure and holy. He responds in tears, asking and receiving forgiveness. His emotions get high blessing and exalting God. And behold! There is great rejoicing in heaven and on earth. A soul is set free from sin and from damnation.

The conversion experience may be the first time you experience God in spirit and in truth. If you are sensitive spiritually, you can sense the Lord even without knowing it is the Lord ( Acts 9:1-20 ). Many have experienced this but because nobody taught them, their sensors were not developed. Nobody told them that they had actually experienced God's visitation. The devil does not want you to know and understand this experience. He is cunning. He comes and speaks some truth to lead you into a lie. And God allows him for a time to teach and train you to discern.

Get out of the old generation myth and old teachings that suppress your quest for God to speak with his voice. You have become a lover of God in Christ Jesus (Rev 12; Rev 21:9; Rev 22:16-17). So how can love and intimacy develop when there is no hearing, seeing, or feeling the Lord? Love is a relationship where there is talking and touching, feeling and emoting. Because of this love, the art and science of talking and listening, obeying and having fun and pleasure with God must be fully developed (Zep 3:17). God has created you with the ability to communicate with him. Learn His technology on how he communicates. His is made of spiritual components perfectly designed and powerful in pulling down strongholds, in performing miracles, and in giving honor, praise and glory to Him.

They heard God's voice...

Adam and Eve are clearly pictured in Genesis as persons hearing, seeing, and feeling God in the Garden of Eden. Take the case of Cain who murdered Abel. God spoke to him. Inspite of his sin he heard God. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, the Judges, Samuel, David and all those godly men and women in the Bible heard God's voice. Their lives were powerful because they obeyed the Lord when they heard him. In the New Testament, one man who had not experienced such physical closeness with Jesus that his disciples did, heard his voice. He was converted He excelled in making Jesus known to the gentiles because he had a loving and intimate relationship with Jesus, having heard, seen and felt him.(Acts 9).

One guy enticed by a heathen prince with great reward to curse Israel prophesied what he heard from God (Nu.22,23). He gave an oracle which described the plan and provision, love and compassion of God for Israel. Inspite of his ability to hear God's voice, he met a tragic end (Nu.31:8) - a warning to our generation that we should not merchandise our hearing ability. The Bible speaks of many who heard. It thrilled me to know that God speaks to them and that he would speak to you and me also. The fact that God speaks is enough reason for Christians to seek his voice. But where is that voice if it does not come from his mouth? Where is that mouth if it is not where He is? He is waiting.....Enter His throne room and exalt the Lord your God. He speaks. Psalms 29:1-11.

Get rid of your fear

The fear of being deceived by the devil when a person seeks to hear God's voice is prevalent in the Body of Christ. There are risks to take but God takes the risk with us. Don't be afraid of committing honest mistakes and blunders in hearing God's voice or you will totally miss out on receiving the benefits thereof. In training, God allows you to hear the devil's voice to distinguish spirits and resist them. Therefore, get rid of fear.

There is no good reason why you should not aim to hear God.The discipline of reading and meditating on the Bible to provide guidance and leading of the Spirit is true but the understanding of how this happens is unclear. This lack of understanding can make a disciplined Christian proud and narrow minded because of the tendency to prove that he is right and what he does is effective. There is that attitude that says: Why should I learn other methods when mine is already effective and I am learning great things thru my discipline? This is pride. Your attitude must be open, willing, and aiming to learn truths and principles that draw you closer to Jesus. Learning with others purifies you of pride and false humility.

How can you learn to distinguish if you do not get to hear the different voices? Indeed there may be blunders, even mistakes but then you learn to recognize the distinctions between spirits. Become a spiritually sensitive person who hear many voices. Perfect your skill on hearing God's voice.Listen and obey His voice.

High risk

There is a huge room for you to explore and develop knowledge and understanding on the spirit realm. You can receive understanding from God if you love and seek Him for God will make you grasp truths hard to explain to the point that your image or life is threatened. If you gave your love and commitment to Jesus, this high risk is an exciting challenge, an avenue for perfection and a venue of experiencing God's awesome power.

God's language

This is my testimony: It is God who initiates me to come into His presence. I respond pouring out my heart in worship, work, rest or recreation. I express my love and worship Him by singing, strumming the guitar, saying and writing my prayers. And God responds. He talks. Then I learned that he loves to talk with me and with those who love him. He speaks spontaneously not only in King James version or Greek or some exotic foreign language I cannot understand. He also talks in my dreams and in visions. He talks even when I am not talking to him or when I am thinking of other things. He speaks in pictures or in plain words easy to comprehend. He speaks to those who earnestly seek his truth and righteousness.

He tells me of his great love. In moments of depression, I would ask: Lord do you love me? He would answer, " Yes I love you." These words he speaks manifest a loving feeling, a warm and loving feeling poured out from heaven . I feel it in my body, even with my skin and bones, heart, and spirit. Then that oppressive feeling of heaviness or depression would go away.

Step in faith not positive thinking

Faith that works miracles is activated when you receive a revelation from God. He reveals something to your spirit. Your spirit may hear His voice, see visions, smell or taste or feel His message. Then you know it is going to happen because you are certain that it is God who is visiting you and is communicating the message. Therefore, faith is not the product of positive thinking but a dynamic relationship with God--- where you receive a rhema word or revelation then respond accordingly.

Faith does not work with positive thinking. Positive thinking is a form of discipline on taking control of your mind. You think of good and noble things, thoughts that are biblical, godly, kind, loving and honoring God because you dispel evil thoughts that defile the heart. Positive thinking may serve as part of your faith only when your thoughts are thinking positively on the revelation of God.

Your mind should not be used to create thoughts on its own for a miracle to happen. This is manipulation and a form of witchcraft. God's miracles are purely coming from God's command. The Bible is very clear on this. Men of God performed miracles because they heard from God and obeyed his voice.

A mind which does not contain truth for making right choices may experience crisis and defeat. So, it is essential to develop sensitivity to discern and accept truths written in the Bible and revealed by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. Then these truths are stored in the mind to provide knowledge, wisdom, and ability to be become godly in all situations. Therefore, get connected. Be online with the Holy Spirit, your source of knowledge and wisdom.

Formula:

Logos + Rhema = Faith

Faith + Obedience = Miracles

Logos - Rhema = Positive Thinking

Rhema - Logos = Deception

Positive thinking + Prayer = Manipulation

Positive thinking + Prayer + Manipulation = Witchcraft

I had this experience of praying for sick and dying people in the belief that healing will take place. The common ministry practice is to prayerfully cite the goodness of the Lord, his blood sacrifice, death on the cross, and the common prayer verse " ...by His stripes we are healed ". Some got healed; some died. It is the death of those who were prayed for healing that bothered me. I checked my heart, my faith, and God's written word. I couldn't see anything wrong there. "Why did they die?", I asked the Lord. The Lord brought me to that place where I understood a person's life plan and span. He made me realize that praying by faith is not presenting a good plan to God for Him to execute his miracles but by hearing his voice and receiving the rhema word. From that time on I would talk to God first; get his word, know his plan, thought or word for the sick or dying person before praying.

One day, the daughter of a dying old woman sick of cancer came to me for prayers. I asked the Lord and he said, " She has to go...." On the way to the hospital, I said to the daughter that her mom will not live for long because she will not receive healing physically. I ministered love and facilitated the healing of relationships to the sick old woman and her family; then left.

The Christian daughter refused to accept that her mom won't live for long so she invited other ministers believing God for healing. After a few months her mom died.

Desire to hear God's Voice

The desire is likened to a door that opens the entry of God's voice into your spirit. Desire is like a path that leads the way to his voice or the path that connects God's voice to your spirit. It is an objective which must grow and develop in the heart and mind of a person who loves God. Its growth may create the true foundations and components necessary in building a powerful communication link to God. ( See Desire by Zeny Calderon )
The lack of desire is one of the hindrances in hearing God's voice.

The mechanics of hearing

the Spirit to spirit communication

spirit-reason + body

The human being is a spirit with body. His spirit is the dominant factor leading over his body. Mind is part of the human spirit. Normally, it is the mind or reason that dictates the response of the body. But in exploring and in learning the spirit world, the mind or reason must move aside and let the Holy Spirit teach. If the mind or reason has questions, he shall address them to the Holy Spirit. A spiritually sensitive person perceives the spirit world without understanding. So, perception should be managed by the mind or reason interactively with the Lord also using the Bible as the tangible source of truth. The Bible should be the reference of truth because without it, deceiving spirits in the spirit world can pose as angels and teachers.

Other orders

reason-spirit + body

This person initially uses his reasons and files before accepting spiritual truths then interactively connects with the Lord in spirit. He does not allow himself to accept spiritual truths without any challenge by his reason. This process slows down the acceptability of spiritual phenomena manifested by God.

mind-body + spirit

The mind or reason of this person is in tune with the physical world. Spiritual matters are least in his priorities. It is written in 1 Cor 2:14 ' The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.' This person makes intelligent choices that suits his body, not his spirit. In extreme cases, he does not go for spiritual matters. This category is where atheists belong because they intellectually refuse to accept them.

body-mind + spirit

This person is carnal. He cannot appreciate or grasp spiritual truths and experiences. His choices are based on the desires, wants and needs of his flesh rather than his reasons. The carnal and unreasonable people belong to this order.

Train your SPIRIT to control your mind

The spiritually sensitive person can sense the spirit realm. Those in this category tend to search knowledge and understanding on spirit beings, manifestations, and spiritual matters. Some of them are drawn to the New Age teachings, spiritism, faith healing, occultism, satanism, ESP, parapsychology and so forth. Some of them were converted to Christianity who experienced God's love and power. Because of their sensitivity and desire for righteousness and truth, they are led to Jesus. They responded because they heard, felt or seen the presence and power of Jesus.

The spirit is the storage room of files of past and present information or experiences since life in the womb.. It contains good and bad files, truth or deception, love or lust, forgiveness or bitterness. When deception files than truth files tend to think and understand situations or people according to its amount of truth mixed with deception. The wise thing to do is to let your spirit access God's Spirit and get his complete logos and rhema word. This process would purify you of deceptions stored in the soul. This is one reason why the Lord wants us to spend more time with him in prayer and in meditating on his word.

Renew your mind

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.(Rom 12:1-2)

The mind is sometimes the problem. Because of its files of deception, it cannot take spiritual truths hard to eat. But the determination of the Christian to be transformed because of his love for Jesus is a powerful factor in allowing new truths and experience to come in. No matter how huge or large the deception is, truth can still come in if the soul humbles and submits to the spirit and Holy Spirit. The best attitude of a teachable person is to allow new things to come in so that the human spirit and soul would process them in the presence and guidance of God's Spirit. Resisting new things because of fear and pride would not be beneficial. This attitude would only retard spiritual growth .

Contented of achievement or status

There is a point when men and women become contented with themselves for having acquired and achieved valuable things in life. This is a stage where adults settle down and reminisce. Sometimes when their authority, credibility, or ability is threatened, they put up a wall of unteachability behind the mask of pride, education, experience and age.

But the worst scenario is when this attitude is found in the young. They refuse to listen because of lack of understanding on what is being told.

Teachability must not cease as long as we live.

Delete the lies and deceptions

Our relationship with God is a dynamic process of sanctification. We are like a child getting educated by his father who teaches and trains his son in all aspects of life inside and outside the home. We grow to become fathers or mothers too, because we were created not to remain children. Life must be dynamic and it must not end somewhere. That is why we should have eternal life if we know its value.

Those who do not know its value or who do not value life do not deserve to have eternal life. It is with this simple principle that a person aims to learn values. The right values are of course those things or matters regarded by God as valuable. (Col 3:1-2).

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Hearing God's voice has eternal value. This cannot be bought or acquired by human means outside of God's ways. This ability to hear God must be the primary step before launching into anything. Harnessing this ability is possible only through love and intimacy with God. All those men and women in history who were keen in hearing God were intimate with Him. Observe those godly people keen to God's voice. They are intimate with God.

God knows our frame ( Psalms 139:15-16). He sees those files of deception stacked in our spirit, soul and body. He sees them as the antagonists rising up when truth comes in. He sees them as the spoilers of faith and the instigators of doubt and unbelief. He sees them as the frighteners and schemers of creepy and horrible things. He sees them as the bad roots which must be uprooted and burned. Because He is our Father, He deals with us not according to our sins but according to his love ( Psa 103:10-11). This is the essence of hearing his voice. He speaks truth. God is truth. Jesus is truth ( John 14:6 ). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (John 14:16-17).

How does God erase our deceptions?

By his word. His word is truth. It erases lies and deceptions. His word activates us to do his will, obey his comamnds. It is by his Spirit that we receive truth. It is not the ability of our intellect to grasp truth but by the level of humility and our determination to obey to the point of death. But what makes us die bravely if we do not love God? That love must also come from him because He first loved us ( 1 John 4:10 ). God is not after our death but after our transformation so that we will enjoy Him in eternal life ( Ezek 18:23 ).

Make a list

Make a list of all your fears, people and situations who hurt you, situations of shame, failures, insulting labels and negative words spoken against you or you have spoken about yourself. They are deceptions. Item by item, pray and speak the will of God against them. If you do not know the truth to counter the lie, ask the Spirit of Truth, seek the scriptures and you shall find. For example, you have been the butt of jokes and labels that attack your self worth, and you are going thru rejection pains. Declare the truth of who you are in Jesus: that you are in fact precious and priceless, fearfully and wonderfully made, not rejectable but always acceptable in the beloved. Declare what Jesus has done for you at the cross and after. After praying against these lies, burn your list and declare them erased in your spirit, soul and body, in the heavens and the earth. Thank the Lord and worship Him. You are now free.

Love God

Your philosophy and aim.

This is the perfect and complete motivation for hearing God. He is the reason why you have to hear him speak and tell you what is in his mind and heart. A love affair where relationship is drawn closer to Jesus. Christians who worship God with all of their hearts full of love display their sincerity and honesty boldly. They refuse to be intimidated by people, by their culture and tendencies. David demonstrated this love when he danced in worship to God at the gates of the City of David. His wife Michal mocked him which unfortunately brought curse upon her womb (2 Sam.6:12-23).

Love is a complete reason because one who loves will do anything for the loved one. We will do anything that God wants us to do. As we get closer to his heart and mind, we see that his desire is for us to hear and obey him rather than doing our own thing, or making our good plans work thinking that God is pleased by our performance rather than basking in his presence. Look at Moses who grasped the true meaning of relationship with God. He came to know God in a personal way that he pursued God's presence (Exo 33:15-16). He stayed 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain not because God dwells there but perhaps because he needed to get away from his fellow Israelites whose resentment and unbelief had defiled the atmosphere. Getting out to sanctify himself was a good move. He needed to hear God's voice so that he would know how to handle problems with his people. Moses had to receive the guidelines so that there will be order. These must come from God. His trips to Mt. Sinai indicate his total dependence on God. He had grasped the understanding that every worthwhile command and instruction can come only from God.

GOD'S VOICE: How does it sound?

First of all, understand that your spirit and God's Spirit must be linked. This hearing God's voice is a spirit to spirit communication. Is the sound of God's voice distinct in your hearing? Yes. But you must harness your skill in distinguishing it because the sound of God's voice is similar to your thought. This is a common dilemma. The crisis of mixing our thoughts and the voice of God occurs often However, we can confront this crisis and sharpen our ability to distinguish God's voice. I have observed some factors involved everytime the Lord speaks to me. If you have other observations you think is beneficial in distinguishing the voice of God, please let me know.

Here are my observations:

The sound of his voice is similar to my thought.

Sometimes, it is so loud that it is like the human voice. This is commonly known as the audible voice.

There is one distinct feeling that I feel particularly on my head. I feel it when God's presence is upon me. This makes the difference. If I feel this when I hear a voice, I know that it is God speaking to me. The absence of this feeling does not mean though that the voice is not of God. The point is, without this manifestation of his presence, the thought voice may actually be a human thought or an audio or visual frequency picked up from the atmosphere from other sources such as the spirit of another person, or a lying spirit. To me, it is basically important to tune into the presence of God first before hearing his voice.

It is fun to hear the voice of our God. You will experience how awesome, loving and wise He is. If you have experiences on hearing God's voice, please share it with us. Sharpen your spirit and let God's voice tell you: this is the way; walk in it.(Isa 30:21)

ISSW Cadets/Cadettes proceed to next lesson: Fitness For Combat