My Moslem friend Ishmael wanted to know how I could hear God. I tried to explain that I could hear God through the Holy Spirit that Jesus sent us at Pentecost, in fulfillment of the promise He made;
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever– the Spirit of truth”. John 14:16
He, the Holy Spirit was an alien concept for Ishmael …
“The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:17
Unfortunately I was unable to convince Ishmael, who believed my book (the Bible) had been changed. A God who seeks us out and speaks to us was outside his paradigm. As for me, a God who doesn’t speak to us is a lifeless idol. I have found that when the Holy Spirit speaks, He always agrees with the word, the Bible, and He always confirms what is heard.
How can God speak to us if we don’t read the Bible? He has to resort to signs and speaking through other people. He wants us to do more than hear about Him, He wants us to hear from Him.
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word”. Romans 10:17. The more the Bible is read, the more the Lord can say. Faith grows. Relationship grows.
In the last days God promised He would pour out His Spirit on all people.
“Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:28 and Acts 2.
With that, we have to test the spirits;
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1
We were at a church where the Pastors followed the Lakeland revival without checking it against scripture. Anyone who disagreed with it was a “Pharisee”. My husband and I tested the spirit and didn’t buy into it. We were going over to Florida anyway to see family, and promised our friends in the church that we’d check the revival out while over there.
So we went to Lakeland one hot August night in 2008 with my husband’s Uncle and Aunt, and found we were right about the false prophets. Todd Bentley wasn’t there, he’d been made to leave the week before after having an affair with an intern. That didn’t mean the Lord hadn’t been active in Lakeland, I know God would have had mercy on the hungry and needy folk who had gone there. Still it wasn’t a good look. It misrepresented Jesus, and caused a lot of confusion for churches like the one we attended. We have been wary of this sort of thing ever since.
We went to the Assemblies of God site to see if they had a statement about the revival. They did. Is Jesus Christ exalted, and is the Word of God proclaimed? “The Holy Spirit to a mighty river, and the Scriptures to the banks of that river. Great harm occurs when the river overruns the banks, but that river does great good when it stays within the banks.” – AG Statement on Revival.
If we dream a prophetic dream, what does it say in context with his word? Anything else is slumber. It’s time for us to awaken from our slumber, and show our Master we are waiting for His return.
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. Luke 12:35-38
While we are watching and waiting for our master’s return, the world is watching us. We are ambassadors for the King. I talked in an earlier post about the two commandments Jesus gave us, to love the Lord our God and love our neighbour. What would the world look like if we all did this I asked?
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.
And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” Romans 13:9-14
Next time Jesus comes, He will be coming in power. The Lion of Judah is not a tame lion. Have you ever seen the movie about Christian the Lion? Two guys in London raised him from a cub, and got Christian back to Africa to live out his life as a wild lion. They reunited with him years later, and Christian remembered them. Their joyous reunion is a beautiful thing to behold.
Could you imagine meeting that lion in the wilderness not having a relationship with him?
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6
Seek him now and live, or bow down to Him later and die.
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