what Jerusalem gates reveal

The following study confirms what I received this morning meditating on these verses. The gates all point to Jesus! Praise God!

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Nehemiah Chapter 3

The gates of spiritual progression


3:1-8: ‘Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors… Now the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and bars. And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz made repairs. And next to him Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel made repairs… And Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors, with its bolts and its bars… And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.’



Chapter three concerns itself with the rebuilding of the walls and specifically the ten gates that separated each section. What also stands out is the people that God has recorded as doing the work. So what can we take from a chapter such as this? Well, quite a lot actually. I believe that each of the gates speak of different experiences in our Christian life that we need to come into. Their order and position is very specific and give us insight into the journey that God takes each of His children on. The layout and positioning of these gates can be seen in the picture below.





The meaning of the ten gates of Jerusalem.


Sheep Gate (vs 1,32) – The very first gate mentioned is the sheep gate. It was called the sheep gate because this was the gate which the sheep and lambs used in the sacrifice were bought through. No prizes for knowing that this speaks of the very first experience we come into in our Christian life – that is, a realisation that Jesus was the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. The sheep gate then speaks to us of the cross and the sacrifice that was made for our sins. It is the starting point of everything but you will also notice if you read the entire chapter that the sheep gate is also mentioned at the very end once we have come full circle. That is because everything starts and ends with Jesus’ death on the cross.


Fish Gate (vs 3) – The Fish gate was next to be mentioned. It was called the fish gate because the fisherman of Galilee would bring their catch in through this gate to be sold. For us, it speaks of evangelism as we have been called to be ‘fishers of men’. It is a natural progression in our Christian life that after seeing that Jesus dies for our sins, that we would want to tell others about it. Even surveys have shown that believers who have been saved less than two years win the most people to the Lord. Their simple testimony of what Jesus has done in their lives qualifies them to be great ‘fishers of men.’


Old Gate (vs 6) – The Old gate was next and this speaks to us of the old ways of truth. A young Christian having experienced the sheep gate, then the fish gate soon sees the need for experiencing the old gate. This means learning the old ways of truth that never change. Jeremiah 6:16 states ‘Thus says the Lord, Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls.’


Valley Gate (vs 13) – Examining the picture above you notice that there is a long distance before you come to the next gate, which is the valley gate. For a new Christian the Lord allows a ‘honeymoon’ type period where He teaches you and His presence is strong in your life. This can go on for some time as indicated by the positioning of the old and valley gates. But sooner or later the valley gate must come. The valley gate speaks to us of humbling and trials – valley type experiences used by the Lord for our personal growth. Never easy but the Christian needs to remember that in the natural nothing really grows on the mountain tops, but it certainly does down in the valleys. So it is in the spiritual. Never a nice experience but it always produces fruit.


Dung (Refuse) Gate (vs 14) – Again there is quite a distance to the next gate indicating that, unfortunately, the valley experience can carry on for some time. But the result of that experience is clearly seen in this next gate – the dung gate. This is the gate that they would take all the refuse and rubbish out of Jerusalem, down to the valley of Hinnom to be burned. This is what happens in our own life. Valley experiences are used by the Lord to clear away the rubbish so that true faith, refined by the fire, can come forth and produce fruit. Clearing away the rubbish in our lives is never easy but the benefits of this experience can be seen in the next gate. You will notice also that at this point of your Christian life there is a dramatic ‘turning of the corner’ that takes place. From the diagram above, up until this point we have been moving downward and the experiences have been hard, but having come to this point there is a sharp turn in the road and we begin to move upward again.


Fountain Gate (vs 15) – You will notice from the picture that the fountain gate is located extremely close to the dung gate. In other words, after a valley type experience where rubbish in our lives is cleared out and true faith comes forth, then the fountains begin to flow and it doesn’t take long! This speaks to us of the living waters of the Holy Spirit that cleanse our lives and empower us for our Christian life.


Water Gate (vs 26) - The next gate we arrive at is the water gate. The water gate is a picture I believe of the word of God and it’s effect in our life. Eph 5:26 states ‘… having washed her by the water of the word.’ It is no coincidence that this gate was located next to the fountain gate as the two often go together. The Holy Spirit is the one who makes the word of God alive to us personally, allowing cleansing, encouragement and direction to take place in our life.


Horse Gate (vs 28) - The horse gate speaks to us of warfare as horses were used in battle and became a symbol of war. Revelation 19:11 ‘I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness does He judge and make war.’ Spiritual warfare, as we will see in this entire study on Nehemiah, is a requirement of every Christian because we are all in a battle whether we know it or not. The last three gates are also prophetic I believe of the end times return of Jesus Christ. You will notice that all three gates are very close together and so are the events which they symbolise. Prophetically, the horse gate speaks of the day of the Lord and the end time judgement as recorded in the book of Revelation chapters 6-19.


East Gate (vs 29) – The east gate has been set-aside especially by God and was known by Jews for one particular event – the coming of the Messiah! Ezekiel 44:1-3 ‘… the gate that looked toward the east, and it was shut. The Lord said to me, ‘This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it.’ The east gate opens and looks toward the Mount of Olives and we know that when Jesus returns He will return to this mount. (Zech 14:4). He will then enter Jerusalem by the east gate. The east gate then speaks of the return of Jesus Christ. For our Christian life is shows us of our need to live with this hope and to long for His return. A specific crown is even given to those who do this (2 Tim 4:8). Prophetically this gate is very close to the horse gate because the day of God’s wrath ends with the coming of the Lord Jesus as described in Revelation 19.


Inspection Gate (vs 31) - The final gate is the inspection gate. This gate speaks to us of the bema seat of Christ where our lives are inspected and rewarded appropriately. In our Christian experience we should be living with this in mind. We are called to live our lives with eternity in view, caring more for the things of eternity than the temporal that we see around us. Prophetically this gate also speaks of the judgement of the nations that takes place when Jesus returns. This is recorded in the sheep and the goats judgement in Mathew 25:31-46.


(excerpts from http://www.jesusplusnothing.com/studies/online/nehem3.htm )

CHAPTER ONE: PROLOGUE- IN THE BEGINNING

One man’s journey in the Holy Spirit
chapter one: prologue- in the beginning
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and The Word was God. (John 1:1)

Jack was a man who loved reading and could spend all his time submerged in the ocean of knowledge without knowing other desires. After all he had reached an age the conventional world called retirement and had time in his hand. He was new to this city and had kept a low profile, living like a hermit. Not because he was very religious, but because by nature he was a detached man and socializing was not his favorite word. Neither was any pastime that did not have any meaningful purpose able to draw him. To him, meaning could only be derived from the depth and breadth of knowledge. Socializing or engaging in anything superficially, however satisfying to the emotion, was meaningless. To him, the mind ruled. Anything not of the ration was to be viewed with suspicion and skepticism.

He performed his religious duty alright, including attending a church weekly and giving whatever small sum of money he could to charity. He read the Bible and duly treated other brethren with respect and kindness. He lived humbly with his wife and kept a mongrel dog as a guard dog. He liked to have trees around as a green shield that blocked off the dust and noise from neighbors and traffic that passed by. So he maintained a small garden with lush green trees lining its outer walls. The garden was modeled after an English courtyard for practical purpose so it would not demand much time and effort to up-keep.

Having no good library around, he relied a lot on buying seasonal discounted books in bulk so that his appetite might be satiated for a season. However, his all time favorite was the Bible. He collected not less than ten Bibles and had spent scores of years as far as he could remember reading the Bible daily without fail. He read books on religions, politics, philosophies, literature, economics and management (which happened to be his first occupation), health psychology (his second occupation), medicine (his wife’s occupation), classic children stories, classic detective stories, classic science fictions, lastly, poetry and fictions written by a few favorite writers.

However, this book was not about Jack. This book was based on what Jack had recorded in his journal when he was taken over completely by the Holy Spirit along a journey in the Holy Spirit.

Jack was in the habit of keeping a journal about ideas that interested him from the reading he made daily, mostly from the Bible. Sometimes he recorded some passages from other books too when he found them interesting to remember. Perhaps he was thinking of using them as quotations later. Sometimes around the middle of the second month of the ninth year after the second millennium, Jack started a new religious venture. He signed up as an intercessor for the churches of the city where he resided.

He happened to attend a worship service one Sunday morning and he was asked to sign up for a 7/24 weekly Friday-Saturday 6am-6am prayer chain. He only needed to choose one hour slot out of the 24 hours. He chose to pray at 6am-7am every Friday. It seemed easy enough as he was an early riser. He was given a little guide booklet to read and prayed the model prayers if he ran out of words of his own. So armed with the booklet and a little pamphlet of songs he felt ready to embark on this noble project on his own in the comfort of his home.

Of course, he was mistaken. That was how his amazing journey began.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

July 9, 2009

NEW LIVING FOR YOU TODAY

TODAY’S NEW LIVING BIBLE VERSES

Romans 12

A Living Sacrifice to God

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.


6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.


9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.


14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!


17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.


19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,


“I will take revenge;

I will pay them back,”

Says the Lord.


20 Instead,


“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.

If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap

burning coals of shame on their heads.”


21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Let the weak say I am strong

Isaiah 35
Hope for Restoration
1 Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.
2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the Lord will display his glory,
the splendor of our God.
3 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
and encourage those who have weak knees.
4 Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.”
5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
and unplug the ears of the deaf.
6 The lame will leap like a deer,
and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
and streams will water the wasteland.
7 The parched ground will become a pool,
and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.
Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish
where desert jackals once lived.
8 And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
It will be named the Highway of Holiness.
Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;
fools will never walk there.
9 Lions will not lurk along its course,
nor any other ferocious beasts.
There will be no other dangers.
Only the redeemed will walk on it.
10 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
They will enter Jerusalem[a] singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

What The Lord Has Done In Me

What The Lord Has Done In Me
VERSE 1:
C G C
Let the weak say, "I am strong."
F Am
Let the poor say, "I am rich."
G/B C G C
Let the blind say, "I can see;
Dm7 G C
It's what the Lord has done in me."
(repeat)

CHORUS:
Am G Am F C
Ho-sanna, hosanna to the Lamb that was slain.
Am G Am G/B C G C
Ho-sanna, hosanna, Jesus died and rose a-gain.


VERSE 2:
G C G C
In-to the river I will wade.
F Am
There my sins are washed a-way.
G/B C G C
From the heavens mercy streams
Dm7 G C
Of the Saviour's love for me.


VERSE 3:
C G C
I will rise from waters deep
F Am
Into the saving arms of God.
G/B C G C
I will sing salvation songs;
Dm7 G C
Jesus Christ has set me free.
©1998 Reuben Morgan / Hillsong Music Australia
Words and Music by Reuben Morgan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4H6Uv7BI7I&feature=related

day 123: one man’s journey in the Holy Spirit

Three months have passed with a lot of drastic changes in my life. Looking back, the journey was all about God the Holy Spirit. When I first started I never expected the shift moving of events and transforming power of the Holy Spirit. I was full of my own ideas of doing some religious services on my own. However, as I went through them, day after day, I realized that they were not as simple as I initially thought. For example, the momentum would have slowed down and died off if I had to carry on depending on my own effort to live Biblically and interceding as a church member performing his religious duty.
Thank God it was not like that. The Holy Spirit began to emerge and take charge as I continued to seek Him. The Holy Spirit took charge of the time, the length of time, the contents, the forms (methods), and the outcome. The Holy Spirit was the teacher, the motivating factor, the initiator, the power supplier, the master. It was indeed an exciting journey.

Most of the events happened in the inside. Some manifested in the outside of my being. Signs and wonders. For example, prior to the transformation, I dreaded singing. During church worship most times I maintained my silence. Occasionally I sang when the songs were familiar and meaningful to me. In the past three months I developed a liking for singing and even sing songs in the Spirit and some are really nice to my ears.

Another area of dread was prayer (when I had nothing to pray for). I stopped joining a group of business men who met during lunch time to pray, many years ago, not because I could not spare the time, but because I did not quite believe that those prayers worked. Many years ago one brother in Christ made it a point to come to my office during lunch time to pray and we were enthusiastic for awhile. After sometime we reduced the frequency and finally we stopped the prayer session entirely. I had led cell groups for years and prayed the routine prayers week after week, month after month, until none of us felt them really helping much. Singing and prayers became part of the rituals we did as part of the religion.

When the Holy Spirit took over, I was revamped inside out. Songs and prayers could stretch from one hour to two and half hours! All by myself! Sleeping four hours and not feeling tired the next day was not rare. How did the Holy Spirit take over?

I believe it started when I started to take God seriously. My early morning worship time helped me to be focused on God and the more focused I was the more I could sense the reality of His presence. At first I used faith to believe whether I sensed anything or not. Then I learned to appreciate the songs I sang. Then I became bold enough to ask the Holy Spirit to choose songs for me and subsequently prayers for me. Lately I asked Him to show me verses to read. God helped me a lot in this progress. He let me see some pictures, some words, and hear some tunes in my mind/heart. As I received messages through all these mediums (words, pictures, dreams, songs) I grew bolder and more confident of receiving the guidance of the Holy Spirit and answers from God.

Yes, it takes time and effort to seek God. However, it is worthwhile to give all to this quest. I never thought I could hear God’s voice before. But now I can even persuade others that they too can hear God’s voice. Believe me, it is wonderful.

Jesus has promised very clearly the following:

1. He will show Himself to those who love Him.

2. He will come and stay with those who love Him (those who keep Jesus’ commandments).

3. God will send the Holy Spirit to teach us all things and about what Jesus has said.

John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

AAA Jack

DAY 119-122: MORE SIGNS AND WONDERS AND MIRACLES

Prophet Isaiah thus recorded, ‘Thus says the Lord, the Holy One for Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; and concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.”’ (Isaiah 45:11)
When I read of this verse previously I always wondered how we could ever ask God to tell us things about ourselves. But this is God’s saying. All we need to do is ask. I did ask before but could not differentiate what was from God and what was from my own thoughts. So I had stopped asking after awhile many years ago.
I believe the best thing in one’s life is to know that God is real and He is good. The more years we have lived the more we appreciate the need to know God and be assured of a place in God’s kingdom. I used to think that God was a faraway ‘person’ or being who had nothing to do with me except perhaps on the Lord’s day when I went to church for a mere 1-2 hours religious service.
Recently I have discovered that God is real here and He is present even in the daily living matters which I used to think too small for Him. Yesterday we had to give a very important talk on how to live a positive, optimistic life Biblically. After I prepared the PowerPoint presentation, I saved it in a pen drive memory key. I tested the file in the key and found it functioning alright. However before we left for the talk the speaker asked me to delete two slides so I changed the presentation in my computer accordingly and took out the key and replaced the file. After that I suddenly decided to save a back up file in another memory key as well. Instead of copying and transferring the file from the first key to the second one, I decided to save the talk from the master copy in my computer. Then I carried both keys to the talk.
On reaching there I tested the first memory key in the church computer, and the key failed to work as it was virus infected. The files were blank. I took out my back up key and it worked perfectly. Otherwise the speaker would have a tough time using oral illustration alone for the solid two and half hours talk. The talk went well and the audience which consisted of mainly older and middle aged folks sat through the two whole sessions attentively and with obvious enthusiasm. It was the best I had heard so far, being very much led by the Holy Spirit.
To me it was a miracle. I have never prepared a back up for any of our previous talks all these years. I was always confident that the memory key would work perfectly. Yesterday I was led by the Holy Spirit to back up and bring it along. When I did that I was puzzled but I just obeyed without question. It turned out that the Holy Spirit knew what I did not know and He saved the day!
This talk was important to us as this was the first talk we presented with the overt help from the Holy Spirit. The speaker did the writing and has prayed for Holy Spirit guidance all along. I did the typing and visuals. We used to pray for every talk too, but we did not know about spiritual matter then. So we depended on our human mind and effort. This time we knew that the spiritual world is very much involved and we really need to listen to the Holy Spirit through out. Our morning and evening worships as led by the Holy Spirit helped us to be more focused and clear about what we were to share.
On the night before the talk I thought the talk was to be held in a common community open place at some low cost housing flats. So I prayed for angels to encamp around. Then I indeed saw lots of huge angels cordoning off a place (which I could not see).
Yesterday morning I was led to pray for that church to be Spirit-filled etc. Then I heard God telling me (for the first time He talked to me as in a conversation) He has heard and answered my prayer, and has taken care of things, and His presence will be there! I was surprised and honored. I was speechless but I thanked Him.
Then He told me to go on and pray for an African country for an 85 years old missionary doctor who, having served there for over 50 years is still faithfully serving the Lord. When I finished praying I asked what Bible verses I should read and I was led to read a chapter in Hosea, John, James (no chapter was given, so I presumed the whole book) and psalm. I read all the verses and left James to be read at night.
When we were on the way to the talk, the speaker realized my misconception about the place and told me that the talk was in a church and not as I thought earlier. I was relieved and realized why God said His presence will be there and asked me not to worry!
The end result was that the talk was carried out as planned by the Holy Spirit. In the second part of the talk the speaker did not follow the original text at all. Instead she gave a personal testimony which was very touching to many of the audience who later gave their feedback.
In the evening when I read James I read the whole book but then I thought I would just ask what chapter the Holy Spirit wants me to pay attention to. I immediately got the message that it was chapter 3 (about our speech). So I read it again and prayed over it. It was indeed a Spirit led passage as the speaker’s talk that day was about controlling our way of talking and the contents thereof which came out of our hearts!
To be led by the Holy Spirit is wonderful. We are indeed thankful for God to have intervened and taken part.
Yes, sons and daughters of God can ask God about your lives, your future, your pending decisions, choices to make, directions and paths to take, your career, your relationship, your health and so on. Do ask and wait for answer. Listen carefully to the still small voice. I have personally found that the words from the Holy Spirit usually flow smoothly without hesitations. There is no time for me to write down. There is no time for me to think. They can come as if I am thinking. They also come in the way I received yesterday as in a conversation.
One thing to bear in mind is, do not be in a hurry. God has eternity on His side. He created us to worship and minister to Him. You need to come and worship Him and seek Him first. Do not rush into prayers and requests without being prompted by the Holy Spirit. Do not babble a one sided speech. Listen in quietness and rest. Endure long silence.
Listen today to God and you will be greatly blessed!
AAA Jack

Time to hear God's voice

How To: Hear God's Voice
By Andrew Wommack

One of the greatest benefits of our salvation has to be that of hearing God speak to us personally. There can be no intimate relationship with our heavenly Father without it. But, as easy as it is for us to speak to Him, the average Christian has a hard time hearing His voice. This is not the way the Lord intended it to be.

Learning to clearly distinguish God's voice is invaluable. Instead of going through life blindly, we can have the wisdom of God guide and protect us. There isn't a single person receiving this letter who couldn't have their life radically transformed by hearing the voice of the Lord better. The worst marital problem is one word from the Lord away from a total turnaround. If you have sickness or disease, one living word from the Lord will instantly heal you. If you are in financial crisis, the Lord knows exactly how to turn your situation around. It's just a matter of hearing His voice.

The Lord constantly speaks to us and gives us His direction. It's never the Lord who is not speaking, but it's us who are not hearing. Jesus made some radical statements about hearing His voice in John 10:3-5. He was speaking about Himself as the Shepherd of the sheep and the only way to enter the sheepfold.

"To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers."

Notice that He said in verse 3, His sheep hear His voice. He didn't say His sheep CAN hear His voice or SHOULD hear His voice. He made the emphatic statement that His sheep DO hear His voice. Most Christians would question the accuracy of that statement since their experiences don't line up. But it's not what Jesus said that is wrong; all true believers can and do hear the voice of God; they just don't recognize what they are hearing as being God's voice.

Radio and television stations transmit twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; but we only hear them when we turn the receiver on and tune it in. Failure to hear the signal doesn't mean the station isn't transmitting. Likewise, God is constantly transmitting His voice to His sheep, but few are turned on and tuned in. Most Christians are busy pleading with God in prayer to transmit when the problem is with their receivers.

The first thing we need to do is fix our receivers — believe that God is already speaking and start listening. However, that takes time, effort, and focus. The average Christian's lifestyle is so busy, it isn't conducive to hearing God's voice. For instance, what is your typical answer to the question, "How are you?" Many of you probably answer something about being very busy. I often say, "I'm busier than a one-arm paper hanger." All of us seem to be busier than ever, and that's one of the BIG reasons we don't hear the voice of the Lord better. We're just too busy.

Psalm 46:10 says,

"Be still, and know that I am God."

It's in stillness, not busyness, that we tune our spiritual ears to hear the voice of God. The Lord always speaks to us in that "STILL, small voice" (1 Kings 19:12, emphasis mine), but often it's drowned out amid all the turmoil of our daily lives.

Second, and this is very important, most often we mistake the voice of the Lord for our own thoughts. That's right. I said the voice of the Lord comes to us in our own thoughts.

John 4:24 says,

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

This is saying that communication with God is Spirit to spirit, not brain to brain or mouth to ear, the way we communicate in the physical realm. The Lord speaks to our spirits, not in words, but in thoughts and impressions. Then our spirits speak to us in words like, "I think the Lord wants me to do this or that." The Lord doesn't typically say "You do this or that," but He will impress your spirit to do something, and then your spirit says, "I think I should do . . ." Therefore, we often miss the leading of the Lord, thinking it's our own thoughts.

Every one of us has done something stupid and afterwards said, "I knew that was the wrong thing to do." We didn't feel right about our decision, but we followed logic or pressure only to find that our impression was actually the Lord speaking to us. I learned this the hard way while pastoring in Pritchet, Colorado.

All the elders of the church were custom combiners. Six months of the year, they were gone following the wheat harvest. They insisted that we ordain another elder who would always be there. Their choice for eldership, I had nothing against, but as I prayed about this man and his wife, I didn't feel right ordaining him as an elder. However, being a man, I went with logic instead of my heart.

Within two weeks of the others leaving for wheat harvest, this new elder turned into the devil himself. In his reports to the elders, he accused me of stealing money from the church, committing adultery, drinking, smoking, and everything else you can imagine. It was a terrible experience. As soon as this man showed his true colors, I knew in my heart that the feelings and thoughts I had were the Lord speaking to me, and I had dismissed them as my own. I made a decision right then and there that I would never ignore my heart again.

Psalm 37:4 says,

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

This verse has often been interpreted to mean that the Lord will give you whatever you want and has been used to justify selfishness, greed, and even adultery. But it doesn't mean that the Lord will give you whatever you want; it means that when you are seeking the Lord, He will put His wants or desires into your heart. He will make His desires become your desires. The Lord changes your "want to."

I once was planning a trip to Costa Rica, a place I had been before, and was excited to be returning to. Yet, as I prayed about it, I lost my desire to go. Instead, I actually felt dread about going. The first thing I did when that happened was make sure I was really seeking the Lord with my whole heart. While on a road trip, I spent seventeen hours praying in tongues, and the more I got my mind stayed on the Lord, the less I wanted to go back to Costa Rica. On the strength of that alone, I canceled the trip.

When the people of Costa Rica asked why, all I could tell them was I didn't want to go. That was hard to do, and I'm not sure they understood. The plane I had booked my flight on crashed on take-off from Mexico City, killing all 169 persons onboard. The Lord warned me of that and saved my life, not by saying, "Don't go to Costa Rica," but, by communicating to my spirit and taking away my desire to go. That is the dominate way the Lord speaks to us, and we often miss that kind of communication.

One of the most important decisions of my life came in 1968. I was in college when the Lord radically touched my life, and all my desires changed. I didn't want to be in college anymore, and following those new desires, I made the decision to quit school. Then all hell broke loose. My mother didn't understand, and she quit talking to me for a time. Leaders in my church told me I was hearing from the devil. I stood to lose $350 per month in government support from my father's social security, and I would lose my student deferment from the draft. Without the deferment, I stood a good chance of ending up in Vietnam.

Because of these adverse reactions to my decision, I backed off for a while and was absolutely miserable. This continued for two months until I couldn’t take it anymore, and one night the Lord finally spoke to me through Romans 14:23, which says,

"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin."

I realized I was in sin because of indecision. I determined to make a faith decision that night and stick with it. As I prayed and studied the Word for guidance, I found Colossians 3:15, which says,

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts."

The Lord spoke to me that I was to head in the direction that gave me the most peace. To be truthful, I didn't have total peace in any direction, but just as an umpire has to make a decision and stick with it, I needed to make the call. I had the most peace about quitting school, so I made the call and stepped out of indecision into faith, to the best of my understanding. Within twenty-four hours the Lord gave me such confirmation and joy that I have never doubted the wisdom of that decision since. That one decision, possibly more than any other, set my life on a course that has brought me to where I am today.

I am convinced that our gracious heavenly Father speaks to every one of His children constantly, giving us all the information and guidance we need to be total overcomers. There isn't a problem with His transmitter; it's our receiver that needs help.

I have a three-part teaching album called How to: Hear God's Voice that expounds on this in greater detail. I teach this every year to our second-year CBC students and see powerful results. Most people are imploring God to speak, when it's our hearing that needs to be adjusted. Taking this faith-stance that God is speaking and then learning to listen and obey will transform your relationship with the Lord. It could save your life just as it did mine.


http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/gods_voice

http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1030