The Spirit's Ministry in Connection to Hearing God
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:" - Hosea 4:4
It has been a subject that has been hot on my heart for quite some time. I knew there was a connection somewhere and I knew it was important. Spring of 2016, I went on a fast to hear direction (in another area of life), but out of that time set aside, I got more than one answer I was seeking. Pieces to the puzzle were finally put together for me in this area.
I hope that it will be a landmark for you in your relationship with God!!
"My people perish (run aimlessly) for lack of knowledge..." Amplified Version. Why should we run aimlessly when we have a manual how the kingdom operates!
Hearing the Voice of God is connected to the function of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life... in other words, the Holy Spirit plays a very important part in hearing the written and spoken word of God. How? Track with me... this is what I saw:
John 14:22-26
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"
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.
24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
25 "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.
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." (NKJ)
So, from Jesus' mouth: the word kept married with the Holy Spirit's ministry is how Jesus planned to manifest Himself (the Word made flesh) to us.
2 Corinthians 3:8,18 4:1 "how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?... But we all, with open face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord... Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
So, "How will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious" What is the ministry of the spirit? Glory = manifestation of the word. (John 1:14) If the Holy Spirit's ministry is glorious, it means that His ministry is directly involved with the manifestation of God's word.
* To Manifest in the Webster's Dictionary means: 1. to make Plain, open, clearly visible to the eye or obvious to the understanding; apparent; not obscure or difficult to be seen or understood...
So the Spirit's job is to manifest the written and spoken word of God in your life. But He first manifests that word to your heart.
Focus with me here:
22 ..."Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"
23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and
24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
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." (NKJ)
- John 14:22,23,24,26
Jesus is saying the Holy Spirit will MANIFEST the spoken and written word that you KEEP.
Keep in the Webster's Dictionary means:
1. To hold; to retain in one's power or possession; not to lose or part with; as, to keep a house or a farm (garden); to keep any thing in the memory, mind or heart.
2. To have in custody for security or preservation.
4. To preserve from falling or from danger; to protect; to guard or sustain.
6. To tend; to have the care of.
19. To maintain; not to intermit; as, to keep watch or guard.
* You KEEP the written and spoken word of God... The Holy Spirit's function is to make it manifest to you (in your understanding as well as a physical manifestation) Sometimes, when God speaks something to you or you read something in the Bible, your first response is "I do not understand that or see how it fits together!" Do NOT throw that word out. KEEP it. The Holy Spirit's job is to make it clear (manifest) to you. There is an answer to everything... never reject the one sent to give you the answer just because you can't figure it out by yourself! You're supposed to operate with the Help of the Holy Spirit!
John 16:13-14
13 "However, when He, the (Holy) Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 "He will glorify (manifest) Me, (The WORD "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God" -John 1:1) for He (the Holy Spirit) will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. (NKJ)
I want to note something... Sometimes, when there is a lot of noise and distractions in your life, you have to step back from the things that are filling your mind so that you can hear clearly. The Holy Spirit is constantly giving guidance...
Getting back on track... Here is an important picture of how the Spirit and the Word work together:
Genesis 1:1-3
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. (NIV)
The Holy Spirit was just waiting for the Word... Why? Because His job is to act on God's spoken or written word and make it manifest... in this case, it was LIGHT. "And God said..." the Spirit's job was to make it clearly seen, understood, felt, etc. Light showed up!
When God speaks a spoken word or shows you a written word from the Bible... you KEEP it, the Holy Spirit's job is to make it MANIFEST to you and in your life. Do not ignore His role. Operate with Him. The Word and the Holy Spirit function hand in hand - whether it is spoken or written.
John 1:14 - "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory (manifestation), the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
(NKJ)
In conclusion, the wisdom of God cannot be calculated or fathomed with the head alone. It takes the function of the Holy Spirit making that word clear and visible to you.
That's how come when you are listening to a sermon you are able to see pieces put together that you had been asking about or an answer come to a life question. That's how when you are reading a verse you are reminded of another you read and a connection is made... That's how in your prayer time or just walking to the car, you are brought direction and wisdom (that never contradicts the word or the law of love).
The Holy Spirit plays a very important part in hearing the written and spoken word of God.
..."Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" - John 14: 22
KEEP the written/ spoken word and let the Holy Spirit MANIFEST it to you!
It is the job of the Helper, Holy Spirit to make the voice of God manifest to you. Why? Because the wisdom of God cannot be calculated or fathomed with the head alone... it takes the Holy Spirit making it clear and visible to you... That wisdom has been hidden from the world to be made manifest to you.
1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory (manifestation to us),
(NKJ)
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