WBS.018
FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
HEARING THE VOICE OF
IAUE – V
Acts 27:23 For this very night an angel of Elohim, to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me.
I
can well imagine that some have come to these postings about hearing the voice
of IAUE hoping to find some methodologies like sitting in a quiet room alone,
closing your eyes and whispering a prayer asking Him to speak, then waiting to
hear that still small voice people speak about so often in church services. The problem with such advice is, until the
orientation of one’s heart is to obey the voice of IAUE, one can never be
certain whose voice is being heard.
Remember the passage in John 15 about the sheep knowing the shepherd’s
voice? It talks about others who would
speak to the sheep in order to mislead them from the way they should go. It speaks of a destroyer who wants to ruin
your life. This is why, if you will
recall, that our “experiment” for the novice listener was to determine to obey
instantly what they think they have heard; for in the act of obedience, they
will receive almost immediate confirmation of the source of the voice they are
obeying. To be predisposed to do the
will of Elohim is the prerequisite for confident hearing.
Hearing
the voice of the Spirit speaking on behalf of IAUE and on behalf of Yahushua is
not a novelty intended for your amusement.
It is not something designed to entertain; and it is certainly not
something provided in order to give you with another option of what to do, only
to be weighed by your own mind and intellect to determine IF it is the best course of action for you to choose for life. If you begin a pattern of hearing His voice,
but choosing not to obey it; you will discover that His voice will become
progressively more difficult to discern, until you reach a place of utter
darkness.
I
was impressed while reading in the Book of Acts, this morning, that in the dire
circumstances of being tossed relentlessly across the sea by a hurricane, the
apostle Paul addressed the terrified crew by identifying himself first as
someone who BELONGED to Elohim (He was owned by Him. He was the property of Elohim.); and after
being identified as one who belonged to Elohim, he states that he served
Elohim.
Acts 27:23 …Elohim, to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me.
This
is the mindset of a man who has walked in obedience for many years, suffering
all manner of hardship and humiliation on behalf of his faith and duty to
Elohim. His commitment to obeying the voice of IAUE was long established in his
heart. In the midst of tumultuous winds, the constant crashing of waves, and
the hope-killing fear that swept over the entire crew, Paul heard…and he heard
very accurately. It is one thing to hear
the voice of IAUE when alone and quiet in peaceful surroundings; but another
thing altogether when death is staring you in the face, and peace and quiet is
nowhere to be found. Hearing the voice
of IAUE, however, is no different to the obedient disciple, whether his life is
in quietness or in chaos.
Over
the past few months, this blog has had readers from the USA, Canada, Brazil,
England, Russia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, China,
and others. Not all have the benefit of
living in serene environments. I would
imagine some have quite difficult lives.
Hearing the voice of IAUE is as free and available to them as it is to
those who have very comfortable lives.
Actually, they have an advantage over the “comfortable,” because they do
not have the luxury of all the choices many of us have in life; and hearing the
clear direction of IAUE is far more important to their physical existence as it
is to others. Thus, their purpose of
heart to obey His voice makes them less confused by the options the flesh
offers those who live in comfort.
The
willingness of IAUE to speak to us is not in question. Throughout the Scriptures we are commanded
over and over again to listen to the voice of IAUE. The fact that we are repeatedly commanded to
listen is evidence enough that He is speaking.
I cannot stress enough the importance of the connection between hearing
and obeying. Paul understood that he
both belonged to Elohim and served Elohim.
Another
issue that must be addressed is motive.
Yes, motive. What is the REASON
why you want to hear the voice of the Spirit?
I know in some parts of the world this might sound really stupid and
idiotic; but it is a very prevalent problem in churches in the USA. Men and women want to be able to say “The
Spirit spoke to me,” in order to look spiritual and superior. Some in positions of ministry depend upon
this as a credential to validate their place of esteem in the church. This is purely a fleshly motive. Others, having heard absolutely nothing at
all will say, “The Spirit told me…” simply to avoid doing something the Spirit
really has said; or to us the Holy Spirit as a trump card to get someone to
decide their way in some decision that must be made. For example, if you think you should do one
thing, and someone else says, “Well, the Spirit spoke to me this morning and
said you should do this, instead.” Which
direction has the greater credibility?
What you think, or what the Spirit said?
This motive is to manipulate; and it is wickedness. The only motive we should have in hearing the
voice of the Spirit is obedience.
We
mentioned in the last posting when it comes to hearing and understanding the
voice of the Spirit, it is very important to read and study the
Scriptures. This is not referring to a
five minute quiet time in the morning.
This is digesting large portions of Scripture on a daily basis;
absorbing the Scriptures as a whole so the Holy Spirit may do two things for
you.
1. He will use the Scriptures you have read to
teach you and to guide you into Truth.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to
your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of
truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of
himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew
you things to come.
If
the Scripture is not “in you” by virtue of reading, studying or listening to it,
He cannot bring it to your remembrance, or teach you what it means. The more
saturated you become with the Scripture, the greater will be your capacity to
recognize and to hear the voice of the Spirit.
The Scriptures are a catalyst.
The more you confront them, the more the Holy Spirit will speak to
you. This is one of the reasons why so
few truly know His voice. They have
spent so very little time in the Scriptures.
2. The more Scripture you have put inside of
you (by reading, studying or listening to it), the more the Holy Spirit may use
to begin to weave the Scriptures together and produce understandings of the way
a spiritual man should think about any given subject. It is not reasonable, for
example, for anyone to say he has a grasp on the teachings of the book of
Galatians if he has never read or studied the book of Exodus. Every book of the Scripture enlarges ones
understanding of every other book. Through this, the Holy Spirit will override and
rewrite the mental programs we have established in our mind through the years. This process is how our mind is renewed to
know and understand the will of Elohim.
Rom 12:2 And be
not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
Elohim.
The
way that the “natural man” thinks and processes circumstances and issues is not
the way a “spiritual man” evaluates the exact same things. One is reliant upon
his own sense of right and wrong and judgment.
This is done principally upon the foundation of what is perceived to be good
or desirable, more beneficial, for that person…a selfish motive. A spiritual man only needs to know what the
Master wants. How that affects him
personally is of no concern to him.
Until this separation, this divide, occurs in the mind of the man, he
can never be confident of the voice of the Spirit. James says this man is double-minded, and can
expect nothing from IAUE (James 1:5-8).
The apostle Paul says as much in the verse before this one.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of Elohim,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Elohim,
which is your reasonable service.
A
sacrifice is something whose life is poured out before Elohim, something that
is killed, something that is dead. We
are called to be LIVING sacrifices. We
are to offer our physical bodies, our physical life in this world unto
Elohim. Our relationship to our own life
should be as though we were dead. We
have given our bodies to Elohim as a sacrifice; and yet we continue to live;
only now He may use our body, our life, as He pleases. We are dead to ourselves and alive unto
Elohim. We belong to Elohim; and we serve Elohim. This is the foundation for hearing His
voice. This is the starting point of
truly walking in the leading of the Spirit, knowing the shepherd’s voice and
understanding the will of the Father in all matters.
One
thing I have taught through the years every time I have ever taught on hearing
the voice of the Spirit is this: The
Spirit may wait six minutes to speak just to see if you will only wait five
minutes to listen. You see, it is no
mystery to the Spirit how important it is that we hear and know His voice. He understands that for the disciple of
Messiah, hearing His voice is crucial to our spiritual life. The question is
how important is it to us to hear his voice?
Sometimes we feel that we don’t want to hear Him; because we don’t want
to hear what He has to say. Other times,
if we have waited patiently for a few minutes listening for an answer to prayer
for guidance or wisdom and we have not yet heard His voice on the matter, our
minds begin to race to all the other things we could be doing that we think
would be a better use of our time. This,
then, is something of a litmus test of ownership. If we are living sacrifices, there is nothing
more important than knowing the will of Elohim.
If we are still alive to ourselves, there are many things more important
than the voice of Elohim?
To
whom do you belong?
