Hosanna Restoration Church

The Bible speaks of walking in the spirit, being led of the spirit, hearing the spirit, and the list goes on. It was the Spirit that moved over the face of the waters. It is the Spirit that gives power and the Spirit gives life. It only makes sense then that we would be very interested in tuning into the Spirit of the Living God. After all, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. There is so much in the world that puts people in bondage and yet we do not even realize that we are slaves until we are set free. But, that is a whole different direction than the one that I feel we need to discuss today.

As I sat seeking the Lord concerning the Spirit and the life He gives I believe the Lord pointed out to me that we often times spend more time shutting out the voice of God than we do seeking to hear what the Spirit of the Lord has to say. Many times people will even get so wrapped up in what the letter says that they will ignore the one who wrote it. I know that there have been times when I was searching and searching in the word for what God would want me to share and finally He would just tell me close the book and seek the author. I wonder why I never thought of that! In most instances I do wait for the Lord to put something on my heart and then look for the written words that I need to confirm it. The question is, if God says it why would I feel the need to justify it. Part of that would be in order to please man; which is bad. The other part would be because I do not want to miss God; which is not so bad. Still, what I desire is to become so adept at hearing the voice of the Spirit so that I do not doubt and can speak clearly what He whispers in the secret places no matter what the circumstances may be.

Truly the word of God helps us to know God and His character and to rightly discern what is the Spirit and what is not. However, there comes that time when we must draw into that place in our relationship with God so that He can speak directly to us and trust us with what He says. We are not always going to have time to go and research and get comfortable with what the Lord says to us. We need to come to that place where we know His voice and we trust Him and we step out in faith.

This is what we do when we step out in faith and speak out a word of prophecy, a message in tongues, or the interpretation according to the Word of God in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. The Spirit of God speaks life to us and we by faith speak that life into others. As we gain confidence in the life that the Spirit gives, we are free to speak into people’s lives no matter where we are.

Scripture tells us to “Be still and know that I am God.” I believe that it is in those times when we are still before the Lord wanting and expecting to hear from Him that we learn His voice and His life grows in us. It is that life that we are to express to the world.