Revelation 2:29 "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
This was Jesus’ conclusion in all the messages to the seven churches. To each church was a particular message. These included instructions, warnings, encouragements, rebukes, and guidance for right living. The Spirit continues to speak today for similar reasons. He has messages for all, individuals and groups. But are the people in the churches listening?
We cannot be in step with the Spirit unless we are tuned to hear Him. It is those with spiritually open ears who can hear Him. This takes sensitivity and discernment in the spirit. And He is willing to enable all those who want to hear Him, to hear. This is not for selected few. Most people fail to hear because they are more focused on the physical environment than the spiritual.
God is always speaking. The Spirit speaks from the mind of God. Over time, and with commitment, we can train our spiritual ears to hear the Lord speak and distinguish His voice from others. We can reach levels where we are guided by Him in every step of our lives, in the small and big matters of life. That’s a beautiful life, full of peace as He guides us. He speaks peace. You too can hear Him.
John 10:4-5 "When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
Psalm 95:6-9 "… Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did." - NIV
It is one thing to hear what the Spirit is saying. It another to willingly obey and do what He tells us to do. Israel heard God through their wilderness journey. But they hardened their hearts. So many hear and know what God is speaking. They know His will. But their hearts are hardened, stubborn and rebellious. God calls us to a life of obedience.
Each one of us at some point or another in life knew exactly what God would have us do in particular situations. But we insisted on our ways, went by popular opinion or chose to satisfy our egos rather than obey the known will of God. That’s rebellion. A heart of obedience is at the centre of our walk with God.
We cannot be in step with the Spirit unless we are willing to put our ways and will aside to obey His instructions. God never misleads. Even if what He says doesn’t seem to make sense at that time, He knows where He is leading us. It will be well in the end. We thus need to develop an attitude of complete obedience to Him. In that way, we can be sure we shall continually be led in the footsteps of our Master. Jesus did.
Philippians 2:7-8 "…rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!"
2 Corinthians 13:14 "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
Paul’s prayer for the Corinthian church. We often recite this, but probably know little of the depth of this statement. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is communion with Him. It is more than exchange of words. It is a connection of our spirits with the Spirit of God and sharing deep things that only those in an intimate relationship know. The Holy Spirit takes us into secrets in the heart of God.
We were created for communion with God. The Holy Spirit enables this between us and Father God. He bears witness with us that we are children of God and enables us relate with Him as sons. In the process, we get to know what He wants us to know, deepen our love and worship of God and enjoy His presence more than the treasures of this life.
Such fellowship is deliberately built over time. The believer who doesn’t give attention to quality time with the Holy Spirit has a shallow and superficial relationship with God. Prayer becomes boring. Meditation and worship is heavy duty. Service and study of the word ceases to be priority. Delight in God stops. Worldliness takes over, showing in the fruit of their lives. May God help us restore and maintain this fellowship alive!
Psalm 73:25-26 "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Romans 8:26-27 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God."
Prayer is an important element of a Christian’s devotion and communion with God. Effective prayer gets answers and moves things. For this to happen, we should pray rightly, and this includes praying according God’s will. John says such a prayer in line with God’s will, secures definite answers (1 John 5:14-15).
We are weak and limited in many ways. Sometimes we don’t know God’s will for some situations we are praying about. We may not know the timing or what God thinks. And so we pray amiss. Paul says the Holy Spirit helps our weakness in prayer by interceeding for us according to the mind of God and without words. He guides our prayers through known and unknown languages – in tongues.
Keeping in step with the Spirit means praying as guided by Him. Such prayers are right at the will of God, specific to the situation and the timing of God. They strengthen us in the faith and keep us connected in communion with God. They are extremely powerful prevailing prayers that can’t be hindered by the enemy. Any great prayer warrior who touches heaven and shakes hell, prayed in the Spirit.
Ephesians 6:18 "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."
Ephesians 4:30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
This warning came amidst Paul’s instructions to the Ephesians on right Christian living, differentiating between life before Christ and after coming to Him. The Holy Spirit is the person behind our coming to Christ, and the resultant transformation we experience. His presence in us is the guarantee of of our sonship and the hope of our redemption when Jesus comes back.
But He can be grieved! Being a person, He is gentle and has feelings and emotions. Grieving the Holy Spirit comes from a continuous stubborn and rebellious attitude. He speaks to guide us in what we should or shouldn’t do. But when men choose to disobey and insist on their own evil ways, the Holy Spirit is grieved and silently withdraws.
This is how the conscience of professing believers slowly dies. They live in sin while claiming to honour God. A contradiction! The Israelites did the same. They witnessed so many miracles God did. But in rebellion, they grieved God over and over again. There are self styled Christians whose hearts have been hardened by rebellion.
May God give us a tender responsive heart that willingly obeys the Spirit. We can’t keep in step with the Holy Spirit if we are grieving Him! He withdraws.
Psalm 78:40-41 "How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland! Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel."
Luke 12:54-56 "He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?"
Discernment is interpreting happenings. It is seeing beyond what catches the eye into hidden and deeper meanings behind the scenes. Jesus used a common analogy of how people see the cloud and wind patterns in the sky and could tell whether it will rain or not. And it does. He rebuked them for interpreting weather accurately but not discerning seasons and times they lived in.
With the help of modern technology, more precise predictions can be made for several aspects of human existence. Experts and scientists use this to improve life. Beyond acquiring knowledge to guide certain decisions through these predictions, the interpreting of times should direct humanity to God our Creator. God set season s and times and uses them to accomplish His purposes.
By discerning the present times, one can tell that the trends are pointing to something significant. Jesus said (about the signs of the end of the age), that when you see these things, know that the end is near. It is right at the door. How does this inform one’s relationship with God?
Jesus described as hypocrites those who can interpret everything else well, but forget about their relationship with God and preparation for His soon return. Don’t be one of them!
Luke 21:31 "Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near."
Matthew 15:16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them…"
He had just explained to His disciples what actually defiles and what doesn’t. It was about food and words. What appeared so obvious to Jesus wasn’t that obvious to the disciples. He expected them to have acquired some deeper understanding of things by now, but they hadn’t yet. They were still dull in the spirit.
Discernment requires sensitivity and ability to see and interpret things beyond what is obvious to the eye. But dullness of mind, especially in grasping insights into spiritual things, makes people miss out on what God is communicating or doing. This is why to some, Jesus was/is any other specially gifted man. They get offended in Him. While to those who have known Him, He is their life and everything.
People’s hearts and minds become dull to God through sin, deception of wealth and the cares of life, and a diminished devotional life. Sensitivity and discernment is cultivated, learnt and developed over time. God can’t release much to those too obsessed with other things and dull to understand and take in more. And yet there is unlimited treasure in the spirit for those yearning and hungry enough for more.
John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear."
Hebrews 5:11 "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand…"
Romans 13.11- 13 “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has 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 orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.” – NIV
In the Bible, sleep stands for death or living in darkness. Darkness represents evil. It’s a position where the mind and actions have been overtaken by evil. Light represents being honest, holy, alert, and sober. The call to wake up, therefore, is a call to forsake the evil works of darkness, the kind Paul mentioned above, and to walk in holiness and righteousness as one bears fruit to the glory of God.
Involvement in things that don’t glorify God dulls our minds, reduces spiritual alertness and sends us to slumber. To wake up is a choice to realise and forsake what’s ungodly. The lifestyles of some Christians shows they are asleep and need to wake up. They have blended with worldly ways and so comfortable with what is clearly ungodly.
This requires self examination with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Have you lost sensitivity, passion and commitment to God? Do you love the ways of the world, freely participate in them and yet called by God’s name? Do godly devotional practices now bore you and skipping them is no big deal? To you the call to awake comes.
Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
Shalom children of God.
Awake from slumber! (R) (22/7/2023)
Romans 13.11- 13 "And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has 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 orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy." - NIV
In the Bible, sleep stands for death or living in darkness. Darkness represents evil. It’s a position where the mind and actions have been overtaken by evil. Light represents being honest, holy, alert, and sober. The call to wake up, therefore, is a call to forsake the evil works of darkness, the kind Paul mentioned above, and to walk in holiness and righteousness as one bears fruit to the glory of God.
Involvement in things that don’t glorify God dulls our minds, reduces spiritual alertness and sends us to slumber. To wake up is a choice to realise and forsake what’s ungodly. The lifestyles of some Christians shows they are asleep and need to wake up. They have blended with worldly ways and so comfortable with what is clearly ungodly.
This requires self examination with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Have you lost sensitivity, passion and commitment to God? Do you love the ways of the world, freely participate in them and yet called by God’s name? Do godly devotional practices now bore you and skipping them is no big deal? To you the call to awake comes.
Revelation 16:15 "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."
Matthew 24:37 - 38 "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."
Jesus was teaching about His coming back. He uses the example of Noah’s days. Noah preached repentance, asking people to turn to God. People despised him. They took him to be foolish, building an ark in preparation for a flood they thought was never going to be real. It took many years. People went on with life as usual and ignored Noah. But reality hit when the flood came and swept them away. It was too late!
And so will it be towards Jesus’ second coming. Many will think it is not real. They will move on with life normally, celebrating, marrying, making money and wealth, and all other life matters. And Jesus will suddenly come and for many, it will be too late to mend ways with God. The business of life makes them forget about the coming of the Lord and the end of the age. It is life as usual!
Jesus’ conclusion to this teaching is, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matt 24:42). It is a call to constant awareness, alertness and soberness of mind. Don’t allow the usual businesses of life make you spiritually sleep and dull your sensitivity to what is about to happen as it did to people in Noah’s days! Those who never responded were shut out and perished!
Matthew 24:44 "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
Matthew 25:10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut."
One of Jesus’ teachings on preparation for His return used the example of the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom. The exact date and time wasn’t certain. But they had to be ready all the time so that they would be found ready. Some who didn’t stock enough oil for their lamps went out to buy. The bridegroom came, and the door was shut. They were late!
Such is the scenario today as we look forward to the coming of the Lord. The date and hour no one knows. But we are to be ready at all times as we watch the signs. The foolish virgins who didn’t store enough oil to keep their lamps burning, represents the careless believer. They are not giving due diligence to the state of their relationship with God.
The wise virgins are those who keep constantly ready as they wait for the Lord. Once the bridegroom comes, those who are ready will go with Him. And the door will be shut. Whoever wasn’t found ready will be left out. Their pleading to be allowed in will not be honoured. The Lord will deny them. And it will be too late!
Matthew 25:11-13 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."
