Jesus Christ declared in John 16:13(NLT), “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit. He is a person; in truth, he is infinitely more of a person than we are. The Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead bodily and Acts 2:33 tells us that now that Jesus Christ is exalted to the place of highest honor at God’s right hand, our Heavenly Father has given Christ the Holy Spirit to pour out on us. In other words, the Spirit is God’s gift to us. He guides us into ALL truth, he speaks to and through us, and he releases his power as we live according to the example of Jesus Christ.
The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He tells us only what he receives from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He will tell us about the future, and this allows us to understand that knowing about the future is a very valuable aspect to our walk in Christ. One of our issues is that we sometimes make our walks all about our individual futures and not about the future of the work Christ has commissioned us to carry forth. We make hearing from the Spirit all about our personal agendas, and this can sometimes clog our spiritual hearing.
Jesus Christ made it clear that the Spirit is the One who does the telling, and we are the ones to do the listening. He tells us what we NEED to hear, and we need not gum this up with what we WANT to hear. We never have to worry that the Spirit is keeping information to himself and isn’t sharing it with us. His occupation as commissioned by our Heavenly Father is to guide us into ALL truth, and he will never deviate from this. But sometimes, we are not interested in the truth. We’re interested in hearing about the desires of our hearts, and this can lead us down a path of impatience and disappointment.
God has given us life on earth to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Master Jesus said in John 14:6(NLT), “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” This statement is a monumental piece of wisdom for our lives. Jesus Christ is the way to life. Our desires are not the way, and many of us think that they are. We feel that if we just have the blessing we desire in our possession, all will be well. We have to correct this. It’s spiritually immature to think this way because Jesus Christ has told us so. He is the way, and nothing can be more important in our lives than seeking God through him.
God tells us in Jeremiah 29:11-13(NLT) tells us, “11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” God gives us all we need to know about our motives for seeking Him in this passage. He tells us to look for HIM wholeheartedly. This means that our relationship with HIM must be our focus—getting to know His nature, His love, and His perfection—this is where our focus should be. He takes care of the rest, because there is no better plan for our lives than the one God has for it.
Believe it or not, this has become challenging for many believers. The world teaches people to be very self-centered and self-focused, but we can’t learn the way of Christ with that mindset. Our Heavenly Father commands in Proverbs 3:5-6(NLT), “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Our trust in God should be the first thing He sees when we stand before Him. We shouldn’t be too focused on what we want to happen, but on what God has already destined to occur in our lives. He’s the One with the plan. He knows best, and in order to stay on the path He’s set before us, we must trust that He will take care of our desires.
We must also trust in the empowerment God has given us through Jesus Christ. If we’re expecting God to take care of our desires, we should also expect that He has a desire too, and it’s for us to do what He requires.
Luke 9:1-7(NLT) tells us:
“1 One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. 2 Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes. 4 Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. 5 And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.” 6 So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.”
The disciples were very precious to Jesus Christ. He loved and took care of them. They lived in a time when Christians were being beheaded and imprisoned for following Christ. Yet here, our Lord and Savior gave them his power and authority and sent them out to minister the Gospel. He has done the same with us. They didn’t have the indwelling Holy Spirit like we do, but they were committed to follow Jesus Christ and to be obedient to their call. He instructed them to walk by faith and to carry forth his ministry of caring, healing, and teaching others the Good News about the salvation he offers.
It wasn’t an easy task, but they followed his direction in faith, and we must do the same. Holy Spirit power is activated in us as we walk out in the purpose for which we’re called. If we have no aspiration to do this, our faith is without the good works to back it up.
Luke 4:14,18(NLT) tells us, “14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free,” Jesus Christ was activated in the Spirit power for the work of ministry that he was sent here to do. He’s showing us the example of how to walk in the Spirit, to hear his directives, and accomplish the thing God has called us to do. We often think that we’re not hearing God like we used to, but in truth, we’re not listening the way we used to. Our minds are flooded with too many other things. Activation is linked to the fulfillment of our commission. This is the focus, and when it isn’t, we will be frustrated and confused because we’re putting other things ahead of our responsibility to God’s Kingdom.
The Holy Spirit doesn’t miss a beat. If you are desiring to hear from him, stay on the path of God’s purpose for your life, and be confident that he will tell you what you need to hear WHEN you need to hear it. Jesus Christ commanded in Matthew 6:25,32-33(NLT), “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” He makes it plain that our first order of business in hearing from the Spirit is making sure our priorities are in step with the ones that God has for us. The Kingdom’s business comes first, and this is always what the Spirit is communicating about. He is guiding us according to what God says in His Word, and we should never want to hear anything else. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyn`dale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“I’m Not Hearing the Lord Like I Used to”, written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!