Tag: HolySpirit

When the Spirit of the Lord Speaks . . .

~ Roy Lessin

Because the Lord is our Shepherd and we are His sheep, we need His guidance and direction. We need to know His voice, listen to His voice, and follow Him (John 10).

Before the Lord ascended to the right hand of the Father, He told us that He would send us the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who has been sent to be our Encourager, Helper, Counselor, and the One who will lead us into all Truth (John 14, 16).

As we daily seek the Lord to direct our steps and guide our lives, here are a few principles we can learn about the guidance of His Spirit in our lives:

When the Spirit of the Lord speaks to us He is clear and specific.

Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Acts 11:12

When the Spirit of the Lord speaks to us His voice will most often be a still small voice that is calm and gentle in tone.

And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice. 1 Kings 19:12

When the Spirit of the Lord speaks to us it will be in agreement with Christ’s heart, will, and ways.

When He has brought His own sheep outside, He walks on before them, and the sheep follow Him because they know His voice. They will never [on any account] follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not know the voice of strangers or recognize their call. John 10:4-5

When the Spirit of the Lord speaks to us we need to be good listeners who are desirous to obey.

The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:27

When the Spirit of the Lord speaks to us we will have peace, and we will walk in peace when we obey.

And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]. Colossians 3:15

I will listen [with expectancy] to what God the Lord will say, for He will speak peace to His people. Psalm 85:8

When the Spirit of the Lord speaks to us He will always be in agreement with the Truth of God’s Word.

But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). John 16:13 AMP

We are called to obey “The Great Commission”

Matthew 28:19-20

New International Version (NIV)

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20

Amplified Bible (AMP)

19Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them

[a]into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

    20Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you,

and behold, I am with you [b]all the days ([c]perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion),

to the [very] close and consummation of the age.

[d]Amen (so let it be).

What is “The Great Commission (commandment, instruction)?
It is the instruction and last words Jesus spoke before He ascended to heaven. He commanded that we are to go into “all the world” and:
  • Make disciples
  • Baptize those who become disciples, and
  • teach them to obey everything Jesus has commanded

These words are called “The Great Commission” (commandment, instruction) and were given not only to the 11 disciples who were with Him at the time, but to all believers from then on.

At first glance, this instruction would seem to be straight-forward and easy to follow. But let’s go a little further and analyze these verses so that we have the tools and understanding that we need.

When Jesus instructed His disciples to go and make other disciples of all the nations, He included  “Gentiles” as well as Jews.

Notice Jesus instructs them to baptize other disciples into the name (singular tense) of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. We can see clearly that the concept of the “trinity” comes directly from Jesus Himself.  However, the word trinity well describes the three-in-one nature of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. In researching the word trinity, no results were found in the following version(s) of the Bible: Amplified Bible, New International Version, American Standard Version, King James Version or New American Standard Bible. This one verse emphasizes both the unity and plurality of God (Greek singular).  Many passages show that the work of one involves the work of one or both of the other two Persons. There is no hierarchy of persons here. We must be careful that we do not lose either the unity or the diversity in the nature of God. (Part of this exegesis was derived from The New International Version and The New Living Version of the Bible.)

Why is baptism important?

Baptism unites a believer with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection as a symbol of death to sin and resurrection to new life. Baptism shows submission to Christ and a willingness to live God’s way.

How is Jesus present with us?

  • He was present physically from His birth until He ascended into heaven.
  • He is present spiritually with us through the Holy Spirit.

Practical Applications and Understanding our Task

regarding “The Great Commission”

  1. The Great Commission is not an option, but a command given to us by Jesus, so we should obey.
  2. If we don’t obey, then we have failed, or omitted to follow His instruction.
  3. We don’t have to be preachers, or evangelists to teach.
  4. We all have gifts given to us by God that can be used by Him to enable us to fulfill these commandments.

We can:

  • smile,
  • love,
  • give words of encouragement,
  • or do a service for someone in need like giving them a ride, cleaning their house, mowing their lawn, etc.

The most important part of “The Great Commission” comes from loving God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind and our neighbors as ourselves.

For further study, go to http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028:19-20&version=AMP#en-AMP-24215

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 28:19 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  2. Matthew 28:20 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
  3. Matthew 28:20 Webster’s New International Dictionary offers this phrase as a definition of “always.”

I hope you have enjoyed this Bible Study.  Hopefully, it will be only the first of others that I do. Writing doesn’t come easy to me, but I felt led to write anyway.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions. We’ll work through any answers together.

Blessings,

Sharon

God’s Daily Promise #5

Ephesians 1:4-5 

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love; 5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,
(World English Bible)

Promise #5: I chose you to be adopted into My family before creation.
It pleased the Father to choose us before the foundation of the world. In love, He saw the day when we would say yes to the free gift of His Son’s life for our life and become born into His amazing family. Before He even spoke the world into existence, He saw us!

And our adoption is not like any human adoption, for God has given us His own Spirit as a deposit to guarantee our inheritance. We are not servants in His house, but actual sons and daughters, joint heirs with our elder brother Jesus, seated in Christ in heavenly places.

What an amazing promise! Every other promise and precept rests on God’s eternal plan to make us part of His family. As Ephesians 1:4 says, we are holy and without blame before Him in love all because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. What Jesus did on our behalf has secured our place forever as God’s kids!

1 John 3:1 – Behold, how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him. (WEB)