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Rev.
3:8, “I set before you an open door and no man can
shut it.”
I Cor. 16:9, “A great door for
effective work is open for me.” (Similarly: Acts 14:
27 and II Cor. 2:12.)
There are also examples of
closed doors in Scripture, though the word door
isn’t used in these next verses:
Rom. 1:13, “I want you to
know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to
you, but thus far have been hindered.”
Rom. 13:22, “I have often been
hindered from coming to you.”
I Thess. 2:18, “I wanted to
come to you, but Satan hindered us.”
How did he know it was Satan and
not God who was hindering him?
He had to know God’s voice and ask Him!
The
Holy Spirit has a voice!
John 16:13, “When He, the Spirit of Truth
comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He
will not speak on His own authority, but
whatever He hears (from God) He will speak, and
He will tell you things to come.”
Verses 14-15 say that what He will tell us
comes from God. We know that He would follow God
because that is also what Jesus did. (John 12:49-50,
and 14:10.)
John 15:26, “But the Comforter, the Holy
Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach
you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that
I said to you.”
Acts 11:12, (Peter is relating an incident)
“Then the Spirit told me to go with them
…”
Additional
study: The
Holy Spirit is God in you;
Rom. 8:9, 11, I Cor. 3:16-17, I
Cor. 6:19-20, I
John 4:12-13, and 15-16.
Friend
and Helper!
II Cor, 13:14, “The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God and the communion of the
Holy Spirit be with you all.” (That word communion
is translated in other Bible versions as fellowship
and even friendship!)
John 14:16-17, “And I will pray the Father
and He will give you another Comforter that He may be
with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth whom the
world cannot receive.”
That word comforter in the Amplified
Bible is given these extra words to give the full
meaning intended by the one Greek word: “Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener,
and Standby.” Let
those words roll over and over in your mind.
That’s the wonderful Person that is sent to
help you in life!
Does it now make any sense to limit God’s
directive ability to doors?
Yes, He can and does arrange circumstances, but
so can Satan! But
would Satan open up a wonderful opportunity for you?
Yes, because he would like to get you side-tracked
from God’s perfect will for you!
Do
we pray to the Holy Spirit?
No; we pray to the Father in Jesus’ name,
meaning with His authority; John 15:16 and 16:23. But
you can talk to the Holy Spirit whenever you need help
since He is the Helper!
Here is a testimony that may help you:
I was in a small Sunday School class, and the
teacher was encouraging us to share a little bit about
ourselves just to get acquainted. Well, I rambled too
much, and was very ashamed of
myself when
I got home. I asked the Holy Spirit to please
control me so that I don’t do that anymore.
He put this thought into my head:
“The
more time you spend with Me, the more I can control
you.” I
found this to be true. As I became more diligent and
consistent in my times with God ~ on my knees and in
the Word, I found that the Holy Spirit did indeed
control me more!
Please Get my brochure, Helps
in Hearing God‘s Voice. This will give you some
necessary and vital qualifications to know and do
before you start trying to hear from God. Many sincere
and lovely Christians are actually listening to demons
and don’t know it.
How do I know?
They have told what they thought God said, and
I knew that it didn’t agree with the Word of God! (Do you think a demon is going to announce what he is and
that he’s trying to deceive?)
Intimate
friendship
God wants to have intimate friendship with you,
and that means He wants to talk to you!
Start seeking God by spending more time with
Him in private prayer and in reading the Bible. Read
mostly in the letters, Romans through Jude, for these
were written to and about us, the Church. This is the
first requirement for learning to hear God’s voice.
And please don’t consider that this is a rule
or law that you must follow.
It’s a relationship you are building!
And it’s with Someone who loves you more than
the human mind can comprehend! It’s
the attitude of the heart that makes this practice a
law or a delight.
Many
Christians think when they pray that they have to try
to get God’s attention, and this is not an easy
thing for He is ‘way up there and Earth is so
little. But when you consider that you are talking to
the Holy Spirit who is right inside you, then the
stress is gone. He’s as close as your next breath!
So you are not bothering Him at all!
God
wants to lead us!
Rom. 8:14, “For as many as are led by
the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
John 10:3-4, “To Him the doorkeeper opens,
and the sheep hear His voice, and He calls His
own sheep by name and leads them out. And when He
brings out all His own sheep, He goes before them, and
the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.”
And verse 27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know
them, and they follow Me.”
Psa. 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you
in the way you should go.”
Psa. 48:14, “For this is our God; our God
forever and ever; He will be our guide even unto
death.”
Isa. 48:17, “Thus says the Lord, Your
Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; ‘I am the Lord
your God, Who teaches you to profit; Who leads you by
the way you should go.’” |
