In our communities where we believe in the active gifts of the Holy Spirit, we often hear someone excitedly say, “God told me…!” What do we mean by this statement? And is this so?
Through faith in Yeshua we receive the Holy Spirit living within us: Rom. 8:9-11 (NIV) – “The Spirit of God dwells in you…”, “the Spirit dwells in you,” “By His Spirit who dwells in you.”
Indwelling us with His Spirit, the Lord leads us with this Spirit. Rome. 8:14 (NIV) – “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” We can experience this inner guidance daily, if not every minute.
This “leading” is a continuation of the experience of the Old Testament prophets (1 Samuel 10:10-13, Joel 2:28-29) and the fulfillment of Moses’ prayer for God’s people to receive the Holy Spirit and his prophecies (Num. 11 :29). Yet the New Testament experience of the Spirit “indwelling” is more delicate, intuitive, deeply personal, and normative than the relationship between the prophets and God as described in the Law and the prophetic books.
Discerning thoughts
A tireless stream of thoughts rages in the heart of every person. Some of these thoughts are of spiritual origin, and others of carnal origin: Rom. 8:6 (NIV) – “Thoughts that come from the sinful nature lead to death, but thoughts that come from the Spirit lead to life and peace.” There is one stream of thoughts that comes from our spirit, united with the Spirit of God, flowing into our soul. But there is another stream, flowing from our flesh, attached to the world, subject to the influence of evil spirits, flowing to our conscience (Eph. 2:2).
And when someone says, “God told me,” this is what that person really means: “A clear and pure thought suddenly arose in my mind from my spirit, and I am sure that this thought from the Spirit of the Lord.” But since this whole phrase is somewhat awkward to say in its entirety, people simply say: “The Lord told me.” However, to avoid being misunderstood, it is very important to clarify what you really mean. Otherwise, others may feel as if we are presenting ourselves as special, chosen spokesmen for the Lord.
It was not the loud voice of God speaking to you, but you had the “impression” in your heart that it was him. Rome. 8:16 (NIV) – “The Spirit of God bears witness along with our spirit…” Yeah…! So, most likely, it would be more correct to say: “I feel that God’s Spirit bears witness along with my spirit…”. Saying something like this from time to time will not be as embarrassing as saying abruptly, “The Lord told me…”.
Such alternating explanations will add an element of humility to our statements. They will also help new converts. Perhaps they will help even those who have once encountered erroneous statements or statements made with some exaggeration in order to preserve and convey prophecy, but without completely rejecting the gifts of the Spirit.
This stream of thoughts comes to us in the form
Words
Images or images
Moral consciousness
Conscience as a witness
This third type of message is an intuitive confirmation or warning. It is like a traffic light that shows: green – “go”, yellow – “be careful” or red – “stop”. Rome. 2:15 (NIV) – “…and their conscience and thoughts testify to this, now justifying them, now accusing them.” Many people recognize this uninterrupted flow of thoughts. The challenge is to sense whether God is saying something, and if so, how we should interpret His words.
Conscience is that part of our spirit with which the Lord directly witnesses to us. Therefore, there is always some pure moral aspect hidden in God’s messages. Rome. 9:1 (NIV) – “My conscience, guided by the Holy Spirit, bears witness of this.” You may indeed sense a message from God’s Spirit, but remember that it is filtered through your own spirit and conscience.
Whatever influences your heart will also influence the message you receive and how you perceive what you receive. When attempting to discern the truth of a prophetic message, we must always take the human element into account. We still prophesy only partially and not perfectly (1 Cor. 13:9).
Let us, in humility of heart, ask for forgiveness from those who were once “put off” by our overly violent expression of prophecies, not to mention outright errors and pretense. Let us continue to seek a purer and more faithful manifestation of the prophetic gifts.
Author – Asher Intrater / tikkun.tv
Source: https://ieshua.org/mne-bog-skazal-da-neuzheli.htm
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