How God communicates
These next sections are unashamedly based upon Steve Thompson’s book called “You may all prophesy!” – Probably the best starter book for prophecy written to date.
Impressions
Most Christians receive impressions, but they dismiss them as stray thoughts or coincidences. The Holy Spirit will quicken something, whisper gently or direct your thoughts to a certain subject. These all carry the Holy Spirit’s ‘rhema’ (4487) presence which can be recognised with practice.
It is often something ‘out of the blue’ which lets you know details about a situation no one had told you about. Quite often these impressions will sound like we are talking to ourselves internally. The reason for this is because the Holy Spirit is bearing witness with our spirit, which then feeds through to us via our minds. Romans 8:16 puts it this way “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.”
Where do we receive from God?
John 4:24 “God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
“It is the Spirit which testifies (summatureo 4828) with our spirit that we are children of God.” Romans 8:16
The same word (testifies) is used in Romans 9:1 “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies (summartureo 4828) with me in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.”
The conscience is the key place to hear from God
It is in the same place and way that the Holy Spirit and Paul's conscience testified within him. The place where the conscience whispers is the same place where the Holy Spirit whispers. This is why scripture talks about the importance of keeping a clean conscience.
Romans 2:15 “They show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternatively accusing or defending them.”
Romans 13:5 “Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake.”When the conscience is clean, through a Godly lifestyle and the regular confession of sin, God can communicate clearly with us.
1 Corinthians 2:13-14 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”
In the Greek, the words “thoughts” and “words” are not present. It is just “combining spiritual with spiritual.” In other words when our conscience is clear the Holy Spirit can combine with our spirit and enable us to “know the things freely given to us by God.”
How do we recognise the voice of God in our conscience?
There are several voices that speak to us within:-
The first is the voice of the law of God - this is the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This will give you the basis of what is right and wrong in a given situation.
The second is the voice of the Holy Spirit, this is often a sudden inspired thought which can be a challenge to step out in faith - it often arrives like “a bolt out of the blue.” It can give details of how to “know the things freely given to us by God” and how to act on them in a situation. It can be morally challenging, in this respect it will be a convicting voice, not condemning, offering freedom on God's terms. Those terms will always be based on the commandment of abiding in the love of Jesus. “If you keep my commandments you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in his love.....This is my commandment that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:10 + 12-13. If it is for another, make sure that love is at the centre of the message.
It has a promise attached to it, if we act in obedience, faith and love.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7
The third is the voice of the lust of the flesh - this is easily recognised, and if followed consistantly will blunt and dull your conscience, thus preventing you from hearing clearly.
The fourth is the voice of the enemy - this can include temptation to sin. It will normally be a voice of condemnation in a situation trying to make you doubt, (“Did God say?” Genesis 3:1) and trying to prevent you from acting in faith.
If your conscience is not clean you will not hear properly
If the conscience is not clear, the ability to receive clearly from God will be limited. This is illustrated in John 12:28-29 where Jesus asks ““Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
Praying in tongues helps
In order to receive these impressions, praying, (especially in tongues) will enable your spirit to commune with God's spirit. It will enable your spirit to take it's rightful God given place of control over you. It will help still your heart and mind, and as you wait on Him, He will be able to communicate clearly. See the section on praying in tongues here.
Things that hinder impressions
Impressions are genuine revelations. They can be extraordinarily specific and accurate when received by those who are experienced and sensitive to them. However, it is on this level that our ‘revelation’ can also be affected by our own feelings, prejudices and doctrines. In Ezekiel it warns against this:
Ezekiel 13:1-4 “Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord!’ Thus says the Lord God, ‘Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing. O Israel your prophets have been like foxes among the ruins.’”
If we, because of our opinions, are listening to our own spirit and standing in some form of judgment towards the person we are ministering to, we can easily fall into error. This can be likened to a spider in a web waiting for its prey. When the spider feels the web shake (our prejudices being rattled) it pounces, stings its prey with venom and wraps it in a web.
Isaiah 59:5 “They hatch adder’s eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.”
When we speak into people’s lives based on our own prejudices what will hatch is of the evil one and not God. The difference between manipulation and motivation is very important here. When someone speaks words which are manipulating the benefactor of these words are the person speaking. When you are speaking motivating words the benefactor of the words are the people receiving them.
This is illustrated in Ezekiel 13:5 “You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.”
If our motive is to listen to the Holy Spirit and stand in the gap for the person we have an impression for, in order to build them up, we are unlikely to go far wrong
An example of an impression
A good example of an impression happened when I was a part of a ministry team in a church. The visiting speaker had made an appeal and people had gone forward. I found myself standing next to a man in a black shirt with his arms firmly crossed. He seemed very closed and I wondered why he had responded.
The Holy Spirit highlighted a single hair with the white root attachment, standing out on his shirt. As I looked at it, and meditated on what it could mean, I felt inside the feeling of a hair being pulled out. The Holy Spirit whispered that this represented the ending of relationship that he had experienced. I asked him if this was the reason that he had come forward. He nodded and then became quite emotional as he opened up sharing what had happened. I was then able to pray and minister to him.
Next
1. Introduction.
2. God's nature as creator and communicator.
3. The role of the Bible.
4. Turn aside when you notice something.
5. Be careful what you worship.
6. The Holy Spirit quickens things.
7. Hide and seek using parables.
8. Ask the Holy Spirit.
9. The inner room is where we meet with God.
10. The importance of peace and stillness.
11. Don't hurry God will speak.
12. Waiting and longing takes us higher to a place where God acts.
13. What price do we have to pay?
14. Holding a word for a time and part of the whole picture.
15. How do we know it's from God/Act in faith?
16. Jesus is open to persuasion!
17. The Language God uses to communicate.
18. God communicates through our sensory organs.
19. God communicates primarily to the heart.
20. God offends our mind to change our heart.
21. Listening depends on your heart attitude.
22. Circumcision is the cure to a hard heart!
23. Listen to your heart
24. Eyes.
25. Lift up your eyes.
26. Make sure your vision is clear.
27. Ears/hearing the voice of the Lord.
28. Reach for higher levels.
29. How God communicates - impressions.
30. Seeing with the eyes of your heart.
31. Visions.
32. Open visions.
33. Trances.
34. Signs.
35. Dreams.
36. Conclusion.
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