Voice of the Holy Spirit

I heard a Pastor say this: “The flesh seeks entertainment, distraction, and wants a busy mind. This allows it not to face the Spirit.” I found this topic to be so interesting years ago, after I was saved. I had read in the Word many times about the flesh and the spirit. And, when I heard this Pastor preach on this, it brought it back home to me. We are born in the flesh, with sin in us. We are given the conscience as a guide and a warning system built inside of us. But, as we know, conscience is ignored over and over. We know how it can quietly lie dormant, waiting for its later purpose. It will be our testimony against us in the end.

When we fall at the Cross, understanding its entirety, we are given the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who will guide us, warn us, and change us. We will go from living in the flesh to living in the Spirit. Our wills will say no to the flesh and say yes to the Spirit. I recently listened to a recording of C.S. Lewis on this topic, and I have to say it was outstanding. I don't recall the name of the recording, but it's easily accessible online.

We are to feed on what? God’s Word. We are to eat it just as Jesus said. What we feed on, we become. If we remain in the Word, we fill our hearts with what is heavenly. This is keeping us living in the Spirit. However, if we neglect the Word and divine things, we will ultimately feed our flesh.

When we are born, we are born into sin and we live by our flesh; things we know of the world. But to come out of that world, we can meet Jesus Christ and follow Him. We will be born again of water and Spirit. Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus is one of my favorites, and He explains this to him. Earthly only gives birth to the flesh. Spirit gives birth to the Spirit.

Not the False Spirit

I am not referring to the false spirit that we see or hear about that is at work. It is not something that you can pick up and acquire, and then start speaking like they do. That is not of the Spirit. The Bible clearly defines spiritualism, and I will not delve into that here. That is a whole other study. When we are born again, we are given the gift of being able to hear the Spirit. Our senses are changed and become sharp to Him. You are also able to see in the Spirit. You receive a whole new set of senses. This is reserved for those who are truly in Christ Jesus. You cannot explain it to someone who has no interest in Christ. The voice of God makes no sense to them. You can not help them identify with this. The Holy Spirit is not loud, foul, or changing. The voice of the Spirit is righteous, Holy, stable, trusting, consistent, and convicting. He guides and directs. He pulls you back from any wrong thinking. A fatherly voice. A fatherly voice. There is no confusion in His voice. You know you can count on being led down the right path by His Holiness.

Isaiah 40 speaks of this. The voice of the Spirit is never contradictory. Never confusing. Our thoughts as humans can change frequently. God’s thoughts do not. We experience a range of emotions, including happiness, sadness, anger, and dire circumstances, and we can adapt to all of these feelings. We are shifty; God is not. The Holy Spirit does not just say one thing and then leave you hanging. He carries through, helping you to understand. He is your Teacher. He can send you somewhere or lead you to something to confirm what He has spoken. We know these wonderful times. He gently guides us; He does not push us. He is a certainty. No doubts, no wonders. It is true.

There are times when the Holy Spirit will speak more loudly to you or more quickly. In times of emergencies or warnings, He will pull harder. We may have started to go somewhere or to do something, and we instantly get that hard yank. He keeps us from danger in ways that only we can understand.

Conviction

He works on us by convicting us. It is a heaviness, and you will not be able to ignore it. People can ignore the conscience, but we cannot ignore the Holy Spirit. If you even start to, He will pull you right back with uneasiness. Almost a pain in the gut or heart thing is going on. Immediately, you will seek forgiveness and want to run to God. You never have to worry about satan’s voice convicting you. He does quite the opposite. He will push you to do something that would go against God and holiness. He will harass you in your thoughts; he won’t let up. He will give you idea after idea and will present them in all kinds of ways. I have watched people when this is taking place in their heads. A thought comes to them, not a good one. They pounce on it, and then you can see they are stopped for a few seconds. That is the conscience working. Another twist on the same idea comes to them, and they are quick to seize on it. A few seconds, and then another twist can come. This is ignoring the conscience. Sooner or later, the idea they were given takes hold, and they compromise, then justify it. All in a few moments. Amazing to watch it.

We are protected from that as God’s children. We are no longer living off our conscience. We are living in the presence of the Holy Spirit, who guides and changes us. That is the big thing here; He will change us. He changes everything. Our thoughts, our likes, our loves, our desires, and He works constantly.

Devil’s Voice

I have been asked, “How can you tell that it is the Spirit’s voice? How can you tell if it is satan’s?” A believer learns this, and the Holy Spirit makes that very well known to us. Just as Jesus said, “My children know My voice, and they follow Me.” Isn’t that beautiful for us? The devil, on the other hand, pushes your thoughts, agitates you, and stirs you up. He also changes you and how you think. But, it is never leaning toward what is Holy. He will compromise with you and offer different approaches to what the flesh wants. Like a smorgasbord, he offers a wide range of options. Then, these stay in your mind, and he will come back and remind you of these things. He quickens his ideas in your head. It’s like a race against time with him. The quicker he can get you, the longer he can control you and own you.

The devil will attempt to harass Christians as well. A little different story there. We have the Armour of God for protection and the Holy Spirit to fight our battles. But he will always try. Always. Especially if you are witnessing to someone else or applying yourself to God in a particular way. At the least, he will try to convince you that you are just too tired to do that Bible study. Things like that. But open the Bible anyway and begin. It's incredible how the energy pumps up, and you instantly start smiling!

While we listen to God, the world is listening to satan, whether they realize it or not. We belong to one or the other. God gives us calm and confidence. Walking in confidence with Christ is the sweetest thing. We are aligned with His Word, His character, His desires, and will. We stay in the Word because we know that it is our protection and covering. We run to the Holy Spirit because we know He will fight any battle that comes upon us. It is trusting God and not ourselves. That would be living in the flesh. But we live in the Spirit.

(TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO)