#3 The Inner Witness of the Holy Spirit

Review of Hearing God’s Voice Series

Intro

In 1931, Winston Churchill wrote an essay imagining a future in which mankind had secured a life of great pleasure, wealth, and convenience. But, Churchill wondered, would that be sufficient for happiness? He wrote:

“What did they know more than we know about the answers to the simple questions which man has asked since the earliest dawn of reason—Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Whither are we going?

No material progress, even though it takes shapes we cannot now conceive, or however it may expand the faculties of man, can bring comfort to his soul.”

This is the message of the Bible. that The fundamental problem in our lives is our lack of relationship with our Creator. God created mankind and mankind had a walking talking listening relationship with God, and they would walk together in the cool of the day. But Mankind sinned and broke the relationship. Jesus the Messiah has come at just the right time to redeem us back from our sinful lives. and Now we can again have a walking talking listening relationship with God.

But just because God made a way for us to have this satisfying relationship with God, it is up to us to take advantage of our right to come into the presence of God. How are you listening, talking and walking with God.

This Series is about how you can hear God Speaking to you.

#1 The Established Word of GOD

the Bible is so amazing.

“It is sixty-six books written by forty authors, written between 1446 B.C. & 90 A.D. But, now we discover that it is an integrated message system from outside our time and space domain.” ― Chuck Missler

That is literally true and why it is worth reading daily

Living LOGOS and memorization

what did you think of Thessalonians 1& 2 powerful!

Gentle… and Hardworking!

Gentle - we are not to be Harsh. with the truth we can get harsh, but humility and love are to be used to accurately handle the WORD of truth.

the gret resignation is an outgrowth of anti-christian work ethic.

LOGOS - Jesus! the word became flesh!

john 1 14 “14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

no fair leaving book out - you miss out on the full picture of god, and risk making god in your own image.

being people of one book “homo unius libri”

the word is a sword - sharp and active!

Handle the word of GOD diligently

Ask “What DID it mean”? to the original audience. the context contains power.

then use three steps

1. Observation (what did it say?)

2. Interpretation (what did it Mean?)

3 Application (what is God saying to you personally?)

conformity to God’s word is our way to holiness, obedience and action. use Honesty with #3.

ou culture is saying NO to the BIble, but it is the very source of everything they need. Theyare trading the trueth of God for a lie.

#2 The living Word (Rhema)

romans 10 17 “ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

a passage of the bible suddenly seams to shine light into your heart.

applies for your particular situation,

Psalm 119:105 ESV

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

it is the living breathing word of God. It will illuminate YOUR PATH, specifically for the concerns you have IF you submit yourself and your reading to the Holy Spirit.

It is supposed to be fresh and daily.. like the mana from heaven (the bread of life) it must be gathered and consumed daily. it is fresh.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“When you read your Bible you must think that hear and now God is speaking with you! You can’t be a Christian unless you hear from God. He wants to speak to you Personally, not just in principles and beliefs… but to you personally.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Do no harden your hearts against Him. with sin. Each time we move against God in disobedience we make hearing his voice harder.

Dietrich was struggling with knowing what to do when he retreated to america for a short time in the face of the rising Nazi threat in Germany.

He read in his bible Isaiah 28:16b “‘Whoever believes will not flee in haste.’” I knew that was his answer. and he quickly boarded the very last ship that was allowed to leave before the war began.

How to read the WORD OF GOD

Pray before you begin. Ask the Holy Spirit to Teach and illuminate the Word of GOD.

ASK " What is JESUS say to me?”

you will need help to understand, as there are multiple ways to interpret and understand his word to you. Use wisdom, and confirmations

17th century Scotland

Political and religious upheaval was threatening the people of God known as the converters, such that they had to take a stand to not abandon their faith. Many were driven from their homes, and some were imprisoned and some became martyrs for their faith and convictions on their Obedience to the Word of GOD.

Alexander Peden - was on of the Covanenter and a powerful preacher that was driven by the authorities to live a life on the run. He traveled through the countryside sleeping in barns and haystacks to preach the word to small groups of believers secretly. He knew that god had lighted Psalm 32:7 just for him “thou art my hiding place...”

Psalm 32:7 ESV

7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

he then lived in EXPECTATION that God would do just that for Him as he was strengthened in God’s presence in His WORD.

Other examples:

2 weeks ago i shared the video by Carl Wesley Anderson that showed two other examples of the Rhema word of God in action.

Reese Howells - felt god was asking him to build a bible college, in whales and began praying. Later He read the word and in 1 Chronicles 28 and knew that God had called him to” be strong and do it” and that it would cost the equivalent of a Talent go Gold (6,150 lbs)- and it turned out to be the case as he moved in obedience.

Corrie Ten Boom - the word called her to repent and forgive the man who betrayed her family to death and her to endure the concentration camp for housing Jesus in the Hiding Place in ther shop. her forgiveness after the war cause the man to turn his life over to Jesus and become a Christian.

the result of listening to God is often greater Holiness Discipleship and evangelism

#3 The Inner Witness of the Holy Spirit

Like a stoplight - The holy spirit provide to us Guidance. Red light, Yellow light, Green light

Holy Spirit does so much!

What if you could have an instruction booklet for life… that could be applied directly into your personal situations… and it came with a personal trainer, to help you practice and apply it and learn the skills that it taught?

When you go out hiking in the wilderness.., of the trails, you often need some confirmation that you are headed in the right direction. if your in the forest you can’t see any clear markers. and you can start to get worried that your lost.

What if you could get confirmation and direction?

LIke a compass, or a GPS, or a personal life couch.

the Holy spirit is this in our life. But how does he speak? we will look at one way today.

Introduction to Pentecostal Doctrine (The Holy Spirit: Special and Distinctive Functions)

Some of the names by which the Holy Spirit is identified are helpful in calling attention to the distinctive characteristics of the Third Person of the Trinity.

As the Spirit of God, He is an executive carrying out the will of God.

As the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9), He comes in the name of Christ and gives glory to the Son.

As the Comforter or Paraclete (John 14:16), He stands beside and sustains believers in their time of need.

As the Holy Spirit, He seeks to impart holiness and sanctification to us.

As the Holy Spirit of Promise (Ephesians 1:13), He is the manifestation of God that was promised throughout the Old Testament.

As the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17), His mission is to reveal Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

As the Spirit of Grace (Hebrews 10:29), He imparts grace and power for living a sanctified life.

As the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2), He gives and preserves both natural and spiritual life.As the Spirit of Adoption (Romans 8:15), He brings us into the family of God.

As a Spirit of Truth the Holy spirit will bear witness to TRUE FACTS. and is how the HS can give us the gift of discernment.

He is also the the “Counselor” that will testify to the truth inside us.

John 14:15–17 ESV

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

and will teach us all things. John 14:26-27

John 14:26–27 ESV

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

SO the Holy Spirit who is inside us will bear witness to truth, will teach us by bringing things up in our minds and by giving you peace.

Bearing witness of a fact

The only spirit does this for us on various facts. the most obvious one is our adoption of Children of God.

Romans 8:16 ESV

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Note this witness is necessary because not everyone is a child of GOD. Leftist politicians( AOC said all people are ‘Holy’) and even the Pope over the least few years have tried to “school” us on Christianity telling us that we are all children of God regardless of our consistent sins. If this were the case we would not need the Holy spirit to bear witness to this fact. We are all offspring of God in that we are all descendants of Adam.

The truth is that only those who have been born again, born of the Spirit by believing in Jesus Christ, are the children of God. Only those who can call Jesus Lord and Savior can call God "Abba Father" ( Galatians 4:6–7).

“bearing witness”

A witness will I testify to a fact that they have personal knowledge of. This spirit has knowledge as to who are adopted into the family of God. He is able to connect with our “spirit” to confirm the fact of our adoption. The Holy Spirit is bearing witness. He does that through some sort of spiritual connection. Spiritual connections are currently outside the ream of science. But they are real because we can see its affect. Those that have that connection can testify and bear witness to the fact that that connection is real and has meaning in their lives., and their lives bear witness as to the results of that relationship.

A “Peace” or a “check”

A check is simply a lack of peace, not being settled.

Some Christians say this witness works something like a traffic light with the colors:, Red, yellow, and green.

GREEN = Go, Peace or even a Joy, that the plan or direction has a peaceful blessing upon it when you submit it to God.

Philippians 4:7 ESV

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Asking the God of the universe a yes or no question.

Unless we were saved and redeemed by the Blood of Jesus we could never be so bold. But as his Dearly beloved children bought back from slavery to sin and the devil it is now our privilege, and he wants us to to ask, and asks us to ask!

and one way he will answer is with the witness of the Holy Spirit speaking to our spirit, and we will sense a check, or peace.

RED = check… don't Go forward I am not in this. No peace in doing this thing.

YELLOW = perhaps unclear, but certainly not settled please, so use caution and patience.

of course if we are living and walking in sin our ability to sense this is not only clouded, but ripe for deception! This is one reason that this voice of God is so personal, as it is not ment to guide others as much as it is meant to guide us. for we know when we are out of communion with the Holy spirit.

IN the OT the priests and Kings also had to make inquiries of the LORD. It would be sin if they moved forward without seeking an answer (Jehoshaphat chose to support King Ahab without checking with GOD!)

The breastplate of the high priest was used to make inquiries...

Exodus 28:30 ESV

30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Urim and Thummim

They were likely a pair of objects, but since the words Urim and Thummim are both plural in form

meaning:

Urim = lights an perfections

Thummim = truths and completeness

both light and truth for divine guidance over the heart.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Urim and Thummim

Other passages indicate that the High Priest was to use the Urim and Thummim to discern the will of God (Num 27:21; 1 Sam 28:6; Ezra 2:63). None of these passages describe how they were to be used for this purpose, but it is often taken to involve some form of casting lots

It could be that there would be an inner glow (or burning )in the Urim stone to indicate a YES.

If so this would have been a type or a shadow of the Holy Spirit working within our Hearts to bear witness to our spirit for a truth or direction.

Like an inner confirmation and Amen of God, like a gentle breeze of peace.

counterfeit witnesses

in case you beginning to think this is sounding a bit like crystal power, ESP, and new age mumbo-jumbo… let me just point out that all of that is a cheap fake knock off of the real thing that the LORD has.

The devil is seeking to device us. We are told in no uncertain terms that to seek after wisdom apart form the LORD is sin and wickedness for us.

IN the Zechariah Bible study the Wednesday we will cover this verse

English Standard Version Chapter 10

2  For the household gods utter nonsense,

and the diviners see lies;

they tell false dreams

and give empty consolation.

Seeking direction from God through the witness of the Holy Spirit is not something we need to be afraid of… it is the right place to seek God for answers.

However, if you are still walking in sin or have not yet under gone deliverance ministry from the use of the occult in your life . Or if you are still wrestling with fear and anxiety. this way of listening to God’s Voice will be prone to error.

Confirmation with a second witness

when your unsure if you are hearing from the Holy spirit, it can be very helpful to get confirmation. Confirmation can come from other ways God speaks to you or from wise counselors in your life. people who are willing to tell you the TRUTH, and not just what you want to hear.

IN the OT all facts were established by 2 or three witnesses. and in the Church this was a clear protocol that was mentioned several times.

2 Corinthians 13:1 ESV

1 This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

the more serious the issue the more the the establishment of the facts is important. and the witnesses should be be different. Being a witness for yourself was not allowed.

IN engineering we do the same thing. when a measuring a signal that is faint, we will sample it many times, or in different ways to bring out he clear signal and provide redundancy and high-availability in case of on method of measurement failing. the redundant forms of measurement must be in unison.

So get another witness! to the truth!

There are many times many well-intentioned Christians, and probably most of us even in this room have run off telling others about what God has “said” on some important matter, before we we have got a second witness. It is much safer for us to say. “I felt the Lord is saying” that way we are leaving room for our fallibility in delivering the message. “I felt like the LORD was confirming thus and so”… and wait until the matter is independently established by more reliable witnesses before we go of saying “this is the word of the Lord” or “God told me...”

The use of the words “thus says the LORD” or the “LORD says..” as spoken as a word to other Christians, carries a heavy responsibility, and should be reserved to for those that have been specifically called into the role of the prophet. To those that have been established by a track record by God. Like Zecharian, Hezekiah, etc… now days there are people that have been anointed as contemporary Prophet like Bob Jones…

The Mormon “burning in the bosom”

The Mormon “burning in the bosom” is the key proof point for Mormonism. Yet is is a proof that is produced by demonic deception. The book of Mormon is filled with many many lies and deceptions and Mormon teaching on many key original points has been altered. As wonderful as some of those people are. And as Christina-like as they might wish to sound, the burning of the bosom that is used to prove organism is correct is a demonic deception.

Counterfeits prove the value of the Authentic

The presence of the counterfeit does not disprove the authentic, just the opposite, the presence of the counterfeit goes beyond proving the existence of the authentic, but testify to the value of the authentic.

Just because the enemy can produce counterfeits does not mean the original is worthless. Janis and Jamborees turned their staves to snakes after Mosses cast down his Rod and it turned into a serpent . Their counterfeit sign did not mean that God had not worked through Moses leadership. It only proved the need to use further discernment to see which spiritual leader was authentic.

This is why Jesus told us to judge a spiritual leaders, like trees - by the quality of their fruit because it is the fruit of a righteous harvest that cannot be duplicated.

This is how Paul defended himself against the false accusations coming against him to the churches he founded.

So do not give up on listening to the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. Just make sure you are walking in righteousness with the Lord.

this inner witness of the Holy spirit is spiritually discerned. Most often the Holy spirit will act as a gentleman. the devils voice can be loud and pushy even threatening. But the spirit of truth is most often Quiet and simple.

The spirit of truth is quite and simple.

One of my favorite lines from the “Jesus revolution” is Pastor Chuck smith. The church is crisis and He is saying that it is hard to understand because it is so complicated. His wife answers “the truth is simple”. .. Chuck smith says that all these voices are so loud, and Cchuck's wife says “the truth is quiet”

The spirit of truth is quite and simple.

Holy spirit is saying things like

“No, don’t do that.”

“That’s it… do that”

AN inner “Yes” or amen of God

This form of listening is not PASSIVE. it does not often just drop down out of heaven unexpectedly. In fact Satan will use your PASSIVITY a to lure you into his deceptions. Communication is two-way. if you just passively wait, then almost anything can slip in to “become” the witness your are waiting for.

Not only must you be Open to hearing God’s voice - You must be ACTIVE in prayer asking the LORD for direction. This creates a a prayer covering that limits the ability for the enemy to enter-fear with the process. You can see this clearly in this next story.

Billy Graham

Billy Graham was called to the ministry though the Inner witness of the Holy Spirit.

“Love Speaks” Pg 65

The Logic Challenge.

Many of us. Most of us are used to making logical decisions. or perhaps even some intuitive decisions based on logic and reason. We are very uncomfortable listening to fleeting spiritual perceptions.

For me this was very hard to learn, and it is still a challenge for me. I had to decide to follow these checks, and leading within the bounds of wisdom and godly counsel, to begin to learn that yet indeed i was hearing from God.

I get confirmations so often now that it has become common place.

Go to the Toilet Now

“Love Speaks” pg 68.

Evan Roberts

play the video… starting at 12 minutes.

or could start in at 9 minutes.

A poor welsh man, 1904 in the welsh revival.

MORIAH School Room 1903

young Evan Roberts

passion and burden to see souls swept into the kingdom here in wales.

A time of great hunger for revival through the world.

Lots of prayer.

1735 —>1905 a revival somewhere in whales. every year… 170 years...

A powerful intercessor, a travail-er, connect with heaven

visiting minister Seth Joshua

inner witness to pray, but god told him to hold back, (busting)

Summary: Ask & Listen

If you have been listening today you will know then, that God does speak through an inner witness. But he only does this for those that are his Children.

If you have not turned your life over to the Master, the Lord and Savior Creator and redeemer of the World, Jesus Christ, this is your chance to do so.

unless you have come to him as a little child and repented of your sin, you cannot hear the inner witness of the Holy Spirit.

Only then will you dead spirit be brought to life, and have communion with the Holy Spirit. It is with your spirit that the Holy Spirit will speak.

You must receive the Holy Spirit as a true Son or Daughter of God before you can have Him dwell in your heart and speak with you.

You must be born again.

Quote: “Those born once will die twice and those born twice will die once ” ― Chuck Missler

is there anyone here that is willing to ask God to become his Child?