For I the Lord do not change; Malachi 3:6b
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8
Does God change? Does Jesus stop giving? Can we ‘reason’ our way to understanding the spiritual? Why do those usually taking spiritual leadership roles often negate and dismiss the work of the Holy Spirit? This happened all throughout the Old Testament time and into the New Testament time. God sends His servants to the people. What do the people do? And what do they usually do to those ‘messengers’? This is still happening today.
For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. Amos 3:7
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” Revelation 22:6
And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, Ephesians 4:11
Yet – we are a stubborn people. How are we any different than the people Jeremiah encountered? Is most of our hope in ‘outward’ rituals and supposedly ‘moral’ laws like what was happening in king Josiah’s reign? If there aren’t real changes in our inner most heart and character then any changes we make fade away extremely quickly. As soon as Josiah died the country readopted the wicked ways almost immediately. Do we also scoff at the apostolic and prophetic gifts Jesus is sending to His beloved family in this time? Don’t be mistaken there are MANY claiming ‘spiritual titles’ to infiltrate, malign, subvert, twist for personal gain, and are actually ‘wolves’ in ‘sheep-skins’. The first two giftings Paul mentions here are by far the most counterfeited in the organized institutional religious organizations. Why? Because real ones have so much impact on the spiritual maturity of the Body of Christ. Counterfeit these ‘gifts’ and most won’t be able to discern them from the real gifts, and thus most just throw out those gifts all together. So most large institutional religious systems no longer are able to recognize those real sent gifts from God in their midst. But this isn’t new. It has ALWAYS been this way. Yet …God continues to call and send those ‘servants’ who accept His Word and obediently speak the consequences of the ‘sin in the camp’, all the while knowing it will generate the anger of the people and the current spiritual leadership.
Most people just want comfort. Anyone upsetting their comfort is an enemy. God LOVES us so much He doesn’t want us to remain as we are currently, He wants us to ‘grow up’, and be mature in spiritual understanding. Do you know the Holy Spirit well enough to discern when He is speaking to you through different ways, avenues, and other people? Can you recognize His voice throughout your entire day? It is ONLY through spiritual discernment that you will be able to do that as well as discern whether or not a person is genuinely His.
How do we attain this spiritual discernment? Through discipline. Discipline in learning the real and true, not the counterfeit. Reading the Word / Logos. Praying and actually listening to Him through His Word / Rhema. And doing it over and over and over – years on end. It’s only after ‘knowing’ someone intimately for years that real trust is established, and you can easily discern what they are saying is true or not. The same applies for our relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. How much do you really know ‘Them’? Have you personally ‘proved’ what they are saying to you?
Learn the real. Discipline yourself to learn discernment. Learn WHEN, and HOW the Holy Spirit speaking to you and asking you to do something. This is learned through obedience to Him, step by tiny step going forward.
Are you taking the step He is asking you to take today? Have you even asked Him what He wants you to do today?