Hi all,
I’ve been talking about prophecy given in our day about world events that may happen in the coming months and years. The question is: How do we react when a well known speaker says God showed him California is going to fall into the ocean, with the Mexican peninsula of Baja becoming an island and the ocean filling California’s central valley? (For instance)
What are we to react to prophecies that speak of a soon coming collapse of the US and world economy, riots, and lawlessness? Are we to store up food and water? How do we get God’s wisdom on these matters?
The Holy Spirit and your spirit
Jesus said, “When He the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth because He will not speak of Himself, but whatever He hears He will speak to you, and He will show you things to come.” John 16:13
Paul confirms this in I Corinthians 2:9-12 saying that “Eye has not seen nor ear heard the things that God (Father) has prepared for those who love Him. But He reveals these things by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of the Father God…even so the things of God no man knows, but the Spirit of God only…and we have received the Holy Spirit so that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God the Father.”
This is important because…
Jesus said the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. That means if you are praying for a Mercedes, but the Father has given you a Volkswagen, the Holy Spirit is going to share that a VW has been provided. He will tell the exact truth as the Father declares it.
If a preacher says something that is all the rage and everyone around you says ‘Yea and Amen’, but in your spirit there is a grievance that what the preacher said is wrong, He is telling the truth no matter who the preacher is. If you say something you shouldn’t and you feel grieved inside but your head hasn’t a clue what you said wrong, the Spirit of Truth He is letting you know what you said was wrong (and if you spend time asking the Father what it was He will reveal it to you).
And if you have peace in your spirit about making a decision that takes you in a certain direction, but your head is full of questions, the peace is the Father’s communication to you by His Spirit that it is indeed the direction you are to go and heaven has determined peace for you.
Following peace
Walking in faith often involves following that peace even when the mind and emotions are swirling and seeking details. If there is peace in your spirit then you need to control your thoughts and emotions and focus them on that inner peace.
The giving of peace to your spirit is the Holy Spirit reporting to you exactly what the Father has prepared for you, and that peace is the Father’s opinion on the issue at hand – if there is peace, be at peace.
That means when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, a collapsing economy and horrible things coming to the nations of the earth, and you wonder what is going to happen to you, immediately switch your attention to focus on what is in your spirit. Do you sense peace, or is there something that bears witness and says it applies to you?
Wisdom from God feels like…
“The wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. It is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please.” (James 3:17, ERV)
God’s wisdom is pure and peaceful and gentle. So when you have a revelation of something bad about to happen, what does it feel like? I’ve found that even if a revelation from the Father is of something bad, that revelation is wrapped in His peace. That peace as I said above, is the Holy Spirit saying He has received from the Father and Lord that all will be okay, provided for, and grace given. If He puts peace in your spirit it is heaven’s word to you saying the Father has it covered!
The wisdom from the earth feels like…
“This wisdom is not from above, but is earthly, devilish, sensual (sense oriented, not of God’s spirit oriented). For where envy and strife is there is confusion and every evil work.” (James 3: 15-16, KJV)
Notice the attributes of earthly wisdom – sense oriented (fear, panic, emotional,) confusion, strife. Wisdom from the world makes a person panic. It makes them think they must act immediately or all will be lost. Wisdom from the world causes strife, confusion, and opens the doors to other sins. It lacks peace and instead stirs fear.
The way it plays out…
Following peace often feels like stepping through a door that is slightly cracked – you peer inside, see all is fine, so step more inside. Peace is like that – you sense peace, so you follow it until there is a ‘hold’ in your spirit…usually that means there is something to do in the natural, or you are waiting for something to happen in the natural…and then that peace wells up in your spirit again and you take a few more steps forward.
Let us say a believer has been reading on the Internet the latest horror someone says will soon come upon the earth that they dreamed or saw in a vision. Or perhaps someone has been studying world economics and can see that changes are happening that align with some of the true words from God people have been sharing, and they wonder what if anything they are to do.
What to do?!?
Good principle
The guidelines for giving to others in the New Testament provide wisdom for knowing what if anything we should do for our own future needs. In II Corinthians 8:12-13 Paul is talking about the Corinthian’s giving an offering to the disciples in Jerusalem. His guideline for giving is this:
“…if you are willing, it is accepted according to what a person has, not according to what they don’t have. For I don’t want you to ease their burden while creating a burden for yourselves. But now at the time of your abundance you can help them, and when they are in abundance and you in need, they can help you, so there is an equality.”
It is accepted according to what you have…I receive emails pretty regularly from people asking if they should store up 1-3 year’s of food, and in the next breath state they don’t have extra money to do that all at once. My response is this – if you feel you should do this, then do so according to what you have, not charging it, not going into debt, but here a little and there a little, so as to not create a burden.
Again, go to your spirit – do you sense peace even though you have confusion and fear in your mind? Then go with the peace and discipline your thoughts and emotions to be obedient to that peace – when Jesus needed to feed a crowd of 5,000 men plus women and children, all they gave him to start with was a boy’s lunch. But Jesus said, “It is enough.” If you are in peace, then heaven is saying to you, “It is enough.”
It also helps to retrace in your mind all the things He has brought you through, every bit of faithfulness, every provision, every grace through the years. Holding that history in your thoughts helps bring assurance He will also be there in your future. One of my favorite quotes from Corrie ten Boom is this: “It is never wrong to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
The promises of the Bible are real and true and not dependent on economies, governments, or money. When confronted with lack, ask the Father: “II Peter 1:3-4 says all things that pertain to life and godliness have been provided, so please reveal your provision Father!”, and watch Him provide. Use common sense, stay in peace! New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
