Hi all,
We appreciate your prayers for us and our family. This past Wednesday our (handicapped) son Chris, had an ambulance trip to the emergency room. The aide at the group home said he became unresponsive, stared off into space, speech slurred, groggy. Tests proved negative for stroke or other things, so we think it was a sort of seizure.
By 10pm/22.00 he was better, though his muscles were limp, and he wanted to go home for the night. So we brought him home where he slept 12 hours, and was back to his normal self Thursday morning.
I mention this for prayer because this is our busy travel season. In less than 2 weeks we travel to Colorado Springs for a ministry event through 4 April. Then April 29- May 8 in the Netherlands, then the end of June our Tulsa conference…and if any of you have ever cared for someone else in your home or supervised their care in a facility you know they are always on your mind.
What we ask is that while we travel, Chris will be well, no emergencies, etc…thank you!
Knowing the Holy Spirit within
The risen Lord walked with the 2 as they journeyed to the town of Emmaus, about 7.5 miles (12km) from Jerusalem. Luke 24: 13-32
He explained the Law (Word) and prophets (Spirit) about Himself and why He had to die and rise again. As He broke bread with them v31 says ‘their eyes were opened and they knew Him, and He vanished out of their sight.’ V32 says: “Didn’t our hearts burn within us when He talked with us on the way here, as He explained the scriptures?”
The Greek word ‘burn’ is in fact, ‘to burn’, ‘to set on fire’, ‘to kindle’. It is in the passive present form, so we could say they received the burning, they received the igniting of the fire. Notice they only recognized their hearts had been burning AFTER the Lord left.
While they were in the midst of it they were so busy learning all the Lord was sharing, that burning, that witness in their spirit, was something that was part of the process as they listened but not paid attention to. When the Lord broke bread and blessed it, ‘their eyes were opened’ – not their literal eyes but the eyes of their understanding.
Immediately they remembered how the Spirit was bearing witness to what the Living Word was saying as they walked. That’s how it is early on with our walk with the Lord. AFTER we miss it or hit it, we say, ‘Oh, that was the Lord after all!’ or ‘Next time I’m going to recognize that witness in my spirit while it is happening.’ And that is good, for that is exactly how we learn. Trial and error, or as Hebrews 5: 14 says, ‘by reason of use we train our senses to discern between good and evil.’
Many voices
Paul said in I Corinthians 14:10 that there are many voices in the world, and none without significance. But Jesus said in John 10: 3-5 His sheep know His voice and will run from other voices.
Why do so many Christians seek every voice out there?
So many know about Him, but cannot honestly say they know the Father, or they know the Lord. They know about the Father, they know about the Lord, but they are so busy listening to other voices because they are a click of the computer link away, instead of investing the time, effort, and discipline to learn His voice and His presence in our spirit.
I was in a house church meeting where my eyes were opened to the Lord’s realm and I saw Him walking around saying things to everyone present. He was moving from my right to left, speaking to a couple to my right. He stepped back and started to turn the other direction rather than continuing to his left to the woman just on His left – the next person in the circle had He continued in that direction.
I said, “Aren’t you going to speak to her Lord? Don’t you have a word for her?”
Because my eyes were open to see the natural realm and Him at the same time, I realized she was bent forward intensely looking at her cell phone, completely oblivious to how the Holy Spirit had been present in the worship, and clueless to the fact the Lord was there to say something to her:
“I have things to say to her, but she needs to learn how to be quiet. She can’t receive what I have to say because she hasn’t learned to be still in my presence and receive. She spends so much time searching the internet and her own thoughts for inspiration or what I might be saying through others, without ever actually taking time to be in my presence to hear from me directly. For that reason she has no clue what is happening right now, and she will go home blessed by what she has received, but not blessed by the main point of what I wanted to say to her today.”
In this day and age with so many voices, we must learn how to recognize the presence of the Lord, the witness, the burning in our spirits. THAT is the Spirit of Truth. THAT is the final authority.
Romans 8: 16 says; “…the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit we are the children of God.”
The Greek word ‘bears witness’ is ‘martureo’, where we get ‘martyr’, meaning one who gives testimony or is a witness and tells what they witnessed.
When the Holy Spirit testifies to our spirit, our minds must learn to recognize that witness. He isn’t an emotion. We must shift our focus to our spirit, and that keeps our own emotions out of it. We must recognize while it is happening in our spirit, that our heart is burning within us. OR, if something is in error, our minds must recognize our spirit is grieved, or there is no response whatsoever by the Holy Spirit. No response means we are either dull of hearing, or it is up to us to use common sense and do all we know to do in the natural.
Maturity comes from recognizing what the Spirit of Truth is testifying to your spirit, and then doing what is right – whether that be to seek reconciliation by apologizing to someone, or to help someone with grace and mercy when our emotions say good riddance they deserve all they are getting. We must live from our spirit, not our emotions.
Common sense isn’t common anymore
If a supposed prophetess or prophet or teacher claims something is of the Lord, but it doesn’t sound right, it doesn’t make common sense, then reject it. Get alone with the Lord, turn your attention inward as you ask, ‘Is that right Lord?’ If you sense a grievance in your spirit, or there is no reaction, then your common sense is right – no comment is needed by the Spirit of Truth because your common sense recognized that teaching and that ‘word’ isn’t right.
For instance, no one in scripture goes to heaven at will. So you reject that person’s testimony as being their own imagination, and if you dig closer, you’ll know by the Spirit they have a wrong spirit attached to them. As one example.
In this day of many voices from media platforms, we must stick to that which resonates, bears witness to our spirit – that which the Holy Spirit testifies it is the truth and your spirit ‘burns’ with that excitement to have questions answered, things fall into place, peace comes and confusion and fear leave…and dismiss the rest of the voices that don’t produce that reaction in your spirit.
“Another voice they will not follow, for they know the Shepherd’s voice.” That says it all. Stop following voices that don’t agree with the Shepherd. Use common sense.
KWOWI Kid Highlight: This month we are featuring a KWOWI girl, Clovian, from Western Kenya. Clovian is 13 years old and lives with her aunt because her mother passed away and her father abandoned her due to his alcohol addiction. She helps her aunt by carrying water to their home every day in jerry cans and by washing dishes after school. She attends her local house church every weekend and loves to sing to Jesus. She is in grade 6 at school and hopes to be a school teacher when she grows up. Being sponsored helps Clovian with basic needs as well as her school fees.
Thank you so much for your prayers and your donations. Paul spoke with appreciation of those from Lydia’s house church in Philippi and other churches in the region, in II Corinthians 8:5: ‘First they gave themselves to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us…’
Thank you for doing the same!
We SO appreciate you all, blessings,
John & Barb, Brian & Amy
