May 22, 2016
The leading of the spirit 4
Memory verse: Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba,father.”
Romans 8:16 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
The primary way God leads his children in the new testament is by the inward witness – Kenneth Hagin
It is important to be able to follow the leading of the spirit within. The inward witness is not necessarily a voice. It is a knowing within you. I can liken it to a “green light” within you when you are on the right track and a “stop sign ” when you are on the wrong track.
There is a shadow of the inward witness in the old testament. The priests always carried something called the “ephod “. The ephod was part of the breast plate of the priests in the old testament.
Exodus 28:28 “And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.”
The ephod was used in the old testament to divine God’s will. David used it frequently.
1 Samuel 23:9 “And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. Then said David, O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He will come down. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver thee.”
How did the ephod work??
Well there were two stones that were usually placed inside the ephod. They were called the “urim” and the “thumim”.
Exodus 28:30 “And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord.”
Urim means “lights ”
Thumim means “perfections”
It was used this way. If there was a decision to be made and they wanted to know what to do, they brought the ephod with the urim and thumim. They then will ask God for directions and based on which stone was chosen from the ephod they got a “yes” or a “No”.
The inward witness works like this. You will get a “yes” or a ” No”, ” a go ahead” or “hold on”. This is not a vision or a dream. You will not get details as to why “No” or why “yes” at the time but you will eventually see with time why.
The inward witness is in every child of God. If we follow it we will never land in trouble. Always spend extra time praying, praising and worshiping when you need directions. Spend time also in the word. It will quieten the voice of the body (feelings) and the voice of the mind (reason) and then you can access the voice of your recreated human spirit that has the Holy Ghost!
Amen?
CONFESSION: I exercise myself in the things of the spiritual. I am alive to God. My spirit man gains the ascendancy over my mind and body. I make the right decision always!
FURTHER BIBLE READING: Colossians 2, I Samuel 14, Psalm 92
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