I am going to start with a prayer today.
Father, I do pursue You, because that is what You want me to do. I am not made to sit around and wait for some spiritual activity to occur prompted by others and then join whatever is going on. You made me to pursue You. Therefore, empowered by Your Holy Spirit I will do just that. I will risk, I will exhaust what is in the Bible as methods and opportunities to fellowship with You.
You might need to read through this prayer several times until you believe it in your heart before you go on. If you are feeling a bit cerebral this morning and simply want a nugget to think about – aim higher.
Prophecy in the Old Testament was a highly functional activity instituted by God as a means to redirect the people of Israel back to the law. And when they got there, they had to deal with the weight of their transgressions. Ugh! Where is the love in that?
It was there on the other side of reconciliation with God, He did love Israel and does today.
Jeremiah 31:2–3 (ESV): Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”
Through Jesus, reconciliation has occurred and now we can pursue God – there is no wall, no veil, no curtain in the way. He offers to you a standing invitation – “Come and get me!”
Knowing how human He made us, through Jesus, He made possible a deposit into us. A piece of Him. This piece of Him is stirring, leading, prompting, moving us in our innermost place to pursue God. The Holy Spirit prompts us to exhaust all that God has to offer in the way to find Him.
Because of what Jesus did, now the voice of God that used to be declared through a person, the Prophet, is now inside of You. He is the One who when you read Scripture gives it teeth to convict you toward righteousness. You don’t do that yourself. There is nothing in you that has that capacity.
He is the One who causes you to love yourself and others. He is the One who prompts you in faith to step out and be different; to love others with an everlasting love rather than an earthly love.
He is the One who will consistently move you to operate in the supernatural, because that is what God does. The Word will come to life in your life.
The prophetic is not only understanding from God what is in the future.
John 16:13 (ESV): When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
So yes! The Holy Spirit absolutely reveals the future, He loves to do this, because it encourages and strengthens those who have an ear for it. But there is more – the Holy Spirit is the voice of God spoken in you.
Catch this – God spoke through Old Testament Prophets because the Holy Spirit couldn’t speak in people because He wasn’t living in them. Jesus made that possible through His death and resurrection. Now with the Holy Spirit living in us, God speaks in us.
WOW!
This is prophecy. God speaks. He speaks in Your heart.
Listen, I want you to be equipped, its not too late at all. The format for God’s speaking in you is the Bible. Read it. Lay a good foundation by learning the Word of God. The Holy Spirit who leads and guides you will use what you read to speak to you. When you read the Bible you are stretching His vocabulary in you.
Some people believe they can cook, so they through a bunch of ingredients together and want others to like it. However, when a chef who takes the same ingredients (words) because they have studied and learned, they produce a masterful meal.
God speaks in you about you and others. Love will open the door and Bible study will put the ingredients together.
Pursue God in the Word of God. He is there waiting for you.
Blessings
Pastor D