Give God Your Ear

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Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says. (Revelation 3:22 GW)

The man or woman who has no inner ear, no inner silence, no inner place for hearing the Lord is never going to be of much use in the service of the Lord, and mark you, it must be the Lord, and we must be very careful that we do not give even good men and good writers the place that the Lord ought to have. There is a time when we must sweep our books aside, when we must shut ourselves up from the voices of men, when we must get quiet with the Lord and listen, and more, we must seek to cultivate, by the grace of God, the ear that is always open to the Lord even when all the other sounds are around us. It is difficult, yet not impossible, that in the raging of the street and the rush of business life the Lord should say something; but He will only speak to those who recognize the value of listening to the Lord and who are giving Him His place of silence to speak when possible. The ear to hear the Lord when all other sounds and voices are around us is prepared and trained in these times of detachment which the Lord demands, and against which the devil is eternally active to capture the ear again.

Now, that is elementary (we are not seeking to be profound), but tremendously important. You and I know, never mind how spiritually mature we are – the one object of the devil is to capture our ear from God, to make it impossible for us to have the silent hour and the silent ear for God. The pressing in, and all the things which happen just when you have decided to have a little quiet time; then it is you have to fight for the ear – you know it is true. Do you see there is something bound up with that; the undoing of the work of the devil, the registration of God's mind upon this universe, everything which is meant by priestly ministry, which is bringing God in, is bound up with this: God having the ear.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

Unity Precedes Blessing

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh" (Acts 2:17)

God always works where His people meet His conditions but only when and as they do.

The first condition is oneness of mind among the persons who are seeking the visitation. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Harmon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore" (Psalm 133:1-3).

Here the unity precedes the blessing, and so it is throughout the Bible. An individual may seek and obtain great spiritual help from God; and that is one thing. For a company of people to unite to seek a new visitation from God for the entire group is quite another thing, and is a spiritual labor greatly superior to the first. 

What a joyful experience it is for us in this church age to be part of a congregation drawn together by the desire to know God's presence, to sense His nearness.

~A. W. Tozer~

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The Spirit Is Himself God

"Whither shall I go from thy spirit? ... There shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me" (Psalm 139:7, 10)

satan has hindered us all he could by raising conflicting opinions about the Spirit, by making Him a topic for hot and uncharitable debate between Christians.

It would help us if we could remember that the Spirit is Himself God, the very nature of the Godhead subsisting in a form that can impart itself to our consciousness. We know only as much of the other Persons of the Trinity as He reveals to us.

It is His light upon the face of Christ, which enables us to know Him. It is His light within us, which enables us to understand the Scriptures. Without Him the Word of truth is only darkness.

The Spirit is sent to be our Friend, to guide us over the long way home. He is Christ's own Self come to live with us, allowing Him to fulfill His word, "Surely I am with you always," even while He sits at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens.

We are not filled with an influence; we are not filled with a sensation; we are not filled with a set of ideas and truths; we are not filled with a blessing, but we ARE filled with a Person ... and its very essence is the indwelling life of Christ Himself.

~A. W. Tozer~

The High Cost of Wavering Faith

The High Cost of Wavering Faith

Deuteronomy 1:19-40

God has given believers personalities, abilities, and spiritual gifts which will equip them to accomplish His specific plans for their lives. But each one must choose to step out in faith and obedience. At times the Lord challenges us to do something that seems beyond our ability, but if we back off, we’ll miss His awesome blessings.

Let’s learn from the Israelites who made several choices that led to unbelief, resulting in a lifetime of aimless wandering. They . . .

• Listened to the wrong voices. To walk obediently with the Lord, we need to guard ourselves from being swayed by those who don’t understand the greatness of our God. Not only that, but we must also learn to recognize the lies of Satan. He wants us to become ineffective, accomplishing little for the kingdom of God.

• Relied on human perspective.At times trusting God conflicts with human reasoning. But those who choose to trust Him—even when the external evidence points to an impossibility—will find that He is bigger than any obstacle.

• Let feelings overcome faith. Perhaps the biggest hindrances to obedience are fear and inadequacy. An internal focus is a trust killer. The way to overcome our feelings is to rely on the Lord and His promises. He will equip us for whatever He calls us to do.

Every challenging call to obedience is a fork in the road of our lives. To go the way of unbelief will lead to a lifetime of regret and aimless wandering, but to courageously trust God and do what He says will result in the greatest blessing of your life. The choice is yours.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

Faith Leads To Obedience

"If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15)

Another thing which clearly hinders believers from enjoying the power of the Holy Spirit is the habit of instructing seekers to "take it by faith" when they become concerned with their need of the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Now, it is a fact written all over the New Testament that the benefits of atonement are to be received by faith. This is basic in redemptive theology, and any departure from it is fatal to true Christian experience. Paul teaches emphatically that the Spirit is received through faith, and rebukes anyone who would teach otherwise. So it would seem, on the surface of it, to be sound procedure to instruct a seeker to "take it by faith."

The trouble seems to be with our conception of faith. Faith, as Paul saw it, was a living, flaming thing leading to surrender and obedience to the commandments of Christ. Many persons, convinced of their need of power, but unwilling to go through the painful struggle of death to the old life, turn with relief to this "take it by faith" doctrine as a way out of their difficulty.

To live in the Spirit is to live with God - hearing Him, and knowing Him, and loving Him, and delighting to do His will.

~A. W. Tozer~

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The Evidence of Power

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:7)

A sharp contrast is observable between Spirit-filled Christians of Paul's time and many who claim to be filled with the Spirit today. Paul's converts received the Spirit by faith to be sure, but they actually received Him: thousands now go through the motion of taking Him by faith, and believe they do so take Him, but show by their continued feebleness that they do not know Him in real power.

And unless they see it differently later and decide to go through the hard way, they are fated to spend the rest of their lives in secret disappointment.

Let it be remembered that no one ever received the Holy Spirit's power without knowing it. He always announces Himself to the inner consciousness. God will pour out His Spirit upon us in answer to simple faith, but real faith, will be accompanied by deep poverty of spirit and mighty heart yearnings.

The essential condition of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to yield everything to God, even the things that in themselves may be harmless. Why? For no other reason than to prove our will is wholly laid down and that God is all in all.

~A. W. Tozer~

When Faith Wavers

When Faith Wavers

James 1:5-8

If we believe that God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised, why do so many of us habitually waver in our prayers? Instead of exercising bold faith, we come to the Lord “hoping” He will hear us and answer our requests, but we’re just not sure He will. With this kind of thinking, we cannot expect to receive anything from Him.

One reason we are so prone to doubt is that we fail to see God at work in our circumstances. We asked, and nothing happened. But the Lord is not some cosmic bellhop who jumps in response to our requests. He sees past, present, and future and knows the right time for every answer. His invisible hand is already at work on our behalf—arranging situations to accomplish His will, opening hearts,

and preparing us to receive what He wants to give.

Another cause for uncertainty is ignorance. If we don’t know God’s ways, we will be disappointed in His response. All too often our prayers are accompanied by expectations of how He will work. When He fails to intervene according to our timetable or anticipated method, we start to doubt. But placing our faith in the Lord and trusting in His good and perfect ways gives us stability as we wait for His answer.

To overcome doubts, spend time in the Word to learn God’s principles and ways. Then you’ll begin to grasp what He wants to achieve in your life and how He goes about it. Examine your past from a biblical perspective—faith will grow as you see the unexpected ways He answered your prayers.

~Bayless Conley~

Feeling Versus Faith

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1)

If God wills to pour out His Spirit upon us, why do not more Christians and more churches receive an experience of power like that of the early Church? That some have so received is joyfully admitted, but why is the number so few? When the provision is so broad and the promise so sure, what doth hinder us?

One obstacle to the reception of power is a widespread fear of our emotions wherever they touch the religious life.

This anti-emotionalism is an unwarranted inference, not a scriptural doctrine, and is in violent opposition to psychology and common sense. Where in the Bile are feeling and faith said to be at odds?

The fact is that faith engenders "feeling". We can have feeling without faith, it is true, but we can never have faith without feeling. Faith as a cold, unemotional light is wholly unknown in the Scriptures. The faith of those Bible heroes listed in the Book of Hebrews invariably aroused emotion and led to positive action in the direction of their faith.

If we love Him, He can make us supremely happy.

~A. W. Tozer~

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The Holy Spirit is Gracious

"And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him" (Luke 3:22)

Another hindrance to receive the power from the Holy Spirit is fear of fanaticism. Instinctive revulsion from fleshly excesses and foolish undisciplined conduct on the part of some who profess lofty spiritual attainments has closed the door to a life of power for many of God's true children.

They have made the mistake of putting all teaching concerning the Holy Spirit in the same category, and consequently will have nothing to do with any of it. This is as much to be regretted as it is easy to understand.

Such victims must be taught that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus, and is as gracious and beautiful as the Saviour Himself. Paul's words should be kept in mind, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

The Holy Spirit is the "cure" for fanaticism, not the cause of it.

The heart in which the Holy Spirit lives will always be characterized by gentleness, lowliness, quietness, meekness and forbearance.

~A. W. Tozer~

Our Times Are In His Hands

And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you... blessed are all they that wait for him (Isaiah 30:18).

We must not only think of our waiting upon God, but also of what is more wonderful still, of God's waiting upon us. The vision of Him waiting on us, will give new impulse and inspiration to our waiting upon Him. It will give us unspeakable confidence that our waiting cannot be in vain. Let us seek even now, at this moment, in the spirit of waiting on God, to find out something of what it means.

He has inconceivably glorious purposes concerning every one of His children. And you ask, "How is it, if He waits to be gracious, that even after I come and wait upon Him, He does not give the. help I seek, but waits on longer and longer?" God is a wise husbandman, "who waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it." He cannot gather the fruit till it is ripe. He knows when we are spiritually ready to receive the blessing to our profit and His glory. Waiting in the sunshine of His love is what will ripen the soul for His blessing. Waiting under the cloud of trial, that breaks in showers of blessings, is as needful.

Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious. God waited four thousand years, till the fullness of time, ere He sent His Son. Our times are in His hands; He will avenge His elect speedily; He will make haste for our help, and not delay one hour too long. (Andrew Murray)

~L. B. Cowman~