Discernment – Wisdom From the Word

The Cloud Rider

Here we will look at the cloud rider in the Old Testament, look at the polemic Baal connection and the identity of the cloud rider in the New Testament. We start with three descriptive passages. Over thirty years ago the Lord gave me a simple song based on the first passage. It is brief and I will share it later.

¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, ² Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. ³ He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, Psalm 104:1–3 (NKJV)

⁴ Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name Yah, And rejoice before Him. Psalm 68:4 (NKJV)

¹ The burden against Egypt. Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst. Isaiah 19:1 (NKJV)

There are other references but these suffice to establish the point. As to why Yahweh is referred to as riding on the clouds, it is a polemic against Baal, who was viewed in the surrounding cultures as the cloud rider and god of storms. The Spirit inspired text is saying that Yahweh is the true cloud rider. Think of the significance in Elijah’s pronouncement of drought and battle with the prophets of Baal. Yahweh pronounced the drought and Yahweh brought the rain, not Baal. The storm god Baal was impotent in the face of Yahweh’s power.

Now we turn to the cloud rider in the New Testament. We have a couple of passages to consider. The first is the one that led to Jesus’ condemnation and crucifixion. At His trial Jesus refuses to speak until the high priest compels Him under an oath.

⁶³ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” ⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:63–64 (NKJV)

Do you see it now? The high priest responded to Jesus statement by tearing his robes and accusing Jesus of blasphemy because Jesus was claiming to be the cloud rider, Yahweh. Not just that, look at Daniel. In this scene the heavenly court and council has been seated then this happens.

¹³ “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. ¹⁴ Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13–14 (NKJV)

The phrase ‘coming with the clouds of heaven’ refers back to the Son of Man in Daniel who is given an everlasting dominion. Jesus was saying He was this cloud rider. In fact, you can now make sense of Acts 1:9-11. Jesus ascends into heaven on a cloud and an angel says He will return the same way. The audience was all Jewish and knew the significance – Jesus was Yahweh, the cloud rider! It isn’t the image of a fluffy white cloud; it is the picture of one in authority presiding over the elements.

My point in all of this is to help see some aspects of the Old Testament with fresh eyes. I didn’t understand about the cloud rider and Daniel 7 when He gave me this simple song from Psalm 104:3 over thirty years ago. I now understand the words better because we are called to walk with Him and soar in the Spirit with Him, or as Paul put it, that I may “be found in Him (Philippians 3:9) wherever He is. It is a simple song about following Him into freedom in worship and being led by the Spirit.

Wings of The Wind

I ride upon the wings of the wind

Exulting in the light of Your presence

My heart has been captured by You now

Exulting in the light of Your presence

I’m moved by Your moving within

Exulting in the light of Your presence

Who is Behind You?

There is an important injunction in scripture regarding our spiritual heritage. While it was given to Israel, it is a sound principle to apply to our lives.

¹⁸ “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ¹⁹ You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ²⁰ And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, ²¹ that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth. Deuteronomy 11:18–21 (NKJV)

In an ideal world we would all have an investment like this in our lives in whatever environment we were raised in. Yet for many of us that is not the case.

I don’t know a lot about my natural spiritual lineage. My father was an illegitimate child born in a home for unwed mothers in Edmonton, at the site of the current Royal Glenora Club. I don’t know what if any Christian heritage there was on either side of my father’s family. I know my paternal grandmother had a family bible but I know of no active church attendance. On my mother’s side I know there was some Baptist background with her father’s family and someone in that lineage was a Jehovah’s witness. I know nothing of my maternal grandmother’s family in terms of spiritual heritage. She died of cancer before I was born. I know my mother became a believer at some point prior to my birth. I am one of six children, my sister then five boys. I am the middle boy.

Does this mean I lack any real spiritual heritage? Naturally it appears there isn’t much. Yet that is not the primary determinant. For each of us, at some point we or someone else began a spiritual lineage and heritage, and however great or limited our natural spiritual heritage is, we have the option of spiritually receiving from the heritage that others have provided. There are wells of living water that are available.

Our broader spiritual heritage speaks to the individuals and groups who have spoken into and invested in our lives. In the early years of my Christian journey, I was mentored personally by more than one saint and also by many great saints of old because I read voraciously. Each one imparted something. Two key early influences were Tozer and Finney.

The significance of the impact of previous generations of saints was brought home to me in the summer of 2007. We were on vacation in London England. One of the places we visited was St. Paul’s Cathedral. In the basement there were a number of tombs, one of which was John Donne’s. I knew of him from his poetry and his famous line, “No man is an island.” What I didn’t know was that he had preached regularly at St. Paul’s. While standing in front of his tomb the Holy Spirit surprised me by speaking very clearly to me, “Receive the heritage of many generations.”

All these years later I don’t claim to fully understand that. What I do understand is that I need to continue to open my spirit to receive from those who have gone before. That requires knowing the scriptures and discerning. For example, George Whitfield and John Wesley were famous preachers and friends. Yet they held very differing theological positions. Whitfield holding to Calvinism while Wesley was very much an Arminian. They were both key players in the first Great Awakening. Charles Finney was a key figure in the second Great Awakening after their deaths. He held what were some controversial theological positions. If I am to receive from these generations my focus can’t be primarily on the differences in their theological stances. That is important and I have sorted out and modified my own views over the years. Yet given that they held a number of conflicting views what I need to focus on is their passion for, and commitment to, Jesus. That made them so effective in their ministries along with their solid commitment to the need for conversion. They each held fast to the need to be born again, which we need to as well.

Now back to my question. Who is behind you? In each of our lives there are those who have influenced us that were simply part of our lives or background, those we didn’t necessarily choose. The others are those whose heritage we have chosen or can choose to receive from because we recognize the importance of those who have gone before. So, who is behind you or who would you like to be behind you?

Drawing Near

You are likely familiar with the scripture, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8). What we will look at is the process, the idea of proximity and sensitivity to His presence. In particular here we are looking at the role of the Spirit in our relationship with the Godhead. In many church settings the place of the Holy Spirit is often neglected. It may be because we are concerned that He will disrupt our plans or we may simply not know Him and His presence well. We are generally comfortable talking about Jesus or the Father, the Spirit less so. I think we can and should change that. After all, look at the following verse.

¹⁴ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV)

Paul’s prayer here is that we would experience communion (Greek koinonia – fellowship, sharing, participation) with the Spirit. It is a relational word not a sterile religious concept. Thus, we will look at how we experience communion with the Spirit.

Let me provide a brief example. I am currently in a smaller community where we spend much of the summer. The church is smaller and recently on a Sunday I was asked if I would read the opening scripture, which I did, I also prayed for the service. The worship was very deep and the service led into repentance and a good deal of prayer ministry. It was very good and there was an important measure of sensitivity to the presence and moving of the Spirit. The pastor had been told by the Spirit during his sermon prep that He was going to move in the service and bring repentance. However, this didn’t guarantee that it would take place, it still required the sensitivity and cooperation of the pastor and worship team to the leading of the Spirit during the service.

While this was taking place, I was aware of His presence upon me and also aware that had we lingered a bit longer in worship more would have happened. To me that said we need to deepen our sensitivity. The Spirit drew near and showed me what was possible but didn’t prompt me to do or say anything. It was simply an awareness He was giving me as I quietened my heart to hear His voice. As the service prepared to move into repentance He spoke quietly to my heart, “This is a holy moment.” It was.

From this we can learn the importance of waiting and not rushing if we want to encounter Him in a deeper way. This is a corporate example and for most of us our influence over a church service is limited to intercession for what He wants to do at any given time. After all, we are all called to be sensitive to and come into agreement with His purpose and presence.

Having shared all of this, for most of us we spend a very small percentage of our time in worship services. Our days are filled with our usual routines, whether that be work, parenting, volunteering or recreation. Given that we spend most of our time in these types of circumstances we need to know how to be sensitive to the Spirit in these settings as well. In my experience we need to train our hearts to be attuned to His presence throughout the day. I believe, and it is my experience, that it is important to start our day orienting our hearts toward Him. This sets the course of our day. Then when He draws near during the day it is because we have honoured His word and first drawn near to Him. Out of this He will bring scriptures to mind, draw our attention to the beauty of creation around us, prompt us to pray for people and similar things.

Here is another recent example, an individual rather than corporate one. I was at a prayer and worship evening at church. I felt led to pray for an individual. I had spoken to him for a few minutes at a men’s breakfast but beyond that I really didn’t know anything about him. I went over and prayed for him and he later told me how impactful and accurate my prayer was given what had been happening in his life. This reinforces two things for me. One the Spirit wants to share things with us and invites us into ministry for others. Two, if we are willing He will use us. After all, He wants to bring to us ‘wisdom and revelation’ (Ephesians 1:17) on an ongoing basis. To that end let’s develop the habit of leaning into Him (drawing near) to receive what He has to offer!

His Church Part 2

I last wrote about Jesus building His church and talked about how the enemy sows tares in Jesus’ wheat field. I think this happens for a few reasons. One is that it creates an opportunity for us to develop and/or deepen our discernment as we seek to follow Him. We have the opportunity to learn to distinguish wheat from tares in the church, and when they are immature, they look indistinguishable. In addition to the tares being ‘sons of the wicked one’ I think they also represent the things the evil one sows into our thinking when we get caught up in our agendas mistakenly thinking they are His agenda. An example in scripture is the Judaizers. They disagreed with Paul and thought that the Gentile believers needed to adhere to the Mosaic Law. The issue was decisively dealt with in Acts 15 where we had the first church council. Here the church leaders got together and addressed the issue. It should have been settled then but some simply ignored the decision and went on with their agenda. We see this in Philippians.

¹ Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. ² Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! ³ For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, ⁴ though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: ⁵ circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Philippians 3:1–6 (NKJV)

In addition to other issues Paul was still contending with those promoting circumcision as necessary for salvation at least a decade after the matter was settled with the Jerusalem Council.

While circumcision as part of salvation is a very obvious example, there are simpler ones that we see all the time in our church world, our debates over baptism (the methodology), the debates over the relevance or existence of spiritual gifts for today. Calvinism compared to Arminianism is another example, there are more options. Regarding the atonement we have: Christus Victor, Penal Substitutionary Atonement, Moral Influence theory, Satisfaction theory, Ransom theory, Governmental theory, Scapegoat theory, Recapitulation theory, and more. I haven’t studied all of them. I am in the Penal Substitutionary Atonement camp; I think the others that are valid are subsumed under it.

I think you get the picture. Now we come back to the obvious question, if Jesus is building His church why does it look the way it does with conflicting theologies, numerous denominations and historically, bitterness, war and inquisitions? Remember Jesus said to let the tares grow with the wheat until harvest time, that is until they mature. I believe the answer lies in what Jesus said in the parable.

³⁸ The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰ Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. Matthew 13:38–40 (NKJV)

Jesus said “the harvest is the end of the age.” I believe that as this present age draws to a close, we will see change in the church. In the meantime, the Moravians provided very wise counsel for us to follow, “In essentials unity, in non essentials liberty, in all things charity.” This principle came about as the persecuted believers who sought refuge on Count Zinzendorf’s estate had some internal conflicts, just like many examples in the New Testament. Given that charity as used here is the old English word for love, their prescription echoes what Jesus said.

³⁵ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35 (NKJV)

The church that Jesus is building is one that walks in love.

This is the answer. When we disagree with the fellow believer down the street or across the office Jesus concern isn’t about the rightness of our theology. If we know Him, He wants to see us demonstrate love. I am not suggesting theology doesn’t matter, I have already stated some of mine, nor that we are to tolerate sin. Some decades ago, I had a colleague at work who was very open about her Christianity but also well known for her willingness to manipulate people and circumstances, to put it more plainly, she was known for lying. Not a good witness for Jesus. So, one day I sat down with her and shared my concern regarding her behaviour. This was demonstrating love. She did not change and did label me as a legalist but I did what I felt the Spirit calling to act upon.

Thus, my conclusion is that Jesus is actually building His church with tares among wheat and the measuring tool is our love for our fellow believers. If we know Him our calling is to walk in love toward our fellow believers and trust Jesus to sort everything out at the end of the age, the final harvest.

His Church Part 1

One of the many famous and controversial statements Jesus uttered is found in Matthew 16.

¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 (NKJV)

I will briefly touch on the controversy as my focus in writing is elsewhere. The word Peter is the Greek petros and refers to a boulder or stone whereas rock is the Greek petra and refers to a large mass of rock. Interestingly Jesus was speaking prophetically about Peter’s identity. At the time he was anything but a rock. Peter was erratic in his behaviour and had to grow into his identity. Even after being a rock in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, he later seriously wavered and had to be rebuked by Paul in Galatians to regain his rock status. Even though Roman Catholicism claims Peter as the fist pope and the rock the church is built upon, that is clearly not what Jesus meant and Peter would have been quite shocked had anyone suggested to him that he was the first pope as it was a foreign concept to him. The other way this passage is often interpreted by Protestants is that the rock refers to Peter’s revelation of Jesus as the Messiah. I don’t believe either are correct.

Now, coming back to the large mass of rock, many believe, as do I, that this event took place at the foot of Mount Hermon, the traditional place in Second Temple literature where the fallen elohim, the rebellious sons of God descended to earth and took on human form (Genesis 6:1-4). It was here right at the place of rebellion that Jesus said He would ‘build His church.’ This is a much better fit for what Jesus was talking about in terms of building His church on the rock, after all, it is reflective of Jesus redemptive nature. He stated He was bringing redemption and restoration right at the centre of rebellion.

Given that Jesus has been building His church for 2,000 years let’s look at how He is doing. We need to take a look at what Jesus’ church looks like. In the spirit of that I have a quote for you to reflect on. Sometime in the past year I came across this decades old quote and it has stayed with me, “In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome, where it became an institution. Next, it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. And, finally, it moved to America, where it became an enterprise.” (Richard Halverson, former Chaplain of the United States Senate).

If Halverson was accurate, and I believe the general thrust of his quote is, just look at how most megachurches look like enterprises, Jesus may not be all that successful at church building. In considering this idea, let’s look at something else Jesus said. I provide this long quote for context but I am focused on a single phrase we will look at.

²⁴ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. ²⁶ But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. ²⁷ So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ” Matthew 13:24–30 (NKJV)

When considering the mixture of wheat and tares in the field the owner of the field said, “An enemy has done this.” Jesus began building His church prior to Pentecost with His investment in the lives of His followers and it was fully launched on Pentecost in Acts 2 with the Spirit being poured out. Now, if we were all fully obedient to the Spirit there would be no issues in the church and we would see the full fruit of Jesus building program in a unified healthy church with no problems, hidden or obvious. Yet we see in Acts 6 issues with the neglect of some believers in the sharing of food. Later we have issues with Gentiles coming into the church and what rules they are required to follow, or not follow. In a similar manner, if you are familiar with Revelation the first three chapters are mostly Jesus correcting the church to get it back on track relative to what He is building.

This means, the issue isn’t about Jesus’ ability to build, He is and has been building something. The real issue is about our willingness or ability to follow! More to come.

Presence and Purpose

I was visiting with a friend and he asked a question. I honestly don’t remember the question, what struck me was my answer. I responded, “Out of presence comes purpose.” While that may not have any deep meaning for you, it had a significant impact on me. I have had that happen a number of times over the years, saying something and realizing the significance of it as I hear it. Which from my perspective is His wisdom. In essence I am learning something as I say it!

In the moment I saw the scriptural significance of the phrase, “Out of presence comes purpose.” Here is one example. In Ephesians Paul informs us of both the how of our salvation and the reason for it.

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8–10 (NKJV)

Any good evangelical can quote Ephesians 2:8-9. While it is great to understand our salvation and know that it is by grace and not works, what most leave out is verse 10. It informs us that our new birth is His workmanship, and that we were reborn through Jesus to walk in good works, works that He previously prepared for us to walk in. In essence our purpose.

Now, in spite of what this passage tells us, my experience and that of other is that when asked, beyond generalities, most Christians cannot articulate the specific purpose for their lives. What specifically have they been called to walk in? Which takes us to my comment, “out of presence comes purpose.” I don’t know about you but my experience is that when I spend time sitting in His presence and meditating on His word, I receive greater clarity of purpose. There is a clarifying of the good works He previously prepared for me to walk in.

Now, we all miss things, it was one of the Greek philosophers, Heraclitus, who said, “You can’t step in the same river twice.” We can’t and some of the things He has prepared for us to walk in have passed us by. Yet when we draw near to His heart, He doesn’t focus on what we missed, He focuses on the opportunities still before us! I am confident that I have missed many opportunities but I choose to focus on His presence to walk in my present purpose.

Let’s practically apply this to our lives. Think of Jesus ministry. He had a habit of getting into the Father’s presence each morning to receive instructions for the day. As a result, He knew when He would encounter Zacchaeus gazing at Him from up a tree, invite him down and Himself to Zacchaeus house for a celebratory meal. He knew He had an appointment with a woman at a well in Samaria. Other times He received information from the Father in the moment, such as knowing what His detractors were thinking when He healed the paralytic who had been lowered through the roof.

In a similar manner, as we seek presence we find purpose. We may have a sense to call someone and encourage them or call and check in on them. Those are good works He prepared for us that day. We may pause to pray at a coffee break at work and have a sense to pray for a specific individual or speak with a colleague later that day – out of presence comes purpose. This is a simple but profound and exciting walk. We get to have an audience with Jesus to receive direction during our day. If we don’t receive specific instructions we simply walk faithfully before Him each day and await further instructions as we seek His face and heart. As we are faithful in this a broader sense of our purpose emerges.

Thus, if we want clarity of purpose, we need to value and seek presence.

Entering into Rest

Rest, a comforting word, yet at times we may question how attainable it is in our hectic culture. To understand how to attain rest it is important to understand the scriptural concept. If we go back to Yahweh’s original purpose in creation it says that He rested on the seventh day after completing creation (Genesis 2:2-3). This later became an established pattern in the ten commandments (Exodus 20:4) where the Israelites were commanded to honour and keep the sabbath day. One day of rest out of seven. However, we see a shift with the writer of Hebrews. In his long sermon, he contrasts historical understandings with a new covenant. The writer of Hebrews shows how the new covenant is better than the old, how the law is now written on our hearts rather than stone tablets, how Jesus’ priesthood is far superior to the Levitical priesthood and he addresses sabbath. He takes the concept of a sabbath day, a day of rest, and shifts it to the concept of rest as a state of being. Something we will now look at.

Initially the writer of Hebrews tells us two seemingly contradictory things. He tells us that rest is available and that as believers we have already entered it. Yet is that our experience? Here are the scriptures.

¹ Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ² For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ³ For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; ⁵ and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.” ⁶ Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, ⁷ again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” ⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹ There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. ¹¹ Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:1-11 (NKJV)

Contextually the passage tells us in verse 1 that rest is available to us and in verse 3 that we who have believed, that is those who have been born again, have entered into rest. Then verse 11 exhorts us to enter rest. Thus, we need to make sense of these seemingly contradictory messages. The answer lies in understanding the ‘already not yet’ nature of the kingdom. George Eldon Ladd was a famous American theologian and Baptist Minister (though he was born in Alberta). One of the concepts he popularized in the 20^th Century was the ‘already not yet’ nature of the kingdom of God. Jesus inaugurated the kingdom at His first coming, He will fully consummate it at His return. In this present state we can by faith lay hold of that which is not fully ‘yet.’ That is what Hebrews is getting at.

At the new birth we transferred kingdoms.

¹³ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, Colossians 1:13 (NKJV)

By faith we lay hold of this reality when we recognize where we are seated and set our minds there.

²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. ²² And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, Ephesians 1:20–22 (NKJV)

¹ If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. ² Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:1–2 (NKJV)

Thus, when we recognize that spiritually we are already living in a place of rest (seated with Christ) we can taste of it and experience it now. If we desire rest then our next step is to by faith step into that which we already possess, to meditate on this reality so we tangibly experience it in our lives.

How we Hear

In my last post I referenced the importance of pairing practical wisdom with spiritual understanding. Here I want to focus more on the specifics of how we apply them when it comes to hearing His voice. First, I draw your attention to scripture then share and analyze an example from my own life. Granted this example is not the normal process for me but it does highlight how we can hear and the importance of how we initially respond to what we hear. Now to scripture. There are two very relevant passages to look at in relation to hearing His voice.

¹⁴ For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it. Job 33:14 (NKJV)

¹¹ For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:11–12 (NKJV)

The passage from Job tells us that just because God is speaking, it doesn’t mean we are listening. For me a clear implication is that we need to train our hearts to hear. The 1 Corinthians 2 passage tells us that we know things in/by our spirit and that the Holy Spirit reveals to us the things of God. Again, it means we need to apply natural wisdom and pay spiritual attention. I am quite convinced that He is regularly saying more than what we are hearing. In my own life I find it important to daily centre my heart on Him and seek to be sensitive to His voice. When I do hear or perceive something He is saying there is always a three-step process, Revelation, Interpretation, Application. In short there is what I hear, then there is a need to interpret what I hear and lastly the need to know how to apply it, again, wisdom and spiritual understanding. It can become quite automatic in our lives if we engage in this process regularly. Below is an example of how I walked through this process and had to be sensitive to His voice, in this case images, to engage in Revelation, Interpretation and Application. I haven’t had an ongoing revelation like this on any other occasion.

A couple of years ago I was praying for a friend. I have committed to daily prayer for he and his ministry. As I was praying, unbidden I had an image of him sitting on an old farm wagon. He was on the seat with reins in his hand and there was a team of horses hitched to the wagon. I knew the wagon was filled with supplies for people. I could have dismissed this as just my imagination but it wasn’t something I had been seeking so I shared this with my friend and he was blessed as he had grown up on a farm and could relate to the image. It fit into his life story. I saw the supplies as being spiritual food he had to share with those to whom he ministered, which he agreed was accurate. A couple of weeks later while I was praying for my friend, not thinking about this, I again saw him on the wagon. This time he was at the loading dock of an old general store and others were helping him to load the wagon with supplies. This meant that he wasn’t alone in his ministry. He was leading, he was in the driver’s seat, but others were helping. A week or so later the image continued. At this stage I saw my friend driving the wagon to deliver supplies to others but this time Jesus was sitting beside him with His arm around his shoulder. This meant that Jesus could and would direct as to whom to deliver his supplies. It also meant that Jesus was intimately involved in his ministry. The final factor is the setting. It was like an old Western town. Scripture tells us that if we remember and walk in the old paths, we will find rest for our souls (Jeremiah 6:16). My friend’s ministry is about bringing struggling leaders to a place of rest in the Lord. He saw the setting as speaking to functioning in his calling in a steady measured and unhurried way. A horse and wagon can’t keep up to our modern hurried lifestyle, but that was the point. He was called to lead people into rest.

Now, I don’t know how many of us will have an experience like I did. I used it to illustrate ongoing discernment, Revelation, Interpretation and Application. More generally when praying for others I have standard things I pray but at times the Spirit lays something more specific on my heart for a specific individual or ministry. At other times I have an impression to call someone and share something the Spirit is saying. Yet all of this is rooted in learning to sensitize our hearts to His voice. A key part of this is not missing the spiritual looking for the supernatural. It is also a matter of not trying to manufacture something He isn’t saying. We are all called to a walk of simple and faithful obedience.

How is He speaking to you today?

Wisdom and Spiritual Understanding

I would like you to join me in exploring Colossians 1:9.

⁹ For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; Colossians 1:9 (NKJV)

Here Paul’s prayer is that the believers in Colosse, and by extension us, would be ‘filled with the knowledge of His will.’ That is, that the priority in our lives would be knowing, and of course walking in, His will. Paul’s prayer comes with a qualifier.

The qualifier is in the latter part of the verse. The NKJV presents this latter part as ‘wisdom and spiritual understanding.’ In Greek it is literally written as ‘wisdom and understanding spiritual.’ Of our many modern translations some have it as wisdom and spiritual understanding and others as spiritual wisdom and understanding.

I believe wisdom and spiritual understanding is an accurate rendering of the Greek text because there is both natural and spiritual wisdom and natural and spiritual understanding, here Paul seems to be trying communicate the importance of both. This is similar to his language in 1 Corinthians where Paul connects the natural and the spiritual realms.

⁴⁶ However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹ And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. 1 Corinthians 15:46–49 (NKJV)

We have all likely heard the expression that someone is ‘so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.’ The converse being the danger of being ‘so earthly minded they are no heavenly good.’

Neither of the above positions is correct. We need both natural and spiritual wisdom and understanding. We need to learn to discern what to do by looking around and we need to draw on wisdom from heaven to walk wisely and uprightly before Him. In terms of practical wisdom Proverbs is dedicated to the practical understanding and use of wisdom. Proverbs highlights the importance of developing practical wisdom, understanding and knowledge anchored in the fear of Yahweh (Proverbs 1:7).

Spiritual understanding, the kind Paul referenced in Colossians 1:9, comes from a different place. It comes from cultivating a sensitivity to the Spirit and learning to follow His leading. We need both, we may for example learn from Proverbs how to behave wisely in business dealings with others. Yet a deal can look good and we have a sense in our spirit that something is simply not right so we choose not to enter into the deal. This is spiritual understanding. The same application could be made in terms of how to navigate relationships in or outside the body of Christ. In light of this let’s seek to marry practical wisdom and spiritual understanding in our walk with Jesus.

Spiritual Opposition

Here we take a look at how we walk through deep spiritual waters. I last wrote about how Yahweh hides things for us rather than from us. An aspect of that is how the spiritual realm affects the natural realm. There is more in the spirit realm than simply the Father, Son, Spirit and a few angels. The heavenlies are filled with various spiritual creatures and not all of them are good. When it comes to how spiritual opposition functions Paul lays some of it out for us in Ephesians 6.

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:10–13 (NKJV)

While Paul tells us in some detail how living in and out of Ephesians 6 brings victory, in Thessalonians he also addresses the impact of this spiritual opposition.

¹⁸ Therefore we wanted to come to you – even I, Paul, time and again – but Satan hindered us. 1 Thessalonians 2:18 (NKJV)

We know from these two passages that as believers we are in a spiritual battle and that this battle can derail what He has called us to do. Paul also warned the Corinthians about spiritual deception.

³ But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NKJV)

¹³ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. ¹⁵ Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. 2 Corinthians 11:13–15 (NKJV)

We see here that Satan’s tactics can not only hinder our activity for the kingdom, they can also raise up opposition against us through people who seek to lead God’s people astray. Which means we need to learn how to walk in both natural and spiritual understanding (Colossians 1:9). wisdom

From a purely spiritual perspective, I don’t know if you have experienced this. Some decades ago, I was the interim pastor of a small country church. I lived about twenty minutes away in another county. I would be in the church office trying to prepare a sermon, nothing would come, the scriptures didn’t make a lot of sense. Yet more than once when driving home, around where I crossed the border into the county where I lived, I would receive a download of information for my sermon. At times I would pull over on the highway and write down notes as ideas came flooding in. The sermons themselves were generally easy to deliver but there was a spiritual battle in the area of preparation. Satan sought to hinder me.

In a similar vein when I worked in the social services field and would drive from our country acreage to the city for work, at times I would feel the weight of spiritual oppression as I reached the outskirts of the city. For me these issues highlight the need for spiritual awareness on our part as we seek to walk in obedience and extend the kingdom.

Another example from my life is at times feeling a generalized spiritual heaviness and a sense of malaise. To deal with these issues I learned to engage in worship and as I did so the heaviness would lift over time. Isaiah referred to this as the ‘garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.’

³ To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. Isaiah 61:3 (NKJV)

Now we look at what to do with these examples. The commonality in them is the need to first discern the problem, recognize that it is spiritual opposition, then engage in prayer/spiritual warfare/worship to achieve a breakthrough. Part of the battle is understanding what took place at our conversion. In Colossians 1 when Paul lets the believers in Colosse know he is praying for them to know and be filled with the Father’s will in all ‘wisdom and spiritual understanding’ he then talks about how they have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. To achieve victory, we need to know who He, who we are, and what took place at our conversion. Applying these truths helps you to walk in victory over spiritual opposition, so apply them!