"I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry." Habakkuk 2:1-3, NKJV.
Key #1 God"s voice in our hearts sounds like a
flow of spontaneous thoughts.
Therefore, when I tune to God, I tune to spontaneity.
Key #2 I must learn to still my own thoughts and
emotions, so that I can sense God"s flow of thoughts and emotions within
me.
Key #3 As I pray, I fix the eyes of my heart upon
Jesus, seeing in the Spirit the dreams and visions of Almighty God.
Key #4 Journaling, the writing out of our prayers
and God"s answers, provides a great new freedom in hearing God"s
voice.
Example of the spiritual mind. "But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19, NKJV.
Example of the spiritual will. "When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome."" Acts 19:21, NKJV.
The spiritual emotions. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness," Galatians 5:22, NKJV. Jesus was led by compassion, a spiritual emotion.
Spiritual eyes. "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints," Ephesians 1:17,18, NKJV.
Spiritual ears. ""He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"" Matthew 13:9, NKJV.
We need to return to being children. Children thrive on stories.
"and said, "Assuredly, I say
to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no
means enter the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:3, NKJV.
Read the Bible, Old and New Testaments. Put yourself
into the stories, and ask God where you fit. Are you Elijah in 1 Kings 17 or the poor woman who was
running out of bread? Are you
Elijah who having obeyed God now sees the brook drying up and the ravens no
longer brining him food? What does
it mean to you when he was told, ""Arise, go to Zarephath, which
belongs to Sidon, and dwell there.
See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."" 1 Kings 17:9, NKJV.
Put
yourself into the sandals of the disciples walking on The Road to Emmaus.
Luke 24:13-38, NKJV.
"13 Now behold,
two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was
seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 And they talked
together of all these things which had happened.
15 So it was, while
they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.
16 But their eyes were
restrained, so that they did not know Him.
17 And He said to
them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as
you walk and are sad?"
18 Then the one whose
name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in
Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these
days?"
Jesus baited them
to spill out their real feelings.
19 And He said to
them, "What things?" So
they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a
Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
20 "and how the
chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and
crucified Him.
21 "But we were
hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these
things happened.
Their hope was
gone.
22 "Yes, and
certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.
23 "When they did
not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels
who said He was alive.
24 "And certain
of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had
said; but Him they did not see."
25 Then He said to
them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the
prophets have spoken!
26 "Ought not the
Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"
27 And beginning at
Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the
things concerning Himself.
Jesus taught them the Word with the anointing. He gave them a line-by-line Bible study, speaking to their intellect as well as their hearts. He gave them a "study" to their left-brain, however it was a spiritual left-brain message. He gave rhema.
Does Jesus want us to use our reasoning? Yes, but look what kind of reasoning He wants.
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith
the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:18, KJV. Immediately He reasons with right brain
pictures, snow and crimson.
28 Then they drew near
to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone
farther.
29 But they
constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the
day is far spent." And He
went in to stay with them.
30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
31 Then their eyes
were opened and they knew Him; and He
vanished from their sight.
32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"
33 So they rose up
that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who
were with them gathered together,
34 saying, "The
Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"
35 And they told about
the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the
breaking of bread.
36 Now as they said
these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace
to you."
37 But they were terrified
and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.
38 And He said to
them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?"
Learn to listen for rhema. Rhema
means "spoken word." It
can mean a word spoken by God, man or a devil.
Key # 1Spontaneous Thoughts.
Learn to
recognize God"s voice as a spontaneous thought that comes into your
heart. Sometimes it flashes
through so fast that you must write it down lest you forget it. This kind of thought can be an idea, a
vision from a Bible story or a "feeling" that can be generally
supported by Scriptural values.
Left brain study verses right brain
illumination.
I find it
interesting that Einstein used the four keys taught by Communion with God
Ministries to discover the theory of relativity. He is quoted testifying to this. He said "I only want God"s mind, everything else
is just details." He asked
God for a vision while he was quiet under a tree, then he wrote it down. We can excel at any vocation in life by
using this same practice. One
example is L.G Letourneau of North Georgia. During the 2nd World War, the government came to
him for a solution for building airstrips in Europe quickly. He was a grading contractor. He prayed, and God gave him the vision of
a huge wheeled earthmover! It
helped to wind the war.
Study in the left-brain logical sense is a word that is
not supported by Scripture. That does not mean that left-brain
people are disadvantaged or in some way less spiritual. Luke was left brained. Even the founder and president of
Communion with God ministries, the resource we are using for these lessons, is
primarily a left-brain person.
"Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth."
2 Timothy 2:15, KJV
The word study
is really be diligent.
"Be
diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV.
"that you
also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with
your own hands, as we commanded you," 1 Thessalonians 4:11, NKJV.
The word study
here is really aspire.
"And that
ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own
hands, as we commanded you;" 1 Thessalonians 4:11, KJV.
The word study, in the logical sense, is
discouraged in Scripture.
Here is the
only place in the Bible that study in the logical only sense is mentioned.
"And
further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end;
and much study is a weariness of the flesh." Ecclesiastes 12:12, KJV.
Left or Right brain. Is one better? No.
Accept the way
the Lord created you, and know that information comes into you either through
the left or the right brain.
However, then it should be processed in a spiritual way and, submitted
to the other side of the brain before acted upon. Both types of people have latent advantages and
disadvantages. The answer is to
use your gift with meditation instead of logic, as we describe below.
Left-brain examples. The left-brain person needs to pray and submit his/her
reasoning to the Holy Spirit, and then it will be anointed and open to God.
Look what Luke the left-brain physician said. "Inasmuch
as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which
have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were
eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to
me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to
write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know
the certainty of those things in which you were instructed." Luke 1:1-4, NKJV.
Another example of spiritual study. "All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness," 2 Timothy
3:16, NKJV. It is guided by
inspiration, or the Holy Spirit flow.
Right brain example.
John was off the scale to the right but he could also process what he received with his left-brain.
"I was in
the Spirit on the Lord"s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a
trumpet, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,"
and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches
which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis,
to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."
Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with
a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool,
as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine
brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged
sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength." Revelation 1:10-16, NKJV.
What is better than logical study? What is better than unrestrained right-brain visions?
Meditation.
Meditation is
used 18-20 times in Scripture. We
study rationally to acquire knowledge, however we study by meditation to receive power, vision and God"s
voice. Logical study releases
information, meditation releases power to your heart.
David meditated with music. Psalm
7:1 "A Meditation of David,
which he sang to the LORD..."
God told Joshua, ""This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Joshua 1:8, NKJV.
Bible meditation replaces logical study and brings God"s voice leaping off the page. How?
How do you hear God"s voice?
Posture yourself for meditation.
Strong"s Concordance definitions of meditation include:
Meditate
murmur, converse with oneself, speak talk babble mutter roar mourn musical
notation, to study (in the Spirit like Luke) ponder, revolve in the mind,
imagine, pray, reflect, devotion.
Pray over the
Word as you read it. Ponder it in
your heart like Mary. Purpose
through your heart like Paul. Pray
in the Spirit. Say it out loud,
discuss it with others, imagine the stories you read and how you might fit into
them. Keep the Word in your heart
for days, write it down, memorize it, and sing it. Keep it in your mind.
Roar over it with praise when God speaks, babble over it in
tongues. Look at the attached left
and right brain diagrams to see how valuable meditation is compared to logic.
How to be sure flow and spontaneity is from God.
First, you must
consecrate yourself to God, taking up your cross; accepting His will for your
will, His mind for your mind, and His emotions for your emotions.
John 7 also gives us a guideline.
"On the last day, that great day of
the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him
come to Me and drink. " He
who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow
rivers of living water." But
this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive;
for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." John 7:37-39, NKJV.
1. You must thirst
2. You must come to Him
3. Drink, tune to the flow.
4. Believe, have faith.
5. Out of your heart, the flow will
come. That is the promise.