Listening To The Holy Ghost


By W. Clyde Martin

Excerpt from message "How To Approach The Throne" given at 2002 Tennessee Prayer Conference: Acts 13:1-4

The Holy Ghost said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." (verse 2) "So they being sent forth by the Holy Ghost" (verse 4) teaches us that the director of our earthly schedule as Christians is the Holy Ghost. Therefore, if we as born again children of God are to know the daily paths of service for ourselves individually, we must pray and listen for the directions given by the indwelling Holy Spirit. To pray correctly we must pray with a right relationship to the Spirit and give Him the daily honor that belongs to Him.

God's Daily Schedule

There is a daily schedule for each believer and God is willing and able to illuminate the path daily to keep us in His will. These verses establish the fact that communications come from headquarters ___ Heaven! Daily the indwelling Holy Spirit leads the believer into fields of labor that men do not understand nor approve; ways that are sometimes contrary to fellow believers. When the Holy Spirit chooses us for a certain task we must obey regardless as to our own thoughts or the thoughts of others. These verses teach us that the Holy Spirit will still speak to His people. Often He comes to individual servants and gives them a change of schedule that is not to man's thinking.

If we are to know God's daily schedule for special assignments we must maintain a close fellowship with our Holy Spirit. He is the one Who chooses and assigns our work load. When we know the will of God in a matter, we must also know the schedule. It is easy for the believer who is in fellowship with the Paraclete to know the right field of toil and the time schedule for the task.

The two key words to fruitful service is "listen" and "obey". Oh, if only we would get our orders from the Holy Spirit and then obey them regardless of how unusual they may seem to our thinking or the thoughts of others.

Remember Who Is Speaking

It's important that we acknowledge the One Who is speaking on this occasion in this text. "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said."

God, The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God, and is equal to the Father, and the Son. We live in a day that has twisted and confused the doctrine and work of the third person of the Trinity. Satan has in his deceptive way carried well meaning people to such extremes that they forget the truths that are made so beautifully clear in Scripture.

Our relationship and personal fellowship with the Holy Spirit demands that we maintain complete surrender to His guidance and control. All truly born again Christians have the indwelling person of the Spirit or else they wouldn't be a Christian. God's Word clearly says, "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." (Romans 8:9)

As soldiers of the Cross we are to carry out His orders. In this text we are told that He has certain plans and intentions regarding Asia and Europe. The plans were God conceived; they were His plans and He made them known to His soldiers. A military Commander organizes his campaign and his Generals do not always know the over-all plans. They often receive sealed orders and they have to wait on Him for what he gives them as orders. Andrew Murray writes: "God in Heaven has wishes, and a will, in regard to any work that ought to be done. Blessed is the man who gets into God's secrets and works under the Holy Spirit."

Almost always we as believers seek the power of the Holy Spirit in order to be successful in our own endeavors, yet it is His plans that we must seek. Many believers have sincere plans of their own and rely on the Holy Spirit to empower their human plans. We must not only see the Holy Spirit as the source of power but understand also that He is the One Who chooses the servant and instructs him.

May I suggest to you that God best reveals His will as we are obedient to Matthew 6:6: ".....enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

The Holy Spirit reveals God's will in perplex and difficult matters to a heart that has learned to obey and honor Him. Honor the Holy Ghost by being loyal in little things in daily living.

From a group of prophets and teachers at Antioch, namely Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen and Saul; the Holy Spirit said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for a work..." Yes, the Holy Ghost is the director and guide for our lives.

It is a wonderful feeling when the Holy Spirit chooses us. To be a chosen servant for a special task is to know that the task will be Holy Spirit powered. It is also a wonderful feeling when we see God choose others in our fellowship group and separate them to a special work. We should be aware that the Holy Spirit is very choosy. He always chooses the right ones from the group for a particular task. If the Holy Spirit chooses you, you can know that you are qualified and capable by His power and grace to do the job.

( W. Clyde Martin is editor of the online magazine THE PRAYER LIFE , a ministry dedicated to promoting deeper prayer among the redeemed. His e-mail address: godcalled@webtv.net __duplicating this message for distribution is encouraged)

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