The Holy Spirit
in your Life
by
Peter Sebborn
Bible References here use the following standard notation:
Book-Name Chapter:Verse(s)
e.g. 1 Corinthians 12:1-31
This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:
‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’
says the Lord Almighty.
(Zechariah 4:6)[1]
God be in my head
And in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes,
And in my looking;
God be in my mouth,
And in my speaking;
God be in my heart,
And in my thinking;
God be at mine end,
And at my departing.[2]
.
…
The biggest problem that I see nowadays is – how do people manage to live without having Jesus in their lives?
My target readership is ordinary people of all ages who fall into one or more of the following categories;
- Maybe you learnt about Christianity when you were young but never really took it very seriously; it was simply an optional lifestyle which suited some (other) people.
- Perhaps you feel there is no need for religion of any kind; science tells us all we need to know. In any case it only seems to lead to conflict.
- Christianity is one of many different religions and people are free to choose any or none.
- Life in the physical world is complicated enough without adding in a spiritual dimension which we are unable to grasp anyway.
I am encouraged by the fact that in order to get this far you must have located the book or maybe found it accidentally while browsing the internet; please read on, it can only have a positive effect.
I write this as Israel is at war with Gaza following an attack by Hamas, and the only possible response is prayer to the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace – JESUS!
So in this book we’ll look at some basic factors of life, and how the only solution is to ask God for help and direction.
But it is actually simpler than that – if we come to know Him personally and intimately, we find that life with Jesus is a pleasure, not a drudge or a pain; He can take all our cares and problems and help us work our way through them, coming out stronger on the other side of them. He doesn’t take away the problems, but He gives us resources to help to see us through – and I say that as a cancer sufferer myself.
We shall see that the Agency that God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) use here is God Holy Spirit and that by being sensitive to His leading we can face each day with equanimity and confidence.
Suppose you are facing serious financial issues, or extreme health problems, or the challenge of a broken relationship – you may well feel that your walk with Jesus won’t resolve these? We must all know of instances where faith does not seem to have helped at all, but even if not then having God walk with you through these matters will give you the necessary strength to manage them and move forward.
This book is intended to describe the work, power and ministry of the Holy Spirit in action in our lives today, and represents the opinions of the Author as prayerfully guided by God. It is not designed to be a theological text book, nor to carry any authority except that of the Word of God and of the Holy Spirit as described within.
It is the distillation and collection of events and experiences in a personal walk with God, from the best part of 8 decades. It is very much a personal statement, so is largely written in the first person. I have also used a conversational style because this is the medium in which I communicate best, with the aim of getting the message across to you as a reader in the most helpful manner.
For convenience it is produced as an online e-book; it is designed to be accessible free of charge to any who wish to read it. i make no apology for not producing it in printed form, as this would conflict with a major objective given to me by God, namely to offer it without cost to any who may be interested. A reader may print it in whole or in part if desired, with the proviso that authorship is acknowledged thus:
From “The Holy Spirit in your Life” by Peter Sebborn, 2025.
Hopefully these jottings will help you to find a way forward, with the help of the Holy Spirit. You can read this on your own or in a group; there are discussion starters at the end of each chapter, or you can feel free to interpose your own questions; there are no rules. In the group context you may find that the chapters do not conveniently fit, for example, into a 10-week term, but again there are no hard and fast rules as to how you should sub-divide the material; group leaders can feel free to follow whatever pattern works for your group.
I have throughout this book used the convention of dates recorded as BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord), the use of which dates from the 6th Century AD. I have rejected the now trendy CE (Common Era) and BCE (Before Common Era), the use of which became common in the early 20th Century for reasons of religious neutrality. This is a Christian work so I believe it should use Christian-based date referencing.[3]
My prayer is that it will provide food for Christian thought and discussion in order to help you to come closer to God in your daily walk with Jesus. So I hope you find this helpful, and I pray that it is useful to you.
Acknowledgments
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ under the provisions of Gratis Use.
Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version; Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Thanks to my good friend Richard Kimber for his encouragement and prayer support, and for his editorial comment.
I am grateful to Roy Millar, author of Come and See, an exposition of the Gospel of St John, for permission to quote from that book.
Grateful thanks to my loving wife for helping with proof-reading and the occasional correction, but mostly for her longsuffering tolerance of me being absens in praesentia while I spent long hours at the computer.
Thank you to my friends and family in various churches in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Herefordshire, all of whom have supported me in prayer through my issues with cancer.
Special thanks to God for the healing He has brought me through various cancer issues while writing this book.
3 The Holy Spirit as part of the Trinity
4 Cessationism versus Continuationism
10 How do I recognise God’s Voice?
13 How does God get your attention?
14 Are we ready for Jesus to Return?
1 Introduction
What led to the writing of this book? Basically a lifetime spent getting in turn closer to and further from God, then eventually realising that there really is only one effective solution – to walk with Jesus day by day. Over the years I have seen that there really is no other way. So I hope you will indulge me if I explain where I am coming from, which hopefully will set the main material into context.
I was born in Worcester in 1944 during World War II, so I have somewhat exceeded my allotted threescore years and ten and now my fourscore years (Psalm 90:10, KJV), and a reasonable person might conclude that I could now sit back and relax with my family in my “declining years”. However that has never been God’s way; I am now 81 and God is still keeping me busy – there is no such thing as retirement in God’s Kingdom!
I was brought up in a Christian household and went to church with my parents from about the age of 6; I joined the choir at 7, and this was the environment in which I learnt the basics of the Christian faith, singing hymns and psalms, and hearing bits of the Bible read out. I went to a state Primary school, then at 11 I went to a Christian boarding school; my first personal experience of God was during a Wednesday evening service in Lent at the age of 14; it wasn’t anything very specific, but a general feeling along the lines of “I’m real, I’m here and I’ve got plans for your future”.
Later I went to university, (again to a Christian establishment) because I wanted to study Physics and Mathematics. I also had the opportunity alongside my degree course, to acquire a diploma in Theology (AKC). They had an active Christian fellowship which I joined, but in those days I was really what we would probably call a pew-filler rather than a committed Christian. Despite this low-key approach I felt that God wasn’t quite letting go, but I suppose I prayed with St Augustine “Lord, make me good, but not yet”.
In the mid-1970s I met and married my wife (we both sang and we met in a church choir), and in the early 1980s God blessed us with three children, and between them they have given us five grandchildren.
I have also made a number of serious mistakes along the way, but confession and repentance have cleaned up the past and God is very gracious and can take us forward from where we are (see Psalm 103, especially verses 10-12).
In 2010 we moved 150 miles across England to be near to family, and for 12 years we attended the same New Frontiers church as our eldest daughter and her family. Early in 2022 we felt that God wanted us to move to our local Parish Church instead; we attended for a while, but it was painful as we had many friends (and family) at our previous Church. However, we persevered and in the autumn of that year God spoke very clearly to me through something another person said, that we should move to this new church on a permanent basis. Since that time I have been recording things that I believe God has been saying – it seemed like a good idea at the time! For the last three years we have been regular worshippers at this church (which also has the benefit of being 10 minutes’ walk from home instead of 20 minutes’ drive), and we have been greatly blessed there. I have had three separate cancers (two of which God has healed) and have massive prayer support within the Church and our family.
My “flavour” of Christianity is that I am a charismatic evangelical – I believe that the Bible is the revealed Word of God, and I believe in the Holy Spirit giving Spiritual Gifts to people today.
So – where am I now, and why am I writing this? The simple answer is, “Because I believe God told me to”. I believe He wants me to go on collecting snippets and setting them in context, hopefully to help others (as well as myself) to come to know God better and follow His leading. There is also an evangelistic purpose here, as I pray that those who don’t yet know God for themselves may come to know Him, to meet with Jesus, and as a minimum to be sufficiently curious to pursue the matter to find out more about Him. You can pursue a course of academic study from the many sources available, which will tell you the basic facts about God and about Christianity but will not of itself help you to build a personal relationship with Him; the alternative (and this is a much better option) is by going to church to experience Him for yourself.
If you are considering going to church for the first time, it would be a good plan to go with a friend or relative whom you trust and know to be a regular Christian worshipper; someone who can guide you to an appropriate church fellowship and can help you get started in this new venture.
I once heard a preacher begin a sermon with the words, “We preach to ourselves, we hope that others will overhear”; so I am writing now in order that I may draw closer to God (and this objective is being incrementally and magnificently achieved as I write); I pray that some of it may rub off onto you as a reader.
Challenge to the Reader
If you are already a Christian believer, why not review your relationship with Jesus in the context of the banquet in Luke 14 – will you come, or will you say no?
if you are not yet a Christian believer, why not examine the case for belief for yourself dispassionately and consider whether Christianity may have something that attracts you? The Holy Spirit may already be knocking at the door of your soul, keen to be allowed in.
In many places here I have referred to the fact that different people may have slightly differing beliefs; does this therefore suggest that you can almost “believe what you like”? Well, not quite; there certainly are many variants of valid belief systems within the worldwide Church, but there are some fundamental truths which a Christian simply has to accept as fact: the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection for example are incontrovertible if one is to be a Christian believer, as is the personal saving work of Jesus on the Cross for each one of us. I do not want to create dissent by going through an itemised list of those items which are vital and those which are less important; if there are areas on which you have doubt I suggest you discuss it with a respected Christian leader.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, may we open our hearts and minds to what you are saying to each of us personally, so that we may know and love you more and may find our individual calling within your Body. Amen.
Peter Sebborn BSc, AKC
Christian.Footsoldier@gmail.com
Revised February 2025
© Peter Sebborn 2025
2 Christianity and the Bible
Firstly I need to stress the importance of Scripture; if the Bible doesn’t support it, it’s wrong! I am not a literalist (I am not going to argue that the world was made in 6 periods of 24 hours) but I am a fundamentalist in that I believe the Bible to be the ultimate plumb-line against which I am measured (see 2 Timothy 3:16).
The Bible is the revealed Word of God. Christians believe in Divine authorship – it was inspired by the Holy Spirit – and it was given to approximately 40 different human authors to write down; this took place over a period of about 1,500 years across different parts of the world, and this fact is to an extent responsible for the differences of style, language, date and format occurring within the text. It comprises the Law (the Torah, the first 5 books of both the Hebrew and the Christian Bible), the Prophets, Poetry, History and Prophecy. It also contains the message of Salvation – being reconciled to God (having the slate wiped clean from all the wrong things we have done in our lives), through the sacrifice Jesus made by dying on the Cross and then rising to life again (the Resurrection). The work and preaching of Jesus during His earthly life is described in the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; this is expanded into a Code for Christian living set out within the whole of the New Testament. All are designed to show us God the Father and the way to know Him and draw close to Him; it is also to show us the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and how we can experience each person of the Trinity in our everyday lives.
- Is the Resurrection true?
Many people often doubt the truth of the Resurrection. Contemporary (1st Century) excuses for disbelief included: (i) inaccurate authorship by distraught men trying to put a brave face on a disaster; (ii) deliberate misreporting by Roman soldiers who were afraid of reprisals for not guarding the body properly; (iii) Jews who firmly believed that the ministry and claims of Jesus were blasphemous and heretical, and outside of their solid beliefs and religious practices.
Modern excuses for disbelief include (i) it is impossible to prove it scientifically; (ii) life seems to go on quite normally without the need to worry about something that appears to have no effect on family life, work or culture; (iii) in our post-modern pluralistic world, it is seen at the same level as Eastern mysticism – one of a multiplicity of optional belief systems – believe it or ignore it at will.
There is also a widespread belief that the Resurrection was symbolic; the spiritual presence of Jesus was somehow present and available for believers to hold onto.
This last is quite unacceptable as it reduces Christianity to just another mystic religion. Christianity is unique; it is the only religion in which God reaches down to mankind in the fully human form of Jesus, while at the same time retaining His fully divine form. Let me re-phrase that: Jesus is (present tense) fully God and fully man. In all other religions people are reaching up to god; shaping god in human form (sometimes quite literally in the form of idols with head and limbs, and sometimes even with a navel!).
The Resurrection is the single best-attested fact in the ancient world, largely by non-Christian (and sometimes even anti-Christian) writers, not least the Roman historian Josephus[4]. Flavius Josephus was a contemporary of Jesus and lived in Jerusalem; he was a Jewish Priest, a scholar and a historian and a prolific author who was highly regarded by his peers.
As a Jewish priest he would have been no friend of Jesus, yet he described Him as follows:
Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross; those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. For he appeared to them alive again, the third day: as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
Josephus is an often-quoted source in respect of the accuracy of events in the New Testament; he was a rare breed – a faithful historian with no apparent axe to grind. Many other contemporary documents also attest to the Resurrection as a historical event.
Research carried out in the latter part of the 20th Century and published in 2015 gives strong scientific support for the Resurrection being a historical fact; if you have any doubt on this then I recommend you read the article cited here[5].
My personal belief is that the fact of the Resurrection is incontrovertible (although as a Christian I obviously believe it by faith anyway), but Jews and Muslims strongly deny it. Belief in the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, with all that this implies for each of us, is fundamental to being a Christian believer. This is a mystery beyond human understanding, which will only fully make sense when we meet with Jesus in His heavenly kingdom after death. Much of the New Testament points to the End Times, when Jesus will return to close down the passage of time and gather everyone and everything to Himself, and to judge between good and evil. You can read a summary of the effects of this Judgment in three different parables (symbolic descriptions of profound spiritual truth) in Matthew 25.
- Textual Consistency in the Bible
Because the Bible was all divinely inspired, there is a remarkable consistency between different passages; people often say that the Bible contains self-contradictions, but detailed study shows that this is not the case, once we take into account its varied cultural settings as described above.
Caution: we also need to be aware that these different cultures refer to the times of Bible authorship up until the Canon of the Bible was set by the Council of Nicea in the 4th Century AD, and they do not give us implicit freedom today to superimpose 21st century values onto the absolute and eternal Word of God. Attempts to dismiss specific teachings because they do not fit comfortably with our modern culture are quite unacceptable. This smacks of a quote from the BBC comedy series “Yes, Prime Minister”, where the Prime Minister says, “I am their leader, I must follow them!” Absolutely not! The Bible is our leader, and we must follow what it says.
- Different Translations
I am not a Bible scholar, and any interpretations I place on certain contentious passages will necessarily be those of a layman; I have however taken trouble to pay attention to such matters as the period of authorship, the culture of the target recipients, the linguistics used, the form of the text (history, poetry, prophecy, allegory. instruction); I have tried to be objective and faithful to the Holy Spirit’s leading in reaching any proposed interpretation. I do not guarantee that mine is the correct (or even the only possible) interpretation, but if you disagree on any point then please feel free to do your own study to reach your own conclusions. I only ask that you would do this in a fair and even-handed manner, and perhaps discuss it in your own Christian fellowship.
There is a constant difficulty; some passages are quite clearly relevant to the culture in which they were first written, while others are clearly absolute and eternal; consider the following verses in Leviticus 19:
Verse 15 says “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favouritism to the great, but judge your neighbour fairly”; also Verse 29 says “Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute”
This is certainly absolute and eternal, while other texts are just as clearly culturally relevant:
Verse 27 of the same chapter says “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard”.
Some of Paul’s teachings are culturally based, and some may even refer to specific bad practices within certain church fellowships (e.g. the fledgling 1st Century Corinthian Church). Without entering into contentious matters of interpretation, I refer back to my reason for writing here: it is to encourage Christian spirituality and not to be an academic treatise; I would simply advise caution when considering the relevance of these teachings today. There is ongoing debate about whether women are allowed to teach (or speak) in the Church (see 1 Corinthians 14:34-35). Also 1 Timothy 2:15 can be considered quite offensive in Western 21st century society, and here it is quite clear from the context that this is cultural.
This could be seen as a convenient dismissal of a difficult passage, but if this is your view I suggest you read the whole of the letter and study the societal context in which it was written. Always allow the Holy Spirit to guide your thinking and your reading.
If you are troubled by whether a passage is eternal and absolute, or simply valid within its own cultural context, then it is best to ask a Bible-believing Christian leader (sadly this last qualification is not universally applicable) for guidance on interpreting the passage in question, rather than relying on your own thoughts (see Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”). Because I am no expert in Bible interpretation I shall not enter that debate here, but the Holy Spirit is a very helpful Counsellor, who can always be called on to arbitrate in these discussions; questions such as this are always best approached in prayer and in a group of believers together.
Be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater: for example, most of what Paul says in his letters is important doctrine and must be taken seriously, but there are certainly passages which are relevant to the age and culture in which they were first set.
We shall not devote space here to a detailed study of the Bible; there are many works available for such study. I take Scripture as the ultimate authority for Christian thought and action, and allow the Holy Spirit and respected Christian leaders to be my arbitrators.
It is worth being aware of the many different versions and translations of the Bible, and there is no specific one that I could recommend for all purposes. We in the English-speaking world started with the Authorised Version (AV), nowadays usually referred to as the King James Version (KJV), first produced in 1611; this was one of the earliest complete editions in the English language. It is a very literal translation (almost word-for-word, also called Formal Equivalence), which gives rise to some curious linguistic difficulties in today’s Western culture; it is nonetheless still used in many churches, although our own personal preference may differ.
A good 20th century example is the New International Version (NIV) (published, along with some later updates, from 1973 onwards) – this is near to the opposite end of the spectrum of translation styles (referred to as Dynamic Equivalence); this attempts to translate the actual wording to be more understandable to the modern reader, while retaining as closely as possible the original meaning; there is also the New Living Translation, a somewhat freer Dynamic Equivalence Bible; which is more colloquial in style and so more accessible to many modern readers. There are many other versions available today, and the version you read is largely a matter of personal preference. If you are coming fresh to this discipline, it is worth spending some time diving into a few different versions (maybe recommended by other Christians) and comparing a few passages across different translations, to see which one suits you. Be open-minded to the possibility of changing course later if circumstances change. I mostly use the NIV but this is personal preference.
Again a word of caution: The Message version is excellent for understanding the general meaning of a passage, but it is a paraphrase and not an actual translation; it also omits the discrete verse boundaries to make for easier reading of the actual text, so it may be difficult to align with others in a group who have different versions. Because it is a paraphrase it cannot be said to have the authority of a true translation; I would highly recommend it as a starter, but definitely not for serious Bible study.
- Regular Bible reading
Daily Bible reading is an important discipline for any Christian, and there are many publications available to help with this, both in printed form and on the internet. Reading your Bible each day is a discipline, which can either become a drudge or a joy depending on how you approach the subject.
- The Bible in a year
Several plans take you through the whole of the Bible in one year, and it is no bad practice to do this at least once during your lifetime. However most people will not readily come to the concept of starting at Genesis and going through to Revelation, reading a few chapters each day; it is usually better to adopt a plan which goes through the sections, perhaps interspersing Old and New Testaments in different ways. Or to follow a theme at a time – history, poetry, teaching, etc; it is best to look at different methods and determine which is best for you as an individual, perhaps in discussion with a Christian leader.
- Themed plans
Many plans come as printed booklets, say every two or three months with a new theme for each period. Again, see which suits you best. You may use a particular plan for a period of months or years, then move to pastures new, perhaps because you have ceased to find your current plan helpful or inspiring. It is also good to remember that many features of the Christian life run in seasons, and it is good to recognise when a season has expired, so that we can stop, regroup and move forward.
A final word on this subject: if you are serious about being (or becoming) a Christian, then a regular discipline of Bible-reading is fundamental; but learn how to vary your diet, so that there is always the excitement of doing something in a new and different way.
If you can join a small group of people studying the Bible together, this is always beneficial.
For Further Thought and Discussion in Group use
- How important is the Bible to Christianity?
- Different sections of the Bible were originally written in 3 languages, Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, but it has been translated into thousands of vernacular languages to make it relevant to different people groups of the world. What do you understand by different translation styles and how relevant are they to our understanding of God's Word?
- Are there any preferred versions for serious Bible study?
3 The Holy Spirit as part of the Trinity
Father, Son and Holy Spirit – three Persons in one God.
A little effort in a brief consideration of this complex topic is well worthwhile, but without getting involved in its deep theology. The book of Genesis and the Gospel of St John tell us that God the Father created the world and everything in it. Genesis 3:15 talks of evil having entered the world, and foreshadows the suffering of Jesus on the cross, but let us first look at the emergence of the Trinity into our perception.
- The Shema (The Unity of God)
Please note that if you feel that the discussion here is too complicated to understand, you should feel free to move onto the next chapter; you can simply take it as read and not strain to comprehend it. You can simply accept the fact that God is One God in Three Persons (aspects of Who He is).
Deuteronomy 6:4-10 begins. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one”; “Shema Israel, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad”.[6] [7] This is the central tenet of the Jewish Faith. The Christian interpretation of this verse does not deny the Jewish rite – we worship One God, but He is God in Three Persons; remember that Jesus when He was on earth was a good practising Jew, and would have said these words every day at morning and evening worship. He said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18).
In Genesis 1 the story of creation uses the Hebrew word Elohim for God. This word is grammatically plural, but can be understood in both the singular and plural formats. Clearly in the Jewish tradition it is understood as meaning One God, while the plural sense accommodates the implied plurality of the Trinity (but see below).
So the Unity of God is still vital to our faith, but so also is the Trinity. How do we reconcile these concepts?
- The Trinity within the Unity
Genesis 1:2 says “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters”; the Hebrew for God in this verse is "Yahweh Elohim" (יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים), which is translated as "the Lord God", so we see two Persons of the Trinity (Father and Spirit) right from the start, and in Colossians 1:16 Paul tells us that God the Son (Jesus) was present at the beginning of creation: “All things have been created through Him and for Him”.
John 1:1 says that Jesus is the Word of God, and if you read on through the chapter you will see in verse 14 that the Word (Jesus) became flesh (took on human form) and lived among us. So if we consider Genesis 1 and John 1 as a unit we see the Trinity active from the beginning of creation.
God is Spirit (John 4:24), that is, without physical form, but we shall see later some ways in which God speaks to His creatures; and God has a spiritual Voice with which He spoke the universe into being. The mechanisms by which He did so are a mystery which we cannot pretend to understand, but I do not believe it necessary to understand it in order to accept it as a fact; we accept it by faith until we meet Him in heaven, when all will become clear.
Note too that mystery is not the same as mysticism; mystery is things that are hidden from us (unless God chooses to reveal them to us directly); mysticism is things that only certain enlightened people are permitted to understand, and an environment such as this would imply, is not part of the framework of the Christian Gospel.
We know that God the Son (Jesus) was present at the beginning of creation; Colossians 1:16 says “All things have been created through Him and for Him”.
As an integral part of Creation, out of His love God gave us Free Will, and this included the freedom to get it wrong (instigated by Satan – see Genesis 3); God knew that we would make mistakes and so it was always part of God’s plan that, at just the right time in history, Jesus would come to earth to live among us as a human being and minister to us (serve and help us) and show us what the Father is like. Note that this was no Plan B – God knew from the beginning that the price of giving us Free Will was that we would fail and so He deliberately built the Crucifixion and Resurrection of His beloved Son, into the plan for mankind. This shows how much He loved us – He created us out of love, He gave us Free Will out of love, and He arranged for Jesus to come to earth to die on the Cross so that we could be reconciled to His original plan, all out of His love.
Incidentally, the parable of the vineyard in Matthew 20:1-15 (I suggest you read this for yourself) does not contradict the preceding paragraph; this passage is intended as allegory[8], and so the implication that sending the Son was a last resort, cannot be taken literally; to do this would suggest that the Cross was not part of the original plan, which would contradict large parts of Scripture; we therefore see that God planned it this way from the beginning. Here we need to take into account that no allegory is perfect, but this one perfectly illustrates God’s plan for mankind. Allegory is a valid form of story-telling, and the most obvious one is that of creation in six days at the start of Genesis – it is poetry designed to illustrate a more profound truth.
Jesus would introduce us to the Holy Spirit as our Comforter and Advocate, to work in our lives so that we could gradually become like Him; He could thereby open up a means for us to be forgiven for the mistakes we had made and the wrong things we had done (sin), on condition that we would repent of our past life and come to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, so that we could be reconciled with God the Father and come to be with Him in heaven. Note that God and sin cannot co-exist, so we need to be cleansed and purified first, to make us sons and daughters of God so as to be worthy of our place in heaven. Jesus permanently had the Spirit of God living in Him, and would share Him with all believers at Pentecost, as described in Acts Chapter 3. As renewed believers sharing the Gift of the Holy Spirit, we are “in Christ”, and 2 Corinthians 5:17 says “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”.
Incidentally the theology and understanding of the Atonement (Jesus dying for our sins) is well outside our remit here, and you can study this separately if you wish.
God the Holy Spirit was also present at Creation (Genesis 1:2), and is often described as our Comforter and Advocate (legal spokesperson). Today He represents God in the life of each of us, and He is that “Inner Voice” through whom God speaks to us, both as individuals and congregations.
So, then, the Holy Spirit is the person of the Godhead that we are most likely to encounter on a day-to-day basis, and for that reason it is Him that we shall consider for most of our time together here.
For Further Thought and Discussion
- How do you see the three separate persons of the Godhead? Do you see them as having different functions after Creation in the ongoing Universe?
- How do you view the Unity between Father Son and Holy Spirit?
4 Cessationism versus Continuationism
This book is intended to be accessible to all, and so I am trying where possible to avoid entering into theological discussion, but I fear it is necessary to refer to this slightly weighty topic by way of clearing the air. This is a matter of theological dispute, and I wish to clarify on which side of the fence I sit, so please bear with me while I dispose of it.
Before getting into the meat of this work I feel it is important to nail my colours to the mast here: is the Holy Spirit still active in the Church and the lives of Christians in the 21st Century, or not?
This issue divides Christians into two distinct camps, as we see here.
Cessationists believe that the Spiritual Gifts referred to by St Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 (see Chapter 11 below) were active only during the Apostolic Age – the time of the foundation of the Church – and were given in order to get the movement off the ground. After this period, it is argued, there was no necessity for any supernatural powers, since Jesus had delegated power and authority to St Peter and his successors as leaders of the (then embryonic) worldwide Church. It was the task of successive leaders to consider prayerfully the direction(s) in which the church needed to go in order to fulfil the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. (Jesus says. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”)
Continuationists on the other hand, believe that God gives Gifts to people in every age in order to help them in building faith and spreading the Gospel. There is a great Fountain and resource of power available to Christians, and arguably it could seem wasteful and unhelpful, not to say unloving, if this were to be denied to the Church of today.
I am a card-carrying Continuationist – I firmly believe that God is active in His world today, and loves each of His children so much that He wants to help us along the right road. See Luke 11:11-13, where Jesus makes it clear that the Father wants to give good Gifts to His children; these “gifts” are the Spiritual Gifts discussed by St Paul in 1 Corinthians 12, as we shall see in detail in Chapter 11.
End of theological discussion – my target is above all to be accessible to ordinary readers; I have therefore tried to use mostly straightforward language and to acknowledge reference material (especially from the Bible, my most important source) where relevant.
For Further Thought and Discussion
- Consider the implications for effective development of the Church over the centuries, if we were all Cessationists.
- Consider the implications for effective development of the Church over the centuries, if we were all Continuationists.
- In each case, how would the Church best protect itself against error? Do you have a view on which is the “correct” stance?
5 Be still and know
Psalm 46:10 says. “Be still, and know that I am God”. One of the most important lessons we need to learn is how to be still before God. This is not a natural state of mind in our busy lives, but with practice it can be achieved – and I say that as one who has not yet really achieved it! The aim is to start each day in prayer, either an extended period of time if our lifestyle permits it, or a few snatched seconds under the shower if that is the only option. What counts is the fact of doing it to the extent of becoming aware of God’s presence in our lives and in all our activities – cooking, washing up, driving the children to school, working for an employer, self-employment … whatever the day may hold. Praise Him for the new day into which He has brought you, and focus on Him, not on the diary or the children. Most of us are not in a position to say with Martin Luther: “I have so much to do today that I shall first have to spend the first three hours in prayer” – three minutes can sometimes feel like a great achievement! Let us offer God the plans for the day and ask Him to direct them appropriately, changing our priorities as necessary or omit something, or enhance something; above all let’s do it for God. The hymnist George Herbert wrote “Who sweeps a room, as for thy laws, makes that and the action fine”.[9]
So with the Holy Spirit’s help we can learn to start the day with the following steps, and we shall find ourselves more able to rest in God’s presence through the busyness:
Still your body and your mind, so that you can become aware of His presence.
Praise Him for who He is – Lord of all.
Thank Him for the new day, and ask God's Spirit to guide you through the activities of the day.
Review the diary to ask God to bless the activities (and maybe alter anything which does not fit with His priorities).
Continue to become more aware of His presence.
At the end of the day we can also use a discipline such as this:
Become aware of His presence.
Review the day with thanksgiving.
Sorrow and Confession for when we have fallen short.
Look forward to tomorrow; with the expectancy that God’s hand will continue to guide you.
Again, do it with the Holy Spirit’s help – we cannot do it without Him.
Do you know Jesus personally?
This can sound like a strange question to ask, but suppose you wanted to build a relationship with another person you would probably put yourself out to talk to that person, to discover their likes and dislikes. In that sense, a relationship with Jesus is not very different: He wants to converse with you, to come alongside you, to be your friend as well as your Lord and Saviour.
We can get to know all about Him at an impersonal level from reading the Bible. James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder”. This is head knowledge – learning the facts about Jesus’ character, what pleases and displeases Him, and the reasons why you need to pursue the relationship to a deeper level. Jesus wants us to come closer to Him in prayer, so that we can listen to what He says and act on it. We need to draw close to God in prayer so that He can open a communication channel with us.
A good way to begin is with Biblical meditation; pick a favourite verse or passage and meditate on it:
Be silent before God (briefly or at length according to your situation}. Prepare to allow God to speak through your chosen passage.
Read the passage two or three times, aloud if possible.
Meditate on the passage and try to absorb its full meaning and implication for you personally; listen carefully for what God may say through this passage.
Ask God to show you how you can live this out.
Please note that this is in no way related to Transcendental Meditation or any other form of Eastern meditation technique, which are totally wrong .and regarded as occult practices. Sorcery, magic and the occult are expressly forbidden throughout the Bible.
It is all too easy at this point to offer our “shopping list”, but that can come later. How much better to say, “Is there anything you want to say to me, Lord?” He may not always respond – immediately, audibly, or through a visible sign – but you may be sure that He has heard you, and you may be surprised just how often something drops into your mind from Him. (All our prayers are remembered by God for ever – see Revelation 5:8). He may simply say, “I love you, carry on as you are”, or it may be something much more active and profound; He may charge you with a specific situation to pray about, without necessarily telling you anything about it (“this or that person / group / community / process needs your prayer”), so you pray for them without knowing why, but secure in the knowledge that God “knows what He is doing”. I have recently had a burden from Him to pray for a particular (non-local) Church Fellowship; I have no idea why, or what the issue may be, but we are called to be obedient without necessarily understanding the situation or context (incidentally He has now lifted that particular burden; I never did find out the detail or background, but that is God’s business and not mine. Praise the Lord!). He may say “Mr and Mrs X’s relationship is in difficulty, please pray for them”, or “so-and-so has a job interview, you need to pray for the right outcome.” All that matters here is obedience. Often God does not call us to be His instrument for change, He calls us only to be obedient. John 15:10 says, “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in His love.” As the old song says:
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
but to trust and obey.[10]
When Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22 he had no idea why God would do this, he simply had to be obedient. By doing as he was ordered, he was to discover that God was just testing his obedience.
An active prayer life is the way to a full relationship with Jesus, and this can take different forms according to our lifestyle needs. If possible it is good to start the day with a meaningful prayer time; 5 minutes, half-an-hour, longer – this is up to each individual to work out with practice. However, this may not always be practical in a busy household, so it may need to be fitted into whatever space works best for you. There are two important factors to bear in mind: 1) Work at it until you find a time that works for you, and then try to stick to it as far as is reasonably practicable, 2) Don’t worry if on the odd occasion you have to vary it – don’t get over-legalistic about it, but try to maintain the pattern if you can; it is all too easy to slip into a lackadaisical attitude.
In the human context, if an offspring or a parent fails to keep in regular contact, there is a natural concern for their well-being. The same is true of God, except that He knows the cause of the problem in advance! Hold to your regular pattern as far as you can.
For Further Thought and Discussion
- How do you manage your day so as to spend time with God?
- Have you learnt any techniques (and that you are able share with others) for stilling your mind so that He can take pride of place in your thoughts and prayers?
6 Baptism in the Holy Spirit
Before beginning to look at this important topic, I recommend you read John 3:1-8 (Jesus teaches Nicodemus). In many traditional churches we teach that infant baptism equates to baptism in water, while confirmation is baptism in the Holy Spirit; I believe the process goes much deeper than this.
Many of us were baptised as babies either into the Catholic Church or one of the Protestant Churches, then confirmed at an age when we were mature enough to understand the promises to God that we were undertaking; in my Secondary School Confirmation was almost a rite of passage in one’s 3rd year – but it is often some years later that we become aware of the Spirit of God as a real person of the Trinity. My wife and I both accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour when we were in our thirties, and our relationship with His Holy Spirit dates from this time. This acknowledgment that one is not yet a full member of God’s kingdom can come as a bit of a shock. The reasoning might be:
- I’ve been baptised and confirmed
- I put money into the offering each week
- I’ve kept all the commandments
…and so forth
but if you read Mark 10:17-22 you will find that keeping all the rules is not enough. Jesus wants disciples who “worship in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24), and this involves having that relationship with the Holy Spirit that we are discussing here.
Baptism in the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit are two different experiences; the Baptism would usually be regarded as a one-off event (although in some circumstances it can happen more than once), while being filled with the Spirit is an experience we can expect on a daily basis – God’s empowerment for the tasks of today. Think in terms of the manna that God gave the Israelites for food in the desert during the Flight from Egypt in Exodus 16; it was only meant to last for a day, and a fresh supply would be available for the next day. It is similar with the Holy Spirit – God wants us to ask Him each morning to give us a fresh supply of His Spirit to equip us for that day.
I believe that infant baptism welcomes the child into the Family of the Church, while Confirmation by the Laying on of Hands invokes the Holy Spirit and confirms His Presence into the life of a mature believer (see 2 Timothy 1:6) rather than the act by proxy for an immature infant. A confirmed Christian is one who has accepted for him- or her-self that Jesus died for them and that they are now part of His Kingdom.
Another option is Believers’ Baptism (or Adult Baptism), by total immersion; this is a personal statement by an individual that he or she accepts all the tenets of the Gospel – Repentance and Conversion (turning back to God and accepting personally the saving work of Jesus on the Cross) and will live their life in the light of this, with the daily and continuing help of the Holy Spirit.
New Birth
In John 3 when Jesus was teaching Nicodemus He talked about being “born again” of water and the Spirit. This is a matter which different Church traditions treat in different ways, but whatever the background the effect is essentially the same: the mature (i.e. non-infant) believer accepts that his or her lifestyle is no longer of their own choosing, but rather is controlled by the Holy Spirit.
[These] different approaches highlight the problems that arise from reading the New Testament backwards through the lens of church history and tradition, both ancient and modern. We need to read forwards from the Hebrew roots of the Bible and from the standpoint of those who heard the words in their original context. If we do so we will discover that the new birth is neither the application of a sacrament, nor agreement with a statement of doctrine but is rather the infusion of spiritual life by a sovereign act of God the Holy Spirit.[11]
So what is Baptism in the Holy Spirit?
Specifically, the impartation of the Holy Spirit into a believer’s life, to guide one’s beliefs and actions according to God’s Will, both as set out in the Bible and as received in prayer throughout one’s life.
This baptism prepares us for a life of service, in the confidence of having God’s guidance throughout. But BE CAREFUL; there is always a danger of saying in effect, “I have the Holy Spirit in me, so I can’t go wrong.” This is an extremely arrogant view and cannot be sustained from Scripture. We are human and we continue to make mistakes, to mis-hear God, or simply to allow our own will to impose itself, wittingly or unwittingly, onto God’s Will. The right approach is always to take the matter to God in prayer and allow Him to show you what you should do.
For Further Thought and Discussion
- What is the usual practice within your church fellowship for Infant Baptism, Confirmation and Believers’ Baptism?
- Is Baptism in the Spirit accepted and practised within your Fellowship, either as a public rite or within small groups?
7 Prayer
New Christians are often tempted to think of prayer as a one-way soliloquy, but if we want to get to know God better we have to be aware that it is a dialogue – it is a two-way conversation and God wants us to listen as well as speak, He is our loving Father, and He delights to converse with us.
Engage with God
To spend time in prayer is both our most important and our most difficult and challenging activity. Leading a busy lifestyle, trying to balance work and family priorities and keeping all the balls in the air is impossible. Impossible for us as people perhaps, but nothing is impossible for God. Take time to pray about praying! Ask God to show you what is the most appropriate pattern for you as an individual – as a working man or woman, as a home-maker (probably the busiest people of all, especially if you are trying to juggle life as an employee and run a home and family at the same time); I have been retired for many years now, and I can assure you that retirement does not actually make this process any easier or the diary any slimmer, one simply faces a different set of challenges!
Coming into God’s Presence
It is right to begin any time of prayer with praise and worship – thank God for who He is, for His greatness and mighty power and His love and care for you. Psalm 22:3 says, You are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises; I actually prefer the alternative translation, which says, You are holy, enthroned on [or You are holy, inhabit ] the praises of Israel. In other words, by praising God we are actually building and raising His throne![12]
There are many ways in which we can become aware of God’s Presence with us, but I find one of the simplest for me is to sing, usually silently in my heart, a gentle worship song; there are many, but a helpful example is the one by Noel Richards, “To be in your presence”.[13] (If you do not know this song you can find it and many others on YouTube).
We can make the process a whole lot better if we first learn how to engage with God. This really is the starting point of our personal relationship with Him. Consider a human analogy: if as a young person you want to engage in a relationship with a new boy-friend or girl-friend, you obviously need to get to know that person as a person, and not simply as an object of sexual desire. You need to learn their likes and dislikes, and the ways in which their life can be enhanced by knowing you. No analogy is ever perfect, but thinking about human relationships in this way is of benefit when coming to God. There are many ways in which you can get to know what God is like, starting from the Bible and then seeing the ways in which He works in the lives of others. The status of onlooker should naturally move forward to that of participant, until we gradually get to the point of developing our own personal intimate relationship with God.
We are starting to realise that we can engage with God, firstly by just being aware of His presence with us. The first vital step in any prayer session is always just to sit back in God’s presence and hear, see or simply feel that He is there.
This may not happen at all initially, but it is always worth persevering. An old 19th century proverb says “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again”. You will almost certainly find that if you really want to come close to God, then if you keep offering yourself He will certainly come through. He is our loving Father and as every earthly parent knows, there is little more rewarding than to have a beloved child approach you so that he or she may be shown love. If you take one step towards God He is likely to take 50 steps towards you! (Read the parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15:11-24). The Bible uses intimate language to describe this; the word Abba, used three times in the New Testament, is often translated as Daddy, a term of true intimacy. The actual meaning of this word is not clear, but the general sense is there – God wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him.
A guaranteed way to begin
We have seen that the Bible really is the starting point for everything we do as Christians, so we can start from the Biblical perspective:
Pray God’s promises back to Him
It’s so much easier to say Amen, Yes, to God’s ideas because "no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen. in Christ” (see 2 Corinthians 1:20). Typical examples of this are in Psalm 46:1-3, Psalm 91:1‑2, Isaiah 61, Romans 8, and many others.
Ask the Holy Spirit to bring things to mind and pray for those
Whether He prompts you in an audible voice or simply an inner feeling that this (whatever) situation or person is important to God, don’t dismiss it, spend a few minutes in targeted prayer. If the person concerned is present at the time and God reminds you of a relevant situation that you had known about but perhaps forgotten, discuss it with the other person and then pray. Incidentally you don’t have to be in a prayer meeting for this to happen; it can be in church, or it can be at home, in the supermarket, or even in the street. Don’t miss the opportunity. If you think your contact simply would not welcome this, be sensitive – say that you’ll pray later from home. Most people, whether believing or practising Christians or not, will react positively when you say you’ll pray for them, and if you offer to pray with them they sometimes even say yes please!
EngagIng specifically with God
We can pray for a person or situation that is in need of prayer, either because God lays this on our heart or just because we feel it is the right thing to do. In either case, engage with God so that you are able to pray in line with His Will.
There are many ways to discern God’s Will, but the primary one is that Scripture confirms our thinking. Beyond that, we can listen for the voice of God as discussed in Chapter 10, which considers the different ways in which He can get our attention; He may be pointing you to a specific verse or some other source, which will often confirm what we should pray for.
Always remember that we should pray for what God wants, however we discern this, rather than what we want personally; the two things may coincide, but may sometimes diverge greatly – be prepared for God to say “No, not that, but this!”
As always, begin by resting in His presence; be aware that God is in the room with you, praise and thank Him for His love and care for you. Always begin a session with God by giving Him praise and thanksgiving for His greatness and power, for His love for you, for who He is, as well as what He does; see Daniel 2 (especially verses 16‑23). Adopt a comfortable stance; if kneeling is best for you then feel free to kneel, but it is not specifically necessary – I usually find that sitting comfortably is best for me, though if in a group or in church it may be that standing is more appropriate to the circumstances, the ambience or the subject matter.
If you have an agenda from a meeting leader or other devotional guide, or by means of a direct word from God, then pray into whatever that may be; you may be coming with a full heart for a specific cause, even if it is for yourself, so let this be your agenda until or unless God redirects you while you are praying (and this certainly happens on occasion). If you are coming to prayer with a blank sheet, ask God what He wants you to pray about. If you have nothing or do not receive God’s direction in some way, simply open your heart in prayer and praise – God will often move you into a specific cause while you are praying, but if not then you are engaging directly with God’s heart, which is a marvellous thing to be doing.
Pray blessings on people
Numbers 6:24-27 says “Whenever you bless people in my Name, I will bless them”. A way of passing on God’s love and concern for someone is to pray a blessing on them, then God says He will act on that and bless them directly. What a powerful thing to do! A casual “bless you!” remark may even be said carelessly, but God will respond.
It is always better to bless rather than curse; it is all too easy to go along with the crowd, especially if the crowd is moaning about the government, the police, the cost of living, the unwelcome events in our own country, and so forth. It is often said that there is nothing like a good moan to make one feel better!
The trouble is that complaining has a negative effect on our own psyche; much better if we can find something positive to say about someone than to look for all the areas in which we believe they have fallen short. We start from the point of view that none of us is perfect. Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5}.
It is always better to think of something good to say about someone, and then pray a blessing on them – God will always respond positively.
Be prepared to be surprised
If we are praying seriously and trying hard to listen to what God is saying, He may choose to take us on a prayer journey that we may never have imagined when we started! He has been known to keep me awake for hours in the night praying for a specific situation that needed more than a simple “please God fix this issue” type of prayer (I’m delighted and thankful to report that He has sometimes told me afterwards that the battle had been resolved, although He has actually occasionally said “but don’t stop praying about it!”). We shall look at Spiritual Warfare later in Chapter 8, but there are certainly issues in heaven that we can be called on to pray about. Sometimes we can do nothing about these but are simply made aware by God of the extraordinary circumstances: Daniel 10:12-14 shows how God is in control of a situation but inimical spiritual forces were at work trying to thwart God’s will. Also Revelation 12 refers to war in heaven, and the defeat of Satan and his angels (it’s worth reading the whole chapter).
There are, however, situations in which God calls us to be involved in the spiritual battle directly, since the eventual outcome is one which directly affects us as individuals, or situations in which we or our loved ones may be involved. When this does happen, God will do His best do make us aware of its importance to our praying – provided we are receptive enough – there’s an old adage that says, “If you don’t feel close to God, guess who moved!”
If you know specific details about the subject or person you are praying about, then hold these before God and ask Him to reveal as much as may be helpful to us in the situation. Beware of and be sensitive to any confidentiality issues, however – it is not a good idea to blurt out something that we have been told in confidence, especially if vulnerable adults or young people are involved.
Be thankful
It is good to thank God that He hears us, even before we start praying, and to thank Him afterwards for His answers, even though we may not yet be aware of what these answers may be. At some future time when perhaps we do know the answers, remember to thank Him properly; I wonder how many times I have asked for something in prayer, then forgotten to thank Him when the answer comes, even if it was not the answer I wanted!
Be sensitive
As well as engaging with God in prayer, remember to engage with those for whom you are actually praying and try to judge the level of formality you need; being too casual or too inquisitive may not be very helpful. Try to judge the length of your prayers sensitively; sometimes a brief few words may be as incisive as a long discourse unless God has specifically told you to pray in depth about this matter.
Praying in Tongues
Praying in Tongues and the Interpretation of Tongues are discussed further in Chapter 11 on Spiritual Gifts, but these Gifts are also relevant here. If Praying in Tongues is new to you, read Acts Chapter 2 for an explanation of what happens when the Holy Spirit takes over your natural mind and causes you to speak direct messages from God. This is often not understood (or even accepted as being valid) today outside charismatic churches, but if you are a member of a more traditional church you could do worse than visit a Fellowship where these Gifts are used regularly, and judge for yourself whether what is happening is from God; you may be surprised and encouraged.
Interpretation of Tongues
Together Tongues and Interpretation are probably the most difficult of the Holy Spirit’s Gifts to come to terms with if they are outside your personal experience. The Gift of Interpretation is only relevant in corporate worship, where a member of the assembled fellowship may be given a Word in a Tongue (a spiritual language from God) such that God wants to speak to the Body. If properly exercised, this Gift of a Tongue will always be accompanied by an Interpretation given by the Holy Spirit, so that the Body may be encouraged and built up. It is normal for the Interpretation to arrive within a few minutes of the original message (usually to a different person), and others present would remain silent until this has been given. I believe that this double inspiration is specifically used by God to show that a single person is not acting alone and under their own initiative, but that the whole process is under God’s direction.
Engage together
We were not meant to go it alone, it is our Father we come to – Paul wrote to churches, as well as to individuals, to encourage them to pray. Group prayer can be very powerful; as growing Christians we each have our own pattern of prayer, but it is also always good to join with others to pray in a group or a church fellowship. It is quite common in a group prayer time for God to give different parts of a message to different people in the group, and this can be seen by all as an action of the Holy Spirit blessing the fellowship. This can be a 2-way process – someone can be inspired to pray for a particular topic, then someone else can be given a burden for a different aspect of the same topic I have seen this particular gifting in practice both in my own church and in other churches I have attended and it is very powerful.. This togetherness in prayer is a sign of the unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17; there is tremendous power and strength in unity, and we must always work hard to achieve this.
A word of caution: unity does not mean uniformity. We can be united with a common purpose (spreading the Gospel and reaching the lost), while having different systems and practices as our vehicle. Some Christians believe that theirs is the only true path to God; I believe this to be both arrogant and ill-informed. We can all learn from each other, and we never stop learning until the day we die; when I passed my exams for my Physics degree I changed disciplines and went into Information Technology and I said I did not need to know any more about Physics – how wrong I was! Nearly 60 years later I am still fascinated to learn more about how God used all the sciences in His creation and maintenance of the universe we inhabit; after all, He created the scientific disciplines in the first place, and I am still learning more each day, both about the natural world and about God our Father – a great source of joy!
Keep it up
Set a reminder in your phone or on your fridge – somewhere that will remind you to pray repeatedly. Persistent prayer is a powerful thing. Give God no rest. A dear friend of ours has a fridge magnet in her kitchen that says “Prayer changes things”; from our experience it most certainly does!
A regular pattern is unbeatable (Proverbs 22:6 says. ”Start children off on the way they should go and even when they are old they will not turn from it”); form a habit and do your best to stick to it, but don’t get too legalistic about it; if the circumstances of the day force you to break it sometimes, don’t be over concerned, but try to revert to your normal practice as soon as practicable.
General thoughts about Prayer
It can be very helpful to know specific details to pray about, if the details are available and not confidential for one reason or another (and there may be several reasons why sensitivity does not permit this). If the person you are praying for is willing and able to share details with you, then take all of that to God and ask Him to direct your prayer appropriately. Above all else, pray a blessing on those concerned; that will leave the situation in God’s hands and He is far more capable than any of us in dealing with whatever issues are at stake. If the specifics are not available, just hold the person up to God and leave the matter with Him, then come back later as you feel led.
Be thankful; thank God that your prayers have been heard, even before you are aware of His answer. We can be sure that He has heard our prayers; they are always answered, though not always in the way we should like! Broadly His answers fall into four categories:
Yes
No
Not yet
I’ve already done it
Not yet can sometimes be harder to hear than No, as it can prompt some further action or prayer, or perhaps certain difficulties; the temptation is always to respond then when, Lord? Psalm 13 is one of many places where the psalmist cries out to God saying “How long, O Lord?” This is when we have to accept that God’s Will is always Sovereign and His timing perfect, and we simply need to retire gracefully and move on, in the sure knowledge that God has not forgotten. We may have an ongoing burden to pray for this particular matter, in which case, go on praying for as long as you have the burden. On a couple of occasions recently He has said to me, “that particular battle is won, but don’t stop praying about it,” implying that there is a spiritual battle involved, and the devil can still disrupt God’s intended outcome if we allow him. Alternatively God may prompt us again on this matter at a later time – simply follow His prompting; never petulantly respond that He didn’t say yes last time so why bother? Always persevere in prayer, but try to align with His Will and His timing.
I’ve already done it is an interesting option: because God is outside of time, I believe it is totally valid to pray for something after the event, either because we forgot at the time, or maybe were not aware of the issue earlier; He knows in advance what we are going to ask for, and takes that as a valid prayer. This can relieve us of feelings of guilt when our intentions have been honourable but circumstances may have intervened. It is wrong always to rely on this though – it is a specific work of grace which a Sovereign God may apply as he deems fit on any given occasion. On one occasion recently He actually answered a prayer before I had had a chance to form the words to utter it – I got a text saying that it was solved!
Remember too that you are praying for ordinary people, with ordinary lives and ordinary needs; the people Jesus encountered and blessed during His earthly ministry were politicians and religious personalities, farmers, fishermen, artisans and ordinary citizens, beggars, and prostitutes. Each of us has our eeown set of issues, and Jesus never turns anyone away; as His servants neither must we, but if He calls us to be involved with someone, we should always regard it as a blessing and an opportunity.
For Further Thought and Discussion
- How do you arrange your day so as to spend time with God?
- Do you find it easy or difficult to come into His Presence, to feel that He is near to you? How can you make this easier?
- Do you hear back from God? In what ways does this work for you?
8 Spiritual Warfare
Before considering warfare in this context, we need to be clear about our understanding of what Scripture says about the spiritual realm. Modern 21st century Western culture may find it difficult to grasp the concept of spiritual matters without supposing we are departing from reality into mysticism and such areas as eastern religions. Nothing could be further from the truth; the Christian spiritual realm is very real indeed, and we ignore it to our cost.
On the other hand we must not go overboard and see devils lurking around every corner; we need a proper understanding of what Scripture says about the spiritual realm, and how to discern good from evil. As we shall see, proper discernment is one of the Spiritual Gifts that St Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 12 (see Chapter 11).
So what Is the reality that we need to be aware of? John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” Notice the words “worship in the Spirit and in truth”; this means allowing our worship to be led by the Holy Spirit, rather than being wholly human-generated and only from the mind; God wants us to let Him into our thinking process so that He can steer it to make sure we are worshipping Him for His glory and not for ours.
Here we have the interaction of good spirits – God’s Spirit and our spirit. What then of evil spirits? Evil spirits emanate from the devil, or Satan, and are totally opposed to God’s work in everything; however they are a defeated enemy (see Revelation 12:7‑10). Satan is still active in the world today, and will continue to be so until Jesus comes again and finally wraps up the whole universe – you can read the detail in Revelation 20, and if you can’t wait for the exciting sequel, go on and read Chapter 21 and 22:1-5!
But of course, Revelation is only a vision, isn’t it? And only given to one man in very unusual circumstances, alone in exile and at a particular time in the course of history?
This is certainly true, but in God’s economy there is no such thing as “only” a vision; it is one of the chief ways by which He speaks to some of His closest servants. There is Abraham’s vision (Genesis 15), the vision given to Saul (later to be St Paul) on the road to Damascus in Acts 9, Ezekiel’s vision of the Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37) and the disciples’ vision of Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration, which appears in all three Synoptic Gospels[14], for example at Luke 9.28-36.
An important aspect of our spiritual life is that on some occasions God may give us visions, although these may not fit comfortably into our largely materialistic world-view; for example I am a scientist with a degree in Physics and Maths and I have been trained to view and prove things scientifically – how might I cope with a spiritual vision? I am delighted and privileged to report that I too have sometimes had visions. God blesses whom He chooses and when He chooses, whatever our background.
But God is a God of many aspects; He who made everything from atoms and molecules to stars, planets and galaxies also gave us a spiritual (non-physical) view of creation, so visions are a valid part of the whole.
If God gives us a vision, it is significant and is intended to be taken seriously – it will always prompt specific prayer, and in some circumstances may lead to a particular course of action, which may result in a serious change of lifestyle. I’ve often heard it said, “Be careful what you pray for, you may not quite expect the outcome!”
So Revelation is just that – a revelation from God regarding His plans for mankind and the world. We need to read it prayerfully and attempt to understand it as best we can, preferably in a group with other Bible-believing Christians; however, unless God calls you to do a detailed study of the book, it is best not to get too deeply involved with interpreting Revelation – it can be a very challenging study. Once again it is worth remembering that it was not originally written for erudite Bible students to read, but for ordinary people – albeit living under the occupation of an oppressive foreign power – the basic message of Revelation is: God wins in the end. And if that is your take-away from the book, you have no need to question it any further – accept it, praise God and move on!
Spiritual Warfare is not restricted to Revelation, or indeed to biblical events in general, so let us look briefly at some other relevant Scriptures.
Staying in Revelation for a moment. the vision given to John is to show us the seriousness of spiritual warfare. It comes as quite a shock the first time you read “and there was war in heaven” (Revelation 7:7, KJV), but that was when Satan lost his place in heaven and was thrown out. He has spent his time and his effort since then in trying to thwart God’s perfect plan, and he will go on doing so until his final defeat in Revelation 20:10. His efforts frequently result in the bad events which we suffer as human beings and other examples may be seen from Genesis 3:15 (a pre-cursor of the Crucifixion and Resurrection; also Daniel 10:12-14 indicates spiritual conflict, and Daniel 7-8 talk of the four kingdoms that will rise and fall in the world. Study of these Chapters of Daniel can be quite complex, and you should probably only undertake these if you feel competent and you have a burden to do so. I studied them as a young Christian, but is was some time before I started to link together the spiritual significance and the connection with world history and with the End Times.[15]
However at a more basic level, our fight with the devil’s hordes is a very real aspect of everyday life for many Christians; it is often said that you will not suffer spiritual attack unless there is something in you that is worth attacking, so suffering attack from our Enemy can be a sign of Christian maturity.
So how does it show itself and how can we best respond?
Typically when “things keep going wrong”, we begin to see a pattern of problems emerging so that we start to feel persecuted by some intangible force, perhaps with the temptation to put it down to bad luck. Maybe a relative gets very ill or a lomg-term relationship breaks apart, then the boiler packs up in October and needs replacing before winter arrives, then the car breaks down needing an expensive repair, then the house sale falls through – you get the picture! In recent times I have seen several Christians that I know go through this kind of series of bad events arising in different parts of their lives.
The first thing we need to do is stop, sit down, take a deep breath, and say “Why, Lord? What is happening?” The next thing is to go to God in prayer with an open mind and heart and ask Him what we should do about it.
Once again the answer may not be straightforward; He may say “this is not your battle, just offer prayer and then leave it with Me.” Alternatively He may want us to be involved in specific prayer; He may show us something of what is happening in the heavely realm. A wonderful example of this is in Daniel 10:4-14.
We often find that evil spirits are having a very negative effect on our own lives, and in these situations we can follow the teaching of Mark 3:14-15 – He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons (emphasis mine). So in praying for someone today we might find ourselves praying along the following lines (but not necessarily in these words, always pray as the Spirit leads): Father God, in the precious Name of Jesus and in the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, we take Authority over (whatever is the specific situation or demonic power we have been made aware of) and we command it to leave. The result may not be immediately apparent, but if we have prayed in faith and at the Spirit’s prompting we will always find that God has heard us and that He has taken some action, even if it is a different action from that which we were expecting when we started praying.
So the vision given to John in Revelation is to show us the seriousness of spiritual warfare. It comes as quite a shock the first time you read “and there was war in heaven” (Revelation 7:7, KJV), but that was when Satan lost his place in heaven and was thrown out. He has spent his time and his effort since then in trying to thwart God’s perfect plan, and he will go on doing so until his final defeat in Revelation 20:10.
In summary, Revelation is not the only place where the Bible tells us about spiritual warfare and the effect it has on the human race. Genesis 3:15 is a pre-cursor of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Daniel 10:12-14 indicates spiritual conflict, and Daniel 7 talks of the four kingdoms that will rise and fall in the world as we approach the End Times.
If you find that you are under spiritual attack, then you need to
Pray about it.
Ask a Christian leader or another Christian to pray about it with you.
Trust God that He will resolve it with you.
Remember that help is always there.
As a final word of encouragement on this topic: when I and others have suffered in this way and in the fullness of time we see God working among us, our joy is amazing!
For Further Thought and Discussion
- What are Principalities and Powers?
- What are angels and demons?
- Who do you believe Satan is?
9 The Armour of God
We saw in Chapter 8 that Spiritual Warfare is real, and that as Christians we are involved in a spiritual battle, so we need to be prepared for this. In Ephesians 6:10-17, Paul describes six items of spiritual armour which a Christian needs to put on; five of these are defensive and one (the Sword of the Spirit) is both defensive and offensive.
We are to take up the Full Armour of God, each piece being provided by the Holy Spirit; it is important to ask Him to fit these on us before we undertake any work for Him. For many of us I would dare to suggest that this should be a daily exercise, best done at the start of the day.
We will now consider each piece of Armour in more detail.
The Belt of Truth
Paul was living in a Roman-occupied land so Roman culture would be all-pervasive in people’s daily lives. Roman soldiers would keep their sword attached to their belt, and the Word of God (absolute Truth) is the Sword of the Spirit, so that without the belt there would be no security of truth. Truth is the anchor that holds the remaining weapons in our armoury firmly in place.
The Breastplate of Righteousness
A soldier’s breastplate is to protect his heart from the attacks of the enemy; the Christian’s Breastplate of Righteousness is to keep the heart free from sin and to enable him or her to live like Jesus. We wear the Righteousness of Jesus to keep our heart clean and upright, to obey God’s laws and live in a Godly way.
Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
Again the analogy is to Roman soldiers, who wore a very strong sandal; the uppers were well ventilated and designed to be thoroughly adjustable so as to fit one’s foot precisely, while the soles were made of several thicknesses of leather studded with hobnails to give sure and firm footing.
Paul tells us several times to “stand firm”, which these military sandals would easily permit. They would also readily enable one to walk long distances to spread the good news far and wide.
The “Gospel of peace” means far more than just a lack of conflict; it implies wholeness of being, and carries much the same meaning as the Hebrew word Shalom. At its simplest level this can just mean Hello or Goodbye, but it really implies deep peace and well-being, wholeness, even perfection. When we share the gospel with someone we are taking God’s Shalom to that person.
The Shield of Faith
The purpose of a Roman shield was to deflect arrows (often flaming arrows) shot by the enemy. the Roman shield (Latin scutum) was rectangular in shape, approximately 1.1 metres in length by around 0.9 metres wide, it would generally protect most of the body apart from the lower legs. The Shield of Faith symbolically protects us from the “flaming arrows” of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16).
The second major feature of the Roman shield was that, when under severe attack the soldiers would link their shields horizontally above their heads in a testudo (tortoise) to form a solid impenetrable phalanx. The analogy here is that a group of Christians praying and exercising faith together is a very strong protection in the spiritual battle against the devil.
The Helmet of Salvation
The Helmet of Salvation protects a believer’s head, the most important part of his or her body, from powerful blows from the Enemy. In this context we can see the “head” as being the mind; Satan tries to damage our mind, specifically our commitment to Jesus – he will do everything he can to undermine our faith and trust in Jesus, and we need to fight back by quoting Scripture to him, as Jesus did in the wilderness temptations in Luke 4[16]; we need to protect our mind by being sure of our salvation, which we received as a free gift from God.
Philippians 2:12 says, “… continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. This verse has often been misused to instil fear and make it seem as though living the Christian life is much harder than it actually is; the word fear here does not imply be afraid of, but rather reverence and respect; a God-fearing person is one who humbles him- or her-self before God. To work out one’s salvation is a continuous present tense, and means to work continually to ensure that God’s plan for our life is brought to fruition. Since salvation is a free gift from God, there is no sense in which we can work out. i.e. create our own salvation (see also Appendix A1).
The Sword of the Spirit
In Ephesians 6:17 Paul urges us to “Take up … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Jesus in the wilderness in Luke Chapter 4, answers all the devil’s taunts by quoting Scripture to him – our one offensive weapon capable of defeating our Enemy as well as defensively holding him off.
Summary
When we are equipped with all of the above armour we are then in a position to enter the battle to which we are called; without it we can flounder and possibly experience temporary defeat. I use the word temporary because we can at any time regroup and review, and come back to Jesus in prayer. He is loving and generous and will always indicate what we need to do to return to the right path. There is no substitute, however, for advance preparation by equipping ourselves with the resources God gives us at the start of the day; events have a habit of catching us out if we are not properly prepared. Compare it to driving a car; we need to know how to handle the vehicle on an open road, or in traffic, or in an unforeseen emergency situation; so it is with living the Christian life.
For Further Thought and Discussion
- When should we put on the Armour of God?
- Which pieces are defensive, and which are offensive? Which should we take into battle if we are to defeat Satan, and why?
- Which ones does Jesus use in the Wilderness Temptations?
10 How do I recognise God’s Voice?
The first thing to say here is that God is always more eager to speak to us than we are to listen; a particular difficulty is that we are often reluctant to believe that prayer is two-way – nature, nurture or environment may all interfere with this process.
It is quite possible that you think of God the Father as remote and inaccessible; such influences as childhood experiences of Sunday School could easily be largely responsible for this, especially among my generation – my Sunday School teaching (in the 1950s) was extremely formal, and we were not expected to interact, only to listen, except when we prayed – this was Talking to God – I was never taught to Listen to God – and I am sure that my experience of this was not unique.
God is nothing if not generous, however, and if we take one step towards Him, then He is likely to take 50 towards us (see the Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15:11 ff).
We talk of God as Our Father, using the analogy of our human fathers to try to model this relationship with God. The problem here is that for many people nowadays their relationship with their human father can be less than perfect, even hostile, so this analogy breaks down.
Over time and in prayer God can heal this situation, but in many cases for whatever reason this does not actually happen.
Also if you find it difficult to approach the Father in prayer, try approaching the Son; Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with each of us, and we can employ this as a prayer vehicle; try addressing our prayers mostly to “Jesus” (His personal Name), instead of to “Lord” (God’s Title – His Name is Yahweh, and is not often used in Christian circles, it is more common in Judaism), and by doing so you will almost certainly find that your prayers are more informal and conversational. i reject the concept that to do this is over familiar, and you have only to see the informal way in which Jesus conversed with those with whom He came into contact while here on earth to see the truth of this.
Incidentally, remember that God is Three Persons in One God[17]: You can address your prayers to “Lord” addressing all three divine forms in one appellation, although you may find it easier simply to speak to Jesus. In any event your prayers are going to the Godhead (all three Persons), however we actually format them.
Of course if we are specifically asking for God to show His power and presence over a specific situation we can also address our prayers to the Holy Spirit directly; Holy Spirit, come is a very strong way to invoke God’s power; we may often find that following such a prayer God will respond by speaking to us directly, though often more as an internal feeling rether than an audible voice.
Many translations of the Bible use the name Lord in small capitals to refer to God the Father; a particular example of this is in Psalm 8 the first line of which in the NIV says “Lord our Lord" (sic), meaning simply “Yahweh our King”. In daily usage this distinction may well pass us by – we are simply talking to God and addressing Him as Lord.
Does God speak directly today?
In a word, Yes. I would suggest that many of us in the Western world do not experience this on a daily basis, but it certainly does happen. It may or may not be in an audible voice; my own experience is that it is more likely to be a thought which flashes into one’s mind with a jolt (the “bolt from the blue” experience), which somehow one knows without a shadow of doubt is the voice of God. I have recently had the unusual experience of a (seemingly random and irrelevant) name appearing in the predictive text on my phone – after a few occurrences of this I realised that it was God telling me to pray for this person!
As we read 1 Kings 19:11-13a we find that although we may expect God to come and make Himself felt through dramatic events, He may actually come and speak through a gentle whisper. We need to learn to discern the voice of God in this less-expected way. This is all down to practising the Presence of God – or to put it more simply, keep listening! It is also important to weigh (preferably with a friend or leader if that is possible and practical) what we think God is saying.
However, we can do more than listen for (and listen to) God’s voice. For example during the present conflict between Israel and Gaza, a sensitive human spirit can sometimes discern the heart of God, breaking for His chosen people, and can pray accordingly.
When we are listening for God’s voice, could it be the voice of Satan? Is our certainty misplaced? Another of Paul’s Gifts in his letter to the Corinthians is that of Discernment between spirits (see Chapter 11), and realistically knowing that one has this Gift this is a matter of leading a Spirit-filled existence so that practice and experience are the arbiters. It would be presumptuous to say that mistakes are never made (and my personal past experience is by no means error-free), but prayerful sharing with other Christians would normally result in appropriate guidance and correction from God. James says “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:7-8); also St John says we should test the spirits (1 John 4), and this is most effectively done in a group of believers in prayer together. Always remember that God put us in families and communities and that we are not normally meant to go it alone (although some circumstances may prevail which make this unavoidable, at least temporarily). Also God often gives different parts of a revelation or prophetic Word to different people within the same group, and so the group needs prayerfully to come to a consensus to discern what God is actually saying.
I often find God speaks through something another person has said; it has often been my experience that someone has been speaking in another totally different context, sometimes even flippantly, when God has latched onto it and said “that is also your answer to ….” – once more, His direct voice coming through an indirect source. In 2022 my wife and I felt that God might be calling us to join a different church from the one where we had been worshipping for 12 years and where we were certainly aware of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit; we also had family and friends there. Moving to a different church was a difficult decision and involved much pain in leaving our network of contacts. But one Sunday morning the leader at our old church said “Greater things are yet to come”, and the direct voice of God said “That applies to your new church too”, so we moved; with God’s help we steered our way through the pain, and we have been greatly blessed (and used by God) in the new environment; we have found the Holy Spirit to be very active in our new church. We are also beginning to find our place as time progresses; indeed, the impetus to write this book largely came from what we could see God doing within the fellowship.
But it is always important to weigh it, check it, confirm it – we do not want to be led astray by what we think God is saying, when it may not actually be the case.
A final word of encouragement in this area; Romans 8:28 says that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (this entire chapter of Romans would repay a few minutes in personal study). If we do get it wrong, God can redeem the situation if we go to Him in prayer, humility and repentance.
Indirect Speech
No, this is not a lesson in English grammar! There are many ways in which God can speak to us as well as by a direct word. Romans 1:20 tells us that God can be seen (and heard) in all of His creation. This is true both of the natural world and also human artefacts – for example, who could listen to a performance of Handel’s Messiah or Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, or gaze upon the Mona Lisa or the Parthenon, without being spiritually moved? Try to take a country walk through the beauty of nature or watch a TV documentary about the Masai Mara or about life under the depths of the ocean, without being aware of the magnificence of creation, and the wondrous God who put it all there in the first place! Even without a Christian faith there are compelling arguments from mathematics and physics to indicate that it did not all happen by accident or as explained by the laws of science[18]. I once watched a TV documentary about the functioning of the human eye; this was a totally secular programme on the BBC, yet the presenter said that the complexity of this organ ahowed a miracle of design. Of course this remark was a casual comment and may have been meant at face value, but as a Christian I felt complelled to take it literally and silently agree with the presenter.
Maybe someone says something for which God defines a new context – it may be a Word from another Christian or from a leader, like a casual remark that you realise was a direct Word from God applicable to our own situation; it could be a prophetic Word spoken to another individual or a group, which we realise is without doubt applicable to us personally. It could be a book that we feel impelled to read, or a TV programme that we are somehow obliged to watch. It can be a Word of Knowledge (see Chapter 11) for one who is suffering. These days I mostly get a tingling feeling simultaneously with God speaking, so that I know it’s Him. Above all the greatest method is to practise – be constantly aware that God speaks into situations and you will find that He does so more and more often.
Remember – God wants to speak to us more often than we imagine – keep listening!
Weighing what God seems to be saying
There are several tests we can apply to weigh a potential Word from God, and the practice of weighing prophecy is discussed in detail in Chapter 11. Above all, share what you feel you are receiving with others and come to a prayerful agreement. Lack of care in prayer can so easily lead us into error. God wants to speak to us, but He also wants is to hear properly what He is saying.
For Further Thought and Discussion
- Do you find God speaks to you personally? What is your experience of the channels or means He mostly uses to speak to you?
- How are you sure it is God who is speaking and not the devil?
- How do you “weigh” what He is saying (a) personally, (b) in a group?
11 Spiritual Gifts
The Holy Spirit gives Gifts to Christians so that we can work with Him for the building up of the Church (for the “common good”), and Paul describes these nine Gifts in 1 Corinthians 12; I suggest you may like to read verses 4-30 of that chapter before moving on.
The Gifts listed by Paul are:
Wisdom
Knowledge
Faith
Healing
Miraculous powers
Prophecy
Discernment (between good and evil spirits)
Speaking in tongues
Interpretation of tongues
There is also the Gift of Encouragement which is not actually in this chapter, bit see below.
Notice that each of us is not expected to receive and use all of the Gifts. Indeed, we may be given different Gifts at different times and for different purposes. Some of these Gifts we may well expect to be semi-permanent, whereas others could literally be one-offs for the current situation. A person who is frequently given the Gifts of Prophecy or Healing may well be regarded by others as a prophet or a healer, while someone given a specific prophetic Word at a particular time may simply be thought of as hearing from God; they could even be totally unaware that what they have said was from God for a situation. I can point to examples in my own life where things that others have said have instantly been quickened to me by God – “Take that statement on board, it applies to you, even though it was said in a different context”. Always be prepared to be surprised by God!
Let us now look at each of the Gifts in more detail.
Wisdom
1 Corinthians 1:23-25 says “The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom”. Suppose you have a forthcoming event or a plan for something in the future, but there is more than one course of action open to you, then you need to ask God for the wisdom to discern what is the best course of action so that any negative effects may be minimised or eliminated. Ask the Holy Spirit for Wisdom and He will give it to you (Luke 11:8-13). Also Proverbs 9:10 says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”; see also James 3:17.
Wisdom is an attribute of God, and there is a whole genre of Old Testament literature on the theme of Wisdom, consisting of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; reading these books can teach you about Wisdom. But to acquire the Gift of God’s Wisdom for a given situation we need to seek Him in prayer and ask for it.
Knowledge
The Gift of Knowledge is a very specific Gift of the Holy Spirit, and does not equate in any way with the human experience of knowledge; this latter is information gained through learning and study and is a function of normal human intelligence: that given by the Spirit refers to something that one could not have known from any human source. It could be from someone we have never met before, and God says “this person has cancer, please pray for them”; or “tell them I want them to move into a new ministry in a different locality”.
To relate this Gift to personal experience, a complete stranger in a church we were visiting in 2023 prayed for my healing without having any human knowledge of the fact that I had cancer; as a result of this prayer I felt the Spirit of God move powerfully through my body. This could only have meant that he had been given a Word of Knowledge.
Another example is when I was recently given a Bible verse for a person that my wife and I were regularly praying for; this verse made no sense to me at the time, but when I offered it to our friend she showed me a gift she had just bought for her boyfriend into which she had had that verse embossed. I actually believe that God did this in order to establish my credentials with the person concerned.
Again this can be a regular occurrence, or an occasional one-off; the more we are able to live conscious of God’s abiding presence, the more we are likely to hear Him.
That last phrase bears repetition: The more we are able to live conscious of God’s abiding presence, the more we are likely to hear Him.
Faith
Faith is a pre-requisite of being a follower of Jesus. We talk about someone “coming to faith”, meaning that they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and begun to follow Him, hopefully with all which that entails: prayer, Bible study, belonging to a Christian community, and so forth. All believers have saving faith as the foundation of salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9), but that is at a different level. These verses in Ephesians refer to a life change from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light.
The Spiritual Gift of Faith in 1 Corinthians 12:7 is given for the “common good”, the building up of the Church, the Body of Christ.
The Gift of Faith is given to some so that they can use it to strengthen the Body of Christ. They are an inspiration to others in their church community or beyond, showing a trust in God which infuses their whole lives. They are totally reliant on God’s Word, maybe to the point of being accused of fanciful or wishful thinking. They absolutely believe that God is actively building His Kingdom in the world today and that nothing will be allowed to prevent this, and they live out their lives accordingly. They do not see any such thing as a lost cause, only someone who has not yet met with Jesus and needs an introduction in terms which are meaningful to them.
Such Christians may also suffer from incurable diseases, but truly believe that God will heal them so that they can continue their work for Him.
When Paul talks of “eagerly desiring the greater Gifts” in verse 31, I believe the Gift of Faith to be one of these.
Healing
The Gift of Healing from the Holy Spirit is a world away from the “faith healing” so often heard today in popular culture. I am not in the business of denigrating things which I know very little about, but I believe that much of the latter does not come from Almighty God.
As with all the Spiritual Gifts, the Gift of Healing is given by God specifically for each and every occasion on which it is to be used; for example in a healing meeting it is not a tap to be turned on; each person prayed for is held before God, maybe only for a moment, so that God can reveal to the “healer” the action to be taken in that instance. God’s agent will always acknowledge that the healing power is from the Holy Spirit and not from any human source, so that all the glory goes to God.
Occasionally God will delegate authority in such a way that the person offering healing may be granted permission to issue a general call for anyone in the meeting with a specific issue to come forward, and then God may perform a mass healing, but this can never be taken for granted – God is Sovereign,
When we pray for healing, something always happens, even if it is not the effect we wanted when asking for prayer. God’s healing is holistic – the whole person, body, spirit and soul, is affected. Certainly in my case (and I am not alone), I have often sought prayer ministry, or been asked by others for prayer ministry, either in church or elsewhere, and we have seen God offering the healing which was asked for; equally (or more) often we have not seen that result. But we have always seen people’s faith and trust increase as a result. The sure knowledge that God is in control and He knows what He is doing, is a great confidence builder. I have advanced glaucoma so I now find reading and writing quite difficult, but I know that even if God does not heal me physically I am growing closer to Him. I also have cancer, and I have any number of family and friends praying for that, and here I have actually seen God work – I have seen the clinical results and felt the difference in symptoms, which together tell me that God is in the process of healing. I have also been given opportunities to witness to medical staff to what God is doing; this in itself is a great blessing.
Healing is not always instant, it can take days, months or even years; so I echo Winston Churchill’s plea in 1941 given to the pupils of his old school: “Never give in; never give in; never, never, never give in”. Always remember God is outside of time, and the fact that your prayer does not seem to be answered straight away does not mean that God has not heard you. No prayer is ever lost; Revelation 5:8 says, “[The elders] were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” All of our prayers are held in heaven until the Day of the Lord (when Jesus returns at the end of time).
Miraculous Powers
We believe God still works miracles today through the Gift of Faith given to believers. A miracle is an effect which would be impossible for a human being to achieve, but nothing is too difficult for God (Jeremiah 32:17). Miracles may take many forms; a person miraculously healed from a disease is a typical example – here we see a mingling of the Gifts of Healing, Faith and Miracles; God is a holistic worker.[19]
God always wants to heal the whole person, not simply their current ailment, and in the miracles of Jesus recorded in the Gospels we always see Him going straight for the underlying problem rather than just the immediately apparent illness or infirmity. A classic example is in Luke 5:17-16, where a man who is physically paralysed and unable to move without help because of what Jesus diagnoses as the dramatic effects of his sin, is totally healed and can walk away.
This caused astonishment among many of Jesus’ followers, and anger among the Jewish establishment. Clearly they were not planning to allow Him to get away with overturning their comfortable way of life and orderly set of rules, however oppressive this might be for the ordinary people.
Let us consider for a moment the Miracle of Multiplication – sharing five loaves and two fish among 5,000 people (this story appears in all four Gospels , but I have John Chapter 6 in mind), we have to realise that Jesus took what was available and used it to the glory of God. There is a very interesting comment on this miracle in Come and See[20]
We may well not see many people today going around being God’s agent to perform miracles, but it certainly does happen. Hebrews 13:8 says that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”; this statement affirms that Jesus is still in the business of healing today, the only difference is that He now uses Christians as His agents to do this, just like any other Spiritual Gift.
I have seen within the fellowship to which I belonged at the time, a well-respected International Christian leader (Terry Virgo[21]) given power by God to heal people with back pain, caused by having one leg shorter than the other; we witnessed God stretching the short leg to match the other! The subjects walked away healed – praise God!
Prophecy
“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10.)
The idea of “Thus says the Lord” – God speaking through a known prophet to make clear His plan for the nation – is largely the province of Old Testament situations and is mostly outside of our experience today; it was also important in the Old Testament world because the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to all believers (see Joel 2:28-29 and Acts 2:1-21). However, we should certainly not dismiss out of hand the idea that God speaks prophetically to and through the Church (and individuals within it) in the 21st Century. The word prophecy is often misunderstood to mean simply foretelling, revelations about future events. Usually nowadays prophecy means forthtelling, God speaking directly to an individual or a group about relevant events and situations, which can be past as well as present or future. Prophecy is not the same as Fortune Telling, which is explicitly forbidden in the Bible (see Deuteronomy 18:9-13); rather it but is positive input from God designed to build up the Church. It can also come as a warning (“unless you change your ways you will discover that…”), but God’s love and forgiveness always transcend situations if we turn to Him and repent.
Modern prophecy is a Gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12) and as stated above, is always given in love for the building up of the Church – God is just and fair, He is never vindictive. A prophecy may be given to one person or may be distributed among several believers, either in the same meeting or dispersed over a period of time. We may find ourselves called by God to take a certain course of action, either individually or as part of a small group; the message may seem strange at the time, but if it is from God it will always be confirmed by other sources. The challenge is to accept it as being from God and act accordingly.
Within my own present church fellowship I have been part of such a situation when God actually gave a prophecy in three different parts to three different people within a few minutes in the same service. Praise His Name!
To put this into context, Peter says (2 Peter 1:20-21), “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” If that is true in Scripture, how much more true is it of today’s Christians exercising the Gift of prophecy?
God often gives prophetic messages in specific situations; this may be for a church plant, or a significant change of direction that He wants a church (or even an individual) to take. In 1 Corinthians 14 St Paul tells us to “weigh” prophecy, that it is in accord with the general tenor of the Bible; it also needs to be checked against the messages given to fellow Christians to see if it rings true. Weighing a prophecy may take some time, or it may be instantaneous, but it is important that it should take place.
In 1 Corinthians 12:29-30 Paul asks, ”… do all prophesy? …” (or indeed, exercise any of the Gifts), implying that some do not. There is no shame attached to not being gifted in any particular manner. In verse 31 he says ”but eagerly desire the greater gifts”.
If we treat the whole of Chapter 13 as a parenthesis and consider 12:31 and 14:1-17 as continuous text, this whole passage becomes one intelligible thread – Paul is basically saying that prophecy is the greatest gift, and we should eagerly desire this as it is intelligible to all and is clearly a Word from God for the Church.
The timing of a prophetic word and its fulfilment are important; some words may have immediate relevance – God is saying Hear this now and take appropriate action, while others may be for an indeterminate time in the future – Hear this now but store it away until I prompt you further, which may be several months or even years away. Don’t rush God but wait for His timing, which is always perfect.
If a person is given a prophetic word during a worship service then this should first be offered to the leader for discernment, before delivering it to the assembly; (see 1 Corinthians 14:29) so that the whole church can be encouraged and built up. The detailed process here may vary in different denominational formats, but order in worship should always be maintained. If it is possible it is usually better for one who hears prophetic words from God to write them down outside of public worship, and then weigh them, both in his or her own spirit and by sharing with a minister or leader. The word can then be brought to the church in proper order and at an appropriate time.
How do we weigh prophecy
There are several tests (this is not an exhaustive list):
- Does it reflect the nature and character of God?
- Is the word fully in line with the revealed Word of God in the Bible?
- Is it in tune with other properly validated prophecies on a similar theme, either recent or perhaps further back in time?
- Does it resonate in the spirit pf the person giving the prophecy, and with others in the fellowship to whom it is being offered?
- Is it encouraging to its hearers, and will it contribute to building up the church?
- Do we have a sense of peace in our own spirit about the potential effects of this word?
- Do those in the fellowship discern that this is truly a word from God, rather than from a spirit from Satan – is the speaker trusted as a true servant of God?
If all these tests come across as positive then it is likely that this is a truly prophetic word from God, and we should take whatever action is implied. But don’t forget to set targets and review points; this may be a work of God’s initiation, but He still charges us with its oversight, especially if budgetary or other resources may be involved; it can often be right to think of its implementation in the same way that we would approach a human business project, with the distinction that our Project Manager is the Holy Spirit – we need to defer to Him at all times! And this is a stark warning: let us not fall into the error of trying to take control of God’s work:
How quickly a real and experiential encounter with God the Holy Spirit can lapse into religious routine and come under human control. [22]
I have said a lot here about what prophecy actually is, but the question any Christian needs to be asking is, “should I be involved, and in what way?”
I believe God wants to speak to and through everyone prophetically by His Holy Spirit; as a member of the Body of Christ each of us has the Spirit in us, and sometimes God may want to speak through us – we need to be receptive and open to His inspiration. He may not choose to give us this or any other Gift, but above all let us be available if and when He does speak to us. How can we help to build up the church? How can we help to evangelise? Indeed how can we fulfil any role that God wants us to have? Prophecy is a vital part of any ministry for God both for initiating works of service and for empowering us while we carry them out; this can even be true if we share morning coffee with a friend or get some shopping for a sick person. Let us not forget that “works of service” (Ephesians 4:12) often just flow naturally from living the Christian life with the Holy Spirit’s leading. This may not feel prophetic, but it is a good witness to the work and power of God and that is what the Christian life is all about.
We come back to Joel Chapter 2; if we go on from the well known verse 28 through to verse 32 (please read it if you are not familiar with it), which says “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”.
Romans 10:14 points out that as a stranger to faith we cannot call on the Lord if we have not heard, and we cannot hear unless someone tells us. Whether this is from the pulpit or in one-to-one conversation, it needs to be inspired by the Holy Spirit (i.e. prophetic) in order for it to happen – we need it to fulfil the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. If you are a Christian and a servant of God, I pray that you would think and pray how you might proceed prophetically. If you then feel that what you are doing now is what God has called you to do (even if this is simply by your lifestyle and implicit witness), then that is wonderful – praise God! Sometimes we can preach just by being who we are, which can speak volumes. It is an individual responsibility to be doing the right thing under God. Remember though that being a Christian is never static; we always need to be asking God, “What’s next? Where do I go from here?” I am over 80 years old and I am still asking that question.
Discerning between Spirits
We have seen that there are both good and evil spirits, and it is vital to distinguish between them; we naturally need to know when we have received a message from God so that we can be edified by it and act on what it says. We also need to know if we are being deceived by Satan, and say, as Jesus did in Matthew 16:23, “Get behind me Satan!” On this occasion Peter was clearly being deceived and so Jesus addressed Satan directly, bypassing Peter who at the time was being Satan’s mouthpiece. But how do we make that distinction? Peter was one of Jesus’ closest disciples and yet he was deceived, so you may wonder what chance we stand today of getting it right.
This again illustrates the need to be constantly in God’s presence by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we are surprised by unexpected enemy action, we then need to open up our mind and soul to God and specifically ask for the Holy Spirit’s power to show us the way forward.
Proverbs 3:5–6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding”;. God gave us intelligent brains to think and make reasoned decisions, but these should always be led and informed by what God says in His Word, amplified by what the Holy Spirit is saying now. Note the use of the word amplified, not negated or supplanted – God will never contradict His eternal Word.
The ability to discern between spirits is a Gift of the Holy Spirit, and we need to ask God for this Gift and never try to exercise it ourselves. As in everything else, prayer is always the answer here.
Ask God for an attentive heart so that you can distinguish between what is from God and what is either noise or demonic deception.
Speaking in Tongues
Sometimes a devout Christian may find themself praying in a spiritual language totally unknown to them; this may be in private prayer, in which case it is likely that the individual is “lost in wonder, love and praise” as the old hymn has it[23] and is led by the Holy Spirit to pray through his or her own spirit directly as described in Romans 8:26. The phenomenon is known as glossolalia. There are actually two slightly different forms of this Gift:
a In private or corporate worship, as described above.
b where individuals are given earthly languages they have not learnt or studied (such as happened in Acts 2:1-12) in order to be understood by native speakers of those languages. This is not confined to New Testament times as some may suppose, but there are also recorded instances of it in our modern world.
If you have the Gift of Tongues, use it in your personal worship, where it can greatly enhance your relationship with God – talking to Him in His own language; but be careful of using it in a public gathering – it may not be wise to use the Gift of Tongues in praying for a specific person who either does not have this Gift or even may not understand it. BUT do not get hung up on the idea that without it you are a second-class Christian – the lack of the Gift of Tongues does not prevent us from worshipping in the Spirit and in truth, or from hearing from God. Read 1 Corinthians 14:1-5, where Paul said that if we speak in a Tongue we are not speaking to other people but only to God. However verse 5 says. “The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in Tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.” In 1 Corinthians 12:29-30 he says “…do all prophesy? Do all speak in Tongues?...”; whether or not we have any specific Gift, our God is generous and will bless each of us, whatever Gifts we may or may not have; He is not going to withhold blessings from someone simply because they do not have the Gift of Tongues, and neither does He stop speaking to us for that reason.
Not everyone has the Gift of Tongues
Many charismatic Christians believe that a truly spiritual Christian will automatically have the Gift of Tongues, and use it freely and copiously to enhance their prayer times. While this view is absolutely valid for many, it is not the case universally.
During my visit to Israel in 1988 I was baptised in the River Jordan by a charismatic minister; at the time he was convinced that I would receive the Gift of Tongues, but the best part of 40 years later I am still waiting for it. I have no problem with this; God has graciously given me other Gifts and I am very blessed and use them in His service; He has shown me that the truth about Gifts is less straightforward; many Christians (especially in the more traditional churches) can have a perfectly valid and fruitful relationship with Him but without ever having the Gift of Tongues; it isn’t inferior, it’s just different. If you have this Gift, then praise God for it and use it as may be appropriate to the circumstances, the company you are in, and many other factors, but please don’t view those without it as if they are somehow second-class Christians. Read 1 Corinthians 12 to 14 very carefully before coming to a view on this; as stated earlier in this Chapter. It is a very interesting exercise to regard the whole of Chapter 13 as a free-standing parenthesis, and read from 12:31 straight to 14:1; you can then review your thinking on which are the greater Gifts, and where Tongues fits into the mix.
Interpretation of Tongues
Again, in verse 5 of Chapter 12, Paul says “unless someone interprets”; if the Holy Spirit gives someone a message in a Tongue, normal practice would be for another person to be given the interpretation into English (or whatever is the vernacular language of the group); this would usually happen within a few minutes, and it would be right for the others present to remain silent until the interpretation is given. Rarely the interpretation may be given to the original speaker if nobody else feels they have been given it, but this is exceptional. It is the interpretation which really counts, “so that the church may be edified”. In these situations the message becomes Prophecy, which is then subject to the normal tests regarding that Gift.
Encouragement
This is not one of the Spiritual Gifts listed in that Chapter but is found elsewhere in the New Testament, specifically in 1 Thessalonians 5:11; this says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Suppose someone you know as a very diffident person, is given the courage by God to stand up and witness to an event in their own life. It may ring true to you as a person – either because it accords with something in your own life, or simply because your spirit quickens to the concept or the fact of the event. You could simply accept it as a helpful fact and continue on your way. Alternatively it could be so much more helpful to encourage that individual in what they are doing; this way both of you benefit from the experience, as may many others yet to be touched by it.
In much of Paul’s ministry he had Barnabas as a companion; the name Barnabas means “Son of Encouragement” (see Acts 4:36), and he was a great source of encouragement to Paul in both practical and spiritual ways. There are many Christians today who have this very positive gift, and I would advise encouraging it – if that is not a circular argument!
Conclusion
God is generous, and He can give any Spiritual Gift to anyone at any time; it is a very joyous aspect of Faith to receive one or more Gifts. Whatever Gift(s) each of us may have, we should always use them wisely and under the Holy Spirit’s direction, then over time we shall see the Church edified and built up.
For Further Thought and Discussion
- What is the difference between a Spiritual Gift and a human talent?
- Which do you think are Paul's most important gifts?
- What is the difference between Prophecy and fortune telling?
12 The Fruit of the Spirit
In Galatians 5:22-25 Paul lists nine qualities which together he describes as the Fruit of the Spirit; these are
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Forbearance ( or Patience)
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-control
Notice that in verse 22 Paul uses a singular verb is (Greek estin) – he refers to all of these qualities as a single Fruit which is the result of living a life led by the Holy Spirit; in other words, if we allow the Holy Spirit to be in charge of our thoughts and actions, we will naturally begin to exhibit all of these in our lives.
Of course the converse is implied: if we are not loving, joyful, peaceful, etc, then somehow the Holy Spirit is being suppressed, but don’t be over-concerned here; we’re human and from time to time we fail – it’s called sin. And we simply need to repent before God and come back to the Spirit-led life we were always meant to lead. We can then go forward in the Spirit’s leading and once again show the Fruit in our lives.
I am fully aware that life is not that simple, but I believe it is right to see the preceding two paragraphs as a target to which we can aspire.
What, then, about the individual aspects of the Fruit?
Love is clearly the most important, and can actually be seen to include the others, but before we look at the other features let us look at the different aspects of love.
There are four separate Greek words for love as we see here:
storge (stor-ge, hard g, e as in get)
affection, as within a family
philia (fee-lee-ya) brotherly love, say beween good friends
eros (short e as in get)
romantic or sexual love
agape (a-ga-pe; a as in hat, e as in get)
unconditional self-sacrificing love like God’s love for us
The word used for love in Galatians 5, 1 Corinthians 13 and for example 1 Peter 4:8 as well as other places in the Bible, is agape, and as Christians we are always trying to emulate this highest form of love, that which God has for us. We cannot do it by ourselves, we can only achieve it if the Holy Spirit is working in us – it is the Fruit of the Spirit.
Joy is not the same as happiness but is much deeper and transcends what we think of as human happiness. For example we can be seriously ill and in a poor state emotionally, or suffering from the effects of our environment, yet still have the joy in our heart which comes from knowing we are really deeply loved by God. I believe that joy is best described in C. S. Lewis’s book Surprised by Joy [24].
Peace encompasses the Hebrew concept of Shalom (see the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace in Chapter 9). Jehovah Shalom, God our Peace, is one of the Names of God but only occurs once in the Bible, in Judges 6:24 in the story of Gideon. The word Shalom comes from the root word shalem, meaning whole and complete. It fully implies this in its regular use in the Bible and when it is used in Jewish society today; this is even true when it is just used as the casual greeting hello or goodbye. (Incidentally goodbye is a shortened form of God be with you, not that far removed).
Patience. Basically this is being slow to anger (Exodus 34:6, Psalm 108:8 and also several other Scriptures); enduring difficult situations without getting angry, or oppressed by difficult circumstances. God shows infinite patience with us when we go astray, and we can emulate this when we are led by the Spirit. if we truly love people this means we will be patient with them (1 Corinthians 13:4).
Kindness. This is selflessness, understanding and mercy offered to another person, if they are in difficulty or hardship; perhaps we find some people difficult and we just need to show empathy, to put ourself in their shoes; Proverbs 25:11 says “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (NRSV). This is especially powerful if we are relating to someone with whom we are not particularly friendly (Matthew 5:43-44). A private discussion is always kinder than a public dispute.
Goodness. The literal meaning of goodness is godliness. In modern usage the word goodness has almost ceased to have any meaning as we tend to use it casually so that it can be just an exclamation. As an aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit however it really means holiness, purity, living Jesus-life in everyday action. It is purity of heart, of character; that which is morally right. It is more than simply doing good deeds.
Faithfulness. This is trust and loyalty; trusting in God in every situation, even when we would prefer to go our own way. It is knowing that God always has our best interests at heart and following Him in total trust. You can think of Abraham preparing to sacrifice his long-awaited son Isaac in Genesis 19. He knew that God knew what He was doing and he simply trusted Him in faith. It is also important to be faithful to our friends and loved ones, so that they in turn are able to trust us.
Gentleness. The desire always to help others rather than criticise or condemn them, even when they are clearly in the wrong; gentle, loving words will often have a more positive effect than a superior and critical remark.
Self-Control. This helps us to avoid temptation and assists in keeping to the “straight and narrow”; it is an important feature in dealing with negative emotions and desires – allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and actions is a route to good spiritual health.
These qualities do not come naturally to most of us, but as Christians we have the Holy Spirit living in us moment by moment and we always have His resources at hand when we need resources beyond our own.
For Further Thought and Discussion in Group use
- What enables us to show the Fruit of the Spirit?
- Is any aspect of the Fruit more significant than the others?
- Can we exhibit these qualities in our lives without the help of the Holy Spirit?
13 How does God get your attention?
God’s Initiative
I believe that there as many different answers to this question as there are Christians on the planet. God can use all of these to show us something of who He is, to show us areas of personal growth, or to teach us how to spot where He has opportunities for us to show His love to the world. We need to be sensitive to the fact that these things can happen, so as not to miss what God is doing!
Here are a few.
Regularly reading (or listening to!) your Bible fills you with knowledge of the scriptures. God may then bring them to mind at an appropriate moment, or might highlight something as you’re reading it, bringing it to life. Knowing scripture is also important as it provides a plumbline which we should use to “weigh” anything we think God might be saying.
Spending time with God in prayer and worship. As we talk to God we often hear Him talk back, through feelings, promptings, thoughts and scriptures that come to mind. He can also use this time to speak directly into our mind, through words of encouragement and blessing, or indeed of admonishment or correction where this is necessary.
Other people – conversations with friends (who “just happen” to say something relevant), preaching, books people have written, or the experience of interacting with others (such as parenting children, working with colleagues, meeting people in the street).
Times of reflection. Whether through an intentional retreat or simply replaying your day on your commute home; God can use these times of reflection to “poke” you with questions regarding what you’re thinking about and to steer you into understanding His will for that situation.
The world around us. Whether the natural world or the man-made one, God can use things we see to reflect Himself (after all, He did create it!) or to prompt us in our thinking (signs, adverts, landscapes, buildings etc.).
Dreams and Visions (see Joel 2: 28-29). Take particular note of dreams that seem out of place yet memorable, or that feel different to normal dreams. God can be giving you a message within the dream. This may not always be the case, but it would be sad to miss something important because we were unreceptive.
Be aware that He can speak through visions; be careful not to respond negatively here: I don’t get visions, those are for other people. As young Christians my wife and I attended a weekly House Group, where the leader had frequent visions, and my feeling was that God had given him a special anointing; Joel’s words, however, suggest that they might be for anyone. In my introductory chapter I have already mentioned that while I was in Jerusalem God gave me a vision of Jesus at the Empty Tomb (I was in my 40s at the time so I did not qualify either for Joel’s “young men” or “old men”!) I was just an ordinary Christian, yet God chose to speak to me in this way. Similarly in 2022 during a Saturday morning prayer meeting, God gave me a vision of the Holy Spirit coming down through the church tower, spreading out like tree roots into the church and resting on the congregation. He said, “A sign of things to come”.
So you see, even someone like myself, a person who “does not” see visions (I am a scientist, so I want mathematical proof, Q.E.D!), can sometimes be surprised by God. The message is to be always alert to what could happen.
Seeing and hearing angels. Hebrews 13:1-2 says that by entertaining strangers we may “have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it”. To put this into a broader context, I know people who have seen angels during a normal time of worship. Angels are God’s messengers and can appear with a direct message from God, or may simply be carrying God’s love and care to the recipient. It is a great privilege to receive such a visit, and is worthy of thanks and praise to God.
Coincidences and unusual events. Many people prefer to think of these as “God-incidences”, events that God has engineered to provoke or develop a situation or discussion, that appear to us as mere coincidence at the time.
Circumstances that confirm that God has heard our prayers and is interested in the big and small details of our lives.
Our Response
Sensitivity; remember that as a Christian, God’s Spirit is with you constantly (Matthew 28:20). We need to be aware of the possibility that God may want to speak to us at any time, using any method He chooses. We must be aware – and be ready to respond (see 1 Samuel 3:1-10)
Practice; the more we are aware of God’s voice or His prompting, the more it will become natural to our experience.
Get to know God. If we get to know the Scriptures and spend time with God, we get to know what God is like; what matters to Him, what his voice sounds like, and how He tends to speak to us individually.
Share with others what we think He might be saying to us and get them to help us “weigh” it.
A sense of peace – a settled sureness that this is the “right” thing to do or say, even if it feels scary!
Physical sensations. Some people talk of a feeling in the pit of their stomach, others say that their heart thumps extra hard, or a warm glow in their inner being; for example I usually get a tingling sensation akin to “pins and needles”. None of these is in itself a guarantee of God speaking, but again over time we can get used to a particular sensation that assures us that this may be from God, and that depending on various factors we should either simply accept it or weigh it. Occasionally a real surge of God’s power may engender the feeling that we have come to recognise as being from God but in a much stronger form; I have felt this surge from God when a total stranger at a church I was visiting in the summer of 2023 prayed for me for healing, even though the person had no idea what my needs were. If the individual concerned happens to read this – thank you and bless you, God responded!
Repetition. God will often get our attention by saying the same thing more than once, perhaps in several different ways and from different people.
God loves each of us as a son or daughter and so He naturally wants to have dialogue with us; let us be aware that if we are to have a full relationship with Him we need to cultivate dialogue in prayer. If this is currently outside our normal experience, we can start by adopting a restful pose and try to become aware of His presence, then say simply, “Is there anything you want to say to me at the moment, Lord?” and simply wait for Him to respond. If at first it feels as though nothing happens, PERSEVERE; try again tomorrow, and so on. This may involve clearing your mind of earthly cares and daily stresses – itself no mean task – but it is always worth the effort.
For Further Thought and Discussion
(If you are not yet a Christian and do not feel able to answer this section, please feel free to move on)
- How do you find God prompts you when He has something to say?
- How do you respond?
- How do you cultivate your “listening ear”?
14 Are we ready for Jesus to Return?
As I review this section I find myself in the middle of Advent, the time when we celebrate both the First and Second coming of Jesus. The word Advent simply means Coming or Arrival; it is celebrated over the four Sundays preceding Christmas – a time when we prepare spiritually for the arrival of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem. Equally.(if not more) important, however, is the spiritual preparation for the Second Coming.
The Bible is absolutely clear that Jesus will return to earth at the end of the age, to judge and terminate the whole of creation as we know it and create a new totally restored and healed Heaven and Earth.
Jesus said (Matthew 24:36-44) that “nobody knows the time of His return except the Father”; even Jesus Himself does not know, so the message is clear: be alert! It is definitely worth reading the whole of Matthew 24 and 25 to understand what Jesus is saying, but it is not good to read it in such a way as to feel depressed when you’ve finished the passage; don’t come away from it thinking, “What if I’m left out?” There are too many cinematic representations on this theme which can steer you down this route. Rather read it with the correct mindset; Jesus wanted to encourage His followers to be on the right side of the fence (that is, to believe in Jesus as one’s personal Saviour as described in John 3:16); we can then say with Mother Julian of Norwich, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”[25]
So we need to keep watch and be ready. What does this mean?
First we need to have allowed Jesus into our life, to admit to and repent of (turn away from) all the wrong we have done, which is called sin. Specifically this means if we had rejected Jesus. We now need to accept Him as our Lord and Saviour,[26] It is important to be aware that becoming a follower of Jesus in this way is fundamentally not a decision on our part, but is a sovereign work of God the Holy Spirit. but the most wonderful part of this is that God changes our mindset so that we actually want to accept Him, which turns it into being our choice. Praise God!
We cannot know when Jesus will return, so we need to be ready for Him to come at any time; however there are signs available for the eagle-eyed Christian to observe. You can read it all in Matthew 24 and 25, but it is not set out as a road-map. These two chapters represent the Discourse of Jesus to His disciples just before His Crucifixion, and some of the events He describes have already happened, such as the destruction of the Temple (which took place in AD 70) – a clear historical event. Chapter 24:5-7 describes events which have happened and are still happening today in different parts of the world, and Christian persecution has been a very real threat to the church for centuries; you have only to look at world events in the 21st century to see that this is still very much the case today. Indeed, sometimes in the places you may least expect – it is more difficult in the UK today to stand up and be counted as a Bible-believing Christian than to belong to almost any other faith. If you find this hard to believe, look at the persecution of Christians in business, in education, in healthcare – people lose their jobs simply for refusing to accept the ways in which modern culture is forcing people to agree to regulations which are contrary to the teachings of the Bible – things which are matters of conscience but have become conditions of employment in many areas.
Jesus points out that no-one knows the time of His return, not even Himself (verse 36), so our only option is to watch and pray.
So dear Reader, do you see this as a depressing fact? Not a bit of it! As Spirit-filled Bible-believing Christians our future is certain and secure, so we can rest in the Lord and feel content. If you are not yet a Spirit-filled Bible-believing Christian, then I sympathise and understand your difficulty, but perhaps you should consider your position! I would strongly recommend that you have a serious discussion with a Christian friend whom you respect, or a church leader in a Bible-believing church; I pray that you do this while you can.
I Repeat the first sentence at the start of my Preface above: The biggest problem that I see nowadays is – how do people manage to live without having Jesus in their lives?
Meanwhile I commend this book to you with love, in the precious Name of Jesus.
For Further Thought and Discussion
- What is your inner feeling when you think about Jesus’ Return?
- Joyful anticipation?
- Fear?
- Indifference
- How do you react to Acts 1:11?
- How do you imagine Jesus will be seen by everyone in the world at the same time? Do you suppose this is even relevant?
15 Conclusion
I cannot know where you are in your walk with Jesus, but my prayer is that if you are already on the road with Him, that you have found material here which is helpful to you, or worth consideration; that you will be able to read this prayerfully and with an open mind, and that the Holy Spirit will lead you forward.
Alternatively, if you are not yet a follower of Jesus, I pray that through what you read here you may find features to attract you to Him and to the Christian way of life, and above all, that you can turn to Him and put your life behind you and accept Jesus and what He has done for you – in other words, to repent. It is never too late – I know of some who literally on their deathbed have turned to Him and asked His forgiveness so that they may come into His Kingdom (see Matthew 20:1-15). God is generous. But don’t leave it till the last minute, reach out and accept the blessings now.
I pray that you can accept that the Holy Spirit is a real Person of the Godhead, and that He wants to come close to you.
I believe that in writing this I have developed personally and am closer to God than when I started; as you have been reading this, do you feel that you too have developed? Do ask yourself, where am I now, and is there anyting I need to do? Although however much I have developed personally, this does not make me perfect. The more I learn, the more I grow, but the more I realise that I fall short of God's exacting standard. Each of us is human and there is no way we can aspire to be good enough to be fit for heaven when we die; we achieve this only through the forgiveness won for us by Jesus' death, provided we have each accepted that for ourselves (see Chapter 14). Then we are able to stand before the Judgment Seat of God dressed in the Robes of Righteousness which He gives us. It is only by His Grace and love that I can feel confident of my Salvation, my eventual place in heaven, because of what Jesus did for me, for every one of us, on the Cross. If you are confused or bothered by this, then do talk to a Bible-believing Christian and start asking questions.
And finally, may God bless you and lead you forward, in your attempts to build a relationship with Him and follow His leading. In His precious Name.
Amen.
Peter
16 Appendices
Salvation is a free gift from God and does not have to be earned by one’s own efforts. However Philippians 2:12-13 says “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”, apparently suggesting that personal effort is involved. Actually the word translated fear (phobos) really means respect or reverence, leading also to the phrase God-fearing. Similarly tromos (trembling) reflects the natural emotion one would feel in relating to any hugely important person; for example if you were called to address the King of England, fear and trembling would be natural reactions, even though you have no reason to be afraid. Now transpose that into relating to Almighty God, and you would be hard-pressed not to be afraid and to tremble, even though you know that your sins are forgiven and your salvation assured.
So what does it mean to work out your salvation? This is the exact opposite of what first appearances may suggest; we are doing good works for God because we are saved, not in order to be saved. God has prepared in advance good works for us to do, and we pick them up and go with them (see Ephesians 2:10).
In practice the phrase means “Show respect and reverence to God and humble yourself before His awesome Majesty, and then (with the help of the Holy Spirit) carry out the good works He has set you to do”.
It is also worth noting that Jesus said to the Samaritan woman (John 4:22) that “Salvation is from the Jews”. Also Paul says in Romans 1:16, “The gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” Salvation is a free gift from God, but Jesus brought it to God’s chosen race, the Jews, first. In Matthew 15:24 Jesus says, ”I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel”, (which included Samaria in this context) and it was Paul who was later sent to the Gentiles (non-Jews) – see Acts 9:15, where Jesus says that Paul is to carry the Gospel to the Gentiles.. In the above verse from Romans it is clear that Gentiles (the rest of the world) are included, but the Jews were always intended to be the channel of God’s salvation; the theology behind this is somewhat complex and goes all the way back to Abraham (about 1900 BC), but we can see it summarised in Acts 1:8 – “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”[27]
A2 Worship
The worldwide Christian Church enjoys many and varied worship styles; some are very formal and follow a liturgy – a formulaic style involving set patterns of Bible readings, preaching, singing, and prayer. The Church of England (CofE) is established within UK law as the main church in England, while other nations within the UK have their own variants working along similar lines; there are also Episcopalians in America and others worldwide. All of these groups together are known as Anglicans (a word originating from the Angles, a tribe who settled in England in the 5th Century AD) and are similar but are distinct in detail. Particularly within the CofE there are a number of different levels of adherence to the various liturgies, known as high and low church (and all shades in between); this will determine for example whether certain parts of the liturgy are said (more typical of lower churches) or sung (more typical of higher churches), and what form(s) of music are used. There is no intrinsic reason why the Holy Spirit should or should not be present and active in any and all of these traditions. Roman Catholics follow an even more tightly regulated set of procedures.
In the free churches (that is those of neither Anglican nor Roman Catholic traditions), worship styles tend to be less formally structured and follow procedures which the leadership have developed under God over time; they can also develop (and even be subject to radical alteration) as circumstances dictate. In most cases, however, they will include elements of preaching, prayer and sung worship in order to generate a fully rounded form of worship to God.
The music may be traditional (medieval, Renaissance; Victorian), or various modern styles, and can be a capella (unaccompanied) or led by piano or organ or by a group of musicians from different traditions.
Music is an important vehicle of worship and Spirit-led music can greatly enhance the worshipper’s experience of drawing closer to God; conversely bad music can really get in the way of such a relationship. It is important that a worship leader should be of one heart and mind with the minister or service leader and with the Body of worshippers present. Personal preferences are significant in this area; one fellowship may be very happy with singing traditional hymns and psalms, while another can only manage with material written in the 21st Century. A good eclectic mix is often helpful for broader appeal and applicability,
It is also likely that if you live in areas where the lifestyle is more traditional (for example in the Scottish Highlands or rural Wales) you may find that worship largely contains a lot of unison intoning or chanting; this can be very beautiful, but strangers entering a rural Scots church for the first time may not find it quite to their taste. The important feature is, if the Holy Spirit is in it, then who am I to argue? But again, praise God that we have such a wide choice of style available to us, so that in most cases we can worship where we are comfortable.
As a general rule if you have a local Parish Church then it is often a good plan to try that first, and only move elsewhere either if God directs or there are specific reasons to do so. Clearly if you belong to the Catholic tradition for example, you may well have no choice, but for many, such constraints will not apply.
If you are trying church for the first time, or are new to a particular area and want to see what is available, there really is no substitute for trying different churches to see which one suits you best, along with other people’s recommendations, before committing to a final decision. If you have no formal allegiance and live in a village or town with its own (CofE) Parish Church them it may be a good plan to try that first, but there is no need to stay if it really feels inappropriate for you; it should be the case that every church can claim the presence of the Holy Spirit, but sadly this is not the case – I have been into churches (in both the UK and Europe) which felt spiritually “cold”, and I felt God saying, “Don’t worry, I can’t get in here either!”
None of these options is actually wrong, but God is gracious enough to allow us to find our personal metier and settle where we feel drawn, and where we are able to worship Him “in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23)
People often joke about their Guardian Angel looking after them in specific problem situations. There are branches of Christianity to whom the concept of a guardian angel is a very real part of their belief system, but equally there are those who firmly believe that it is not true.
The Bible refers to two Archangels, Michael and Gabriel; there are two more in the Apocrypha (biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of Scripture), namely Raphael and Uriel (or Auriel) but their authenticity is suspect.
Michael is the chief of the angels, tasked with the care (or guardianship) of Israel, and he first appears in Daniel 2:10. In this passage he is seen warring with the prince of Persia and being delayed for 21 days in his quest to go to Daniel’s aid. He also appears in Daniel 12, involved in the deliverance of Israel in the End Times.
In Jude:9 we find Michael arguing with Satan[28], but here even Michael does not condemn Satan himself, but rather says to him, “The Lord rebuke you!” Finally in Revelation 12 we find Michael and his angels fighting against Satan and his angels, and Satan was defeated and hurled from heaven. Thus Michael is Israel’s Guardian Angel; note that we are seeing here the Guardian Angel of a nation rather than of an individual.
Gabriel is a messenger from God, and he appears in Daniel 9, where Gabriel comes to reveal to Daniel what will happen to the people of Israel in the future. He is then not seen again until the Annunciation – the revelation to Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus.
So do we have a personal guardian angel? Personally I think not, but I certainly do not dismiss the fact of divine intervention in our personal lives, and I believe this to be the work of the Holy Spirit rather than that of a guardian angel.
When the praying believers in Acts 12 could not believe that Peter was knocking at the door since he was supposed to be in prison, they said, “It is his angel” (Acts 12:15). This does not imply that all believers have an angel assigned to them. It may only suggest that in that situation God had commissioned an angel to use Peter’s voice (Acts 12:14), and perhaps awaken even more urgent prayer for him. Psalm 91:11 reads: "For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways".
Psalm 34:7 says “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them”; the phrase The angel of the Lord is generic and does not specify a particular angel, so cannot be taken to refer to a personal Guardian Angel.
Similarly “My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” (Daniel 6:22)
The promise here is better than the tradition that every saint has one personal guardian angel. Hebrews 1:14 says that all the angels are specifically sent “to serve those who will inherit salvation” (that is, Christian believers). All angels serve all Christians all the time. They are the agents of Romans 8:28.
A4 Some Helpful Verses from Scripture
There is one verse which is pivotal to the whole of the Christian faith, namely John 3:16:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Some other helpful verses include:
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Habakkuk 3:17-18
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
1 Peter 1:13
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming.
1 Corinthians 6:9
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
Lamentations 3:22-26
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.’
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”
Exodus 15:26
“I am the Lord, who heals you”
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