We began last week looking at hearing from God.
„X Broadly defined: prophetic insight is simply the mind and heart of God being revealed to our minds and hearts
„X God is in the process of pouring out His mind and heart in a fresh way¡K different than he had done with the prophets of Israel
„X We noted that following Christ, the term prophetic carries a new purpose¡K pervasiveness¡K presumption¡K from that of the Old Testament.
This week¡K TURN TO THE PROCESS, in which we can learn from the prophets¡K in particular, Habakuk (note: Found towards end of OT, before Nahum & Zephaniah). Joke: It¡¦s a great name for any soon to be parents.
Before turning to this process¡K I know it can be a confusing or intimidating subject for some.
Story of two big city coaches from Univ. of Washington ¡K Pullman
It seems these two big city coaches from the University of Washington were snooping over around in Washington State country in Pullman. It was winter and they heard that one of the specialties of the area was ice fishing, so they decided to try their hand at it. They went to a sporting goods store and bought all the required paraphernalia that was necessary ¡V lines, poles, lures, bait, a small power saw, a tent, a Coleman stove ¡V the whole bit ¡V and then they found some ice, pitched their tent and started to cut a hole in the ice. Just as they got into the spirit of the thing, a loud, awesome voice from above proclaimed: ¡§There¡¦s no fish under the ice.¡¨ Well, that stopped them for a minute but they looked quizzically at one another, and then, embarrassed to acknowledge this eerie voice to each other, turned back to their saw and the ice. But just as they got going again they heard the voice again: ¡§There¡¦s no fish under the ice.¡¨ They stole embarrassed looks at each other but kept on sawing. Now, a third time, even louder than before, the booming voice thundered at them: ¡§There¡¦s no fish under the ice.¡¨ Finally, one of them could stand it no longer, stood up and cried out ¡V ¡§Is that you, Lord?¡¨ And the voice boomed out ¡§No, this is the manager of the ice skating rink.¡¨
Many of us may feel confused¡K others may feel frustrated.
We can all struggle in our hearts at times when friends, spouses, or anyone we see are led in ways we haven¡¦t experienced.
„X Let me say that any discussions about how we might hear from God is about helping, not honoring any particular experience. WE HONOR PEOPLE, NOT EXPERIENCES.
„X All that we¡¦re called to do is ¡§seek all God has, discern all we sense, and hold on to what is good.¡¨
CONTEXT OF HABAKUK
One whom God had called as prophet during period in which the people had fallen to Babylonian rule¡K saw the devastation around him¡K called out to God and would indeed receive insight into what was at hand, namely that Babylon would fall¡K as it did in 539 BC, 66 years after God spoke to Habakuk. Here we catch a glimpse of the process. Having lifted up what he said to God, he then went on:
I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me¡K, Then the LORD replied: ¡§Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald my run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:1-3.
1. Take a watchful position
„X Using imagery of the ramparts, refer to the walls of Jerusalem. The first thing Habakuk does is take up a watchful position.
„X He steps into a place of responsibility and expectation.
-- So often we think of God involved with the world ¡K with us observing from the sidelines. Then a problem gets out attention, we say ¡§Where is God,¡¨ and God says ¡§Where are you?¡¨
-- I believe God is stirring his church today to their position.
„X It is a step we can observe throughout scripture: a call to take our position comes first, then, as that all is responded to, God¡¦s leading comes¡K
-- Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Disciples, Paul
-- Illus.: My accepting the pastorate of this church. I was in the position¡K but God
needed me to take it.
„« We each have various positions to watch over.
-- They may vary according to what¡¦s at hand in our lives¡K city¡K family¡K
individuals¡K yourself (¡K just seeking God)
„X If we desire God¡¦s leading, the first question to as is: FOR WHOM ARE YOU WATCHFUL?
o Who has been entrusted to your life? (Think for a moment)
o If you haven¡¦t taken a deliberate position, agree even now in your heart to say: ¡§I will stand at my watch and station myself.¡¨
2. Listen with the ¡§eyes of the heart¡¨
Note what Habakuk says: ¡§I will look to see what he says to me¡¨
„X A strange mixing of sensing verbs is described, BUT IT IS REVEALING OF HOW GOD SPEAKS TO US.
„X It¡¦s an internal leading; a revelation to our inner senses. Paul says:
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the EYES OF YOUR HEART may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:17-19
„X ¡§EYES OF THE HEART¡¨ implies a contrast with the apprehensions of our mind through reasoning; not irrational, but other than rational
„X Today we would relate this to what we all INTUITIVE KNOWLEDGE, in contrast to our RATIONAL MIND
o Webster¡¦s defines intuition as ¡§Knowing or learning something without conscious reasoning.¡¨
o Increasingly, we¡¦re being described as having TWO MINDS; right and left brain, one which processes the logical, sequential, analytical; one which functions in the feelings and intuitive process; including music. (Ex. of my grandfather who had lost the ability to speak due to a stroke¡K there on Christmas¡K as the family sang carols¡K suddenly smiles and begins to sing.).
„X Some of us operate more naturally in this intuitive process
o Women¡K ¡§women¡¦s intuition¡¨
o Joke: This explains a little more why women see men stuck in their reasoning mode and want to knock us across the side of the head¡K it¡¦s to get those neurons that are firing to jump over to the other side of the brain.
„« Need to be glad for differences¡K clearly both are a part of discerning the things of God¡K I¡¦m thankful for people more gifted in either mode of mind. Example: Ex. My wife Leah¡K I¡¦ll be laying out every side of an issue at hand¡K she¡¦ll just respond in an intuitive fashion that often gets to the key issue.
„X I¡¦m not suggesting that all we sense intuitively is from God, BUT, BELIEVE IT IS THIS ELEMENT WITH WHICH WE EXPERIENCE SPIRITUAL LEADING ¡V Example: experiment with brain wave monitor hooked up to individuals as they were praying in tongues ¡V discovered the jump to the right side of the brain.
Romans 8:26-27 ¡V The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express¡K and the Spirit intercedes for us in accordance to God¡¦s will.
I Cor 2:9 ¡V ¡§No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who live him, but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.¡¨ (Underlines added).
I Cor 2:12 ¡V ¡§We have not received the spirit of the world but the spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.¡¨
Mark Virkler, Dialogue with God, pg. 159
There is a tendency to think of prayer as an activity of the believer. We decide what to pray for, how to pray, and what answer we want. We come to God and present our requests. But such a view represents only part of the true picture of prayer.
In Romans 8:26, the Lord reminds us that we do not know how to pray as we should. Our understanding is limited. We tend to see only from our own perspective. Our minds cannot perceive divine purposes. Yet so often we forget our limitations and think we know enough to tell God what to do and how to do it. And if arrogance doesn¡¦t motivate us, ignorance does. It takes a revelation from the Lord to make us recognize that our weakness in prayer is perpetual, so that we might learn to be perpetually dependent on the Holy Spirit.
Because we do not know how to pray as we should, the Hold Spirit works through us in our weakness. We do not need to hide in our weakness, or strive in our weakness. We must learn to rest in dependence upon the Lord to work through our frailty. Because we do not know how to pray, God himself takes over the whole process of prayer. His strength is perfected in our weakness. If we entrust ourselves to Him, the entire Godhead will become involved in our prayer life.
„X Illus.: In terms of spiritual intuition, you may feel you just have a black & white TV¡K but here¡¦s the point¡K it¡¦s cable-ready; which is better than a Giant Mitsubishi without cable.
„X Therefore, THE FIRST THING WE SHOULD DO IN LISTENING WITH THE ¡§EYES OF OUR HEART¡¨ IS TO ALLOW GOD TO HELP LEAD US ¡V Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance.
„X What about our part? How can we align ourselves to hear from God? How do we go about ¡§watching to see what He will say¡¨?
o The very fact that we are seeking what He will say, implies the necessity to quiet our own minds.
„X THE SECOND PART OF LISTENING WITH ¡§THE EYES OF OUR HEART¡¨ IS TO QUIET THE ACTIVITY OF OUR MINDS¡K TO QUIET OUR THOUGHTS
o Many may remember the basic communication model¡K describes sender, receiver, message¡K NOISE ¡V all that externally and internally that interferes with the message.
o There is a lot that can be said about quietness and stillness, but let me try to simplify it through the words of David in the well-known Psalm 139:
Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any offensive way in may and lead me in the way everlasting. (Underlines added).
o David knows that the challenge that confronted God¡¦s leading are within, namely anything anxious or offensive.
o In my experience of waiting on God¡¦s leading, these are the two most common active workings in my heart that need attending to.
o I might re-label them: concerns and conscience:
Let me suggest:
1. Concerns / ¡§anxious thoughts¡¨ > release these:
-- note them down if necessary
-- As we begin to prayer and wait on God¡K certain physical postures have helped¡K used as an exercise of releasing and opening up to God. One is ¡¥palms up / palms down¡¦ and another is simply beginning with some slow exhaling and inhaling.
2. Conscience / ¡§offensive ways¡¨
-- not only does it cause separation in our heart from God, but the enemy
uses it as an opportunity to condemn us: shame, fear.
-- confess
o What, then, do we wait for? In what fashion will God¡¦s impressions come to us?
„X Spontaneous thoughts, ideas, words, feelings, or images
-- the key word is ¡§spontaneous,¡¨ meaning not developed in our own
reasoning
-- may be as refined as a word from Scripture, or as strange as a symbolic
dream, or as simple as a single image or word
-- I¡¦m not implying that every spontaneous thought is from God, but only
that this is the avenue of His leading. (Discernment is essential, as
I¡¦ve outlined on several occasions).
-- I¡¦m also not implying anything inferior about our more reasoned
insights ¡V they may be equally of God. But, God does want to speak
beyond our natural abilities as well.
¡KLearn to listen with the ¡§eyes of our hearts.¡¨
3. Record the counsel we believe God has given us.
Habakuk ¡V ¡§write down the Revelation and make it plain (on tablets).¡¨
Here I want to suggest the value of our writing down and recording the things we believe to be God¡¦s insights:
„X Words of personal use or public, we find examples in scripture ¡V Book of Psalms (is ex. of personal use), Revelation (of public use)
„X In public words, those for body, it¡¦s helpful for discernment and holding on to
„X In your personal life, it¡¦s often referred to as journaling.
Series: Faith, Prayer & Prophesy
HELP FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED
November 5th, 1995 - Brad Bailey
I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me¡K, Then the LORD replied: ¡§Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald my run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:1-3.
________________
1. Take a watchful position.
2. Listen with the ¡§eyes of the heart.¡¨
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the EYES OF YOUR HEART may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:17-19
3. Record that counsel which we believe God has given us.
