Hi all,
I've
been talking about prophecy given in our day about world events that
may happen in the coming months and years. The question is: How do we
react when a well known speaker says God showed him California is going
to fall into the ocean, with the Mexican peninsula of Baja becoming an
island and the ocean filling California's central valley? (For instance)
What
are we to react to prophecies that speak of a soon coming collapse of
the US and world economy, riots, and lawlessness? Are we to store up
food and water? How do we get God's wisdom on these matters?
The Holy Spirit and your spirit
Jesus said, "When He the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth because He will not speak of Himself, but whatever He hears He will speak to you, and He will show you things to come." John 16:13
Paul
confirms this in I Corinthians 2:9-12 saying that "Eye has not seen nor
ear heard the things that God (Father) has prepared for those who love
Him. But He reveals these things by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of the Father God...even so the things of God no man knows, but the Spirit of God only...and we have received the Holy Spirit so that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God the Father."
This is important because...
Jesus
said the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. That means if you are
praying for a Mercedes, but the Father has given you a Volkswagen, the
Holy Spirit is going to share that a VW has been provided. He will tell
the exact truth as the Father declares it.
If
a preacher says something that is all the rage and everyone around you
says 'Yea and Amen', but in your spirit there is a grievance that what
the preacher said is wrong, He is telling the truth no matter who the
preacher is. If you say something you shouldn't and you feel grieved
inside but your head hasn't a clue what you said wrong, the Spirit of
Truth He is letting you know what you said was wrong (and if you spend
time asking the Father what it was He will reveal it to you).
And
if you have peace in your spirit about making a decision that takes you
in a certain direction, but your head is full of questions, the peace
is the Father's communication to you by His Spirit that it is indeed the
direction you are to go and heaven has determined peace for you.
Following peace
Walking
in faith often involves following that peace even when the mind and
emotions are swirling and seeking details. If there is peace in your
spirit then you need to control your thoughts and emotions and focus
them on that inner peace.
The
giving of peace to your spirit is the Holy Spirit reporting to you
exactly what the Father has prepared for you, and that peace is the
Father's opinion on the issue at hand - if there is peace, be at peace.
That
means when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, a collapsing economy
and horrible things coming to the nations of the earth, and you wonder
what is going to happen to you, immediately switch your attention to
focus on what is in your spirit. Do you sense peace, or is there
something that bears witness and says it applies to you?
Wisdom from God feels like...
"The wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. It is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please." (James 3:17, ERV)
God's
wisdom is pure and peaceful and gentle. So when you have a revelation
of something bad about to happen, what does it feel like? I've found
that even if a revelation from the Father is of something bad, that
revelation is wrapped in His peace. That peace as I said above, is the
Holy Spirit saying He has received from the Father and Lord that all
will be okay, provided for, and grace given. If He puts peace in your
spirit it is heaven's word to you saying the Father has it covered!
The wisdom from the earth feels like...
"This
wisdom is not from above, but is earthly, devilish, sensual (sense
oriented, not of God's spirit oriented). For where envy and strife is
there is confusion and every evil work." (James 3: 15-16, KJV)
Notice
the attributes of earthly wisdom - sense oriented (fear, panic,
emotional,) confusion, strife. Wisdom from the world makes a person
panic. It makes them think they must act immediately or all will be
lost. Wisdom from the world causes strife, confusion, and opens the
doors to other sins. It lacks peace and instead stirs fear.
The way it plays out...
Following
peace often feels like stepping through a door that is slightly cracked
- you peer inside, see all is fine, so step more inside. Peace is like
that - you sense peace, so you follow it until there is a 'hold' in your
spirit...usually that means there is something to do in the natural, or
you are waiting for something to happen in the natural...and then that
peace wells up in your spirit again and you take a few more steps
forward.
Let
us say a believer has been reading on the Internet the latest horror
someone says will soon come upon the earth that they dreamed or saw in a
vision. Or perhaps someone has been studying world economics and can
see that changes are happening that align with some of the true words
from God people have been sharing, and they wonder what if anything they
are to do.
What to do?!?
Good principle
The
guidelines for giving to others in the New Testament provide wisdom for
knowing what if anything we should do for our own future needs. In II
Corinthians 8:12-13 Paul is talking about the Corinthian's giving an
offering to the disciples in Jerusalem. His guideline for giving is
this:
"...if you are willing,
it is accepted according to what a person has, not according to what
they don't have. For I don't want you to ease their burden while
creating a burden for yourselves. But now at the time of your
abundance you can help them, and when they are in abundance and you in
need, they can help you, so there is an equality."
It
is accepted according to what you have...I receive emails pretty
regularly from people asking if they should store up 1-3 year's of food,
and in the next breath state they don't have extra money to do that all
at once. My response is this - if you feel you should do this, then do
so according to what you have, not charging it, not going into debt, but
here a little and there a little, so as to not create a burden.
Again,
go to your spirit - do you sense peace even though you have confusion
and fear in your mind? Then go with the peace and discipline your
thoughts and emotions to be obedient to that peace - when Jesus needed
to feed a crowd of 5,000 men plus women and children, all they gave him
to start with was a boy's lunch. But Jesus said, "It is enough." If you
are in peace, then heaven is saying to you, "It is enough."
It
also helps to retrace in your mind all the things He has brought you
through, every bit of faithfulness, every provision, every grace through
the years. Holding that history in your thoughts helps bring assurance
He will also be there in your future. One of my favorite quotes from
Corrie ten Boom is this: "It is never wrong to trust an unknown future
to a known God."
The
promises of the Bible are real and true and not dependent on economies,
governments, or money. When confronted with lack, ask the Father: "II
Peter 1:3-4 says all things that pertain to life and godliness have been
provided, so please reveal your provision Father!", and watch Him
provide. Use common sense, stay in peace! New subject next week, until
then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
New CD/MP3 Series
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