Ministering: Oluwatobiloba Thompson
Date: 22nd May 2023
Topic: The Ministry of the Holy Spirit III
Lord Jesus, we thank You for teaching us by the Holy Spirit. We understand and produce much fruit by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thank You, Lord! Amen.
Last week, we touched to some extent on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as well as other believers around the world.
Part of the things we learned, was that the Holy Spirit is God! Also, He’s the Abiding Presence of God with us and in us
You can catch up with last week’s teaching, for remembrance’s sake, and if you weren’t available as well.
This evening, we would be looking into the Holy Spirit’s ministry as it pertains to His voice and expressions of the same.
One of the many questions in the heart of God’s children is how can I hear God’s voice? How do I even know when He’s speaking?
By the wisdom of God, I’ll give answers to this question.
I’ll be as precise and accurate as I can so that the simplicity of Christ is revealed..let’s get right into it.
In speaking to the disciples before His death and resurrection, Jesus spoke of the promise of the giving of another Helper to them.
[John 14:16 NKJV]
And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
Then Jesus says something remarkable in the next verse after telling them the Holy Spirit wasn’t meant for the whole world but only for those who would believe in His salvation. What did Jesus say?
[John 14:17 NKJV]
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; BUT YOU KNOW HIM, FOR HE DWELLS WITH YOU and will be in you.
Verse 17 tells us something really major and shows the way the mind of Christ works.
The mind of Christ has shown us THE MAJOR KEY in hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit as a believer before we even begin to talk about how or where His voice finds expression i.e. the word of God, visions, inward witness, and so on.
Jesus was acknowledging a reality in the life of His disciples, even though they didn’t realize it, which was that THE HOLY SPIRIT WASN’T STRANGE TO THEM.
Now I’m saying the same to you who believe in Jesus Christ, THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT STRANGE TO YOU.
Let’s affirm these words:
The Holy Spirit is not strange to me!
I know Him and He knows me!
If the Holy Spirit is not strange to you, it then means YOU ACTUALLY HEAR HIS VOICE.
Let me show you other Bible verses to support this truth.
In writing to the Ephesian church, Apostle Paul makes us realize that all believers have been blessed with ALL spiritual blessings in Christ. It’s easy to think money, cars, a good job, long life and all but these things are just manifestations of what is FIRST, SPIRITUAL.
One of the blessings we have in Christ is the BLESSING OF HEARING HIS VOICE.
But even though these blessings are at work in your spirit, you won’t be able to walk in them until you learn how to acknowledge that you have them! So, the book of Philemon tells us:
[Philemon 1:6 KJV]
that the communication of THY FAITH MAY BECOME EFFECTUAL BY THE ACKNOWLEDGING OF EVERY GOOD THING WHICH IS IN YOU IN CHRIST JESUS.
Let’s affirm again:
I’ve been blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus
Blessed with seeing eyes, hearing ears, and a perceiving mind
I hear clearly, the voice of the Holy Spirit
I perceive clearly, the voice of the Holy Spirit
I see clearly, visions of the Holy Spirit!
All blessings we have in Christ Jesus only become effective or rather become our reality when we acknowledge them by the words of our mouths.
Any believer who hasn’t learned to acknowledge his blessings in Christ will live a terrible life even though he’s not supposed to.
Let’s move on…
Watch again, it says every good thing IN CHRIST JESUS is now IN YOU. Once again, the voice of the Holy Spirit is not far from you. One of the major hindrances to hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit is that most believers still see themselves as separate from Jesus.
And that’s not true!!!
John already said AS HE IS, SO ARE YOU
As Christ is the Son of God, so are you!
As Christ is from above, so are you!
As Christ is Lord over all, so are you!
As Christ is King, so are you, and so on.
For the sake of those newly joining the ministry, I’m not saying we are the Savior of the world and other things Jesus alone is.
I am only acknowledging what the Bible has said about us, that we now BEAR THE IMAGE OF THE SON OF GOD WHO DIED AND WAS RAISED FOR US because we believe in Him.
[Romans 8:29 NKJV]
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
The Bible also says that we have been BAPTIZED, IMMERSED into CHRIST.
We are not different from Him!!!!! For goodness’ sake, the same Spirit at work in Him is also working in us.
[Romans 8:15 NKJV]
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption (sonship) by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Many of us still think He is up and we are down. That He is righteous and we are nothing but dust.
Please get rid of that mentality!!! Throw it out the window!! Cast it out of your mind!!!
Now the more accurate question would be, HOW DO I RECOGNIZE/IDENTIFY/DISCERN HIS VOICE? The answer is very simple.
Back to the book of John, we see Jesus talking to DISCIPLES. Growing in recognizing or discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit within you is tied closely to discipleship.
Discipleship simply means feeding on the revelation of Jesus Christ and your identity IN HIM by the wisdom and revelation of the Spirit.
Discipleship is actually not an easy thing because it involves a lot of rooting out, pulling down, destroying, throwing down, building, and planting! Jer. 1:20, 2 Cor 10:4-5.
In discipleship, certain tenets, opinions, etc that we hold in our hearts are always challenged! The path to being a disciple is one, not many, though saved, are willing to follow so Jesus says,
[Matthew 7:14 NKJV]
“… narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Believers who don’t give themselves to discipleship will never be able to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit and ultimately, they will always find themselves yielding to the flesh.
So that’s that for tonight. Next week we shall see THE EXPRESSIONS OF THE VOICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT i.e. the word of God, visions, the prophetic, and so on.
Let’s take questions if there are any, please.
Sister O:
This discipleship, is it done alone by the individual, or is it like staying under a church and growing there?
Oluwatobiloba Thompson:
Hmm, it is not exactly done alone but it’s majorly done in the local church, every other is just an extension. It’s advisable for Believers to stay in ONE place and stop running from pillar to post.
Sister O:
Okay. Thank You.
Oluwatobiloba Thompson:
We can learn from others but it’s only in the local church God has placed a pastor. Pastors are synonymous with Shepherds, so we can’t really escape the local church. It’s for our good.
Sister O:
Ok, thanks. I understand it better now.