ICS Daily Devotions
Our Inward Witness
I John 5:10a NKJV He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself…
The most important thing that we can know is that we are a child of God – that we have been born of God. We know this through the Holy Spirit bearing witness to our spirits. Aside from His Word, the inward witness is the main way in which God leads believers. He also communicates with our spirit through our inward witness concerning life decisions and direction.
The inward witness can be described as an inward knowing which comes directly from the Holy Spirit to our spirit. It is an inward conviction that lets you know what you should do in a situation or area in your life. This knowing can also be an urge, a prompt, an intuition, a perception or it can be an unsettling feeling, a discomfort. Sometimes we will sense or perceive peace or danger be-fore we step into a situation, whether it is a person we are about to meet, or perhaps a journey that we might make.
Acts 27:9-11 NKJV Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous be-cause the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul.
The Holy Spirit was bearing witness with Paul’s spirit of the impending danger concerning the voyage and the losses that they would bear if they were to set sail. The helmsman and the owner of the ship were professional sailors, but they decided to set sail despite the difficulty posed by the weather thinking that they had a chance of arriving at their desired destination. Paul had an inward knowledge from his spirit being that was different from the human knowledge or wisdom that the others had.
Acts 16:6-10 NKJV Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and plead-ed with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now after he had seen the vision, im-mediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. (emphasis added)
Paul understood what it meant to be led by the Holy Spirit and to have the inner witness of the Spirit. He had been to places where there were strong oppositions and persecutions before. He was definitely not afraid of persecution. The early church believers were taught to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Paul having this sensitivity, yielded to the inner witness of the Holy Spirit regard-ing where they should be or shouldn’t be going. There was no peace in his heart to make the journey to Bithynia, and subsequently, he was given a vision to help the church in Macedonia in-stead. His inward witness was given the prompting that God was calling them to preach the gospel there, at which he obeyed immediately.
Sermon Series: From the Closet to the Board Room
