ICS Daily Devotions
Are You Hindering the Holy Spirit?
The church has gone through many trials throughout history but the most challenging time was during the enlightenment period in the eighteenth-century. Reasoning was enthroned and the human being instead of God, became the measure of all things. It was an onslaught of rationalism, empiricism and skepticism among the intellectuals. There was a great divide between those who began with man and his reasoning and experience, and those who began with God and His revelation.
Whilst we should not belittle intellectualism, we should renew our mind with the Word of God so that it will not be a hindrance to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We have a finite mind but we worship an infinite God! We have been trained to reason, think logically, rationally and skeptically therefore we tend to shut off whenever something is beyond our logic or reason. Anything that is illogical or experiential but biblical will be scorned at and termed as emotionalism. This is true when it has to do with God and the supernatural realm that He reigns supreme in.
Romans 8:14-16 (NKJV) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
The Scripture tells us that the children of God are led by His Spirit. Therefore, as children of God we better know what it is like to be led by the Spirit of God.
When we are being led by the Holy Spirit, we are being led in our heart or spirit man before it is processed by the mind. It is very important to note that the leading of the Holy Spirit will never contradict the Word of God especially in values and principles. Therefore, if we receive something that is beyond our abilities and it is extremely creative but possible in God, then we need to pull down the stronghold in our mind and bring it into subjection under the Lordship of Jesus Christ!
While we should continue to develop our mind and intellect to their full potential, we should not neglect the aspect of developing our spirit man to receive from God. We need to train and develop our spirit man for it to be a safeguard for God to use. We need to become more conscious of our spirit rather than our soul. As a believer, we need a good balance between being strong intellectually, and being open to the work of the Holy Spirit and His communication in our lives. That is the ideal balance.
Is God real? Yes, HE is. Does the Holy Spirit speak? Yes, HE does. Will you listen? Yes, you should. Being sensitive to the Holy Spirit takes practice as we learn how to be still in the presence of God to listen to His voice. We should work at this until hearing the leading of the Holy Spirit becomes second nature to us.
Sermon Series : From The Closet to The Street (Part 2)
