Are You Listening?
ICS Daily Devotions
Matthew 10:19-20 (NKJV) But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
God wants to speak to His children, but let me ask you this, “Are you listening?” There was someone who went for a job interview for a Morse code reader position. While waiting for his turn, he heard a faint Morse code playing in the background and decided to decode it, while most of the other interviewees were busy with their own matters. The message was, “You can come in for the interview when you are ready.” He went in for the interview and secured the job, while the rest were still waiting for their turn to be called.
As Christians, we are privileged to have direct contact with God. The Heavenly Father wants to talk to you and guide you when the situation calls for it, and He will use His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit to speak to and guide you.
Some of us may have the misconception that God spoke through the prophets in the Old Testament and the Apostles in the New Testament, and He doesn’t speak to us today. The 66 books of the Bible are complete, but that doesn’t mean God won’t speak to His children now. The same God who guided the disciples through their tribulations will help us to deal with ours today. We all need to learn how to be wise as serpents and as innocent as doves today (Matthew 10:16). Therefore, we need to learn how to listen to Him through the Holy Spirit and understand what He reveals to us in our devotion. We must be constantly aware of the Holy Spirit living inside us.
Hearing from the Holy Spirit should be part of our everyday Christian life. In fact, it is abnormal for a believer to never have been led and heard from the Holy Spirit. Firstly, Jesus has already said that the Holy Spirit would come after His resurrection (John 14:16). Jesus also told us that the Holy Spirit will be our Teacher, Helper, and Counsellor (John 14:26). Therefore, we should be able to hear from the Holy Spirit so that He can teach us, counsel us, and help us! Secondly, Romans 8:16 (NJKV) says, “The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”. Therefore, every child of God is led by the Holy Spirit because He is within us. Our Christian walk is inseparable from the Holy Spirit, and the earlier we know Him, the better.
The Holy Spirit can lead all of God’s children because He will speak to them, but we need to always be conscious of God within us.
Sermon Series: The Norm in the New Era
