"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1, NKJ).
When I was in high school, I belonged to a charismatic prayer group that met on Friday nights. As we prayed together, many people spoke in tongues (unknown languages) while others would prophesy--sharing messages that the Spirit had given while we were in prayer. To my untrained ear, they sounded Scriptural and I discovered later they even used phrases that came directly from the Bible! But we never opened the Bible during these meetings. We depended completely on impressions that we thought were heaven sent.
While I was involved in this prayer group, I witnessed people being 'slain in the Spirit'--falling down in ecstasy when praying hands were laid upon them. I heard people speak in strange languages that no one could understand. I heard of miracles happening right and left and it filled me with strong feelings for God. I felt lifted up above this earth, believing I was in His very presence.
But the Lord led me into a much deeper experience with Him. My boyfriend invited me to attend a new church with him on Saturday mornings where we could hear the Word of God. Both of us came from churches where there was little study in the Bible. And we were so refreshed by what we heard! It filled the hunger we had for Jesus and led us to read the Bible for ourselves.
But it was a hard road for me, mainly because I was used to a spiritual 'high' in seeking the Lord. My faith was grounded in feelings rather than a "thus says the Lord." When I was joyful, I felt God loved me. But if I was sad or things weren't going right at home, I felt God didn't care for me anymore. My perceptions of who He was and my relationship with Him were wrapped up in my emotions. You can imagine what a roller coaster ride that was! It took a couple of years before I felt my feet touch solid ground, where my faith rested on something more constant and reliable.
And that's where I must turn if I want to understand how to know when God is speaking to me. In the book of Acts, we see the incredible work of the Holy Spirit as seen through Christ's infant church. At Pentecost, three thousand souls were saved through a single sermon. Miracles were wrought. Lives were changed. Persecutors like Saul of Tarsus became missionaries for Christ. But how did the Holy Spirit work so powerfully? Was it through impressions given?
A quick survey of the Spirit's acts shows how God communicates with us. Beginning at Pentecost, we see Peter preaching a sermon that cut to the heart. Thousands responded, saying, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" The Spirit convicted them of sin. But conviction came as the result of preaching. Peter's sermon was a Bible based invitation to accept Jesus into their hearts. When you examine what he said, you'll see far less of Peter's ideas and far more of the Bible (perfectly quoted by the power of the Spirit). This was a sermon of fulfilled prophecy, showing God's people that their promised Messiah had come. Through prophecy and preaching, three thousand souls were added to the church that day.
Preaching the Word is the dominant way the Spirit spoke in the book of Acts. In Acts 3, we find Peter preaching about Jesus in Solomon's portico, after healing the lame man that begged at the gate of the temple. His message was one of revival, inviting the people as he had done at Pentecost, to repent and turn to the Lord. "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that He may send Jesus who was preached to you before" (Acts 3:19,20).
Later, we see Stephen, that mighty deacon, preaching before the Sanhedrin. He was on trial for his faith because his enemies couldn't win against his wisdom or connection with Jesus. Through chapter 7, we hear a stirring testimony of Bible history--how the Lord had repeatedly worked for His people. He recounted glorious stories of deliverance through Moses and all the patriarchs and prophets. And the words of God in the Old Testament permeated his witness so that men's hearts were brought to conviction. But they resisted that conviction and clung to their sins. So the focus of Stephen's sermon shifted and he rebuked them, saying, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in your heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, as your fathers did, so do you" (Acts 7:51).
How did the Sanhedrin resist the Holy Spirit? It was by refusing to submit to the Word of God being preached by a faithful messenger.
In Acts 8, we see Philip carrying the gospel to the Samaritans. The Bible says, "he preached to them." And what was the result? "Multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip" (vs. 6). The Spirit brought that city to Jesus through the Word of God. We see the same ministry through Paul, now a mighty champion for the Lord. When he was converted, he carried the gospel to the heathen world, but always through the ministry of preaching.
God used other ways in speaking to His church in the book of Acts. The Ethiopian Jew was brought to Jesus through a Bible Study at the side of the road. Philip explained the meaning of the Scriptures found in Isaiah 53. At the end of that study, the Ethiopian was baptized and carried the gospel back to his own country.
Sometimes, the Lord spoke through dreams, such as when He guided Peter to work for the Gentiles, calling no man "unclean" merely because he wasn't a Jew (Acts 10). He spoke through visions as when Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and heard Him say, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" (Acts 9:4) One time, the Lord directed Peter to perceive that Ananias and Sapphira were stealing money from the Lord (Acts 4). But impressions were never used in interpreting what the Bible said. Men discovered truth by searching the Scriptures, comparing one verse with another, and relying on the context of the passage to know God's perfect will. Paul later affirmed the Bereans because they "received the Word with all readiness AND searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). They examined what God had revealed, they tested to see if it was true based upon the revelation of Scripture, not on their own imagination or feelings.
"The Scriptures need not be read by the dim light of tradition or human speculation. As well might we try to give light to the sun with a torch as to explain the Scriptures by human tradition or imagination. God’s holy Word needs not the torchlight glimmer of earth to make its glories distinguishable. It is light in itself—the glory of God revealed, and beside it every other light is dim.
But there must be earnest study and close investigation. Sharp, clear perceptions of truth will never be the reward of indolence. No earthy blessing can be obtained without earnest, patient, persevering effort. If men attain success in business, they must have a will to do and a faith to look for results. And we cannot expect to gain spiritual knowledge without earnest toil. Those who desire to find the treasures of truth must dig for them as the miner digs for the treasure hidden in the earth. No halfhearted, indifferent work will avail. It is essential for old and young, not only to read God’s word, but to study it with wholehearted earnestness, praying and searching for truth as for hidden treasure. Those who do this will be rewarded, for Christ will quicken the understanding" (Christ's Object Lessons, pg. 111).
As we seek to hear God's Voice, depend on what He says, not on what you feel. Let's be Bereans, opening our Bibles, and using a concordance, compare Scripture with Scripture. Do not add to what is not written through imaginative exercises that add details that aren't inspired. The Bible isn't fiction! It is truth and it must stand alone, without a subjective interpretation of what you think or feel might have happened.
The Spirit of Truth reveals truth when we stick to the context of what God says. This is the only way that the Bible can be an unerring guide. When we take the plain reading of the Word, it will act as a plumb line, in determining whether impressions are truly from the Lord. In these last days, when every wind of doctrine is clearly blowing and the foundations of Christianity are being shaken to the core, we need to heed the voice of God: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they be of God, because many false prophets have gone into the world" (1 John 4:1). We cannot be safe unless we take the Bible, just as it reads, for a clear understanding of God's Truth. To test the spirits we must be rooted and grounded in this important text: "To the Law and to the Testimony; if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).
To be one with Jesus, we must stand on the living Word of God, "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20). May God truly guide us in the right way and to rightly divide the Word of Truth!
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