The Holy Spirit Teaches Us

I used to try to read the bible, but it was boring to me, and every time I read it I just felt worse about myself, condemned, like it was just showing me what a horrible person I was. People kept telling me John 3:16~

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.   John 3:16

but I never felt loved by God or Jesus. I knew they loved others, but I knew me so well that I knew no one could really love me.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.    1 Cor 2:14

After a woman prayed for me to be filled with the Holy Spirit I began reading the bible not to learn a bunch of creeds or rituals, or rules to live by, I read it instead to see what was this Man Jesus like? I wanted to see what made Him laugh, what made Him angry, what made Him cry, did He ever cry? I found in the bible that it didn’t just say they were happy, it said exceeding great joy!

And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,    Eph 1:19   I love the adjectives!

Just as the early disciples walked around with Jesus and learned from Him, Jesus teaches us as we walk with Him.

Here is how it is with me, I have a relationship with Someone that knows what I need before I ask. He knows what I am going through every single hour of every single day. Sometimes I need to be gently corrected with His love.

  Some days I need His compassion only, with no words of repent, or behave, but only pure unconditional love.

  Some days I need His discipline only, when Jesus says things in that way to me, He sometimes just says it and lets me sit with it for awhile and weigh it out. He doesn’t plead or discuss, or try to convince me. He waits for me to come back to Him. If I am willing to be corrected but unable to change, He shows me how He will do it through me.

  Some days He just tells me to get going and do what He already said to me earlier.

  Some days He knows that I wont be able to do what He asks without alot of encouragement, so He just encourages me.

  Sometimes Love says no, sometimes love says wait.

  Some days He is the Gentle Servant that will show me how to really deal with my sins in a deeply caring way with His compassion, mercy and forgiveness.

  Some days He simply says, that is that old spirit of lust trying to get you to follow him again, renounce it, confess it, ask Me to do away with it, and let’s keep going.

We can ask Jesus to show us things in a way we can hear. Instead of taking classes somewhere in how to be Christians and how to understand the things of God, we can ask Jesus Himself to teach us.

Also I found that when Jesus was hanging out with those twelve, they asked Him a lot of questions and they didn’t understand a lot of things. Jesus told a parable to the multitude and Peter asked him afterwards what it meant:

Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.  Matt 15:15

And He explained it to the disciples.

And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.    Mark 4:33-34

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.   Matt 13:10-11

But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.   Matt 13:16-18

And He explained it to them.    Matt. 13:18-23

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed…
And they reasoned among themselves
Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them…
Do ye not yet understand
Then understood they…
Matt 16:6-12

Jesus said:
But you are not to be called Rabbi (teacher), for One is your teacher, and you are all brothers. Matt 23:8 (Amplified)

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me…   Matt 11:29

But the apostle Paul was not there. Paul said:
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.             Gal 1:11-12

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.   1 Cor 2:10

And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.     1 Cor 2:4-5

And John said: But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.    1 John 2:27

This was written about Jesus long before He was born:

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:     Isaiah 11:2-3

And after He was born:
And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Luke 2:40

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: Matt 3:16

And the people said about Jesus:
Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.  And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?  Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.   John 7:14-16

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.   Luke 2:52

And this was written about His disciples:
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13

That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;  In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Col 2:2-3

God took all the mysteries of Himself and all the wisdom and knowledge and hid them right in His Son!

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,    Luke 24:44-45

Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. John 15:15

And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One…    Acts 22:14

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.    1 Cor 2:9-10

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.  All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.    John 16:13-15

When Jesus fills you with His Holy Spirit you can hear Him, rarely in an audible voice. But rather as Zoanne Wilkie described it, you just know in the middle of your knower.

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.  As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.  And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.      John 10:14-16

Jesus doesn’t say to do things contrary to the written word, the test to see if it is something really from Jesus by His Holy Spirit is if it agrees with scripture. I have actually heard someone say something like “Jesus told me to rob that bank”, and other things that just don’t agree with the scriptures. Jesus is Holy and He will not tell us to do something unholy, or that goes against His written word.

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.   Heb 13:8

If you feel the Lord leading you to do something, It should agree with the old testament, the new testament and future prophecies, the same yesterday, today and forever. Except where Jesus changed the old testament, like when He sanctified all meats and said we were not to kill people.

the apostle Paul said:   Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.                 1 Cor 2:13

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.   Prov 1:23

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.    James 1:5

When I prayed for this I began to see things in the scriptures that I had never understood before. If I was reading and I didn’t understand it I prayed some more and Jesus would often let me see what He was saying in that passage. If He didn’t reveal it to me I went on to the next part knowing that if He wanted me to understand that part maybe it would be later, maybe it was something He wasn’t teaching me right then. Sometimes I read things and never understood them but read them again weeks or even years later and they suddenly made sense. It is like when you teach a child something and its like a light goes on inside them. I never went to seminary and I wasn’t real concerned about understanding every single thing that the bible said, I just wanted Jesus to show me what He wanted me to know for that day.

When I read the book of Daniel I saw an interesting thing. Daniel was written apparently in the 6th century B.C. and God gave Daniel visions. He gave him some visions about things that would happen in the last days.

In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.    Dan 8:1

And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.  So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.  Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.  And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.      Dan 8:16-19

The angel explained more and then said:
And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.  And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. Dan 8:26-27

God told Daniel to write the vision down, but no one understood it. Daniel did as he was told. then we read:

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.    Dan 9:1-2

and while daniel was praying about that:

And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;  Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.  And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.    Dan 9:20-22

Gabriel explained some more things about the vision. and then Daniel had another vision:

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar;     Dan 10:1

when he had seen that vision the angel of the Lord returned to him again:
Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.     Dan 10:14

when the angel had explained many more things to him which he wrote down, the angel of the Lord then said:

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.     Dan 12:4

Daniel didn’t get a full story or a full understanding instantly, the Lord revealed it to him a bit at a time. Then the Lord said to seal the book till the time of the end and that knowledge would be increased. I am not a scholar,  I don’t know about the reign of those kings mentioned which would tell me how long the intervals between his receiving the visions and getting the interpretations was. I do know that in my walk with Jesus that He still teaches in the same way. He doesn’t hand me the whole book and say, now understand all this right now. I don’t fully understand the visions He gave to Daniel or the book of Revelation but that’s ok, He will show me what I need to know when its time. I just make myself available to the Lord to show me whatever or however much He wants to.

One thing that concerns me a bit is that in the end times I think we will start to see more and more books about new revelations about the end days, and I wonder how many of them will agree with Holy Scripture, and with Jesus, who is the same yesterday today and forever? If we don’t understand things in the bible it is good to ask Jesus to show us. If you read a lot of books or teachings about things you don’t understand, make sure the authors are truly following Jesus and compare what they say to the bible.

Also know that all the body is not one member, Jesus is not going to explain these things to just one or two of His servants and expect them to open a college and have us go there to learn the things we need to know, He will show all of us. People so often think that the Lord will only tell you what you should be doing through the pastor or some other really educated christian. He wants to speak to all of us. if someone tells you that the Lord gave them only a revelation, or that they alone know the things to come, remember:

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.                      2 Peter 1:20

When Jesus died on the cross the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. This is mentioned in three different gospels, Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, and Luke 23:45. Before this only the priests could enter into the place where God’s Spirit was, the Holy of Holies. When Jesus died He provided access to all who would come to Him by faith.

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;       Heb 10:19-20

But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.  And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.     Matt 23:8-9