Hearing From God-Fellowship With the Holy Spirit

This is North Way tape number 430. This message, entitled Fellowship with the Holy Spirit, was delivered by Pastor Jay Passavant of North Way Christian community on September 29, 1985. Well, I'll trust the Lord now to use remaining moments this morning. I know each time I teach and come before you, I have so much more than I ever can say. I know you don't believe that. You probably believe I have more than enough to say. But I'll tell you why, beloved. It's because God is saying so much today. Let's read in Galatians, chapter three, same as last week. O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? Let me ask you only this. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so many things in vain? If it really is in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Beloved, these are days like the world has never seen. I think it's so important that we here in this little local church in this little part of Pittsburgh, which is a little part of the United States and a very little part of the world, see that God is moving around the earth. Are you excited to know that you're part of something that's a lot bigger than what you see right here? That you, when you begin to just put your ear out and open your eyes and see God is moving by his Spirit all across the face of the earth. And so many things right here fit in with what God is doing out there. So many things in spirit that we see happening right here are the same things that we see happening all around the earth. I just rejoice. I wish you could know. I share with Fred that longing. Let me just tell you a couple of examples. There is someone here this morning who. And I wouldn't mention their name, but they've known the Lord, as it were, for years. But they were laboring under a bondage to an oppression with alcohol. And it was a bondage, beloved, and they knew it, but they were able to rationalize it. How many of you know what it's like to rationalize your weaknesses and failures before God? Eight weeks ago, this person walked into this fellowship, not really knowing what they needed, but knowing that something had to happen. One week after that, in a cry of desperation, this person who had this problem for at least 10 years, probably longer, cried out to the Lord and said, lord, do something. And that man was instantly healed. Delivery from the bondage of alcoholism. He's here today praising Jesus, realizing that he's been redeemed. There's another person here today, another one that God has touched. Last week you might be like this person today, but last week this person was here feeling the weight of guilt that they had put on themselves because they could not receive the forgiveness that they knew God had given them for their past, for their life of sin and so on. And week by week, though they knew the Lord, they were laboring under this. And last week, as we worshiped together, the Holy Spirit moved in and set them free. And they came running up to me after service. I'm free. I said, of what? That's great, but what, beloved? Do you know that deliverance is as close as you want to reach out and take it? Do you know that healing is right here today? The power of God is present as we come together as his people. God is moving and we're part of it. Last week a little 10 year old girl came up to me after the service up here in the platform. She said, I'm embarrassed, but you know when you had people look up, well, I want to have that in my heart. I want to know Jesus, but you didn't see me because I was too short. And praise the Lord. She came back Wednesday night and the Holy Spirit is moving now. I'm telling you something, folks, God is moving today and we're part of that. I want to share with you the Holy Spirit. The key to hearing from God is communing with the Holy Spirit. There are so many things happening around the world, and yet if you don't know how to tune in your ear to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying, you may be consigning yourself to a dull, routine Christian life. Now, I want to ask you a question. When you wake up in the morning, do you wake up with anticipation about what God's going to do in your life that day? Or do you wake up wondering if you'll hang on, hoping that Jesus might come back so that you won't fall away before the end of the times? Or worse than that even, is the one who wakes up with absolutely no anticipation of anything? Another day at work. I'll tell you, if that's how you begin your day. Oh God, another day at work. Then, beloved, there's hope for you today. God is doing a lot more than simply getting you up out of bed. To make you slave through another day at work. The Christian life was never meant to be routine, dull and boring. And anyone that's living it that way is missing out on what God wants to do. I'll tell you, it's not always roses. I'm not standing here today saying that every day is going to be a joyful, this little tiptoeing through the tulips kind of thing. We have our problems and struggles. But, beloved, I can tell you with all my heart, there's never a boring day around this place. One thing we're not is bored. One thing the kingdom of God is not is boring and dull. It's alive, it's happening. God is infusing his life all around the earth. Do you know today, beloved, that there are more Pentecostal believers than all other Protestants? Oh, listen, we're talking about. I know, Gene. This is our resident Pentecostal here. You need to hear this because this isn't something that's always been this way. You realize there wasn't any pentecostal movement before 1900. But right now, today as we speak, there's 112 million pentecostals in the world today. That's more than any other Protestant denomination. Only the Catholics have more under their umbrella, as it were. And God is in his own sovereignty calling them out of all different kinds of denominations. There's Pentecostal Baptists today, which used to be a contradiction in terms of. There's Pentecostal Catholics today. There's Pentecostal Presbyterians. There used to be. But God is moving by his spirit and he's calling forth a people, a kingdom of people, and we're part of that. When you walk out of here today, you're not leaving. What God is doing, you are taking it with you. If I could just get a message to you that where you go, you enflesh the kingdom of God. Now you say, well, I don't feel that tomorrow morning I don't know what I'm going to do when I walk in there in that office and people think I'm weird. One of the brothers here recently. This is way off my notes. Lord, please. One of the brothers here recently got a job, hadn't had a job for a while, had been waiting on the Lord, got a job in sales and for. I mean, every time I've seen a guy this week and he said, I've forgotten what it's like. I can't believe what it's like. I mean, the world and all of its pressure, all of its pressing in to conform to its values. And the one person who steps out and begins to stand in the liberty with which Christ has set him free has become instantly labeled a weirdo, kook freak, Jesus freak, fundamentalist, Jerry Falwellist. Anyone that has a conviction is somehow part of the moral majority. And therefore I can put you on the shelf and I don't have to deal with you because the media says you're a kook. But beloved, God has a purpose. God is pulling together a people today. And I'll tell you, I could just go on and on and on about what the Lord is doing. Do you know that in Korea 15 years ago, listen to this. 4% of the people of South Korea were evangelical believers. Today, 15 years later, the figure that they substantiate as being evangelical believers born again is 49% of the people. God's moving. Talk about revival. Now we could get off talking about revival and what brings about revival church. What? Say a little louder. What? Prayer. When do we pray around here every morning? When do you pray around here? We need to be praying together. We need to be praying together because prayer brings revival. And I believe we're going to be part of it. We're going to see it, we're going to be part of it. Not just watching it on cbn, but maybe CBN will be watching us as God brings about his move to restore his church here in Pittsburgh. That's what we're praying for. God is raising a vision for us all around this city. Now, beloved, I've got to get back to this, I really do. The Holy Spirit is moving the earth today. I have a little three part outline there. Did that, did you get that first part? The Holy Spirit is moving in the earth. The second part is the Holy Spirit is moving in believers today. Now I want to talk about this because unless you know what it means to hear the Holy Spirit, you may miss out on this move. You may find yourself watching others moving in a victory and in a joy and in overcoming mode of Christian life. But you don't feel part of it. And I want to ask you today, are you hearing from God? We left last week saying that what caused us to receive the Spirit and miracles, Galatians 3:5, if you want to look at it, was what hearing with faith. Would you say those three words, hearing with faith. Now what are you hearing? Well, God really showed me this week that what I need to say in this to you is we're not hearing strange detached voices. We're not hearing messages that are appearing somewhere. We are hearing from someone who is to be as close as the breath we breathe. We're hearing from one with whom we're supposed to have. The Bible says in Second Corinthians 13, verse 14, Communion. Do you know what that word communion means? It means fellowship. It means friendship. I want to ask you today, do you have a friendship with the Holy Spirit? Well, I don't know. All through the Word of God, particularly after the Holy Spirit was given. As Ken led us momentarily in prayer a while back, we see the Holy Spirit speaking His word. Would you turn with me to Acts chapter 13? I want you to just see a few evidences of this. Acts 13, are you there? I'm going to need to move quickly. A group of the apostles and disciples were together in verse two. And while they were worshiping the Lord, fasting, fasting being a discipline of your physical body for the sake of spiritual growth and direction, the Holy Spirit said, set apart from me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them. The Holy Spirit said, the Holy Spirit spoke. Now, how did he do that? Did they hear a voice? Likely. It doesn't say this, but likely someone gave a prophetic word. And through such as we had here last week, someone standing up and speaking thus says the Holy Spirit. And the group of apostles and disciples confirmed that. And that launched the missionary activity of the church by which we here today stand and praise the Lord. Our whole civilization was founded because we. One believer in Jesus set out to cross the Atlantic. His name was Christopher Columbus. Now others, you could argue, would have found it too. But I believe we're here because God moved by His Spirit to establish a nation. Now look over on Acts, chapter 15. Okay. And look at, let's see here, verse 28. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things. How did the Holy Spirit make His will known? He spoke and people heard. Look at Acts 16. Here's Paul on his second missionary tour with Timothy. They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit, verse 6. To speak the word. How did the Holy Spirit forbid them? Send them a telegram? He spoke to them. Verse 7. When they come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. You see, beloved, this isn't weird Christianity. This isn't some sort of thing that only the people that talk in strange language do. This is what makes the Christian life exciting. Paul said in Romans chapter 8 that those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Verse 14. That's how we know we're a son of God. We're led by the Spirit. Now I want to share with you that I have a struggle. I had a struggle with this from time to time because most of the people that I knew that talked about being led of the Spirit and hearing the Lord speak were just a little bit, know, a court low. You know, they were the kind of people that would lay down in front of a car in the parking lot. The Lord told me to lay down here in front of this car so when the person came out, I could witness to them, you know. Okay, I mean, that's just a little bit bizarre, you know, I mean, to where things became irrational. How about you? You know what I'm saying that. So I began to be real defensive about hearing from God because I felt like that meant I had to do really strange things. But you know something? God began to show me that just because there were people who were going off on that, taking it to the extreme, it didn't discount what the whole Bible has to say about hearing from God. We need to hear, we need to know how the Lord is leading us. We need to get in touch with what God is saying. Some months ago, actually it was last summer now, we took our family down to the Norfolk Naval Base and we showed up there for a tour of the base and we were received there by a representative of the commander of the base. And he said, we're glad you're here and we want to show you this marvelous modern day war machinery and all this stuff. And then he said, and this is your tour guide and he will show you around the base. Well, the tour guide you see was just an ensign third class or something, but he represented the commander of the base. Beloved. Had we ignored what that tour guide said, had we just said, hey, I don't want to go see the submarines, I want to go see the airplanes, it wouldn't have been long before we would have been out of good graces and probably off the base, right? Well, you see, it's no different in the kingdom of God. The commander, the Lord Jesus has given the Holy Spirit. John 16 says to guide us into all truth. Who is guiding you in your walk in Christ? It's the Holy Spirit. Now I'm differentiating this morning between Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Do you hear me? This is not common teaching, but it's the Holy Spirit that we're told will guide us. Jesus is enthroned at the right hand of the Father, and he's given the Holy Spirit. Ken spoke by the Spirit this morning when he prayed that prayer and gave that word. Because we need to get in touch with the Holy Spirit of God. Learning to hear the Holy Spirit is going to make the difference between just lumbering along and falling over ourselves and hearing what God is saying and doing it. Jesus said to his disciples, take heed what you hear. Remember we talked about that last week? Well, what we hear is the Holy Spirit speaking. Now turn over to Revelation, chapter two, would you? Revelation, chapter two. You know, when I. When time is short, I talk too fast. So if you just turn up your listener a little bit, we'll get in sync. Look at Revelation, chapter two, would you? Here's the beginning of these messages to the seven churches. All right? Now, beloved, look at this, would you? This happens in each of the seven churches. Jesus. Jesus is speaking. Look, verse five. Remember then from what you've fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. Yet this you have. You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says. Capital S to the churches. And here's Jesus saying it. But he's saying, hear what the Spirit says. Would you pray for the leadership of this church that we hear what the Spirit says? Oh, beloved, we need to hear what the Spirit of God is saying. I don't want to hear what some other person is saying or what some other church is doing. I want to hear what the Spirit is saying. There's great power and great security in knowing that Paul, to him, the Apostle Paul, to not hear from the Spirit of God, to not commune with the Holy Spirit was unthinkable. One of the saddest conditions that we fall into. Fred has a lot of this. I get some of it. The counseling ministry sees some are marriages with no intimacy. You might be here today and you don't have an intimate relationship when God purposed for marriage is to be full of intimacy. Beloved, I want to say something to you. If you're not communing with the Holy Spirit, you're a bridegroom married to a bride, but you don't have intimacy. Are you hearing what I'm saying? We are the bride of Jesus Christ. He is our bridegroom. But without communing in the Holy Spirit, we have no intimacy. We're not hearing and we're not giving. You're saying, well, this is pretty. This is unusual. You're talking about this relationship as though you're communicating back and forth. How many of you know that's what it's all about? To be led of God? I don't want a marriage with no intimacy to you. I hunger for intimacy with my wife and with my God. And the Holy Spirit brings that to us. Now, beloved, something happens and I don't have time to turn there. But I want to just refer to that significant story in First Kings 19 where Elijah said, God, I'm here alone and I've come to hear you. And the Lord said, go up here on this rock. And three things went by him. What were they? The wind, the earthquake and the fire. Many of you are not responding. You know what I'm talking about. First Kings 19. Just write it down and maybe you can turn there later. So these three powerful expressions of the presence of God went by. A strong wind. The Bible says, First Kings 19, then a powerful earthquake, and then a fire. But the voice of the Lord was not in the wind. It was not in the earthquake, it was not in the fire. And then the Lord spoke by what? A still, small voice. How many of you know that still small voice? How many of you know when it's speaking to your heart? That's what God wants of this people. That's what he wants each one of us to be. Now, let me give you three false voices. Let me give you an example of an earthquake, wind and fire that we hear all the time. The first one is the voice of reason. We hear the voice of reason when we're seeking to be led of God. And reason says, I got to do what makes sense, right? I got to do what just is logical. And the voice of reason, listen, more often than not will conflict with what the voice of the Spirit is. Why? Because God's unreasonable? No, because God transcends reason. Do you know that there would be no mission agency to China if Hudson Taylor had gone and done what was reasonable there? He was a white man going into a land that was just polluted with devils. But he obeyed God against the voice of reason. And millions of Chinese have been saved as a result of that. If one man listened to reason, there would be no, for example today, Christian Broadcasting Network, a man with $70 in his pocket, no TV experience. If we listen to reason, there'd be no Eden Christian Academy today because a man with no significant higher level of education, a pilot who simply made his living by farming and driving airplanes as Dave Purvis says, had a vision from God. If we listened to reason, beloved, I don't think we'd be here. What do you listen to when God begins to speak? A second voice that we hear is the voice of comfort. Well, you know, this is the way I've always been comfortable with. This is how I've grown up. This is the type of person that I am that can't be God leading me to say that or to do that or to involve myself in that. The voice of comfort says, you've earned this for yourself. You have the right to determine your leisure time or your personal expenditures or whatever. And the voice of comfort just consoles poor old you and coddles your flesh. But you see, if CT Studd had listened to the voice of comfort when he was 53 years old, already physically ill, living in England, having already been a missionary, listen, he did more in his first 30 years as a Christian than most people would ever do. 53 years old, the guy goes back to England and the Lord says to him, now, I want you to go back to Africa. All of his friends and his wife said, you're nuts. So many words, but he knew God had spoken to him. Now, I don't advocate that. It must have been so profound that the man knew that he knew that he knew that he knew that God was speaking, and he went back to Africa and lived. I think it was another 10 or 12 years or more. And from that step of faith, Africa began to be dotted with missionary outposts all through the nation. And the gospel came to Africa. You see, the voice of comfort would say, I'm too tired to go to home group tonight. The voice of God is saying, as Fred said, be knit together. Be part of one another, beloved. The third voice that we so often hear is the voice of the flesh. This needs to be done now or it won't get done. It's got to be done my way or it isn't really right. She never understands me, and therefore I don't really need to bother with understanding her. And most often the voice of the flesh has to do as Barbara alluded to, conflict in relationship. Paul said in First Corinthians 3, 3, I must call you carnal, fleshy, because there's jealousy and strife among you. And so what voice do you hear when you reach out to God? Do you hear the voice of comfort? Do you hear the voice of reason? Do you hear the voice of the flesh? Or do you hear that still small voice of the Lord? Those three voices, beloved, are always louder than God's. Can I say that? They're always louder. They always seem more clear than God's. But his is the still small voice of the Holy Spirit saying, no, this is the way. This is what I would have you to do. This is what God wants. Let me give you an illustration. Can I. Right here, from this morning. When we finished worship this morning, I knew that Barbara had prepared this song and the music ministry will confirm this. I just didn't know where it fit. We finished worship. I saw that it was late. The voice of reason started in. It's too late. It's too late. It's going to knock everything off. Other voices started creeping in. No, it doesn't fit. But the voice of the Spirit, softly and gently, now is the time. And I believe it was the time. And I believe that ministered to us, didn't it? You see, we've got to learn that now. Is that just for a few people? No, it's for you, beloved. And that's the third point in this outline. If you'll share that, please. The Holy Spirit is moving in your heart right now. He wants to move right now, beloved. He wants to speak to you right now. I believe God is constantly speaking, but we're not listening. And I want to conclude this morning with just several things that you can do to attune your hearing ear to fellowship with the Holy Spirit. The very first thing is this. We must come to the cross. Would you turn back to Galatians? This was a real revelation to my heart this week. I hope that you'll bear witness to it with me. Paul had been describing his growth in Christ in the end of Galatians 1 and early in Galatians 2, and his struggle with the Jews and all their desire to put legalism on him. Look at verse 20 at the end of all this. He says, 2:20. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. Now look at 3, 1. O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly crucified? Was Jesus crucified in Galatia? Was he? No. Jerusalem. What's he saying then? He's saying that his life was a public portrayal of what it meant to be crucified. Isn't that astonishing? And if I might share with you today, why was it that Paul had more revelation than any of the disciples or Apostles that preceded him. Why is the New Testament largely a book of Paul? Because he was a man who was crucified with Christ and it's always been that way. Beloved, listen. Crucifixion precedes revelation. You will only receive the revelation of God to the degree to which you have embraced the crucifixion of your own life. Now when someone stands up and says that, our inclination say, well, that's really mystical. Wow. But I want you to know that, beloved, that's a day to day choice. It isn't beyond the reach of everyone, but just a handful. It's a choice that you make when you wake up in the morning. Today, Lord, I submit to you. I choose to receive your life instead of mine. And day by day, by day, we grow in that. Day by day, day by day we grow in that realization. How many of you remember when President Reagan was shot? Wasn't that March of 81? And he said, I remember hearing reports of this, that after he was shot it was recorded that he said to the Lord, if you spare my life, I want to live for you for the rest of my life. You say, well, that's just sort of a deathbed confession of some kind. Beloved, I want to say that that is the very attitude I pray that each one of us have. Lord, if you give me one more day, I'm going to live it for you. The beginning of hearing from the Holy Spirit is the willingness to say, God, today is your day in my life. Don't worry about whether or not you'll be a super saint. Would you worry about today, September 29, 1985. Will you live today crucified with Christ, surrendering your will to him? I could talk so much more about that, but let me go on. Number two, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Once you've presented yourself to the Lord, the second thing you need to do, beloved, is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. One brother was saying this morning, you know, nothing changes you more than to know that the fullness of God is inside of you. And if you've never been filled with the Holy Spirit, never entered into the baptism of the Holy Spirit, an overflowing immersed in the Holy Spirit, then today is your day. We're going to minister today afterwards for those who want to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be being filled, present, pluperfect, tense, day by day. Lord, I give myself to you. I'm crucified with Christ now fill me with your spirit. Could anything Be more simple than that. But living it out, beloved, is the battle of the ages, isn't it? Number three, if you want to be in communion with the Holy Spirit, be personal with him. He's not an it. He's not a ghost. That's confused an awful lot of people. Talk to the Holy Spirit. Be friends with him. 2nd Corinthians 13:14. Have fellowship with him. I would suggest that in your time of praise and worship, that's really, I think, the fourth thing I have here, isn't it? Ask the Holy Spirit to be begin to fill your worship and praise. Ask the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, he'll help you glorify me. You know what I find is when I allow the Holy Spirit to begin to move in me in worship and praise before him, I just begin to get all kinds of creative things. And I'm not particularly creative at all in those things, but God just gives them. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is pretty good at creating, isn't he? Be worshipful. I said, lord, why is this such a key to hearing from you? You know what he said to me? Because I have made you a temple. First Corinthians, chapter 6. I have made you a temple of the Holy Spirit. Now what happens in temples? Church worship. Finally, number five. If you want to have fellowship with the Holy Spirit and hear from him, allow the word of God to soak into your spirit. You know what protects you from becoming too kooky? It's this right here. Let the word of God be the raw material that God has to speak to you through. I don't know how many times when I've sat down before the Lord and I needed to hear, and I said, lord, would you speak to me? The word of God is what comes alive. I'd like to give you an illustration of that which is personal, but I think it, as well as anything I know, displays how God speaks through his word when you're really hungry. Last November, I was praying about the house that we were living in, and I was. I was concerned. I felt that it was time to do something about the house. So I began to pray. And the Lord said, you need to go on a fast for three days. I don't like that. Lord, is that you? That's just not a fun thing to do, especially when you're partnering with Fred and Blaine and Scott and people like to eat right. So I wanted to fast for three days. The very first day I went out and get some time with the Lord and I was reading. It was the reading of the day or something. I didn't have any reason to be in the book of Haggai. Here's what I read. Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet. Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies in ruins? Now, if you've ever been in my house, and most of you have. Not most of you, a lot of you have. It's got a lot of paneling in it in the foyer and in the wall, you know, down in the basement. There's paneling everywhere. And beloved, who remembers what was happening here in late November? Talking about ruins, right? I mean, there was water falling through the ceiling and we were on our way out, and the Lord just. I mean, that just left. Is it time for you to dwell in your paneled house? Well, my house is in ruins. I'll tell you something I heard so clearly, I had to go and undo everything I started to do. And isn't it the glory of God that six months later, we're now in what God's provided and beloved? Just in case you're wondering, interest rates have dropped two and a half points since last November. And the Lord is now saying, okay, it's time to move ahead and take care of things. That's what happens when you hear from the Holy Spirit. Isn't that exciting? I'm excited about it. God is good. He is moving today. And I want us just right now to spend the last couple of minutes waiting on him. What is he speaking to you today? What is he saying? Son, daughter, here's my word to you today. Here's my rhema. Here's my rhema. The logos, the word, the scripture becomes the rhema of God to you. Let's bow in prayer together. Thank you, Lord. O Father, Lord, so much more could be said today. But I pray, Lord, that if you would graciously, by your spirit, begin to move right now, that many, Lord, who need to hear from you, whether it's just for a specific incident or, Lord, if it's just a word of encouragement or direction for their life, oh, God, that you'd move, that you'd move in us, Lord. Hallelujah. Praise the name of the Lord.