Download... February 14, 2010. Sunday Morning Service. Bro. Richard Lehman.
Isaiah 11:2-5
2 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:
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
Heart to Heart, soul to soul, are we sensitive to the spirit's leading to reach other souls for Christ? Just as with valentine's day you might go that extra mile to bless your special someone, are you also sensitive to the Holy Ghost leading to express Godly love to reach a lost soul for Christ? How other than the leading of the spirit, are you going to affect souls for Christ?
While in the flesh, Christ also needed to be sensitive to the Holy Ghost, for He was tried in all things just as we are. He labored for direction,.. just as we must. Before He chose His twelve apostles He labored in prayer for the Spirits guidance. He spent much time in prayer as also we must to find the spirit's leading while in this fleshly world in an effort to be sensitive to another soul's need. Heart to Heart comes from being sensitive to the Spirit's leading, through much Seeking of the spirit's leading. Jesus while in the flesh needed to seek to be spiritual just as we need to seek to be spiritual. Jesus knew and knows what is in mere flesh of man. Just like us He had to work through learning while in the flesh, about the spirit because of His flesh. We all need to understand better how to do that. We are all extremely limited, in our time and capabilities. We need to use every moment. Our needs are urgent in the midst of this wicked world. We are all so limited. We all need His help. We need to know our place in the work of God. We need to be conscious of our limits to get His help and do the work. How can we know everything that is going on? We should not want to. But we do need to have that "valentine" effort to reach souls. To get extra attention to souls,.. we need to focus on them. Too often we are not sensitive enough with a heart to heart message, instead of with whatever we "think" we know already. We too often become too process oriented or proficient in the Gospel to listen in sensitivity to the Spirit. There needs to be a fervent "valentine's day" for that soul that God would have us reach out to. We need to find out what God would show us that is going on with a particular soul. Today, too often our day to day pressures seem to crowd out this sensitivity to a soul, which the Holy Ghost would lead us to focus on.
Romans 8:26-28 26: Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27: And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
v26 God has to bring us to a place where we know we need his help and guidance, where we know we are so limited and in-firmed. We come to a place that we don't know even how to pray or what the answer is. Farther than what we know there is an answer for. The spirit knows where the heart is going , what it takes to reach a soul. ver 27 The spirit knows what it will take to reach a soul, or whether the soul will be reached. v28 This we know ALL things work together If we are led by the spirit. It won't be comfortable to go against the fleshly wisdom, it often leads through dark valley and hard places,....so we need to lean on the Lord.
God leads through the straight and narrow way where we might not be comfortable. We need to lean on the Lord.
Matthew 7:14 Because STRAIT IS THE GATE, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Few want the uncomfortable way.
Affirm:weak in body, lack of firm will, not strong.
If we think we feel so strongly we Know, big hindrance to the spirit's leading. We need to feel affirmed to Know your need of guidance and help, not self sufficient. II Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, THEN AM I STRONG. God will often take you the path where you keenly know your need because of the infirmities of the flesh. How else will you know the need to be sensitive to the Spirit?
Just as when you are in flight, you are flying over all the terrain, rocky areas of problems so you are evading the realities of the need to face your infirmities and limitations. Slow down, see the reality of the roughness, conscious of where we are in order to access His Help.
When we had sin in our life we had infirmities. Sin is the greatest of all infirmities. It is then we are most likely to go along fast in life not heeding our limitations or needs. So many things are not noticed about our realities when in sin. Things of the world have their greatest detriment on our souls then. God had to bring Br Lehman to the reality of his condition, so he could get salvation. Sin is in the very environment of all that is around us, so without God and even with God, it very much affects us, the way we dress, talk, act, interact. The need is to be sensitive to The Holy Ghost to intercede at all times for us. In sin, all are in-firmed. You cannot find a history of any without God where life was not in some way in-firmed. Often even with the saved and sanctified you need that infirmities to slow you down to know your need of the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit. It matters not how long you have served the Lord, but are you spiritual? You are always in need of learning more about being sensitive to the Holy Spirit! From Br Lehman's studies he found the apostles were always learning, never having it "boxed up". It is not something you can box up, either. Conversely, many charlatan's have led people down a wrong path with the idea of being led of the spirit. We have to be consious of these pitfalls. Leaning on, waiting, with the sensitivity of the Spirit and the Word is key. Do you know what spirit you are of?
Luke 9:49-56 49: And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
50: And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.
51: And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
52: And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53: And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
54: And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
55: But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56: For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
When we are not complete, leaning on the Spirit and learning of Him, we are most in-firmed of God's ways. God is about saving souls whatever the cost.
We can all honestly reflect on times when we were hasty and not truly led of the Holy Ghost. Still learning. Not just pray, study, but observe what God might tell you through the sensitivity of the Spirit. Being quiet, so God can demonstrate what He can do, through seeking His Spirit. It will not necessarily be when, where, or what we expect to happen.
II Timothy 2:14-15 14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.
15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
We do Not know it all!! We can not be approved but of any but God's leading! Our seeking should be "God lead me, ...guide me!" Study can also be learning from others mistakes. Help me to see the value of someone else mistakes with respect to them. I can let them be human, ...yet learn from them. In our present day there is such a lack of trust. Peter made many mistakes yet people do not challenge them. If we are not trusting in spite of those mistakes, we are the problem. Let people be people,..yet be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. We find that Peter, James and John were most often chosen when such as the transfiguration took place. Jesus would not have made chosen lightly those that were not more easily led of the spirit. We need to spend some time with the Holy Ghost to properly package and send a spiritual valentine to reach a soul.
How sensitive are we to (not self) but the gospel? How do we discern one that is sensitive to the Holy Spirit? Where are they tomorrow spiritually?
I Corinthians 2:6-14 6: Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9: 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.
10: But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11: For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13: 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.
14: 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.
Even in a long term marriage sometimes we cannot always know completely the other partner. Only the spirit can discern what we cannot alone do. We need to a greater purpose discern the spirits of one another, but first of our own needs.
Job 20:1-3 1: Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2: Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.
3: I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.
These friends were from a long time, and no doubt really knew each other well. Yet they were not without lack in their knowledge of one another in the spirit. We need to separate the thought of our experience with the ability to be led. We have not always correctly known how to be led. There is so much to learn beyond our comprehension.
Question. Is there hope for those who have erred in the leading of the spirit? Isaiah 29:24 They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine. They can learn regardless of error of spirit.
Psalms 51:9-13 9: Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10: Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11: Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12: Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13: Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
David had fallen into adultery, a murder, etc. Yet God was able to restore him through his sensitivity to the Spirit. Then will I teach and lead transgressors in the way. Are we sensitive to the Holy Ghost? Able to listen?
