FED AND LED

[Albert Finch]

As Christians, we are to be "fed and led" to become His voice--fed by the Word and led by the Spirit. There are many lazy people in the Church and, for them, the easiest way to hear God is to be fed by someone who is "close" to God. Unfortunately, this mindset has crept into the Church and, actually, the prophet has been demoted to a spiritual psychic. The fact is, the only reason that it is important that we hear God speaking to us is so that we can become a voice ourselves--an expression, NOT an opinion.

When John baptized Jesus (the Word), the Spirit lightened upon Him like a dove, and once this happened there was a Voice that came from Heaven that they heard clearly. This gives us a clear lesson about God's expression under the reign of Christ. The only way that we can be FED and then LED is to feed on God's Word. Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." It doesn't say "proceeded," but "proceeds," which is ongoing or present.

The Three Steps of Truth

Having the Word in you is not enough. Only when the Spirit lightened upon the Word (Christ), did the Voice come from Heaven. The Spirit has to connect with the Word inside of you in order to become a voice, and depending on how much of the Word you have inside of you determines the depth of expression.

The Bible states, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." Truth requires three steps:
1. Revelation
2. Illumination
3. Inspiration

Revelation is the discovery of the truth.
Many people think that reading the Bible is adequate and that nothing else is required. Although we may grow in knowledge of the Word, our spiritual man doesn't necessarily grow. Information about the Bible doesn't guarantee revelation of the Spirit.

To become the voice of God, we should read, affirm and meditate on the Word, indeed, but God is also a Spirit and will also speak to us (revelation). This is commonly known as "rhema," the spoken word. Following Jesus means we are going to have to HEAR HIS VOICE from HEAVEN, not ONLY FROM PAGES.

Illumination is the understanding of the discovered truth. Inspiration is the communication of the discovered, understood truth. These three steps have to connect; otherwise, you will have a voice that utters truth without understanding or truth without inspiration.

The Bible also says, "Your Word is truth." When God gives us truth, it is impossible to communicate the truth without having illumination, which is what the Spirit does with the Word that is inside of you. The discovery of truth is such an exciting experience and yet, for some, it is literally soul-destroying because it usually does not fit into their staple diet and daily routine.
Becoming the Voice of God requires that you consume the Word.

In John 4 where Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well drawing water. During the course of their conversation, she starts making a statement that places a question about territories. She says in verses 20: "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."
In verses 21-24, Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father...but the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth...God is Spirit."

 

God never promised to lead us by our physical senses or our mental faculties. What we see through the eyes of the Spirit is usually in great contrast to what the natural eyes are telling us. Our physical senses deceive us and are unreliable.

"And the Lord said to Joshua: 'See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor."' - Joshua 6:2

God was commanding Joshua to SEE THE UNSEEN! Before he would see Jericho defeated with his physical eyes, he had to see Jericho defeated with his spiritual eyes. He had to see into the eternal. It must be tangible in your spirit, before it becomes tangible in the natural.

It is seeing into the unseen (eternal) realm where we perceive the will of God. Once we see the will of God and what exists from His perspective, we can cross back over and announce what God wants to perform in the natural, temporal world.