Victorious Living

"But the purpose of the Word of God was to define the heart of God and the truth of God so that what was needed by future generations could be obtained."

WHEN THE GOSPEL HAS BEEN SPREAD to the ends of the earth, then the end shall come. God has decreed it. Not when there are wars and rumors of wars, not when nations rise against nations. Not because of earthquakes and famines. The end will not come because of the devil’s work. The end has been written by God. We know there is an end: an end of time, an end of death. We know certain events which lead up to it. We know Jesus is the first and the last, the end and the beginning.

We know God is specific. This can be seen from Genesis and throughout the Word of God. We need only look at the process of creation and the things He has created to know nothing is random by Him. We can see His specific planning in the lives of people. We can look at Abram, become Abraham, and see the forming of a nation, a nation called to be the ancestry of the Messiah who would redeem the world. We can see the events He set forth within that nation, Israel. Their rescue from Egypt, their return from Babylon and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. We read the gospels and see the Father revealed to us in the life of Jesus Christ. We learn the truths of our salvation, and in the epistles, how to walk uprightly in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

But from the end of the book of Acts until the present, what we know of the works of God done in specific nations and in the present-day church has been declared solely by His prophets.

What we learn of the Word of God: of how to confess Jesus as Lord, of our commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel and lay hands on the sick, of how to be the church and resist the devil, that he is defeated, and we are victorious over him through Christ, all of these are written in the Word for our learning. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher. He gives revelation of God’s truth. These things we can substantiate through verses. He never speaks against the Word of God and always speaks to us of Jesus. But if you should take that new job or if you should enroll in a certain school, specific day-to-day things are confirmed only in our heart. There is no verse for them.

We can know it is God’s will to heal from what is written. Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 both tell us by Jesus’ wounds we are made whole. Further reading of the Bible gives us many other verses to place in our heart. We read them and renew our thinking on the fullness of God’s salvation. 3 John 1:2 tells us our body should be healthy and our soul should prosper. A deeper study of the word “prosper” shows us that this means we have a good journey through life. But if we should go to a certain doctor and seek treatment or choose to trust God for healing through simple faith outside of that is not stated in the Word, specific to our current choices.

Study of the Scriptures should be our top priority. We should meditate on the Word of God daily and become mature and strong in the Lord. The apostle Paul said many times, “I would not have you ignorant.” He also spoke against those who were not walking in the truth of God as it is revealed. We only know what is God’s truth because we take the time to put it in our heart. Our desire should be to the Scriptures. But the Scriptures are not simply words and sentences and verses, they are the beautiful God of heaven: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who redeemed mankind. They are not simply about data and information, or even revelation, as wonderful as that is.

We study to know God, and in knowing Him, to become aware of Him, to feel His presence around us every minute of the day, and to call on Him in prayer for everything that our lives require. We learn who He is and how He operates, how He does things. We fall in love with Him and surround ourselves with His love for us. What is written becomes our guide into what is not written, whether that be personal steps we must take to follow His plan for us, knowing that new job again, or whether it is understanding prophecies and feeling God’s heart in them.

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,” (Ephesians 1:17-18)

The Scriptures instruct us that there are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, but their names are not written out for us. We know them by the Holy Spirit’s presence working through them and by His voice confirming them to us. We know if their words are accurate because we seek His wisdom, and it is given to us. We hear the foundational truth of the Scriptures in what they say. Because we know the Word, we can prove or disprove their declarations, and we must pray into them. God still gives men visions and dreams today. Prophecy comes to pass because the body of Christ hears the heart of God and chooses to hold fast to it. Our words make a difference.

No revelation should ever go against the Word of God. But to say that the Spirit does not reveal things to us which are not written goes against the fullness of revelation. This seems like a fine line which could cause a huge error, but if you know the Spirit’s voice, it isn’t. We assume much in our reading of the Word, some of it founded on human thinking. The Holy Spirit corrects us when we seek Him. When our heart is to learn, He will always teach us. But the purpose of the Word of God was to define the heart of God and the truth of God so that what was needed by future generations could be obtained.

God never comes around from behind us and springs upon us by surprise. If we are walking after Him, the knowledge of what is happening around us is spoken by His apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, so that we will be encouraged, given hope, and the confidence of faith. This is told us in the Word. Just as words were spoken to Israel over what was to come in their past generations, words which were at that time not yet written, and just as the Messiah, Jesus Christ, was prophesied throughout Scripture, God is still speaking over our lives today. Jesus came to reveal the Father and to send the Holy Spirit as the downpayment on all the revelation God desires to give.

All of it agrees with the truths of the Scriptures, but not all of it, as to circumstances, people, and events, is detailed in its verses. That said, there is nothing we will ever face which God has not spoken of. He sets up kings and removes kings; this truth goes for any leader of any nation. He relieves the oppressed and delivers those who are in bondage. This promise is in His Word. So whether our name is not written there, (nowhere does it say, “Suzanne D. Williams should do such-and-such,”) it does say I am to walk in liberty of the Spirit, in the fullness of health, and without ever being afraid.

Its truths apply to us in everything we do. The Spirit speaks more specifically to our hearts through people called to this and through revelation. He delights in giving us direction about what steps to take. But we must learn to hear Him because much of what God wants to say to us that concerns today and tomorrow, the drive to work, our time at some educational facility, or the lives of our children, comes strictly to our heart. It will never go against the foundation of the Word, but through prayer and our quiet time with Him will become clear that this is the way He is guiding us to walk. For this reason, the Holy Spirit was sent. We must grow up to the standard He has said in the Word so that we can know Him outside of the Word and live victorious.

“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. 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.” (Romans 8:26-27)

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com