I pray you're staying committed to not only checking in on the installments every day of the journey, but to completing your assignments as well.
Consistency is key! Even if you take your time through the assignments, like two days to complete one assignment, just be consistent in showing up those two days.
The Lord created the assignments with you in mind and wants to meet you at the desire of your heart (the desire HE placed in your heart) to hear from Him. Be sure to show up to receive from Him. Don't miss what He has for you on the journey.
- Push past your feelings.
- Fight to get to that secret place every day, and MAKE the time to sit at His feet.
- He really, really wants to meet you there.
Let's continue dissecting the ways we hear from God.
How Do We Hear from God ?
- spoken word from preachers and teachers of the Word / church
- reading and studying God's Word
- talking to God and quieting ourselves to let Him talk to us (prayer)
- convictions (the tugging at our hearts, the push and pull in our spirits)
- fellowship with other believers
- warning and foresight, spoken directly to our spirits
Today's focus will be convictions.
When I was preparing for today's installment I asked the Lord to give me a clear explanation of what a conviction is, and He said, "When our flesh wants what our spirit does not agree with, and the Lord reminds us that what we want in that moment is no good for us, we have what's called conviction in our hearts." This is that push and pull in our spirits that our sister, Priscilla Shirer, explained in the video on our first day of the journey. It's that tug of war we experience when our flesh wants to do what we know doesn't please God.
Paul explains it well in Romans 7, and before we move on, we need to give that passage a look.
All Believers Experience Conviction
When we did our personal inventories on the first day of the journey, 100% of you said that you've experienced the push and pull in your spirit, which is evidence of the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you (not to be confused with your conscience). Anyone who is in relationship with Jesus Christ has the awesome privilege of having God speak to our hearts through conviction. His convictions warn us that we're about to enter into something that does not line up with His Word (that doesn't always happen with our conscience). We ALL (Spirit-filled believers) experience the battle that Paul described, and as long as we're living, we will. Every one of us.
Those times when we're feeling convicted, we really want to do the right thing because His Spirit living in us is perfect. The Holy Spirit wants us to do what God wants, but then our flesh wants to do something else because our flesh is not in relationship with Jesus. Our flesh never gave its life to the Lord; our spirit gave itself to the Lord. Our flesh is not saved, so it will constantly be in battle with the Holy Spirit. When you're feeling conviction, know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that this is God speaking to you.
Did you hear me? Read that last sentence again.
How is that so?
You have knowledge of His Word hidden in your heart (no matter how little or how much; you will experience conviction based on what you know of His word). You have knowledge of Him and His ways from the teaching you've been sitting under. God's Word has been made known to you, and so now, when that Word/knowledge of Him is being challenged, or when you face opposing situations where it's time to put that Word into action, God will speak to you through that tug in your heart and tell you to stand on His word. That tug in your heart is God telling you to silence the flesh and obey His Spirit (His Word).
When God Speaks to You Through Convictions...
Go in the opposite direction of the flesh! Go in the way of the Spirit! And you know what's flesh and what's spirit when you feel it. Every time I have gone the way of the flesh, I have been disappointed in myself because I know I hurt the heart of God.
I've cried.
I've lost money.
I've lost time.
I've lost sanity.
Every time I have gone the way of the flesh, I have suffered some type of loss.
His convictions do not lie! God wouldn't waste time tugging at your heart; He's talking to you for your own good. Don't waste time, don't lose money, don't give yourself an unnecessary headache for giving into your flesh. God is speaking to protect you. He is speaking to warn you. He is speaking to reward you. If you follow the flesh, you will regret it EVERY TIME. Heed the conviction, and be grateful that the Lord loves you enough to speak to your heart with that tug. He ain't speakin' to everybody. #blessed
Assignment, Part 3
I'm praying for you.
-Iantha
Paul explains it well in Romans 7, and before we move on, we need to give that passage a look.
Assignment, Part 1
- Grab your Bible. Date your journal.
- Read Romans 7:15-25.
- In your own words, summarize what Paul is saying in this passage.
- Explain the most recent time you experienced what Paul is describing. Did your flesh win, or did your spirit win?
All Believers Experience Conviction
When we did our personal inventories on the first day of the journey, 100% of you said that you've experienced the push and pull in your spirit, which is evidence of the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you (not to be confused with your conscience). Anyone who is in relationship with Jesus Christ has the awesome privilege of having God speak to our hearts through conviction. His convictions warn us that we're about to enter into something that does not line up with His Word (that doesn't always happen with our conscience). We ALL (Spirit-filled believers) experience the battle that Paul described, and as long as we're living, we will. Every one of us.
Those times when we're feeling convicted, we really want to do the right thing because His Spirit living in us is perfect. The Holy Spirit wants us to do what God wants, but then our flesh wants to do something else because our flesh is not in relationship with Jesus. Our flesh never gave its life to the Lord; our spirit gave itself to the Lord. Our flesh is not saved, so it will constantly be in battle with the Holy Spirit. When you're feeling conviction, know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that this is God speaking to you.
Did you hear me? Read that last sentence again.
How is that so?
You have knowledge of His Word hidden in your heart (no matter how little or how much; you will experience conviction based on what you know of His word). You have knowledge of Him and His ways from the teaching you've been sitting under. God's Word has been made known to you, and so now, when that Word/knowledge of Him is being challenged, or when you face opposing situations where it's time to put that Word into action, God will speak to you through that tug in your heart and tell you to stand on His word. That tug in your heart is God telling you to silence the flesh and obey His Spirit (His Word).
When God Speaks to You Through Convictions...
Go in the opposite direction of the flesh! Go in the way of the Spirit! And you know what's flesh and what's spirit when you feel it. Every time I have gone the way of the flesh, I have been disappointed in myself because I know I hurt the heart of God.
I've cried.
I've lost money.
I've lost time.
I've lost sanity.
Every time I have gone the way of the flesh, I have suffered some type of loss.
His convictions do not lie! God wouldn't waste time tugging at your heart; He's talking to you for your own good. Don't waste time, don't lose money, don't give yourself an unnecessary headache for giving into your flesh. God is speaking to protect you. He is speaking to warn you. He is speaking to reward you. If you follow the flesh, you will regret it EVERY TIME. Heed the conviction, and be grateful that the Lord loves you enough to speak to your heart with that tug. He ain't speakin' to everybody. #blessed
Assignment, Part 2
- Continuing in your journal entry for today, read Romans 8:5-14.
- In your own words, summarize what this passage is saying.
- Then, "talk back to the Lord" and tell Him what you believe this passage AND the Romans 7 passage are saying to you for YOUR life.
Assignment, Part 3
Yesterday, Nicole gave us a very practical way to practice hearing from God in silence. I've found that I hear more from Him in the silence after I've studied the Word. So, since you have spent time in Romans 7 and 8 today and you've talked back to the Lord in your journal, now is the time to lift up a final prayer, maybe about today's lesson, or whatever may be on your heart. Then, set a timer for 7 minutes and sit in silence to have Him talk back to you.
-Iantha
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