Reflections on “Listen to Your Heart” and “How to Train the Human Spirit” (Chapters 27 & 28) by Tobi Adegbile
Acts 27: 9-10
Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them, and said unto them, Sirs, I PERCEIVE that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.
John 10: 14-17
I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
John 10: 1-5 (AMPC)
I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way (elsewhere, from some other quarter) is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The watchman opens the door for this man, and the sheep listen to his voice and heed it; and he calls his own sheep by name and brings (leads) them out. When he has brought his own sheep outside, he walks on before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will never [on any account] follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not know the voice of strangers or recognize their call).
John 10: 27–29
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Studying and meditating through the scriptures above gives a clear assertion of the Lord’s passion to lead us by Himself and His express desire to speak to us at all times and in every situation. No wonder Jesus stated in John 14:18 that “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you”. The Amplified Classic (AMPC) version renders it thus “I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you.”
This scripture was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit came after Jesus ascended into heaven. Now, to be an orphan is to be without guide, or to be without support. Thus, it becomes clear why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit as our primary guide.
For anyone who has come to Christ (a believer), it is your primary right to hear God through the Holy Spirit. Your spirit man is the real you, and that is who God speaks to. The Holy Spirit abiding in your spirit expressly desires to communicate with your spirit. That is why your spirit knows things your head doesn’t know. But we have not been taught to listen to our spirits. And sometimes we are reluctant to do so. Let me quickly state that you can only listen to your heart (heart here is the same as spirit as it is often used interchangeably) when it has been sufficiently trained to do so. The primary ways by which you can train the human spirit is by consistent meditation in God’s word and praying in the Spirit, by practicing the Word, by giving the Word first place, and by instantly obeying the voice of your spirit.
To listen to your heart is to demonstrate your earnest trust and obedience in the person of the Holy Spirit. It means to side in with God and His Word irrespective of what the physical circumstances might predict. It is to say “Let God be true and let every man be a liar”. It is to acknowledge God as your Father, who is the Father of Lights in whom there is no variableness, neither is there a shadow of turning. To listen to your spirit is to attest to and acknowledge the daily presence of the Holy Spirit in you.
Now, if listening to your spirit-man is so paramount, why don’t we practice this often? Is it that we don’t hear Him or we hear Him but we are not sure if what we have heard is from God? Rather, is it that we are afraid of the things He tells us or the things that we hear/perceive are not words that makes sense to our physical senses? Have we become so protective of ourselves that we are afraid to launch into new horizons or take on new assignments for the Lord because we are not certain if it is the Lord instructing us to do so and what the outcome of such obedience might be? Remember, that perfect love casts out fear. Now, we should not be quick to conclude that maybe our love for the Lord is not yet perfect and is undergoing some stages of perfection.
Rom.5:5
“…..the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” This means that because the Holy Spirit has now been given to us, we have the inherent ability to love God and obey Him the way He loves us. This role, the Holy Spirit performs on a day-to-day basis. John 14:10-12 “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
Here are some thoughts from the scripture above.
First, Meditation in the Word of God and Practicing the Word. There was a Father in Jesus who was responsible for the works He did and constantly spoke to Him. Who was this Father? The Holy Spirit! John 1:32 “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descended from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.” That same Father, who was in Jesus, is in us today in the person of the Holy Spirit. So, we can understand why Jesus said “….He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also” because we now possess the same capacity that He has to execute all that He has commanded us to do. Also,
Rom. 8:11
“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you….” Who is this Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead? Rom. 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Here, the Holy Spirit was referred to as the “the glory of the Father”.
Similarly,
Acts 10:38
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”.
Now we know that the same Spirit that Jesus has resides in us today.
Being a doer of the Word means that we are to do primarily what is written in the Epistles. They are the letters written to us, the Church.
Philippians 4:6
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Begin to practice being a doer of the Word by doing in all circumstances what the Word tells you to do. To practice the Word is to obey the Word in its entirety and not just taking portions that suit you. It is possible to become so fretful over something that you cannot eat or sleep. But all you have to do is practice the Word and you will get results. Philippians 4:7 is a result of practicing Philippians 4:6. Many people want what verse 7 talks about-but they don’t want to practice what verse 6 says to do to get it. We must endeavor to align our communication with the qualifications listed in Phil.4:8.
Second, Giving the Word First Place. Prov. 4:20-22 “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear to my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh” Now, let’s see how Jesus gave the word first place. Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”
So, we know Jesus had moments of meditation which clearly explains how He got precise instructions about His daily ministry. It is amazing to note that this particular meditation time was after Jesus had a very busy day. Let’s read the preceding verses
Mark 1:32-34
“And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils, and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him”.
One would have thought Jesus would take two days off to rest after the great crusade He had the night before. Yet, we read that “….rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Make the word your utmost priority every day before anything else. You can decide to give God a tithe of the 24rs timeline He has given you daily to study and meditate on the word and also pray. That is, 2hrs 40mins of your time goes to God daily as the very first activity of the day. To meditate is to think on the Word, to mutter the Word, and speak it to yourself. If you ever want to do anything great in life, take time to meditate in the Word of God. Start out with at least 10 or 15 minutes a day-then increase the time. Joshua 1:8 corroborates the importance of meditating in the Word especially as it helps us in dealing wisely in the affairs of life.
Your spirit can be educated just as your mind can be educated. Your spirit can be built up in strength and trained just as your body can be built and trained. Meditation is key. You cannot develop spiritual wisdom without meditation. Moments of meditation are listening moments therefore; your pen and paper should always be close-by for you to write down what the Holy Spirit will tell you. When we practice this often, we gradually become accustomed to the voice of the Holy Spirit, thus, making it easy to listen, and carry out his instructions every day. Then, we are constantly being led by the Holy Spirit. If we must produce the kind of results Jesus got and even greater, we must give the Word first place irrespective of the high demands from work, marriage, family, and friends. We should ask ourselves what God has to say about anything that may come up in our life-and then put that Word first. Sometimes, family and friends will try to rush you into things but you need to think about what the Word of God says. Put God’s Word first in every area of life.
Let me also say quickly that prayer especially praying in the spirit awakens our spirit man to the Fatherhood of God. Remember that man is primarily a spirit therefore, our native language (English, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Efik etc.) does not have the exact vocabulary to commune with God. Remember, God is a spirit. So, when Spirits commune, they do it using spiritual words or languages. Praying in the spirit is one of the proof of our Sonship in Christ and an absolute attestation of our spiritual birth in Christ.
1 Cor. 14:4
“He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself.”
Jude 1: 20-21
“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
When we pray in the spirit, we are actually edifying ourselves by building up a spiritual edifice with our spirit. The more we do it, the bigger our spiritual edifice which refers to our spirit man. Thereby making it easy for us to declare boldly like Paul did in
Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Also, we can see how speaking in tongues links up with Jude 1:21 above in answering our earlier question of how we can express perfect love towards God and keeping ourselves in God’s love continually.
Third, instantly obey the voice of your spirit. Did Jesus really listen to His heart? The human spirit has a voice. The world calls it a hunch. But what it is, is your spirit speaking to you. Every man’s spirit, saved or unsaved, has a voice. The human spirit is a spiritual man, a spirit man, an inward hidden man. This is the man who has become a new creature. When a man is born again, his spirit becomes a new spirit. The new birth is a rebirth of the human spirit. As you give this newborn spirit the privilege of meditating on the Word of God, the Word becomes the source of its information. Your spirit will become strong and the inward voice of your conscience, educated in the spirit, will become a true guide. Let’s take a cue on how Jesus listened to His heart and instantly obeyed the voice of His spirit.
John 5: 1-9
“After this, there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which has an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that He had been now a long time in that case, He saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered Him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the Sabbath.”
Here, we saw Jesus going to a place filled with so many people that had diverse kinds of diseases and they all needed healing. Yet, Jesus singled out just one person for healing. What happened to the compassion in His heart for the other diseased fellows? Could it be that His Spirit only instructed Him to heal just one person? How possible! We know Jesus to be a man filled with compassion. We had read earlier on how He healed people with diverse kinds of sicknesses, diseases and even cast out demons. (Mark 1: 32-34). This particular scenario must have been a difficult one for Jesus. Jesus could have begged the Holy Spirit to just allow him heal every one there at the pool. But no! He was a man under authority. Jesus stated further in John 5: 17-19 “But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work….Then answered Jesus and said unto them, “Verily, verily I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” Wow! What a man! If Jesus had done one extra miracle at the pool, it would have been a great work. In fact, the beneficiary of the miracle would have testified to the glory of God and his friends would have all joined him to give God praise. But look at Jesus, a man of precision! He did not only listen to the Holy Spirit, He listened precisely, detail by detail.
Now you can understand why Paul asserted in
Philippians 2: 5-11
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
John 5:20-25
“For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth: and He will shew Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgement unto the Son: That all men should honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death to life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”
Glory to God! Amazing words from Jesus. Now, we understand why Jesus got results. He was a tested Son and He earned His promotion. Usually, after loyalty comes elevation.
Did you notice that meditation in the Word, practicing the Word, giving the Word first place, all come before obeying your spirit? You see, if your spirit has had the privilege of meditating in the Word, of putting the Word first-then your spirit is an authoritative guide.
Prov. 20:27
“The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly."
Your newborn spirit has within it the life and nature of God. The Holy Spirit dwells within your spirit. Listening to your heart requires you to be deliberate, sincere, prompt, and genuine. Training your human spirit to become a reliable guide requires you to be disciplined. Ultimately, the daily contributions you put into training your human spirit will determine how much of a reliable guide your human spirit would be. As a teenager, I came across the book “How-to-be-led-by-the-Holy Spirit”. Since then, the foundational truths in this book have guided my life choices and decisions. If Christians would just check up on the inside of them, in most affairs of life, they would know what to do. I have discovered that the Holy Spirit has absolute mastery, wisdom, and knowledge in all things, and He is eager to share those truths and principles with you. Whether in medicine, science, arts, technology, law, finance or any kind of intelligence you seek, He has absolute mastery in all.
It’s amazing how keenly interested the Holy Spirit is in every single detail of our lives. Irrespective of what you might consider prior disappointments in your walk with God, a new dawn is here! And you can decide how long you want it to last based on how much space you are willing to give to Him. Listen to your heart and train your spirit to be a reliable guide and enjoy all the blessings that you find in doing that. Learn to listen to those inward checks. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit's promptings appear as flashlights in your spirit, don’t ignore them! Remember how an evangelist shared her story with Rev. Kenneth Hagin of how a fellow minister almost duped her of $5,000. The person who keeps his spirit shut away and never listens to it becomes crippled in life. The person who listens to his spirit is the man or woman, boy or girl who climbs to the top! Glory to God forever more.