Reflection by Abeni Adeoye on Chapters 17&18 – How You Can Be Led by The Spirit Of GOD, By Kenneth E Hagin
Chapter 17- Feelings: The Voice of the Body
The Spirit itself [Himself] beareth witness with our spirit... (Romans 8:16)
The word “voice” here is used to connote communication. Anything that communicates with another thing or stimulates/seeks to impress upon it, trying
to draw a response, has voiced something. Each of the four voices below was granted us by GOD and would greatly benefit us if always in their proper place. It's, however, necessary to always discern and know which voice we are hearing at every moment and to always allow the voice of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, dictating our decisions.
- Feelings is the voice of the body;
- Reason or reasoning is the voice of the soul/ the mind, and it is the seat/root of our will and emotions;
- Conscience is the voice of the human spirit; and.......
- Then there is the Authoritative voice of GOD, the voice of the Holy Spirit.
God is Spirit, and by His Spirit resident within us (i.e. residing with our spirit) He speaks to our spirit man.
To go by feelings is to get into trouble: which is why most Christians are cyclically up and down. The voice of feelings is circumstantial; it can be regulated externally by man and his environment.
To live solely by reason is folly, as it is experiential and thus subjective and limited. It involves factoring in all experiences available to us: ours and those of others we are privy to into our decision making. It relies on our own limited perception and understanding. It is lacking in that God commands us to not lean on our own understanding. As Christians, to live our lives based on our own reasoning is not only unwise but also a sin as it contradicts Father God's command in Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths. Every instruction God gives us is in His word is a command, not a suggestion.
Conscience is the voice of the human spirit and should be the vehicle that relays the leadings/promptings of the Holy Spirit to us as regenerated beings. An unregenerated conscience/spirit is of no worth to godly living. As believers/ followers of Christ our spirit is awakened, but there is the need for us to keep it tender as discussed in chapter 15. After knowing the Truth, we have a part to play of constantly yielding ourselves to the Truth the Holy Spirit would expose us to, by prompt obedience. Otherwise, our spirits/hearts can get darkened and consequently our conscience seared and less receptive to promptings. Necessary actions need to be taken upon exposure to God’s Truth.
We are to base our faith on The Word of God and not on our feelings. Romans 8:16 informs us that the Spirit bears witness, not with our feelings or reason but with our spirit. We cannot understand our true selves by feelings, we must understand ourselves as born again, Spirit-filled Christians, i.e. by what The Word of GOD says about us. We are who GOD says we are, we have what He says we have, and we can do all He says we can do as specified in His Word. Faith is taking God at His Word, assenting to it that His Word is Truth, and that is what honours God. Fear/unbelief, on the other hand, is calling God a liar and it limits His power in our lives.
"BASE YOUR FAITH ON THE WORD - NOT ON YOUR FEELINGS"
Chapter 18: Help from within
John 16:13
[13]Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all Truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.
Jesus said the Holy Spirit will guide us into all Truth. He will lead us and He will guide us. He speaks where? In our spirit. Because He is Spirit. And He speaks, not His own words but whatever He hears God and Jesus wanting to say to us. But we must pay attention.
John 16:13 also informs us He will show us things to come, not just things as outlined in the Bible prophecy, because those are already revealed to us, but other things to come that GOD will have us know as relates to us and the world around us as we seek Him. This is so we are not unaware and thus unprepared for things when they happen. God wants us prepared at all times.
The Holy Spirit will show us things to come and also bring things to our remembrance if we would learn to cooperate with Him.