How the HOLY SPIRIT Shows You Things to Come
THE SECRET PLACE DEVOTIONAL
“THE SPIRIT SHOWS ME WHAT'S AHEAD.”
Share this teaching with someone who wants to grow in spiritual discernment and discover how they can serve others with what God has placed in them.
How does the Holy Spirit show believers things to come? How can you recognize His guidance, distinguish His leading from your own thoughts, and prepare for what lies ahead?
Jesus declared in John 16:13 that the Spirit of truth would guide believers into all truth and show them things to come. But this promise is not an invitation to fortune-telling, fear, or sensational predictions. It is an invitation to grow in spiritual understanding, discernment, and readiness to serve.
IN THIS TEACHING, YOU WILL DISCOVER:
1. Why the Holy Spirit can show you things to come.
2. Five ways the Holy Spirit guides believers: the Word, other people, dreams and visions, open and closed doors, and the inner witness.
3. The significance of the hidden man of the heart
4. Four ways to test spiritual impressions against Scripture, peace, wise counsel, and the character of Jesus.
5. Why spiritual gifts are given to every believer for the benefit of others.
6. How to recognize and develop the gift God has placed in you.
KEY SCRIPTURES:
John 16:13 (But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.)
1 Corinthians 2:9–11(9 Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God)
Proverbs 20:27 (The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being.)
Acts 11:27–30 (During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.)
Acts 16:6–10 (Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.)
1 Thessalonians 5:21 (commands believers to "test everything; hold fast what is good." This instruction, written by the Apostle Paul, requires the church to critically examine all spiritual claims, particularly prophecies, rather than accepting them uncritically or dismissing them entirely. )
1 Corinthians 12:7 (Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.)
1 Peter 4:10 (As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.)
YOUR SEVEN-DAY PRACTICE:
Become still before God. Meditate on Scripture. Pay attention to what you sense without rushing to conclusions. Seek wise counsel, serve someone, and reflect on what you learn.
Remember: spiritual impressions should be tested rather than followed blindly. Do not make major decisions solely on the basis of a dream, feeling, or unverified prophetic word.
Chapter 1: The Antioch example
Welcome to where we explore the truths of God's word and discover the realities of the new creation in Christ. Get ready to grow in revelation knowledge and discover who you truly are in Christ Jesus.
Picture a city called Antioch. The markets are full. The fields look healthy. Nobody is worried about food. And then in a gathering of believers, a man stands up. Acts 11:28. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great death throughout all the world. A famine was coming, and not one person in that room could see it.
Now watch what they do. Acts 11:29.
Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea. They did not panic. They did not argue for weeks about whether it was real. They were warned before the famine came and each one did something. Every man according to his ability.
Notice what the spirit gave them. Not a date, not a drama, just enough to prepare and to act. That is what a prepared church looks like. Not frightened, but ready. That small scene holds everything we are going to look at today.
Chapter 2: Foresight and the spirit
The Holy Spirit shows things to come, and the Holy Spirit places something in every believer to carry. The foresight and the gift belong together.
John 16:13. " How be it, 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 show you things to come. "
He will show you things to come. Jesus did not say it as a suggestion. He said it as a promise to the people who would carry the spirit inside them. And this is how God has always worked.
Genesis 18:17. And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do? Shall I hide it from my friend? " That is the heart of the Father.
And in John 15:15, Jesus says it to you, "Henceforth I call you not servants. For the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth, but I have called you friends. For all things that I have heard of my father, I have made known unto you. "
Friends, not servants who are kept in the dark, friends who are told. A friend does not hear the news last.
Amos 3:7. Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealth his secret unto his servants, the prophets. That is the pattern from the beginning. God does not like to work behind your back. He lets his people know.
Now, let me say something before we go further because this subject can be handled badly. This is not about fortune telling. It is not about predictions, dates or sensational prophecy. It is not about chasing every strange impression. And it is certainly not about living in fear of what might happen.
This subject is about the guidance the Father has already promised His children. Guidance that is tested by the Word, received in peace and confirmed by wisdom. Because here is the truth. Many believers live reactive lives. The call comes and they are surprised. The layoff comes and they are shocked. The warning signs were there, but nobody was listening for the one who sees ahead. Then they pray after the damage is done.
Chapter 3: The hidden man
Proverbs 22:3. A prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.
Foresight is not fear. Foresight is wisdom.
And the spirit is the source of the best foresight there is. There is another way to live, not a life without storms. The spirit does not promise that, but a life that is not left uninformed. A life with a Guide.
Psalm 32:8. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye.
This teaching is anchored in the Hidden Man, Together with the Word of God. In the hidden man of the heart is the human spirit recreated in Christ.
And the message is that God imparts His messages to us through the spirit and that our faith and our wisdom grow as our spirit gains mastery over our five-senses. Hold on to that because it explains something.
If God speaks to the spirit, then the way you have been trying to hear God through your five- senses, through your fears, through your reasoning alone may be the very reason you have struggled to hear. So here is where we are going.
Chapter 4: How God reveals the future
First, why the Holy Spirit can show you what is ahead.
Second, how he does it and why it reaches your spirit first.
Third, what it looks like in the book of Acts.
Fourth, how to test what you sense so you stay safe.
Fifth, the gift he has placed in every believer.
And sixth, how to draw on it starting this week.
And we begin with a simple question. How can anyone know what is ahead? That is where we go next. How can anyone know what is ahead?
The answer has three layers.
The first layer is simple.
The second layer is the one that should stop you in your tracks.
And the third layer is the one that changes how you listen for the rest of your life.
Layer one, only one being can see the future because He is not standing inside time.
Isaiah 46:10, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand the end from the beginning. God does not guess what is ahead. He is already there.
That is why Jesus could say that the Holy Spirit would show you things to come. The Spirit is God. He hears from the Father and He carries what He hears. That is layer one. But it is not why this matters.
Layer two. God does not keep what He sees to Himself.
Isaiah 42:9. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare. Before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Think about the heart behind those words. He is not hiding what is coming. He is announcing it to the people he loves. So the question changes. It is no longer can God know? And it is no longer will God tell me. It becomes how does it reach me?
And this is where almost everyone goes wrong. Because when we want to know what is ahead, where do we look? We look at the circumstances. We look at the numbers. We look at how we feel. We try to reason it out. We lie awake at night trying to calculate tomorrow.
But listen to what apostle Paul says. 1 Corinthians 2:9 and 10. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit.
Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, your senses cannot get there. Your reasoning cannot get there. No amount of calculating at 3:00 in the morning can get you there.
Five senses only give you sense-knowledge. But the Spirit of God gives you revelation-knowledge.
Revealed by His Spirit.
Daniel 2:22. He revealth the deep and secret things. He knoweth what is in the darkness and the light dwelleth with him.
What is in the darkness he knows and the light dwells with him? Darkness.
Now here is layer three. And I want you to catch this because it is the key to everything that follows.
1 Corinthians 2:11. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so, the things of God knoweth no man, but the spirit of God.
Read the scripture, again.
You know your own thoughts through your own spirit. In the same way, the spirit of God knows the thoughts of God, and he shares them through your spirit.
Proverbs 20:27, the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.
And Romans 8:16, the spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, with our spirit, not with our senses, not first with our emotions, with our spirit. A candle does not create the light, it carries it. Keep that picture. We will come back to it. This is exactly what is pressed in the hidden man. The hidden man of the heart is the human spirit recreated in Christ. And God imparts his messages to us through it. And he says that as we meditate in the word and become doers of it, in His words, our spirits slowly but surely gain the ascendancy over our sense ruled mind. Slowly but surely. That one sentence explains why some people hear clearly and others hear almost nothing.
It is not that God speaks to some and ignores others. It is that some have a spirit that has gained ground and some are still being drowned out by the noise of the senses. And this changes your first step. If God speaks to the spirit, then the answer is not to strain harder with the senses. It is to become quiet enough to receive.
Psalm 46:10. Be still and know that I am God.
But there is something else I want you to notice before we move on. Why does the Spirit show you anything at all? It is not so you can feel special. It is not curiosity. There is a reason and it is hidden in the same chapter of Acts where we began. I will bring it back later.
And when I do, it will change how you see your own life. For now, here is where we are. God sees ahead. God tells and He tells your spirit. But that raises a very practical question. What does it actually sound like? What does it feel like when your spirit receives something from Him? There are several ways the spirit speaks.
Chapter 5: Five ways the Spirit speaks
And one of them you have almost certainly already experienced. You may have felt it a dozen times and you may have dismissed it every time. That is next. Paul wanted to preach in Asia. It was a good desire, a needy region, a ready audience, and the Holy Spirit said, "No." Acts 16:6. Now when they had gone throughout Friia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, forbidden by the Holy Spirit, not from doing something evil, but from preaching the gospel. So they turned north. Acts 16:7. After they were come to Msia, they are saved to go into Bethnia. But the spirit suffered them not. Twice, twice the spirit said no to something good. Why would he do that? I will tell you before this part is over.
And the answer will change how you read every closed door in your life.
But first, the ways the spirit speaks. There are five. The last one is the one you have felt and probably dismissed.
Way number one, the Word.
2 Timothy 3:16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. The spirit is the author. When he wants to show you what is ahead, he often begins with something already written and makes it alive to you.
John 14:26. He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance. A verse you have read a hundred times suddenly speaks to a situation you did not know was coming. That is the spirit.
Way number two, other people. Acts 11:28. Agabus again. And later Acts 21:10-11, he takes Paul's belt, binds his own hands and feet, and says, "Thus saith the Holy Ghost. So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle. The spirit often speaks through the body of Christ. But Agabus did not take over Paul's decisions. He gave information. And information has to be weighed, which we will come to.
Way number three, dreams and visions. Acts 2:17. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Apostle Peter on the rooftop in Acts 10. Paul in the night in Acts 18. These are real and they must be weighed as we will see.
Way number four, closed and open doors. 1Corinthians 16:9, for a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. And now the mystery. Why did the Spirit forbid apostle Paul twice? Acts 16:9 and 10. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia and prayed him, saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us. Do you see it?
The Spirit was not blocking the work. He was redirecting it. Two closed doors to point to the one open door he had already prepared. And it gets better.
The no was not forever. Acts 19:10. All they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus. Paul did preach in Asia later. The answer was not never. It was not yet. So the next time a good door closes, ask a different question.
Not why is God stopping me? But what is God steering me toward?
Now we come to the fifth way. The one you have felt.
Way number five, the inner witness. A quiet knowing, a check in your spirit.
Peace about one path and unease about another. an urge to call someone, a sudden unexplained caution. Acts 20:22 and 23. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witness in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me, bound in the spirit. And notice the spirit did not always show him things to come so he could avoid them. Sometimes he showed him so he would never be ambushed. He walked into what was ahead knowing and ready. In the hidden man, the human spirit is the place where God imparts His messages. When your spirit has been fed on the Word, that inner witness grows clearer and easier to trust.
Colossians 3:15. and let the peace of God rule in your hearts. The word rule means to act as an umpire.
When the peace is there, go. When it is absent, wait. But I need to ask you something honestly. How do you know that?
Chapter 6: Testing spiritual guidance
Inner nudge is the Holy Spirit and not your own fear or your imagination or something worse? Because there is a trap here.
And the most dangerous guidance is not the kind that frightens you. It is the kind that flatters you. That is next.
A man of God had a clear word from the Lord. Not a feeling, a word. Do not eat bread in this place. Do not drink water. Go home another way. And then an older prophet found him resting under an oak. First Kings 13:18. He said unto him, I am a prophet also, as thou art. And an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. The man of God believed it. He turned back. He did not need a second word. He already had the first. And the story ends in tragedy. Why? Because the second voice sounded spiritual. It sounded kind. It offered a meal and a bed. And it quietly overrode what God had already said. That is the trap I promised you. The most dangerous guidance is not the kind that scares you. It is the kind that sounds spiritual, feels comfortable, and contradicts what God has already spoken.
So, how do you protect yourself?
1 John 4:1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God."
1 Thessalonians 5:21, "Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good."
Four questions. And the fourth one catches what the first three can miss.
Question one, does it agree with the word?
Isaiah 8:20. To the law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. The believers in Berea in Acts 17:11, "Search the scriptures daily to see whether those things were so." If it contradicts scripture, it is not the spirit. No matter how kind it sounds, no matter who says it, can for his. This is why in the hidden man, presses meditation in the word. A spirit fed on the word learns the sound of the shepherd and the sound of a stranger.
Question two. Does it carry the fruit and peace of the Spirit?
James 3:17. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits. If it comes with panic, pressure, and a sense that you must act right now, be careful.
Isaiah 28:16, "He that believeth shall not make haste. The spirit leads. He does not stampede."
Question three. Is it confirmed by wise counsel?
Proverbs 15:22, "Without counsel, purposes are disappointed, but in the multitude of counselors, they are established."
And 1 Corinthians 13:9, for we know in part and we prophesy in part. Even true guidance is partial. That is why mature believers weigh it together. If you would be uncomfortable telling anyone what you sensed, that alone should make you pause.
Question four, the one that catches the flattering kind. Does it lead me toward Jesus or toward myself?
John 16:14, "He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you." The Spirit's work is to lift up Jesus.
So if guidance makes you feel special, chosen above others, or beyond correction, it may not be Him. The old prophet's word flattered a tired man with a warm meal, one more safeguard, time.
For any major decision, do not act on a single impression.
Write it down.
Pray over it.
Let it be tested.
If it is from God, it will still be true next week. Do you see what these questions do? They do not close the door on hearing the spirit. They make hearing safe. And please hear this. The goal is not fear of getting it wrong. Luke 11:11. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Your Father is not setting a trap. He wants you to hear and he gives the spirit to those who ask.
Before we go on, I want to mention something that can help you learn his voice every day.
Our secret place devotional, our daily-day practical journey with the Holy Spirit is now alive. He is here made to help you meet with the Father daily in His word and in prayer.
Now remember the question I raised earlier. Why does the Spirit show you anything at all? The answer is hidden in what the believers in Antioch did the moment Agabus finished speaking.
Chapter 7: Gifts for service
And it applies to you personally. Every believer even the one who thinks they have nothing to give. That is next. Here is the answer I promised. Why does the Spirit show you anything at all? Go back to Antioch.
Acts 11:29.
Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea. Look at the words again. Every man according to his ability. The warning was not given so the church could admire a prophet. It was not given to make anyone feel special. It was given so that people could act.
Foresight in the spirit is meant to become service. Foresight shows you where the need will be. And the gift He has placed in you is often how you meet it. Which brings us to a sentence apostle Paul wrote that quietly removes every spectator from the church.
1 Corinthians 12:7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all every man. Not every pastor, not every preacher, every believer.
Verse 11. But all these workketh that one and the self-same spirit dividing to every man severally as he will. And Peter says the same.
First Peter 4:10. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. As every man hath received, you have received something.
The question is not whether you have a gift. The question is whether you have recognized it.
Now, when you hear the word gift, what do you picture? Someone on a platform, someone praying for the sick, someone with a microphone. But look at what scripture actually shows us.
Exodus 3:13. And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. That is Bezel. His spirit-filled work was in gold, silver, and wood. a craftsman.
Acts 6:3. Look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. The business was serving food to widows, practical service done by men full of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 9:36. A woman named Tabatha or Dorcas was full of good works and arms deeds which she did. When she died, the widows stood around Peter, showing the coats and garments she had made. Her gift was in her hands, and the people she had served wept for her.
So you can stop waiting for a platform. The Spirit places gifts in craftsmen, in administrators, in people who make garments. Wherever there is a need, He has placed someone with an ability, and He wants to breathe on it.
That is how a church becomes more than an audience.
Now there are three lists in the New Testament.
1 Corinthians 12 names things like words of wisdom and knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits.
Romans 12: 6-8 names prophesying, serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading, and showing mercy.
And Ephesians 4:11 names apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
None of the lists claims to be complete. Each one shows a different side of the same generous father. And here is something that connects to the book we have been drawing from. In the hidden man, the point is that until we understand who we are in Christ, we cannot know the riches that belong to us and the abilities that are ours. cannot know the riches. Now apply that to your gift. A believer who sees himself as a spectator will never find his gift. But a believer who sees himself as a recreated spirit indwelt by God begins to ask a different question. Not do I have anything, but what has he placed in me? And why does it matter?
1 Corinthians 12:21 and 22. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee. Nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary. Necessary.
The one who feels least important may be the very member someone else needs.
Verse 27. Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular. So here is the uncomfortable question. If every believer has a gift, why do so many go through life without ever finding theirs? There are two things that stop people. One of them is a lie. The other is a habit. And neither has anything to do with the gift itself. That is next.
Chapter 8: Overcoming barriers to gifting
Two things stop people from finding their gift. The first is a lie. The lie sounds humble. It says, "I am not qualified, not spiritual enough, too young, too old, too new, too many failures behind me. Gifts are for other people." Jeremiah heard the same lie.
Jeremiah 1:6 and 7. Then said I, "Ah, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child." But the Lord said unto me, "Say not, I am a child. Say not." God did not argue with Jeremiah's age. He corrected his words. Moses said it differently. Exodus 4:10, I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, "Who hath made man's mouth?" Now therefore, go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say? And apostle Paul adds 1 Corinthians 1:27, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." And 2 Corinthians 3:5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. Your sufficiency is not in you, it is of God. The lie measures you by what you were, by your record, by what your senses report about you. But in the hidden man, the real you is the hidden man of the heart, the spirit recreated in Christ with God himself inside. 2 Corinthians 5:17. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Now, the second thing, the habit. The habit is waiting. Waiting to feel ready. waiting for a title, waiting for someone to announce your calling from a stage. And while you wait, the gift sits unused. First Timothy 4:14, neglect not the gift that is in thee.
And 2 Timothy 1:6, "Stir up the gift of God which is in thee. Stir up, you do not stir what is dead, you stir what is already burning under the ashes." Matthew 25:25. I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth. Not wicked, afraid.
So how do you draw on your gift?
Four moves and the last one is the smallest and it unlocks the rest.
One, ask. 1 Corinthians 14:1, follow after charity and desire spiritual gifts.
And Luke 11:13, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? Ask Him to show you what He has placed in you.
Two, look at what you already do. Where do people come to you? What do you notice that others walk past? Which need do you find hard to ignore? Romans 12:6. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us. Grace shows up in ordinary places first.
Three. Serve where you are. Luke 16:10. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. You do not wait for a bigger platform. You start with the person next to you. Proverbs 18:16. A man's gift maketh room for him and bringeth him before great men. Your gift used makes room for you. You do not have to force the doors open.
Four. The smallest one.
Obey the first small nudge. A person comes to mind. Call them. A need comes to mind. Meet it or pray for it. Run it through the four questions and then act.
The gift grows in the doing and one guard as you grow.
Romans 12:3. Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Do not compare. Do not boast. A humble gift stays useful. Remember the spirit does not give power to your intentions. He gives it to your obedience. Acts 1:8. Ye shall receive power. After that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. Now you have the whole picture. The Spirit shows things to come. He shows them to your spirit through the word, through the inner witness tested by four questions.
And he has placed in you a gift to meet what he shows. But I have left something unfinished. Remember Antioch, the famine came and I have not told you what happened when it did. That is the last part. And we will end where we began.
Chapter 9: Practical steps for application
Back to Antioch. The famine. I told you we would end where we began. Tax. Acts 11:30. Which also they did and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. They did it. A warning had been given by the spirit. The disciples gave every man according to his ability.
And relief traveled to brothers and sisters hundreds of miles away before the famine ever reached their door.
Think about what happened there. The spirit showed what was coming. A church listened. Every member did something and people were helped because ordinary believers took an extraordinary warning seriously. And the story does not stop there. Two men carried that relief, Barnabas and Saul. Hold their names in your mind because two chapters later, Acts 13:2, as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, "Separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work where unto I have called them." The men who carried the relief were the men the spirit sent out. Faithful with the small, entrusted with the great. The spirit who showed a famine also showed the church where to send them. That one story holds the whole teaching. The spirit shows things to come. He shows them to your spirit. And he has put something in every believer to meet what he shows.
John 16:13.
He will show you things to come. Five ways he speaks, the word, other people, dreams and visions, open and closed doors, and the inner witness.
Four questions to test it.
Does it agree with the word?
Does it carry his peace?
Is it confirmed by counsel?
Does it lead toward Jesus?
So, let me give you seven days, one step each day.
Day one, be still and ask. Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God. Then ask the Father for what he has promised." Luke 11:13.
Day two, feed your spirit. Take one verse and meditate on it the way the hidden man presses us to. Let the word grow in you.
Day three, notice where did you sense peace? Where did you sense unease? Write it down. Then run it through the four questions.
Day four, look at what you already do. Where do people come to you? Write down three places where you seem to make a difference.
Day five, serve one person in a small way. Luke 16:10. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.
Day six. Obey one small nudge, a call, a message, a prayer for someone. Do it and thank him for it.
Even if you never see the result.
Day seven. Look back. Write what you noticed. Thank him. And tell one trusted believer what you learned. Then begin again. The ear grows by hearing. The gift grows by using. You will not do this perfectly. Nobody does. Aim for the next step, not for perfection. Proverbs
But the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
Let us pray.
Father, thank you that you see what is ahead and that you tell your friends. Open the ears of our spirits. Where we have ignored your nudges, forgive us and sharpen our ears. Teach us to hear you through your word, through your peace, and through wise counsel. Keep us from deception and from fear. Show each of us what you have placed in us. Give us courage to use it and humility to keep it useful. Let your church be ready and let us be the ones who serve when the need comes in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Say it with me:
The spirit shows me what is ahead and he has placed in me what I need to meet it.
If this has stirred something in you, write this in the comments. The spirit shows me what's ahead. Share it with someone who needs to know they have been given more than they realize. and subscribe to the word of God, the spirit man, and the believer's life in Christ.
He will show you things to come.
