In a home group. A dear friend was deeply troubled at the Bible teaching that day. She said it was exactly what she needed, but at the same time she said she'd been trying to do that and really trying, and she just couldn't. She just didn't know how. So she finally asked practically, how can I do that?
Several well meaning friends gave advice or shared wisdom. Most of it was good general advice, some was, well, it was contradictory. And I noticed that the advice reflected the personality and character of the advice givers. My friend just continued quietly to cry and then I heard Holy Spirit tell me that none of that was what she needed.
Holy Spirit encouraged her to just rest in him, accept the truth of what the scripture said and just be still and he would take care of it. He was telling her that he was going to help her do it. I told her what God had said. You could feel the shift in the atmosphere in the room.
Others confirmed that that was what God was saying to her. God's Word told her what to do. Holy Spirit showed her how to do it. We need Holy Spirit to help us do what God desires. British, uh, Bible teacher Derek Prince explains the Word must work with the Spirit.
He begins with Psalm 33:6 in the Kng James Version. By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. The Hebrew word for breath is ruach, which is also the word for Spirit. Thus, all of creation came about through two the Word of God and the Spirit of God.
Everything that exists, has existed or will exist owes its origin to these two forces working together. The Word must work with the Spirit. You cannot speak without breathing. This is a picture of how God speaks too. Every time he speaks a word, it is carried by his breath, His Spirit.
The Word and the Spirit of God always go together. The Word and the Spirit of God brought the universe into being and they continue working together to sustain it. This is from Derek Prince, Prayers and Proclamations, a book I highly recommend.
So, as Derek said, uh, it's the Holy Spirit and the Word working together. The Bible contains the great truths of God. The Holy Spirit works in us, the ability to understand it and the power to live it.
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