The Art of the Spirit

The words of a preacher are not lost on me. I usually listen very carefully and check myself to see if he's talking to me. We've been in many, many services where we hear the voice of God speaking to us. One part of the message speaks to you, and another part speaks to someone else and the rest of us get parts of both, or something totally different. That's the beauty of anointed messages. They come across just like the Bible. Read it today and see something you've never seen before. That's what I call the Art of the Spirit. A man speaking as the oracle of God, a voice to your soul, a breath to your spirit. It feeds the hungry, quenches the thirsty and salves the wounded. A subtle beauty like frost on a window or gossamer wings carrying their charges through a wooded canyon. Yesterday I witnessed such a display in church while visiting our daughter and her family. The preacher, Brother Sam Howard, had delivered God's Word in a powerful manner. He related the story of Abraham's willingness to offer his son Isaac as worship. He clearly delineated the differences between sacrifice and worship and showed how Abraham clearly understood that's what he was going to do. Knowing in his heart that God was able to raise up his son, he must have been able to convey that same sense of faith to Isaac. You see, Isaac would probably have been strong enough to fight off a man that was 100+ years old. It really would have been quite easy and if nothing else, the boy could probably outrun his dad. But for some reason there wasn't a fight. There was no conflict. When Isaac asked his dad what was going to be sacrificed, his response was prophetic - the Lord would provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering. This must have been sufficient for Isaac, for no other discussion was recorded. Fast forward to the present. We are in day-to-day struggles. Our adversaries take on different names and relationships, but they are adversaries nonetheless. Some look like friends, others like family or employers. Rarely do they look like Satan, for there are none that I know of that could even describe him to me. Suffice it to say, we have enemies. When it comes time to worship, our brains can be preoccupied with those that offended us. We may want justice for them instead of the mercy we ourselves would want. We may desire their downfall, some discrediting or even worse. We often choose to fight rather than lay down our egos. My will is the hardest to bring into subjection. And far too often we want revenge, recompense or some other sense of evening the score. All of this instead of taking the virtuous route of self-denial. Enter the preacher speaking in the Spirit. Without instructing us, he simply places the story out there for God to do the work. And work He does! Quietly, skillfully with the touch of a master He speaks to our souls, quieting them in their time of trial. He lets us know that if we just simply worship Him the rest will be taken care of. We may lose something now, but He is able to resurrect whatever it is that dies whether it be reputation or relationships. Anointed preaching. Apples of gold in pictures of silver.