You will find that the moving of God in your life, that is the particular way that God leads you, directs, and uses you has a very definite pattern and that pattern is different from person to person. Over a period of time, through the use of a journal, you can learn how He deals with you. It will help you with the issue of obedience and gifts of the Spirit at work in your life.

1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

ILLUSTRATION:
This is about a gentleman that was mightily used of God in the area of healing. He start’s his day out by quoting the Word of God and claiming protection. He gets into his car with his wife and heads out and has a major collision. The man’s wife almost died but he believes in healing and so he lays hands on his wife and she is raised up that same day. This man had a miracle because he was a man of faith.
But here comes the million dollar question. How come this man stood on those scriptures for protection and still had a major collision? Well, here is what you don’t know. Later on this man hears some teaching about the Holy Spirit and how the Spirit leads you then he remembers that he had ‘something on the inside of him’ that told him to wait 10 minutes. He overrode that because he said that he had already quoted the Word.

• Notice what this man did. He prayed a prayer for protection.
• Have you ever prayed this type of prayer?
• Have you ever acted on the Word in this area?
• It is important while you are acting on the Word of God and dealing with the Word in your daily life, to remember not to separate out what the Spirit within is saying.
• It’s not wise to separate being led by the Spirit from acting on the Word.
• The Word and the Spirit are a package deal.
• The Word of God tells us because we have an enemy arrayed against us as a roaring lion, we have to be vigilant and watchful.
• This is the point.

[Tweet “While acting on the Word of God, remember not to separate out what the Spirit within is saying.”]

• You can’t override the Spirit of God and be successful.
• What was this man doing? He was trying to tell God how he should be protected.
• He is trying to tell the Lord inadvertently that quoting the Word was enough.
• But, it is not enough if you separate out the Spirit of God.
• The Lord was answering the man, but the man was stuck on his way of deliverance.
• The more you look at this, the more you will see how silly this is.
• It’s our job to believe Him and to hear Him.
• Understand the methods by which God delivers people vary.
• Whether or not that man realized it, the Spirit dealing with this man and telling him to wait was God’s method of fulfilling those verses that he was standing on.
• This same scenario is repeated in other areas like the area of prayer.
• How often we prayed, asked the Lord questions, made requests and left off praying not waiting around long enough to hear His answer?
• By not hearing His thoughts on your prayer requests, you totally cut the Spirit of God out.
• It is almost as if God has to jump up and down and wave His hands trying to get your attention, all the while you are busy praying.
• We are saying in effect, “Don’t bother me Lord, don’t you see I am praying?”
• This type of praying is religion not relationship.
• Now, you will find as you walk with Him that patterns begin to emerge specifically with you.
• With the man in the illustration above it was the phrase ‘wait 10 minutes’ that He heard on the inside of himself.
• We need to learn important lessons about the Holy Ghost and his way with us.
• Remember this, the way of the Spirit is different with all of us.

Learn the Way of the Spirit with You

• Sometimes, it will help to determine which way you should go.
• What does this phrase “The way of the Spirit” mean?
• It means how God particularly deals with you.
• It means particularly how He leads you.

ILLUSTRATION:
In one particular case, a friend of our family, (his wife) went home to be with the Lord.  Sharon had a sense or a knowing inside her that it was about to take place. I did not have a sense or a knowing. I heard something. I heard words. I had gotten up to use the restroom at 11:30 at night and I heard the Spirit say these words, “I am sending my angels for her as we speak”. Sure enough, six hours later she took off.
Now, we both got to the same ‘home going’ point, we just arrived differently.

• In Acts 10, Peter had a trance.

Acts 22:17 (ESV)
17 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance

• In Revelation 1:10, John was in the Spirit.

Revelation 1:10 (ESV)
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet

• In 2Corinthians 12, Paul was caught up to the 3rd heaven.

2 Corinthians 12:2 (ESV)
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.

• Do you understand that these men had spiritual experiences that were all different?
• Did you ever notice how God dealt with Joseph, the husband of Mary in the New Testament?

Matthew 1:20 (ESV)
20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 2:13 (ESV)
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

Matthew 2:19–20 (ESV)
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”

[Tweet “It’s not wise to separate being led by the Spirit from acting on the Word.”]

• Did you notice in Joseph’s life dreams were very prominent?
• Three different times he received direction from God this way.
• Dreams were the way of the Spirit with Joseph.
• Of course, don’t confuse that Joseph could not be led by the Spirit the way we can be led in the New Testament.
• Joseph was an Old Testament figure.
• Joseph could have received direction like Moses, burning bush style.
• Joseph could have received direction like Ezekiel did, vision style.
• Joseph could have received direction like Gideon did, fleeces style.
• Fleeces were okay under the Old Covenant but not in the New Testament.
• Instead he received direction, dream style.
• Do you understand that all these men received information from God, but not in the same way?
• To further add to this discussion, do you recall that the Bible never told us what these experiences felt like?
• The scripture never tells us how these were sensed?
• What was it like to have to fall into a trance?
• We simply do not know.
• When you have one, you will know.
• Now the question is why? – Why don’t we have more detail?
• Why doesn’t the Bible give us more detail about these spiritual experiences?
• Because the way of the Spirit is different person to person.
• How God leads you will be different than how God leads the next person.
• You may have a vision from God, but the vision you experience may come differently than the one another person may receive.
• In fact, how the Spirit deals with you may not even be the same between you and your spouse!
• Same household, same last name, but radically different moves of God.
• Enjoy the difference.
• This is why I always admonish strongly –

Get a Journal and Write It Down.

• It will help you on a number of levels.

It Will Help You with the Issue of Respect

• If God takes time out of His busy schedule to come and talk to you, you should have enough respect for that to take the time and write it down.

It Will Help You with the Issue of Recognizing Patterns

• As you write what He tells you down, patterns will emerge.
• As you read your journal, as you go back and look at and reread what He said to you, revelation will come, the light will dawn.

It Will Help You with the Issue of Obedience

• If you write things down, you can go back and see if you missed anything.

It Will Help You Locate How Your Gift Is Working

• When you get over into spiritual areas, remember how things are sensed and mentally record it.
• Can you tell when a prophecy is getting ready to come forth in a church service?
• You know why you can?
• Because you have unconsciously recorded the sense of that and you remember it.
• That sense is what you record in your journal.
• If you do that, you will begin to understand and trace the way of the Spirit with you; the way God leads you; the way He deals with you specifically.

Call to Action:

Get a journal and write it down has been a mantra for many years. One of the most fun things is to go back and read what the Spirit of God did and what He said to you at various points in your life. You will find it’s easier to trust Him when you can trace Him. Start today. Use whatever journaling system works for you. For me I use Evernote, simply because notes inserted into Evernote become searchable.

Question: Have you noticed any Spirit patterns in your life? Please share what some of them might be in the comments section below.