Among the gifts given to us humans by the Holy Spirit, the Lord taught me that some are hidden. Hidden means that these powers have been recorded in the Bible and have appeared in servants of God or people who have been healed by the Lord (those who are inspired do not necessarily need to be knowledgeable or smart). Or the authors of the Bible speak out due to the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the audience is pierced to the heart after hearing it, leaving them speechless, and making some listeners confess their sins and repent. Although there is no obvious explanation that it is God’s grace and power, the ability that makes some people repent can only come from God, not from humans. As recorded in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 and Hebrews 4:12:
“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,“
“For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.“
For example, Peter was a fisherman filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The words he preached made the Jewish people feel pierced to the heart and made them confess their sins and repent. According to Acts 2:41, when Peter preached after being filled with the Holy Spirit, about three thousand people repented and believed in the Lord. Peter was a fisherman. Do you think he could convert three thousand people in his audience?
Another example is the man who was born blind from the Book of John’s Chapter 9. He had never seen and had no education opportunity in his life. In the real society, he was only the lowest class of people. However, God chose him to be the speaker for His own Son and to show God’s power in front of people. Just because the man who was born blind received the grace of the Lord, even under the pressure of the religious leaders at that time, he who was healed by the Lord still spoke the words from the bottom of his heart that came from God: “I was blind, but now I can see.” According to John 9:3, the words of the blind man were based on the Heavenly Father’s plan to show the deeds of God in him. Although there is no record in the Bible, anyone including his parent at that time was brave enough to openly support the blind man. That man was still grateful for the Lord’s grace and testified without hesitation, saying the following words, so that the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, was glorified and praised!
“I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?”
“Well, here is the amazing thing, that you do not know where He (Jesus) is from, and yet He opened my eyes!“
“If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
“I believe, Lord.” And he worshiped Him (Jesus).
Those who received these words inspired by the Holy Spirit due to the healing of the Lord Jesus, and the influences on other people’s hearts, were like a two-edged sword, cutting through the self-righteous self-defense of the soul, making people feel guilty. The power of righteousness and judgment, self-condemnation, and speechlessness comes from the Spirit of God and is not obtained by those who preach it through their own efforts and research. Therefore, the blind man would willingly bow down to the Lord Jesus. Peter would thank the Lord for denying Him three times and still accepting him. As a result, Peter spent his whole life to bear witness for the Lord.
One of the gifts from the Holy Spirit is “description—the power of description that comes from the Holy Spirit.” It was only a few years after the Lord reviewed me that I was slowly able to understand what the descriptive power that comes from the Holy Spirit is like. This is different from our worldly ability to describe. People’s ability to describe can be a kind of insight and expression ability for things that happen to them but are not easy to say it clearly. For example, when a person eats too much shaved ice, he feels a rush of ice. The cold air flowed behind his back, along the back and tail keel, and rushed to the back of his head. The back of his head was numb due to the cold air, and his mind went blank. This is a kind of descriptive expression ability that people in the world may have. The descriptive power that comes from the Holy Spirit, although it is also spoken from human mouths, controls the appeal of those words to the readers after hearing or reading, as if they are seeing everything again in their hearts, or the ability to resurface thoughts that are usually hidden in people’s hearts, or the ability to leave people speechless, comes from the Holy Spirit. But our eyes only see the person speaking in front of us, and we misunderstand the person speaking in front of us, which makes us feel uncomfortable. As recorded in John 16:8,
“And He (Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment.“
Since what we are talking about is the world, is it only judged the world who do not believe in the Lord? Isn’t it also judged the world who believe in the Lord? This is why the Lord asked me to speak out about the importance of the hidden way of speaking recorded in A Moment of Eternal Light – Part 2 of 3. It is not easy for all of us in the world to understand that when we feel pierced in our heart and uncomfortable, it is not always because of the other people who blame us, but it is also possible that the Holy Spirit of the Most High God who speaks to us in hidden ways in our hearts. However, not every word that people say that makes us uncomfortable comes from God. Only when the hidden thoughts in the heart are revealed and so can there be a chance that they come from the Holy Spirit. So we have to ask the Lord to give us the ability to discern.
The most important thing is that those who fear God and follow Jesus from their heart. We are just a messenger and a follower of Christ. Because of this mentality; and also because our God does not like to share His glory with the world. The descriptive power that comes from God can be recognized by the Holy Spirit and touch the hearts of those who listen or read these words.
But even so, if the one who preaches is complaining in his heart, like Jonah, the peace he deserves will be gone because man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. Most importantly, the Holy Spirit’s power to the audience, who should have only been gently rebuked in their hearts and led to repentance. A condemnation may be added that does not come from God but comes from the soul being infected by selfish desires. This makes the audience unable to accept the condemnation and walk away from the Gospel. It is like sprinkling salt to the wound. The pain makes people avoid and shrink away, and reduces the chance of asking the Lord for forgiveness. As Proverbs 12:18 says: “There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Moreover, the Lord also wants the author to be fair here. The author myself had been self-righteous, so why should I sprinkle salt on other people’s wounds and reduce their chances of confessing and repenting? This is also displeasing to the Lord, as recorded in Proverbs 24:17-18 and Matthew 5:44.
Finally, if readers ask the author, does preaching the gospel require knowledge? Of course, it’s good. At the very least, the blind man can know what kind of God he believes by listening to others around him daily. If we have no knowledge, can we preach the gospel? The author has the affirmation from the Holy Spirit in his heart that we can preach the gospel in good times and bad times. As Ecclesiastes 11:4, “One who watches the wind will not sow and one who looks at the clouds will not harvest.” But the author hopes even more that the Lord will be with me and pass on His grace to those who are willing to listen. Just like a fisherman and a born blind man, let the descriptive power from the Holy Spirit inform the world. Knowing that my Lord Jesus is alive, let the Spirit of the Lord break through all obstacles and unable to deny that the Lord Jesus is the Son of the living God and my Savior! So what if I don’t have knowledge? As long as the God I fear is wiser than anyone else in the world, that is all I need. But my son and readers, please remember that we must learn to return to the Lord every day, read God’s words, and let His words wash our hearts every day. So what if I become spiritual? So what if I know everything? A branch can do nothing even if it is separated from the vine! Only when people are willing to follow God humbly, His power will be with them. This is what I admire the most about my God. His wisdom allows wise people to reveal their foolishness through knowledge, allows fools to gain wisdom through obedience. The glorious name of my living God is “The Lord of hosts”!
To Be Continued…
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