Matthew 10:19-20 (NKJV) But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
God wants to speak to His children, but let me ask you this, “Are you listening?” There was someone who went for a job interview for a Morse code reader position. While waiting for his turn, he heard a faint Morse code playing in the background and decided to decode it, while most of the other interviewees were busy with their own matters. The message was, “You can come in for the interview when you are ready.” He went in for the interview and secured the job, while the rest were still waiting for their turn to be called.
As Christians, we are privileged to have direct contact with God. The Heavenly Father wants to talk to you and guide you when the situation calls for it, and He will use His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit to speak to and guide you.
Some of us may have the misconception that God spoke through the prophets in the Old Testament and the Apostles in the New Testament, and He doesn’t speak to us today. The 66 books of the Bible are complete, but that doesn’t mean God won’t speak to His children now. The same God who guided the disciples through their tribulations will help us to deal with ours today. We all need to learn how to be wise as serpents and as innocent as doves today (Matthew 10:16). Therefore, we need to learn how to listen to Him through the Holy Spirit and understand what He reveals to us in our devotion. We must be constantly aware of the Holy Spirit living inside us.
Hearing from the Holy Spirit should be part of our everyday Christian life. In fact, it is abnormal for a believer to never have been led and heard from the Holy Spirit. Firstly, Jesus has already said that the Holy Spirit would come after His resurrection (John 14:16). Jesus also told us that the Holy Spirit will be our Teacher, Helper, and Counsellor (John 14:26). Therefore, we should be able to hear from the Holy Spirit so that He can teach us, counsel us, and help us! Secondly, Romans 8:16 (NJKV) says, “The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”. Therefore, every child of God is led by the Holy Spirit because He is within us. Our Christian walk is inseparable from the Holy Spirit, and the earlier we know Him, the better.
The Holy Spirit can lead all of God’s children because He will speak to them, but we need to always be conscious of God within us.
Sermon Series： The Norm in the New Era
你在聆听吗？
马太福音 10:19–20 你们被交的时候，不要思虑怎样说话或说什么话，到那时候必赐给你们当说的话；因为不是你们自己说的，乃是你们父的灵在你们里头说的。
神渴望向祂的儿女说话，但让我问你一个问题：“你在聆听吗？”曾经有一个人去应征一份摩尔斯电码译读员的工作。轮到他面试之前，他在等候区听到背景中隐约传来摩尔斯电码的声音。他没有像其他应征者那样忙着做自己的事，而是开始解读那段电码。信息的内容是：“你准备好，就可以进来面试了。”于是他走进了面试室，顺利得到了那份工作，而其他人仍在等候被点名。
作为基督徒，我们拥有一个极大的特权——可以与神直接相交。天父渴望向你说话，并在你需要的时候引导你；祂会借着祂的话语，以及圣灵的带领，来对你说话、指引你。
有些人可能会误以为：神只在旧约中借着先知说话，在新约中借着使徒说话，而今天不再对我们说话了。圣经六十六卷已经完整启示，但这并不意味着神如今不再对祂的儿女说话。那位在门徒经历患难时引导他们的同一位神，今天也同样帮助我们面对自己的挑战。正如耶稣所教导的，我们需要在这个世代 “灵巧像蛇，驯良像鸽子”（马太福音 10:16）。因此，我们需要学习借着圣灵来聆听神，并在灵修中明白祂向我们所启示的。我们必须时常意识到，圣灵就住在我们里面。
聆听圣灵，应该成为我们日常基督徒生活的一部分。事实上，一个信徒若从未经历过圣灵的带领、也未曾听见圣灵的引导，这并不是正常的状态。首先，耶稣已经清楚地应许，在祂复活之后，圣灵要来（约翰福音 14:16）。耶稣也告诉我们，圣灵是我们的教师、帮助者和保惠师（约翰福音 14:26）。既然如此，我们就应当能够听见圣灵的声音，好让祂教导我们、劝勉我们、帮助我们。其次，罗马书 8:16说：圣灵与我们的心同证我们是神的儿女。因此，每一位神的儿女都在圣灵的引导之下，因为圣灵住在我们里面。我们的基督徒生命，与圣灵是密不可分的；越早认识祂，对我们就越有益。
圣灵能够引导所有神的儿女，因为祂愿意向他们说话；而我们需要做的，是时常保持对“神住在我们里面”这件事的觉察与敏感。
讲道系列：新纪元的常态