7/25/2019 Kenneth E Hagin - Leaflet - Guided by Visions

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Guided byVisionsBY KENNETH HAGIN

KENNETH E. HAGIN

EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION INC.

P.O. BOX 50126 - TULSA

OK. 74150

Proverbs 20*27, "The spirit of man is thecandle of the Lord . . . . "

Romans 8:16, "The Spirit itself beareth wit-ness with our spirit, that we are the children ofGod."

Romans 8:14, "F or as many as are led bythe Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

God guides us through our spirit. Understandthat Jesus said, "God is a Spir it ." He does not

communicate with us through our physical being.He does not communicate with us through ourmind. He communicates with us through ourspir it. It is the spiri t of man that contacts God,and God contacts us through our spir it .

"The spirit of man is the candleofthe Lord"means thatGodusesman'sownspir it to enlightenhim or guide him, or direct him. So as childrenof God, first of all, theHolySpiritGod's Spirit,the Spirit Himselfbears witness with our spiritthat we are the children of God. He leads andguides us first of all through the "inwardwitness."

Then He also leads by the "inward voice.This inward voice can be just that still smallvoice of our ownheart speaking to us.(Remember, your heart is your spirit .) For our spiritsreceive information from God, because we havethe nature of God in us if we are His children.But the inward voice can also be the Holy Spirit-speaking to our spirit . When He speaks it ismore than just a "still small vo ice . " It's alittle more authoritative."

Then, He also speaks in what seems to us tobe an audible voicethough it may not be audibleto anyone around us. Actually we do not hear it

with the physical ear, but it is so real we lookaround to see who said it.

Remember this, when the SpiritofGodmoves,He moves in line with the Word. If it's not inlinewith the Word, it justisn'tthe Spirit of God.The Bible is inspired by the Spirit, and if itis that same Spirit speaking to you,then it will

be in line with the Word. I run into so manypeople who claim they heard some kind of voicethat told them this or that.The minute they startI know they are all wrong, without judging themat all. I simply know the Word, and know whatthey are saying isn't in line with the Word.

Thank God, God does speak to us. Prai sethe Lord! But remember this, we are notjust toaccept everything without examining it in lightof

the Word. I know some very dear people whoshould have known better, but they got offfollowing voices.

The Bible says there are many voices in theworld. One lady I'm thinking about actually losther mind. God does communicate with us throughout spirits, but this isn't a matter of listeningto voices. It isn't a matter of praying tohearsomething. If He speaks to us all r ight, but ifHe doesn't we have His Word and we can justwalk in the light of it.

It is of interest to look into the Actsof theApostles. We can see there how God did some

things. After all, He moves today justlike Hedidthen.Hehasn't changWrAnTTtheTIotylSplTithasn't changed.

Fi rs t, in the 10th chapter, we find thatGodsometimes leads, guides, and direc ts throughvisions. ReadActs 10:1-20.

Let 's examine it clo sely. Fir st, Corneliuswas a devout man, who feared God will all ofhis house, which gave much alms to the peopleand prayed to God always. Remember, however,he was not a saved man. He was a Jewishproselyte.

In Acts 11:13-14, when Peter rehearsed what

happened in the 10th chapter to the brethren inJerusalem, he said, "And he(Cornelius)shewedus how he had seen an angel in his house, whichstood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa,and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;Who shall tell thee words, wherebythou and allthy house shall be saved." So Cornelius was not

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7/25/2019 Kenneth E Hagin - Leaflet - Guided by Visions

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a saved man, though he was a devout religiousman, and evidently walking in all of the light hehad.

Here the scripture te lls us that he saw avisionevidently about the ninthhour (3:00p.m.);an angel. The scripture calls this a vision.Angels evidently also have, as God permits, theabilityto take upon themselves form thatcan beseen with the natural eye. Paul said, "Be notforgetful to entertain strangers; for therebysome have entertained angels unawares." Buthere the scripture calls this a vision, so I'msure no one else would have seen it if they hadbeen there.

Cornelius obeyed what the angel told him todo.The angel couldn't tell him how to be saved.God never ordained thatangels should preach thegospel. Jesus said, "Go ye into all the worldand preach the gospel to every creature "All the angel could do was tell him where to goto get someone else who could.

Secondly, Peter fell into a trance on thehousetop and he had a vision. This was asymbolic vision. What he saw was a symbol ofsomething else. He didn't know immediatelywhat it all meant. Inthis trance he saw a greatsheet let down from heaven, and on the sheet

were all manner of fourfooted beasts of theearth, wild beasts, creeping things, and fowlsof the air. Then there came this voice.

He heard a voice also speak which said,"Rise , Peter; kill, and ea t. " Of course he wasborn-again now and filled with the HolyGhost;but he had been brought up in the Jewis religion,and had been taught not to eat these things.

Peter said, " Not so, Lord; for I have nevereaten any thing that is common or unclean."(Jews were not supposed to eat certain foods.Some were clean and some were unclean, butthat isn't so concerning us. Paul told us that

more clearlythanany of the others did.Writingto Timothy Paul said, "Every creature of Godis good, and nothing to be refused, if it be re ceived with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified bythe wordof God and prayer ." This vision Pete rsaw was symbolic. It meant something.

"The voice spake untohim again the secondtime,What Godhathcleansed, that call not thoucommon. This was done thr ice. " In other wordshe sawthisand heard thevoicethree times, "Andthe vessel was received up again into heaven."

Then it says, "Nowwhile Peter doubted inhimself what this visionwhich he had seen should

mean..." That is a peculiar statement, isn't it?It says he doubted what it should mean. I thinksomehow on the inside of him he knew what itmeant, but he doubted it. Hedoubtedthatit couldmean that.God is saying, "WhatIhave cleansed,that call not thou common." Up until this timethe church was strictly a Jewish church (Some

folks amuse me. Theyget the baptismofthe HolyGhost on Saturday, and think by the next Sunday

they know everything there is to know. Here the

apostles were born-again and Spirit -fi lled, and

had been for ten years, and they still didn't

knowthe Gentiles weregoingto be saved.)WhatGod was showing him was that the Jews considered the Gentiles unclean - and theywere ofcourse - but "what Godhath cleansed, that callnot thou common."

As he doubted about what this vision shouldmean, "Behold, the men which were sent fromCornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house,and stood before the gate, and called, and asked

whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, waslodged there."

Now notice the 19th verse, "While Peterthought on thevision,the Spirit saiduntohim. ... "God spoke to him through the vision, yet hestill didn't know exactly what it meant. So then,it says here, "The Spirit saiduntohim.... " Thisref ers to the Holy Spirit. How did He say it?Well, I don't know. It just says the Spirit saidit . I suppose He said it inthat inward voice, orHe may have spoken soforciblyto Pet er it almostseemed audible to him.

We are talking about guidance, about how to

discern the voice of the Spirit.NoticesomethingJesus said about the HolySpirit. "Howbeitwhenhe, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guideyou into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall hespeak" (John 16:13-14).

Jesus said theHolyGhostwouldspeak, thoughnot of Himself. (This isn'ttalking about speakingin tongues. The Holy Ghost doesn't speak withtongues. The HolyGhostgivesyouutterance, andyou speak with tongues.) I take it that He meanswhatever the Holy SpirithearsJesusorGodsay,that is what Hewill speak to you. He is abiding

in your spirit, and thank God, He can speak toyour spirit.

While Pe te r thought on the vision, the Spiritsaid something. "The Spirit saiduntohim, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, andget thee down, andgowith them, doubting nothing:for I have sent them." It is my personal opinionthat the Spirit didn't just witness to Peter'sheart. If that had been the case, it would havesaid .the Spirit witnessed to him. But it says theSpirit said. Jesus said, "Whatsoever he shallhear, that shall he speak." If He is in yourspirit, then that is where,He is going to speak.