It's time for The Line of Fire with your host, messianic Bible scholar and cultural commentator, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice for moral sanity and spiritual clarity here to infuse you with faith, truth, and courage so you can stand strong in the Lord in these critical times.
Welcome to The Line of Fire. Class is in session in our digital school of the word and spirit. Michael Brown here to infuse you with faith and truth and courage to help you stand strong on the front lines. Let's talk today about God leading us by the inner witness. God leading us by the inner witness. If you've missed any of the broadcasts, wherever you subscribe to your podcast, Apple, Spotify, wherever it is, just go back through the archives.
Everything's posted here. Just search for courage in The Line of Fire or go to our YouTube channel The Line of Fire on YouTube and just look for the series Getting to Know the Holy Spirit and now what this is episode number 12, I believe, in the series. So how does God lead in the Bible? Different ways that God leads and speaks. Well, dreams is one way and we talked about this before but to review, one of the problems is a way that God has spoken supernaturally through the ages until today and Acts 2 says it'll be in the last day so that's in the death and resurrection of Jesus until he returns but the method of God leading with dreams, there are two challenges to it.
One is that, well, let's say three. First, you have to recognize it's truly a dream from God and not just a dream because we all have dreams. Then second, dreams often require interpretation but really most importantly, if you need a word from God that you can't say, let me take a nap and see if I get a dream. So God speaks through dreams supernaturally amazing ways and I have colleagues with their prayer teams that they'll get up and compare notes in the morning. I've literally been in a room and seen this happen where four or five people had the identical dream and they've got it written down and they could, yep, same dream and they show the notes. I've actually seen that happen. One colleague of mine for decades, when he gets a prophetic dream, his main prayer warrior friend gets the same dream and it's a confirmation.
So I mean the major ones. But again, I don't get prophetic dreams. Dreams I have, I'm missing my flight, I lost my luggage, it's just the stuff you're thinking about, right? But God does speak through dreams. Visions, that's another thing. We actually see something outward. I've never had an outward vision where God showed me something. I have inward vision all the time, meaning in my mind's eye I see the future. I see myself doing things. If I'm praying, is this going to happen or that going to happen, in my mind's eye I see the future.
I see the future and the future is bright or I see a challenge coming here. I've never had an open vision, but God does move in those ways, but it seems to be perhaps more rare in terms of even more rare than dreams. And once again, visions sometimes require interpretation. Can God speak with audible voices? Yes, he does in the Bible.
I don't know how common it is. I used to think that's how he always spoke to the prophets in the Old Testament. Ko Amor Adonai, this is what the Lord has said.
You know, that's how I used to take it. And then the more I studied the prophets, I wondered, is that really what it is? You have expressions in the book of Isaiah like Beoznai, in my ears, or V'niglaba, it was revealed in my ears in my hearing, or Adonai Elohim, the Lord God opened my ears. I began to wonder, did the prophets mainly hear an inner voice? And then sometimes there was an outer voice.
Either way, outer voices that are mentioned in the Bible are somewhat rare. Samuel, as a boy, hears Shmuel, Shmuel, Samuel, Samuel, while he's sleeping. Three times he gets up at the temple and tells Eli, hey, you called me?
He goes, I didn't call. But he heard an audible voice. Or Revelation 1, where John hears a voice like a trumpet, and he turns to see the voice of the one speaking to him. He turns to see the voice. Okay, so that's audible. But you can also be circumstantial evidence, right?
That sometimes you have four different things happen circumstantially. You're praying, or is this what you want me to do? Are you calling me to Hawaii? And then four different people say, hey, are you traveling to Hawaii?
Hey, I've got tickets to Hawaii. Now you still have to know it's God. Things can be a test. But sometimes circumstantial evidence can accumulate that hints at being God. Prophetic words, that's certainly very common in the Bible, and until today. Prophecies that God gives through someone to you. The problem is with that, everything must be tested by Scripture first. And then what if a prophecy does not align with your understanding, or what you think is right or wrong? You can't act on it.
That's complete folly to act on it. Okay, if Lord, if this is really you, you have to show me. It's going to have to bear witness. You know, there can be the voice of leadership in your life, right? Speaking into your life in a way that is now helpful. And God speaking through a leader or a voice of authority, apparent.
He can speak through that. Our own conscience that we know, okay, just by our conscience. But the problem is we could, you know, we could resist. We could have an oversensitive conscience. We could have a seared conscience. And with voices of authority, they're not always right. So the number one way, obviously, that God's going to speak to us is through the Bible, right?
The number one way he's going to speak to us is through what's written. That's our meat. That's our drink. That's what we draw on.
That's what we live for. When I was a believer for about a year, I was so hungry for the Lord and so hungry for his word, along with praying at least three hours every day, and sharing the gospel with at least one new person every day. It was my joy to do it.
I had a light high school schedule. I spent at least three hours in the word every day. I would read the Bible two hours. Then I memorized scripture for one hour. And I used to memorize 20 verses in an hour.
God graced my mind to do it month in, month out for at least half a year. I was able to do that, probably memorized almost like well over 3,600 verses just during that time and laid a foundation for the rest of my life. But ultimately, we're going to know the will of God by knowing the word of God. We're going to know the heart of God by knowing the word of God. We're going to learn the character of God by knowing the word of God. We will be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit by living in the word of God. In addition to that though, in addition to that, and we'll have so many teachings just getting into the word, how we get into the word, and the word in us in the months ahead, God willing. But, but there's another way that God leads. I went through the dreams, the visions, the prophetic words, audible voices, all these different things. The primary way to me outside of Scripture that God leads us is by the inner witness or the inner voice. By the inner witness or the inner voice.
Let me say that again. Outside of the Bible itself, and the Bible is how we know who God is. The Bible is how we know the nature of sin. The Bible is God's authoritative revelation that trumps all. His word for all time, for all people. Obviously certain things spoken in certain situations, certain laws given to Israel at certain times, but this is the one and only the word of God. If you believe as I do their prophecies today, they are not the word of God. There's only one authoritative Bible.
We agree on that. And that's how we know who God is. That's how we know what the gospel message is. That's how we know what Jesus did on the cross. Not through extra revelation, extra information. You may have a dream or a vision that enhances your understanding of what the Bible says and enhances the truth of God. But if it's some, I now know this new revelation about God and it's different than what's in the Bible. That's either your own mind or the devil. For sure.
For sure. All right. You may have an encounter with God in prayer and the Holy Spirit falls on you and you're weeping and experiencing him. And what happens is, out of that, what happens is that you, what's written there becomes much more real. Yeah, but if you're getting, I now have new information about how angels work and if it's not in the Bible, if it's not in harmony with the Bible and you're going to base doctrine and teaching on it, careful, careful, careful. You don't want to go that route. It's dangerous.
Dangerous. And we have all too much of that in our charismatic circles, especially this becomes your new thing. I'm the guy with the angel revelation, but the demon revelation, it's like, well, can you, if it's found in the Bible and you had an angelic encounter that enhances your understanding of what's in the Bible, but you can show it to me in the word of God. Okay. Praise God.
That's amazing. But you're going to come with new revelation in that sense? No, we reject it categorically. Categorically. If you can say, Hey, the Holy Spirit spoke to me last night and gave me an insight about my personality.
Oh, good. What did he show you? Could be, could be the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, when you're really into pray for, for a friend here, cause you're going through a hard time and I called and they confirmed it. Praise God.
That is not new revelation, but the primary way outside of scripture, the primary way outside of scripture that I believe God leads us and guides us is by the inner witness or the inner voice, the inner witness or the inner voice. In fact, I'm going to take a break a little earlier today. An important announcement.
We'll come right back and we will dive into our subject. Do you feel less strength, not as strong as you did last year, or perhaps even last month? Do you miss that feeling of being stronger? This is Michael Ellison founder of Triveda, and I have good news for you today. You can feel stronger at any age or any stage with mild health, a natural supplement with over $20 million in research and 25 human clinical studies, proving its effectiveness.
It is a formula of the nine essential amino acids, the building blocks of muscle that was developed over many years of research. I not only use this product, but rely on the amazing benefits for my gym workouts, my driving distance on the golf course, and so much more. Here's what Ruth, a Triveda customer, says. Mile health has definitely helped me.
I was shocked. I really didn't know if this would help me at my age, but it really has made a difference. If you want to live stronger, try Mile Health, a proven strength builder. Try Mile Health now. Order today and use promo code BROWN25 to receive 25% off your order. As a new customer, 100% of the proceeds from your first order will go to support the Line of Fire radio broadcast.
So call now 1-800-771-5584, 1-800-771-5584 or online at trivita.com. And now back to the Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, ready to infuse you with faith, truth, and courage. Thanks friends for joining us on the Line of Fire.
Shout out with appreciation to our great co-sponsor Triveda. We're talking now in our series on getting to know the Holy Spirit about God leading by the inner witness or the inner voice. So the fundamental assurance we have of salvation, Romans 8 16, is that the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Let me say it again. The Holy Spirit bears witness with us.
How do you know that you know that you know? Well, my life was changed. Praise God.
That's wonderful, but sometimes we don't always feel as changed as others. Well, it's written in the Bible. Yes, it's written in the Bible, but how do you know it includes you?
Well, I did what it said. Well, if you did what it said, then you'd have this spiritual experience. There is something that should cause you to know that you know to the core of your being, based on what is written, based on what Jesus has done, that you are a child of God. The Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Galatians 4 6, that spirit has been sent into our hearts who cries out, Abba, Father. So it's the Spirit of God put in our hearts, and it's the Spirit of the Son in Galatians 4, by which now the same cry that was in the Son of God that was in Jesus, Yeshua, is now in us. Abba, Father.
There is that spiritual intimacy in that. Yes, our Heavenly Father, awesome in power and might and glory, but also Abba. Abba in Aramaic is kind of in between Daddy and Father. It's not quite White, Daddy, although any kid speaking Hebrew called it that, Abba.
That's right out of the gate. Mom, Ima, Dad, Abba. And these are obviously easily pronounceable words and little, you know, as they're starting to tell them, Ima, Abba, natural things to kind of say.
I should say sounds that are easier. But, you know, when I think of Abba, some of my cousins used to call their dad Father. They didn't say Dad said this. They said Father said this.
So it was intimate. It was their Father. It was Dad. But they said Father. Either way, Abba, it's like I said, a little in between Daddy and Father. But it's that intimate.
It's that close. It's the word that Yeshua used. And for you, if it's Daddy, one of my dearest friends, one of the godliest men I know. Sometimes we're praying together.
Maybe we're both, his ministry is under crisis and attack overseas or I'm under pressure. And we get down on our knees together. Daddy, Daddy.
And he starts sobbing. So if Abba is Daddy to you, let it be. I was praying recently. And I normally, I'll often refer to God as Abba. It's very natural for me to do that.
Abba. And I pour my heart out to him. But I never really say Dad when I pray. Sometimes I say Father, God, Lord. But I said it a few weeks ago and started sobbing.
It was just, it had another connection. So as long as there's reverence in your calling him Abba. You know, the beauty and power of the God you're referring to. It's the Spirit within us that gives us that assurance. You know, the Methodist used to say, do you have the witness?
Do you have the witness? So here's why I'm harping on this right now. I have never been a singer. I don't have a voice to be a singer. But I've heard people that are trained to sing. They have to understand the diaphragm and like find it and understand it. And it's like a muscle you have to learn to exercise. And the Holy Spirit witness within us. I tell people locate that.
What do you mean to locate it? I'm just trying to be practical. All right. How do you know that you know that you know? Why are you so absolutely, totally sure that you're a child of God?
Go through all the reasons. Where is that inner witness? That's where you have the sense of yes and no from God. That's where you have the sense of conviction of the Spirit. That's where you have the sense of leading of the Spirit. That's where you hear the inner voice. Now I don't mean this to be really mystical and crazy.
And I don't want you to get hung up on this. But just remember when you have that really bears witness with my spirit. What does that mean?
Where is that? Where do you feel that inner being? That's where I sense this is God.
Oh, this is God. I know it. I've stepped out in faith in some absolutely outrageous ways.
Ways that seem completely outlandish. But I knew it. I didn't hear a voice.
I didn't get a prophet. I knew it. Like I said to Nancy one time, it's all over me. That witness on the inside.
So if you're nodding, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The fundamental way you know you are saved is that the Spirit confirms it to you in your heart. If we have supernatural experiences, that may help confirm that we are saved for a period of time. But if we never had any assurance in our hearts ever again, it would be difficult to continue following God and to know we were saved.
This separates us from followers of other religions. In other words, you say, yeah, I had this radical conversion experience. Light came in my room. The whole room was shaking. I started weeping. I was instantly set free from 20 years of crack cocaine addiction. I was instantly freed. I'm a new person. Glorious.
Wonderful. Leonard Ravenhill used to say, a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. But as the years go on, there's got to be some kind of evidence of a walk with God. As the years go on, there's got to be some kind of knowing that there's a relationship there, not just pointing back to your testimony years ago. You ever been in church services where they have testimonies and all the testimonies are 20 years old?
Oh, it's glorious sometimes to recount the amazing old. But what about, what's the Holy Spirit doing in your life today? John 7 38. Whoever believes in me, Jesus said, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.
Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. Proverbs 20 27. The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one's most inmost being. The human spirit, now there are different translations there, but this is a valid one. The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one's inmost being. So the spirit dwells within us.
So we should not be primarily looking for direction and leading from the outside. Stubborn rebellious people are cutting themselves off from the Holy Spirit and if you're the only one who knows the truth and is hearing from God and you can't join any church fellowship, you can't be part of other believers, you can't be accountable, you're independent, you're your independent own self-appointed everything and no one has access to your life, there's no community. Don't go telling me how the Holy Spirit's leading you. I don't believe it.
I don't believe it. There's our own independence, our own flesh, but when you're really in fellowship with God, the evidence will be there for others to see. What's the inner voice?
So there's the inner witness, I know that I know that I know. How many times have you had that difficult decision? You're praying, all right, surgery for a kid. If we have surgery, they're saying like 50% chance it'll kill her, but if we don't have surgery, they're saying 50% chance she dies without it. So either way, what do we do? And you pray and you say, have that inner witness.
We go ahead, have the surgery and pray for a good outcome. How many times have you had that? That's the leading of the Holy Spirit. How many times have you had that peace in the storm? Everything's going to be all right. You didn't hear a word, no prophecy, no vision, no dream, just everything's going to be all right. Or the joy, the supernatural joy, when it absolutely makes no sense whatsoever.
Whoa, praise God. You just know it's going to be all right. That's the spirit inside of you.
That's what's happening. As we get more and more in tune with that, it can be more subtle. And I'm going to continue this, but a colleague of mine, I know the story firsthand, God speaks to him, puts it on his heart that Boris Yeltsin, who was then leader of Soviet Union, he is going to have an opportunity to meet with Yeltsin and he brings with him a copy of the American constitution translated into Russian. He has this sense. He's going to be in Russia.
He's doing ministry. He has no more access to Yeltsin than I have to the man on the moon. But he hears God tell him. So he brings the constitution with him, translated into Russian. And he's now speaking to a thousand or several thousand Messianic Jewish believers. And he tells them, by the way, I'm going to meet Yeltsin before this trip is over.
I'm going to hand them this copy of the constitution in Russian. And as he says the words, he says, what did I just do? What did I just do in front of all these people? You say, well, how did he hear? How many dreams did he have? How many visions did he have? How many tongues was he taken out of his body and flown around the world? He said he heard faintly, but he knew the voice of God.
He heard it faintly, but he knew it was the voice of God. So what does he do? He now, he's got like a day left. How's he going to meet Yeltsin?
He's not even thinking about it. He's on his way to his normal hotel and his assistant says, no, no, that's under construction. I got you the new hotel this time. So he's in the new hotel. And he's just enjoying, you know, workout room or a hot tub, whatever. He's just sitting there relaxing in the hotel. When they get worried, everyone has to leave all these extra rooms. Prime Minister Yeltsin, whatever, is coming through the building.
Whoa, are you kidding? He's at a hotel he wasn't supposed to be at. He quick runs up to his room, gets all cleaned up, puts on his best suit. And he walks down. So you've got all the guards there, Yeltsin's coming in for some ceremony.
They're dedicating this new building, which represents cooperation between the East and the West, whatever. And he says, Lord, how do I get it to him? And God says to him, walk. Walk over. He walks over.
The bodyguards move. He says, I'm so-and-so from America. True story. They're witnesses to it.
I'm so-and-so from America. God spoke to me. They give you this.
You're going to need this. It's a constitution. Hands it to him. Leaves. And Yeltsin shakes his hand or takes it. And then Yeltsin leaves.
He walked in and left. You say, that's crazy. Hey, I know the person. I know the story. They're witnesses to it. How did he hear that?
He said, faintly, somehow, somehow there was this deep assurance that the Holy Spirit spoke, and it was an inner voice. This is how we rise up. You've been listening to The Line of Fire. Be sure to sign up for Dr. Brown's faith-building frontlines newsletter at thelineoffire.org.
This is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks so much for tuning in. Just a reminder that we are listener supported. If we have been a blessing to you, if you're being enriched in the word and prayer and your own walk with God through this broadcast, then stand with us so that we can reach many, many more and bless many, many more. Together, friends, we're making a difference. So go to thelineoffire.org, thelineoffire.org, and click donate.
