Inspiration

To me, inspiration is a wonderful theme of the Bible. Nothing, to my thought, expresses a closer, or even so close, a connection between God and Us.

Heavenly inspiration is so deep and high that some close their eyes in unbelief when you speak of people being inspired of God. Many are ready to admit that the writers of the New Testament were inspired of God, but no others have been but them. Just as distinct an insight from God is necessary to the preaching of the Bible as there was to the writing.

God does not inspire all men to do the same work, but no one can do God’s work except he be inspired. Bezaleel could never have constructed the tabernacle except he had been inspired of God (Exodus 35:30-35). Bezaleel means "in the shadow of God." Just as your shadow, in its movements, follows your movements, so Bezaleel followed the impulses of God.

The word inspiration means Inbreathing.

Jesus breathed upon His disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Ghost." (John 20:22)  The Holy Spirit came like a wind from heaven. The Bible tells us, "The wind blows wherever it pleases, and you hear its sound, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)  The Spirit teaches man all things.

This teaching is nothing less than the inspiration of God. Jesus said,  "No man can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him." (John 6:44)  This drawing is the heavenly inspiration of God. God draws by breathing in a man a feeling, a thought of coming to Jesus. Such thoughts and feelings have come to all men. We call it the Spirit’s wooing, the Father’s drawing, and so it is, and means the Father’s inspiration. The Holy Spirit is to dwell in us, walk in us, witness in our hearts.

We are led by the Spirit.

These are all taught of God. We call this instinct. Man is to be taught the ways of life, to have his steps ordered by the Lord, to have his way directed, to do all in the name of Jesus, by the inspiration of God as the bird is led by instinct.

Philip was spoken by the Spirit and told to join himself to the Ethiopian’s chariot. Then it is said that the Spirit caught Philip away so the Ethiopian saw him no more, and Philip was found at Azotus (Acts 8:39-40). We are not to understand that the Spirit carried Philip over hill top and tree top, but that the Spirit led Philip to go to Azotus after baptizing the Ethiopian. See Acts 8:26-40.

The Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." (Acts 13:2) Paul thought to go to a certain place but the Spirit would not allow him to (Acts 16:7). How is this being led by the Spirit to be evident in our life? Or is it to be supposed that man today cannot be spoken and led by the Spirit as men were in those early days of Christianity?

Please ponder these words. "But there is a spirit in man and the heavenly inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding." (Job 32:8) It is by divne inspiration of God in the spirit of man whereby, we gain understanding of God and of all the ways of life.

Many struggle to know the will of God.

To quote a hymn:

"Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love."

Just as the crystal can be radiated by light, so the spirit of man can be permeated and enlightened by the inspiration of the Almighty.

I have made mistakes in life, not because of a lack of sincerity, but because of obeying other inspiration or impulses rather than the impulse of God. Because we are in the flesh, we are liable to other influences, we are a creature subject to other impulses, but is it not our privilege to live so near to God and be so filled by the Spirit that Jesus Christ will be the controlling influence in our life? Humanity is weak, yes, very weak, and the more we live in our humanity, the weaker we will be, but the more we live by the power of God, the stronger we will be.

The reason Paul gloried in tribulations was because they caused him to live less in his humanity and more in God. He says," When I am weak, then am I strong." (II Corinthians 12:10) By this, he means when it is less "I" that lives and more that Christ lives in me, then I am strong. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

While our mistakes and weaknesses have been serious enough, we are not ready to admit that this is inevitable. We are encouraged to believe the lessons we have learned will prove sufficient to enable us to move more perfectly "at the impulse of His love" the remaining days of life.

Some may think that we get a great portion of our knowledge of God’s will through His Word. This is very true, but except the word of God comes as an inspiration to our hearts, we will get no understanding of His thoughts toward us. The word of God is Spirit, and it is life (John 6:63). Man cannot know God’s will simply through his intelligence or human wisdom. The preaching of the Word of God is foolishness to the worldly wise. It is when the Word of God is preached in the Spirit or read in the Spirit that it comes as an inspiration from heaven, then, we know God’s will through His Word.

Let me repeat what was quoted earlier from the hymn was a deep and beautiful conception of the hymn writer who desired that her hands be moved at the impulse of God’s love. How many have sung these words, little realizing their depth of meaning. It was, however, a true conception, and one that was inspired into the soul of the writer. It is in God that we live and move and have our being. There is a spirit in man, and his spirit can be indwelt by God’s Spirit so that man can receive impulses from God as truly as a receiving station can receive vibrations from a broadcasting station. We are surprised, astonished, amazed, at the wonders of radio, but the wonders of the communication of God’s will to the soul of man is still more wonderful, and blessed is the man who gets in such communication.

Hearing the voice of God

"My sheep hear my voice," said Jesus, "and they follow me." (John 10:27) They will not follow a stranger. They are able to distinguish between the voice of Jesus and the voice of a stranger. Someone may ask if there is not great danger of mistaking the voice of a stranger for the voice of Jesus? Not necessarily. If we live in humble obedience to God’s word, pray as we should, keep filled with the Spirit, we can know when it is Jesus speaking and when it is a stranger. What is meant by hearing the voice of Jesus? It is the inspiration of God to the spirit of man giving him understanding.

Christian's Greatest Danger

We have occasion again to give warning against minding the things of the flesh. Here lies the Christian’s greatest danger. "Walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:1) "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die, but if you live by the Spirit and put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live."(Romans 8:13) There are many who today are living to gratify our sinful nature and blinded by worldliness. Listen to Peter’s solemn warning, "Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul."(I Peter 2:11) The word urge implies great earnestness because of grave danger.

In the various translations, it is rendered, "appeal," "beseech," "entreat," "implore,""warn," etc. We are strangers in the world and not only strangers, but also are on a journey—we are strangers here in the world, just passing through it, and it is altogether out of place and unbecoming, and contrary to our heavenly nature to become attached to anything of earth.

Just a little undue attachment to any earthly thing will dull the soul’s sensibilities, until it cannot receive the impulses of God. The soul must be kept sensitive, by the Holy Spirit, to heavenly things to be able to receive inspirations from the Lord. Therefore take heed of the warning , too much focus about earthly things, is to neglect our soul’s best interest. If we say we do not have the power in our life which we would like, if we do not have the joy in prayer, if God is not as real to us as we wish, if we do not get the help in healing of our body as we believe to be our privilege, or if we do not have the unction of the Holy Spirit upon our soul in heavenly sweetness, then perhaps, it is because however unconscious of it we may be, we are too much in the flesh and not enough in the Spirit.

Draw close to God

Now the spirit of wisdom, of understanding, of counsel, of might, of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord will rest upon every child of God that will come close to God. If we live in the impure air of an unventilated room, we cannot detect the foulness of the air, but if we will step outside and breathe the pure air of the outside world awhile and then step inside that room, we will smell the ill-odor.

Those who live too much in the flesh and the love of earthly things cannot detect the deadly spiritual infection that is lurking there, but if we would step into God and breathe for a time the atmosphere of heaven, and let Him breathe the Spirit in us, then we will be quick to scent the corruption of the decaying flesh.

We need to live much in the Spirit and the fear of the Lord that we may be able to detect the ill-odor in some things. Our senses may suggest to us that this thing seems to be necessary, this will be very convenient, this will be quite useful, I need this badly, this literature is harmless, this fellowship will not affect me, this amusement is innocent and all the while, there is a smell of fleshliness about these things we have not been able to detect, and we wonder why we cannot understand God’s will more perfectly. If you will read Hebrews 5:12-14 you will learn that it is our privilege and duty to cultivate our spiritual senses to the degree that we can know what is good and what is evil.

Walk in the Spirit

He who teaches the spider how to build its trap and weave its web and teaches the bird how to rear its young, can teach us of His will and of His way. If we will walk in the Spirit, He will breathe upon us a knowledge of His will in all the details of life.

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