Wait in the Spirit
by Ivan Ho 19 Aug 2021
For we through the Spirit WAIT for the hope of righteousness by FAITH.
Galatians 5:5 KJV
Righteousness is by Faith and faith involves waiting. In the last days many will abandon their faith in Christ and follow after their own ambitions. Why? Because they think that what God has promised must happen today. So when things don’t seem to happen according to their timing, they move ahead without God. They are like the athletes who come off the block before the gunshot goes off. In the recent Olympics 100m finals, one of the runners did not wait for the gunshot and took off. It is called a false start and those who took off before God’s time will be disqualified.
The Bible says “For we through the Spirit Wait for the hope of righteousness by Faith“. Waiting is through the Spirit with the capital letter S. Waiting is a spiritual discipline. Everyone that God uses mightily have to go through the process of waiting. Abraham had to wait till he turned 100 before Issac was born. Moses had to wait 40 years in the desert before God appeared to him in the bush to speak to him about his assignment. David had to wait 13 years after his heroics in defeating Goliath before he was made king of Israel. Jesus had to wait 30 years before he began his ministry. God cannot work with a man (or a woman) unless He can work in the man. So many of God’s people have aborted their destiny because they have been launched into the limelight before God’s time. Some received a prophetic word somewhere and ran after its fulfillment in their flesh. Anything that is not birthed by the Spirit of God is of the flesh.
Waiting governed by revelation
06 Sept 2021
Faith is a journey governed by revelations from above.
Paul waited 14 years before he went to Jerusalem again. “Then after 14 years…..I went up by revelation“. How many people would abort the journey because they couldn’t wait for God’s timing? Without being guided by God given dreams and revelations we would run around in vain like a headless chicken.
Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
Galatians 2:1-2 KJV
God, in His infinite wisdom and foreknowledge, knew when would be the best time for Paul to go to Jerusalem again. After Paul encountered the Lord in Damascus, he was led to Arabia instead of Jerusalem, the epicenter of spiritual activities where the apostles were based and where the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. The Lord kept Paul in Arabia and in Damascus for 3 years before he went to Jerusalem for the first time, then after another 14 years before he went back to Jerusalem again by revelation.
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.
Galatians 1:15-19 KJV
Today, many believers are led by big name ministers and tend to be drawn by whoever seem to be most popular at the time. However, Paul wasn’t led by the so called big name apostles and went up to see them where they were based. Instead, he allowed the Lord to reveal Himself personally and waited 3 years before he visited Jerusalem for the first time, then waited 14 more years before he went again to Jerusalem by revelation. When God was working on Paul’s life, the last thing he needed was running around getting busy doing things outside of God’s will.
False starts and false deadlines
A person who isn’t led by the Holy Spirit has a mind of his own and often runs around in vain pursuing things outside of the will and timing of God.
In the spiritual realm, it is dangerous to set self imposed start and deadline dates by which certain things must happen. It often leads to things being fabricated in the flesh that may look good but God is not involved.
Many false prophets have come and gone predicting things that never happened. Before the turn of the century I remember some pastors and so called prophets were predicting some major events that would happen on the day of Y2K (year 2000) but nothing significant happened. It was just a change in the calendar year, that’s all, but false profits made huge amount of money selling books and materials about Y2K. Sadly, people were emotionally attached to and planning things around these false manmade deadlines and programs outside of God. The world did not implode in year 2000 nor will it come to an end on Dec 31st, 2021. Don’t let religious nuts push you into bondage to their programs to fulfill their self ambitions.
And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.
Galatians 2:4 KJV
There are still few more months left before 2021 ends and soon we will move towards 2022. Things are happening in the spirit realm even though we may not see them manifest in the physical world. If nothing significant seems to be happening in your life or mine this year, it doesn’t mean God’s plans have expired for you and I. In fact, what people fail to visualise with their physical eyes are already happening in the spirit realm.
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-11 KJV
God is never bound by man’s self imposed deadlines and His timing is always perfect so let’s patiently wait on God.
Jesus commanded His disciples to wait
07 Sept 2021
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Acts 1:4-5 KJV
Jesus commanded (rather than suggested) the disciples to assemble together in Jerusalem and WAIT for the Holy Spirit.
The difference between God’s words and the voice of the devil is this: God commands, the devil suggests.
Jesus’s command to his disciples was clear: stay together in one accord and wait. When God tells you to stay and wait, the last thing you want to do is run around pursuing your own ambitions.
The reason why some of you cannot hear from God is this: you are too busy trying to do things for God instead of drawing close to Jesus and hear from Him.
Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Luke 10:38-42 KJV
In some of today’s churches, there are multiple suggestions and many alternative paths, as the saying goes: “All roads lead to Rome“. Some pastors and leaders are not receiving instructions from above and are merely busy doing their own things and running their own programs. They gather followers around their projects and call it a church, in so doing pulling their followers out of God’s plans and purposes for their lives.
They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them.
Galatians 4:17 NKJV
The deceiving spirit took Eve for a ride by taking her eyes off the vine (the Word) and redirecting her focus on the fruit. Eve saw that the fruit look good and was deceived.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
John 15:4-7 KJV