Have you ever wanted to serve Yahweh, but not known what to do? Or have you tried to do something good for Him, but you were not successful? In this chapter we will talk about how you can succeed and prosper in all that you do for Him, if you have ears to hear and eyes to see.
As we show in other places, once we accept Yeshua, and we keep His commandments, He sends us a helper, which is the Spirit of Truth. This Spirit of Truth then guides us into all truth.
Yochanan (John) 14:15-17
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever —
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
One common misconception is that we are filled with His Spirit automatically after we are immersed (baptized). This may be because Yeshua was infilled with the Spirit right after His immersion.
Matthew 3:16
16 When He had been immersed, Yeshua came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of Elohim descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
Yet while it happened that way for Yeshua, it does not always happen that way, because immersion in water and the immersion of the Spirit are two separate events. Acts 10 and other passages show us that the infilling of the Spirit can even happen before water immersion.
Ma’asei (Acts) 10:44-48
44 While Kepha was still speaking these words, the Set-apart Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Kepha, because the gift of the Set-apart Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify Elohim. Then Kepha answered,
47 “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be immersed who have received the Set-apart Spirit just as we have?”
48 And he commanded them to be immersed in the name of Yahweh. Then they asked him to stay a few days.
(Just as an example, I was sprinkled as a child, and then I was called to repentance in June of 1999. The Spirit fell on me that September, yet I did not know to properly submerge-immerse in Yeshua’s name until December. So, at least for me, these were separate events.)
One thing many people forget is that we must earnestly invite and welcome the Spirit in, with all our heart and soul. And if we do not do that, the Spirit does not come.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 7:7-8
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
While English considers the Spirit to be either a neuter or male, in Aramaic, the Spirit (Rukha) is a she. And in Hebrew also, the Spirit is a she. We know this from Numbers 27:16, where the word Spirits (plural) is given as Rukhot (רוּחֹת, Spirits, feminine plural).
| Numbers 27:16 16 “Let Yahweh, the Elohim of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation… |
(16) יִפְקֹד יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחֹת לְכָל בָּשָׂר | אִישׁ עַל הָעֵדָה |
Proverbs also speaks of the Spirit as Lady Wisdom, and we know it is the Spirit who gives wisdom. There is much we can learn about the Spirit from Proverbs 8, so let us read it carefully here. She tells us that if we will obey Her voice, she will lead us into success, prosperity, safety, and all good things.
Mishle (Proverbs) 8:1-25
1 Does not wisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her voice?
2 She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, Beside the way, where the paths meet.
3 She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, At the entrance of the doors:
4 “To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men.
5 O you simple ones, understand prudence, And you fools, be of an understanding heart.
6 Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, And from the opening of my lips will come right things;
7 For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.
9 They are all plain to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge.
10 Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold;
11 For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength.
15 By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles, All the judges of the earth.
17 I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.
18 Riches and honor are with me, Enduring riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, And my revenue than choice silver.
20 I traverse the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, That I may fill their treasuries.
22 “Yahweh possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.
23 I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth…
Verse 22 says that Yahweh possessed the Spirit before His works of old. Verse 25 tells us that the Spirit was brought forth before the mountains and hills.
B’reisheet (Genesis) 1:1-2
1 In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim was hovering over the face of the waters.
This shows us the primal relationship between the Spirit and the material world. Yahweh uses His Spirit to bring things about in the material world. Therefore, if we want things to go well in the material world, we need to be right with His Spirit.
The Spirit is a lady. We must invite her in, and we must treat her right continually, or she will leave. And if she leaves, then she no longer orchestrates things to our benefit in the material world. This helps to explain why it is so important not to quench the Spirit.
Thessaloniqim Aleph (1 Thessalonians) 5:19
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
But who or what is the Spirit? And apart from praying for Yahweh to give us the Spirit, how can we invite Her in, in a practical sense?
In Hebrew the word for the physical breath (or air) that fills our lungs is called the neshamah (נשמה). However, the emotions we feel when we are inhaling and exhaling normally depend on the other word for breath, which is ruach (רוּחַ). This word ruach means spirit, wind, and breath, all in one. It can be challenging for Westerners to understand, but the idea is that whatever ruach spirit we have animates and affects what emotions we have when we breathe, think, and live.
For example, when we have Yahweh’s Spirit, we will be filled with His love, joy, shalom, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, wisdom, and the desire to be faithful and gentle. We will also want to control ourselves and our behavior.
Galatim (Galatians) 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no Torah.
When we have Yahweh’s Spirit, we manifest the fruits of His Spirit. However, when we do not have His Spirit, or especially when we have a wrong spirit (i.e., a demon), then we will manifest unclean works and emotions. That is, we will breathe easiest when we are thinking unclean thoughts, when we believe heresies, and when we have unclean emotions (such as envy or covetousness).
Galatim (Galatians) 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of Elohim.
Yahweh’s Spirit will make us manifest positive emotions and feelings. It will make us want to be constructive. And, because Yahweh helps those who love Him and His Spirit, He orchestrates blessings for those who listen to His Spirit and obey.
While Yahweh can speak audibly, He almost always finds it more glorifying to make us listen carefully for His voice. His inward voice is so quiet that sometimes it seems more appropriate to describe it like a sense of calm, or a sense of knowing.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 30:21
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.”
In business, sometimes motivational speakers talk about those times when “you know that you know that you know” something is true (or that something will work). Others speak of “feeling something is true in their gut.” Other times there is an inward sense of calm or shalom, knowing that what we are hearing is right. And then at other times we will hear words softly in our inward ear, in shalom and in calm (and never in anger). But for us to hear His still small voice, our souls and our brains must be still. We must be inwardly quiet.
In other places we show how Satan attacks us through our minds. Satan doesn’t want us to listen to Yahweh’s Spirit. He wants us to follow our thinking, instead. When we are in crisis situations, Satan wants us to think our way through, rather than pray and listen for Yahweh’s wisdom. This is a deadly trap that panders to our ego, and our pride.
Mishle (Proverbs) 14:12
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
There is much to say here, but for those who wish to be disciples, there is a discipline they can practice. And that discipline is to quiet and still your mind and your spirit, so that you can hear what the Spirit is saying to you. For some of us this is very easy, but for others who suffer from inward turmoil, it can take a lot of practice. (And yet for those who need to practice it more it can produce the greatest results, and they can benefit the most from it.)
Tehillim (Psalms) 131:1-3
1 Yahweh, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me.
2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in Yahweh From this time forth and forever.
Psalm 131 is one of the Hallel Psalms. It is traditionally sung at the festivals, and on the new moon days. And what Psalm 131 tells us to do is to quiet our minds and our souls, so that we can be with Yahweh, and let Him lead and guide us.
So how can we take this information and make it of practical application and benefit?
Not every decision requires thinking, but if we are to be successful, all decisions require prayer and listening. So, if you need to think or plan something, pray, and then do your thinking and planning. However, rather than make the final decision yourself, next take your decision to Yahweh in prayer, and listen carefully for the voice of His Spirit. Sometimes He will answer us in the moment with His still small voice, and then at other times He will give us signs and wonders (usually within a few days). If we are walking with Him, and keeping our inward focus on Him, we may see the sign or the wonder, and we may wonder in our heads, “What does that mean?” But when our mind and our soul is inwardly still, we can know in our heart (or our stomach, or our head) what it means. We will hear His still small voice. And if we will obey that primal voice of inward knowing, Yahweh will bless us in ways that go beyond our ability to understand.