As my friend Francis Frangipane likes to say, “We are called to follow Emmanuel, not a manual.” We must understand this truth if we are to stay on the path of life following Jesus, and not just principles about Him. Our Truth is a Person who has called us into a personal relationship with Himself. 

         This is not to detract from our devotion to and reverence for God’s written Word, The Bible. If Jesus, who is the Word, would take His stand on “It is written” when challenged by the devil, how much more do we need to know and stand on the Scriptures. However, the Scriptures were never intended to replace our relationship to the Lord Himself, or His Spirit that He sent to be our Guide. 

         As important as The Bible is, Jesus did not say that He was going to send us a book to lead us into all truth, but that He would send His Spirit to do this. His Book is important, and we want to know it as well as we can because doctrine is established in His written Word, but The Bible was not intended to take the place of the Holy Spirit. Even The Bible, if not read with the Holy Spirit, will just be what is called “dead letters.” These same words, when read by the Spirit, become life-giving heavenly manna. They supply our needs as we walk in the Way, but the Way itself is a Person we must follow.

         There are two primary ways that we recognize other people: by their face and by their voice. How many people could you recognize by their hand? Yet, how many Christians know God only by His hand, what He gives them, or can do for them? In John 10 the Lord explained that His sheep know His voice, and they follow Him because they know His voice. Even under the Old Covenant Israel was repeatedly told to obey His commandments and heed His voice. Even with all of the instructions they were given for their lives they still had to know and heed His voice. 

         Today many devout Christians believe that we now no longer need for God to speak to us, or need prophecy, because we now have The Bible. Think about how any bride would feel if on her wedding day, her husband told her that he had written a book for her that told her everything he expected of her, so that he would never have to speak to her again! What kind of relationship would that be? 

         By this kind of teaching that contradicts the Scriptures they have put in the place of the Lord Himself, these are the  ones about whom it is written in II Timothy 3:5, “holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these.”

         The quality of every relationship will be determined by the quality of the communication. The Lord has communicated to us about His ways through the Scriptures, but for our daily ongoing relationship with Him. He has sent His Spirit, not just to give us guidance, but to be our Guide and lead us to Jesus.

         We should always esteem the Scriptures as the primary way the Lord teaches us the doctrines that compel us to live uprightly before Him, but Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’” We live by the word that “proceeds” from His mouth, present tense, not the word that “proceeded,” past tense.  

         The Lord’s name is “I Am,” not “I Was” or “I Will Be.” To know Him we must know Him in the present. He is the “Living God,” and though we want to know the history of His actions and dealings with men as we have in the Scriptures, our relationship to Him must be in the present. As much as we are thankful for Jesus of Nazareth, He is no longer Jesus of Nazareth, but He is the King of kings who sits on a throne above all rulers and dominions in heaven and earth. This is how we must know Him now. 

         Through the end of this year, the Words for the Week will focus on how we know and walk with Him, know His voice and seek His face, which we are commanded to do. 

© 2021 Rick Joyner. All Right Reserved.