A young man left his wife and young family to a mountain to seek God. When they finally saw him after many days, he was looking unkempt. He had not bathed nor brushed his teeth for weeks. As he opened his mouth to talk, people could not stand the stench. He claimed he was following divine instructions. His was not an intelligent fire.
Friend, spirituality is not an enemy of practicality (James 2:18). The fire of God in your life needs to be properly channelled. The communication of the Holy Spirit to you needs to be properly interpreted and applied so you won’t make a shipwreck of destiny (1 Corinthians 14:32-33). Spirituality must not give room for rascality.
Being pentecostals does not mean being penterascals. A Christian must not be a nuisance in the name of being under the influence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:11). The spirit that told you not to brush your teeth for 40 days is definitely not the Holy Spirit. The spirit that told you to separate yourself from critical people for weeks is not the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:19).
Learn to interpret divine communications in the light of scriptures and reasoning (Isaiah 8:20, Acts 15:28). This idea that we don’t reason out a divine instruction is not completely true. In fact, if you are asked not to think, you need to beware. Demon spirits would not allow you to think. Our reasoning is not enough to know God, but it should not be left behind (Acts 17:27-28).
If you don’t add intelligence to your fire, you would die before your time (Ecclesiastes 7:17). If you don’t listen to the voice of reasoning, you will soon get burnt by insane and unscriptural practices. The apostles used their reasoning by appointing deacons to serve tables (Acts 6:2). Whoever tells you that the Holy Spirit and your mind are enemies is your real enemy.
Christianity never suspends our reasoning (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 3:20). Religion does. Like Moses, you need to know how to be on fire without burning out (Exo 3:2, 18:13-24). Channel your fire correctly. Bring order into your personal life, career, business, and ministry. About two-thirds of the seven-fold operations of the Holy Spirit have to do with intelligence (Isaiah 11:1-3). Think about it.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria