The Wind The Earthquake And The Whisper by Apostle Emmanuel Iren: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

It doesn't have to be spectacular to be supernatural

Divine leading is one of the most important things you can ever learn. If you are led by the Lord, everything else is settled

If you know how to follow the Lord, whether or not you have capital, you will still be established. It does not matter who is or is not supporting you

One with God is a majority Romans 8:31

Listen again and again to a word you want to take hold of your life. Let it seep into the deep recesses of your spirit

Matthew 11:11

Most want to be Moses, Elijah, Elisha, David or Daniel. Many want Daniel because they like prophetic governance

Scarcely anyone wants to be John the Baptist, eating locust and honey

Some would even choose Jonah ahead of John. Jonah was the most effective evangelist in the Bible. No other person preached to a whole country and the whole country repented Jonah 3

Elijah called down fire. You are a one-man army. An army can come against you and not lay hands on you, because you can call down fire repeatedly

Such a prophet is a military advantage to his king. Nations scheme against you, but by prophetic advantage you tell your king, so they always come late

Elisha told a widow in debt to borrow vessels and fill them with oil. He moved a family from debt to abundance by the prophetic 2 Kings 4:1-7. He raised the dead

Many of us will never enter a house with the inscription "Beware of dogs." Daniel spent the night in the lions' den Daniel 6

If it was not Jesus saying it, you would have protested that this list is rigged

Yet Jesus says no man born of woman is greater than John

Heaven does not reckon greatness the way we reckon it. We see it from the spectacular angle, we like the theatrics and the drama

Heaven records greatness according to the revelation of Christ

John could point at Jesus as the Lamb of God John 1:29. That single act outclassed anything done in the Old Testament

The true measure of the prophetic is to point people to Christ. Not telling you where you will be next year or what you ate last night

Some of us have embraced the idea that depth in the things of God is how dramatic the encounters are

Illustration: dramatic encounters

Someone told me the whole Trinity appeared to her in one week. God the Father came, sat on her bed and taught her some things, and she took notes.

Two days after, God the Son came. Then God the Holy Spirit came

She said the difference between them is their hairstyle, that the Holy Spirit has white hair

There is a prophet who said he went to heaven, sat on God the Father's lap and was playing with his beard

When you hear people's dramatic encounters, if you are not careful you begin to despise your own

It doesn't have to be spectacular to be supernatural

Great encounters are not always a measure of spiritual depth. I am saying "not always"

It is dangerous to make pursuing encounters the sole aim of your devotion. That is how people join cults without knowing

Testimony: how I knew it was time to start the church

I woke up one morning, and it was like a coin dropped in my head, as if my head had a slit like a piggy bank.

I just knew the 11th was the day to start

Some part of me asked, "God, is that it?" My first pastor had an 18-hour vision. He saw people in chains and heard a baritone voice say the hour had come to liberate mankind.

I got a coin

Sometimes God sovereignly chooses spectacular encounters to show us something. But many times the people who are more intimate with God have less dramatic encounters

Illustration: the toddler and the university

To teach a toddler, the books are colorful, full of drawings. You sing two lines, talk two lines and demonstrate. You go out of your way to cope with the toddler's level

A university professor faces the board, finishes writing, drops the pen and goes. If you do not listen, see him next year

When you come of age, you must grow up and learn to pay attention

Moses and the burning bush

Exodus 3:2-4

Did God ever speak to Moses like that again? No burning bush encounter after that

God was putting up theatrics to get his attention. He showed him something to see, and so he looked

Moses had never heard God before. He did not know him. If God had just called, he would not have known it was God, as in the story of Samuel

God needed to draw him closer first and put up a show to get his attention. It had to be spectacular because he did not know God.

God was doing that to introduce him to something more intimate

God almost never spoke repeatedly in a spectacular way to people already intimate with him

Acts 9:1-9

When Saul was going to Damascus to arrest Christians, Jesus hit him to the ground with the light. That was not happening every time God spoke to Paul

We have a weird view of how God demonstrates power. Churches threaten you, "Close your eyes and pray, or you will turn blind." That is reverse evangelism

Hebrews 12:18-24

Imagine you at the foot of the mountain, seeing all the thundering. You say, God is powerful

The New Testament is more powerful yet less dramatic. God brags about it. You are brought into a spiritual place less spectacular yet more authentic

In the Old Testament, the handwriting of God was seen on tablets of stone. In the New Testament nothing is written anywhere. It is written inside your heart

Jeremiah 31:31-33

Jeremiah prophesied that a new law was coming, not like the one given to their fathers, which they broke. That is greater

The Spirit of God in the heart of man is more precious than a tablet God wrote on. Your born-again spirit is more precious than that

We like evidence. Show me something dramatic. The New Testament does not work like that, and that is not how God measures greatness

Have you ever prayed and just known it was done? You did not hear a voice, you did not fall into a trance, but you knew. We call it a note of victory.

Do not despise it

Have you finished praying and sensed you need to pray more this season? Or a friend comes strongly on your heart and you need to evangelize to that friend?

Hold on to the leadings of God like that and do not despise them

Use what you have

In the kingdom some will have legitimate spectacular encounters, praise God for them. Others God leads in seemingly simple but authentic ways

Do not look at what is in others' hands and, because you have one talent, despise it and bury it. God gave others three and others five Matthew 25:14-30

Those who appreciate what God has given them and use it frequently grow more than those who recline in their chair enjoying their talents and gifts

Do not try to be like anyone else. You will fall into error

Some people sleep for 5 minutes and their dream is spot on. For others, God speaks sharp and specific when they are awake, and their dreams are not what God uses.

Stop trying to be like other people.

Use what God has given you

Spiritual maturity is quieter

A very wealthy man does not show it. You cannot tell from his car or his dressing

Illustration: the friend with the private jet

I was in Abuja to preach and had booked a flight. A friend asked me to come and pray for his family, and said he would arrange my flight. We had dinner at his house.

At 4:30 I asked about my 6:00 flight, and he said it was a private jet and they would wait for me

He wears simple clothes and drives a simple car. One day the police stopped and harassed him. He showed his documents, it was not enough, and he made a phone call.

In less than 10 minutes the DSS arrived with a whole van

Another story: a man told a pastor, "I just moved into a house, the rent is 15 million." The pastor said, "Praise God, I am so happy for you."

Years later he discovered the person he was bragging to owned the house

Sometimes it is the same way spiritually. Not many people know how to tell spiritual rank. How would you have known John the Baptist outclasses Elijah?

Manifestations of the Spirit are important, but they are not the biggest measure of depth in the Spirit. The biggest measure of depth is the revelation of Christ

Judas went out with the disciples and also performed miracles. You can call down fire and John the Baptist outclasses you

The wind, the earthquake and the whisper

1 Kings 19:11-12

You would like a service where the wind breaks rocks and the ground shakes. Yet the Lord was not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire.

What came after the fire is the still small voice

Make no mistake, the Lord can manifest that way, like in Acts 2:1-4. But it does not always have to be spectacular to be supernatural

Those who have heard this still small voice have despised it, many times. Sometimes it is not even a voice, just a nudge

God is a king, not a genie you rub the right way for three wishes. You cannot tell him how to speak to you.

You must have the humility to receive the way he has chosen to communicate

Do not ignore what God is showing you because of your desire for the spectacular

You have seen the memes where someone says, "Lord, is this the person I should marry? Give me a sign," and an angel hits the person's head with a frying pan.

You say, "God, I can't hear anything." Pow

Often when you cannot hear, it is for two reasons. You do not want to hear what God is saying, or you have chosen a straitjacket way you want God to speak to you.

You heard one testimony and insisted yours must be like that

The still small voice is deeper and more powerful than any other way God speaks. No Old Testament prophet had the Spirit of Christ within. Now you do

As a show of intimacy, he does not have to speak from outside if he is inside you. All he needs to do is nudge you

Your spouse winks three times in a gathering and that is three pages of information. Every African child knows divine leading. When your mother says "eat now," you read her face

If he is inside, why do I need a voice from the outside? Do not disqualify yourself

We think spectacular leading would prove we heard from God. That is not true. If you do not know God, you do not know God, even if he should shout your name

1 Samuel 3:1-10

Samuel heard his name called, left where God was, and went to Eli. Even if God should call your name, if you do not know him, you do not know

Testimony: the voice in the dark room

In 2007, in a room by myself when power had gone, I heard my name as clear as you hear my voice. It was a name only my family calls me.

That was not a still small voice

Like Samuel, I thought someone was playing games. I called my sister and another person, then went to check. I was the only one in the room. I ran

I thought it was the devil. When I got out I ran to my mother and said God should save me from the wicked voice in that room. She said, "Praise God"

Years later, after reading spectacular encounters, I began to think I did not hear God. I sat on the floor praying, "God, speak to me."

He asked a simple question: "What about the day I called you and you were rebuking me?"

Ask many notable men of God, if they are honest.

Spectacular encounters are maybe three in a lifetime. 99% of the time God speaks with an inner witness, a still small voice, or other ways we despise

That one was dramatic because it was the first time and I did not know the Lord

You think if the Lord speaks to you, you will know for sure

John 12:28-29

When God answered Jesus, the people around heard thunder. They thought it thundered

The only thing that crystallizes the voice of God so you can discern it is intimacy

• Thank him in faith that he leads you. Tell him you will not despise his leading, however he chooses to lead you.
• In your relationship, you are led. Concerning your career, you are led. Concerning parenting, you are led.
• Led of the Lord in Jesus' mighty name.

You do not have to be perfect for God to speak

I studied this as an undergraduate. I thought there was cleaning I had to do before I could hear God

The more intimate you get with God, the more receptive you are to divine leading. But God can speak to anyone because he is sovereign and because he can

The desire to be more consecrated is important for growth, but it is not a hindrance to God speaking to you

Genesis 3:8-9

Adam ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and still heard God. He heard God enough to respond, and they had a conversation

Genesis 4:6-15

Cain, the first murderer, killed his brother. God still talked to him and he heard

You may not be where you ought to be in your devotion, but you have not killed your brother. If God spoke to Adam and Cain, God can speak to you

Genesis 41:1-36

Pharaoh, a pagan king, dreamed and saw in the spirit the economic prediction for 14 years, seven years of plenty and seven of famine. What is your excuse?

God spoke to people who were undeserving in the Bible. Because of the sovereignty of God and his care for me, he can still speak to me

It is a vain imagination that a Christian enters a bus about to have an accident, and because he did not pray that morning the angel screams and he does not hear.

That will never be your life.

Psalm 23:1

The want there is not only material want. You will not be wanting for guidance

At every point you always know what to do, where to go and with whom it must be done. I will never walk in the dark

I shall not want for career guidance. I shall not want

Blessed are those who have not seen

John 20:24-29

Thomas said he would not believe unless he saw Jesus and put his finger in the holes. Jesus indulged him and called him, and Thomas touched him and said, "My Lord and my God."

Some think that is realms and dimensions, but Jesus was not impressed

The fact that you still love God as much as you do, even without an encounter, ranks higher in the realm of the spirit

Some encounters people have are God indulging them like he indulged Thomas. He is not appearing to them because they are strong in faith but because they are weak and need more assurance

1 Peter 1:7-8

Thank God for those who say God walked into my room, sat by my bed and wiped my tears.

But for those who have not seen him, no encounter yet, if it happens in the future, praise God. I have just seen him in the word and I fell in love with him.

Peter is talking about you

You do not need an encounter to be full of glory. When we pray and he nudges our spirit, we know we are led by him

When the Bible says the Lord is my shepherd, divine guidance is no longer an event. It is a person. I will never be wanting for direction because he is always with me

Matthew 28:20

He is always with me. We are not alone

• Thank him that you are not alone.
• Thank him for how he guides you.

Divine backing in business

Genesis 31:42

Laban tried to rip Jacob off. Circle this text. It emphasizes divine backing in any business you do, even when you walk with wicked, unreasonable, unkind people

Laban did not give what was due and did not promote him. Jacob understood divine backing: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was the one who backed him up

God rebuked Laban in the night. God sent his angel to tell Jacob what to do in that business to profit

This is how you know no one will cheat you all the days of your life. The person who took your money and refused to return it will return it

Does God still act in this day? Does he still rebuke people in dreams? Some people will dream about you, and for some it will be favor

Bring that book of remembrance. Welcome to your season of favor, for we are not alone