It is possible to be a professor of theology and to have memorised the Bible, yet still have no intimate knowledge of God. There is a great danger in relying on education, rather than revelation. Education enables the mind to memorise the Scripture, revelation enables the Holy Spirit to make us live the Bible.

The Holy Spirit can use a Scripture that we have read a hundred times before and open our eyes to see it in a way that we had never comprehended before. When the Holy Spirit anoints and inspires the Bible, He will lead us to become more like Christ. Nevertheless, with every revelation comes a responsibility towards God to respond to His revealed will.

We cannot expect God to reveal His ‘personal will’ to us if we have not obeyed the ‘revealed will’ of God, as found in the Holy Bible. We do not need to pray to find out if forgiving is right, or if stealing is wrong because God has already told us His will. Additionally, we cannot expect God to give us personal revelation of His will, if we have not obeyed the last thing He told us to do!

If we refuse to obey God’s revealed will, and refuse to heed His conviction and repent – we open ourselves up to deception (James 1:22). The very act of disobeying God is the first step into a life of deception – because we are deliberately rejecting the truth and embracing a lie.

This is an excerpt from the book ‘Holy Spirit Power! Knowing the Voice, Guidance and Person of the Holy Spirit’ by Paul Backholer and is used by permission.