The Flow of Light

In the last blog we saw that Jesus said out of our innermost being would flow rivers of living water. He was speaking of the Spirit flowing through us in John 7:37-39. Then in Ezekiel 47:9 we saw that everywhere the river goes healing and life are the result. When we learn to recognize and follow the various flows of the Spirit, we will see more healing, life, and power manifest through our lives and ministry.

There are three primary flows of the Spirit I have seen in the Word and experienced in my own life and ministry. That is not to say there are no other dimensions or flows of the Spirit available to us. But understanding and yielding to the three flows of the Spirit I will share with you in these blogs will definitely equip and activate you to operate in the gifts with confidence!

In the last blog, I shared with you about the flow of love. I cannot emphasize strong enough the importance of following the flow of compassion whenever it rises up within you toward others. As you practice following the flow of love, your confidence in hearing God’s voice and operating in the gifts will improve dramatically. In this blog, I share with you the next primary flow of the Spirit—the flow of light. 

…God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another… (1 John 1:5,7). 

A key word to understand in this passage of Scripture is the word “fellowship.” The Greek definition of this word is very interesting. It means sharing, communion, making a contribution or distribution. If we include that definition in the context of these verses, we understand when we walk in the light that God gives us we can share with someone and make a contribution or distribution of something significant and spiritual to them. That certainly lines up with the following companion verses: 

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established (Romans 1:11). 

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all (1 Corinthians 12:7). 

I have discovered in my walk with the Lord the more responsive I am to the smallest prompting, leading, or “light” I receive from the Lord, the more the gifts operate through me and the greater blessing I am to others. Bobby Crow is a missionary in Mexico and good friend of mine. One of his famous quotes is, “The Holy Spirit works best where He finds the least resistance.” I agree with Bobby’s statement wholeheartedly.

 

REVELATION AND ILLUMINATION

When I am talking about the flow of light, I am speaking of revelation or illumination that lines up with God’s Word. This light, revelation, or illumination can come to us in many ways. It can come to us while we are reading the Word.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105). 

There have been numerous times I have simply been reading the Bible in my daily devotions and the Lord illuminated or highlighted a specific verse to me I knew I was to act upon. Each time I have acted on the light He revealed to me from His Word people have been blessed, I have been blessed, and the gifts of the Spirit have been available to operate through me. After all, doesn’t His Word tell us He will work with us confirming His Word with signs following? (See Mark 16:20.)

This flow of light can also come to us by a thought, impression, or inward desire. Before you act on the thought, impression, or inward desire, you will want take time to check it out and make sure it lines up with the written Word. You will also want to think about how this will affect others. In some cases, it will be necessary to receive godly counsel from mature leaders in the church if you have any questions about the direction you have received.

Most of the time light comes to us in one of these three forms— it is not something we need to take a long time to pray and seek God about. The reason for this is what we received does not violate the Word and is intended to bless and minister to others. In these cases, we don’t need to allow our brain to take over. Just go for it. Act on the thought, impression, or inward desire you have and then evaluate the result.

I was ministering in a church in the southern part of Texas several years ago and invited people to come forward for healing after my message. While I was praying for people who had responded to my invitation, I started to pray for a young woman when I heard the Lord say, “Don’t lay hands on her for healing yet.” I immediately pulled my hands back and then asked the question, “Lord, what do You want me to say to her or do for her?” A thought then came to me, “Ask her about her relationship with her dad before you pray for her.” I wasn’t sure that was the Lord but I thought to myself, What do I have to lose? ? The Lord told me not to lay hands on her for healing yet so I might as well follow up on this subsequent thought that came to me.

When I asked her to tell me about her relationship with her dad, she broke down in tears, bent over and began sobbing. As soon as she was able, she shared with me about the abusive relationship she had experienced from her father. Until that day she had not been able to forgive him and that was giving place to the enemy to afflict her emotions with torment and her body with severe pain. 

As a result of the question I asked her about her relationship with her dad, for the very first time she saw the connection between the unforgiveness she had toward her father and the torment and pain she was experiencing in her mind and body. She immediately repented before the Lord and forgave her dad. Then I laid hands on her and commanded the torment to leave her mind and the pain to leave her body in Jesus’ name. She was instantly healed and set free and started weeping and rejoicing. But this time her tears were tears of joy! All of this came from me simply responding to the light the Lord brought to my mind in the form of a thought. 

RESPONDING TO THE LIGHT

The flow of light can also come through a message you hear someone teach or preach or a prophetic word someone speaks to you.

Regarding prophetic words, you need to know you are not obligated to act on every word someone gives you. You need to take time and pray over it, make sure it lines up with the written Word and is confirmed in your heart. No prophetic word ever stands alone or is the whole message.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part (1 Corinthians 13:9).

Notice in this verse Paul says when we prophesy we only prophesy in part. In other words, no prophecy is ever the entire message God wants to speak to us. Many times it is just the ignitor that leads us into searching God’s mind and will through His Word and prayer in that area. I share much more about the flow of light that comes through prophecy later in my book, Flowing in the Supernatural, in the chapter entitled, How to Judge a Prophetic Word. I know that chapter will be a blessing to you.

Another way the flow of light can come to us is through visions or dreams. Acts chapter 10 records that Peter had the same vision three times on a housetop at Simon the tanner’s house, and as a result, Cornelius and his entire household were saved. Acts chapter 16 reveals the vision Paul received after the Spirit forbade him to go to Asia and Bithynia to preach the gospel: 

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them (Acts 16:9-10). 

The result of Paul and Silas following this vision was the door of the gospel was opened to the continent of Europe. A vision is something you see in your mind’s eye from the Lord while you are awake. For a brief time, it seems like your physical senses are suspended and what you see and hear in that vision seem more real than your immediate surroundings. 

A dream is something you see and/or hear from the Lord while you are sleeping. The wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod after they had found young Jesus (Matthew 2:12). Joseph was subsequently warned in a dream to take his family to Egypt to escape Herod’s plan to kill all young male children in his region from two years old and younger (Matthew 2:13). Spiritual dreams are still available for us today as the following verse reveals:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams (Acts 2:17).

 

SPIRITUAL DREAMS

Though I have had many dreams in my life, very few of them have proven to be of a spiritual nature. My wife, on the other hand, has had a number of dreams that proved to be from the Lord. One dream she had I remember very clearly. I had set up a meeting with an individual who needed to be confronted about his actions and some unwarranted accusations against myself and our church. I had an uneasy feeling about this meeting; two nights before it was scheduled, Janice had a dream. In the dream she saw the individual I was scheduled to meet with sitting in a courtroom playing a recording of our meeting before a judge.

When she woke up the next morning, she told me about her dream and it confirmed the uneasy feeling I was having about this meeting. The Lord was showing us the plans this individual had to bait me into saying something he could use against me and our church in court. This could have cost us a lot of unnecessary heartache, time, and money. I cancelled that meeting and haven’t heard from this person since. Praise God for the light that can come to us through dreams.

Sometimes the flow of light comes through what we perceive to be the Spirit speaking directly to our spirit. One example of this is when the Holy Spirit told Peter to go with the men from Cor-nelius’ household, doubting nothing because He had sent them to him (Acts 11:12). Another example is found in the following verses:

As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away (Acts 13:2-3).

This passage does not tell us how the Spirit spoke to them. But it is certain that through whomever this message came it bore witness to all because they acted on what they perceived the Spirit had spoken to them.

 

SHOW YOURSELF TO ME

Several years ago, I was driving through the Southwest part of Houston, Texas, while taking care of some business. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon and the traffic was heavy. I turned off one of the main roads to a street I knew was a shortcut to my with less traffic destination. As I made the right turn onto this side street, I noticed a large set of apartments on the left side of the street and a grassy hill in front of a creek on the right side of the street. On top of this small grassy knoll was a young man with long hair who was on one knee staring up into the sky with one of his arms extended upward. 

My first thought was, There’s a hippie spaced out on drugs. As I passed him, I heard the Spirit speak to my spirit, “Go join yourself to that man.” My first response to that voice was, “Lord, You know I am not in the drug culture and I don’t have a voice or ministry to hippies.” I had only been filled with the Spirit for a couple of years at this time and was still new in recognizing and following the Lord’s voice.

As I continued driving down this side street, I heard His voice again and this time a bit stronger, “Go join yourself to that man.” Again I attempted to shrug off this voice and was now over a block away when I heard Him speak to me stronger and louder, “I said, ‘Go join yourself to that man!’” I finally surrendered, turned my van around, drove back to where I had seen this young man and pulled into the apartment parking lot directly across from that grassy hill. As I was turning my van around I thought to myself, What do I have to lose? If I try to minister to this young man and he doesn’t receive it, I don’t know him and haven’t seen him before so nothing lost, nothing gained.

I walked across the street and walked right up to this man. I extended my right hand to him, introduced myself, and said, “The Lord impressed me to stop, come tell you He loves you and has a really good plan for your life.” He stared at me with a look like, “Please leave me alone and get out of my space.” When he glared at me without saying anything for about ten seconds I thought, I told You, Lord, I don’t have a ministry to hippies. 

All of a sudden, this word came to me while he was glaring at me, “Tell him I know he lost his job last week, he just had his car repossessed last night, and was served an eviction notice from his apartment across the street this morning.” I thought, Well, what do I have to lose? I have come this far. I might as well go all the way. Then I told him the word the Lord gave me for him. He began to tremble and big tears started streaming down his face. He asked me, “How did you know those things? I was working construction and fell off a roof and had to go to the hospital for them to do surgery on my knee.” 

He then showed me the bandage on his left knee through the hole in his jeans, before holes in jeans were in style. He went on to tell me it happened to him just like I said. He lost his job last week right after he was released from the hospital. He had his car repossessed last night, and received an eviction notice from his apartment that morning. He then told me, “After all that happened and I had run out of money and food, I walked over to this grassy hill and looked up to the sky and said, ‘God, if You are real, show Yourself to me or I’m going to take my life.’ Then you walked up to me about three minutes later and told me God knew what I was going through. What should I do?” 

I asked him his name and he said, “Billy.” Of course, I led Billy to the Lord, then invited him to my house for dinner. We later took him to our church and he was filled with the Spirit. We gave him our car and he was able to get a new job and find a new place to live. His life was saved spirit, soul, and body and he found a brand-new life. All of this happened because of the flow of light that came to me that day!

There are many more Billys out there waiting for someone to bring them some good news, love, and encouragement. Yet we don’t know who they are or where they are. But the Spirit in us does and He will lead us by the flow of light He gives us. All He needs you and I to do is to follow the light.

The flow of light comes in many forms and many ways. I have shared a few of these ways with you. In my encounter with Jeff ’s aunt, Grace, the flow of love came first and afterward there was light. With Billy, the flow of light came first. Then came compassion. I had zero compassion flowing toward Billy initially. But after I heard his story, great compassion flowed through me toward him to help him receive the Lord, understand how valuable and loved he was, and to get back on his feet financially.

When we learn to follow the flow of love and the flow of light, His life and power will be released in and through our lives. People will be saved, healed, set free, and the gifts will flow through us freely! 

 

Adapted from Greg Mohr’s book, Flowing in the Supernatural

Watch Pastor Greg’s television series on Living a Supernatural Life to learn more.