June 24, 2007
Rev. Terry D. Campbell

Sensitivity to God
Numbers 9:15-23

“On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. ¹⁶That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. ¹⁷Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. ¹⁸At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. ¹⁹When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out. ²⁰Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. ²¹Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. ²²Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. ²³At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.”

One of the qualities of living organisms is that they can respond to their environment. They have sensitivity that interacts with what is going on around them. Human beings have the potential to include in their responding—responding to God. In fact, this is the specific call to Christian human beings—show you are alive toward God.

Insensitivity in general can be bad. You can severely burn yourself and not know it until it is too late. You can not hear a warning and get hurt by a ball flying through the air. You can not be aware of your surroundings and turn only to knockdown a child and hurt them badly. So also, it is important to be sensitive to God.

Why do you do what you do and when you do it? How do you make decisions about marriage, work, home or vehicle purchase? Are you sensitivity to God and God’s plans?

I. Sensitivity to God develops in the spirit, not in nature.

Sensitivity to God begins with the establishing of God’s place in our midst. “On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud(God’s presence) covered it.” When God is established in your life you get the benefit of God’s cloud, awareness of God’s presence being with you. That is how the Hebrews knew what to do—when to move and when to stay put—by following God’s cloud.

One must be born again for the Spirit to be alive in you. Ephesians 2:1-2-“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ²in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”

1 Cor. 6:19-“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”

Please understand that sensitivity to God is not necessarily the same your conscience.

• One’s conscience can be altered or distorted.
  1 Timothy 4:2-“Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” People in the natural can talk themselves or they can be talked into deceptions by others who follow the spirit of the world. To the world some things that are right seem wrong and some that are wrong seem right.
• This leading “cloud” is not just our human spirits.
  They also are distorted by sins effects and see life with blurry vision. The natural human spirit reaches out for answers to life’s questions in alcohol, sex, food, power, wealth, denial, pills, etc. That’s why God tells us in Proverbs 14:12-“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

We must not forget that the conscience is a “natural” thing—which is adjustable to circumstances. Our spirits, when filled with and transformed by the Holy Spirit is supra-natural. God gives us in Him the abiding, truthful witness who will keep is aware of the movement of God.

Sensitivity to God develops in the spirit, not in the natural. Therefore we need to seek spiritual help.

II. Sensitivity to God can be learned with diligence.

One of the things that has always struck me about this Scripture is that when the cloud lifted and moved Israel picked up camp and moved. When the cloud stayed—they stayed. Sometimes it was a long time of staying sometimes short, but they followed the cloud, moving or still.

This reminds us that God’s ways and timing are His own. We don’t always understand what God is doing but we are called to trust and obey as you go alone the way.

Therefore, we also must be intentional about seeking the movement of the “cloud”—God’s established presence in our lives. If we get too intent on just doing our own thing, we could miss the next moving of the “cloud”.

We must be careful about trying to move too fast, before the Spirit is ready, even though you may think you are ready. Also, we shouldn’t lag behind the Spirit allowing doubt or fear to stop your walking by faith.

How do you seek and follow God’s “cloud” of directing?

• Pray and seek God’s plans. Be looking for the movement of “the cloud”. Christian’s “cloud” is the person of the Holy Spirit. But being sensitive to God’s will must be for us more than the words recited from a ritual pray—“Thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It must be the attitude of our heart and the focus of our lives.
• Ask, Is this advocated in God’s word or not contrary to Scripture? Rom. 12:1-2
• Seek advice of other, mature Christians. “No, God is not in this.” Or “I was wondering how long it would take you to see what some of us have been seeing for some time.”
• Look at open doors God is giving you.
• Do you have inner peace about the decision?
• Then, as you walk toward it, keep your spiritual eyes open for any changes or course corrections God might make.

III. Spiritual sensibility is linked to our response-ability.

How are your Receptors firing? They are effected by how you have responded to God in the past. Do they need to be cleaned and adjusted?

• from repeated exertion of self-will
• from spiritual calluses—from hard knocks
• from spiritual scar tissue—from disappointments

We are warned to not grieve the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30-32-“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³²Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

If you’re not living God’s way you’re grieving the Holy Spirit. God re-created you and me in Christ to actually live like him, look like Christ, etc.

What will you do now?

• Are you as responsive to God as you once were?
• Have you ever realized that God will guide you as He guided people of faith of old if you will allow Him?
• Would you like to be more sensitive to God and live with His guidance?

Yield yourself to God and doing what He says, when He says it and God will accept your invitation. With practice you will grow more and more sensitive to God. Amen.