After my wife and I returned from Africa, we settled in North Carolina for a while, assessing our future, waiting on the Lord. We took some time for ourselves before resuming ministry. During that hiatus, the Lord said some things to me that were life changing. I've found that the Lord likes to speak in quiet places, not in the middle of busy intersections.
I like to hear from the Lord, don't you? I believe the Lord wants his Spirit to be involved in leading us. This is in addition to the Scriptures. For followers of Christ, reading the Bible and listening to the Lord go hand in hand. I illustrate it like this: the word of God in written form is like a boundary, a border; the edges of a page. Inside the border, the page is a clear transparency. When God's light hits the clear page, words appear. This is the Spirit's guidance to us, a specific rhema, always inside the boundary of the Bible.
In the Book of Revelation, we find, "Hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches." Notice that "hear" and "is saying" are present-tense, ongoing. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice." This is the privilege of all the sheep who follow the Shepherd. Paul wrote, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." (Rom. 8:14 NASB) "Being led" is present continuous tense, implying an ongoing relationship with a Person, the Holy Spirit. "Sons" in the Greek is huios, meaning full-grown and responsible, not a baby, a mature heir, able to be trusted; either male or female.
What the Lord says to us is always amazing whether it's from the Bible or by the Holy Spirit. Very often God speaks something we never had thought of. It may be enlightening, affirming, convicting, directive or even humorous. For example, one thing the Lord said to me during that season in North Carolina was, "You don't know what you don't know... and you'll never know unless I show you." That was not only truth to me personally but also humbling.
Another thing the Lord spoke to me came in the form of a persistent question. A nagging "thought from the throne" kept dropping into my mind when I was quiet or alone praying. The query coming up in my mind was this: "How do you measure success?" I kept pushing the thought away, thinking it was an idle word my own mind was generating. Then one day, I decided to treat it seriously. I prayed it aloud back to the Lord, saying, "Lord, I don't know the answer. How do You measure success?"
God immediately took me to school. That surprising session with the Lord was mind-blowing. My paradigm shifted, big time. When the Lord was done teaching me through the Scriptures and by the Spirit, my life and ministry changed. I have not been the same since. In my past career, I'd served in the roles of pastor, evangelist, teacher and - based on revelations the Lord gave me -- as a prophet. For the first time, the Lord showed me how He defined genuine success in Christian ministry. This also gave me insight as to why apostles are so necessary in the church today.
RON WOOD IS A WRITER AND MINISTER. CONTACT HIM AT [email protected] OR VISIT WWW.TOUCHEDBYGRACE.ORG. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.
Religion on 10/18/2017