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God has placed us in a body and we are not to be isolated individualsdoing our own thing! As such we must learn to receive guidance and counsel from others, recognising the different ministries God has place in the Church. Of course we must discern if all that we hear and see from others is really from God and below we will look at how practically to do this.
(2) Hearing and Seeing God's Guidance Through God's People.
(I)
HEARING: This is hearing God's spokes persons... they will be
'as God' to us.
(i) Godly Counsel.
This is the seeing out of experienced, godly ( Proverbs 25:19) counsel and should be in the form of PRINCIPLES not PRONOUNCEMENTS! (ie. Not legalistic 'thou shalts', but principles by which the person being counselled may decide for themselves what course to take.)
Remember that you
may even get wrong advise from the right, godly source (Read
2 Samuel 7:3-5) and you are ultimately
responsible for knowing God's call upon your life.
Also remember that
all advice given must agree with the general counsel of God's word. Never
blindly accept counsel, pray through it and seek
the Lord to confirm it for yourself.
Group or Individual
Activity: Think about/discuss the correct way of seeking counsel in a matter
and what you should do with the advise. Give personal testimonies where
appropriate.
(ii) Godly Minstry.
The Lord often speaks specifically to us through His anointed servants as they minister. It may be a verse, a phrase or a point they speak out that the Lord highlights to your spirit and makes it relevant to you. It may be as they pray over you that the Lord gives a word specifically for you.
Group or Individual
Activity: Read through these verses on
God's Servants Ministering His Word
together and comment. What are the dangers of taking every word of teachers/
preachers ? When should we take things they say for specific direction
?
Read
Isaiah 30:20-21 and comment...
Read this
Quote and comment on what we can learn
from it. Discuss your reaction to this quote.
Lastly read this
article entitled Must I Listen ? and talk about
it's main message. What can you apply from this ?
(iii) The Spiritual Gifts.
God often uses others as they move in words of prophecy etc.. to CONFIRM what He is already saying. If the word comes as something very new (eg. You are to go as a missionary to Mongolia) which you have not been feeling, take it into serious prayer but don't just take it straight away as from God - test it first (pray through it asking God to confirm it further).
Prophecies should NEVER be just left on the shelf . God's way (as revealed in the Word) is to seriously test the word first and if from God then you should seriously pray it through until completion (as Daniel did with the word from Jeremiah (see Daniel 9:2-4).
Group or Individual
Activity: Read through the following passages about
The Gifts Of The Spirit and comment
on the giftings that will particularly be used to transmit God's SPECIFIC
word to a believer. Give example from your own expereience.
What are the cautions
that should be observed here ?
Lastly, it must be noted that God may also use others through statements they make which they are totally unaware of the impact thereof. What they say may not be due to a spiritual gift operating, but the words are a word form God to you.
One example of this is Nehemiah's friend who comes with a report about Jerusalem being torn down - this news report has a profound effect on Nehemiah and is in a sense a call to Nehemiah to go! (Read Nehemiah 1:2-4).
(II) SEEING:
Guidance may come through PROPHETIC ACTS of others! The prophet Agabus used a prophetic act when he bound the Apostle Paul with his belt, indicating he would be bound by the authorities on going to Jerusalem. Old Testament prophets too used many visual prophetic acts such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
(3) Conclusion.
God will use others as His mouth-piece and we must pray for ears to hear what the Lord is speaking through them. We have looked at basic principles of doing so and need to grow in this area.
·Go back and continue your study.
