Hi all,
I live by what I've been describing - I'm not perfect, but I do want to share the degree to which I seek a revelation of the Father's will and timing before I do anything. But first, an example from Paul's life:
Paul across Turkey...
In Acts chapters 13-16 Paul is making his way from east to west across modern day Turkey. In the middle of Turkey is Galatia, and some of the cities he visited included Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. Paul's letter to the Galatians is to the (home) churches in these cities.
Acts 16:4 tells us Paul went throughout their cities preaching Jesus and making disciples, always heading west. In 16:6 it says they wanted to turn left, going down to Ephesus on the coast, but were 'forbidden by the Holy Spirit' from doing so. We aren't told how this was communicated, but they all knew they were not to go to Ephesus. Later, in Acts 19 Paul did go there. Why not then? Perhaps the 12 or so men he met in 19:1-6 weren't in place yet. Perhaps the Lord just wanted Paul to go to Greece before allowing him to return to Turkey again.
This is where common sense and the leading of the Lord come into play when the Lord says 'No'. With no further explanation or direction, but having a firm 'no' in their spirits, the natural thing to do was to keep walking west. We can follow their example when we know we are on the Lord's path, but we keep getting a 'no' every time we think we know the next step.
The very next verse, v7, says when they went west into Mysia, which is northwestern Turkey, and they wanted to turn back north and east into Bithynia along the north coast of the Black Sea. But again the Holy Spirit 'did not allow them' to do so. Modern Istanbul is on the far western border of ancient Bithynia.
It seems they were trying to first go left, then tried going right, unsure where the Lord was leading. But they got firm 'no's' each time. So they continued to do what seemed logical and right by continuing their journey west. Often He only gives us a 'no' with no explanation.
Having no choice but to keep moving west, they were quickly running out of country.
They had traversed Turkey and verse 8 tells us they went on to Troas (Troad) which was an important city on the Aegean coast at the time. (Aegean Sea, part of the Mediterranean Sea) They had literally walked across the country from east to west, and now the ocean lay before them.
What was Paul to do? By telling them 'no' each time they ended up on the ocean not knowing what to do next.
Verses 9-12 reveals it was only when they had no where else to go, that God gave instructions. Paul at night saw a vision - it says 2x it was a vision, at night. So we don't know if this was a 'spiritual dream', or a literal vision while he was wide awake one of those nights.
Finally!
It was a vision of a Greek man from Macedonia, saying; 'Come over here and help us!' Why didn't the Lord give the vision when they got their first 'no' when they tried to go to Ephesus and that coast? Why didn't the Lord give the vision when they tried to turn back north and east along the north border of Turkey? Why did He wait until they literally had no more land before them to give them a vision about going into Greece? (We don't know)
Look at the way the Lord led them, through a series of firm 'no's'. All that time, when the door was shut, they did what was right in the natural. They did common sense. They knew in Acts 13:1-3 they were sent out by the Holy Spirit. So they just kept going even though 'no' after 'no' was the only direction they received from the Lord.
When we were kids we played a game where one person would hide something, and then let the others hunt for it. The only direction given them was 'warm', or 'cold' or 'warmer' or 'colder' - and it was a process of elimination the person hunting for the object had to go through - common sense and logic - to narrow down the area until they eventually zeroed in and found the hidden object. That reminds me of the way the Lord treated Paul and his fellow travelers. Sometimes we feel like that game of 'warm/cold'. He leads us to make decisions by a process of elimination.
Most of our life is like what happened to them. We go about our business until and unless we get a yes/no.
When I make my schedule for the day, for the week, I am at the same time asking the Father if it is okay.
Every week when I pick up Chris from his group home I have 2 or 3 things Barb and I have set aside to get with Chris - he loves going in stores, greeting people, petting any dogs he sees and such. But other than those 2 or 3 items I ask the Father 'What do you have planned for Christ this week?'
Very often while we are out, I will be prompted in my spirit, just a subtle leading, almost a suggestion coming from my spirit, to go see what is happening at our little airport (Grove, Oklahoma, a small single runway airport) - and when that happens we will see airplanes taking off, or landing, or one will be by the little terminal and I will park and get Chris out. We will go into the terminal where we are known at this point, and very often we have been allowed on the tarmac to walk around a plane (engine off). We give thanks for the Father's provisions like that.
There are any number of things the Father reveals, giving me understanding through that grace, with faith being our response. 'Go to the dump/recycle station' and we see dump trucks emptying the large containers - Chris loves watching big trucks. Sometimes I feel led to go to the truck stop along the turnpike and we sit and watch the big semi-trucks (lorry's) come and go. At the local truck stop there can be 10 or more trucks parked, and more entering and leaving the parking space as the drivers go inside for a meal.
IF the Father has something planned for Chris to see like the above, He will put it in my spirit. But our Friday errand day is much like Paul trying to turn left or right but getting a 'no'. I'll think of an idea, and shift attention to see if there is any 'life' in that thought. I weigh it out. Is it up to me? Is there something else the Father has planned?
I've learned the Father doesn't always have a 'perfect will' for everything - sometimes He doesn't really care what we do, He will go with the flow and guide our steps as we go. Sometimes like in Paul's life above, we go about our routine and He only directs when we start to deviate from His will or what we plan would be unwise or dangerous.
For most things in our lives He leaves it up to us to decide. IF what we plan would put us in danger, THEN He may strongly urge us to go another way, or do something else, without telling us that a reckless car would have been in our path the other way. It is SO important we learn to shift our attention to our spirit for any leading from the Father. Sometimes it is a series of 'no' impressions. Sometimes we must continue doing what we know to do, not knowing exactly where He will direct us next. Sometimes it is like that game of hot or cold, but we always do what we know to do in the natural.
There is so much on this subject of faith and common sense, but I'll move on to a new subject next week. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected] or [email protected]
I live by what I've been describing - I'm not perfect, but I do want to share the degree to which I seek a revelation of the Father's will and timing before I do anything. But first, an example from Paul's life:
Paul across Turkey...
In Acts chapters 13-16 Paul is making his way from east to west across modern day Turkey. In the middle of Turkey is Galatia, and some of the cities he visited included Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. Paul's letter to the Galatians is to the (home) churches in these cities.
Acts 16:4 tells us Paul went throughout their cities preaching Jesus and making disciples, always heading west. In 16:6 it says they wanted to turn left, going down to Ephesus on the coast, but were 'forbidden by the Holy Spirit' from doing so. We aren't told how this was communicated, but they all knew they were not to go to Ephesus. Later, in Acts 19 Paul did go there. Why not then? Perhaps the 12 or so men he met in 19:1-6 weren't in place yet. Perhaps the Lord just wanted Paul to go to Greece before allowing him to return to Turkey again.
This is where common sense and the leading of the Lord come into play when the Lord says 'No'. With no further explanation or direction, but having a firm 'no' in their spirits, the natural thing to do was to keep walking west. We can follow their example when we know we are on the Lord's path, but we keep getting a 'no' every time we think we know the next step.
The very next verse, v7, says when they went west into Mysia, which is northwestern Turkey, and they wanted to turn back north and east into Bithynia along the north coast of the Black Sea. But again the Holy Spirit 'did not allow them' to do so. Modern Istanbul is on the far western border of ancient Bithynia.
It seems they were trying to first go left, then tried going right, unsure where the Lord was leading. But they got firm 'no's' each time. So they continued to do what seemed logical and right by continuing their journey west. Often He only gives us a 'no' with no explanation.
Having no choice but to keep moving west, they were quickly running out of country.
They had traversed Turkey and verse 8 tells us they went on to Troas (Troad) which was an important city on the Aegean coast at the time. (Aegean Sea, part of the Mediterranean Sea) They had literally walked across the country from east to west, and now the ocean lay before them.
What was Paul to do? By telling them 'no' each time they ended up on the ocean not knowing what to do next.
Verses 9-12 reveals it was only when they had no where else to go, that God gave instructions. Paul at night saw a vision - it says 2x it was a vision, at night. So we don't know if this was a 'spiritual dream', or a literal vision while he was wide awake one of those nights.
Finally!
It was a vision of a Greek man from Macedonia, saying; 'Come over here and help us!' Why didn't the Lord give the vision when they got their first 'no' when they tried to go to Ephesus and that coast? Why didn't the Lord give the vision when they tried to turn back north and east along the north border of Turkey? Why did He wait until they literally had no more land before them to give them a vision about going into Greece? (We don't know)
Look at the way the Lord led them, through a series of firm 'no's'. All that time, when the door was shut, they did what was right in the natural. They did common sense. They knew in Acts 13:1-3 they were sent out by the Holy Spirit. So they just kept going even though 'no' after 'no' was the only direction they received from the Lord.
When we were kids we played a game where one person would hide something, and then let the others hunt for it. The only direction given them was 'warm', or 'cold' or 'warmer' or 'colder' - and it was a process of elimination the person hunting for the object had to go through - common sense and logic - to narrow down the area until they eventually zeroed in and found the hidden object. That reminds me of the way the Lord treated Paul and his fellow travelers. Sometimes we feel like that game of 'warm/cold'. He leads us to make decisions by a process of elimination.
Most of our life is like what happened to them. We go about our business until and unless we get a yes/no.
When I make my schedule for the day, for the week, I am at the same time asking the Father if it is okay.
Every week when I pick up Chris from his group home I have 2 or 3 things Barb and I have set aside to get with Chris - he loves going in stores, greeting people, petting any dogs he sees and such. But other than those 2 or 3 items I ask the Father 'What do you have planned for Christ this week?'
Very often while we are out, I will be prompted in my spirit, just a subtle leading, almost a suggestion coming from my spirit, to go see what is happening at our little airport (Grove, Oklahoma, a small single runway airport) - and when that happens we will see airplanes taking off, or landing, or one will be by the little terminal and I will park and get Chris out. We will go into the terminal where we are known at this point, and very often we have been allowed on the tarmac to walk around a plane (engine off). We give thanks for the Father's provisions like that.
There are any number of things the Father reveals, giving me understanding through that grace, with faith being our response. 'Go to the dump/recycle station' and we see dump trucks emptying the large containers - Chris loves watching big trucks. Sometimes I feel led to go to the truck stop along the turnpike and we sit and watch the big semi-trucks (lorry's) come and go. At the local truck stop there can be 10 or more trucks parked, and more entering and leaving the parking space as the drivers go inside for a meal.
IF the Father has something planned for Chris to see like the above, He will put it in my spirit. But our Friday errand day is much like Paul trying to turn left or right but getting a 'no'. I'll think of an idea, and shift attention to see if there is any 'life' in that thought. I weigh it out. Is it up to me? Is there something else the Father has planned?
I've learned the Father doesn't always have a 'perfect will' for everything - sometimes He doesn't really care what we do, He will go with the flow and guide our steps as we go. Sometimes like in Paul's life above, we go about our routine and He only directs when we start to deviate from His will or what we plan would be unwise or dangerous.
For most things in our lives He leaves it up to us to decide. IF what we plan would put us in danger, THEN He may strongly urge us to go another way, or do something else, without telling us that a reckless car would have been in our path the other way. It is SO important we learn to shift our attention to our spirit for any leading from the Father. Sometimes it is a series of 'no' impressions. Sometimes we must continue doing what we know to do, not knowing exactly where He will direct us next. Sometimes it is like that game of hot or cold, but we always do what we know to do in the natural.
There is so much on this subject of faith and common sense, but I'll move on to a new subject next week. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected] or [email protected]
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