GOD WILL SHOW EACH
OF US OUR PATHWAYS
“So we, being many, are one body in Christ,
and every one members one of another” (Rom. 12:5).
Every person in the body of Christ is important, and we each have a path in
life that our Lord Jesus leads us on if we are willing.
Personally, I have found that the Lord doesn’t want me to follow just
one leader, one group. There’s nothing wrong with being a member of one church
or one group; it’s just not what the Lord has for everyone. God has been
leading me for several years now to listen to different preachers, different
apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, and other regular members of the
body of Christ who are not in leadership at all, in a conventional way, but
have things to say that inspire me and connect with my spirit.
I’ve been putting my articles out on the internet for 13 years, and I’ve
mentioned things I’ve learned from various ministers and sometimes included
links to their sites. But please know that I am not indicating that I think you
should follow them or become members of their group. That is entirely a matter
between you and God.
God knows who we are, and He knows what each of us needs as far as
spiritual insight at any given time in our lives. The Apostle Paul saw in the
first-century church that people were dividing up into different groups, and he
told them they were judging carnally. He told them every Christian is a
minister:
“Who
then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as
the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the
increase.
“So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that
watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
“Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man
shall receive his own reward according to his own labor” (1 Cor. 3:5-8).
What is the “labor” God is talking about? Our labor is to walk by what
the scriptures say and by what the Lord shows us through the Holy Spirit within
us. It is our job to “try the spirits” in what we read or what we hear. Does it
fit with what the Bible says? Does it resonate with the Spirit of God in us? “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try
the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1).
At the time
when Paul was teaching Timothy to be a good leader, there was a teaching in the
church saying that the resurrection of the future had already happened, so Paul
gave this instruction, which applies today as well:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
“But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto
more ungodliness. Who concerning the truth have erred,
saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this
seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the
name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Tim. 2:15-17, 19).
There’s a
saying, “Take everything with a grain of salt.” It means that when we hear
something, we can accept it, but we should maintain a degree of skepticism
about its truth. For us, it means we can hear something new that we think is
okay with the Word of God, and it may seem to resonate with Holy Spirit in us,
but it has to be right with God. And He will always confirm the truth for
us, or He’ll show us what’s wrong. Just
watch for it.
Mark 16:20 tells us that
after Jesus spoke to the disciples, “They went forth, and preached every where, the Lord
working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.” It’s
important in our times, just like it was in Jesus’ time, to get confirmation,
not from people, but from the Lord.
God tells us in Genesis 41:32, “And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh
twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and
God will shortly bring it to pass.” Confirmation from God is always a very wonderful
personal blessing.
We can’t just
believe everything we hear from any preacher just because we happen to like
them or happen to follow them. God expects us to be aware, be smart, be
discerning. He will guide us to whoever or wherever we need to be as an
individual. We are to trust the Lord to hear what we need to hear when we need
to hear it and see what we need to see and experience what we need to
experience to serve our God the very best we can.
Jesus said: “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John 5:30). That means every decision we make as far as our spiritual
pathway, needs to be judged by God first.
Periodically, we need to honestly check
with the Lord to see if we’re still on the right road. And though we may make go
down the wrong paths at times, (and everyone does it) it’s still an exciting
journey, and we never give up on knowing that the Lord will always be right
there to bring us back in line if we’ve erred, and He’ll always be ready to
take us to new heights as well!
Love, Carolyn
INSPIRING
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