Dear Ones, this is a continuing series of articles concerning what will be first draft chapters to the book RADICAL TRANSFORMATION – THE SEVEN MINISTRIES TO EVERY NEW BELIEVER. In the last article we talked about ‘becoming Ananias,’ a believer capable of ministering these blessings to the new believer. This article then expands upon the basic principle of how to accomplish that goal. Love to all!
THE INDISPENSIBLE PRINCIPLE
…that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. John 17:21-22 NKJV
THE DANCE
I’ve often thought that dancing in American culture was destroyed in the 1970’s by ‘disco.’ Spawned in a so-called gay bar in New York City, disco dancing left out the need for a partner, and caused the dancer to be the center of attention, the focus of vanity. In real dancing the dance involved two people, a man and a woman, learning to move as one, in harmony, beauty and attraction.
In a powerful scene in the movie PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, the two main characters, a young man and young woman, are dancing in a group. But then all of the sudden the filmmaker shows us something deeper, shows us what’s really going on, and the two are dancing alone together in that room… together, alone, enraptured with one another, but in a crowd. That’s dance!
And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 1 Cor 9:25-26 NKJV
When I was getting my belt my teacher had me train to the song WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN by Percy Sledge* to learn timing and smoothness, to learn to dance. I would repeat ‘1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4,’ controlling my breath as I went through the moves to the rhythms of the song. Training, and more training. You go slow to become smooth and smooth to become fast, and timing is everything. Over seven years and hundreds of hours of training, I finally got my belt.
To be truly led by the Spirit is to become one with Him, to move together, to think the same thoughts with the same attitude, perspective and faith. It takes hours of training and years of time to learn, to grow up into that place of oneness. I tell my students that it takes five years of dedicated study and application to begin to master just one of the gifts, discerning of spirits. Malcolm Gladwell talked about ten thousand hours. Then it takes time and constant training to maintain that level of intimacy. But the goal is something far greater than any piece of cloth – ‘that the world may believe that You sent Me.’
THE ESSENCE OF BEING LED – THE WORD
In the beginning was the Word (Grk. LOGOS – communication), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 NKJV
You must always remember that the Word is the communication of God. He is trying to impart, from His heart, an idea, a concept, a truth, a reality to your heart through the means of the words in the Word. When we study a word or a verse in the Word, we must keep in mind the whole Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. What we study, and the conclusions we draw, must fit easily in to the whole scope of Scripture. If you draw a conclusion that does not seem to fit easily, you must hold that word, and not release it, until you have greater light and understanding. This is a tenet of the ethics of a minister of God.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons (Grk. HUIOS, an adult, lit. son) of God. Romans 8:14 NKJV
What we want to grasp from this study is the concept of being led by the Spirit. We talked earlier about the different levels of growth. To be led is the fourth level of spiritual growth. You must be born again, begin to receive revelation, become humble, begin to know the Father and His family, have Christ formed in your character, and overcome habitual sin, as prerequisites to being effectively led.
To be led by the Spirit is to feel the heartbeat of God, to have that constant awareness of His presence. A baby is secure in its mother’s arms because it hears the familiar heartbeat that it heard in the womb. The baby may not feel so secure in another’s arms because of the different heartbeat or rhythms. Sons of God are in the bosom of the Father. They hear and feel the heartbeat of God. Jesus said, My sheep hear My voice. You must be trained to stay so quiet within that you constantly hear and feel the presence of God.
A Spirit led person is one who says and does the right thing at the right time with continual consistency.
Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud,but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5 NKJV
The first precept of being led has to do with the question of who is in charge, you or the Lord. You confessed Him as Lord, as the master or overseer of your life. He is legally and rightfully in charge of your life, including the supplying of all of your needs. This is part of how the Son makes you free indeed (John 8:36). Truthfully, until a man is led by the Spirit, until a man has honestly surrendered the lordship of his life, God has no obligation to meet all of his needs, because the man is resisting God. Surrender is easy until God diametrically opposes what you want to do. It is in that test that we find out how much we are really surrendered. Oh, the stories I could tell you!
For years before I went into full time ministry with Lightbearers, I owned a window cleaning business that did very well. I would wash windows with our team during the day and minister in the evenings. One day I was approached by a senior person with one of the largest fast-food restaurant chains in southern California. We cleaned several districts of their stores and they wanted us to bid on half of their restaurants in the area, about three hundred. For days I walked around with dollar signs in my eyes until I asked the Lord. He said, “Yes, you can take the contract, but you won’t be able to serve Me!” Oh! Bye-bye contract…hello Lightbearers!
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:24-26 NKJV
Another illustration that involves me deeply is that I was called to African ministry in 1978, by a vision but was not released into it until 1994. Why? It was because a huge part of the carnal, selfish, immature me had to die. Even since 1994, in 1998 – 99, another huge part of the fleshly me had to be confronted and die, before I could be released into the greater ministry we are doing now. He died, so that I could live. Now I must die, so that I can walk in newness of life, and He can live within me. Do you understand?
You must die to anxiousness, or else you will miss the timing of God. You must die to the approval of men, or else you will try to force the things of God. You must die to revenge, bitterness, disappointment and the expectations of men, and seek the pleasure and approval of your Lord alone. Whom the Son makes free, he is free indeed.
At the root of sin is the desire to be independent of God.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5 NKJV
You can do a lot of things without Him, but they will bear no fruit. In this sense God is a God of degrees. To the degree you surrender and cooperate with Him, to that degree you will bear good fruit. His purpose is to bring us into 100% agreement with Him. Since it is His agenda, and not our own, then the most basic element of being led must be TRUST.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
Trust involves completely letting go. It is not a passive or lazy letting go, but it is a firm commitment and surrender of all things, including one’s life, health, and deepest desires, to Jesus Christ.
Some think that if they are led by the Spirit, they can make no plans. But that is not true. Your soul should work hard and plan and prepare, but also be willing to submit all things to the affirmation, refinement or rejection of the Lord. Some think that they have to ask the Lord about eating a cookie or using the bathroom. No! But the Spirit could convict you about the food you eat because He loves you, and He could instruct you about the bathroom to avoid a future embarrassment. He knows what could potentially happen. You must learn to become comfortable in His presence without losing the fear of the Lord.
I illustrate this trust when I teach by having people be led around with their eyes closed. Everyone enjoys this exercise! We trust in our ability to see and make decisions. When that is taken away, we have to trust the one leading us. Try this: have someone lead you around by the hand as you keep your eyes closed for ten minutes. Go outside, up and down stairs, at some point try to run with them, all with your eyes closed. Do you see how you must gain confidence in the one leading you?
We must grow in our confidence in God.
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 1 John 3:20-23 (NKJV)
Stay away from people and situations that seek to rob you of your confidence in God.
Observe how you feel after leaving a situation or person. Why do you feel the way you do? Search for the real answer, not just what you assume and the Lord will begin to unveil some things to you.
Observation and reflection will help you learn to walk by the Spirit. One time, I joyfully shared with two missionaries about the power and presence of God. One of them received it with enthusiasm, while the other rejected it outright. I didn’t understand her reaction! When I asked the Lord about it later, He said she was a servant of her own heart. Ohhh…
Do not lean on or trust in your own understanding. The soul, the rational mind, will always deny the Spirit. To touch someone and speak words over them, and to expect diseases to leave them, is irrational to the soulish man. Yet the Bible says we are to lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. The Spirit is not irrational, He is super rational – far above the authority, power and rationality of the soul. The soul is to be a good, hardworking servant, but never the master over the spirit. The Holy Spirit is the master of the spirit of the born again one.
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. Psalms 139:7-10 (NKJV)
Ask the Lord to help you grow in the realization that you are never alone. Never! The concept of loneliness is the farthest thing from my mind. I acknowledge His presence all day long by speaking to Him out loud. Sometimes I will simply say, Jesus, You are Lord! Awareness of His presence keeps my words and my thoughts in check.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalms 19:14 NKJV
Do you get it? The most indispensable principle in all the work of God is to be led by the Spirit. There is limitless depth in God so that there is always room to grow in the things of the Spirit, and being led. The challenge is to keep paying the price – what is required of us – which is necessary to grow in Him. The reward is great, and the goal is profound but simple: ‘that the world may believe that You sent Me!’
Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…
Turn up your speakers, close your eyes and sing along…RM, this is for you!
Iif the picture doesn’t come through click on the box!