Are you sure?

When our oldest son Kevin was in grade school we used to help him study for his spelling tests just like most parents. We would give him the word and he would spell it and we would either tell him "correct" or "try again." What I learned in this process was that at times Kevin would spell the words correctly but then would not be confident that he had done so. What I started doing was asking him if he was sure that he had spelled the word correctly? I would ask him, "Are you sure?" Then he would think about it and most often come to the conclusion that he had in fact made the right decision. He became confident that he had spelled the word correctly, that he had made the right decision.

The Lord does the same with his people. Let me explain. In the second half of Acts 20 we find the Apostle Paul giving departing instructions to the Ephesian elders. He recounts some of the details of his ministry and then later gives them prophetic warning about ravenous wolves that would come against the flock. But sandwiched in there in verse 22 he tells them....

"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there." Acts 20:22

Simple enough. He's going to Jerusalem. He's been told to do so by the Lord. The Spirit of God is compelling him to. However, if we keep reading into the next chapter we find something interesting happening. Paul and his companions eventually find themselves in Tyre in Acts 21:3,4. There we see this happen:

"Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem." Acts 21:4

Interesting isn't it?  In Acts 20:22 Paul says the Spirit is compelling him to go to Jerusalem. In Acts 21:4 we see Christians, through the Spirit, urging Paul not to go to Jerusalem. At this point we have a divine contradiction. Why? Why is this happening? I think it is very simple really. I think the Lord is trying to solidify Paul's resolve to endure all things. The Lord knew that when Paul arrived at his destination he was going to be severely tested by the plots of the Jews. And, I believe that in his own way the Lord is asking Paul, "Paul, are you sure this is what I have told you to do? Are you sure?"

Upon arriving in the city Paul is detained and beaten by the Jews in the temple, arrested by the Romans, brought back before the Sanhedrin, held in prison for further questioning at a future date, threatened with assassination and transferred under armed guard to Caesarea for a trial before the governor Felix, detained in prison for another two years, brought to trial again before governor Festus who succeeds Felix, brought to trial again before King Agrippa and then later transferred by ship under armed guard to Rome to eventually stand trial before Caesar.

That's alot of suffering for one trip. And the Lord knew that before Paul started enduring through this succession of events he would have to solidify Paul's resolve to endure all things in the Lord. Paul had to get to the place where he knew that he knew that he knew that he absolutely knew that he was in the right place with the Lord in Jerusalem, even before he got there. Paul absolutely had to be clear in his own heart and mind, even before he arrived, that he had made the right decision, that the peace of God that surpasses all understanding was guarding his heart and his mind about the decision he had made according to the wisdom that was in his heart. He needed to dwell in the supremacy of God's wisdom, his peaceful wisdom.

"Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have get understanding." Proverbs 4:7

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving,...." James 1:17

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7

"Let everything be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." 2 Cor 13:1

The Lord wants us to dwell in the supremacy of his wisdom. He wants us to know the peace that accompanies his wisdom, the peace that guards the heart and mind against doubt and unbelief once we have made a decision to go with him in a certain direction in our lives. I have often found that when making critical decisions in my life the only real confirmation I and my family received was the peace of God itself. If we are going to walk with the Lord there are going to be times when everyone around us, even trustworthy Christians, may not see the fullness of what God is showing us specifically.

I am not preaching against accountability. We need the Body to help us along. I am not saying go "rogue." But I have to tell you there are going to be times when you are going to have to stand alone with Jesus in the Spirit. Going rogue is when you don't have peace. It's not "rogue" when you are the only one who sees it after you have prayed about something more than once and subsequently have the peace of God abiding in your heart. At that point you are not alone. At that point there is confirmation and we go for it, even when other well-intending believers around us don't see or hear what God is showing us. This happened to Paul in Acts 20 &21.

In my last post I spoke of times in my life when others counseled me against doing what God had shown me to do. At times it was obvious the counsel was "Bad Counsel." But I have to also say that among those moments of "Bad Counsel" there have been many times where God was raising up others to test me like he did for Paul in Tyre in Acts 21. I look back and wonder if, when others where counseling me against making a decision I prayerfully felt led to make, they were not in fact speaking by the Spirit. I wonder if it was God asking me if I was sure that I had in fact heard him, that like my son Kevin, that was how you spell the word.

"It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice." Philippians 1:15-18

We may not know in this lifetime whether, at times, the counsel and/or opposition we get from others springs from false motives or pure motives. Sometimes the Lord does not allow us to discern the hearts and motives of others. Like Elisha, sometimes it is hidden from us for various reasons (2 Kings 4:27).

When I moved to Midland, TX in February, 1997 the Lord spoke to me the first day I was there and told me to not get to comfortable as I would not be there long. Six months later the Lord moved me to Albuquerque, NM where I met Christine. But before I made the move out of Midland I was offered a free place to live and an opportunity to stay. The Lord tested me on my resolve to do what I had been told to do.

After marrying Christine and subsequently getting into management with the Olive Garden in 2000, the Lord opened a door for us to move back to Texas. The Lord had shown me 9 months prior that we would be making this move. When the time came to finalize the details of my transfer with my company they called an offered me the opportunity to stay in Albuquerque and to work in a restaurant where the quarterly bonuses that the managers were receiving were some of the best in the company. I prayed with my wife about it and turned it down. When they transferred me back to Texas the Lord saw to it that I was placed in a similar restaurant where the managers where earning similar bonus money to the ones in the aforementioned restaurant in Albuquerque.

A few years later the Lord began to speak to me that it was time to leave the restaurant business and get into real estate. He spoke to me at various times and in various ways over a period of about six months. When the time came for me to finalize my decision and turn in my resignation the area director, my bosses boss, tried to talk me out of my decision to leave even though he and I had always clashed because I was a Christian walking by faith.

"Did God really say......?" Genesis 3:1

When God speaks to us, more likely than not, we are going to be tested on it at some point in time. The question that remains is, "Are we certain that we have heard the Lord?" The opposition that you get to your decisions may be demonic and carnal like in Genesis 3. Or, it may be Spirit-led questioning as we see in Acts 21. Sometimes we can gauge the fruit of the individual and know which "voice" it is. Sometimes, we can't. But, as Paul said in Philippians 1, "But what does it matter? Whether from false motives or true......And because of this I rejoice."

We just need to know what God is saying to us. And when we know, we have peace. This is what it means to "know the Lord."

Be Blessed,
JEB
www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com.

Miseo

I was a Criminal Justice major back in college. I absolutely loved most of my CJ courses. Terrorism, Organized Crime, Criminal Procedures, Criminal Investigations, Texas Criminal Law.........Many of my classmates looked for reasons to skip as many classes as possible. Not me. I loved going to class. Dr. Robert J. Grant was the founding professor of our department at Midwestern State and also my assigned academic advisor. He was a former marine and had also been a police officer and organized crime investigator for the Phoenix Police Department for 16 years. This guy would tell some amazing stories from his days on the force. I loved going to his classes and listening to him talk about his experiences. If I had it to do all over again I don't think I would change a thing with regards to my core studies.

He told us a story one time that I have never forgotten. He explained one day that in all of his years on the police force he had only been knocked off of his feet one time. He and his partner had responded to a 911 call from a lady that was being beaten by her husband. When they got to the scene they found themselves breaking up a violent dispute between this couple. Dr. Grant went on to tell us that after they got these two people seperated and the husband handcuffed, the wife, the lady that was getting beat up by her husband, turned on Dr. Grant and punched him in the face while he was looking the other way and completely knocked him down to the ground. Let me say that again. She is getting beat up, the policemen save her from further abuse, and after cuffing her husband she turns on them and punches one of them in the face because she is upset at them for physically restraining her spouse. Now does any of this make sense? Not at all. And what the situation reveals is that both the husband the the wife had criminal intent in their hearts. Looking inside the heart, there was really no difference between the offender and the victim. They were both criminals, both abusers.

I have to tell you, I have seen this spiritually happen over and over and over and over with Christian couples....spiritually speaking. I have seen it in Albuquerque. I have seen it in Ft Worth. I have seen it in Dallas. I have seen it in Colorado. I have seen it on more occasions than I can count.  I have witnessed it over and over and over again while ministering.....I have seen situations where either the husband or the wife was crying out for help because the other spouse was not listening to God over protracted periods of time and it was creating multiple cracks in the foundations of the marriage. It was affecting giftings, callings, daily living, the kids, finanaces.....one facet or another of life in the home. And when I, my wife and/or others  stepped in too minister foundational things to help reconcile the people to God first and to each other second....and when the instigating spouse didn't respond to God's Spirit....the spouse that was being victimized turned on the peacemakers that were sent to bring order.

I have seen this over and over and over. I have seen spouses that are not being treated with love and respect. I've seen Christians that know that their spouses have rejected God's voice in both big things and/or small things that are almost unnoticable. Spouses caught up in pride and ambition. Situations where the other spouse is just neglectuful of his or her spiritual duties......And I have seen the victimized spouse in these sitations, the very same spouse that did the right thing and made the 911 call, just turn on God's ministers in the course of time and punch them right in the face with gossip, slander, rejection and subtle hatred.

Why does this happen? The absence of stamina. The absence of endurance. An unwillingness to continue in the sufferings of Christ and press in for deeper levels of maturity in spite of the other person's unwillingness to grow and embrace the calling of God on their lives.

"Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 

"For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." Hebrews 3:14

"For you have need of endurance that after you have done the will of God you might receive the promise." Hebrews 10:36

"But we are not of them that shrink back but of them that believe unto the saving of the soul." Hebrews 10:39

"In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." Hebrews 12:4 

No marriage is perfect all the time. There are times where my wife will prophetically sense something before I do and she will patiently wait for me to come around so we can move forward together on something. I have had to wait on my wife to come around on things. We have disagreements at times. Everyone does. I am not talking about those things. I'm talking about situations where there is either subtle or blatant wholesale rebellion by one spouse and the other spouse is trying to hold onto what God has for them. The sherrif arrives in the form of eldership in the church, pastoral oversight or maybe some apostolic and prophetic ministers enter the picture and the obedient spouse becomes disobedient along with the guilty party because they don't want to hold on a little longer....that is what I am talking about. "The Victim" doesn't really want to wait until God deals wholesale with things and makes things right in HIS way because really the heart is not wholly yielded to God's solution.

What is it that keeps the victimized spouse from holding on and staying obedient?...Simply put...They have not counted the cost of obedience and themselves are not willing to give up all things for the Lord. The victim is just as guilty as the offender because neither have abandoned all things for the Lord. They are both offenders. They are both guilty of the same sin.

     "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life -  he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."  Luke 14:26,27

The word Jesus uses for "hate" in verse twenty-six is Miseo. It means to love less than. Jesus is not telling us to hate our spouses with a carnal hatred. He is telling us that we must love our spouses less than we love him. This overiding love that we have for the Lord was first embodied for us by Abraham when he offered Isaac on the altar. As God conditions us over the course of time we are to grow in this perfection of grace within our souls. And along the way as we experience our journeys we are to operate in the sufficiency of his grace from one experience to another. We go from faith to faith (Romans 1:17). We go from hearing one thing from God to another. And we must learn to hold onto those things that God shows us, even if/when our spouses are not joining us in the process of revelation. We shouldn't let others hold us back from the faith that God puts in our hearts. Not now. Not ever.

The Body of Christ worldwide is coming into a time of great testing. We live in the generation that, for the first time in all of history, is watching all of the nations on the face of the earth functon with economies that are based on fiat currencies. A fiat currency is paper currency that is backed by nothing and will eventually be worth nothing at some point in time. And with that over 75% of the global currency reserves held by all countries of the world are US Dollars. The US Dollar has gone from being the most stable paper currency in the world to the most unstable. If you have been watching the news lately you now that the international banking cartels that run the US Government, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve are actively debasing the US currency to a value of zero. Their doing this through a process called Quantitative Easing. The value of the US Dollar is now worth 5% of what it was in 1915. In roughly 95 years the US Dollar has lost 95% of its value. And it's continuing to plummet. Eventually all economies around the world will crash as the US Economy crashes due to God's judgment on America for abortion (65 million roughly) and all manner of sexual immorality. The entire world will fall under judgment soon but it will begin in the United States and will then spread throughout the world.

"The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt." Isaiah 24: 5,6

The earth is defiled. First America, then the world. Judgment must come in response to this defilement. First America, then the world. As this wave of judgment comes everything that can be shaken will be shaken, including unstable marriages that are founded on carnal desires.

"Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.' The words 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain." Hebrews 12:26,27

God is going to shake the heavens and the earth through judgment and circumstances. And in the process, all created things, all things that are carnal and built on shifting sand are going to be shaken so that what cannot be shaken, that which is built on the ROCK (Christ), will remain.

I'll wrap up with this. A few years back while living in San Antonio I had a dream that I was standing in a mess hall on a military base. I was sitting down eating amongst a large company of officers. Suddenly I felt compelled to stand up and pray. I began to pace the floor back and forth and as I did a word of knowledge came to me. The Lord began to show me that a war was about to begin. And in this war, marriages would be divided and families would be broken apart.

Do you have a marriage that can endure all things financial, social, physical? Can you endure? Do you love your spouse more than Jesus? If you do, your marriage will not endure the coming days. It won't. The key to a marriage that has the 'capacity' to last in Christ is one where two people love God more than they love each other. Do you love your spouse more than you love God? Do you love the financial stability, the social stability and the physical stability that comes from your marriage more than you love God? If we do then God is going to shake our circumstances to show us that our perceived "stable rock" is really "unstable sand" and that our priorities are misaligned. It's time to repent if need be....before it is too late. I say this to myself as well.

JEB
jayblackshear@yahoo.com
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/