MINISTER AND THE HEARING FROM GOD 1

9 BUT you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
14 FOR as many as are LED by the SPIRIT of God, THESE ARE SONS [daughters] OF GOD."
Romans 8:9,14 (NKJV)

• Whatever a Minister wanted to do in the course of his or her assignment should be received or led to be done, by God.

• If your Word and Prayer life is Sound, you would not have much problem in this area.
• The most commonest way which God uses in speaking to every Believer, Even His Ministers, is the inner witnesses.
• An inner witness is the commonest way, and God expected every Believer to be able to hear Him through this (Romans 8:14).
• There are other ways which God uses, and that included the spectaculars: visions, dreams, trances, angelic visitations, but such are not common, that is, God does not communicate through them often—except those who are called to be a prophet.
• God also speaks through His Word, whilst reading and studying and pondering on it.
• He also uses circumstances, the crying out of wisdom (Proverbs 8:1-5), and His servants—through their preachings, Teachings, and counselings.
• It is important that whatever you heard should be weighed or checked in the light of the Word of God. Does the message agree or align with the Word of God?

• Whoever wants to hear from God:
(i) Should be still and learn to be quiet. You cannot be noisy, talking, and still want to hear at the same time.
(ii) The person must be Disciplined and self-controlled.
(iii) Must not be given to carousing, partying, must not be someone who wanted to be in every function, both the necessary and the unnecessary: "WHEREAS SHE WHO LIVES IN PLEASURE and SELF-GRATIFICATION [giving herself up to luxury and self-indulgence] IS DEAD EVEN WHILE SHE [still] LIVES" (1 Timothy 5:6 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition).
READ: Luke 21:34
(iv) Sporting activities might not be outright bad, If you did know how to handle it, such that, It would not affect your Fellowshipping with God (1 Timothy 4:8).

• You have to grow in the hearing of God, your discerning ability.

• God communicates mostly through inward witnesses as earlier said, which He does frequently nonverbally through signs and things around you.
• He uses things, events happening around you, in getting your attention and communicates to you as a son or daughter of His (Jeremiah 18:1,2).
• You grow in discerning from one level of your spiritual growth to another, as you pay attention to it. Remember, It is God's Will that every Believer, sons and daughters of His, know how to hear Him—how to be led through the Holy Spirit on the inside of them: FOR AS MANY AS ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THESE ARE SONS [daughters] OF GOD" (Romans 8:9,14 (NKJV).
• If a supposed Minister of God could not hear from God, such has already placed a limit on how far he or she could be used in the work of Ministry (Isaiah 42:19,20).
• You have to work on it. No one would hear for a Minister. Your intimacy with God must be Strong enough, that you would be able to hear Him per time.

• Receiving a counsel from someone whom you Revere and the hearing from God (Proverbs 15:22).

• There is a place of receiving counselings from others, and that of hearing from God by yourself. The two are important, and they are necessary, and might be needed at one time or another.
• When you go for counseling, you can only be given a form, or a pattern, like a frame structure, but not the details.
  THE reason being that, the person whom you have gone to, for counseling, is not God, he or she cannot give you the details. But when they shared their views and experiences, you can pick some things—receive the light through what the person has shared.
• After the counseling, you still need to be sensitive and know what to pick out of what the person has shared.
• You would have to know whether the counseling is suitable for your situation, what you are currently passing through, or not.
• You pick through the leading of the Holy Spirit, the one that is relevant to your situation—the challenge before you which you are currently facing.
• This also is applicable to the teaching you heard or the one you Read in a book.
  a. Do not take all you Read in someone's book and apply it directly. You look and pick out the ones that are applicable to your life and Ministry, you also need sensitivity in this area.
  b. What works for the person who shared It in his or her book, might not work exactly the same way in your own life and Ministry.
  c. But what the person has shared which you Read would give you a clue, or an idea, or a pattern, or a direction; on what to do about whatever issue At hand—passing through.
• The best way is to subject whatever counsel you received, or whatever you gleaned or deduced in someone's book which you read, to the Holy Spirit for guidance.
• Jethro, Prince of Midian, and Moses' father in-law, said to Moses:
  "IF YOU AGREE WITH MY IDEA, AND IF GOD COMMANDS YOU TO DO IT, it will help you. The work will not be too hard for you. And all these people will go home happily' " (Exodus 18:23 (Easy English Bible).

"IF YOU FOLLOW THIS ADVICE, AND IF GOD COMMANDS YOU TO DO SO, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”
Exodus 18:23 (NLT)

"IF you follow this ADVICE, AND IF THE LORD AGREES, you will be able to endure the pressures, and there will be peace and harmony in the camp.”
Exodus 18:23 (the Living Bible)

• If God did NOT agree, or approve, or command to do, whatever advice or counsel you received from someone, no matter how you Revere the person, do not do it.

• When I was relating with a revered Minister of God as my mentor. I was still young in the Ministry work and inexperienced. Whenever I was confused on a particular matter, which I could not discern the mind of God on it. I usually would pray to God that I wanted to go for counseling, to meet His servant, that He, God, should through him tell me whatever He, God, wanted me to know and do about the matter at hand. I would tell God that whatever the Minister of His told me to do, that I would assume or consider to be His Mind or Will for me about the situation at hand.

• As I prayed the prayers I would proceed for the counseling, and the outcome was always good, It usually worked.
• Note:
  a. This could work then, because of my level of growth and knowledge in the Ministry work.
  b. If I do that now, It might not work, God might not give a direction through that pattern now, He expected me to know better and to have moved up in my Walk and Fellowshipping with Him.
  c. Also, If this method would be used by whoever is just coming up, such should make sure the person whom you wanted to meet for the counseling is someone who Walks in the Spirit and can tell you the truth.

• You will not fail in Jesus' name.

• Should there be any ailment in your body, I declare your healing now in Jesus' name.
• Whatever is contrary to your health is cursed and uprooted in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
  Peace!
  TO BE CONTINUED