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Have you ever asked the question, “What do I do now?”

I am sure you have.

Perhaps you are doing that right now...

Preamble

I did not deliver a “New year message” at the beginning of the 2024, nor did I delve into the numerics involved and try to speak “prophetically” as many do, saying “this is the year of...”. If anything, I could dub this as “24, the year for more”, but more what? I for one do not want more of the same old, same old and nice sounding “words” that are a rehash of what was said before. I mark my calendar when receiving such “prophecies” and few come to pass.

At the time of writing, we are still in the Jewish year, 5784 and it will remain so until 2 October 2024, but I sense in the very depths of my being that something has changed and that we are all sitting on the edge of something new and unique. It may or may not be in relationship to the Middle East crisis that is spilling over and affecting the entire planet, but may be indicative of a change in the spiritual climate in which we live. Many people I know and meet are in two minds. Some just do not care what is happening and want to continue living “as per usual”.

Other believers know that things have changed and want to know what to do next. I do. I have a ministry vision that is as old as Methuselah, but the Lord has been telling me, “Whoa boy. Hold the reins. It’s not time yet. Wait.”

This probably sounds familiar to many of you and if so, then this rather lengthy presentation may be of assistance.

I came to the Lord in September 1968 in a Pentecostal church, coming from an Anglican background, but have Jewish blood. That’s a potpourri if anything, but it has enabled me to minister across a diverse range of people and churches in several countries and see outside the box many of us are locked into. I do not necessarily endorse them, but I have met many of the “big ministries”, some of whom are my friends and ministered with them, but what matters most is the relationship with the Lord.

Paul said:
Yet all of the accomplishments that I once took credit for, I’ve now forsaken them and I regard it all as nothing compared to the delight of experiencing Jesus Christ as my Lord! To truly know him meant letting go of everything from my past and throwing all my boasting on the garbage heap.It’s all like a pile of manure to me now, so that I may be enriched in the reality of knowing Jesus Christ and embrace him as Lord in all of his greatness. Philippians 3:7–8  See also Ephesians 1:14-26

I’ve met the Lord personally and have been to heaven several times. None of those things are false boasts and I share it only illustrate that I do not theorize and play games, nor am I a rank amateur. I am serious about our relationship with the Lord.

During this time, I have planted several churches (I really dislike that term now) and been involved in a wide range of Christian activities ranging from being a pastor to conducting healing crusades, conventions and the like.

There have been times when I did not know what to do.

I wanted to be active and as many others do, wanted to ”do something for the Lord” and that is a noble cause.

The problem however is in the knowing.

Assuming that an individual is truly called by God into service and has not been self-appointed, as often happens, or put there by a denomination, a common “fault” is in “trying something to see what works”, or to start a thing and then ask God to bless it.

Often times we follow the trends of others, but I recommend that be avoided, because we are all different; live in different places; know different people; experience different climates and so on. What may work in one place may not work elsewhere.

What may work for me, may not work for you and vice-versa.

I put it to you that if anyone is truly called by God, He has a specific plan in mind for us as an individual. I shall repeat myself in this presentation and start by saying it is up to us to determine what that plan is and not deviate from it.

We all have to learn to get God’s vision—to make it our own vision and to follow the plan that He gives us individually.

It should be evident therefore that His plan has a predetermined timetable and methods of implementation.

We are time oriented, looking at the calendar, but God has “His time” and it is seasonal. We cannot harvest cherries in the middle of winter because they bear fruit in summer, so one of the biggest problems we all face is getting the season right and following the Lord’s specific instructions.

This brings us to the question I posed in the title, “What do I do now?”

Contents

Write the vision

“Making it work”

Stop

Relationship

What is in your hand?

The “Waiting on God” Factor

Illustrations: Moses; Joshua; Gideon; Biblical mandates; Exposing plans; more...

What do I do?

Write the vision
Making it work
Stop

The first thing to do is to stop. Make sure it is a “God idea” and not your own. Do not start something and then ask God to bless it. If you do, the outcome depends more on you than it does on the Lord. Ask a simple question, “Is this what God wants?

Jesus told us very plainly that His sheep hear His voice, so He does speak to us and we have the right, the duty and the ability to find out. The problem has to be in the listening. We know from scripture that God does not want anyone to perish, but come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, but that does not necessarily mean that we have to race off and do something.

So, dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape your notice: a single day counts like a thousand years to the Lord Yahweh, and a thousand years counts as one day. This means that, contrary to man’s perspective, the Lord is not late with his promise to return, as some measure lateness. But rather, his “delay” simply reveals his loving patience toward you, because he does not want any to perish but all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:8–9

Paul wanted to go to certain places to minister—but the Holy Spirit told him not to go as seen in Acts 16:6. It could have been a matter of timing, or the wrong person tying to do the right job. This is why I believe that the first thing to do is to do nothing! That is, to do nothing until clear and precise instructions have been given by the Lord that this is indeed what He wants. We can then proceed.

Many “Christian endeavours” have been made with varying degrees of “success” because it seemed like a good thing, or because some other person is doing it. We should have grown out of that by now. If God wants it done, He has a way to get it done.

Get the relationship right

This is a good place to start anything and everything with God and with each other.

I had gone to bed when the Lord called me and asked me if I would like to spend some time with Him, saying, “Come and sit with me for a while”. This is not the first time of course, but I share this to illustrate how we can ascertain if we are doing things right.

It helps provide an answer to the question I posed, “What do I do now?” I am permitted to share what He told me:
I am glad you have stopped and invited me into your plans asking Me if what you are considering is OK. Few people do and that disappoints Me. I treasure your relationship with each other and with Me.
Once more, few people have such relationships. They just go blindly about their business as if I do not exist or are a part of their lives, but I am. What is worse is that many preachers are in that category.”

He shared more and continued.

The most important thing is your relationship with me. Get that right and everything will be right.

He asked me if I “saw it”. I did. That is our starting point.

If we make sure of our relationship is right with the Lord, we are in essence giving Him permission to lead us; to guide us; to give us the answers we need and once we have established that—to give us a strategy to go about things. There’s the solution. That is the answer.

If you or I want to embark on a venture, the first step as I mentioned is to do nothing. Stop everything. God knows what is required to get the job done. If He has asked you to do that, He knows what is going to happen, who you need for help; what you need for the task, where to obtain it, when to get it and how to get it. He knows!

Peter shot his mouth off prematurely when asked about the Temple tax and the Lord told him to go fishing, saying that the first fish would have that specially minted coin in its mouth. This implies that there was more than one fish, so Jesus met a need, avoided an embarrassing situation, had a time of fellowship (fishing can be like that) and provided food in one simple act.

This was not a theological debate or argument, but a simple command, “Go fishing Peter.

What is in your hand?

We often think that we need certain things or money to fulfill the assignment. The attitude is often that of, “If only I had this” or “If that person would do this for me, I could...” Of course we need certain resources, but God knows that and He is not as concerned about our supposed lack of anything as we are. He called Moses who started trying that stunt, commencing with a little word, “but” and God ignored him. He asked the man, “What is in your hand?” He knew what Moses had, because He had been watching him. He is watching you!

All that Moses had to offer was a dead stick and he replied accordingly. Watch this now! When Moses started his ministry, it was called “Moses’ rod”. God told him to cast it down; to get rid of it; to stop relying on anything he had in the natural and when it hit the ground it turned into a snake. Everything we have in the natural can be like a serpent to God!

The Lord then told him to pick it up by the tail and it then turned into a rod. You do not pick snakes up by the tail, as they could turn around and bite you. He was given authority over the thing, picked it up and grasped it—in the opposite direction! There’s a message in that! Moses’ rod was later called the Rod of God! Please look at the page called “3 Signs”..

Give Him what you’ve got—now. Let Him use it as He wishes. Do not use your own natural resources until they have been turned upside down for the Kingdom and when that really happens, you may then be ready to do what God wants, but that is only the beginning. God told Moses to stretch his rod out, but He also told Aaron to stretch his rod out. God told Moses to strike a rock and to speak to a rock to get water. He told Moses to make a brass serpent to cure people when snakes bit them. As I have said elsewhere, that was just a tool God used once for a specific task, at a specific place, but when they moved on to follow the cloud, they took it with them. The thing God used once became an idol that was called a Nehushtan in 2 Kings 18:4. Please do not make your own Nehushtan as many have. It’s real. This is a lesson we need to learn and far too many pastors do not seem to have learned it. God uses different things, in different ways at different times, in different conditions, by different people to get the job done—and they don’t always have to do it themselves! Aaron played an important part also. Moses asked God the same questions we do, “What do I do now?

Jesus was flexible in His approach and not locked into anything as we often are. He healed by speaking, by laying hands on people, by spitting on the ground and making clay, by casting out evil spirits, by asking a man what he wanted or by simply walking down a street. He told us to do likewise! But He never did a thing of His own volition.

Nothing I do is from my own initiative, for as I hear the judgment passed by my Father, I execute judgment. And my judgments will be perfect, because I can do nothing on my own, except to fulfill the desires of my Father who sent me. For if I were to make claims about myself, you would have reasons to doubt. But there is another who bears witness on my behalf, and I know that what he testifies of me is true.”  John 5:30–32

Jesus said only what the Father said and did what the Father did, so if He really is our role model, it seems a simple proposition to me that we follow suit. I’m not smart enough, or anointed enough to do it alone, so why should I ignore all the help God has provided to me to “do it right” and try to do my own thing? My vision requires help and God has appointed someone to that task! One person has betrayed us and abandoned us, but that special kind of help is still required and is coming. This is because we can all relate to each other in fellowship and in some form of affiliation as I do. There is merit in that.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour.
For if they fall, one lifts his companion up. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Also, if two lie down together, they keep warm; but how does one keep warm by himself?
Although one might be overpowered, two withstand him. And a threefold cord is not readily broken.  
Ecclesiastes 4:9–12. See also Proverbs 11:14, 24:6

Jesus sent the disciples out two-by-two which is a great idea. We can run ideas past each other, encourage each other, apply a check mechanism if required, cover each others’ back and help avoiding scandals and the like.

We adopt a policy of avoiding being alone with a member of the opposite sex. Such propositions give us a “safety-net”.

Single person ministries may be legitimately called by God and do not operate in a denominational group. Some people who operate independently may be legitimate, whereas others are dangerous, like “lone wolves” who totally cut themselves off may sometimes need to be viewed with suspicion. They can get off onto tangents and error without guidance and correction, or they may be legitimate. We have check mechanisms by means of the word of God and the gifts of the Spirit, such as discerning of spirits and words of knowledge and the fruit they produce.

Jesus told us:

Beware of the false prophets! They come to you wearing sheep’s clothing, but underneath they are hungry wolves! You will recognize them by their fruit. Matthew 7:15–16

If we really believe His words, false prophets exist today, but if so, then real prophets should also be here. He told us that we shall know or recognize them. The meaning in the Greek is epiginōskō that means to know about, possess information about, understand, perceive, comprehend, learn about, make a careful inquiry about and to recognize. They may not be the same as Old Testament prophets, but are still a valid and vital ministry and we cannot continue to deny their existence. They may be sent to us to provide much needed and necessary guidance.

He said that we can tell them by their fruit or lack thereof. This does not refer only to an individual but to a church. I should not need to elaborate on that, but will state that if we really have a personal relationship with the Lord, we have that “witness of the Spirit” and are led by the Spirit, so we can quickly size things up. Every one of us should be capable of walking through the doors of any church and immediately determine the spiritual climate there. I do. It’s rather daunting and can avoid much heartache later, leading us to avoid the snare of deception and pretense. We can then walk in the light and be liberated.

Anyone can read a bible including the devil, but not know truth. Anyone can pray. Muslims do. Eastern religions do. New-age people can look the part too, but are such people really “of God”?

In Acts chapter nineteen, the account says that “special” miracles were happening in Paul’s ministry. I could not find one single meaning of the word “special”, so I will not comment on what they were.

The important thing is that God was doing something there. People were being saved and filled with the Holy Ghost...and they spoke in other tongues. This was a “revival” that lasted two years and then... seven men who were sons of a man called Sceva arrived. There is no written record stating that he was the high priest and we really do not know who he was.

These seven men said all the “right words”, even speaking the name of Jesus and tried to do what Paul did.

The spirits admitted that they knew Jesus and Paul but did not recognize them. They know the real from the counterfeit. They can tell the difference between a genuine man of God and a pretender. “Using the name of Jesus” is not a “magic wand” and is often used indiscriminately. The difference is in the relationship. If the relationship is “right”, the authority and ability goes with it.

When someone has been chosen by the Lord, ordained by Him, equipped by Him and given an assignment by , he or she is then legally qualified to “use the name”. Those spirits recognized Paul, because he met such criteria. Those men did not have that. We need to avoid loosely using tags and titles as if it is something special. We should only elevate a person by giving him a title, when that person has met that same criteria. In many places, it is demanded that we call the man “pastor so and so”,”Apostle so-and-so” or “prophet so-and-so” and that is questionable. We should recognize and respect the office of course, but it is a calling that deserves proper respect when it is earned by Divine appointment and recognized, not by demanding it.

Speaking of authority, we should look at the area of “control”. A common phrase often used was,”Whose covering are you under?” This can often be more correctly called as, “Who is controlling you?” That approach is usually denominationally based and often taken to excess and when that happens it is bordering on a form of witchcraft or cultist behaviour.

I recommend that you conduct some research into the traits of cults and compare them with many churches, despite the fact that they may “preach Jesus”. The signs to look for are manipulation, domination and control. A pastor taking this too far is dictatorial and that is error. I encourage you to study how the early church functioned with an open heart and mind. They did not really operate as many modern churches do, but related to each other in a more loosely structured manner. On some occasions, such as in Acts 15, they met with each other, prayed about it and determined the mind and will of the Lord on the matter.

Paul spoke about the renewing of the mind in Romans 12 and this deserves full mention.

I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God.
This will please him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you. In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the ‘olam hazeh. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed.  
Romans 12:1–2

God calls an individual. He called Abraham. He called Moses. He called Gideon. He called Paul and He called others throughout scripture individually and by name and He may have called you. I have already mentioned that the first step is to stop. What next comes into the area of renewing our mind, better described as mindsets.

My son, don’t forget my teaching, keep my commands in your heart; for they will add to you many days, years of life and peace. Do not let grace and truth leave you—bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and esteem in the sight of God and of people.
Trust in Adonai with all your heart; do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him; then he will level your paths.
Don’t be conceited about your own wisdom; but fear Adonai, and turn from evil.  This will bring health to your body and give strength to your bones. 
Proverbs 3:1–8

Waiting on God

It is time now to give scriptural accounts to hopefully line up with what I have been trying to say. I now think that the term “waiting on God” is not correct and is perhaps a foolish statement, because God is waiting on us. Let us look at Exodus chapter three when God appeared in the burning bush to Moses when he was tending Jethro’s sheep. Often times we can be going about our everyday business when God intervenes and on such occasions, it can take us by surprize. Our response is what matters.

Moses saw the bush and could have shrugged it off as an unusual phenomenon. Perhaps you have had some kind of encounter, but did not know what it was. If and when such a thing happens, all you need to do is ask a simple question like,”Is that You, Lord?” It is so simple we can easily miss it or start thinking theologically and still miss it.

Moses said something! Do not overlook the power of your words. He said, “I will go”. There is a choice process involved.

He decided to investigate whilst God was watching him.

God is watching you.

We do not wait on God—He is waiting for us for our response and If we respond, He is always there. When Jesus was walking on the water, It seems as if He was going to walk right past the disciples in the boat. He had instructed then to go across to the other side and so He expected them to get there. If He has told you to do something, He expects you to do it. Sometimes things happen between the issuing of the command and the fulfillment of it and so our best approach is to stay focused on the assignment.

We do not ignore the storms and tempests of life, but deal with them and get on with the assignment.

When the disciples saw the Lord they all became fearful, but Peter asked that very simple question,”Is that You Lord?

He promised to lead us. We as His sheep hear His voice and follow Him! The Lord did not say that we shall not hear other voices, but He did say that we can discern and learn to tell the difference. I never cease to be amazed at how many professing believers are amazed or even hostile when someone says that the Lord talks to them! He said that He would and if Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, He still speaks today. If someone states that He does not talk to us, it could be tantamount to calling Him a liar. After all, He stated very clearly that His sheep hear His voice—and follow Him!

We make things difficult for ourselves at times in thinking that we must pray and fast and sometimes chastise the flesh, but if we are dead to sin, we really do not need to do the latter. Those things start getting into the area of “works”. I rarely fast now.

Once, the Lord asked me to go on a fast and I asked Him, “How long” and He said, “Until I tell you to stop”. I commenced and an hour later, He said, “Thank you. You can stop now.”

He shared with me that it is not so much as “what we “do”, but who we are—and in our obedience that really matters.

To be sure, the early church fasted, but I am starting to think it was not as often as I once thought. I suggest that you look at Matthew 9:14-15 more closely in respect to our fasting, considering that the Lord has stated that He never leaves us...

In Acts chapter six, they chose seven men, including Stephen and Philip and the only qualifications required were that they were full of the Holy Ghost and exercised wisdom. They prayed and laid hands on them, but I saw no mention of fasting.
Elsewhere they fasted “and ministered to the Lord”. Many prayer meetings are “self-centered”, concentrating on the local church meeting or an outreach of some kind. They pray for God’s blessings on their efforts and all this is commendable, but one thing often missing however is the actual ministry to the Lord!

Pause and think of that for a moment. Did God ask them to do that? Are they really getting results? If not, why not?

Did they first stop and ask the Lord for His instructions?

When the church asked the Lord on an occasion as seen in Acts 13, the Holy Ghost told them to appoint Paul and Barnabus for the work that He had called them to do. They were sent away on assignment by the Holy Ghost!

There is an important lesson to learn here. Jesus had already called Paul. He was saved back in Acts nine. The Holy Spirit—not man and not Jesus—the Holy Spirit who acts of Jesus’ behalf sent Paul on assignment!

When Peter was sent to Cornelius, he had been praying and was hungry—but the account does not mention fasting.  In Acts chapter fifteen, when an important doctrinal issue arose concerning legalism, verse twenty-eight says that they reached a conclusion, saying that it seemed good to them—and to the Holy Ghost.  One of the reasons why we have so many differences and seem ineffective is that we have taken the Holy Ghost out of the equation. We must return to the original pattern.

Jesus spoke of fasting in Matthew 9, Mark 2 and Luke 5 in such a way that suggests we need not have to fast in the religious sense to receive our instructions. We have him; we have the Holy Ghost and we have God’s word to guide and lead us.  If you do decide to go on a fast, the please stop first and ask the Lord if He really wants that.

Isaiah 58 deserves mention here. Please read the entire chapter, but here are a few verses:

Shout out loud! Don’t hold back! Raise your voice like a shofar!
Proclaim to my people what rebels they are, to the house of Ya‘akov their sins.
“Oh yes, they seek me day after day and [claim to] delight in knowing my ways. As if they were an upright nation that had not abandoned the rulings of their God, they ask me for just rulings and [claim] to take pleasure in closeness to God, [asking,] ‘Why should we fast, if you don’t see? Why mortify ourselves, if you don’t notice?’
“Here is my answer: when you fast, you go about doing whatever you like, while keeping your laborers hard at work.
Your fasts lead to quarreling and fighting, to lashing out with violent blows.
On a day like today, fasting like yours will not make your voice heard on high.
“Is this the sort of fast I want, a day when a person mortifies himself?
Is the object to hang your head like a reed and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself?
Is this what you call a fast, a day that pleases Adonai?
Here is the sort of fast I want— releasing those unjustly bound, untying the thongs of the yoke, letting the oppressed go free, breaking every yoke, sharing your food with the hungry, taking the homeless poor into your house, clothing the naked when you see them, fulfilling your duty to your kinsmen!”
Then your light will burst forth like the morning, your new skin will quickly grow over your wound; your righteousness will precede you, and Adonai’s glory will follow you.
Then you will call, and Adonai will answer;  you will cry, and he will say, “Here I am.” .  Isaiah 58:1–9 See also Isaiah 65:24

Illustrations

We all reach a point in time when we need answers and answers that work. God does not want us to “try something” or to adopt a “hit and miss approach”. All of us can adopt pre-conceived ideas and fall into habit patterns and most churches come into these categories. God has A plan and A strategy for you, so I urge you not to guess, but go straight to the source so to speak for answers to the questions of “What do I do now?” Many people teach their children when getting to a pedestrian crossing to Stop! Look! Listen! If there are traffic lights, the answer is simple. If it is red, we stop. If it is green we can go. All of those principles are found in scripture.

As I have already touched on, when the Israelites reached the Red Sea, Moses received one simple instruction to hold his rod out towards the problem and it opened up for them. He never held his rod over the sea again and they never crossed over it again!

On their journey to the Promised Land, the people needed food, water and shelter and God provided everything, telling Moses what to do on each occasion such as speak to the rock and strike the rock and gather the manna each day except for Shabbat.

When they were to cross over into their Promised Land, Moses sent the spies ahead to observe before entering in. That’s one very important task before you do a thing and how we look at things is very important. Count the cost. Look at the pros and cons.

Be a possibility thinker. Do not ignore possible obstacles and difficulties, but factor them into your planning. Ask the Lord for precise instructions—and follow them. They may not make any sense at the time, but if that is His strategy, that is what will work.

No one held a rod out over the Jordan River when the people crossed over—the priests took the presence of God with them and as they carried the ark on their shoulders—in the way God had commanded, the water opened up. That never happened again!

It is evident that God has a specific plan and strategy for everything and our best approach is to ascertain that—and do it.

Here are some strategies:

Joshua

The first thing Joshua did after crossing Jordan when the river dried up for them, was to circumcise all males.
To succeed God’s way, we need to cut off the flesh nature.

He sent two spies ahead of him to enable him to make his plans, so he was thinking ahead.
They met Rahab and when they eventually entered the city, she placed a red cord out of her window. That was a powerful strategy not used before or again.

In Joshua chapter six, they stopped doing what they had been doing for 40 years.
And the children of Yisra’ěl camped in Gilgal, and performed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening on the desert plains of Yeriḥo.And they ate of the stored grain of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened bread and roasted grain on this same day. And the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the stored grain of the land. And the children of Yisra’ěl no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Kena‘an that year.
Notice my highlighting

Joshua then had a divine encounter and stepped aside.
And it came to be, when Yehoshua was by Yeriḥo, that he lifted his eyes and looked and saw a Man standing opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Yehoshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”
And He said, “No, for I have now come as Captain of the host of יהוה.” And Yehoshua fell on his face to the earth and did obeisance, and said to Him, “What is my Master saying to His servant?”
And the Captain of the host of יהוה said to Yehoshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is set-apart.” And Yehoshua did so.

Joshua stood aside and allowed God to take over. Taking his sandals off indicated his submission to the Lord and abandoning his own self will and independence.

The Lord told him what to do as seen in the rest of the chapter. They were to walk around the city precisely as per instructions with the priests going first, taking the presence of God with them. They were not to say a word for 6 days.
This is very important as our speech often dictates terms. Saying nothing can prevent negativity.
It can “telegraph” our intentions to the enemy and we might not see the full picture and speak prematurely. On the seventh day, they changed their routine. We may have to change our own routines and ask ourselves if what we are doing is still valid. They turned towards the city, yelled and shouted, blew their trumpets and watched the walls collapse before them.

Gideon

Judges chapter six and seven is a remarkable illustration of receiving Divine strategy, but it is sadly often misunderstood. The first thing to see is that God sent an unnamed prophet to bring a word to them—and He still does that today.
He then sent an angel and by the wording, I believe that this may have been Jesus. The angel took the initiative and greeted Gideon, whose reply was not one of doubt or weakness etcetera as often thought, but an inner strength.
He was recalling the miracles of yesteryear. He was basically saying if God did it before, He can do it again and the angel told him that this—was his strength and called him a mighty man of valor.
That “who me? I’m a nobody” approach is wrong. It is calling God a liar. Before I continue, never ever have the attitude of “putting a fleece before the Lord” to affirm something! Never! We have God’s word and the ministry of the Holy Spirit to us now. Gideon did not.

I’d like to show you something powerful here. It relates to us today.
And he said to Him, “If I have gained Your favor, give me a sign that it is You who are speaking to me: do not leave this place until I come back to You and bring out my offering and place it before You.” And He answered, “I will stay until you return.” So Gideon went in and prepared a kid, and [baked] unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and poured the broth into a pot, and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth. As he presented them, the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, put them on yonder rock, and spill out the broth.”
He did so. The angel of the Lord held out the staff that he carried, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread with its tip. A fire sprang up
from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.

Judges 6:17–21

Gideon “suspected” he had heard from God, but wanted to make sure. “Is this really you Lord?” Today we can be much like him, but this time, we have the witness of the Spirit that Paul spoke to affirm it. Once again, I remind you that Jesus stated that His sheep hear His voice. Gideon asked, “Please wait here until I do all that I know to do” and the angel told him to go ahead.
It takes time to catch, slaughter and prepare a kid. It takes time to bake bread. The angel waited for him.
This is one reason I started earlier that we are not waiting on God—He is waiting on us.

The angel told him to take the food and place it on the rock—but pour out the broth. It was not to touch the rock! Why?
The rock represented Jesus!
Nothing that is not Godly, even in our ”worship” and “service” even in churches is to touch the rock! Always check to see if our “worship” really is directed towards God and is not selfish! That broth was the fatty liquid remaining after the cooking process. The significance is seen here:
I’ve made myself available to those who haven’t bothered to ask.
I’m here, ready to be found by those who haven’t bothered to look. I kept saying ‘I’m here, I’m right here’ to a nation that ignored me. I reached out day after day to a people who turned their backs on me, People who make wrong turns, who insist on doing things their own way.
They get on my nerves, are rude to my face day after day, Make up their own kitchen religion, a potluck religious stew.
They spend the night in tombs to get messages from the dead, Eat forbidden foods and
drink a witch’s brew of potions and charms.

Isaiah 65:1–4)

Please investigate this as it is very real. Many churches are following similar traits. I cannot go into all the details here because of file size, but God gave him a strategy to pick the right people. He is not as interested in numbers as we are.
He wants quality. He is not interested in our “performances” but in the condition of our hearts.
He gave him the strategy to hold their torches in one hand and their swords in the other and to pick the right time to attack. There are appointed times. They broke the earthen pots that hid their torches to reveal the light hidden inside. Our light is hidden inside earthen vessels. Perhaps they need breaking to release the light. They boldly and clearly proclaimed the same message as they ran into the enemy camp—and never had to engage physically in fighting. There is much more to glean from this account.

Biblical manadates

One of the greatest advantages that God’s army in biblical times had was hearing from God who gave strategy and exposed the enemy. It is still possible to have God in our personal lives. The difficult thing for most of us is “The waiting factor” so we need to can take time to hear from God. We tend to rely on past successes and what we know and only call on Him when what we know doesn’t work such as in a crisis.

One of the great principles God teaches us through Israel is His desire to intervene in the lives of His people when they pray and call out to Him. This is especially true in times of war. There is a striking example of this type of intervention in Exodus 17.

In this chapter, as Moses leads the children of Israel through the desert, they were attacked by the Amalekites. Moses went up on a hill overlooking the battle below. He lifted up the rod to heaven and as long as his hands holding the rod were lifted to God, the Israelites prevailed in battle. When his hands got tired,and he could not lift them to God, the Israelites started losing the battle. Aaron and Hur sat Moses on a rock,and each lifted one of Moses’ hands until Israel defeated the Amalekites in battle.

David often had to fight the Philistines. He was a man of prayer and applied the “Wait on God Factor.” He could have said, “I once defeated this army with a sling. I know what to do!” But he did not rely on his past victory. Past strategies do not always work for today’s battles. We must always wait on God for wisdom and His strategies for our battles. In 2 Samuel chapter five, He asked God if he should go to battle and was told to go ahead and he won—on that occasion. When the Philistines returned, David asked God for a strategy and he was told to wait until he heard the sound of wind in the mulberry trees. That was a different strategy.

In 2 Kings 3, Jesoshaphat called for Elijah who in turn called for music to be played. God told him to dig ditches. In Daniel chapter ten, Gabriel came to his aid. We see again that God uses different strategies on different occasions. If He does, so should we.

Exposing Plans

The bible reveals that the devil does not play games. He hates us and he hates Jews and is constantly scheming and planning strategies to take us out. If he cannot do that, then he seeks ways to weaken us and render us impotent. He is a pretender, who is not a roaring lion, but is like one and goes about looking for ways to achieve his objectives.

He appeals to our intellect, our pride and our flesh. We really succeed when we do not function out of those things. Scriptures tell us that we are not ignorant of his devices. I must qualify that. IF...we know God’s word we need not be duped and IF we allow the Holy Spirit to do His work, we  need not fall into his traps—and we can then be just what Jesus said we can be.

We can see how this works in 2 Kings 16. The king of Syria was greatly troubled for he thought there was a spy in his camp.
It seemed Israel knew his plans in advance. He gathered his leaders and asked who was betraying him and was told that the prophet Elisha was telling the king of Israel what the king was speaking in his bedroom.

The “Waiting on God Factor” was at work. Hearing God and His strategies was saving the day for Israel. The king was so angry he sent his army at full strength to surround the prophet and the city where he was staying. Elisha’s servant was alarmed to see themselves surrounded by the Syrian army. Elisha asked God to open the servant’s eyes and he saw how the hills around them were filled with angel armies from heaven. Elisha prayed that the eyes of the Syrian army would be blinded and blindness came upon them. The prophet led them back to Samaria where their eyes were opened. He did not destroy them, but instead fed them. They returned to Syria and never returned. The Waiting on God Factor brought deliverance from the Syrian army without Israel having to fire a shot or raise a sword. In times of crisis, our success factor depends on waiting to hear from God instead of relying on what we think we know.

If more of us in the church would adopt such principles and start tuning in to the Lord more than we do, the outcomes we desire could be much different. When opposition comes, perhaps we would be wiser not to fight the people involved but seek the Lord for a strategy and deal with the real cause. If we have a legitimate task to perform but do not know how to go about it, the best thing to do is to stop trying and sit down with the Lord and ask Him to give you His strategy.

Sometimes His plan is to send an angel. As one example, I know of a United States Marine who was about to board a helicopter to join ground troops. The man was about to board the helicopter, when a captain stepped up and told him that he would not be going on that trip but to wait for the next helicopter to arrive. The helicopter took off but developed an engine failure and crashed. The marine was a believer who prayed Psalm 91 before going to battle. He asked for the captain only to be told that there was no captain there. Who was he?

During the Gulf War a platoon was cut off by and surrounded by the enemy and prepared for the fight of their lives. The Arabs attacked and suddenly stopped, fired their weapons in the air over the US troops before surrendering. When asked how they missed, they replied that they were not shooting at them, but at the tall men dressed in white clothing behind them! Those soldiers were believers who prayed Psalm 91.

My wife and I avoided an assassination attempt in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates because the duty manager at our departure from Brisbane told us she would not let us get on the airplane. She telephoned her counterpart in Sydney and arranged for us to leave the next day.

A pastor I know avoided getting killed in the tsunami, because a man suddenly appeared and told them to drive his boat straight at the wave, stand in the bow and point to the wave, whilst saying “stand”. He did so and the part of that wave in front of them stood still whilst the rest of the water kept going. They suddenly found themselves in still water on the other side! 

What do I do?

I have covered a lot of territory with the aim showing how we can find the mind and will of God relatively easy, or perhaps a little easier than we sometimes make it. Rather than sharing from a theological and dogmatic viewpoint, I’ve shared some personal insights that “make it real” and drawn from scripture.

Here are a few steps that we can all follow, if not literally, but putting the principles to work. I may repeat myself.

Stop

Wait before leaping into action. Seek the Lord if He would repeat His instructions.
He is consistent and does not change His mind as we do. If you are sincere and truly want to be led by the Spirit, He will do so and if necessary reveal passage after passage of scripture to you, some of which you may never have read before...
I have heard some people say that the bible contradicts itself—but the bible does not contradict itself.
God says what He means and means what He says. We misinterpret it.

For example, look at the word judge, such as “judge not”. it has been stated that we should not judge, because we shall be judged, as seen in Matthew seven. What is not factored in is that there are several different meanings to that one word which is why I keep encouraging all believers to go back to the original language and compare different versions.
The word judge can mean to weigh up and evaluate. It can mean not to criticize and condemn. It may also mean to make a ruling such as in a court of law when a judge delivers a sentence or dismisses charges against someone.
The word in Matthew seven for example is different to the oft used word in 1 Corinthians 11:31.
Remember that this is the ploy the serpent used when he tempted eve, asking, “Did God really mean that?

Get the timing right

Sometimes because of our enthusiasm, we leap to conclusions or try to step out at the wrong time. It is not “questioning God” by asking Him if you heard correctly, but once you have ascertained that He did speak, you then have to do something with it.
At one time a general in Israel’s army called a messenger to deliver news to the king. He ran off with that message.
Another messenger who was not called (a common problem in many churches) overheard it and  he did not wait to listen to the full message and outran the authorized messenger. He came to the king and told him that the battle had been won.
The appointed messenger then arrived. His message was that we won the battle—but your son was killed! 
Wait until you get the total, full, complete picture and do not go unless you are authorized to do so.

Be quiet

As we have seen, it is easy to fall into a trap by speaking prematurely. During WW2, signs were erected everywhere saying “Quiet. Walls have ears”. Whilst we are on the “winning side”, we do have an enemy who constantly plots against us.
Don’t give him any ammunition!
This includes being in proper standing before God of course, but it also means not to telegraph our punches.
Many faith preachers encourage us to make our “faith confessions” and make declarations and I shall present a topic on this shortly. It “seems right”, but can be fraught with danger. We can inadvertently “warn the enemy” of our intentions and give him something to use against us.

I like to make things real to life and can attest to that statement. When I was living on Mount Tamborine in Australia, the Lord told me one Saturday afternoon to go to a certain church where the pastor and I were friends.
I made appropriate arrangements and one of my men took me there in his Mark 4.2 Jaguar car. As we were entering the driveway, another pastor I knew was coming from the opposite direction and two men were with him, one of whom was the guest speaker. He was from the USA and was there for that one meeting only. I did not know that man.
We said hello to each other and walked in. After the song service my friend introduced the visitor and he opened with the usual greetings before stopping suddenly, called me to the front and had a word from the Lord for me, concerning my ministry and gave certain specific details that no one knew of. The opening words, were “Supernatural intervention is coming to you”. Almost every word he said was precisely what the Lord had been saying to me in private. I had not told a single soul of them. It was confirmation.
That is one way we can ascertain if we have a legitimate call of God on our life or not.

For example, Jesus had already told Paul what He wanted him to do and Paul was committed and prepared to comply.
In Acts 21, Paul was already on the way to Jerusalem and had arrived at Tyre where he met some disciples whose names are not given. Whilst there, the Holy Spirit ministered through them to tell Paul saying that he faced certain danger if he went to Jerusalem. When he arrived at Caesarea, he stayed in Philip’s home. Philip had daughters who prophesied. I do not know what they said, but in the overall setting of the account, it would not surprize me if they also spoke about what he faced.


Agabus then arrived and the scriptures call him a prophet. Therefore prophets still exist in the New Testament.
If only people believed and accepted this fact, we would be much better equipped! Agabus correctly told him that he would face problems in Jerusalem. This is a vital element needed in getting the answers. What he told Paul affirmed what Paul already knew! He did not ask for a word from anyone before obeying the Lord. Neither did he get a prophecy and then act on that. The ministry of the Holy Spirit confirmed everything that he already knew to him and that is a key to what I have proposed when asking, “What do I do now?” He will tell you what to do next.
Unfortunately, I had not yet learned he lesson of being quiet and waiting properly and speaking prematurely. We shared too much with some of our relatives when we created a duly registered ministry with the Australia government. We needed to have directors in the company I founded and appointed them as company directors to facilitate the process—but all they saw was dollar signs and nearly wrecked us. I sacked them. I also had to let our US directors go, because they did not measure up. I had not asked the Lord beforehand before appointing them. They “looked right” and we just assumed that they were OK.

When peoples’ lives are at stake, we need the wisdom of God to make sure we “do it right”. I must add here that we never ask for money and never will as the Lord has been adamant that we do not ask anyone for money! We do not seek the 5031(c)(3) taxation benefits often seen in the USA because the Lord told us not to do such things. Following His instructions works!

I share this to say that if you have a ministry vision, please trust the Lord and ensure that you follow His directions, even if they do not seem to make sense to you.

To bring this to close at long last, I can make this relevant by sharing an email request for prayer and advice that I received from a dear pastor in another country. It is typical of what comes across my desk.

I replied and advised him that I would add it to this message. It has to be timely, because I have worked hard on this presentation as per the Lord’s instructions. He said it was of vital importance to many other people. I knew that it was not yet finished, but did not know how to finish off. The following is a copy of what he said:

Dear Pastor,

Happy New Year again. How have you been doing in Australia? How is your wife, Majorie?I really want you and her to pray for me. This is my worry. There is a new church leadership position here where many desire to vote me into office. I am not for it, does not even desire the position. Would even decline it if my opinion is sought except the Lord has other plans. My biggest worry is with those who desire that position at all cost. I suspect they are plotting against me to do me harm. I don’t know how to explain to them that I am not interested in that position. I have had terrible dreams of harm being done to me. A woman at a place called xxxxx just called me and said the daughter had a terrible dream about harm being done to me. Thank you as always...

Unfortunately, there are many believers like him around the world. They may not have the same issues as he does, but every one of them needs help in finding the way to their own “promised Land”.

We may not all be called into the ministry and we may not all have the same abilities, talents and abilities. Some may never stand behind a pulpit and others merely want to know how to live ordinary, everyday lives—but each and every one of us has the ministry of reconciliation, a ministry to ourselves and a ministry our families. The priorities are (a) our relationship with the Lord, (b) our relationship with our spouse and family and then, (c) our ministry.

Therefore this lengthy presentation may hopefully help you; an individual; to get the answer to my opening question, “What do I do now” whatever that is for you.

Blessings,

Robert


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