Choosing Ideas From God
A man in our little church group was considering building another storage building to store his stuff. As he thought about doing this, he heard: “Why don’t you just get rid of the stuff.”
This was the Holy Spirit speaking to this man.
This was wisdom from God.
James 3:17 … But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
At the time this happened, this man was in his early 70’s. Within a few years, he had a very serious heart operation and became partially paralyzed. It was certainly the wisdom from God by the Spirit of God to get rid of the stuff when he heard from God to do so.
Overcoming through God … overcoming through the Word given us by the Spirit of God on the issue of this life with which we are currently dealing.
At the time of this writing, I am 78-years-old … Some vandals threw eggs at my house hitting the plaster and badly staining the color. I was planning to have it painted. But the contractor kept postponing the work. And another contractor proposed a plan which I felt uncomfortable with and he even postponed the work by months. While it seemed wise “in my own eyes” to paint the house so when I died the survivors wouldn’t have to deal with the problem, God had another way and gave me the following plan by bringing this into my mind by the Holy Spirit.
Just wait and let survivors get realtor to arrange to have the house painted. This way I will not be troubled by workers. I don’t mind the damage remaining on the plaster. Survivors will not be troubled either because the realtor can deal with the issues. Realtors have painters they work with and it should be no problem for a realtor to arrange for painting.
(This is wisdom from God for me on this specific issue and should not be considered the way for you to go. Each of us must hear from God in our own circumstances and follow what God shows us … not copy each other.)
Jesus commissioned each believer to overcome the issues of this present life. And we need to overcome the problems by seeking the way God wants us to deal with such. We pray. We turn to God. We consult God. We wait until we are assured God has shown us the way to go.
Jesus promised us that God would give us the Holy Spirit, The Spirit of Truth, The Comforter …
The scripture in John 14:26 and in John 16:13 show us 4 things the Holy Spirit does for the believer in Christ.
The Holy Spirit:
- Teaches us all things
- Reminds us of what Jesus said
- Guides us into all truth
- Shows us things to come
Jn. 14:26 … But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Jn. 16:13 … 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear (from God), that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
I have lived many years believing these things about the Holy Spirit and trusting my life and my way on this earth to God through this word concerning what the Holy Spirit does for the one to whom God reveals HIS Word.
When I was born again, I owned a small business in Dallas, Texas … American Indian Arts.
A man came to me from Houston to talk to me about business. This man’s wife was starting an American Indian arts business in Houston and he insisted in coming to talk to me about business. I tried to get him not to do this, telling him I didn’t know anything about business. But he insisted on coming to talk with me. This man was a graduate of Harvard Business School.
The first thing he wanted to know concerned “my marketing plan.”
I was praying all the time he was asking me these things.
Finally I said to him:
I’m a Christian.
So before I go out to the reservation to buy art objects, I pray, asking God to have the Indians make the objects.
When I get to the reservation, I pray, asking God to show me the objects I should buy.
When I return to Dallas, I pray, asking God to send out the angels to bring in the customers to purchase the items.
Dead silence!
Then the man said, “Well …that’s a type of marketing ..” and he left the store.
Shortly after I was born again, I was transported into heaven in the night as I slept … I was with God, with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit. (I saw no images. It was an experience in the Spirit.) At that time, I was “merged” into the body of Jesus, made one with the Word of God.
I didn’t tell anyone about this because I thought this happened to everyone who was a Christian.
A few nights after this, the exact thing happened again in the night. I was transported into heaven as I slept. I was with God, with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit. At that time I was “merged” into the body of Jesus, made one with the Word of God, with God and the Holy Spirit as witnesses.
I was then on fire for Bible and things of God. That is all I cared about. I no longer cared for the business.
I had 3 very competent women working for me at my shop. I didn’t even have to go to the shop, except for doing appraisals of art objects. And I did have to go to reservations to do the buying of the objects to stock the shop. Otherwise, I just stayed home at my apartment and studied the Bible. I went to church gatherings. And I went to a prayer group.
During these early years, a man came to Dallas selling jewelry out of a motel room. The Dallas Morning News asked me to write an article helping guide people in the purchase of authentic art works in this field. I warned consumers about “too good to be true” sales where items were marked down too much, such as 70%.
A man who was doing this filed law suit against me and several other American Indian Arts dealers in Dallas/Fort Worth. He also filed suit against Better Business Bureau of both Dallas and Fort Worth. He charged that we were conspiring to keep him from doing business in the metroplex.
I had trouble taking this seriously. Then I realized that if I failed to respond to this suit, I could lose the business and judgment could be ruled against me in the courts of law.
So I hired a lawyer.
Shortly after hiring the lawyer, I saw the following scripture.
Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper;
and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and their righteousness is of ME, saith the Lord.
Based on this scripture, I decided to dismiss my lawyer and go to court without any human legal counsel.
My lawyer was horrified and said, “Joan … you can’t do this. You don’t realize how evil these courts are.”
I replied, “Gordon … I am a Christian. This promise of God to Christians is in the Bible. The promise says no weapon formed against me will prosper. If that is true, this lawsuit will not prosper against me.”
Gordon replied: “We are willing to work with you. It will only take about $10,000 more to try your case.”
With that I was shocked and shouted: “$10,000? … Gordon, STOP, don’t do another thing!”
I dismissed the lawyer from representing me in this lawsuit.
Approximately a week later, Gordon came into my shop. He said the law firm had decided to represent me without any further cost to me.
What is going on here? One week it is going to cost $10,000 more and now they are going to represent me for free?
What does God want me to do is the question … so I prayed, asking God what HE wanted me to do.
After I prayed about this, the Holy Spirit brought the following scriptures to my attention.
Genesis 14 … 21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
I knew God was telling me to turn down this “free” legal service.
Also with this information my way was set for the remainder of my life. I purposed with Abraham that I wanted my support to come from God, not from worldly people.
I was very frightened after these decisions. I kept scripture given me by the Holy Spirit in front of me day and night to give me strength and to fight fears.
Six days before the trial was scheduled in US courts, the man suing us dropped all charges against everyone.
About two weeks later, Gordon came into my shop. He said the lawyers at the law firm had discussed my case and had decided what I said happened, happened.
I was not trying to be a witness to the lawyers.
All I was trying to do was obey God and do what God wanted me to do.
But when we are trying to do things on this earth God’s way we are a witness without trying to be. It is like a stone being thrown into the water. The stone isn’t trying to make ripples in the water. But ripples occur.
In everything that happens to us in this life, our goal should be to overcome by God’s plan for the situation.
Jesus made the following promises to the 7 churches in the book of Revelation concerning overcoming … Jesus said:
Revelation 2
v. 7 … To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
vv. 10-11 … be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life…
11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
v. 17 … He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
vv. 26-28 … 26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers:even as I received of my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Revelation 3
v. 5 … He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
vv. 10-13 … 10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11 Behold, I come quickly:hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out:and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God:and I will write upon him my new name.
13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
vv. 21-22 … 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
The apostle Paul said:
I Cor. 9 … 24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
We have a commission from Jesus to overcome on this present earth and to run that race to the end of our lives on this present earth or until Jesus returns for HIS people and takes HIS people into heaven, to the new Jerusalem, wherein dwelleth righteousness, according to the apostle Peter. II Peter 3:13
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(Also available in paperback)