Obeying the Spirit of God by Os Hillman
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By Os Hillman
Obeying the
Spirit of God
by Os Hillman
"Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, 'Go south to the road
- the desert road - that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.'" - Acts 8:26
Philip
was conducting what we might today call a revival meeting. God was blessing the
meeting, and many were being healed and delivered from demonic influence. Here
is the scene:
Philip
went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds
heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention
to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many
paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city (Acts
8:5-8).
And
yet, in the midst of this great event, the Holy Spirit spoke to Philip and told
him to remove himself and go to a completely different area to speak to one
individual. Philip was so sensitive to the directive of the Holy Spirit that he
left what would be deemed a successful event to go speak to another - an
Ethiopian eunuch. The result of his obedience was that Philip led the eunuch to
faith in Christ and baptized him. The Lord then took Philip away supernaturally
to another region many miles away.
God's
ways of determining where we invest our time and energy often have little to do
with results. The danger for each of us is to determine that we are in the
center of God's will simply by the success or failure of the events we are
involved in. Our plumb line for determining success can be only one thing:
obedience. Philip responded in obedience to the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Are
you listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit? Has God prompted you to speak,
go, or come alongside another? Ask God today to help you hear the Holy Spirit's
voice so that you might be used mightily in your workplace.
Os Hillman
By permission only. To learn more about
Os Hillman, go to: www.marketplaceleaders.org.
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"And the Lord said to Joshua, 'This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.'"(Josh 3:7-8). Joshua had been a faithful number two man under Moses for 40 years. Can you imagine serving one man for 40 years? Now that is faithfulness! Even so, when the time came to pass the mantel to Joshua, God knew he needed to be elevated in the eyes of the people in order for Joshua to accomplish his purpose. That is the purpose for elevation - so that you and I can fulfill our purpose and our mission.
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"Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband." Ruth 1:3-5 Naomi's life was going well. A great husband. Two fine sons who had two wonderful wives. Then the unthinkable happened. Her husband died. A little time later both her sons die. Her and her daughter-in-laws find themselves in the midst of shattered dreams. This isn't how life was supposed to be.
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"While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.'" Acts 10:19-20 Peter had never preached to the Gentiles. In fact, he believed it was against Jewish law to associate with the Gentiles. God needed to change Peter's attitude about this, so God gave Peter a vision that showed him it was permissible to preach to the Gentiles. The Spirit came to Peter and informed him that some men were about to come visit him, and he was to go with them. He went with them, and the Lord did great miracles in the lives of Gentiles through Peter.