One thing I have learned from past mistakes is this. Always follow the Leading of the Spirit no matter how stupid or how foolish you may be. I still don't always do it, but I still feel more like a fool when I choose to disobey. But another thing that I have learned that is even just as important is this. It is better to obey God rather than man. In the 5th chapter of Acts you will see scriptures that speak of the mighty works Jesus did through the Apostles. Many miracles it says were performed and as a result many people believed in Jesus. The Apostles were doing the work of the Lord but when you do the works of God there will always be the oppressor sent to bring opposition on your grace walk with the Lord. Just so happened that the religious leaders of that day became Jealous of the the Apostles because people were talking about them everywhere. So they arrested them and put them in the public jail out of pure hatred and jealousy. But what is great about great oppositions is that there is sometimes a great grace for deliverance. Not always the case but in this case the Angel of the Lord opened the doors of the Jail and brought them out and commanded them to go to the temple and tell the people about the wonderful life they could have in Christ. Long story short. They found out they escaped, found them and brought them before the court and wanted to know why they still taught about Jesus. Boldly their reply was.
Acts 5:29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
This should be at the foundation of every Christians heart established in His Grace. No mans opinion is better than Gods. No mans thought toward you are better than Gods. No man should be looked up to more than God. We have no reason to obey man before we obey God. We live in a country were our freedom always allows us to speak freely about the Grace of God found in the person Jesus. In other countries people are literaly skinned alive, stabbed to death, hung, shot, stoned, whipped, limbs torn off, and the list could get more gruesome and keep going on and on. This happens today. Why? Because people realize that even without our American freedom they still have freedom in the Spirit to obey the unction of the Spirit and speak freely about the man Jesus Christ. Eventually it cost their life. We, on the other hand, are completely free by the law but somehow feel as if we can't speak like this. Why is this, it is because we care to much of what others think. The people don't want us to speak. They are going to get mad at us. On and on the list goes. But it is better to obey God rather than man.
I learned this from another lesson one time. People thought that I would be the perfect person to play the role in there ministry which wasn't God's plan for my life. They pressured me and pressured me and I gave in(I felt it wasn't the Lord from the beginning but my spiritual leaders felt it was the Lord). I gave in for months and was doing the ministry but then I knew what I had to do. I had to humble myself before the Lord and tell them that God didn't want me doing these things and that He had a different plan for me. Unfortunately a lot of people were let down. I lost a ton of friends. I left my Church. I become like an orphan child of the kingdom with no Christian family, but I have this one thing; I may have let man down, but ultimately God smiled. God saw the heart of mine and the brokenness that it brought. The emotional roller-coaster that was disturbing me from within my soul. But I felt more free that day than I felt in a long time. You see I use to be the YES MAN. Everything that was asked of me, I would simply just say YES. That day I learned to say, Enough is Enough and i will no longer say Yes to man but instead to God. Don't be the Martha's who miss the blessing of being at Jesus feet. There is a time and a place for hospitably but when your Lord has summoned you be a Mary and sit at His feet, don't pass up the impartation. It is there that you will hear the Word of the Lord. It is there where you will feel His mighty presence. It is there where you will be imparted His Glory. And in His Glory, when it shines upon your face, like Moses when he came down the mountain and His countenance shined, so will you. That is where you will begin to Shine. That is where you are ultimately transformed into the very image of Jesus Christ.
Acts 5:29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
This should be at the foundation of every Christians heart established in His Grace. No mans opinion is better than Gods. No mans thought toward you are better than Gods. No man should be looked up to more than God. We have no reason to obey man before we obey God. We live in a country were our freedom always allows us to speak freely about the Grace of God found in the person Jesus. In other countries people are literaly skinned alive, stabbed to death, hung, shot, stoned, whipped, limbs torn off, and the list could get more gruesome and keep going on and on. This happens today. Why? Because people realize that even without our American freedom they still have freedom in the Spirit to obey the unction of the Spirit and speak freely about the man Jesus Christ. Eventually it cost their life. We, on the other hand, are completely free by the law but somehow feel as if we can't speak like this. Why is this, it is because we care to much of what others think. The people don't want us to speak. They are going to get mad at us. On and on the list goes. But it is better to obey God rather than man.
I learned this from another lesson one time. People thought that I would be the perfect person to play the role in there ministry which wasn't God's plan for my life. They pressured me and pressured me and I gave in(I felt it wasn't the Lord from the beginning but my spiritual leaders felt it was the Lord). I gave in for months and was doing the ministry but then I knew what I had to do. I had to humble myself before the Lord and tell them that God didn't want me doing these things and that He had a different plan for me. Unfortunately a lot of people were let down. I lost a ton of friends. I left my Church. I become like an orphan child of the kingdom with no Christian family, but I have this one thing; I may have let man down, but ultimately God smiled. God saw the heart of mine and the brokenness that it brought. The emotional roller-coaster that was disturbing me from within my soul. But I felt more free that day than I felt in a long time. You see I use to be the YES MAN. Everything that was asked of me, I would simply just say YES. That day I learned to say, Enough is Enough and i will no longer say Yes to man but instead to God. Don't be the Martha's who miss the blessing of being at Jesus feet. There is a time and a place for hospitably but when your Lord has summoned you be a Mary and sit at His feet, don't pass up the impartation. It is there that you will hear the Word of the Lord. It is there where you will feel His mighty presence. It is there where you will be imparted His Glory. And in His Glory, when it shines upon your face, like Moses when he came down the mountain and His countenance shined, so will you. That is where you will begin to Shine. That is where you are ultimately transformed into the very image of Jesus Christ.