Part
3 of 2. Counting is so over-rated! :p
Everybody
wants to hear from God. But that's just the first step. What do you
do after you get the revelation? There are 4 phases to hearing from
God: Revelation, Interpretation, Application/Wisdom, and Timing.
In
Acts 21:10-14, the prophet Agabus comes to Paul with an urgent
message, a word from the Lord. He binds his own hands with Paul's
belt and says, “The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of
Jerusalem bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the
Gentiles' ” (verse 11).
The
revelation and interpretation are clearly both given in the word. So
what's the application/wisdom? Obviously, hey Paul, don't go to
Jerusalem! Duh! And all the brothers tell him so (verse 12).
But
that's not God. Paul knows the word wasn't given to prevent him from
going to Jerusalem, but to prepare him for what will happen to him
there, so he can respond rightly to it and not as if something
strange were happening to him (verse 13 and see also 1 Peter 4:12).
Even
Agabus, who got the word from God and knew what it meant, didn't have
the right application. So having the experience (revelation) doesn't
mean you automatically have a lock on the other phases. You need to listen to your
Pastor, and let him pastor you through it.
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