BE ATTENTIVE
BE AVAILABLE
BE OBEDIENT

And I did. Each meeting I attended I thought of that phrase and submitted to the Spirit for whatever He would want to do through me. Initially it was rather daunting. How does one know for sure that God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, would want to use one such as me to communicate anything in His name?

But I began to hear things from the Spirit and did not share them. But with some regularity, what I was too afraid to speak, was shared by someone else in the meeting. And a sense of gentle and consistent confirmation ensued. And I began to speak out. And I continued to pay attention to these internal impressions and nudges of the Spirit.

Not too much later, this attentive-available-obedient pattern extended beyond formal worship meetings into the flow of life so that I began to connect with people and situations that I felt God was directing–to give some money, to check in on, to offer a word of encouragement, to do whatever I had some sense that God wanted me to do. I don’t see this as anything but normal Christ-following. Jesus said in John 12:26 “Whoever serves me must follow me and where I am there will my servant be as well. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor him “.

So that is part of the simplicity of all of this. Serving means following, and following means having some awareness of where Jesus is in any situation and how He might want to use us within that particular situation. Jesus told his disciples before He left that the central work of the Holy Spirit would be to declare to you the things that are to come ( John 16:13 ). I would suggest to you that He is speaking here not so much about upcoming prophetic events as much as letting them know that the Spirit would be guiding them day by day into the places and among the people that He was intending to touch through His attentive-available-obedient followers. Jesus said the Spirit will “take what is mine and declare it to you” ( John 16:14 ). This is not hyper-spiritual stuff but rather the very practical and ongoing commitment of Jesus to continue to see His mission get done on the earth.

And in saying this much, I am in no way diminishing the centrality of the Scriptures as our foundation and guide for the understanding of truth and Spirit. To learn attentiveness, availability and obedience is a discipline for a disciple, a follower of someone who is always on the move and always seeking to use His servants to do His will. It is my belief that most Christians hear very little from the Spirit because they pay little attention and simply are undeveloped in this kind of hearing.

Because there are so many flagrant errors and aberrations in the practice and expressions of the Spirit, we’re often cowed into fear and passivity, and so avoid mistakes. But that is perhaps the biggest mistake. The Holy Spirit lives in every believer so that He can declare the things of Jesus to us. And as His servants we follow Him to do whatever He requires at the moment. This is our great calling and our great privilege!

Peace,
Ned

  ¹⁷ ”‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
   and your young men shall see visions,
   and your old men shall dream dreams;

¹⁸even on my male servants and female servants
   in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

 I have been thinking about these words for 3 months and wrestling with the Holy Spirit for greater insight into what this all might look like and whether or not God thinks this ought to be normative. Are dreaming, envisioning and prophesying a reasonable expectation for all of God’s people?  The phrase ‘all flesh” would seem to indicate as much. And frankly, I believe it and am determined to proclaim that as plainly and graciously as I am able.

 Here’s the central question: if the Holy Spirit lives in the soul of a believer, the same Spirit who was at the front end of creation and who lived in Jesus Christ – the very same Spirit – then can we open our hearts to the dreaming and visions and prophesying that Joel said would go beyond gender and generational restrictions and infuse every believer with the capacity to dream within the sphere of their giftings, to envision how God might use them to express His love and power to a deeply broken world, and to prophesy or speak out and act in such a way that the truth and grace of Jesus are revealed?

 Believers who have “little” or more inward gifts must be called into this place of dreams and visions and prophetic action. 

 It’s “all flesh”, right?
It’s male servants AND female servants.
It’s old and young, unless I misread this.

 Brothers and sisters, let’s not settle for the horror of being “consumers of religious goods and services”. Rather, we are a people, each gifted by the Holy Spirit to be fruitful on the common mission of God.

 Believe this.  Preach it boldly. And let’s trust the Holy Spirit to inspire and empower every believer toward fruit that will last.

 In Jesus,
Ned

Recruitment and applications for teaching are handled by the Alliance for Renewal Churches, 365 Straub Road East, Mansfield, Ohio 44903. A four-year degree in any subject and a two-year commitment are the requirements for applicants.

Mr. Maki supplies each teacher with an apartment, round trip airfare to Japan, a monthly salary, and a monthly food stipend. Some teachers will teach in the private English school while others will teach in public elementary or junior high schools. Interviews are conducted each year in the fall. A two-week orientation takes place in Mansfield, Ohio beginning in mid-March.

If you have questions, please phone Hannah Hange at 419.571.0817 or Adam Hange 216-372-7129.

• Want to learn more? Check out the program website.
• Download an application

2010 Annual Conference – April 23-24, 2010

Titus Rocks!

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