Promise of Life Church Podcasts
Episode: "Being Led By The Spirit Made Easy" Part 15
Speaker: Pastor Craig Field
Date: May 8, 2024

Overview

In this fifteenth installment of the "Being Led By The Spirit Made Easy" series, Pastor Craig Field explores the often-overlooked aspect of inquiring of the Lord as part of being led by the Holy Spirit. Through vivid personal stories, lessons from experience, and honest self-reflection, he emphasizes that while God often initiates guidance, believers must also actively engage by seeking, asking, and maintaining a receptive, willing heart. The theme is deeply practical and at times corrective, focusing on humility, attitude, and the importance of open dialogue with God in both successes and failures.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflecting on Past Lessons: Motives, Money, and Following the Spirit

• Pastor Craig reviews past stories about listening to inner promptings—specifically in the context of choosing hotels and travel accommodations.
• Emphasis on not allowing money to be the primary determinant—it's about listening to the inner witness or "check," not cost.
• Notable principle: "You don't need to save God money. You need to follow the Holy Ghost." (05:45)
• The spiritual office and anointing upon a person can affect how God leads them and the level God expects them to walk at.

Quote:
"He said, 'This type of thing is beneath your anointing and your office. I never ever thought that God cared about that. But He cares about His anointing because it's precious.'" (08:10)

2. Passing Spiritual Tests and Maintaining Right Motives

• God tests the heart, but once a test is passed, He doesn't keep retesting unless the believer's attitude regresses.
• Example: Willingness to endure lack as a younger man, and how God promoted him after passing those tests.
• Caution: Self-examination is key—don't assume sermons are for someone else.

Quote:
"When you pass grade one, you don't stay back. You go to grade two... Once you pass the test, maintain the right attitude." (11:30)

3. Being Led is a Daily Adventure

• The Spirit's leading can be frequent—“I’d be shocked if you are a spiritual person that you are not led at least once every single day of your life… some tiny, some medium, some fairly large.” (20:15)
• The amount of leading corresponds directly to one’s prayer life.

Quote:
"If you have a prayer life, the leading will go up. If you don't have a prayer life, the leading will go down. It's very, very simple." (22:25)

4. The Principle of Inquiring of the Lord

• Many believers miss deeper direction by failing to inquire—to actually ask God.
• Pastor Craig confesses this remains a weaker area for him, and shares that slowing down and asking matters.
• Examples are given where inquiring could have changed outcomes, or where God wasn’t upset but was teaching.

5. Three Correction Stories: When God Was “Annoyed”

a) Travel to Pastor Nancy’s Building Payoff (September 2023)

• God prompted him to attend, but Pastor Craig kept saying publicly and privately, “I don’t know why I’m going.”
• God strongly rebuked this attitude, saying, “If you don't know, ask Me.” (36:22)
• He learned that simply being obedient isn’t enough—proper attitude (“willingness”) is required to receive the benefit of obedience.

Notable Moment & Quote:
[39:00] “I heard the Holy Ghost—I mean, He yelled at me—and He said, ‘I'll tell you why you're doing this!’... He was not happy.”
[41:00] “If you don't know, ask Me.”

b) Impartation of Boldness – Failing to Inquire After a Significant Spiritual Experience (2011-2024)

• Recounts a dramatic impartation of boldness from Dr. Dufresne in 2011.
• Realized only in 2024 (when Pastor Nancy delivered an additional word) that he had never truly inquired of God about the purpose of that impartation.
• God was “displeased” at his lack of inquiry, having waited 13 years for Craig to ask about the meaning and use of the impartation.

Quote:
[01:00:20] “All these years I've waited for you to ask Me why that dramatic event happened, and you've never once asked Me.”

• Moral: Precious things (impartations, anointings) deserve reverence and active seeking for understanding.

c) Preaching Out of the Soul at Pastor Edwin's Church (August 2023)

• Gave in to congregational pressure to “preach” when the anointing wasn’t present to do so; deeply grieved the Holy Spirit.
• Only superficially repented at first; God later asked, “Why didn’t you talk to Me about that preaching fiasco?” (01:10:40)
• Lesson: Some mistakes require more than a quick repentance—they warrant a deeper conversation with God for correction and understanding.

Quote:
[01:13:15] “When you mess up that big, son, I expect you to come and sit with Me... The crime is worthy of your time, not just a quick ‘I'm sorry’.”
[01:17:00] "Unless there's an anointing to preach, just teach. If I don't author it, don't you ever force it from your soul. You just yield to whatever the Spirit is authoring in that service..."

6. Handling Pulls from People and Risks in Ministry

• Ministers must learn not to yield to the pull of the crowd or their own insecurities—this can open doors to familiar spirits and lead to ministry derailment.
• Referenced stories from other ministers (Ted Shuttlesworth, Dr. Dufresne) about the dangers of operating in the soul vs. spirit.

Quote:
[01:22:50] “If you respond to people drawing on you, you can get into demons… If you ever force it... you are preaching from the soul, and it grieves My Spirit.”
[01:25:50] “The anointing separates you from yourself... it’s all about the anointing.”

Memorable Moments & Additional Quotes

• [21:40] “It's always better to bug God than it is to be silent… If He wants to say no, it's better that He just says no than you just going quiet.”
• [50:15] Discusses use of Philippians 2:13—God working in us “to will and to do,” especially relevant for breaking addictions or stubborn habits.
• [01:30:15] “Oral Roberts said: ‘The anointing separates you from yourself.’”
• [01:31:12] “God wants us to ask Him. It’s always better to pull on God rather than stay silent.”

Timestamps - Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Introduction, humorous recap of previous parts, reflection on learning by teaching | | 07:40 | The “Grand Luxury Olympia” story: God’s rebuke about supply and thinking wrongly about money | | 20:15 | “Being led daily”: frequency, building with prayer life | | 36:00 | Story of Pastor Nancy’s building, repeated “I don’t know why,” and God’s forceful rebuke | | 01:00:20 | The 13-year wait: Dr. Dufresne impartation and failure to inquire | | 01:10:45 | Preaching “fiasco” at Edwin’s, God’s correction, dangers of soul vs. spirit | | 01:17:00 | Teaching vs. preaching, pulpit pressure, risks of yielding to pulls from people | | 01:25:50 | The anointing, separation from self, importance of inquiry for correction and guidance |

Conclusion/Prayer

Pastor Craig closes with a prayer emphasizing the need for both continual sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s initiation and an active, inquiring posture from believers. He prays for a congregation willing to wait upon God, honest self-examination, and hearts eager to seek, listen, and adjust as the Spirit leads.

Summary: Takeaways for Listeners

• Be led by the Spirit both passively (responding to inner promptings) and actively (inquiring of the Lord).
• Maintain humility—internalize correction, ask “is this me?”
• Obedience must be joined by willingness; attitude determines your ability to receive.
• Seek God when you don’t know—don’t accept confusion or disconnect.
• Big mistakes or significant spiritual events require conversation with God, not just quick apologies.
• Don’t yield to the pressure of others at the expense of the anointing; guard against ministry in the soul.
• Value impartations, anointings, and corrections—treat them as precious by committing time and inquiry to God.

“It’s always better to bug God than to be silent. Pull on Him—He’s your Abba.” (01:31:12 – Pastor Craig Field)