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"Being Led By The Spirit Made Easy" Part 18 - Pastor Craig Field - May 29. 2024
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"Being Led By The Spirit Made Easy" Part 18 - Pas…
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I want to share some things with you. Pastor Nancy sometimes will tell little nuggets like in the back room with Bill Winston. And so I'd like to just. And it actually lines up exactly with what I was scheduled to preach tonight, which is unusual because I would have shared it anyway. Even it was on the Four Horsemen and Abraham's belly, Adam's belly button. I would have still shared it if there was revelation in the back room. But it actually lines up exactly with. With what I was scheduled to preach tonight on the Inner Witness. So I want to just. I'm going to just put this at the beginning, and then I'll pick up with my notes. But I want to. I want to share something that she shared with me that I believe will be a blessing for you to hear, because she's teaching me. Every time I'm with her, she teaches me. And I'm not embarrassed to say that. I'm happy to say that because I'm learning, too. And I'm learning from one of the best. And so I'm going to make some statements that she said in the back room privately, but I'm going to read them, but then I'll comment on them. Now, some may sound obvious, but just listen. On everything she said, you need to have the inner witness and knowing on the inside if this is right or if this is not right. Everything. So sometimes I don't want to give the impression that being led by the spirit is only for certain situations, certain times of maybe this is really a big decision. So I really need the inner witness. There isn't. And I have been trying to say that to you over the many months I've been teaching this. You've got to learn to check your spirit regularly and constantly. When you're driving, when you're at work, you got to get into the lifestyle habit of looking to your spirit and not your mind and emotions, because that's what robs you. Everyone on everything should have the inner witness and knowing on the inside if this is right or if this is not right. Big things, little things, and everything in between. Every day. You should have the inner witness about thoughts that come to you, decisions you're making, everything that you're facing. You need to have a sense, is this right or is this wrong? Do you hear what I'm saying? That's a tall order. But if you can start to practice this by praying more in the Holy Ghost. And then when you're faced with a decision, you know, check your spirit, or when a thought comes to you, you Know, not every single thought, like, okay, a thought comes to you. I'm going to wear the black suit today. I don't know if you need to check your spirit about that so you can take this into a ditch, but a thought may come to you about, you know, you need to do this, you need to make this decision. You've got this thing looming, or this person said this to you, and this family member has really been acting like a jerk, a jerk wad. And so you need to. You need to do, you know, I'm talking about just life. But what I'm saying is not about necessarily the color of your shoes, but you need to on things that are not stupid things, but things that are life things. Maybe not big things, but they're daily things. You need to learn to look to your spirit and say, holy Ghost, what are you witnessing to me about jerkwad over there? Because he might witness to you that you shouldn't call them jerkwad, or he might say that you should. I'm just, I'm not sure that's right. Jennifer, we need. And then when you hear something, an instruction or a prompting, you need to weigh that, filter that against the inner witness, because you can make mistakes by not doing that. I won't give all the stories, but she talked in the back room to me quite a bit about the mimic of the devil, his mimicking power, and how in different scenarios, he is. And he sounds almost exactly like the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit inside your spirit is sealed by the blood and it's completely pure. And he will bear witness whether that voice, whether that prompting, whether that feeling is actually from him or not. So you still got to look. She said one time she was walking out of Pastor Lechettic's church, she passed a person and she had already given. The Lord had told her earlier to give them an offering to give them money. And she had. And she was passing by and she heard a. She heard a voice that sounded exactly like the Holy Spirit. She said, and it was, give them this amount and name the amount. And so she kind of paused as she was walking and she said, okay, Lord, well, I'll, you know, I'll, you know, when. When you're told to do that, it's okay to just pause for a second, you know, especially if it's a significant amount. Don't just reach in your pocket and write a check. So she just, Lord, let me just kind of meditate on that for a second. And she gets into the back room, whatever it was, you know, where they have fellowship. And you know, that thing came again. I said, you need to do this. And that thought came again. You need to do this. You need to go back out and do this. And she said, I got you, devil. I got you. I got you. You're so stupid. You gave yourself away. Because the spirit of God. There may be an urgency, but there'll never be a push. An urgency is different to a push. An urgency comes up out of your spirit. You know it. But there was an external. You better do this. You better hurry up and do this. And that is never the Holy Ghost. But it sounded exactly like what she is familiar with his voice. And she gave other. Other examples of how there's different. And she said, but he's never. Listen, he's never done that with her since. Because when he's found out the first time, he's not stupid, he's not going to do it again. So he gets more subtle. He gets more subtle. He's very subtle. And she gave me other stories, which I don't know if I'm allowed to share, so I won't. About how there has been mimics of that. It almost is not even a voice. She said that he can even mimic the inward witness. There'll be a sense on the inside what feels like the inside, but it's not the inside. But he can make it feel like it's within you, but something. That's why you gotta just look. You gotta learn to look to your spirit. Because he can mimic voices. He can try to mimic the inward witness, but he can't mimic. But he can try to make you feel something that is that. He's putting that feeling there, but it's not you. It's not your spirit. But you might. If you're not skillful, you might say, well, is that God? Is that not God? So you gotta learn to just forget about all those thoughts and emotions and just quiet your mind. That's the key. And look to your spirit and just pray in the Holy Ghost and say, holy Ghost, I'm just. You know, he can't. He isn't the inward witness, and he can never be the inward witness. But he can even try to fake that something is coming up within me, but it's not. And there's always a sense of uneasiness. She said when that happens, there's a sense of uneasiness because it can't be the sense that. That you get when it's the inner witness, because that's pure. But it can feel like something is coming from the inside of you, but it's. Something is off. She said, I don't know how to explain it, but she said, I just knew when I looked to my spirit, something's wrong with this, see? But she knew something was wrong with it. So you don't have to be afraid now and think, oh, my God, he's going to mimic the inner witness. And I'm going to be duped if he tries to mimic more than a voice, but a feeling, okay, it's not coming out of your spirit because he's not in your spirit, but your feelings. You can feel things in your emotions, in your soul, in your mind. And he can try to mimic that it's coming from within, but there'll always be something that sent you. Then there's an easiness feeling to it. Something doesn't feel right. I don't know what it is, but my spirit is bearing witness. Something is off. You can meet people and you can know that I do this. I do. I rely on this a lot with people because I sometimes, you know, I have to meet various people for different things. And it doesn't matter what you look like, doesn't matter how nice you speak, doesn't matter how rich you are, how well connected you are. When I meet people, I'm looking at their eyes, but I'm looking at my spirit inside. And I'm looking for a bearing. And I'm telling you, I can't tell you how many times has it saved me where. I don't know what it is, but I just know it inside. I can't explain it. I cannot prove it. And you might think, well, I'm crazy. No, you're not crazy. There's something in here that knows something's wrong with that person. Don't get too close with them. Don't sign that contract with them, you know, don't let them too close to your children. I'm telling you, that's the Holy Ghost. That's the bearing of witness. But even if he tries to fake that, there'll be an uneasiness about the feeling that he gives you. She was giving me different stories about the mimic and how the Holy Ghost is, you know. But you got to learn to be sensitive now in your life. You know, she's at a certain level where he's really trying, pulling out all the stops to destroy her. I'm not saying that he wouldn't do that with us, but I'm just saying she's being tested at a higher level. Do you understand? So I'm not trying to say that your testing is going to be at that level, but her testing is at a higher level, okay? Because I'm connected with her and hooked up with her. The Lord's been dealing with me, said, you better guard yourself. You better be circumspect. Because when you get in closer proximity to somebody, sometimes the testing level that they at, you automatically have to face simply because of the proximity. Do you understand? And you will be tested at a higher level because of your proximity to me than the person in the Baptist church will be. And I'm not against the Baptist. You understand what I'm saying? I'm just saying, because to whom much is given, much is required. And we could really add a fair statement, much is attacked. Because at the door of opportunity, at the door of entrance, there are many adversaries. First Corinthians 16, Nine says. So, you know, I'm not saying, don't get discouraged about that. Don't ever get discouraged about that and feel maybe God, I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be in proximity, because then I won't have as many attacks. No, there is no way but through. And if you want to get on with God, you've got to learn some of these things. And you gotta. You don't back away, you push through. But just recognize I'm in a place where revelation is flowing that probably is not flowing. And I don't say this lightly, and I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about her right now. But revelation was flowing in four services that I can almost guarantee you was not flowing anywhere else in Toronto. I'm telling you the truth about it. And if you can find a church that has ministers like that, tell me, please, I'd like to hook up with them because they don't exist. And when you're getting that kind of filet mignon, it's not filet mignon, okay? Please have some culture. It's a French word that says. It's not foyer, it's foyer. Please have some culture, okay? My mother is raised French, and if you need lessons, go and talk to her. She will help you. And Joseph is French, and he can help you, too. He's lots of culture, okay? If you're getting filet mignon, like what she's been teaching us, you got to understand that there's a measure of expectation that God has on you, because to whom much is given, much is required. Hallelujah. So anyway, praise God. Then she said this, which I thought was interesting. She said, you and she did say it publicly, actually. I think on the last night. But she didn't explain it as much as she did in the back room. She said, usually on the big things that I'm making decisions on, I only have the inward witness. I don't know if you heard her say that. And she said, on the lesser things, I'll have more of a voice or a more dramatic leading. Now, you'd think it would be the opposite. On the big things, we need the voice. Do this, we need that. Right. Happy is in sin. No, I'm just kidding. Happy. Happy. I'm kidding. You would think it would be the opposite, but it's actually inverted. And this is not a rule. Okay? So don't. You know, and just let me get it out. I'm trying to say too much at once. This is not a rule. This is in general. General. But this is also more for her. Now, will that apply to you right now? Maybe, maybe not. Will it apply to you as you develop? Yes, but this applies to her more because she's more developed. Are you understanding me? So I don't want you to feel afraid. I don't want that to cause you concern. Well, I'm making a big decision, but all I'm ever going to have is the inward witness. No, not necessarily in your case, but in her case. See, we're all on a curve here. Not everybody is the same. So as a good pastor, I asked why. You're welcome. I asked why because I knew Chantelle would want me to ask why. And so I asked why. And she said, because God is trying to get us sufficiently developed so that the inner witness is all we need. She said the height of a spiritual person is all you have is the inner witness. You don't have anything else. I thought that was fascinating. So the inner witness is the baseline that the baby Christian starts with. But it doesn't escalate now that the more spiritual you are, you're having dreams, visions, and audible voices. It actually starts with that. And then there's other things that God can and will do. But as you get it to the higher echelons, it's like it starts with that and it goes into other areas and then it ends with that. Does that make sense? She said the most spiritual people she knew made every decision based on the inward witness. Not dramatic leadings, not visions, not dreams, not even the authoritative voice, just the inner witness. She said, dad Hagin did that all the time. Why? Because God is trying to get us to the place. It's easy to Be led with a vision, right? But that is not the most spiritual approach, because the most spiritual is learning your spirit how to listen to the Holy Ghost in your spirit. That is actually a spiritual skill. It doesn't take any skill to have a vision. In fact, some of you won't have visions because if that gift of discerning of spirits does not operate in your life, then you're not going to have visions very often. Do you understand? Now, you can have dreams. That's not a gift. But you got to be very careful because they can be just as wrong as they are right? And you can have that voice, but that voice can be mimicked. The only thing that's pure, sealed by the blood of Jesus in your spirit that the devil can never truly mimic. Now, he may try, but you'll always know it. But the only thing that can never be mimicked, successfully mimicked. Do you understand? Let me say that successfully mimicked is the inner witness, because it comes out of your spirit and there's no evil in your spirit. Do you understand? Everything else can be affected and influenced because the devil is the God of this world. She said God is trying to get us to the place where we are so developed, where we are so spiritual, where we know our inner man, our inner spirit man so well, that every decision we make, massive and puny everything is based on the inward witness. But God knows that at times, because we're not developed, he will start with that, but then he'll add other things. But don't think adding other things makes you spiritual. That's what she was trying to tell me. Don't think having a dream or a vision or a word from the Lord or a word of prophecy from the pastor, that actually makes you not that spiritual. People think, I need a word. Oh, did you hear the word I got today? Yeah. And we're like, yeah, you shouldn't have needed it. But I guess you're not very far along. So good for you. Now that's the attitude. Because the spiritual person doesn't need that. They look to that inward witness. I thought that was fascinating. God's trying to develop us to be that kind of a person, where that's where our mainstay is. That doesn't mean he can't give others. And of course, with dad Hagin, who developed that so much, God still gave him others. But that was mainly because of his prophet's office. It wasn't just his general little daily things. It was because the prophet's office, in dealing with ministerial and national things he needs more than the inner witness for that. But I'm talking about your daily personal life. I'm not talking about your ministry. Are you with me? I'm talking about your daily personal. Just one day at a time. Living that daily living requires if you're going to be spiritual, the inner witness, primarily. Now, if you're in the ministry and you're dealing with things that are larger, God is going to give you other weapons, and it will be more than the inner witness at times, but still in big decisions that he would make and that she is making. She said, it's never anything more than the inner witness because God's trying to train me to trust that inner witness. He's trying to train me to learn that inner witness and that that inner witness is enough. I don't need anything more dramatic. Are you with me? Hallelujah. I won't say the name because she didn't give me permission, but she said about a situation that they faced in their ministry some time ago. And she said, you know, there was a tremendous opportunity that was offered to her, but it would cost a lot of money. And she said, as soon as the person offered it to her, she said, I had the bearing of witness. Do it. Okay, now listen now, because I'm going to help you if you listen. She had the bearing of witness, and it's a big decision, requires a lot of money. Okay, Remember, she said on the big things, she normally only has the inner witness. So she's got the inner witness. Then she said, but I waited a year and then I did it. And I said, well, why would you do that? Because you just said that big decisions, you primarily are led by the spirit, by the inner witness. And she said, I thought this was fascinating. She said, pastor Craig, when there's a big decision, the inward witness is enough. But if it's a decision that is sufficiently large, that could hurt the ministry. Do you understand? She said, what I'll do now, this is very wise, so pay attention, because this is a golden nugget for you. It was. It was for me. And I'm actually doing this in our ministry on a few things right now. She said, if it's large enough. She said, and there's no hard deadline, because timings play a lot into things. There's no hard deadline. Not that, she said, but that out there have set a deadline and there's no hard deadline. She said, I will go as long as I can, waiting. I've got the inner witness, but just waiting on the inner witness. Have you Ever heard of waiting on the inner witness? You've already got it, but you can just wait on it, she said, because listen, she said, there's a reason why I do that, especially for large decisions, she said, because the longer I wait, she said, the more the inner witness becomes clear, she said, the more I just know, it becomes more right. For lack of a better way of saying it, she said, I have that inner witness initially, but the longer I wait, you know, because if I'm missing it, sometimes you can think you have the inner witness, but you don't. I thought I had the inner witness about the plane, but the longer I waited, it became less right. That's why I call the inner witnesses the great equalizer. Because doesn't matter what mistake you've made, if you're just not. If you just keep going and waiting on God, you. He will eventually figure out your mess if you learn to listen, she said. So I had the inner witness, or what I thought was the inner witness. Now she's more skillful than I am. So it is the inner witness. Sometimes we can think something's in a witness, but it's not. It's our desire. And if you really, That's. I'm helping you more than you're saying. Amen. If you re. If you're making a decision, you better not really want something too bad. And if you really want it, you better. You better. You better just. You better. You better stop. You better put the brakes on. And every. Especially in relationships. Especially in relationships because you've got every part of your body and soul working. And over. Over time, they're all on overtime and they all want to be paid. The hormones are on overtime. The mind is on over. Everything is on overtime. Especially if you want something real bad. It's dangerous because you can miss. You can think it's the inner witness, but it's your desire and ambition, and it didn't. It came out of your soul, not your heart. Remember, the heart and soul are like bone and marrow. They're so close, and it's so easy to miss. So when you have a big decision, especially if you want to do it, especially if you want to do it. Take time, unless there's a hard deadline to wait on the inner witness, she said, the longer you wait, it will become more clear. It will feel more right. And then she said, eventually. Listen now, she said, eventually, if God doesn't speak to me to give me more clarity, because the inner witnesses are knowing, but you don't have details, she said, if I need. God doesn't speak more clarity. And he's not going to speak more clarity because sometimes he won't. The Holy Spirit would just prompt me, go for it, just go for it. But that's not really him speaking to you. That's just a knowing. Just go for it. But she said, I'll wait as long as I can. If there's no hard deadline, I'll wait so I can just get it feeling more cement. It just gets harder. It just gets more settled. And she said, and sometimes in this situation that she was facing, after one year, God spoke to her and he gave her specifics, he gave her details. He told her how to do it. He gave her all the details. But she had to wait a year on that inner witness because she wanted the clarification and the details. Then as soon as God spoke to her, that's more than the inward witness. Then she pulled the trigger and they started it right away. But I said, what if he hadn't spoken to you? Because he doesn't always speak. She said, if he hadn't spoken to me and I'm waiting, but that is getting settled. And more right, and more right and more right. I'll just step out and do it. And if I'm taking too long, the spirit will prompt me, come on, get out of the nest and do it. She said, but sometimes he doesn't speak because you don't need the details till later. He just wants you to pull the trigger. Almost kind of like a bit more by faith. Other times he will give you the details ahead of time. But she said, I just wait. Waiting for two things. One, Lord, are you going to speak? But more importantly, I need this to settle. And if it settles and he doesn't speak, I still move forward. And if it's settling but he does speak, I move forward. But I said, what if there is a hard deadline and she's facing something right now, that's a hard deadline. And so, you know, she said, well, I've got the inner witness and it's a big thing. But she said, unless God speaks, I go with the inner witness. And because there's a deadline, she said, I move forward with decisions. I do it, I move into it. But if God, if I'm missing that, the Holy Ghost will check me. Thank God for the Holy Ghost. So she says, I've got an inward witness, but I don't have the time luxury to wait on it. I don't have time for it to settle. And God's not speaking. That's a Scary place to be. It feels a little bit scary because you don't have the authoritative voice and it hasn't had enough time for the cement to dry, so to speak. And yet you've got a big decision and it's a deadline. Now, that is the worst case scenario, she said. But if you've got the inner witness, she said, go ahead in making moves toward that. But as you're making finalizations like as you're signing the contract, just keep checking your spirit. Because if it's wrong and you remember dad Hagin said, we are led more by red than by green. So the inner witness is the green. So you're moving ahead. But if you're wrong, as you're coming to the finalization of that, there'll be a distinct, very distinct check. If you face that check, don't go and question it. When, well, I had the inner witness go with the check because he leads more with red than he does green. Do you understand? Because the check overrides the inner witness. The check is the inner witness, but in the opposite direction. He's saying no. And sometimes you can really want something and you think it's the inner witness. And so you're on a deadline and God's not speaking, you don't have time for it to settle. So you're kind of in that worst case scenario and you're moving forward. And you think it's the inner witness, but it's just your ambition, it's just your desire and, and you're actually going to make a big mistake. But for the Holy Ghost, that before you sign that thing, you check your spirit and if that's wrong, he will rescue you and check you. But you don't always know why. And if you don't know why, it don't matter if you know why. And it don't matter if you thought you had the end of witness, that check trumps everything. And you put that pen down and you back away and say, I'm sorry, I don't know why. And you're not pressuring me into signing anything. I'm not doing it. And you wait until you go back and see God again. These are very important things. If you can wait, wait, wait primarily for it to settle, secondarily for God to give you more than the inward witness and clarity. If you can't wait, move forward, but look for the check. Now if you're prone to fear, you can feel fear and think that's the check. Do you understand? You're not maybe a risk taker and now you're about to sign on the dotted line, but you had an inward witness which maybe in that case was genuine. But you're not a risk taker by personality. And so now you're about to sign and fear can start coming. Oh my. Oh Lord. Oh God. Is this right? Oh, that's a check. No, it's not. How do you know fear is up here? Fear comes from the outside. The check is inside. That's why you got to know the inside. That's why you pray in tongues, to know the inside. So you may be feeling fear, but you look here because there cannot be fear down here because it's your spirit. There's no devils there. You're looking to there. Lord, is there a check? And if you're not sure because you're not skillful enough to tell the difference between the check of the spirit and the fear in your mind, then put the pen down and back away. Because dad Hagin always said it's better to go slow than to go fast. It's better to have to catch up to God than to get out ahead of him and make a big mistake. So it's always better to go slow. Praise the Lord. I thought that was a big help to me to understand how that inner witness works on different situations. Praise the Lord. She said that on all projects since Dr. Died and remember, six and a half million, there's a lot of pressure. She said every single one of those situations for that year, year and a half after Doctor died, not one time did God speak to her. Everyone was the inner witness and only the inner witness. And many of them were deadlines. She couldn't wait for it to settle. And God did not speak to her. You'd think, well, God would speak to her. She's grieving, she's a widow. That's obviously not the way God works. He's trying to develop her spirituality. And every decision she made was only the inward witness with many deadlines and just looking for the check, just looking for the check, no check, sign it. I don't know where the money is coming from. And she'd say, I'm going to do my nails. And Charles Capps would say, I don't know where the money's coming from. I'm going fishing. Okay, so. But she just said the point is whatever is peaceful and enjoyable to you to get away from the pressure of that situation, just go and relax. Because it actually takes faith to go fishing when you're in a tumultuous decision making in your ministry. It actually Takes more faith to go fishing or to go shopping or to do whatever it is that makes you happy. It takes more faith than it does to sit there at that office and even pray. Oh, Lord, I don't know what to do. Just go and rest. But you got to follow that. And what is it? You got to follow that check. She said last year for the church, that was a massive amount of money that they're paying off. And she actually decided that right here in our green room. Right here. I couldn't tell you because she told me not to tell you. Her staff didn't even know. But as soon as she saw me at the hotel, she said, I want to talk to you. I said, oh my God, I've done something. I know I've done something. Did I repent for what I said to Jennifer yesterday? I know I've done something. And she said, I want to talk to you. And she just said, I just feel prompted to ask you your opinion. She doesn't always ask me my opinion, but she asked me my opinion on what I would do if I were her with her building. And she said, now I've already talked to Jesse and he's told me what to do. I said, well, what did he say? Fishing. And she said, no, I'm not telling you what he said, I want to know what you have in your spirit. So in fear and trembling, I told her what I had in my spirit. Remember that, honey? And she said, huh? Jesse said the exact same thing. Oh, God, thank you. And she made the decision in the meetings here to sell the building and they. To pay off the building and. And they paid it off on her birthday. On her birthday, the Thursday. And she came in, she says, I've got the biggest birthday present of all. I am debt free in every area of my life, including my ministry that happened there. Now she comes this year for this set of meetings and she's got another big decision. And she said, I want to talk to you about this. But she didn't ask me my opinion this time, so I don't give it. But she just was telling me some things she's facing. And so we're praying for her. But she said in this situation right now, just like the building, she said, God has not spoken. She said, all I have is an inner witness and I have a hard deadline. But she's so used to that now because of doctor's scenario when he died and the building, she doesn't get stressed about that. She just got the inner witness. There's a deadline she has to move forward. But she's looking for the check, not fear. Fear is not a check. Fear is fear, the check of the spirit. The Holy Ghost has nothing to do with fear. A check is not based on fear. A check is just a check. You just know that inside something's wrong. Something's wrong. I don't know what it is. Something's wrong. Amen. This can be so practical. When you have a babysitter come over to your home, check your spirit. You don't have to set up cameras. That's what the world does, set up cameras. If you want, you can set a camera in the little bunny rabbit's eyeball. You can set a camera in the little train. You can set cameras anywhere you want. Pay the thousands of dollars and don't help our building fund and just waste your money on cameras. But if you've got the Holy Ghost and the inner Witness, you don't need that. Because the spirit of God knows exactly what that person is going to do or not do. They know if he knows that they're going to steal from you. He knows if they're going to touch your kids inappropriately, he knows what they're going to do before they even do it. And he's trying to let you know that, but you just have to listen. Dad Hagin feels the sensation of being thrown out of a car, but he doesn't do anything about it. That's a big mistake. But he didn't know. So he just said to his wife, Aretha, put your seatbelt on. These are the days where nobody wore seat belts. In fact, she didn't even know they had a seatbelt. So she's trying to put this seatbelt. She's never put it on before. Wow, that's a click. That's interesting. And so, you know, he's trying to be safe. Then he gets the news that his niece was thrown out of the vehicle and killed with two kids. Two little kids. Now those kids grow up without a mama. Because he had a sense, which is a form of. It's not the inward witness, because it was a sense, but it's kind of connected. And where did he miss it? If we could ever dare say that, dad Hagin missed it. But everybody missed it. He said all the time, I can miss it, and I do miss it because we're humans. But he said, I missed it because I had a sense of something that was God leading him. That was more than the inner witness. Because a sensation is greater than just a knowing on the inside. It's actually a physical sensation that you're feeling, but there's no words. What he said I should have done is I should have prayed. Lord, I wait on you. Now why did you give me that? I'm not going to assume it's for me and Aretha. Why did you do that and wait and pray in the Holy Ghost? If he had done that, he said God would have shown me my niece. Then I could have used my authority. You can't use your authority if you don't know what it's about. Then I can use my authority and say, I bind that strategy of the devil to kill her. You will not succeed. I command you to stop. But because he never slowed down because he was too busy. He never stoned down long enough to say what was the leading about? And he assumed it was for him and his wife. His niece died, you say, and be very careful when you have this attitude, why did God do that? Be very, very careful. Why did God knew that he was busy? God knew this. Why didn't he? I mean, didn't God care about those two little kids? Why didn't God. You don't ever question ever what the Holy Ghost does. And if you start questioning, you're going to get into error. You have to settle something in your mind from now until the day you are raptured or you go into the ground. God is perfect. He is perfect. He is just and fair and perfect and righteous and everything he does is right. That girl, I can tell you probably what was happening. That girl had opened a door, okay? It was nothing really to do with dad Hagin. She opened the door to the devil herself. The devil's planning to take her out. God was simply going to try to rescue her. Not that she even deserved it, but rescue her. Because her uncle is a mighty prophet. And so he's trying to get over to the uncle, but he can't say. He won't always do leadings to too dramatically based on the spirituality of the person. So if you're further ahead, God may only ever give you that inward witness. That's why he doesn't give Pastor Nancy always a word. That's why every major decision she's had since Dr. Died has been the inward witness only without anything further. Why? Because she's up here and she should learn how to follow that. She's not down here. If you're down here, he'll give you more because you're a baby. But when you're at graduate school level, he expects you to act like it. Dad hagin was at graduate school squared. God expected him to know that and then wait. And he didn't do it because he was busy. That's why God didn't do more, wasn't because he didn't love those two little children that are going to grow up without a mother. It's because they're rules that God cannot violate. And when you've been given much, you are required much. And when you are at this level spiritually, God is not going to give you the something that he is going to give to this person down here. And he is only sometimes going to give you that sensation or that inner witness. And he expects you to wait on him. And if you don't, tragedy will come. In this case, it wasn't his direct family that is protected. It was outside because that person opened the door. But he's trying to protect that person. So if you look at it, you know, don't blame God. You just got to get into that habit. Don't blame God. There's always a reason somebody dies prematurely. There's always a reason you're not in their bedroom. You don't see their life. You don't know their sin. You don't know how many opportunities they've had. You don't know how many times God told them to go to a church to teach them. And they said, no, I'm staying where granny went. And now they've got cancer. But God was going to put them in a place to get healed. But their stubborn will and their culture and their heritage, no, I'm going to do what I want to do. And then they die. Oh, why would God do that? Stop it. That's ignorant speaking. Why would God do that? There's always a reason. And it's never on God's side ever. It's always on the person's side. You just don't know the person. You don't know the person. And when Randy was praying for that pastor and you know they're trying to, he's only 40 something years old and he's on his board and he's trying to God the parents and the family, the wife, the children, oh Lord, raise them up, Lord. And then. But Randy, there's something wrong. And God said, I'm not going to heal him. Well, Lord, if you want to tell me, I'd like to know, but if you don't, that's fine. And then the Lord told him, he said, because he's been saying all his life, since a teenager, he'll never make 50. And so we Asked the pastor, pastor, is this young man, the man's pastor is this young man. Oh yeah. All the time he'd say, I'll never make 50. I don't know why, but I just feel like I'm going to die before 50. He put it in motion. Now he's in a coma about to turn 50. I think it was 50 or was it 49 or something? I can't remember the exact, but I'm pretty sure it was 50. No, this minister, this young man that brother Randy Greer was ministering to and that was on Randy's board, I think it was 50. It might have been 49 or something. Maybe he said, I'll never get out of my 40s, something like that. But anyway. And then the Lord said, that's why the Lord told him, you've heard him say things have been set in motion. Very similar to the situation that dad Hagin said. That can't be reversed. Dismiss the spirit. That also happened with dad Hagin. Dismiss the spirit. But also happened with Randy. Dismiss the spirit going home. In fact, with Randy, God specifically said this phrase according to divine destiny. And he said, what does divine destiny mean? And the Lord said, I give everybody the choice of what they're going to do with their life. I God divine gives every human being the choice of what they want to do with their life, their destiny. It's called divine destiny. I give you a choice. If you say I won't make 50, that's your choice. And I can't rescue you because you've set things in motion. If you mistreat people like that, Governor, that's your choice. Not just because you're sick and you need to be healed because you got lots of money. I'm not doing it. Because all you've been living is a jerk for all your life. And I don't reward people. Remember, he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek them, not that take advantage of people. Sometimes people die because they literally, it is their sin. It's an unforgiveness. It's a violation of their call. They haven't obeyed God in their call. Doctor got sick with cancer, you heard her say, because he didn't rest and he didn't say things from the pulpit. What if Dr. Hadn't repented? What if he had died? Oh, well, why did God do that? Well, because he didn't rest and because he didn't operate in the prophet's office, right? But thank God he was humble enough to change that. And within 28 days it was gone. There are reasons why. I don't know why I'm saying this so much, but I just think some either watching or present, you need to just settle in your mind. It's never on God's side, ever. Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean God was doing something wrong. God can't do something wrong. He's God. He's God. He is God. And we're in a covenant of mercy. And every good and perfect gift comes from above. And he doesn't teach us with sickness. He doesn't teach us with accidents. He permits things, but he doesn't author things. He permitted dad Hagin to hurt his elbow because if he didn't, he'd be dead at 55 and Rhema started at 57 and we wouldn't even have a rhema. And all the people like Randy that we've connected, we wouldn't even know. Thank God he hurt his elbow. I would have been fine with God cut the arm off. No, I'm just kidding. A little elbow hurt is nothing to save his life, to get him from 55 to 87. Come on. Of course God permitted that. He said, you better be grateful. I permitted it because you're not paying attention. That's in the I believe in visions book. The hospital room visitor. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Well, amen. I hope, I hope, I hope you're okay. I noticed you're not saying amen nearly as much as you were last night. Especially Deanne, you say amen. My God, that's so deep. And here I'm teaching and she's like, amen. If. If I even get an amen, I mean, it's still good. Notice that it's still good. She didn't. Anyway, I'm just going to move right along. I'm not going to get offended. No, Pastor Nancy is. You can't compete with Pastor Nancy. And neither are we supposed to. I'm not trying to. I'm just happy she's a part of our life. Let me return with me if you would, because I can see the religious people here getting very nervous that we haven't had a scripture verse. And of course we need a scripture verse because that's what everything is based on. I want to talk because this was what? I'll just talk 10 minutes and then we'll go. Isaiah 28, verse 16. Isaiah. This section here is the inner witness. But about being in a hurry, being in a rush. And that's why what she shared about waiting and not being In a rush was a perfect. It exactly matches this section. So what did I say? Isaiah 28:16. Isaiah 28:16. Isaiah 28 16. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make haste. Dad Hagin often used this verse about telling people, slow down and stop rushing so much. And I don't mean rushing to work in the morning. He means rushing about making decisions, rushing about. In relationships, it's always safer to go slower than it is to go faster. He that believeth, in other words, if you're operating in faith, if you truly are in believing mode, there is a peace that comes with faith. There is. And I don't mean that sometimes God will have you move quickly, but there's still a peace to do that. Making haste means be pushed. It's that pressure. God is not going to pressure you. Sometimes there is a hard deadline and you have to move quickly, but you still don't feel like you're being pressured. The Holy Ghost is just moving you along, but he's moving you at a faster pace. But when the devil's in it, he will push you. He will try to pressure you. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up. That's what this is talking about. Make haste. Put that quote up, please, on the screen, if you don't mind, that I gave you earlier. You don't. You see? You don't. You see? You don't have to get into too big a hurry about some things. And that's another place where people miss it, getting in a hurry on some of these things. Faith don't get in a hurry. The devil will keep getting you to hurry up, hurry, hurry. He'll move you out of faith and move you into doubt and move you into unbelief and get you away from the leading of God. If you hurry too much, you'll actually get out of faith. Because it says he that believeth makes no haste. So if you're in faith, there's not a rush. He may move you quickly, the spirit will. But the devil wants to make you hurry and push you out of the faith arena. When you're out of the faith arena, then you're shocked because then now you're not really in faith, you're not believing. That's when fear starts coming in. That's when you can't hear, you get confused, you can't be following the spirit and you just simply make mistakes. So one, a big aspect to being led by the spirit is just slow down. And let me tell you, when you're excited about doing something or you have an inward witness, sometimes it's hard to slow down, but because you've got the inner witness. But Pastor Nancy said unless it's urgent to move quickly or there's a deadline, it's in your best interest to just slow down. Because it will get clearer and righter if you want to put it. And more details may come from God, which will actually make you more accurate in your execution of it. But most of us, you know, we just see that house, we just want to do it. But the Lord may lead quickly, but you just gotta. You gotta learn to just check. I'm trying to give scenarios, but there's so many different kinds of scenarios, right? Some scenarios are wait, and other scenarios are move. But the pressure of haste is what I'm simply trying to say is not God. And it will pull you out of faith. Are you with me? Let me tell you an interesting story, dad Hagin. And this is fascinating. Do you remember I told you. Well, this is. I don't know how long, how many months we've been doing this, so you probably don't remember, but he was in a church. He was in a church. And. Okay, let's call it church number one, so you don't get confused. Okay, Deanne, I don't want you to get confused, okay? Since you're not getting much from tonight. So I just don't want you to get confused. I'm just kidding. So church number one, he's in that church, right? But then another church offers him a position. This is 1941, give or take. So this is during the war. Another church offers a position. And you remember earlier in my fleece section, he put out a fleece. Remember I said that? He said, the only time I ever got fleeced is when I put out a fleece. That fleece was, should I leave the church? Okay. And they voted 100%, which never happens to the other church. Church number two, which is not God's will, but he put out a fleece and the devil caused the vote to be 100%. So devils can influence religious people with beehive hairdos, but you have to have a beehive hairdo in order to be influenced by the devil. If you don't have that, then you're safe. No, I'm just kidding. Anybody, even Nigel that has no hairdo whatsoever can be influenced by the devil if he's not careful. Jenny's like Pastor Nancy. She won't give me a smile because she knows if she eggs me on, I'll just take off. Okay, so church one is where he's at. But he maybe isn't too happy, but not spiritually because just whatever. And so they offer him a position. It looks good, more money, bigger church. See all that natural stuff. And then I put out a fleece. If they vote 100%, it's your will. That's the worst thing you can ever do because the devil can influence that vote. What you need to go is within a witness. But he didn't loan this in 1941, okay? He only went into ministry in 1934. So this is seven years into his 60 something year, 17 year ministry, okay? So he's still learning. He put out the fleece because he said all the ministers put out fleeces. When you put out a fleece of who should marry, put out a fleece. If you should buy this house, everybody's got fleeces in their back pocket. Put out a fleece here, put out a fleece there. There's so many fleeces everywhere, we're walking on fleeces. So he said, I thought I would join the group and put out a fleece. And he said it was the worst and the only time I've ever done that. And the devil influenced that vote. And so he, because he had done the fleece, he said, well, that must be God's will. Don't do stupid things like that. If you want me to get that job, Lord, then let them give me X number of salary. The devil can influence them to give you more than what you asked for. And now you're coming, pastor. God's blessing me? No, the devil's taking advantage of go with the inward witness. But he didn't know that. So he goes to that church. Remember, in that church you can go back and listen to the fleece section because I read it more specifically, but I'm giving you the gist in that church, the fleece church. I call it number two church. He said from the very first day he got up, there was absolutely no anointing. Do you remember I said that to you? And his wife said to the point. It got to the point where she said, gee, Kenneth, you sure are doing pretty good at giving speeches. You don't tell a preacher that they're giving a speech. I mean, that's like an arrow through the heart. And he would pray and fast and seek God. And no matter what he did, because he's out of the will of God. No matter what he did not one drop of anointing the entire time, every sermon for 14 long months. Can you imagine? I couldn't even do it on one sermon. Can you imagine never feeling God? No presence in the room, no anointing on you, no unction, no revelation, nothing for 14 months, remember? And so finally he got. He was so desperate, and God, another church, Church 3, now invited him to come and be their pastor. And he took that. I don't think you need to pray about that. Because if this is dead, if this is wilderness, then anything can be better. And he's praying for God. Get me out. Get me out. Get me out. But he made a commitment to them of 14 months. So he had to keep the commitment. But as soon as notice how God will make you keep your word, even if it's painful. That's another little interesting thing. God didn't just break the commitment that he signed with the church because there was no anointing. You make a commitment, you keep the commitment. See, God is a man of his word. He wants us to be a man of our word. But after that commitment ended, another church, third Church three, invites him. He's happy to leave. Okay, now we're. Now this is. I never shared this part because now the fleece fighting is over. Now we're on the hurrying thing. So he's in this third church and he's enjoying the church and everything's fine. And he's just so grateful to be out of the fleece church. And so he's going. And the anointing is back and everything is fine. Now, listen, this is very interesting. So he's in his study, which is the parsonage, which is attached to the church. And back in the old days, the pastor lived in the church building and a little nasty house, right? Because the elders. The elders, but not my elder. Not my elder, but the elders back then wanted them to be poor because then you were holy. But he's in the little parsonage and he's studying. And he said a burden of intercession would fall on him for the first church. And he would try to. Why am I thinking about that? And he'd try to push it under, and it would come on him. And again. And he said. It got to the point, Jenny, where he would physically run outside the building, the little house parsonage, to. He would run outside to the garden to get away from the burden of intercession because he didn't want to intercede, but it was so strong on him, like he couldn't. But that burden to pray for that first church would not leave him. So finally he said, I'm just showing you different ways you can be led. Sometimes an intercessory burden can act as a leading. He said, lord, what are you trying to communicate to me? Is the fact that I'm interceding for them a leading? Or is it just I'm interceding for them and it's good nothing? And God didn't answer him. So he thought to himself, well, I'm not the only one with the Holy Ghost. He said, so my wife has the Holy Ghost. So he said to her, honey, if God shows you anything in the next 30 days, let me know. But he doesn't specify. So 30 days pass, and she doesn't come to him. So he goes to her after 30 days and says, you're telling me God didn't show you anything in these 30 days? And she goes, well, I'm quoting her. Well, if he did, I sure don't know about it. And he said, well, have you? You know. Then he thought he'd get a bit more specific, which he probably should have done at the beginning, because not everybody's spiritual enough to pick everything up. So he probably should have just said this at the first 30 of the third days instead of at the end. But he said, well, this thought keeps coming to me about this town where the first church is. And he said, have you. Has that thought come to you? And she says, well, funny that you say that. Yeah, I keep thinking about that church in that first town, But I'm sure that's just me. You see how we can very easily think things are just us, but if something keeps coming to you, maybe pay attention. She said, I just ignored it. And he said, well, I don't know, maybe God might want us to go back there. And she says, well, how would we know if that's God's will or not? Now, there's many ways you can determine that. But in that situation, he said to her, well, there's an easy way to figure this out. Do you want to go to that town? And her words were, absolutely and completely no. And he said, now we know the perfect will of God. We're going. He said, because I don't want to go either, But God keeps causing me to intercede for them. There's a sense that I'm supposed to go back, but I don't know why, because I don't want it. I'm trying to push it off on you so that I don't have to make the decision. But when I tell you the name of the city, of the town, you keep feeling something about that, but you think it's your own. And you don't want to go either. So obviously God is telling us to go. That is one way you can determine if you don't want to do something. And there is a he won't. Something keeps coming up out of your spirit, but you got to learn where your spirit is. Something keeps coming up. It could be a burden of intercession, it could be a compassion, it could be a desire. But you don't know why you desire because you don't really desire up here. But something keeps coming up and you don't want to do it. That's in some ways much easier to figure out that it's God because you didn't want to do it anyway. What the problem is is when you want to do something, when you want to marry that boy, when you want to buy that house, when you want to take that job, that's where it gets dangerous. Because now you got to separate your soul desire from what the spirit is telling you. That's why slow down and wait. But when you really don't want to do something, now that doesn't really apply to marriage too much. Because if you don't want to marry the girl, okay, then. Oh God, then this becomes extremely complicated. Okay, they may be telling you that it's the will of God, but so this kind of applies to things that are non relational. Can I maybe put it that way? Because if you don't even want them, well, maybe you shouldn't marry them because it doesn't really apply in every case of life. But in this situation, there's people that come to me and say I have absolutely no attraction whatsoever. Like I feel like they're my brother. You'd be shocked at who has said that to me in this church. Although they're not here anymore. But anyway. And I said don't marry them. But they told me that God said that I was the wife. I don't care what they said. They could say that Cocoa Puffs was what Manna was. I don't care what they say. They don't know God any more than a rat knows God. They don't tell you what God is saying. For you, they're not your Holy Ghost. You've got the Holy Ghost. You figure it out. Is it in your spirit? Well, I don't know. Well, let's start with this. Do you like them? No. Are you attracted to them? Definitely no. Well then don't even go on a date. What's the point when you're going to get married and you're not attracted to them? Like, what is wrong with this generation? Jennifer, I don't understand. In my day, which wasn't very long ago, we had common sense enough to know if you don't like the girl, you don't go on a date with the girl. And God and prophecy doesn't come into play. The problem is if you like them, if you think that they're all that. If you met. If you're meditating on them, hopefully pure meditation, but you're meditating nonetheless. And you're. And you. I mean, that's where the danger is. Because now your soul and body, everything wants them, but the spirit may not want them. For you see what I'm saying? That's when you got to wait, slow down and know the mind of God. But if you don't want them, just leave them. Well, don't even join. Don't even go on a date. But if you don't want to go to the church, it's not relational. Now, we're not talking about covenant of marriage. He didn't want to go, but God kept prompting him to pray. And his wife keeps thinking and he keeps thinking and I don't know what to do. Lord, help them. Until finally he realized, God is telling us to go. So they left the third church and they went back to the first church and they flourished. See, God always wanted them in the first church, but the lure of other things. And then the fleece got them out. Then they pay a big price. Now they're just desperate to get out, so they go to another church. But God's trying to get them back to the original plan, right? Hallelujah. So it's very important that we be careful in our rush and our hurry because it's not always safe to do that. I think we will praise God. Well, let me just add this to that thing there. I didn't. I want to add this just to end that story. He said, let's not. He makes me laugh. He says, now I believe we know it's God's will because I don't want to go and she don't want to go. But the anointing is on us and intercession is on us. And she keeps thinking about it. So we know God wants us to go, but let's just let God open the door. Now, you see, really what you should just do is kick the door down and call the pastor and say, or the denomination say, God's telling me to come. Do you want me to come? But dad, Hagin didn't want to even do that because he's just letting. He doesn't see this a secret, Greg. He doesn't really want to go. So now he's putting all the pressure on God. Well, if you want me to go, we'll go, but you better have them invite us. Now. Is that a fleece? Not really. But you're getting on dangerous territory because if you know what to do, you should make steps. But I think as he doesn't want to do what he knows to do, he's kind of milking it. Can I put it that way? With the greatest respect possible. I think he's a little bit kind of like, well, Lord, now you have to get involved because I'm not going to say anything. And there's a truth to that. And there's also maybe a bit of milking the situation. I'm not really sure we'll talk to him when we get to heaven. But he said, I'm not saying nothing to them. I'm not, because we left them and I'm not going to go beg to go back. So they waited two months saying, God, we know this is you. Open the door. They didn't say, if this is you see, that's the fleece. If it's you do this, that's a fleece. They said, we know it's you. So now give us favor because we left. And they're probably not happy with us because we quit on them to go to the other church, the fleece church. So I don't want to. I don't want to make this awkward. So I know this is you do something about it, that's fine. It could also secretly be, I don't really want to do it. So maybe if God doesn't do something, then I'm off the hook. But nonetheless, God, do something. It was two months and then all of a sudden the minister, the pastor there, had to leave the church. And they had Kenneth Hagin on their heart, even though he had left them. So they did a vote. And incredibly rare, just like the Fleece Church, 100% agreement on the vote to bring him back, which never ever happens, he said. So the devil set up the first vote with the fleece church to pull him outside. But now God influenced people where 100% vote on the second vote. So God can influence people and the devil can influence people. But you got to learn to be led because God wanted them to go he influenced the people. They voted 100% and he came back and he never even told them all the story of what happened and how he was praying for them or anything. He said they didn't need to know that. They just needed to know that I was their pastor. And I just needed to know that that was God's perfect will. And my wife needed to know because we have to be in agreement that that was God's perfect will. And God had to open the door because we knew it. And they called us and said, we've had 100% vote, please come back. And they walked back through the door. And he had a great pastorate for. I think. I don't know if that was his last church or his second last church, but he had a wonderful. It was just a wonderful time in his life. Because when you're in the perfect will of God, even if you're not getting paid the same as other places, there's a sense of peace, a sense of belonging. There's something more important than money, and that is a sense of, I feel. I just feel like, enjoy going to work. I have a peace about this. I just. I'm not dreading it. I just. This. It just feels right. You can then use your faith in that scenario to believe God for more money. But when you're in a place that's wrong, even if you're getting a bigger paycheck and it's grinding you and you're frustrated, how can you use your faith for. Then you're out of the perfect will of God. Now you're susceptible to other things going wrong. Because now the devil can come and work things because you're outside that perfect protective barrier. He'll protect you as much as he can. But the perfect will of God is where you're safest. So forget about money. What is. Listen, I was offered. I've been offered a few, but I've been offered, like, way more than I get paid here. Way more churches five times larger than this church in the States by the beach. Did you know that? By the beach, I said, I mean, the devil is mean. He knows what I like and he offers money and people and a beach. But I know it in here. Don't you dare even think about it, boy. I put you here and I'll bless you here. Who cares about the money and the beach if I'm miserable because I'm out of the perfect will of God? Amen. Heavenly Father, I thank you. I thank you, Lord, for we're learning and we're growing this is a mighty large subject. And even when we're done this second round, we still will not have. We still haven't climbed the whole mountain. It's such a massive subject. But, Lord, we're endeavoring to take one little piece at a time, and we're almost done it. But I just feel we just keep going until you say, okay, that's enough. And so I thank you that we're learning, Father. Thank you for the inner witness. It's a daily experience. It's a daily joy. It's a daily adventure. Oh, my God, it's a daily adventure. My day never has to look boring or the same because I've got a leading. I never have to be confused. I never have to make another hard decision because I've got the genius on the inside of me. I gotta learn to yield and listen. I gotta learn to follow him and know him. Know him by praying in the Holy Ghost and Lord, I can have big decisions, small decisions, all decisions going through the filter of the inner witness. Eventually, that may be the main way that you lead us. That will be the more spiritual we get. We don't have to worry about that because we can get so sensitive to that inner witness that we can make major decisions even with strict time deadlines, even without God showing us any other dramatic way we can move with the inner witness. Because if there's. If we're wrong, there'll be an inner check. We thank you, Father, for it. We will not make haste. We will slow down and wait. And things will get clearer and clearer as we do. And we praise you and we give you glory in Jesus name. Amen and amen and amen. Praise God.