Listen To Him

Reading from the Book of Galatians 1:1-12

1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) ² And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: ³ Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: ⁵ To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Have you ever thought that God could not or would not use you because of your past? No one was more likely to feel that way than the apostle Paul, who tried to destroy the early church. However, Paul received God's forgiveness and recognized that it was God who gave him his ministry and authority. No matter what your past, God wants to use you too.

⁶ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: ⁷ Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. ⁹ As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. ¹⁰ For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. ¹¹ But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. ¹² For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Many times we receive a message from God, we confer too much with flesh and blood. We go around looking for someone to assure us that we are doing the right thing. If we want to be popular with people, we cannot be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Needing peoples approval in an unbalanced way can steal our destinies. We cannot always be God-pleasers and people-pleasers at the same time. What we need to do is beleive we have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, within us. But since we have invited the Spirit of Truth to guide us, should we always shun advice from others? No, for "in the multitude of counselors there is safety." Proverbs 11:14

Like many other things, this is an area where we need balance. We can and should be open to receive advice from those who are wiser and more experienced than we are in an area, but we should not depend so much on what people say that we fail to listen to what God is saying.

Listen to Him.