CHAPTER TWO:  The Call and Confirmation of God’s Word

My parents’ farm provided many wonderful experiences for me as I grew and matured.  Walking in the near-by woods along the bank of a small creek, I was surrounded by numerous familiar sounds.  The crickets chirped, the frogs croaked, and somewhere in a distant pasture, a cow lowed.  How often, I mused as I sat on a fallen tree, have I been in the midst of all this sound yet never taken notice of it.  As I think back now, how I enjoy listening to a CD play through my computer speakers with those same background noises merged with soft music.  Back then, as a young boy, I had those soothing sounds constantly around me but I seldom noticed.  That day, I reminded myself to appreciate the small gifts in life as I quickly began thinking about the baseball game the next day.  As I walked on through trees and underbrush, I again was oblivious to those sounds.  This experience reflects how I tend to be in regard to the still small voice of God in my spirit.  That voice, like the crickets, has always been there, yet most often ignored.

At age 17, I left my secure home to move from our farm, on the edge of Louisiana’s delta country, to prepare for a career.  The college I attended was some 50 miles away where I began to study for a future in the growing field of agri-business.  I had been blessed by God to receive a scholarship in the area of agriculture, so I set out determined to become successful in my college experience.  There had been many nights when I would wonder what God wanted me to choose for a vocation.  As I lay in bed one hot, summer night, I looked out the window at the stars twinkling in the moonlit sky.  It struck me that a fantastic Creator God would have to have made that entire expanse.  I felt so insignificant, a tiny speck in a huge universe.  It seemed impossible that such a God would be able or even desirous of helping me with my decision.  Yet I knew He loved me and cared; His Word had made this abundantly clear.  And, somehow I knew that a day would come when I would be able to hear Him speak to me.  But until then, I decided as I turned from the window, I would have to guess what He wanted me to do.  I would do the logical thing and hope for the best.

My freshman year passed quickly until suddenly I found myself in the last month of school.  An interesting thing occurred one Saturday evening.  I had gone to hear a music group from a Christian college in Texas.  One of the group members was sharing about God’s calling him into Christian ministry as his vocation.  I had the strangest sense that God wanted to say something to me about this.  Over the next few weeks, an unexplainable expectancy began to build in me; I started wondering if God were trying to tell me what I was to do regarding my vocation.

Then it happened!  It had been exactly four weeks and one day since I heard the music group.  I was home for the summer attending the rural church in which I had my early religious training.  It was Sunday evening; the singing was over and the pastor was speaking.  Often I took notes or followed along in the Bible as he read a passage from the Scripture.  This night, however, I was not thinking about the notes or even the girlfriend who sat beside me.  I was reflecting on my future, wondering about what I was to do regarding my career.  There was an excitement evidenced by the turmoil in the pit of my stomach.  I had a strange knowing inside that God was trying to tell me something.  Then came a message in the first person that was electrifying in its clarity.

My son, I want you to preach.  Are you willing to dedicate yourself to this ministry? 

My heart leaped for joy that the God of the universe had actually spoken to someone as insignificant as me.

Not knowing what I was really committing myself to do, I responded inwardly, Oh, yes Lord!  Thank you for calling me.  I am unworthy, but if you want me, then here I am.

The next few moments were filled with thoughts of what changes this would mean in my life.  I thought my pastor would never finish that sermon so I could share my revelation and ask for prayer and counsel.  Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he finished speaking.  Following the service, our family climbed into our Chevy pickup to head for home.  My mind was full as I pulled the stick shift into gear.  God had actually spoken to me in answer to many months of prayer.  I secretly wondered if God would ever speak to me again.  I assumed He only spoke directly as He had that night when He called a person into ministry.  I had so many new decisions to make, I was hopeful He would somehow let me know where to go from here.  I later learned that this was an example of a rhema (a spoken word) from God.

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Confirmation… means to establish validity by reliable sources.

 Some people hear things in their minds, which are similar to what I heard that night, but are not sure it is God speaking.  How can one know what is from God?  One important concept, which I would come to understand, was that of confirmation.  Confirmation is from the word confirm which means to establish validity by reliable sources.

 One means of testing guidance is the agreement of witness from those in direct authority over you.

God was teaching me that one primary means of judging or testing guidance is the agreement of witness from those in direct authority over you.  I submitted my rhema (spoken word) to my parents with whom I lived at the time.  They also believed this was from God.  My Youth Director and my Pastor were in spiritual authority over me and both confirmed that they believed this was from God.  A few years later, after I was pastoring my first church, my mother felt free to share that she had dedicated me to the ministry before I was born.  She had not been a strong Christian when my older brother and sister were born and she had prayed for another child.  When my father was not open to having a third child, she waited and prayed.  About 10 years after the second child had been born, she conceived.  She believed God had promised her this child would be a minister of the gospel.

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A second way to test a word of guidance is in its agreement with Scripture.

A second way I learned to test a word of guidance is in its agreement with Scripture.  As I looked in Scripture, I was encouraged by Paul’s encounter with Christ and his later call into ministry through a spoken word given to Ananias (Acts 9:15-16).  Many of the prophets in the Old Testament were called in a similar way.   I found that Scripture allowed for such an experience to happen.  Further, in Matthew 9: 37-38, Jesus instructed His disciples as follows:

…"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

I knew from this verse that God was looking for someone to send into the harvest.  From these and other references, I found an agreement in Scripture.

Scripture can also be used in other ways to confirm direction.  A few years ago I had received direction concerning a change in ministry.  I believed the Lord was sending my family and myself to Warsaw, Indiana, to work with a group called New Covenant Ministries.  The Lord had promised earlier in prayer that He would give me a Scripture on which I could stand to confirm this was His will.  At a later time of prayer, the Lord seemed to bring 2 Corinthians, chapter 3, to my mind.  For some reason, He would not give me a specific verse.  Sharon, my wife, in her praying at the same time could not seem to get a chapter but the Lord brought verse 6 to her mind.  We could not imagine how God could get Warsaw, Indiana, in the Bible.  He did not put Warsaw, Indiana in the Bible but He did let us know His will.  We looked up the reference which says, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant…(NAS).  We then knew that God wanted us to go to New Covenant Ministries to serve Him. I believe God has shown me that one must be careful not to use the Bible like a magic book or ouija board to get answers.  Yet God may choose to speak using a verse out of context for His own purpose.  There have been other times in my devotional reading, I have had a verse seem to stand out, given a meaning by the Holy Spirit which was for my situation at that time.  God is sovereign and sometimes chooses to work in this way.  He has taught me, however, that to use Scripture in this way for daily guidance would be unwise and bordering on the occult.  He has shown me that Scripture is normally to be taken only in context, particularly in regard to doctrine, teaching or revelation of truth.  This is not to say that God may not choose to use the Word sovereignly as in my example above.

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A third confirmation of guidance is our spirit’s bearing witness with the Holy Spirit within.

 A third confirmation of guidance that God gave me was my spirit’s bearing witness with the Holy Spirit within.  The way I can tell God’s Spirit is not bearing witness is if I have an unsettledness or lack of peace in my inner self (my spirit).  I have come to the conclusion that when something comes from God there is His grace or strength to do His will and His peace in my heart.  In fact, the mark of the Spirit’s work is peace.  I saw in Galatians 5:22 that the fruit (i.e. result) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace… There are seasons when God puts me through difficult times to discipline me.  He loves me; therefore, He reproves me to make me better than I was before.  The way I can tell whether situations are from Him, is that after I submit to His training the peaceful fruit of righteousness is the result (see Hebrews 12:11).  I have also seen this, that when a situation is not from the Spirit of God, confusion and uneasiness within are the result, rather than peace.  God is always seeking to produce the fruit of His righteous character in me which is evidenced by peace in my heart.

Another confirmation of guidance is right circumstances and resources.

Finally, another confirmation of guidance God gave me is right circumstances and resources.  Many times God will keep us from making mistakes by withholding resources.  This was the case regarding the contemplated change in our ministry, I mentioned earlier.  Prior to pursuing the position in Warsaw, we were planning to move to Shreveport, Louisiana, to establish a counseling ministry there.  Through a misunderstanding, our proposed mover showed up to pack and move us to Shreveport.  They had a load already going to Shreveport and failed to confirm our situation.  There was a lot of pressure from circumstances to trust the Lord even though the move had not yet been confirmed in the ways we were shown it must be.  Lack of available finances turned out to be the reason, which helped us say no to the pressure and embarrassment of our situation.  I have found that God often withholds finances for the purpose of keeping us from missing His will.  To overrule God’s decision by going in debt violates God’s best (Romans 13:8) and could have opened me to reproof from my Heavenly Father (see Hebrews 12:5-11; Proverbs 6:23).  I was later shown by the Lord that had I moved that day, an Ishmael (see Genesis 16) would have been born.  I believe God has shown me that Ishmael was the result of Abraham and Sarah’s impatience in waiting for the child of promise:  Isaac.  Ishmael was the father of the Arabs who have been at enmity with Isaac’s (the father of Israel) offspring since that time.  The Jewish/Arab conflict, I believe, is the result of lack of patience in waiting on God’s provision.  I pray I may always carefully consider confirming my guidance that I may not have to live with more Ishmaels.  Confirmation of what we believe God is saying to us is a much-needed guard to keep us from error.  The practice of seeking confirmation has solidified my faith so I can be obedient to what He instructs me to do.