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Saturday 14th of October 2023
Leading in Major and Minor Decisions – Putting Out a FLEECE or by Spirit Leading: Five (5) things to Consider
Friends, if you lived in this part of eternity for a considerable time? You will quickly realize that decision making is a daily affair. It’s like taking in oxygen for our very existence. Some decisions are major and some are minor. Some are made consciously and some subconsciously. Some decisions, by default lead us in paths that we have lesser and lesser control over those decisions than we did when we started.
For instance. When we think about or meditate on something that is going to happen negatively, at that point, if we do not take our thoughts captive, we develop negative fear emotions and after the negative fear emotion has gained ground, we begin to take actions to counter that fear. You could see through the flow of subconscious decisions down the abyss.
At each stage, our ability to control the state we are in weakens further and further down that path.
Wisdom demands that we should not arrest anything at the action point. We arrest it at the thought point.
These are all subconscious decisions that led to a conscious action.
Now, let’s look at decisions that can impact our lives in ways that can leave us with fruits that last a long time. Like decisions to marry a particular person or decision to embark on a new business venture or a career decision. How do we make such decisions? Do we put out a fleece or do we ask for the leading of the Holy Spirit?
Let’s look at a true story today of a Pastor who put out a FLEECE and as we review this story, Let’s also look back in our own lives and see the impact the decision we made in the past have impacted us today, to where we are today and if we have our life to live again, we will make different sets of decision that will bring *light, life and liberty* to our pilgrimage journey here on earth.
Let’s fasten our seatbelt for the ride.
The phrase “putting out a fleece” is commonly used in Christian circles to describe the process of seeking to know God’s will by asking Him to provide a tangible, observable sign answering a believer’s question.
We start with scriptures for our reading, meditation and Contemplation.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stone heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you…… – Ezekiel 36:26, 27
28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. – Joel 2v28, 29
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. Romans 8v12-14
25 “I have told you these things while I am still with you. 26 But the [a]Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.] 28 You heard Me tell you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’ If you [really] loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going [back] to the Father, for [b]the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does take place, you may believe and have faith [in Me]. 30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the ruler of the world (Satan) is coming. And he has no claim on Me [no power over Me nor anything that he can use against Me]; 31 but so that the world may know [without any doubt] that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father has commanded Me [and act in full agreement with Him]. Get up, let us go from here.
This Story is from the life of late Pastor Kenneth Hagin
In 1941 I didn’t know as much as I know now. Please don’t misunderstand me; I don’t know much now as I am going to know. I would hate to think I know all I am ever going to know in this life about God and about the Bible. No, we don’t know everything, but praise God for what we do know.
Anyway, in 1941 my wife and I were pastors of a church in the blackland on North Central Texas. Another church down in the oil field of East Texas wanted me to come and try out as pastor. So I drove down and preached one Sunday. The church asked if they could vote on me for pastor, and I said yes. Travelling back home after the service, I put out a fleece.
Now I was born and raised Southern Baptist. I started preaching as a southern Baptist. In 1937 I was baptized in the Holy Spirit as a Baptist preacher. In 1939, I accepted the pastorate of a little Full Gospel Church. It was in March 1941 that this church in East Texas wanted to consider me as pastor. I had been with full Gospel people long enough by that time that some of their misconceptions had rubbed off on me too. But this one was bad. I kept hearing them talk about putting out fleeces. So I put out a fleece.
I really knew better. But at the time it seemed as if it would save me a lot of the trouble of praying and getting alone and waiting on God, and maybe some fasting – just to put out a fleece.
In putting out a fleece, one prays something like this: ‘Lord if you want me to do this – then You do that.’ Or, ‘God, if you want me to do this, then have that happened. ‘Or, ‘Lord, shut that door, and open this door.’
Some of those doors the devil might shut and some of them the devil might open. They are in his territory. The Bible calls him the god of this world (2 cor. 4:4). That would be like praying, ‘Lord, if you want me to go to Kansas City next week, you open Brother Hagin’s front door.’ I might open it myself. I live there. You see, Satan can move in the sense realm.
God has a better way of leading His children than by a hit-and-miss method such as fleeces. The New Testament does not say, ‘As many as are led by fleeces, they are the children of God.’
‘Yes,’ someone might say, ‘but Gideon put out a fleece back in the Old Testament.’
Why go back under the Old Covenant? We have something better. The Old Covenant is for spiritually dead people. I am not spiritually dead. I am alive! I have the Spirit of God in me.
Remember Gideon was not a prophet, a priest, or a king. Only those three offices, under the Old Covenant, were anointed by the spirit of God. The Spirit of God was not personally present with the rest of the people.
That’s why every male had to present himself at the temple in Jerusalem once a year. The Shekinah glory – the presence of God – was kept shut up in the Holy of Holies. But when Jesus died on Calvary, the curtain that curtained off the Holy of Holies was rent ( Torn) in twain from top to bottom – and God moved out. He has never dwelled in earth-made houses since. He dwells in us!
It is dangerous for New Testament, Spirit-filled Christians to put out fleeces. I know that from the Word. And I know it from experience.
Back from there in 1941 I said as I drove along, ‘Lord, I am going to put out a fleece. I am just going to turn it over to you. (I didn’t realize that I wasn’t turning it over to the Lord.) If they elect me as pastor one hundred percent, I am going to accept that as being the will of God, and I am going to accept that church.’
I got every vote! That was my fleece. They elected me 100 percent. They missed God. I missed God. They got fleeced. I got fleeced. I got out of the perfect will of God – and God just led me to do it.
We moved into the personage. Many things were more comfortable that what we’d had before, from the natural standpoint. We had more money. We lived in a better parsonage. We drove a better automobile.
But I would study and pray and get a message – and be just all on fire. Then the minute I stepped inside the church door, it was as though somebody poured a bucket of cold water on me. I lost it all. In fourteen months I didn’t preach decent sermon. No inspiration.
My wife was reluctant to say anything. She finally did say, ‘Honey, you’ve got to where you can make a pretty good talk.’
That was all I was doing, making ‘talks.’ I wasn’t preaching. When my agreed-upon time was up, I left. I didn’t wait for some signal to leave; I just left.
Later on in pasturing, I always wanted to go back there for a meeting because I wanted those people to know I could preach. They had never really heard me preach. Finally, in the course of time, I went back and held a revival. Folks’ mouths fell open. ‘We didn’t know you could preach like that, ‘they said.
I said, ‘oh, yes, I preached like that before I came here to pastor, and I preached like that after I left here,’
‘Well, you didn’t preach like that when you were here.’ I said, ‘No, because we were all out of the will of God. I was here out of the will of God, and you elected me out of the will of God.’
I learned about that fleece business. One time ought to cure a fellow. But some folks – even though none of their fleeces have ever worked – still put out fleeces.
I never missed it again in going to any other church as pastors. And I didn’t put out any more fleeces. I prayed and waited on God. I talked to God long enough so that I knew right on the inside what I was to do.
END of STORY
Some lessons I draw from the above stories and my own life journey are as follows:
Putting out fleece, also known as fleece testing, is a practice that originates from a biblical story in the Book of Judges. In the story, Gideon puts out a fleece to determine God’s will. The practice involves requesting a specific sign or confirmation from a higher power, in order to make a decision or gain guidance in life.
While it may seem harmless, there are several reasons why putting out fleece can be considered wrong or problematic:
1. Lack of reliance on personal discernment: Relying solely on external signs or confirmations can lead to a lack of personal discernment and critical thinking. It is essential to develop our own decision-making skills and rely on our own judgment rather than constantly seeking external validation.
2. Unrealistic expectations: Putting out fleece often involves asking for specific signs or confirmations. This can lead to a mindset of expecting miracles or supernatural interventions in everyday life. It is important to understand that life does not always work this way, and constantly seeking signs or confirmations can create a sense of entitlement or a distorted view of reality.
3. Lack of responsibility: Putting out fleece can lead to a lack of personal responsibility for our choices and actions. Relying on external signs may remove accountability for our decisions, as we may attribute our actions solely to divine intervention rather than taking ownership of our choices. For instance. You know are in a dangerous or compromising situation. You need to get out of there as soon as practicable. Do you wait to get a sensing? No you don’t. You just take off.
4. Potential for manipulation or deception: Putting out fleece opens the door for manipulation or deception, as we may misinterpret signs or confirmations in order to fit our desired outcome. It can also lead to a mindset of constantly searching for signs in every situation, even when they may not truly exist.
5. Inconsistent results: While some people may claim success stories of putting out fleece, the results are often inconsistent and subjective. The same signs or confirmations may not always lead to similar outcomes or provide reliable guidance. Relying solely on external signs can be an unreliable and inconsistent method of decision-making.
In conclusion, while the practice of putting out fleece may have its roots in biblical stories, it is important to consider the potential drawbacks. Relying solely on external signs rather than by the Holy Spirit within us.
Action Plan:
Share with us your own experiences. Or if there are decisions that you about to make and you don’t know what to do our how to go about it, we can give you some guide post. Some indications based on your wiring, life experiences and most especially, how to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit in you to help you in making the right decision after going through the scripture test of whatever decision you are about to make.
Shalom!
Ambassador Monday O.Ogbe
God’s Eagle Ministries
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