This week’s lesson includes text, audio, and video content. Enjoy!
Why do we need to learn to hear from God?
Here’s a simple answer to that question – Power Ministry with Jesus is NOT magic!
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Theoretically, if Power Ministry were magic, you could control it and do whatever you wanted. It would make you powerful and significant to others – that’s the lure and attraction that magic has always had for people. But Jesus’ ministry in the Power of the Holy Spirit was not mere magic. The power of God that flowed through Jesus overshadows the meager power levels of those who put their hope in magic, and it is embarrassing (see the story about Simon the Magician in Acts 9:9-13).
Jesus, as the second Adam, demonstrates what human life was intended to be like. It is a life realigned to the creator's original plan for humans, a life of intimate relationship with God and purposeful action within God's creation.
Humans were created as God's image to manage His purposes on the earth. Jesus shows us what that looks like. God’s power is shared and delegated with His human family, but it is not ours to control as we wish.
“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” John 5:19
God, who has all authority and power over creation, commissioned Jesus to do His will—to handle what needed to be done on earth as in heaven. Jesus gathered disciples to be with Him and began to include them as partners in the work the Father delegated to Him. He continues this partnership today by His spirit that indwells every believer.
This is what we mean when we talk about ministry with Jesus. You can be sure that when Jesus “delegates” a task to us, all the commensurate authority and power we will need to achieve his purposes is available.
There is one catch: for this to work, we have to learn to listen to the spirit like Jesus did.
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~ John Wimber, Signs, Wonders & Church Growth Conference, 1985, Anaheim, CA
A Note About Video Quality
You may notice that some of the videos in this course could be of better quality and wonder why we are using them.
First of all, these clips of John Wimber are important enough to share with you, as we felt that their production quality was irrelevant, as long as you can hear from him yourself. John Wimber laid the foundations for Kingdom ministry that have shaped the understanding, values, and effectiveness of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide in the last generation - you should have the chance to hear directly from him yourself at least once.
Second, the quality is what it is because the videos have been captured from the original VHS recordings, and there has been an unfortunate loss of video quality in the process.
If we ever find better versions, we'll replace these with them. But for now, this is what we have, and what John has to share is important enough to overlook the visual to benefit from the audio.
Learning how to hear from God
The notion that we need to learn to hear God may seem strange. It seems like it would be more spiritual if something powerful needed to happen to someone, maybe a powerful experience or an angelic visitation. Then, a switch would turn on in your head, and suddenly, you could hear God’s voice.
The truth, however, may seem stranger than fiction. To look at the average human, you wouldn’t think that they were created to know God and to hear him, but according to Bible, its true. These two capabilities are essential and necessary requirements to function as an image bearer in God’s good creation.
Learning to hear God is not self-creating something that wasn’t there before, like teaching yourself to fly. The process of learning to hear God is about learning to do what you were made to do. We must learn to hear him because we have never done this before. We have spent our lives listening to the voices that have dominated our minds all these years. Hearing from God isn’t automatic; we must learn how to discern the difference between our inner voice, the enemy’s voice, and our Father’s.
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~ Jack Deere
Hearing from God to be encouraging to others
God is love, right? That means God wants to love people, right? Love is up close and personal, not distant and uninvolved. How does God choose to speak to those he loves? How does he give his gifts and express his compassion and his mercy?
His preferred method is direct hand delivery from one of his children. Remember what we said earlier in this course; “whenever you hear the phrase “Power Ministry,” just know that we will be talking about what you get to do when God, the Sovereign King of all Creation, uses you to serve people with his transforming love and mercy in the Power of His Holy Spirit, just like Jesus did.”
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~ Jack Deere
Hearing from God to facilitate God's healing in others
Often, God will speak to us to show us what he intends to do. Learning to pay attention and having enough faith to speak or act on it is easier said than done, but it must be done to fulfill our mission with Jesus.
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~ Jack Deere
Hearing from God to help others come into a relationship with Him
Evangelism, the announcement of the gospel of Jesus’ kingdom, and the call to come in faith to Jesus for forgiveness and new life is a higher priority on God’s list than it ever will be on ours. He has gone to extreme lengths to be restored and reconciled with his fallen, wayward, but beloved human creatures. It is not surprising then that, if we listen to God’s voice, we will find that he is ready and willing to guide us and provide for us what we need to see and hear so we can help him reach those he loves.
The challenge for us is to start paying attention and learning how to hear from God so that we can be part of what he is doing in the world around us.
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~ John Wimber
Here are some questions for consideration and discussion.
We begin this lesson by saying that power ministry with Jesus is NOT magic. What is your reaction to that statement?
Which of the videos in this lesson was most important to you? Explain why.
What are the most important or challenging ideas you encountered in this lesson? Explain.
Week 3 Daily Scripture Readings
How to spend some quality time listening to what Jesus would like to say through the scriptures:
In preparation, acknowledge the Lord’s presence and love for you and settle yourself before Him (in your mind and heart).
Read the day’s text carefully; take your time.
Reflect on what you have been reading with a listening ear – what word, phrase, or sentence speaks to you from the text?
Now, talk to the LORD about what you hear from this text. What has Jesus stirred in your heart?
If you were with Him walking from one Galilean village to another, what would you say to Him about this?
Monday: Romans 8:1-8
Tuesday: Romans 8:9-17
Wednesday: Romans 8:18-30
Thursday: Romans 8:31-39