Has you ever been instructed to do something specific by God?

[Matthew T.]

Have you ever been instructed to do something specific by God, a specific event at a specific time?

 

If so, what was it? Did you obey? Were you able to discern the reason? Is this a frequent pattern? Or very rare? Please explain.

 

Thanks much for the responses in advance. May God be glorified.

[missmuffet]

Yes I believe I have.

[firestormx]

It happens rarely for me but it has happened. I won't go into to much detail but I was given a dream, and in this dream Jesus come to me and showed me someone was about to commit Blaspheme of the Holy Ghost. I was instructed to warn them not to go down that road. Long story short, I warned them, they ignored me and a month or two later ended up committing it anyway. Sadly the very exact thing that God told me to tell them would happen as a consequence if they did it, happened exactly like I was told to say. I have had mixed feelings about this ever since. I am glad Jesus was willing to give me a chance to serve him but also sad at what happened. It's very hard to describe this and how I feel about it.

[seraph]

Yes, there have been quite a few (from everyday things like praying for someone to wait-what-do-You-want-me-to-do events).

 

The first time was when I accepted Christ as my Lord and Saviour and was baptized by anointing. I "heard" "You are saved." It was soooo "spiritually loud" and clear! So, it wasn't a specific instruction but it did shape my behaviour because I have never doubted my salvation - I knew I could do whatever God called me to do because I have the assurance, as all Christians do according to His Word, that I am a child of God. Maybe I would have doubted and not followed instruction He did give me due to self doubt if I hadn't had that experience, I don't know; God knows why I needed it.  

 

 

In many ways that I won't get into, He prepared me beforehand and was with me through some devastating life events. 

 

 

One time He instructed me to immediately leave an area because I was in danger (I was on a dark street coming up to a stop sign where a van was at). I hadn't been afraid, so I wasn't freaking myself out... it didn't come from me It was an all-of-a-sudden knowing I had to get out of there because the people in the van were waiting to get me. I floored it, went around the van, and didn't look back.  

 

 

Another time was a sequence of events. My grandma was going to the watch shop and asked if I needed anything. I said no, then as she was walking out the door I stopped her to give her my angel watch (that I hardly ever wore) to get a new watchband (I'm very picky and almost never have people pick things out for me).

 

It was probably months later that I was running out the door late. I got to my car, stopped, and had the thought I needed to get my angel watch. I was late, it didn't match what I was wearing, the band was stiff and uncomfortable because I hadn't worn it, but I couldn't let it go. I got the watch and left.

 

When I got home, my cousin happened to stop by unexpectedly. I went into my bedroom to open the windows (they flip up rather than slide open. I wasn't expecting the window to stick, typically they take no pressure to flip up. For whatever reason I had my right palm on the wood on the bottom and left palm flat against the glass. The window stuck and my hand went through.

 

I hurried to the bathroom and applied a towel with pressure. I hadn't felt any cuts but saw a couple drops of blood fall from my wrist, so I knew I had a cut. I checked that I could move all my fingers, so now I had to check the skin. I removed the towel and could see inside my wrist.

 

The center of my palm was cut. My wrist was slashed open horizontally. Starting at the end of the horizontal slice was a diagonal slice traveling toward my forearm but was stopped by the new, stiff, watchband on my angel watch. 

 

I calmly told my cousin I cut myself, would need stitches, so could he drive me to er. When my aunt brought my grandma home, she said there was blood everywhere in the bedroom and bathroom. When you go to the ER, choose your words wisely because when you say, "I cut my wrist," they start asking a lot of questions lol. With the stitches and then the scars, I get "the looks" because it looks like it had been intentional.

 

I do have some nerve damage but full function. What would have happened had I not "gone with my gut" and asked my grandma to get me a watchband or not put it on that day or had my cousin not been there? I don't know. I do know that watchband stopped the glass from slicing further down my forearm. 

 

 

Two times God clearly told me to "Go." One was on a mission trip to follow God's laws but would be breaking that country's law, which could have serious,even fatal, consequences. It was something I had prayed about because I wanted to something extraordinary for Him that many people were not able to do because He has done so much for me (though at this particular time it was the worst time - from my perspective - to go for multiple reasons). I walked straight into the lion's den to do the impossible, trusting Him and He performed miracles.  

 

 

The other time I had just left my job due to an injury and prayed about doing some sort of ministry since I had a lot of time. I told Him I would go where He called me to go. I woke up really lacking the motivation to go to church and decided I would skip it. At the last minute I decided to go.

 

Instead of a lesson at Bible Study, we had a guest from an inner-city youth ministry there to share about volunteer opportunities (who, I found out later, also woke up not having the motivation to go since our class was small and it was unlikely anyone would volunteer, especially for their greatest need, for a camp counselor the following week for a week-long camp).  

 

She shared about the youth ministry (cool, but not for me) and the volunteer opportunities (yeah, never done anything like that).  She then prefaced the camp counselor need with "I know it's last minute and not likely yadda yadda yadda..." and I blurt out "I'll go!"  surprising myself and everyone else.

 

Then it started to sink in and I thought: WHAT did I do?!  God, what are you thinking? You know I'm shy. I've never worked with youth. with teenagers. with inner-city teenagers. I'm not prepared. I don't like talking in front of people. I can't just start talking to people I don't know. I don't know what to do. I've never been a camp counselor. I've never even been to camp. What if they ask me something and I don't know the answer? What if they don't like me? What if I can get out of it?...

 

I get a call from the wildlife sanctuary I was volunteering at. They needed me to take 3 wolves to Texas and care for them for a week - the same week as camp. OOH!  I'll see if I can get out of camp. So, I called, I left messages to call me back, I kept calling, and never got a call back. Hmm... 

 

The morning of camp I'm standing in the middle of 2 busloads of youth running and screaming all over the place... totally overwhelmed. They assured me I would have a co-counselor... I did... until she had a seizure and was airlifted out of camp. I had a teen counselor and 6 tween sisters and cousins  ... something came to light prompting us to call CPS... it was an experience! and I loved it! I ended up being a youth leader there for several years... one of the best times of my life.  I learned, God knows me just a bit more than I know myself, lol.    

 

 

Moral of the stories... when God instructs you to do something, just do it. It may not always be easy, but you'll be blessed. He knows what He's doing. 

[firestormx]

@Firestormx, how did this person commit the unpardonable sin, and what happened to them?  If you feel like that is something God doesn't want you to relate, just say so and I won't pry any further.  I just found your experience interesting, so I was wondering. 

It's a personal thing with me not wanting to go into it, but I will since you asked. It was at a time when God had been working through me in a lot of ways and he was moving a lot through others as well in powerful ways where we were. It was nothing to see healing, prophecy,  even miracles. So the Holy Spirit had been really moving on everyone. Anyway, I had been ministering with a friend of mine named Sam. Me and Sam went everywhere together. I was real young in the Lord at this time but Sam had a lot of experience with serving the Lord. We noticed someone preaching false doctrine to someone. He would tell people that Satan didn't really lie or deceive Eve in the garden of Eden among other things that were untrue. We know this person at least had been saved in the past and we couldn't understand where all this false doctrine was coming from. Well, then I had the dream and I spoke to him about it. after a few weeks to a month or 2 past and then I sadly watched it happen. He started faking the power of the Holy Spirit through him so he could have homosexual sex with young 18 year old boys. Stating that the Power of the Holy Spirit that had been demonstrated gave witness to the fact that God approved and wanted these young boys to have sex with him. God had told me to tell him that if he committed this blaspheme that he would get life or the equivalent there of in prison. A few months after this happened he got convicted of a crime that got him convicted under a 3 strikes your out law and got sentenced to 22-26 years in prison. Anything above 20 years is considered life. I was told specifically by God what was going to happen, what God's opinion of it was, and what he wanted me to do about it, and what would happen if he did this blaspheme. He made 2 big mistakes really from what I have gathered. 1, first and foremost, he knew better because he was saved or had been at one point. 2. he should have never brought the Holy Spirit into it and lie about the Holy Spirit's demonstration of power and fake demonstrations of the Holy Spirit's power. For instance, he would fake speaking in tongues and being slain in the spirit so people would think he was more spiritual so he could have sex with these young boys.

 

 

So there you go. I know some may say it wasn't blaspheme, but I got it directly from God that it was. all this happened in 2002. I hope this helps you and glorifies God somehow. I am very disturbed by all this to this day. I know I obeyed God, but still, knowing what he did. Watching what he did with my own eyes, it's just hard for me to but in to words how all this makes me feel.

[Betadynamique]

Have you ever been instructed to do something specific by God, a specific event at a specific time?

 

If so, what was it? Did you obey? Were you able to discern the reason? Is this a frequent pattern? Or very rare? Please explain.

 

Thanks much for the responses in advance. May God be glorified.

 

If I said what it is, who would believe it? I should say that I've done enough for God, but to put pride and ego in the way, or to just be stubborn, that is frustration. Recently, certain issues about the Bible were brought to my attention, even the reasons why Jesus spoke in parables, because the Spirit shows me something about the way so many have gone about the interpretation of scripture and prophecy. I don't understand, you can't tell them when they're incorrect, so I would much rather go watch a movie or something. As far as I know, the books of the Bible are translated well enough, the text of them, but the compilation is out of order and has been for centuries. Generally, in the day-to-day living, that is not a problem because of the Spirit, but when people start to read into things about prophecy there is a risk because there are different kinds of scriptures. God tells me to correct this problem, but apparently it's not meant for everyone.

[oldzimm]

I can't really say I was specifically asked by God to do something (not that I'm aware of), but I do know that God has guided me though out my life to do things for him. I have taken classes or done things that would make me say to myself "Why am I doing this", then future events happen (maybe years ahead) and I then understand why God has made me take those classes or done the things I done to get the experience I needed down the road.

 

Oldzimm 

[TheDutch101]

I´ve had one specific event that really suprised myself, and it´s the only one I can think of right now.

 

May 2014 a small conference was held in a nearby village, named the REVIVE Conference, organised with people from the village, but joined by 6 or 8-ish people from YWAM Herrnhut (Germany) that were preparing for a new season, travelling through Europe.

 

I went to that conference, just out of interest.

Throughout that weekend I started to hear more about YWAM in general and about Herrnhut, that small Village in Eastern Germany where the 'Herrnhutters' come from. And that young people like me have the opportunity to commit 6 months to God, learning more about him, to get into a deeper relation with him, and later on, heading out 'into the Nations'.

 

And those days and just a couple days after the weekend I couldn't get it out of my mind. That was a bit unusual for me. And soon after, just that same week I started to think..; "Hey, doing a DTS in Herrnhut, with YWAM.. Why not?". Very spontaneous and it doesn't happen very often, those kind of thoughts. I could'nt get it out of my mind and the same week I made the decision to just go there after my study was finished. (at that time finishing was one year ahead). 

 

The point is, it always takes me lots and lots of time to think about Big Topics like doing something, committing myself to something, the big decisions in life.

And if that was the case, it would take time to think about something like that.

 

But no, that did'nt happen. I felt like the Holy Spirit guided me to that conference, and after hearing more about YWAM and so on, I really wanted to go there! Take the step, not knowing what really lies ahead, but trusting in God and seeing where he wants me to go!

 

I do have some other future plans, and I am (at least right now) not thinking of going to other YWAM bases or leading a DTS, I might just go back to my country and study something else. But I am happy I am going there, seeing what's in store for me and for others, and then seeing what's next.

 

 

 

Never experienced something like this before, so I am sure that this was new.

 

 

And a year has passed, and in September I'm heading off to Herrnhut, for a 6-month Revive DTS. I'm exited!

Edited July 20, 2015 by TheDutch101