A very Pleasant visit

"Do not despise prophecies" 1 Thes 5:20 (ESV)

Being in the church for many years, I have been hardened by many "so called Prophets". Obviously God must have known this would be typical behavior because He puts in his Word a clear direction to not despise them.

A few weeks back a prophet came to our church to speak on prophecy and the biblical view on it. Gary Pleasant came from a church in downtown Cleveland, OH. He first did a Sunday morning service and followed it up with a mini-seminar for the following two Saturdays. We attended the Sunday morning service.

Very early in the service, he felt like he had a word for the youth leader. Our local youth leaders went up front to receive what was spoken over them. Even during this, I kept reminding myself to not despise prophecies. Gary proceeded to teach an excellent message on prophecies and how to test them against the Word of God. He talked at one point about when God called him to the ministry, he quit his job and stepped out in faith that God would provide. He said they had never missed a bill and always had what they needed. Just that statement alone spoke to my husband and I. We feel that God is calling us to take a step of faith as well. I'm just trying to balance that with using wisdom.

I started to hope that God would have a word for us. To confirm this journey that we are on. Maybe even some answers.

When the message was over, Gary said that there was a gentleman in the back with a hairdo like his. My husband and Gary are bald. He asked the young man in the black shirt to come up. I was like, oh my, here we go. (in a good way, of course) My husband started to walk up when Gary stopped him to ask if anyone was with him. Gary asked me to come up as well. He started to speak over us and I quietly prayed that he would speak directly to the situation we are seeking guidance on -- what to do with the kids next year, when is the right time to quit.

Here's what he spoke:
To my husband:
I see you so on fire for God. I don’t know where you are right now, but let me just tell you what I see. I see you both on fire for God. There’s fire in your eyes. There’s a burning passion for the Lord in your eyes. The enemy is trying to put that fire out. I see like the firemen go to the house that is burning and try to put the fire out, but as that’s happening the fire in your eyes just gets stronger and stronger. You will not quit. You will not give in to the attack of the enemy. There’s a great call of God upon your life. And the Lord says I want you to know know that Yes, my hand is upon you and at times you have questioned, ‘Can I do that? Can I do what I see others doing? You know, I’m a Christian, but….” But there’s no mediocrity in your heart. You really want the things of the Lord. And the Lord says I come here today to let you know that yes, my hand is upon you and yes, I’ve called you. And you, you will be a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yes, and to come today to break down the strongholds of the enemy that try to oppose the call of God upon you.

To both:
And even as a couple God says, I’m gonna use the both of you together and so know that I’ve come to heal you, know that I’ve come to mend, know that I’ve come to strengthen you, know that I’ve come even to identify you and let you know that yes, yes, yes, yes, yes that fire that’s in you, that passion that’s in you is from the Lord. Hallelujah. So Father, we bless this couple. Will you pray with me everyone, for a moment? We bless this couple and we say know that God’s hand is upon you and even now God has given you clear direction. You’ve been seeking the Lord about direction. You’ve been seeking the Lord about the fine tuning of some things in your life about which way to go. And God says that even from this day I’m gonna speak to you and I’m gonna begin to bring clarity to your heart so that there is no obscurity whatsoever. You will know that you know that you know that you know. For I come to answer your prayers says the Spirit of the Lord.

Wow. It felt like God just reached out and spoke directly to us. We took this as confirmation of the path we are on and continue to seek for God's wisdom and direction. What an awesome God we serve!