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2) Submit to leadership or God?
This is a very difficult question which can lead to utter destruction for us.
It seems that some people want to grow up too fast and run ahead of God's
highest for them. It takes many years of walking with God to experience what is
needed to be able to launch out on one's own and start a true work of God. Many
people leave churches and bible colleges and start works that are fleshly and
religious. They will never amount to much in the spirit until they are mature
enough to know what they are called to do and be. Just as in the world,
teenagers want to launch out on their own not fully prepared for life and work,
so are we sometimes in relationship to the Faith. This does not mean that
leadership wants what is best for us. So often leadership is lost in their own
confusion that they cannot see what is happening to them let alone what is
happening to us. If we launch out without leadership approval we have no place
to get help if things don't work out. But if we don't launch out we may be
missing God's highest for us. This is why we must be able to discern the
maturity of leadership and what God is really saying. When God tells us to move
in a direction, He doesn't always mean right now today. What God really means is
to start preparing yourself to move in this direction. This preparation can be
as short as a couple months to as long as many years. If we happen to have
leadership who are spiritual and are really concerned for our lives (that we
would fulfill our spiritual purposes here on earth) then we may wait until they
say we are ready and launch us forth. But as is more often the case we must be
diligent to discern where we are and what we need before we go. In cases like
this we should attend conferences that feature prophetic people in order to get
prophetic words that can instruct us to the timing of God. Prophetic words are
also good for instructing us as to what we lack and need to work on.
In cases where the leadership is strongly against us, we must not dismiss
their opinions without due introspection and prayer, for they may be seeing accurately
and we may be under deception. There is also the possibility that
the opposition is coming to stop us from moving into God's highest. It would be
wrong for us to think that all leadership is free from demonic possession and
oppression. Even if they are not oppressed or possessed they may just be carnal
and worldly or be unaware of the truth of God (believing lies). Satan will take
captive these people of authority if he can, so that nothing gets done for the
kingdom of God. Jesus never told us to not move until our authorities tell us
to. Paul the Apostle immediately after  becoming a Christian begins to go about
to preach the gospel (Acts 9:17-20). Paul also after establishing a church
appointed people to lead the church who would seem to be inexperienced (Acts
14:23). Jesus instructed John about not hindering those who move in the gifts
and are not submitted to his authority (Mark 9:38-40). Jesus after His
resurrection tells his disciples to go throughout the world and preach the
gospel (Mark 16:15), not wait until someone tells you that it is ok for you to
go. We need to evaluate everything and put God's will above our will and the
leadership's will. Above all we need to temper everything we do with wisdom.
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