“Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13:7-8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

If there is one thing I am continually telling people, it is to pray over all things and do as the Lord directs you. When you are working out what to do for work, ask God to tell you and do not accept silence; wrestle until you get your vision. Trying to work out where to use your finances to help people, pray and ask God to guide you, freely you receive, so freely you give! When it comes to seeing what church you should commit to (commitment is NOT turning up once a week or when your schedule allows), that is right; you pray and ask God where He wants for you to go. You must join the church family God wants you to join, and you listen to the teachers God tells you to listen to. The leaders God places above you, which we all must have a leader above us; when they are teaching, preaching or offering advice, you should take it as a word from God. Because you accept their spoken word as a word from the Lord, you must discern who you follow.

Jesus tells us that wolves will be dressed as sheep who will deceive and infiltrate His flock; this is why the letter’s author tells us to observe their lives and imitate their faith carefully. A wolf dressed as a sheep will eventually show they are a wolf. A wolf can not eat grass forever. Ultimately a time comes when the wolf will vomit all of that horrible green stuff, and they will have to eat meat. If you observe them closely enough, you will see; that eventually, they can not digest the grass they are pretending to eat. The leaders you follow may confirm the same, they may be able to say the right things, and it looks like they are living off the word of God alone, but eventually, you see the word be put aside as they feast on the luxuries of the world. The servant attitude that gets demonstrated gets cast aside to claim a superior lifestyle living off the sheep they have deceived. If you genuinely want to live a life of faith, ensure the church you fall under also lives a life of faith, as the Bible shows. They are casting sin from amongst them. They do not chase the wealth and luxuries of the world. They are working to share the Gospel with the people around them. They live a self-sacrificial servant-like life (imitating Jesus), they do not deny their faith publically, they look different from the rest of the world, and they live a life that challenges you to walk more profound with the Lord.

When you then look at recent saints such as George Muller, Smith Wigglesworth, Leonard Ravenhill, George Osborne, Andrew Towzer, John G Lake, Hudson Taylor, John Stam and Jim Elliot (to name just a few), their lives all demonstrate the same foundations. Their beliefs, way of living and dedication were all similar. They lived in ways that solely relied on Jesus to provide. Their lives were laid down to serve others, the world’s wealth did not corrupt them, they worked day and night in service and prayer, and they lived and were sustained by the Word of God alone. Jesus does not and can not change. If people follow Jesus, it will be the same today and tomorrow as it was 10, 50, 100, 1000 or 1990 years ago. God can not change, and because of this, the walk we live and the lives of our leaders must resemble something that has not changed since the first coming of our Lord.

Today sit with God and ask Him to open your eyes. Ask to see if there is any deception around you and if there is, ask Him to show you where to go to get closer to Him. Remember to be discernable in who you follow because when they speak, you should take it as a word from the Lord and act accordingly.