Peter Lord has learned to let God lead him in his ministry.
He is convinced that listening to God is essential in producing spiritual fruit.
In his book Hearing God, Lord writes: "Good works are what I do at the command of God for others. They last for eternity.
"But dead works are what I do for others on my own, supposedly in the name of God. They do not last."
After 15 years as a pastor, Lord looked back at what he had done in God's service and was devastated.
"I looked at people who had worked in various churches and others who had made all kinds of decisions at the altar, and I saw that basically they remained unchanged. Or worse, they had reverted to worldly lifestyles."
Then, he recalled a statement by the great Chinese Christian Watchman Nee: "God will only back and bless what he initiates."
"Then God began to allow me to discover that all lasting ministry begins with a word from God," Lord says. "When you have that word, then you walk with the Lord Jesus. You listen to the Holy Spirit and obey him. And you have an effective, exciting, enduring work."
Lord actively seeks direction from God through reading and meditating on scripture and listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes what he hears is baffling.
One night, he and his wife were settling down for sleep in a Georgia motel. While lying in bed, he felt God telling him: Get up and go to the motel office.
He got up reluctantly, feeling that the Lord wanted him to witness to the young man at the motel desk. When he arrived at the office door, he saw someone checking in and decided to wait until he left. As he waited, he saw that motel guest's licence plate was from the same Florida town he lived in.
When the man walked out of the office, he introduced himself as Peter Lord, a pastor from Titusville, Florida.
The man gripped him by the shoulders and said: "You're the very person that I need to talk to. I am in great trouble. As I drove up the highway, I called on God for help."
Time and again, he felt restrained from stopping, driving much further than he had planned that night. Then, when he neared the Georgia motel he felt a desire to stop and drove in.
"Great, isn't it - to see how God works," writes Lord. "This man cried for help. God heard him. God had me already in place, ready to help."
Lord's book is sprinkled with other stories about God leading him.
The author points to Jesus' words in John 5:19: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."
Jesus carried out the Father's commands and the ancient world was turned upside down.
After ascending to heaven, he gave believers the Holy Spirit to guide them as the Father guided him.
What a gift!
He is convinced that listening to God is essential in producing spiritual fruit.
In his book Hearing God, Lord writes: "Good works are what I do at the command of God for others. They last for eternity.
"But dead works are what I do for others on my own, supposedly in the name of God. They do not last."
After 15 years as a pastor, Lord looked back at what he had done in God's service and was devastated.
"I looked at people who had worked in various churches and others who had made all kinds of decisions at the altar, and I saw that basically they remained unchanged. Or worse, they had reverted to worldly lifestyles."
Then, he recalled a statement by the great Chinese Christian Watchman Nee: "God will only back and bless what he initiates."
"Then God began to allow me to discover that all lasting ministry begins with a word from God," Lord says. "When you have that word, then you walk with the Lord Jesus. You listen to the Holy Spirit and obey him. And you have an effective, exciting, enduring work."
Lord actively seeks direction from God through reading and meditating on scripture and listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes what he hears is baffling.
One night, he and his wife were settling down for sleep in a Georgia motel. While lying in bed, he felt God telling him: Get up and go to the motel office.
He got up reluctantly, feeling that the Lord wanted him to witness to the young man at the motel desk. When he arrived at the office door, he saw someone checking in and decided to wait until he left. As he waited, he saw that motel guest's licence plate was from the same Florida town he lived in.
When the man walked out of the office, he introduced himself as Peter Lord, a pastor from Titusville, Florida.
The man gripped him by the shoulders and said: "You're the very person that I need to talk to. I am in great trouble. As I drove up the highway, I called on God for help."
Time and again, he felt restrained from stopping, driving much further than he had planned that night. Then, when he neared the Georgia motel he felt a desire to stop and drove in.
"Great, isn't it - to see how God works," writes Lord. "This man cried for help. God heard him. God had me already in place, ready to help."
Lord's book is sprinkled with other stories about God leading him.
The author points to Jesus' words in John 5:19: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."
Jesus carried out the Father's commands and the ancient world was turned upside down.
After ascending to heaven, he gave believers the Holy Spirit to guide them as the Father guided him.
What a gift!
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