NOW ...
I was rushing off to a meeting when I wrote that ...
As I was walking toward my car it occured to me that I should say some things about 'visions, signs, and wonders ...'
I think it goes without saying that as JWs the idea of receiving any sort of curreptitious message -- such as a 'vision from the Holy Spirit' is about as absurd as it gets. JWs -- and for that matter "Traditional" Baptists are strict Cessationists -- so the idea of a person hearing directly from God is to them ludicrous.
Then -- as visions go -- mine was arguably quite bizarre ...
But looking back I have come to the realization that it is not that God doesn't speak to us ... it's that we are not always attuned to His Spirit.
Consider this promise
But I tell you the truth, it is advantageous for you that I should go; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. And having come, that One will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment. Concerning sin, because they do not believe into Me; and concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father, and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. I have yet many things to tell you, but you are not able to bear now. But when that One comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you into all Truth, for He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will announce the coming things to you. That One will glorify Me, for He will receive from Mine and will announce to you.John 16:7-14 (LITV)
This was the Lord's promise toward the end of His life here on earth. It was a PROMISE -- that the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) would guide us in all things. It occurs to me that there was no time limit on that promise -- the only real limitations were our own inability to discern His guidance. So in time I began to understand that God does still speak to us if only we will listen ...
I also learned that sometimes the means that God uses to get our attention are decidedly strange -- especially in the face of 'reason' and 'logic,' both of which are totally contrary to faith which is " the evidence of things not having been seen." He. 11:1 (LITV)
The third thing that I've learned, in this regard, is that sometimes the method God chooses to speak to us is determined by what He knows will work best at that particular point in time. He knew that **I** would 'get' the analogy of spiritual food -- or in this case the lack thereof -- so this approach worked for me, at that particular point in time! In retrospect, I have come to realize that He'd been trying to get my attention since my teens: it's just that that particular day I 'heard' Him!
And for me the proof is in the pudding, as they say. I have been in the Ministry now for 28 years; and there is not a moment that I have ever doubted that it was the Spirit of God who led me out.
As to the part about how long it took you to come to a realization about your own spiritual dilemma, rest assured that -- again -- God deals with each of us in different ways and at different times. It could be that if you'd come out sooner the outcome might not have been to your advantage. Maybe He had to work out some things in your surroundings, before He fully opened your eyes to 'da trute'
I firmly believe that there were a whole lot of 'hppy coincidences' that happened AFTER my break with the b'ORG that were set in motion BY GOD to help point me toward the purpose that He has set for my life. Like how He PUT Philip in the path of the Ethiopian eunuch -- as far as the eunuch was concerned (at least at first) their meeting was quite by accident ... but in truth those of us who can read the WHOLE STORY know that is not true. In fact I am convinced there are no coincidences in the Plan of God.
But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Rise up and go along south on the highway going down to Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a deserted place. And rising up he went. And, behold, an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, a potentate with Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship! And he was returning. And sitting on his chariot he read the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, Go near and join yourself to this chariot. And running near Philip heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, Indeed, do you know what you are reading? But he said, How should I be able except someone shall guide me? And he called Philip near, to come up to sit with him. And the content of the Scripture which he was reading was this: "He was led as a sheep to slaughter, and as a lamb voiceless before the one shearing it, so He does not open His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away. And who will recount His generation? For His life is taken away from the earth." Isa. 53:7, 8 And answering the eunuch said to Philip, I ask you, about whom does the prophet say this? About himself, or about some other one? And opening his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, Philip announced the gospel to him, Jesus. And as they were going along the highway they came on some water. And the eunuch said, Behold, water! What prevents me to be baptized? And Philip said, If you believe from all the heart, it is lawful. And answering he said, I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. But when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. And the eunuch did not see him any more; for he went his way rejoicing. Acts 8:26-39 (LITV)
Several pro JW writere, here, have talked about how the JWs go out from door to door. But I know for a fact that real Christians are busy in the Ministry of Evangelism, too -- in jails, on the street corners, in the mall, parking lots, bars, elevators, or wherever the lost can be found. I will ALWAYS have a deep love for Bennie Maultsby -- the Christian man who witnesses Christ to me, after I left the b'ORG -- and who helped me find the way to Salvation. But I state without question or equivocatoin that it was no coincidence that we met http://www.revdrjohnson.com/decision.htm I believe that God Himself gently blew the winds in such a way that it was inevitable that our paths would cross -- even down to the 'coincidence' of me being in that town at that time, in the FIRST place.
All that to say that you shouldn't fret about how long it took you to get out -- just be thankful that you did.
