Lesson 12. Stimulus, Choice, Response. The “How to Hear God” School was held at Father’s Blessing Church. Author: John Paul Jackson. Teacher: Dmitriy Leo
Genesis 3:1–7 “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden”?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but concerning the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.”’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”
- Stimulus is a thought or desire to do something.
- Choice is the moment when we choose what to do. There are two options: the leading of the Spirit and the leading of the soul.
- Response is the result of the decision we have made.
When people make decisions according to the leading of the soul, they cannot live in blessing, much less grow in prophecy.
When people say, “I would not have sinned if it were not for…” This is simply an excuse. In reality, at the moment of “choice,” these people followed the leading of their soul instead of the leading of the Spirit.
We always find ourselves at the point of “choice” before making a decision. We always pass through a room with two doors: one says “soul,” the other “Spirit,” and we choose for ourselves. The responsibility rests on us.
The serpent tempts us, but the choice is ours. We cannot shift the blame onto him.
A curse, sin, or problem is not the source of our wrong choice. First, we made the wrong choice, and this brought a curse, sin, or problem.
Our wrong choices bring sin, problems, and curses.
And we often think that sin, a problem, or a curse leads to a wrong choice.
No one forces us to sin; we have a choice.
There is no sin without a moment of choice.
God said to Cain:
Gen. 4:7 “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Did Abel really offend his brother so deeply that Cain had to defend himself?
God said to Adam and Eve:
Gen. 3:3 “But God said, ‘You must not eat from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
Did the serpent really force them to eat the forbidden fruit?
We are responsible for making decisions, and we bear the consequences of our wrong choices.
- – the serpent deceived Eve, but she was still punished
- – Eve gave Adam an apple, but he still suffered the punishment
Very often, when something in our lives does not change for a long time, it most likely means that we have made or are making the wrong choice in that area.
For example, John Paul Jackson was in financial difficulty for a long time. To get out of it, he prayed, gave offerings, studied everything about prosperity, and attended business conferences, but nothing helped. Then God answered him: “John, you do not need to pray or give more for financial blessings to come. You need to start giving to the poor.”
A curse does not leave our lives on its own, like a runny nose. If problems, illnesses, curses, and sins came as a result of our wrong choice, they will stop only after we make the right choice.
We must return to the moment of the wrong choice and repent of making the wrong decision and taking the wrong action. Then we must make the right choice, and the curse will no longer have a basis or power to operate.
For example: a woman left her husband and ran away with another man—this was the result of a wrong choice. A year later, their new relationship began to fall apart; they became ill, poverty came, and problems arose at work. What should they do? It would be foolish to pray for healing, for their boss at work, or for a financial breakthrough. They need to repent of their wrong decision and choice, then make the right decision and act on it. That is, she must return to the husband God gave her.
So:
- The road to our calling begins with making the right choice.
- The road to accurate prophecies begins with making the right choice.
- The road to blessings begins with making the right choice.
End of lesson.
Father’s Blessing Church
Author – John Paul Jackson
Teacher – Dmitriy Leo
