(Part 2) Lesson # 13 God's Will & Guidance

Moore's Corner Church

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May 1, 2023

Study from the book Fundamentals of the Faith by John MacArthur

(Part 3) Lesson # 13 God's Will & Guidance

00:01: So this is part 2 of lesson number 13 Fundamentals of the faith
00:07: God's will and guidance. Let's turn to the book of Psalms We're gonna look at Psalm 37 verse 4.
00:16: I Think we ended around section C in The book so that's a response to God's will we had gone through the verses and determined Okay, is this the sovereign will of God or the commanded will of God?
00:31: And we have talked about the difference that the sovereign will of God is is one thing
00:37: We don't necessarily know what God's plans are or what his ultimate will is
00:43: But there is the commanded will of God the things that he's revealed. For example, thou shalt not steal that is a
00:50: Command we know that it's not God's will to steal But there are certain things that God is doing or will do that He doesn't clue us in on so there's the sovereign will of God the command of will of God We went through those verses, but look at Psalm 37 verse 4
01:10: Talking about this idea of knowing God's will It says delight yourself also in the
01:17: Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart
01:24: Matthew Henry writes this To delight in God is as much a privilege as a duty
01:32: He has not promised to gratify the appetites of the body and the humors of the fancy But the desires of the renewed sanctified soul
01:43: What is the hearts desire of a good man? It is this to know and love and serve
01:51: God So with that in mind look at section C, how should we respond to God's sovereign will?
02:00: Proverbs 3 5 and 6 trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding
02:08: In all your ways Acknowledge him and he will direct your paths or make your paths
02:14: Straight. So if you want to be led by God and get Guidance from God if you want
02:21: God's will for your life. What do we have to do? We delight ourself in him We seek the
02:27: Lord delight ourself in him and then he puts his desires in our heart
02:33: And if we acknowledge him in all of our ways, what is what does he promise to do in this verse in Proverbs?
02:40: He will direct our paths So if we see God and obey God, he will lead us
02:46: Right, he will guide us I think too often what happens in that verse in Psalm 37 is a good example of Of how some might take a verse out of context delight yourself also in the
03:03: Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart So some people read that and there I have all these things that I want these dreams for my life to be
03:11: You know successful and wealthy and I want to do this and I want to do that and oftentimes people are led about by their own will write things that I want and If I want it
03:24: That must be God putting it in my heart. Well, not necessarily So we have to kind of contrast that to what the revealed will of God is in the scriptures.
03:34: So God does give us the desires of our heart That's what the psalmist writes But we need to discern whether or not these are our thoughts and desires or are they actually the
03:45: Lord's thoughts? And desires and how do you know? Is it based on a feeling?
03:53: Well, I mean God uses can use our feelings, but I have to test it against over and against what the word of The Lord says
04:01: Larry I know I Have a hard time leaning on my own understanding and You know seeing where I should go based on my understanding not necessarily
04:22: God's right Yeah, but I think that is a common
04:28: Danger a common thing that we could all we have a thought we have an idea and we think well that must be
04:34: God Who gave it to me? It could be But we have to be careful about that so I Forget which verse it is in the
04:44: New Testament, but the Apostle Paul talked about how we have the mind of Christ So if the
04:50: Word of God dwells in us richly and if we are walking with him daily
04:56: Then sometimes we just know okay. This is this is right. This is wrong
05:02: We should know that but then those areas where we're not really sure maybe wait on it pray on it, but Marcus you had a
05:13: We do if we put the desires of our heart first, we've got things all backwards it says delight yourself in the
05:21: Lord If you are delighting yourself in the Lord the things that are going to That are the desires of your heart are going to be those things that he cares about he cares about Lost souls
05:36: He cares about us and if you delight yourself in him or all that he's done or just the kind of Savior and God that he is if you're delighting yourself in him and his kingdom and eternal things
05:54: Yeah, he's going to give you the desires of your heart because the desires of your heart are gonna be more of him.
06:01: Yeah Let's say somebody has the desire they feel that you know, God is telling me to go to the mission field
06:07: Well, I mean that's something that God would do God would call someone to the mission field so they they plan for it and they they organize they pray about it they
06:17: Look for funding or whatever, but then something happens and they you can't go they can't go sometimes
06:24: God will close the door and it's obvious to us. Sometimes he'll open the door and it's obvious to us
06:31: Sometimes, you know, he might not do it right now, but he'll do it six months from now a year from now
06:38: Just use one personal example. I was convinced years ago that The Lord was calling me into the ministry and I was convinced of that because I had the desire the first thing about a
06:53: Pastor or a bishop that if a man desires the office, you know I I just did
06:59: I had this desire to preach and teach the Word of God. That's what I wanted to do But there's no commanded will in the you know, there's no verse in the
07:08: Bible that says, okay Mike Grant you are gonna go there's nothing in the Bible that would tell me that so how do
07:15: I know if it's God's will? well, if nobody recognized the gift and I never had an opportunity and I never was
07:23: Ordained then I guess it wasn't God's will but here I am. So I'm saying that's the will of God, but Sometimes we don't really know with how it's gonna work out and we have to trust in God's sovereign will
07:37: To either open a door close the door or for him to tell us to wait
07:42: Maybe has something better for somebody. I don't I don't know Okay Let's look at B Response to God's will how should we respond to the sovereign will of God first Peter 419?
07:56: Therefore those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful creator in Doing what is right?
08:06: Okay, so even suffering Can be the will of God sometimes when we suffer if things go
08:15: In an area where it's things get difficult. We said well this isn't working out too
08:20: Well, I'm I'm going through these hard times this must not be God's will because bad things are happening wrong
08:27: Or not necessarily wrong, but you know, sometimes well, there's one verse it is appointed
08:36: Unto us to suffer. I think that second first Thessalonians chapter 3
08:42: That they were appointed the Thessalonian Christians were appointed to tribulation
08:48: So sometimes suffering is the will of God for his people So it can be
08:54: God can use just about anything. So we shouldn't make assumptions
09:00: James 4 13 and 15 if the Lord wills we will live and Also do this or that and that's the statement
09:11: Where you know, I'm gonna do this tomorrow, I'm gonna do this next year I'm gonna do that We all have these plans these things that we're gonna do things
09:20: I'm gonna accomplish and what should our attitude be? Yeah, Lord willing.
09:27: That's why we always say I'll I'll see you in church on Sunday Lord willing We don't know.
09:33: I plan to be there but you know 50 different things could happen. So That should really be our attitude with everything that You know,
09:43: I have the plan. I this is the right thing to do. I'm planning on doing it, but it's God willing
09:50: Because ultimately it's not in our control a lot of things the things that are in our control do what
09:55: God says but if it's Not in our control or God could change the plan. We need to be open to it
10:01: So Lord willing you got a hand up And Here or there or everywhere
10:14: But another verse along those lines and we memorize them because we have to lay hold of these
10:20: We can't go by our circumstances. We have to go by God's promises or We can't let them shake our faith.
10:29: We did suffering tests our faith. Mm -hmm There's oh, yeah, you believe in me. How about if you if you suffer?
10:35: Will you still believe in me or you will you just get mad at me that there's suffering with it's Philippians 129
10:40: For unto you it is given In the behalf of Christ not only to believe on his name, but also to suffer for this
10:49: Yeah, so when suffering comes of any kind And I'm going through some myself lately
10:58: What's your response gonna be is it gonna be I Still trust in you. Yes Don't be slaving me yet.
11:08: Well, I trust him Joe said yeah, I think would be the mark of Not necessarily a false convert, but it would be the mark of an maybe
11:22: Immature believer to say I'm gonna trust in God as long as everything goes.
11:27: Well, why is everything's going good? I'll worship God. I'll follow
11:33: Jesus long as everything's going. Okay. See we want to control the situation This is my life.
11:39: I want to do this. I have plans We want to be in control. That's got human nature but part of the
11:47: Christian walk is to kind of let go of some of that if not all of it and say
11:52: Lord actually You're in control. Anyways, whether I You know say so or not
11:58: So I'm just submitting my life to you. What do you want? So it's less of us and more of him and that but that takes growth to really to walk in that.
12:11: Okay Let's look at number two, how should we respond to God's?
12:17: Commanded will so we looked at how we should respond to a sovereign will which we're not always aware of but how should we respond?
12:24: to his Commanded will Ephesians 5 17 do not be foolish But understand what the will of the
12:32: Lord is How do you know what the will of God is? How do you know?
12:40: Right How do we respond to God's commanded will or his revealed will well, it's revealed in the
12:48: Bible Okay, Deuteronomy 29 verse 29 Says observe all the words of this law
12:58: Okay. Now that was given to the children of Israel that they were to observe all of the
13:04: Mosaic Law. Did they do it? No, and when they didn't do it Well, just just read the
13:10: Old Testament. You see how the the history of Israel it was a constant up and down and When they did not walk in God's ways what happened?
13:20: He he punished them and Sent them away into captivity raised up their enemies against them and these are basic principles
13:28: Although it's a little different now. It's a new covenant. We're not Israelites living under the 613 commandments of the law
13:36: I get all of that, but I think the same principles Apply if we do not observe what
13:42: God commands. I mean, what can we rightly expect? Yeah, things are not going to go well and God's blessing isn't going to be there
13:51: Now you might be walking with God and things aren't going well as you want them to go But you have the promise that God is with you and will bless you even when you suffer, you know
14:00: Blessed are you when you are persecuted for righteousness sake, but there's no blessing of God when we're just walking in disobedience
14:08: So the children of Israel were commanded to observe all the words of this law
14:15: Do we have to observe? Okay, let let's see if you're paying attention Last last
14:21: Sunday to the sermon. Do we have to observe all the words of the law? It's not a trick question.
14:30: I promise Okay, God's law given to the nation of Israel. Do we have to observe the whole law?
14:38: Why not? Okay, Christ has fulfilled it good.
14:44: Thank you Ray Yeah, we have a new covenant in a better covenant
14:54: Yeah, number three. No one can fulfill or no one can really keep it anyways
15:01: But that you know, that's no excuse to break the Commandments obviously, but as far as the
15:06: Ten Commandments go are we? obligated to observe
15:11: Or keep the Ten Commandments Yes, everyone says yes keep the
15:18: Ten Commandments Anyone want to say no How about the fourth commandment
15:26: Now shall keep the Sabbath day. Holy Now I always bring that up because I know that Christians are kind of divided on that one, aren't they?
15:38: Marcus you want to settle this issue once and for all for all believers everywhere Of the
15:47: Ten Commandments that one is not Corroborated in the new covenant.
15:54: Yeah Yeah, and I do think Christ Yeah yeah, and Barb you wanna
16:05: I can't remember the reference but Somewhere in the Old Testament, it said that the
16:12: Sabbath was given by God to Israel. Yeah Yeah, and that's what that's one of the main arguments that nobody
16:21: Observed the Sabbath up until Mount Sinai and then there's no command to reaffirm it for New Testament Christians Which I generally would agree with that.
16:32: But again based on principles that you see in the Old Testament Christians recognize
16:38: Sunday as the Lord's Day. So this is a day we gather and assemble. I would argue Christ fulfilled the
16:45: Sabbath But that you know, I don't want to open up that Yes I read something once and it really helped me understand the difference
16:59: The law of the Old Testament and us from the New Testament you know from Genesis 20 to Yeah, Exodus 20 to where they to the end of numbers whatever where all the rest of the laws are this was the
17:16: Constitution and Bill of Rights of the fledgling nation of Israel, right? Yeah, and We are not the nation of Israel, yeah, in fact that nation doesn't exist anymore
17:30: Yeah right, so all that to say this we should observe the
17:37: Clear commands that are given to us in the New Testament and you will find among some church traditions that there are certain points here and there where Christians will disagree
17:50: But should we obey Christ? yeah, and you know,
17:56: I I personally am of the view that I I view Sunday as as the
18:02: Lord's Day and If people don't view it that way, you know, that's again.
18:08: That's sort of a different subject but staying on point Deuteronomy 11 verse 1
18:15: How should we respond to God's commanded will keep his charge his statutes his ordinances and his commandments
18:26: Okay. Now again someone well, that's the
18:31: Old Testament and yeah, but there's always things to learn one last time because I feel like I've sort of opened up a can of worms with the
18:39: Sabbath and Lord's Day thing the more I study the word just the the more
18:45: I'm convinced that There should be a day set apart unto the worship of God that that's
18:55: That's my belief the more I study the more I'm convinced of that and you look that's sort of been the tradition of God's people for thousands of Thousands of years but some are of the viewpoint that Marcus mentioned where well every day is
19:13: God's day You know in the New Covenant every day belongs to the Lord Well, right, but we're not going to church every day
19:21: So I think there is something to be said about having one day set apart unto
19:26: God if for no other reason Based on the principles found in the Old Testament whether you think they're binding or not, but okay, let's move on God instructs
19:36: We obey Psalm 25 8 through 10 good and upright is the
19:42: Lord therefore he instructs sinners in the way He leads the humble in justice and he teaches the humble his way all the paths of the
19:52: Lord are loving kindness and truth to those who keep his covenant and his
19:58: Testimonies. So this is number two on the subject of guidance. It says because of his great love
20:05: God has predestined called Justified and will glorify all believers.
20:12: He also guides us a The meaning of guidance guidance is
20:18: God's active role in our lives Accomplishing his purposes note the following words used in the
20:25: Bible to describe God's guidance Write down how the verse conveys the meaning of each word.
20:33: Okay. The first word is to lead to lead another way of putting this is to shepherd or to bear or carry psalm 78 verse 52 but he led forth his own people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock and then
20:57: Psalm 139 verse 24 says lead me in the everlasting
21:02: Way, so who leads us Okay, the
21:10: Holy Spirit leads us God leads us how does God lead us Through his word, how else does
21:19: God lead us? Like a shepherd, okay
21:29: Okay okay, he He leads us in that way
21:34: I think of what the Apostle Paul said when he in First Corinthians, is it 11?
21:40: I believe where he said follow me as I follow Christ One thing you really can't escape is that we all follow
21:50: Other people don't I know somebody was why I don't follow it. I only follow Jesus I don't follow any man like in the ultimate sense, right?
21:59: We follow Christ. I get it But let's face it other people have a great
22:05: Influence on us. No way if I were to listen to Somebody hours a day or an hour per day
22:15: Seven days a week What they say and just their approach to things is gonna have an impact right, so Who are we looking to who are we listening to?
22:28: Whether you're aware of it or not, it has a real impact On the direction that you're going.
22:34: So, you know you fill your mind with secular music television Politics all there's all these different competing voices
22:43: And if we're listening to this and this and this and this but it's very little church very little Bible very little, you know
22:50: Pretty good odds that you have the wrong way of thinking about at least a few things
22:55: But this this is so important that we're part of a church Community where we are led not only by the pastor or the leadership of the church but we influence we have an influence on one another we teach one another and Without the church what
23:13: I'm saying is without the church You know, it's like driving a car with Three wheels, you know, you need that fourth wheel to really get where you want to go
23:23: So Marcus And staying close to the
23:39: Lord another verse I don't know the reference to it is Jesus said my sheep hear my voice
23:45: And then and it's also described as a skilled small voice in the
23:51: Old Testament Another one that I do know the reference for Romans 8 16 that says the
23:57: Holy Spirit bears witness with our Spirit that we are the children of God.
24:02: So that has to do with assurance of salvation of learning Hear the
24:08: Lord's voice and you've got to be careful because there's so many voices that are flying at you
24:14: Like you say out of the radio out of the television Billboards, yes everywhere
24:20: Yeah You you need to you need to be quiet and you need to be spending a lot of time
24:27: Nurturing your spirit not nurturing your flesh all the things that the flesh desires
24:34: Things that taste good things that look good things that feel good. Yeah You can't keep you've got to start doing those things that nourish and strengthen your spiritual ears
24:46: Right and I'm not even saying that well, you know You should totally tune out everything everything from the world that you shouldn't listen to this and this and but I've trained because I want
24:57: To know what's going on in the world, right? I think we should we shouldn't just retreat and live on some compound somewhere where we don't know we've shut the outside world out
25:08: That's that's dangerous too. Although it's tempting sometimes. It sounds good but We need to train ourselves to think biblically
25:18: So if you do hear a secular song and nine times out of ten They're singing about fornication or something like you have to train your brain to say, okay
25:28: That's not right because the Bible says this, you know, or Jesus would how would Jesus view this?
25:34: I mean, so I I know I do that with just about everything I it all comes through this this filter of scripture and I'll respond sometime
25:43: I'm sure people find that annoying that Something comes up and it well, you know this the
25:48: Bible says this but we need to do that. We need to test everything because we are being guided so The only question is who are we listening to who are we following?
26:02: How are we being influenced? Psalm let's see where we leave off Psalm 78
26:14: Verse 52, but he led forth his own people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock
26:19: Psalm 139 24 lead me in the everlasting way We should have eternal things on our mind not just the temporary things and the things of this world
26:33: So that's the word lead number to guide. That's the next word to show To guide means to help show or understand
26:42: Psalm 23 verse 3 Speaking of the Lord. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake
26:51: Psalm 73 verse 24 with your counsel you will guide me and where do you get the counsel?
27:01: You know again, I don't want to make it all the Bible the Bible the Bible the Bible right, but Here here's why here's why?
27:10: Obviously the scripture is the foundation, you know, Christ is the foundation the Word of Christ is
27:16: But how do you apply that to the modern day? Because let's face it. The the scripture is dealing with things that happened 3 ,000 years ago in Israel.
27:25: It's dealing 1900 years ago and the churches of Galatia like it's dealing with ancient problems now
27:33: There's no new thing under the Sun, but how do we make proper application to the stuff we're dealing with?
27:42: Right You have to take the application You have to take the principles found in Scripture and apply them to the here and now the
27:50: Bible doesn't do that for us so the Spirit may do that in our heart, but again that I think that's where the church comes in and Where preaching and teaching comes in Okay Transgenderism is never directly addressed in the scripture directly
28:10: But are those principles are there principles that apply? right now a person if they
28:17: Read the Bible for themselves and study they can probably figure that out for themselves, but it helps to have a teacher
28:24: You know, you can have it. Let's say you're learning to play violin and you have a book
28:29: You have the instruction book to play violin. You can you learn to teach yourself how to play?
28:37: Yes, you can but you will be far better off if you have what a teacher and That's really what what we need
28:47: And being part of a local church Marcus Nowadays we hear
28:53: LGBTQIA Plus Yeah Amen that's true.
29:11: He's right Yeah, well,
29:19: I don't I don't know but Nor nor do you need to but it's an assault on God God created them male and female
29:28: Amen, and it's all just trying to say well God Right, but and then okay, so let's let's
29:40: Know but People say okay. I feel this is God's will because God God made me this way.
29:47: God created me this way There are people it's called side
29:53: B theology gay Christianity It's being promoted by some of the top names and evangelical
29:59: Christianity But their argument that yeah, this is the way
30:05: God made me now I'm gonna be celibate I'm not gonna Engage in that but this is who I am
30:10: It's my identity and I'm gonna take the identity in Christ and this identity and kind of blend them together
30:15: And it's okay as long as I don't act on it They're going by their feelings that and I don't doubt that they really think that I was born this way or God made me that way
30:25: How do you? Come back at that So that's not it's not easy a lot of people wouldn't well how do yeah, how do
30:34: I how do I approach this? Yeah Yeah Yeah, you know and I'm sure they can always take a verse and try to turn it around and use it to their advantage
31:02: Too I'm sure they'll try But you just got to go back to what the Bible says Do I see?
31:10: this Ideology in Scripture do I see this and in Scripture? Just go back to what the
31:16: Word of God says and Larry Yeah There are 283
31:36: Direct quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament. Yeah, you can't
31:44: Unhitch right from the Old Testament because it's in the New Testament, right? Yeah That was part of my sermon from last week and really stressing that but the whole approach that People within the church try to argue for those points is they say well
31:58: Jesus never addressed this. We're Christians and We looked at Jesus and Jesus never addressed these issues he never said that was wrong
32:07: Well, hold on. Hold on a minute If you have a proper understanding of who Jesus is, who is he?
32:13: He's the Lord He's one with Jehovah God of the Old Testament who did address all all this different stuff
32:20: So you just have to kind of know what the Bible says and then learn to apply it and We're on solid footing
32:30: As long as we stick to what the scripture says and you don't have to buy into their arguments
32:37: Bring it back to the Bible bring it back to scripture, but don't be afraid to apply the scripture
32:43: I think once the church stops applying the Word of God to current issues
32:49: Then we do become irrelevant And we're not irrelevant. So we need to address some of these things
32:57: But the word yeah, the Old Testament still it's still true. God's moral law is still it always will be
33:03: True. Okay, Psalm 73 verse 24 with your counsel you will guide me and Then the third word so we looked at lead
33:14: Guide and the third word is direct Means to establish or prepare to make straight
33:23: Proverbs 16 verse 9 the mind of man plans his ways, but the
33:30: Lord directs his steps and then 2nd
33:35: Thessalonians 3 verse 5 says may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ B says the nature of guidance the chart below outlines ways that God guides people
33:53: Directly and indirectly Okay, so there is direct guidance
33:59: How what is what is direct guidance look like number one spoken revelation from God?
34:06: to visions three dreams and number four the
34:12: Prophet or Apostle speaking for God Indirect guidance would be
34:17: God's Word conscience or conviction Providence that is circumstances controlled by God and then finally wisdom and Counsel, so how are we being directed?
34:34: Or guided by God right now. How are you or how are you being guided by the
34:40: Lord? directly or indirectly Okay.
34:46: Well, I don't know any prophets or Apostles I mean, I know a few people out there who claim to be but I don't know of any prophets or Apostles God has never given me a vision and So I we are at the very least being guided by the
35:02: Lord Indirectly, we have the Bible God's Word, right? That's number one indirect guidance
35:08: God's Word number two conscience or conviction That's a bit we can't I know I talked about feelings and feelings can kind of lead you in the wrong direction
35:16: We can have an idea that isn't necessarily biblical So we don't want to discount this because God does guide us through conviction and Our conscience does anyone want to share maybe a time where you have been guided by conviction or conscience
35:48: For Mary Margaret, yeah, and it just was really bothering me.
35:54: Yeah And so I said to my husband. I have to go home.
35:59: Yeah, and I came home and I prayed with her and She died in front of me, but she was so happy that she got baptized.
36:10: Yeah, that made such a difference in her life But God knew that I needed to pray with her and talk with her before she died
36:19: Yeah, so you really felt you needed to do that and There is no there's not even a reason to think that well,
36:29: I don't think that was the Lord There's no there would be no reason to think that Yeah, no,
36:36: I mean the convictions that we have And the overwhelming feelings we have to minister to someone to be there for some way
36:44: It's all perfectly aligned with God's love and his grace We I don't ever want you to think that we should ignore
36:53: That kind of a thing. Yeah, it's a feeling it's an emotion and we've had other feelings and emotions, but we we have to be
37:00: Led by the Spirit and that's not direct That that's not direct.
37:05: You're not gonna get a dream Most likely I think God could do it. I recognize that as a possibility
37:13: But you're probably not going to get a dream in the middle of the night that God tells you
37:18: Hey tomorrow get up and go here and do this right or a vision Probably not gonna have that but we do have our conscience
37:27: We do have those convictions and that can be just as much
37:33: God Leading us as something we read in the scripture really to go hand -in -hand what you did was completely aligned with something that a
37:41: Christian would do that what God would want us to do Mike Okay God said hey
37:58: Mike go talk to her At the bank where she worked
38:08: Filling out my weekly paperwork. Yeah, I heard And never seen it before my life heard of a laugh
38:16: Yeah Voice just came through me says pay attention to her.
38:22: She's especially Yeah, here it is plain as day. I was like, what was that? Yeah Yeah Yeah, close attention, okay, it worked out, okay, yeah
38:40: But yeah, sometimes we have and you'll hear Christians talking like this that you know, maybe
38:46: Okay, I didn't hear an audible voice, but it was like God told me you need to do this
38:53: And That that's written sometimes sometimes you might say and it sounds subjective right but sometimes you just know
39:01: This is what I need to do. So We can't discount that Now and we shouldn't discount it.
39:10: So that's one of the indirect ways or you know directly. However, you see it. But yeah the direct
39:16: Guidance would be when God audibly speaks to somebody because God did that in the Bible God audibly spoke to Moses and commanded him specifically what to do
39:27: That was that was direct a vision would be direct some people wonder
39:33: What did I ever have a vision? There's that one time where I I think if you had a vision you would know it, right?
39:39: So if you're not sure if you've ever had a vision to probably means well it I would say it means you haven't okay
39:44: And these are not the typical ways that God deals With people although again, can he
39:52: Has he yes, can he yes, is he still doing this today?
39:57: I would leave the door open to the possibility But again test it against what the scripture says
40:05: And then the prophet and Apostle who speaks for God God would give direct messages to his servants, but today typically it's it's the
40:15: Word of God conscience conviction Providence just the circumstances of how things turn out and then wisdom and counsel.
40:24: Here's another thing counsel counsel from who Okay Yeah, well you say well the
40:34: Bible again you go to the Word of God, yeah Get counsel from whether it's a pastor or a deacon just a
40:41: Christian You know who has a walk with God we should get counsel. I think sometimes our pride
40:48: Causes us to not want to ask advice. Well, I already know I don't need to ask anybody Yeah, well, sometimes it's very helpful that all
40:56: I ask people all the time. I have no problem with Asking people what they think
41:03: So if I can do it, certainly you can do it. So we should be seeking counsel And any other thoughts on on this list?
41:13: Larry Thinking about Seeking counsel or Scripture does say
41:21: Older men teach the younger men You know, and that's kind of a mentoring relationship along with Women older women teach the younger women, you know how to Do things
41:36: You know It's kind of a training process and I don't see too much of that anymore
41:45: Right, and you know, it used to be You know mothers were taught by their mothers my mom was taught by her mom
41:58: Sometimes it doesn't go well when a new younger person is being instructed
42:07: Yeah, we should you should be willing to listen Plenty of verses and Proverbs about seeking counsel and being
42:15: Willing to listen to advice Jen. Did you have your hand up? I Have this thought coming to my head that I really need to do a
42:48: Bible study and I really I I really think that I need to not to like Not to like guide her along just kind of like to do it together
43:02: Yeah, because we've grown apart and I just I thought well
43:09: It was so I just stopped and I was like, well, that's an interesting thought but I felt really
43:15: It just felt like something I should really do and I'm like, I I know that I in the past on something
43:22: Good has popped into my mind or a good thought has popped into my mind of something that I could do
43:28: I'm just kind of brushed aside and I had I'm not good at it every time but just trying to say yes more.
43:38: Yeah And I really think that it was a thought that God had put into my mind Yeah, and it's just it's been good.
43:46: Good. We haven't met every week, but it's it's been good for both of us.
43:51: Good. And it was more of a like, well, let's just see what God has to teach us through this and it's just,
43:58: I'm glad that I said yes and I, I mean the worst she could have said was no. Yeah, right.
44:04: Yeah, and that that's the thing when we get those Thoughts, impressions, feelings
44:10: Have a Bible study or ask, talk to this person, invite them to church, whatever it is Do it.
44:16: Yeah, and see what God does from there. And if it didn't doesn't seem to work out is
44:22: Okay, I'm you you were doing what you felt God would have you to do in the moment.
44:28: So listen to those Listen to those thoughts or voices Amen This is another way
44:35: God works And I always find it interesting and like us all people say to me like in the sermon
44:42: Oh, I really enjoyed this point. Like I didn't even say that like and they'll they'll hear things that Maybe I said or but they got something from me or from someone else
44:53: And I don't even remember really saying that but God puts the thoughts in our mind
44:58: I believe sometimes and we want to listen to that Joyce Few years back when my sister was in the nursing home.
45:06: I had been ministering to her and one day I Literally found myself saying
45:13: I had no plan to say this or whatever. It just came out of my mouth Do you want to accept
45:18: Jesus as your Savior? Yeah, she said yes. Amen Yeah, amen okay, so Be Be aware and be listening and be willing to say yes.