FBC Morning Light – April 26, 2022

A good Tuesday morning to you.

I hope your week has gotten off to a good start.

I hope you were able to get out last night to our Bible conference with Mark Chansky.

That wraps up this evening, by the way, at 7 o 'clock with the final session.

The whole subject of this Bible conference has been that of encouragement.

I hope it's been an encouragement to you if you've been able to either watch the live stream sessions

or be in attendance.

Last week I wrote a Pastor's Page article concerning

the matter of adversity and how adversity can be one of

the things God uses to channel us and direct us in a new way.

Not always.

I suggested there are several different uses of adversity in our lives.

Sometimes adversity teaches us things, sometimes it's chastening, sometimes

adversity is used to teach us patience and

growth in grace, but sometimes God does use adversity as a means

of redirecting our efforts and our attention.

In the course of that article, I mentioned how Paul

was facing a particular time of adversity when he was writing to the Corinthians, and

he was in the city of Ephesus.

He said, I'm staying here in Ephesus, for a great door of

opportunity is before me.

What he's saying there is, I'm going to go through this door.

Then he said, and there are many adversaries.

In that particular case, Paul did not allow the presence of adversity to

direct him to another place, to leave Ephesus, and he was determined to stay.

Adversity may or may not serve that purpose of redirecting us, but in

today's reading, in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, Paul shows us another

way that the Lord can direct our steps by using

circumstances of our lives.

Let me read a couple of verses and then make a few comments on this.

This is in 2 Corinthians 2 and verses 12 and 13.

He says this, he says, Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a

door was opened to me by the Lord.

This is a similar thing that he says related to Ephesus.

He's in Ephesus, and a great door of opportunity is open before him.

He acknowledges, he says, this is a door that the Lord has opened for me to preach

Christ's gospel.

But listen to what he says next.

He says in verse 13,.

But I had no rest in my spirit, because I could not find Titus my brother.

But taking my leave of them, I departed from Macedonia.

Isn't that interesting?

That even though there was this door of opportunity for him to preach the gospel, he

left Troas, and he went to Macedonia.

On what basis?

This restlessness of his spirit.

We have to be really careful here, don't we?

I have heard this particular means

of the Lord directing us.

I've heard it used in the wrong way.

It's almost like an excuse for not doing the right thing.

For example, I've heard partners in a marriage

say, I'm just not at peace here, I'm restless, and God would want me

to be happy, so I'm leaving my spouse because of that

restlessness.

That's clearly not God's direction, and that's an extreme example of how

this restlessness can be abused.

But I've also heard it expressed in other ways.

I've talked to people about opportunities of ministry in the church, and I'm thinking back

years ago now.

I was talking to this one particular individual, and he just

said, I don't have any peace about this.

He was saying, I'm restless in my spirit about it.

The reality was that there were other issues beneath the surface, and it wasn't that he was restless.

He had a few burrs in his saddle, and he wouldn't

acknowledge those, so he just couched it all very piously.

God just hasn't given him any peace about this thing.

Acknowledging the possibility of abusing this, I do want us to at

least acknowledge that the Lord can use a restlessness

within as a means of directing us in a new direction, in another direction.

Paul's case here is a good example of it.

I don't have any particular clear tests about this, other than to say, if that

restlessness is leading you in a way that's clearly

contrary to the Word of God, then you know it's not from God.

There's another problem for your restlessness, if your restlessness is keeping you from

gathering with God's people on the Lord's Day.

That's not from the Lord.

It's not from the Lord.

Anytime this restlessness is prompting you to take a course

of action that's a violation of God's clearly revealed Word, then

you can be confident that that's not from God.

There can be other things as well.

That restlessness may be due to some selfishness on your part.

You're restless about your job, or you're restless about something in the home, or

whatever.

It can simply be because of your own selfishness and what you want,

but that doesn't change the fact that when your heart is after the Lord and you want to do

what's right, you want to do God's will, and you're endeavoring to please him and

obey him, and there's just regarding some specific

thing, there's just a restlessness about settling on that, then perhaps what the Lord

is doing is using that to get you to look in a different direction.

Maybe in some way you haven't looked yet.

You may need some suggestions or some advice there about that, but let's just acknowledge it.

Let's not dismiss out of hand that restlessness.

Paul said, I had no rest in my spirit, simply because he didn't find Titus, and

that led him to conclude, I need to go find Titus.

I need to go to Macedonia, and off he went.

I hope your spirit is at rest today, and I hope you're confident

and comfortable, if I can use that word, in your pursuit of the will of God,

and that you're right where he wants you to be.

You sense that restless spirit, then pray and ask the Lord, what are you

doing with this?

How do you want to resolve this?

Ask him to guide you through his word, and through godly counsel.

Heavenly Father, we do thank you that you do love your people, and that you

care for us, and that you endeavor to lead us in paths of righteousness

for your name's sake.

We do acknowledge today that sometimes a restlessness in our spirit can be a means

of getting us to look in another direction, but may we always look to you before

pursuing it, we pray.

We ask these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Have a good rest of your day today, and again, if you can make it out tonight, seven o 'clock for our Bible conference

closing session with Mark Chansky.

I encourage you to come.

If for whatever reason you can't come, we will be live streaming it, and hope you can at least

watch.

Have a good rest of your day.

God bless.