SERMON BRIEF
Date Written: July 21, 2010
Date Preached: July 25, 2010
Church: OPBC (AM)
FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS
Series: Finding God’s Guidance in this World
Title: How Can I know God’s Guidance?
Date Written: July 21, 2010
Date Preached: July 25, 2010
Church: OPBC (AM)
FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS
Series: Finding God’s Guidance in this World
Title: How Can I know God’s Guidance?
Text: Eph 5:6-14
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
INTRODUCTION:
Over the past 2 wks we have been looking at how we as Christians seek after and then receive God’s guidance for their lives here in this world.
We have looked at seeking God’s guidance and that as Christians we are to be:
filled with the knowledge of God’s will.
put in to practice God’s will in our lives.
Finally we are to focus on waiting on God and trusting in His timing.
And last week we looked at what the Christian must do to ‘receive’ God’s guidance because we cannot trust in God’s guidance unless we are ‘receiving’ God’s guidance.
We can ‘receive’ God’s guidance because we have the mind of Christ. As Christians we have the mind of Christ because we:
Have received His knowledge thru His Word
Have received His Spirit, and
Have received His invitation to pray which keeps us in close touch with the throne
We receive God’s guidance when we have the mind of Christ and that helps us also to do what we are going to look at today and that is Testing God’s Guidance.
God’s guidance is available… we know this by reading God’s Word! We have heard how we can seek it, and we have heard how we can receive it. Any info about God’s guidance can be found in His guidebook [hold up Bible].
We can check our understanding of His guidance thru this ‘faithful guide’ [hold up Bible] this is because He is there when we go to the Bible and He is there to instruct us. We can check and find God’s guidance when we go to God in a submissive spirit of prayer.
But even when we know we seek and receive God’s guidance… many of us still may not have the confidence or clarity to TRUST His guidance and believe that Gods will provide us with all we need.
I liken this to putting something together from the instruction manual; sometimes the instructions are not clear. The process may be easily understood and could even be confusing and frustrating to those who do NOT know what they are doing. There are probably FAR more parts and steps than you had ever imagined! It seems so much more complicated than you had thought it would be…
However, at the end of the instructions… you find yourself with a finished product. You got WHAT you wanted, but you could NOT see the end product through the maze of steps and instructions!
The guidance of God is like that for the believer! God’s Will can be a confusing element in the life of the believer! Especially for those who are NOT fully in touch with and in contact with God. Especially for those who are NOT seeking to live as He has called you to live!
Sometimes Christians who claim the same salvation have differing viewpoints on a subject. Like the new Christian who is a union worker, works diligently and his foreman who is also a Christian comes and tells him, “Hey man, don’t work so hard…you are making the other workers look bad!” This confuses the new believer because he has just read in Col 3:23 that the Bible says, “…work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do as if you were working for the Lord and not for other people…” [NLT]
So in looking at this from this viewpoint, how can we overcome any confusion in our lives? How can we respond to God’s guidance with clear-cut obedience to His will? I tell you that Scripture reveals to us that we can do that in 3 ways:
1. We must begin to walk in the light that is already in our lives (Jesus Christ):
2. We must test in order to approve what is acceptable to God:
3. And we must REPROVE or bring to light the unfruitful works of darkness:
With these three revelations about the Will of God… we can not only know God’s Guidance, we can begin to trust in His guidance because we have placed Him first and foremost in our lives.
1. We will walk in the light we already have.
In Eph 5:8 we find the Apostle Paul writing, “…for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; [now then] walk as children of light…”
I believe it is important to remember that all of us have been exposed to the darkness of sin and have taken our fair share of steps in darkness. However, because of who we are and where Christ has brought us from (out of that darkness) it is IMPERATIVE for the Christian to live in the light of Jesus Christ! The light of Christ should be shined in their lives in all they do and say.
We need to recognize that we do not have all the answers, but we are committed to the ONE who does and that is Jesus Christ! If we do not TRUST that Christ has all the answers for our lives… then we are leaving our lives open for deception from the Enemy, from Satan, from the evil in this world.
In this verse Paul is basically telling believers that they must walk in the light you already have (that is Christ Jesus). Now as SIMPLE as that sounds, doesn’t that sound logical?
Steven Curtis Chapman had a song many yrs ago that said, “if you want to be wise you have to walk with the wise…” If we want to walk in the Light of Christ… then we must trust that the light of Christ is the path we SHOULD be walking, and we should begin to WALK it!
It is like that for all things we do as humans… If you want to become a long-distance runner, you must begin to RUN! You cannot be a distance runner by reading about running or by watching OTHERS run, but you must start running! First you should run short distances and build up to those longer distances.
The same is true if you want to learn a foreign language… If you are trying to learn a foreign language you must begin to speak and read that language. This can only happen if you expose yourself and your mind to it and then you begin to write out the words and you begin to sound out the sounds…
You cannot begin with long, elaborate speeches, but you must begin with basic words and short phrases. But the fact of the matter is… you cannot learn another language by sitting idly by and thinking it is just going to happen… it takes hard work and determination!
Walking in the light, for the Christian, can only happen when we step out on faith and begin to actually put into practice what God is calling us to do! Walking in the light does not mean that we will always fully understand what God is doing!
But the child learning how to walk doesn’t stop learning how to walk just because he falls down… Oh I wish we had the tenacity and determination of a small child learning to walk… you cannot keep them down!
When a small child is beginning to get mobile, they want to walk EVERYWHERE! They refuse to sit still and want down to go here and go there… when they fall and hurt themselves…they cry, but in a few moments, they are back on their feet and walking again!
In our walk with Christ, He does not expect perfection from us, but what God DOES expect is obedience to His calling on our lives. He understands that we are going to stumble and fumble in our journey. However, in God’s word it reveals to the believer that when we are walking and stumbling poorly as Christians it helps us to grow and become more stable in our walk.
But not only do I see that Christians must walk in the light they already have in Christ, but also I see that we must…
2. Test in order to approve what is acceptable to the Lord...
How many here remember your school days? Now if you are like me, there were days you remember with a smile, but there were also days that you would love to be able to forget as well! But my main painful memory about HS was usually focused around a tough teacher! I had many teachers that used a 4 letter word for me…TEST!
And even though I did NOT like tests for the most part I know what their purpose is… the purpose of a test is to AID both the student AND the teacher in the learning process! It helps to see just what has been learned by the student!
Tests are stress creators for most people. But school is NOT the only place where we find tests. Before a company can put a product out into the market… it has to test it. All of the ‘bugs’ must be worked out of it…it must be proved and tested!
Like a test in school for the school kid, like the testing of machinery prior to placing it in the marketplace… the believer is also to be subjected to the testing process…
Some may ask, “Why?” I can tell you it is for the purpose of showing ourselves acceptable to God! When God tests us and tests conduct, we experience clarity in the guidance from God.
Here’s how it works… the more we are tested the more we look to God for guidance! The more we look to God for guidance the more we rely upon Him. The more we rely upon Him the more experience we get in discovering that He will be there for us and deliver us, and the more we rely on Him, the more we please Him!
Preacher, you say we are tested… but where? When? How? Well it happens in every situation and in every day we live here in this world, we are being constantly tested and evaluated as to the acceptability of our behavior and walk, AND our obedience to God! Testing of our Christian conduct happens as we live in this dark and evil world.
And since we are constantly being tested, what we have to do is learn to rely on all those devices that can help us to perform better and test better. What I am saying is that we must rely on the Bible as the absolute truth of God’s Word. This means that we rely on the HS guidance and support in our daily walk… and not our own wisdom or knowledge.
I don’t know about you, but I find it HIGHLY comforting to know that the God of this entire universe desires to give me comfort, strengthen and be there to guide my daily walk with Him… does that comfort you?
In Phil 2:13 [ESV] the apostle Paul said, “…13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure…” That should be of the utmost in comfort and joy to the Christian... it tells us very plainly that God is on OUR side!
But in addition to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, I can see at least 4 other testing devices God will use to test our walk and make us approved in His sight:
A. The conscience of the person being tested:
The conscience is an inner voice God has given ALL of us to guide our thoughts, desires and choices. It is like an inner computer that we have which stores information that we have rec’d about right and wrong. And then as we make our own decisions, our conscience will either affirm that decision or go against that decision!
The Bible reveals to us that the conscience cannot be trusted in and of itself. Our conscience has been exposed to this fallen world as we have… and it cannot be trusted! Titus 1:15 [ESV] To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
We cannot trust our conscience by itself, but once we have been saved and the truth has been revealed to our hearts by the indwelling and witness of the Holy Spirit! We can know we are doing what God desires!
Rom 9:1 [ESV] I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—
But not only do we have our Holy Spirit led conscience, but we as believers we also have…
B. The counsel of other Christians:
We are taught throughout God’s Word to teach and admonish each other as it says in Col 3:16 [ESV] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Now understand that we are NOT the highest authority on truth, but God is working in all our lives and we are here FOR each other… to complete each other… IN LOVE!
Scripture does admonish the more mature and experienced Christians who show through their lives and actions and words… their open and submissive obedience to God.
Our conscience and the counsel of other Christians are great, but one method of test preparation we tend to overlook is the most simple in my mind… it is our own BRAIN! The fact of the matter is that God has given each one of us a brain to use and we call using this brain for God’s purpose…
C. Common Sense:
In Titus 2:12 [ESV] we read that after we are saved the Spirit of God comes to train the believer in many areas, but especially to deal with spiritual matter: 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age…
What this means is that when you are saved… YOU have a renewed mind. And that renewed mind is blessed with common sense! But I want to warn you that common sense can NEVER be accepted as COMPLETE sense!
The reason for this is because God sometimes leads us down a path or in a direction that does NOT seem to be sensible to us! And when this does happen in our lives it is ONLY the believer in touch with God’s will who is going to understand that they must trust God for the right path… the right direction!
We have our conscience that God has given us, the counsel of other Christians and the brain and common sense that God has instilled in each one of us… BUT I can see one more device to assist us when we are being tested by God’s guidance in our lives and that is…
D. The Circumstances of life:
We have all been down this road before… we have a ‘feeling’ about where God is leading us and the circumstances of our life, begin to either open the doors of opportunity or they reveal that God is closing doors to push us in another direction.
We have to understand that circumstances CAN verify a direction that God is leading us in… HOWEVER we have to understand that circumstances alone will never reveal God’s will for your life! The reason I say that is that Scripture is plain, and God is not that vague!
If you are in God’s Word, if you are praying everyday, and if you are seeking the will of God and listening for God to speak to you… He will speak to you! He will NEVER rely on the circumstances of life to guide your direction!
I want you to know that it is OK for you to test God’s guidance for your life! But your ‘testing’ cannot be based on the fact that you don’t trust God’s guidance… but it should be to MAKE SURE that the guidance you are ‘receiving’ is actually coming from GOD.
We have our conscience, other Christians’ counsel, our common sense and the circumstances of life as four (4) great tools we can use to know the will of God in our lives. But let me warn you… these tools are NOT to be used unless you are in prayer and reading God’s word on a daily basis… left to their own these tools will lead us down the path of our own desires
When we are in the Word and constantly in prayer… this makes our hearts and souls sensitive to the Holy Spirit… and it allows us to see things with the ‘mind of Christ’ as we learned last week… this enables us to more accurately reveal and clarify God’s guidance in our lives.
But if we are NOT in the word and we are NOT in prayer on a constant basis and we are seeking on our own… we are going to become overwhelmed with confusion and we will find ourselves not being able to discern what God wants for our lives!
When we are in the will of God and sensitive to His guiding direction, we are going to know where to go and what to do, and when evil presents itself in our lives we will take the appropriate steps! Our passage this morning tells us what we are called to do and it is…
3. Take to task the unfruitful works of darkness:
What scripture is saying here is that we cannot allow the deeds of darkness to be sown in the fellowship of believers, and when we see it, we cannot ignore, but we are to address it head on! Now it is possible that we may do this by our words, but more it is more conceivable that we would do this with our conduct and lifestyle.
Some people may become uncomfortable by what we say and what we do, but that is God’s way of reaching the hearts of those who are lost in the darkness of this world:
• Those who cannot see the need for a Savior.
• Those who cannot see the stain of their sin on their lives.
• Those who cannot see the ultimate destruction they are headed for.
God uses our words and our actions to reach those who do not know Him.
The point I am making here is this…God’s guidance is not offered to us so that we can live a sheltered life, free from contact with this world and the darkness of the world!
God’s guidance is given to us to keep us OUT of this world of evil and darkness, but it is there to show us how we are called to live IN this dark world and become a great influence on those whom God places in our path…
We physically live in this world; we cannot change that… so we must accept that is the way God has always intended it to be! So if we are going to be here in this world anyway, as believers let our minds be focused on the Word of God, and our actions be focused on the Will of God, so we bring others to know Him and what He can do for them!
If we are submissive and allow God to guide us in this way… then more people than you can ever know will begin to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This is because when Christians begin to submit and surrender to the guidance and will of God… when they give over their own lives to live the life God has for them… there is NOTHING that cannot be done or overcome.
If ever there was a man in our generation that could be called a great Christian I would think it would be Billy Graham. For over 50 years Billy has faithfully preached the Gospel of Christ to all he has come in contact with. From the common person on the street to world leaders he has always shared God’s message.
Billy has led many people to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. He has influenced heads of state and the powerful elite of the corporate world. However, when Billy Graham spoke with Mahatma Gandhi, the spiritual leader of Hinduism in India. Billy shared Christ and the message of love and hope that Christ brings.
Gandhi was very impressed by the Gospel, but when Billy asked Gandhi if he would like to make a decision for Christ…Gandhi said these very haunting words…
“This Christian message brings hope and life, but if I could but meet just ONE Christian…I would become a Christian.”
This world is full of people who are seeking something. Used to be that ‘material wealth and the accumulation of things’ were thought to be what brings happiness to our lives. And because of this there are many people who have done all they can do to accumulate ‘money’ and ‘things.’ But there is still a hole in their life!
Today’s generation is learning that it is not wealth or the accumulation of things that bring happiness… there are so many rich people who have everything this world has to offer… but they are mired in depression and self-destructive behavior.. these ‘things’ did NOT bring them happiness! Today we see more and more from our younger generation that they are seeking for happiness from other areas of life… mainly from the spiritual realm.
And, as Christians, we HAVE to be ready and willing to share God’s message at all times! First in the way we live our lives… make your witness stand up and be noticed in the world. But also in the words you say, as God leads you and directs you!
WE cannot sell out to God… we cannot fully surrender to His will if we are NOT in step with Him and sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance on our life. God’s guidance will not let us down! God’s guidance will not lead us astray; God’s guidance will allow us to be a positive influence on those around us through our words and through our actions.
Yes we should test God’s guidance through the HS and through His Word and then use the tools of our conscience, the counsel of other Christians, our common sense and circumstances of our lives to see His will in a more clear and concise way! However, we are also to test God’s guidance on our lives by the simple fact of being a positive influence in a dark world, and by exposing evil when it rears its ugly head!
Christians this message is for you because you all need to avoid any confusion in your Christian walk and be in tune with God’s guidance in your life.
For those of you here who are not believers… this message is ALSO for you! You may NOT understand what I am speaking about… but deep within your heart there is a hole that you cannot seem to fill! There is a desire that you cannot quench, well let me share something with you! The only thing that will quench that desire and fill in the gap in your life is Jesus!
Jesus loves you and wants to be the guide in your life. But He cannot be the guide in your life, if you will not give your life over to Him!
You cannot reach God on your own… you cannot clean up your life and come to God! You cannot find your way out of the darkness of this world without the guidance of God in your life!
And without God’s guidance there is only ONE destination for you… the Bible calls that place the lake of fire, the pit, it calls it Hell!! Hell is a real place, and it is going to be the most terrible place! Jesus says it is a place of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth! Jesus said it was a place where the fire is never quenched… and the Bible tells us that hell will be for eternity.
There are only 2 destinations after this life… The Bible shares with us that they are heaven and hell. Heaven is reserved for those people who have confessed Jesus as Lord and have surrendered their lives to Him. Heaven is NOT a place we can get to on our own good works, but it is only available for those who trust in Jesus as their Savior!
Hell is reserved by God for those who reject God and reject the Son of God, Jesus Christ! God condemns all those who reject Jesus to an eternity of Hell. You CAN reach Hell on your own works… you can do your thing in this life… you can seek to meet your own desires in this life… and the destination it will gain you is Hell.
There are two people here in this sanctuary this morning… those who have professed Christ as their Savior and those who have NOT! Which one are you?
For the believer this morning, there are 2 types of believers here… those who have submitted to the guidance of God in their lives and fully trust God in all He is leading them to do… and there are those who have made a profession of faith, but they have failed to surrender themselves to the Lord, they have failed to acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of their lives!
This morning you have an opportunity to accept or reject Jesus. This morning you have an opportunity to ask Jesus to forgive you of your sin and come into your life. Jesus said that today was the day of salvation, because we don’t know what tomorrow brings. Are you ready to place your TRUST in Jesus this morning? Are you ready to meet Jesus? I know I am!
This morning if you are here and want God to begin guiding your life you can do it by asking Him to forgive you of your sin and come into your life!
Christian, have you given ALL of yourself to God!? Have you done what God has asked of you!? Have you been obedient in all things God requires? If not you must do 2 things, first ask God to forgive you for your rebellious actions and 2nd you must submit to God’s will for your life.
Are you here this morning and know that God wants you to join this church, but yet you just can’t bring yourself to join? Are you hear this morning knowing that God wants you to surrender your life to a certain ministry in this church, but you just don’t see how you can fit it in?
Are you here this morning and know that God wants you to surrender your life to the ministry of the Gospel, but you have not done so?
Are you here this morning and have not submitted to a believer’s baptism after your accepted Christ?
If any of these things [or anything else] are going on in your life, you can step forward this morning and make the choice to follow the guidance that God is placing in your life.
This morning if you don’t know God and want His guidance He has promised that all who call upon His name will be saved. If you call out to God he will save you and begin to guide you.
As Steven and Jason make their way to the podium to offer our hymn of invitation, I call on you to surrender to Christ this morning… Would you stand as we sing [#317 Only Trust Him]
e?
Text: Eph 5:6-14
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
INTRODUCTION:
Over the past 2 wks we have been looking at how we as Christians seek after and then receive God’s guidance for their lives here in this world.
We have looked at seeking God’s guidance and that as Christians we are to be:
filled with the knowledge of God’s will.
put in to practice God’s will in our lives.
Finally we are to focus on waiting on God and trusting in His timing.
And last week we looked at what the Christian must do to ‘receive’ God’s guidance because we cannot trust in God’s guidance unless we are ‘receiving’ God’s guidance.
We can ‘receive’ God’s guidance because we have the mind of Christ. As Christians we have the mind of Christ because we:
Have received His knowledge thru His Word
Have received His Spirit, and
Have received His invitation to pray which keeps us in close touch with the throne
We receive God’s guidance when we have the mind of Christ and that helps us also to do what we are going to look at today and that is Testing God’s Guidance.
God’s guidance is available… we know this by reading God’s Word! We have heard how we can seek it, and we have heard how we can receive it. Any info about God’s guidance can be found in His guidebook [hold up Bible].
We can check our understanding of His guidance thru this ‘faithful guide’ [hold up Bible] this is because He is there when we go to the Bible and He is there to instruct us. We can check and find God’s guidance when we go to God in a submissive spirit of prayer.
But even when we know we seek and receive God’s guidance… many of us still may not have the confidence or clarity to TRUST His guidance and believe that Gods will provide us with all we need.
I liken this to putting something together from the instruction manual; sometimes the instructions are not clear. The process may be easily understood and could even be confusing and frustrating to those who do NOT know what they are doing. There are probably FAR more parts and steps than you had ever imagined! It seems so much more complicated than you had thought it would be…
However, at the end of the instructions… you find yourself with a finished product. You got WHAT you wanted, but you could NOT see the end product through the maze of steps and instructions!
The guidance of God is like that for the believer! God’s Will can be a confusing element in the life of the believer! Especially for those who are NOT fully in touch with and in contact with God. Especially for those who are NOT seeking to live as He has called you to live!
Sometimes Christians who claim the same salvation have differing viewpoints on a subject. Like the new Christian who is a union worker, works diligently and his foreman who is also a Christian comes and tells him, “Hey man, don’t work so hard…you are making the other workers look bad!” This confuses the new believer because he has just read in Col 3:23 that the Bible says, “…work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do as if you were working for the Lord and not for other people…” [NLT]
So in looking at this from this viewpoint, how can we overcome any confusion in our lives? How can we respond to God’s guidance with clear-cut obedience to His will? I tell you that Scripture reveals to us that we can do that in 3 ways:
1. We must begin to walk in the light that is already in our lives (Jesus Christ):
2. We must test in order to approve what is acceptable to God:
3. And we must REPROVE or bring to light the unfruitful works of darkness:
With these three revelations about the Will of God… we can not only know God’s Guidance, we can begin to trust in His guidance because we have placed Him first and foremost in our lives.
1. We will walk in the light we already have.
In Eph 5:8 we find the Apostle Paul writing, “…for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; [now then] walk as children of light…”
I believe it is important to remember that all of us have been exposed to the darkness of sin and have taken our fair share of steps in darkness. However, because of who we are and where Christ has brought us from (out of that darkness) it is IMPERATIVE for the Christian to live in the light of Jesus Christ! The light of Christ should be shined in their lives in all they do and say.
We need to recognize that we do not have all the answers, but we are committed to the ONE who does and that is Jesus Christ! If we do not TRUST that Christ has all the answers for our lives… then we are leaving our lives open for deception from the Enemy, from Satan, from the evil in this world.
In this verse Paul is basically telling believers that they must walk in the light you already have (that is Christ Jesus). Now as SIMPLE as that sounds, doesn’t that sound logical?
Steven Curtis Chapman had a song many yrs ago that said, “if you want to be wise you have to walk with the wise…” If we want to walk in the Light of Christ… then we must trust that the light of Christ is the path we SHOULD be walking, and we should begin to WALK it!
It is like that for all things we do as humans… If you want to become a long-distance runner, you must begin to RUN! You cannot be a distance runner by reading about running or by watching OTHERS run, but you must start running! First you should run short distances and build up to those longer distances.
The same is true if you want to learn a foreign language… If you are trying to learn a foreign language you must begin to speak and read that language. This can only happen if you expose yourself and your mind to it and then you begin to write out the words and you begin to sound out the sounds…
You cannot begin with long, elaborate speeches, but you must begin with basic words and short phrases. But the fact of the matter is… you cannot learn another language by sitting idly by and thinking it is just going to happen… it takes hard work and determination!
Walking in the light, for the Christian, can only happen when we step out on faith and begin to actually put into practice what God is calling us to do! Walking in the light does not mean that we will always fully understand what God is doing!
But the child learning how to walk doesn’t stop learning how to walk just because he falls down… Oh I wish we had the tenacity and determination of a small child learning to walk… you cannot keep them down!
When a small child is beginning to get mobile, they want to walk EVERYWHERE! They refuse to sit still and want down to go here and go there… when they fall and hurt themselves…they cry, but in a few moments, they are back on their feet and walking again!
In our walk with Christ, He does not expect perfection from us, but what God DOES expect is obedience to His calling on our lives. He understands that we are going to stumble and fumble in our journey. However, in God’s word it reveals to the believer that when we are walking and stumbling poorly as Christians it helps us to grow and become more stable in our walk.
But not only do I see that Christians must walk in the light they already have in Christ, but also I see that we must…
2. Test in order to approve what is acceptable to the Lord...
How many here remember your school days? Now if you are like me, there were days you remember with a smile, but there were also days that you would love to be able to forget as well! But my main painful memory about HS was usually focused around a tough teacher! I had many teachers that used a 4 letter word for me…TEST!
And even though I did NOT like tests for the most part I know what their purpose is… the purpose of a test is to AID both the student AND the teacher in the learning process! It helps to see just what has been learned by the student!
Tests are stress creators for most people. But school is NOT the only place where we find tests. Before a company can put a product out into the market… it has to test it. All of the ‘bugs’ must be worked out of it…it must be proved and tested!
Like a test in school for the school kid, like the testing of machinery prior to placing it in the marketplace… the believer is also to be subjected to the testing process…
Some may ask, “Why?” I can tell you it is for the purpose of showing ourselves acceptable to God! When God tests us and tests conduct, we experience clarity in the guidance from God.
Here’s how it works… the more we are tested the more we look to God for guidance! The more we look to God for guidance the more we rely upon Him. The more we rely upon Him the more experience we get in discovering that He will be there for us and deliver us, and the more we rely on Him, the more we please Him!
Preacher, you say we are tested… but where? When? How? Well it happens in every situation and in every day we live here in this world, we are being constantly tested and evaluated as to the acceptability of our behavior and walk, AND our obedience to God! Testing of our Christian conduct happens as we live in this dark and evil world.
And since we are constantly being tested, what we have to do is learn to rely on all those devices that can help us to perform better and test better. What I am saying is that we must rely on the Bible as the absolute truth of God’s Word. This means that we rely on the HS guidance and support in our daily walk… and not our own wisdom or knowledge.
I don’t know about you, but I find it HIGHLY comforting to know that the God of this entire universe desires to give me comfort, strengthen and be there to guide my daily walk with Him… does that comfort you?
In Phil 2:13 [ESV] the apostle Paul said, “…13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure…” That should be of the utmost in comfort and joy to the Christian... it tells us very plainly that God is on OUR side!
But in addition to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, I can see at least 4 other testing devices God will use to test our walk and make us approved in His sight:
A. The conscience of the person being tested:
The conscience is an inner voice God has given ALL of us to guide our thoughts, desires and choices. It is like an inner computer that we have which stores information that we have rec’d about right and wrong. And then as we make our own decisions, our conscience will either affirm that decision or go against that decision!
The Bible reveals to us that the conscience cannot be trusted in and of itself. Our conscience has been exposed to this fallen world as we have… and it cannot be trusted! Titus 1:15 [ESV] To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
We cannot trust our conscience by itself, but once we have been saved and the truth has been revealed to our hearts by the indwelling and witness of the Holy Spirit! We can know we are doing what God desires!
Rom 9:1 [ESV] I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—
But not only do we have our Holy Spirit led conscience, but we as believers we also have…
B. The counsel of other Christians:
We are taught throughout God’s Word to teach and admonish each other as it says in Col 3:16 [ESV] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Now understand that we are NOT the highest authority on truth, but God is working in all our lives and we are here FOR each other… to complete each other… IN LOVE!
Scripture does admonish the more mature and experienced Christians who show through their lives and actions and words… their open and submissive obedience to God.
Our conscience and the counsel of other Christians are great, but one method of test preparation we tend to overlook is the most simple in my mind… it is our own BRAIN! The fact of the matter is that God has given each one of us a brain to use and we call using this brain for God’s purpose…
C. Common Sense:
In Titus 2:12 [ESV] we read that after we are saved the Spirit of God comes to train the believer in many areas, but especially to deal with spiritual matter: 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age…
What this means is that when you are saved… YOU have a renewed mind. And that renewed mind is blessed with common sense! But I want to warn you that common sense can NEVER be accepted as COMPLETE sense!
The reason for this is because God sometimes leads us down a path or in a direction that does NOT seem to be sensible to us! And when this does happen in our lives it is ONLY the believer in touch with God’s will who is going to understand that they must trust God for the right path… the right direction!
We have our conscience that God has given us, the counsel of other Christians and the brain and common sense that God has instilled in each one of us… BUT I can see one more device to assist us when we are being tested by God’s guidance in our lives and that is…
D. The Circumstances of life:
We have all been down this road before… we have a ‘feeling’ about where God is leading us and the circumstances of our life, begin to either open the doors of opportunity or they reveal that God is closing doors to push us in another direction.
We have to understand that circumstances CAN verify a direction that God is leading us in… HOWEVER we have to understand that circumstances alone will never reveal God’s will for your life! The reason I say that is that Scripture is plain, and God is not that vague!
If you are in God’s Word, if you are praying everyday, and if you are seeking the will of God and listening for God to speak to you… He will speak to you! He will NEVER rely on the circumstances of life to guide your direction!
I want you to know that it is OK for you to test God’s guidance for your life! But your ‘testing’ cannot be based on the fact that you don’t trust God’s guidance… but it should be to MAKE SURE that the guidance you are ‘receiving’ is actually coming from GOD.
We have our conscience, other Christians’ counsel, our common sense and the circumstances of life as four (4) great tools we can use to know the will of God in our lives. But let me warn you… these tools are NOT to be used unless you are in prayer and reading God’s word on a daily basis… left to their own these tools will lead us down the path of our own desires
When we are in the Word and constantly in prayer… this makes our hearts and souls sensitive to the Holy Spirit… and it allows us to see things with the ‘mind of Christ’ as we learned last week… this enables us to more accurately reveal and clarify God’s guidance in our lives.
But if we are NOT in the word and we are NOT in prayer on a constant basis and we are seeking on our own… we are going to become overwhelmed with confusion and we will find ourselves not being able to discern what God wants for our lives!
When we are in the will of God and sensitive to His guiding direction, we are going to know where to go and what to do, and when evil presents itself in our lives we will take the appropriate steps! Our passage this morning tells us what we are called to do and it is…
3. Take to task the unfruitful works of darkness:
What scripture is saying here is that we cannot allow the deeds of darkness to be sown in the fellowship of believers, and when we see it, we cannot ignore, but we are to address it head on! Now it is possible that we may do this by our words, but more it is more conceivable that we would do this with our conduct and lifestyle.
Some people may become uncomfortable by what we say and what we do, but that is God’s way of reaching the hearts of those who are lost in the darkness of this world:
• Those who cannot see the need for a Savior.
• Those who cannot see the stain of their sin on their lives.
• Those who cannot see the ultimate destruction they are headed for.
God uses our words and our actions to reach those who do not know Him.
The point I am making here is this…God’s guidance is not offered to us so that we can live a sheltered life, free from contact with this world and the darkness of the world!
God’s guidance is given to us to keep us OUT of this world of evil and darkness, but it is there to show us how we are called to live IN this dark world and become a great influence on those whom God places in our path…
We physically live in this world; we cannot change that… so we must accept that is the way God has always intended it to be! So if we are going to be here in this world anyway, as believers let our minds be focused on the Word of God, and our actions be focused on the Will of God, so we bring others to know Him and what He can do for them!
If we are submissive and allow God to guide us in this way… then more people than you can ever know will begin to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This is because when Christians begin to submit and surrender to the guidance and will of God… when they give over their own lives to live the life God has for them… there is NOTHING that cannot be done or overcome.
If ever there was a man in our generation that could be called a great Christian I would think it would be Billy Graham. For over 50 years Billy has faithfully preached the Gospel of Christ to all he has come in contact with. From the common person on the street to world leaders he has always shared God’s message.
Billy has led many people to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. He has influenced heads of state and the powerful elite of the corporate world. However, when Billy Graham spoke with Mahatma Gandhi, the spiritual leader of Hinduism in India. Billy shared Christ and the message of love and hope that Christ brings.
Gandhi was very impressed by the Gospel, but when Billy asked Gandhi if he would like to make a decision for Christ…Gandhi said these very haunting words…
“This Christian message brings hope and life, but if I could but meet just ONE Christian…I would become a Christian.”
This world is full of people who are seeking something. Used to be that ‘material wealth and the accumulation of things’ were thought to be what brings happiness to our lives. And because of this there are many people who have done all they can do to accumulate ‘money’ and ‘things.’ But there is still a hole in their life!
Today’s generation is learning that it is not wealth or the accumulation of things that bring happiness… there are so many rich people who have everything this world has to offer… but they are mired in depression and self-destructive behavior.. these ‘things’ did NOT bring them happiness! Today we see more and more from our younger generation that they are seeking for happiness from other areas of life… mainly from the spiritual realm.
And, as Christians, we HAVE to be ready and willing to share God’s message at all times! First in the way we live our lives… make your witness stand up and be noticed in the world. But also in the words you say, as God leads you and directs you!
WE cannot sell out to God… we cannot fully surrender to His will if we are NOT in step with Him and sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance on our life. God’s guidance will not let us down! God’s guidance will not lead us astray; God’s guidance will allow us to be a positive influence on those around us through our words and through our actions.
Yes we should test God’s guidance through the HS and through His Word and then use the tools of our conscience, the counsel of other Christians, our common sense and circumstances of our lives to see His will in a more clear and concise way! However, we are also to test God’s guidance on our lives by the simple fact of being a positive influence in a dark world, and by exposing evil when it rears its ugly head!
Christians this message is for you because you all need to avoid any confusion in your Christian walk and be in tune with God’s guidance in your life.
For those of you here who are not believers… this message is ALSO for you! You may NOT understand what I am speaking about… but deep within your heart there is a hole that you cannot seem to fill! There is a desire that you cannot quench, well let me share something with you! The only thing that will quench that desire and fill in the gap in your life is Jesus!
Jesus loves you and wants to be the guide in your life. But He cannot be the guide in your life, if you will not give your life over to Him!
You cannot reach God on your own… you cannot clean up your life and come to God! You cannot find your way out of the darkness of this world without the guidance of God in your life!
And without God’s guidance there is only ONE destination for you… the Bible calls that place the lake of fire, the pit, it calls it Hell!! Hell is a real place, and it is going to be the most terrible place! Jesus says it is a place of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth! Jesus said it was a place where the fire is never quenched… and the Bible tells us that hell will be for eternity.
There are only 2 destinations after this life… The Bible shares with us that they are heaven and hell. Heaven is reserved for those people who have confessed Jesus as Lord and have surrendered their lives to Him. Heaven is NOT a place we can get to on our own good works, but it is only available for those who trust in Jesus as their Savior!
Hell is reserved by God for those who reject God and reject the Son of God, Jesus Christ! God condemns all those who reject Jesus to an eternity of Hell. You CAN reach Hell on your own works… you can do your thing in this life… you can seek to meet your own desires in this life… and the destination it will gain you is Hell.
There are two people here in this sanctuary this morning… those who have professed Christ as their Savior and those who have NOT! Which one are you?
For the believer this morning, there are 2 types of believers here… those who have submitted to the guidance of God in their lives and fully trust God in all He is leading them to do… and there are those who have made a profession of faith, but they have failed to surrender themselves to the Lord, they have failed to acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of their lives!
This morning you have an opportunity to accept or reject Jesus. This morning you have an opportunity to ask Jesus to forgive you of your sin and come into your life. Jesus said that today was the day of salvation, because we don’t know what tomorrow brings. Are you ready to place your TRUST in Jesus this morning? Are you ready to meet Jesus? I know I am!
This morning if you are here and want God to begin guiding your life you can do it by asking Him to forgive you of your sin and come into your life!
Christian, have you given ALL of yourself to God!? Have you done what God has asked of you!? Have you been obedient in all things God requires? If not you must do 2 things, first ask God to forgive you for your rebellious actions and 2nd you must submit to God’s will for your life.
Are you here this morning and know that God wants you to join this church, but yet you just can’t bring yourself to join? Are you hear this morning knowing that God wants you to surrender your life to a certain ministry in this church, but you just don’t see how you can fit it in?
Are you here this morning and know that God wants you to surrender your life to the ministry of the Gospel, but you have not done so?
Are you here this morning and have not submitted to a believer’s baptism after your accepted Christ?
If any of these things [or anything else] are going on in your life, you can step forward this morning and make the choice to follow the guidance that God is placing in your life.
This morning if you don’t know God and want His guidance He has promised that all who call upon His name will be saved. If you call out to God he will save you and begin to guide you.
As Steven and Jason make their way to the podium to offer our hymn of invitation, I call on you to surrender to Christ this morning… Would you stand as we sing [#317 Only Trust Him]
