Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Being In The Way Pt.2

We're rejoicing in the Lord's presence among us. We've heard a number of different testimonies in the last couple of days. God is moving in our midst, healing, and bringing deliverance. We're excited and rejoicing with the Hibbelers this morning. Then Justin came and shared with me after service this morning what the Lord had done. Justin, why don't you just share with everybody what happened? I don't know how many of you are aware of how he was injured out here during PE. He had a severe tear in some of the muscles or ligaments in his leg, and it was an interesting thing. I'll let him just share what the Lord did. Just go ahead and share with everybody what happened; it's exciting. [Justin] "It happened last Wednesday I tore my calf in PE. When we went to the doctor, they said it would be 10 to 12 weeks, that it did not look good, that it was not something that would heal quickly. So I was in a lot of pain even up through Tuesday. On Monday I went back because it swelled back up again. They said I had a blood clot and would have to go to the hospital. That day, I guess Pastor Jeff had the youth pray for me. When I went to check, they said, 'No, there's no blood clot at all.' Wednesday was the last day that I was really in pain. Since then, it's been a week, and I've had no pain. The Lord just touched me, and I've been healed since then." He has taken off the cast; has no pain; he's walking, and is just fine. It's a good, good God that we serve. Let's just thank Him for all that He's been doing in our midst. [Congregation praises God.] Glory to God. It's exciting to watch God move in our midst.

We received a good report from Africa. (I think the air conditioner is back on here. I don't know who turned it off. I see some of you are coming back to life and that's a blessing.) I talked to Ron today and he said they had the best service they've ever had in Kakamega today. He said the worship was phenomenal. God came into their midst and began to move in the first service, and then in the afternoon or the evenings service he said it just picked up. He said it was spontaneous worship and praise that just continued on, and the people were rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord. He said that there were ten saved in the service this morning. People were filled with the Spirit and healed; and a number of people in the area said that they've never really known of that kind of a visitation in the city. The word about the morning service began to spread out into the area, the fact that there had been a true visitation of God in that place. We're excited about what is taking place there in the ministry.

Many things are happening for the African ministry that will be going on in Nairobi, Eldoret, and Kisumu. Continue to pray and believe God. As you know at junctures like this, some of the greatest obstacles arise. The enemy is not just going to lie down and take this. We prayed; and you all remember the opposition. As we interceded, as we were praying into the heavenlies, the spirit of God actually pulled down the principalities and powers. What we saw was a miracle, as great as any you could imagine: The heart of the king was turned, and we were granted the impossible, to allow us to go in and minister in those areas as well as the subsequent effects of that ministry. We have to continue to pray and believe God. Don't rest at all as we're interceding on behalf of this outreach. I think that all the remarks that we've heard (and we've rejoiced in what the nationals are saying) are just an indicator to me that we need to pray more, and to believe God to sustain us in the ministry as it goes forth there. Make that a matter of urgent prayer, and we'll just continue to rejoice and boast in the goodness of God.

Let's go ahead and turn to back to Psalm 119, and we'll pick up were we left off this morning. We've been talking about the aspect of knowing the will of God and walking in it. In fact, our first part of the series really dealt with accepting the will of God. We talked about understanding God's sovereignty--that things are not going to be done our way but God's way, and that we have to humble ourselves. Then God will exalt us in our humility of subordinating our will to His, and praying, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

We saw that a man's heart prepares his way, but it is the Lord who directs the paths. We think we know what we're doing. We make decisions that we believe will honor God, yet we don't see the eternal. Then God directs our paths, or, He sets us back on course. We know that's the declaration of our victory, that God is going to order these steps of ours; and we rejoice then in that aspect. We saw that this morning that the ordering of our steps was going to be by the Word of God. God is sovereign, but He always operates within His revealed will, as He has shared with us His eternal purposes. We can go to the Word of God and understand the concepts, the principles, and the purposes of God. We may not be able to understand every intricate detail, but we understand what God is up to because of what He has declared.

In Psalm 119, verse 133 we saw this morning that we desire that our steps be ordered in His Word. "Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me." Isn't that interesting? He is saying that as long as we're allowing the Word of God to set course for us, sin will not dominate us. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I [what?] might not sin against thee." We know that we are walking in the will of God as long as walking in the Word of God. "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another [with Him], and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light [directing] unto my path" (verse 105). The Word is there, illuminating our steps. Before you make a step into any darkness of natural intellect or humanistic philosophies, put the Word of God out there and let it illuminate. Step out onto the Word of God. It's a lamp; it illuminates our step. With every step, then, we're aware that we're on the foundation of the more sure Word of God that 2 Peter talked about; and then you can rest. "I'm assured that I'm building this thing on the rock." What is it that Jesus taught us? Those built on the rock are those who hear and keep His sayings. We have that assurance that we're moving in the will of God and being led in His will as we allow the Word to order our steps.

Let's pick up this evening now in Psalm 73. In this Psalm we find a few more statements concerning our need to set the Word of God as the foundation on which we stand; set the Word as the truth that's exalted in our lives to the extent that everything that opposes it (as we saw this morning) is seen as a lie. All that is in the world's system, or in the natural, that opposes the Word of God is a lie. Its origin is the Father of Lies, the Enemy, the Devil. "Well, that's the way we always have done things. That's the way my family's always done things. That's the way our school system has taught us." You have to go further back than Grandma and Grandpa; you have to go back to the originator, the Devil, the Father of Lies. We have to come to the place where we pull down every evil imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God's Word. Don't even entertain them; pull them down. As we saw in the study this morning, we are to "hate every false way," these principles and advocates that lie against the truth of God's Word. We look to the wisdom of God.

Look at Psalm 73, verse 24, and listen again to what the psalmist says: "Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee [far from Your wisdom, far from the counsel of Your Word] shall perish." "You guide me with Your counsel, and afterwards You receive me into Your glory," but "those that are far from You are going to perish." "Thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee [that follow after other gods and other sources of truth and wisdom]. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works."

We begin to see, then, the honor of the Word of God. As Jesus said in John 17, "Thy Word is truth." The psalmist said, "I hid Your Word in my heart that I might not sin." The prophet said, "I found Your Word and I ate it; and it became the joy and the rejoicing of my heart." The apostle said, "It's a more sure word of prophecy." The apostle spoke to us and said that the Scriptures are able to make you wise unto salvation, and, "those that you've learned since you were a child, hide in your heart."

That is why, in school, we teach our kids. I shared with Richard and Jeff the other day that I want our kids to start memorizing more Scripture. I want them to begin to fill their hearts with the Word of God. The teaching as been phenomenal, as our young people have been taught biblical principles and practical application. I really sense that there was a need for more of the Word being memorized and hid in our hearts so that the Holy Spirit might be able to cause the Word to rise up in the days of opposition; so that, like Jesus, we can stand when the enemy comes and say, "It is written." The Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God pierces into the heart of the enemy. When you resist Satan with the Word of God what happens? He flees from you, the Scripture says. There's only one way to drive the enemy out of your life and that's with the Word of God. There's only one way to walk in the confidence that you're on the sure foundation, by having the Word illuminate your steps.

Somebody asked me a question this morning, "I don't know if it's God or not who is opening up this opportunity." I asked them, "How did you get there? How did you get where you are? Have you gotten there of your own volition, your own lust, your own wisdom, your own ambitions? Here's an opportunity at hand, and are you just now praying, 'Lord, is this Your will?'" If you haven't walked there in the illumination of humility and obedience to the Word of God, if you haven't allowed Him to build the house, then you've labored in vain. We must ask ourselves, "How have I gotten to where I am?" If we've gotten there through our own human endeavors, our own natural abilities, many times, Beloved, we need to turn back to Bethel. Go back and discover the last time you heard from God. "What was the last thing I received from the Spirit of God that I know was supernatural? When was the last time I heard that still, small voice saying, 'This is the way. Walk in it?'" That is the intersection you need to return to. As the prophet said, "I've come to the fork in the road. What am I to do?" "Choose the old paths." If we're going to stand in confidence we need to know that God sent us, and that we're moving according to the will of God.

"How do I know what God's will is for my life? Is this opportunity the will of God?" Find out how you got there, to that opportunity. There are many different ways of guidance. One of them is opportunity, or open doors. All open doors, of course, are not of God. The enemy will seduce you through many opportunities. We saw the prophet running from the will of God. He was told to go to Nineveh; he fled from the presence of the Lord, and there before him was a boat headed for Tarshish--the exact opposite way. "I just need to pray, 'Is this the will of God? Is this boat the will of God?'" How did you get to the harbor, by fleeing the presence of God? How many of you think that it's worthless to pray, "Is this boat the will of God?" What do you need to do? You need to go back to where you fled from the presence of God and say, "What's the shortest way to Nineveh?" Then when the next opportunity arises, you can pray and seek for further guidance. We see these principles as they begin to open up.

Examine your heart as we go on in this study and ask yourself, "Where am I right now, in this journey of spiritual guidance?" "I really need to pray. I want to seek God because I don't know whether I should take this job or that job. This one would mean a pay raise. I just want to know what the mind of God is." How did you get to this decision? Let's search our hearts. "Am I really praying now because somewhere in the past I bought a house that's a hundred and fifty thousand dollars more than I was really able to afford--and now I'm seeking God as to whether or not I should take a job for more money to ease the strain of this payment? By taking the job to get more money, I'll be spending less time with my family, I can't be a part of the Home Fellowship Group, and I won't be able to volunteer in ministry.... Let me pray and ask." It's not just this job! We have to back up. We probably shouldn't have gotten the house. We'd better back up. Maybe God wanted you in that one bedroom apartment. "I'm not going to pay rent. That's a waste of money! I need to invest my money. I need to be a wise steward," or "Look, we've got some equity." Where is all that wisdom coming from? What has any of that got to do with the will of God?

I want to ask you a question tonight--and be truthful. How many of you just do those things so naturally because it's wise and it's smart, and don't even consider the will of God? Now you're at a place asking, "God, what's Your will?" when you're about seven steps outside of the will of God. I think it's time to truthfully ask ourselves, "What course am I on?" Now, the things don't matter. I'm just using that as a natural example just to show you how these things can happen. "Well, what do I have to do? Do I have to go back through all of these steps and undo them?" Not necessarily, but you might have to. Are you willing to? Isn't a subordinate will what we're talking about? Are you willing to? When are you willing to do the will of God? Why pray for guidance? Guidance is taking course to do the will of God. Guidance is directing us into the will of God, the momentary will of God. "I want guidance to do God's will at this moment. I want to know what to speak at this moment to this individual. I want to know how to sow into this particular person's life, or this particular ministry. I want guidance as to how to affect the will of God at this moment." If we want specific guidance, then we must be on the general course: seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and allowing Him to add everything else to us.

Can I ask you something? What do you have that God didn't give you? Don't give the pat answer, "Nothing. Everything I've got, I've received of the Lord." Who are you trying to kid? "Yes, the Lord has given me everything. He gave me this superior intellect, this great will, and strength to be able to affect all these things, praise be to God." No, I'm asking what you have that you've acquired in your own strength, that God didn't give you. What have you taken from life that God didn't give you--it wasn't what He wanted for you, but you've added it to yourself? There is a big difference between "adding to ourselves" and "seeking first the kingdom of God, and Him adding to us." Why did we "add to ourselves"? What was it? "I guess I'm going to have to 'fess up. I guess it's lust." Well, it may not be lust. It might be pride. The two are so closely entwined that it's hard to divide between them. Maybe it's fear. Maybe it's just that insecurity, that desire to be elevated by the things that I possess; our worth, or our value, is in things, positions, or titles.

We're talking about spiritual guidance. We're never going to be on course in specific areas if our life is generally out of order, if we're not seeking first the kingdom of God. How can we get the specifics if we're not seeking first the kingdom? We have to ask ourselves that tonight. "Can I honestly say that I'm seeking the kingdom?" What does it mean to "seek the kingdom?" "Well, praise God, it means you've got to go into the monastery, pray 24 hours, get an old wooly robe, and take a vow of silence." How in the world is that helping the kingdom of God? Jesus said to go into all the world and preach the gospel. He didn't say to go hide on a mountain somewhere. He said, "Take the bushel off. Proclaim the gospel in the midst of this world. We're in it, but we're not of it. Go out there and declare that there's a parallel Kingdom to the kingdom of darkness, one that is superior to the principles of this kingdom that the rest have embraced."

As you read this seventy-third Psalm and we understand that guiding and counsel with the Word of God is contingent upon the seeking first the kingdom. Now there's usually--it's not full proof--a litmus test that you can take. Ask yourself, "How do I know?" Well, the Bible says that "by their fruit you shall know them." What do you do when you get opportunities to choose? Do a survey; don't survey the last week. Do a survey of your life in the last decade. If you haven't been saved for a decade, then don't survey the whole decade. Ask yourself, "When I'm faced with these decisions, which course do I take? Am I spiritually minded, or am I carnally minded? What is my mind intent upon? Where is my passion? What consumes me? What am I really giving my life for?" Then you can begin to determine whether you're a seeker of the kingdom or not. I would put that in order before I begin to ask God for specific guidance.

That brings us down into the second step. We've been talking about the first step: coming to the knowledge of God and obeying the Word of God. If you're going to walk in the will of God and have spiritual guidance, you have to, first of all, know the Word, and then you have to obey it. We saw this morning that there is no greater deception than to be a hearer only, and not a doer of the Word of God. We saw that if your light is darkness how great is that darkness. The man that hears the Word and doesn't do it is in the greatest deception. Jesus said the greatest in the kingdom are those that hear, obey, and teach others. Tragically, the least in the kingdom, the great enemies of the church are not the pagans that are outside the church, but the people that sit inside the church that are hearers of the Word, and then try to convince everybody else, "You don't really have to do it. God doesn't really expect you to keep all of these commandments." If we're going to begin not keeping some of the commandments, where are we going to stop?

Let me ask you something: at what point does your conscience lose equality to the Word of God? All we're saying when we say that other, is, "I'm just letting my conscience guide me." You can sear your conscience. You need to be cleansed from an evil conscience. Your conscience cannot be your guide. Your conscience is the vehicle through which the truth of God's Word challenges your flesh and the sin that's in our members. The conscience is only the vessel of illumination. The standard and the truth is the Word of God. Anytime the conscience is filtering out the truth of the Word of God, it's an evil conscience. Anytime that the conscience then refuses the Word of God, it's a seared conscience. We need to ask ourselves, "How pure is this conscience of mine. How tender am I to the truth, and allowing it to affect me?" That puts guidance into this second category that we want to talk about.

The first is obtaining the knowledge of God--knowing what His will is, and choosing to obey it. The second principle is that if we're going to hear the Word and be led by the Spirit, we have to allow the character of Christ to be established in us, Christlikeness. "I haven't come to do My will, but the will of He that sent Me. I haven't come to speak My words, but the words of He that sent Me," Jesus said.

Psalm 37 speaks toward this. Turn over there and let's look at what is necessary to make you and I receivers of this still, small voice. There's a lot of noise going on in the world today. A lot of voices are vying for our attention--"This is the truth; that's the truth." All of the different religions are vying for our attention, saying they are the truth. You have the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam, and B'Hai--all of these different organizations. You have all the self interest groups that say they are the truth. You've got ERA, IRA, and AAA. We have all of these groups, each with their own interests that they think everyone needs to be involved in. For the ERA, you always have another group: the NRA. These are in diametrical opposition. What are you going to do? What voice are you hearing? You want to know one of the dangers? Even among the ERA it gets as perverted as the "homos for Jesus." They have their little groups. Anytime you take one of these self interest groups and try to marry them to Christianity, you move over into apostasy. It's the pollution of the gospel such as it was in the days of Constantine. The gospel message is not to make a better world; it is to snatch a remnant from a corrupt, already judged world that will be purified with fire. There will be a new heaven, and a new earth--not a better one. There's nothing here to invest in, Beloved; invest in the kingdom.

When we look at the need to change our character, we see in Psalm 37 that, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore" (verses 23-27). We see that we need a confidence in our righteousness, our right standing with God, if we're going to have confidence that our steps are being ordered. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." This word "good" is very interesting. It isn't just talking about our expressed righteousness, but it talks about the victorious man. Our faith is the victory. Faith: the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. This is talking about the person who's been victorious through obedience to the Word of God: his steps are going to continually be ordered by the Lord. The word "ordered" is very interesting. It has the same connotation as another word we were studying. The word "ordered" here means "to be set right, to be set back on course." It goes along with the principle that Jesus taught us, doesn't it? To he that has, shall...what? More be given. In other words, the more I obey, the more God will give me the opportunity to obey. The more He knows that my heart is obedient, the more He'll reveal and share with me. He's not going to put His truth out (as we said this morning) for you to give it consideration. He won't give you the truth for you to put it in a stack saying, "Here's what God says/Here's what the NEA says," then begin to hold this up beside all the other so called truths. You will not hear from God with that kind of a mindset. It is the good man's steps that are ordered by the Lord.

I like what Proverbs 11 says along these lines. It talks about the need for integrity in your life and mine. We don't hear about that much in our day anymore--"There's a guy with some integrity." Our society is very interesting. We were out yesterday afternoon. We had the privilege of being on the beltway for about an hour and fifteen minutes, just to go about 12 miles. In the process, I was trying to study human nature. I had to start with myself. Once I was able to establish my own calm, I began to observe, watching what people are willing to put on the line (possible property damage, bodily injury, death) in order to get in front of just one more car--just to advance themselves 16 feet! You watch people and all of the dumb things they do, and then you pass them a few miles up the road because something else got their attention. They had to get to that spot, but now they're looking for something on the radio. They're listening to their favorite song, and they forgot about having to get ahead. They're living for the moment. One of the things that's interesting to me is why people will drive up exit lanes, passing 30 and 40 cars, and then think they have a right to pull back into traffic. Have you tried to figure that one out? I hope you're not an offender like that. If you are, you have no integrity.

Integrity talks about an innocence that does truth because it's true, not because of what will be derived from it. Integrity says, "How can I do this and sin against my God?" when nobody else would know. Integrity is who you are when nobody's around; when you have nothing to gain or lose in the eyes of man but you choose what's right. It's what dominates in those areas. I don't mean a false humility. We can illustrate with our traffic analogy. I don't mean a false humility, where you stop at a merging lane and wave everybody on to get in front of you. Everyone behind you is honking, and you say, "I've got integrity." You don't have integrity, because now you're robbing these people. They didn't choose that. It means doing what's right and just, handling matters in a proper way. When we begin to have that kind of a heart, we begin to be vessels that God can speak to and use because now we don't have our own agenda. We haven't set our own course, as we saw in our first part of the series. We become men and woman of character who are willing to hear the truth and do it.

In Proverbs chapter 11, verses three through five, you see this statement that the wise man makes: "The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death. The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness." As you begin to look at this and you see what the wise mans saying to us, it says "the righteousness of the perfect." This just means the integrity, this innocence, this truth that we're looking to affect in our lives. That word "perfect" just means "mature," the man who's whole, at peace, and in right relationship with God. It says the man of that type of a character, this desire to do truth will direct his way. In other words, our minds are already made up. I know what I'm going to do in a given circumstance: I'm going to do what's right. A guy is walking down the road and hundred dollar bills are falling out of his pocket, and you're picking them up saying, "Thank you, Jesus." You're following this guy thinking, "Anybody that's dropping this many hundred dollar bills surely isn't going to miss one or two...or three." No. You already know what you're going to do. You already know what you're going to do when the woman on the corner tries to solicit you. You already know what you're going to do. You already know what's going to take place when that solicitation comes--the one from the mega-corporation with all of those big numbers, the one that will cause you to compromise your family and compromise seeking first the kingdom of God. You already know what you're going to do. You don't even have any need to pray about it. It is obvious that this isn't God's will for me. This is the integrity of the upright that guides them.

Verse five says, "The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness." To the pure...what? To the pure, all things are pure. You perceive things differently than the world and the natural man. When it says, "To the pure, all things are pure," it doesn't mean that we naively look at everything around us and think good about it. We can recognize evil. We call sin, sin; and evil, evil. What it means is that my intentions are for the pure. I'm going to do what's right and just. I'm able to recognize that in the people that are around me, and the counsel that I'm receiving. I know the truth when I hear it because I'm pure of heart; I'm looking to hear the truth. I can tell the difference between truth and flattery. I can tell the difference between truth and criticism.

I'm going to get into hearing through counsel in one of our other sessions, hearing the Word of God. We talked about the Word being our guide. If you think that means that you just sit down, read it, interpret it, and that you have the full understanding, that's foolishness. We need counsel. We need others to speak into our lives if we're going to be led by the Spirit. It's not just you hearing from God through the Word. There wouldn't be any need for counselors, for teachers, or for overseers. There wouldn't be any need for parents to instruct their children, to raise them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, if everyone just read the Word and did it on their own. That's why there needs to be this integrity and this character. As there's purity of heart there's the ability to hear the truth as it's spoken. Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice, and "a stranger they will not follow." It's easy to be led when you've got a pure heart because you don't hear anything but the truth. Nothing else solicits you. Nothing else is able to distract you. Integrity is so necessary in our lives. Verse five says that the righteousness that's established in us sets us on the path, because we've chosen to do the will of God.

Go back if you would to Psalm 25. We find another character trait that's so important if we're going to be led by the Spirit. "I thought being led by the Spirit just means praying, getting a few goose bumps--Whoo! I believe God's leading me to this." There's much more to it than that. "God said..." "The Lord's leading me." "Really? What does the Word say?" I've got another question: why would He be telling you all that, when I've been watching your life and you haven't yet done anything He's told you? Do you mean to tell me that God has given you a word to speak to that brother or sister, and you're not even providing care for your own children? You're not even loving your wife? You show up when you feel like it. You're forsaking the assembling of the saints. I'm just talking about obvious things that we can all look at and see. You're telling me that God is speaking to you about something as temporal as buying a new car? "I just really feel that God is leading me to buy this new car." God doesn't ride around in cars. He doesn't care what kind of car you have. God does care about stewardship, but He doesn't care about cars. I want to tell you something; God's not going to lead you in which car to buy, or whether or not to buy a new car, when all those other things are out of order in your life.

In Psalm 25, take a look down at verse nine, if you would. It says, "The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies....The secret of the LORD [verse 14] is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant." We begin to see the need for a spirit of meekness if we're going to hear from God. Meekness, as we've shared before, is an interesting principle. Meekness has to do with humility. Meekness is very humble before God, ready and soliciting to hear from God; but very bold in making the stand for righteousness. Are you a meek individual? Are you someone that stands and contends for the faith? Are you jealous for the glory of God? That's the type of person that God's going to speak to and guide, that will bring honor to His name.

We also have to have the fruit of obedience and submission, to be doers of the Word in our own lives. Then we can be representatives of His will. Listen, there's no reason to seek guidance and ask God for direction if what you're doing won't bring glory to Him. If He's not the issue, if He's not the focal point, then who cares what kind of a house you live in? Who cares what kind of a car you drive, or what job you're working, if it's not for the glory of God. The whole purpose of praying for guidance is, "Will this next move glorify You? How does it fit into the eternal scheme of me being a living epistle read of men, being able to honor You, letting men see my good works that they may glorify my Father which is in heaven?" That becomes the real purpose. The meek, the Scripture says, will He guide in judgment, and the meek will He teach His way. If you want to become someone who hears in secret, then you need to be someone who will shout it from the housetops. It's not just for you. It's not to eternalize. It's not just to benefit you. The visitation of God is for the purpose of proclaiming the message, and bringing glory to our Father. Let's finish with this for tonight as we're looking at some of these different aspects. We saw down in verse 14 that the secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him. In other words, to know God's heart, His secrets of the determinate counsel of God, there has to be a fear of God, a reverence, honoring Him with all that's in us.

Then we'll finish with this for this evening. Back in Proverbs again; let's go back to Proverbs 18. There's one other character trait that we need to look for in our lives if we're going to readily be led by the Spirit of God. We have to be men and women that study to show ourselves approved unto God. We need to be doers, not just hearers of the Word of God. We need to be men and women of character and integrity with a spirit of meekness. Proverbs 18, verse 15 says, "The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men." We begin to see here the need for prudence. The prudent is one who receives this revelation knowledge. A prudent person is someone that weighs the consequences. To be prudent is to look at something and ask, "What will bring the greatest benefit? What will bring the greatest glory to God?" If our decision doesn't bring glory to God, then it's not a prudent decision. It's the wrong decision. It's not the one that should be applied at this moment because it doesn't bring the eternal effect, the glory of God. It's so vital, Beloved, for us to start understanding that our decisions need to be made in light of eternity--not the momentary pleasure, not the momentary perceivable truths of situational ethics where truth changes with public opinion; but the immutable Word of God. Are we jealous for it in our lives? Are we meek in proclaiming it? If we'll live it, if we'll speak it, then God will reveal it to us.

Father, we thank You for the Word of God tonight. We live in a day when there are so many voices crying out soliciting us, the mingled seed that has come within the church. Father, our hearts are grieved as we watch the church marry the politicians, thinking that we're going to change a community with Christian values. Christian rhetoric and biblical doctrine doesn't change people; rebirth, repentance, changes people. Our churches today are full of humanistic psychology being married with biblical truth. The church feels that its main objective is to get its people to feel good about themselves, to understand their worth even to the point of denying the sin that is in their members through their father Adam. The original sin has no effect on them, they say. "I'm not really bad. It's only my actions that are bad." The apostle says, "In me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing." "The heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" We hear these voices soliciting us. They tell us that we deserve better, that we're not really that bad, and that we're losing out by walking such a straight and narrow path. "This message is antiquated. Can't you see what the masses are embracing? This has got to be truth! It's accepted by the elite of the world." Those that have integrity, those that are meek, and those that are prudent hear another voice that says, "Come out from among them, and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you." There's another voice that's very clear in the midst of all of this clamoring: "This is the way. Walk in it." It's clear--unless we just make it another option. It's clear--unless we've dulled it by those last seven choices, and now we pray for God to show us a way to obtain more, and hold onto what we have that He hasn't given us. The voice is very clear to those that are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Lord, give us ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. In Jesus' name, amen.

Let's stand before the Lord. We'll take a moment as Janet plays for us. We asked the question in the first part of the series, "What's God doing?" Now we have to ask another question, "What have I done? What am I doing? How did I get here? What do I have that hasn't been given to me? Now what do You want me to do Father? I acknowledge I'm not right where You want me. What do You want me to do?" The integrity of the upright will guide them. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delights in doing God's will. He is cast down, but not forsaken. I've been young and now I'm old, and I've never seen the righteous forsaken. Do you want to hear and know what the will of God is? Be ready to do it, and He'll speak to you. It's the desire of our heart. Let's sing this together and rejoice in the goodness of the Lord. "Come and behold Him, Come and behold Him. Come with an honest heart to see all He is...." We want to see You in Your glory, Lord, and know You. Father, give us a glimpse of You. We understand that glory that fills the temple illuminates our path, it strengthens our hearts, Father. It creates in us the testimony of our hope as You lead us from glory to glory. It's the desire of our heart to know You more, to hear You clearer, that men might see the obedience and the good works, and glorify You, Father. For that, we give You all the praise tonight. In Jesus' name, amen. Before you go, turn to somebody next to you, and say, "The good man's steps are ordered." Go in peace; God's love go with you.

Back to Top | Audio   |   Purchase Audio   |   Bible Teachings   |   Print