Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Divine Guidance Pt.2

Amen! Great to be in His presence. Amen? Let's turn to Proverbs. We're going to pick up where we left off Wednesday night. Just continue looking at this subject. So important always, but especially in the day that we're living. We're going to talk some more about "divine guidance," understanding that in these last days, we definitely want to be found about Father's business. Amen? Making sure that our steps are being ordered of the Lord and that we are accurately fulfilling this course that God has put us on. We saw over in Proverbs, Chapter 3, that it is vitally important that these principles are working in our lives. Proverbs, Chapter 3, verse 5, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct they paths."

We were talking about God setting us on course and the directing of our paths. Frankly, the greatest hindrance to divine guidance is assuming that everything that comes into our minds is of God. You see, a lot of us think that God is the author of all of our thoughts. We need to realize that all of our thoughts and intentions have to be weighed against the eternal purposes of God, or the more sure word of prophecy of His Word. One of the things that happens is, we walk in light, we're walking in pursuit of the kingdom of God and our intentions are good. So, we think that everything, then, that may be good is coming from God, but we see that the natural mind partook of the tree in the midst of the Garden, which was the knowledge of what? Good and evil. It can be good and still not be God. It can even be theologically correct and not be of God.

We need to see what initiates the purposes of God in the lives of believers. Why is God directing our paths? The answer to that, of course, becomes very obvious: So that we could continue on the highway of holiness, walk in the paths of righteousness and finish this course. So many people are looking for guidance in all of the things that are not eternal. Wanting God to speak about the purchase of the new home or this piece of property, or should I move to this particular city, or should I marry this particular person. Very frankly, none of those things are eternal. God may involve Himself in them directly, but as we saw in Wednesday's teaching, much of that is done by the already revealed will of God and its general purposes. The eternal things are the things God injects by supernatural visitation by specific guidance. Up until that point, we are governed by what we've termed "sanctified intellect." We see that we're to make choices, make decisions, with absolute confidence in the sovereignty of God.

That's what we want to talk a little bit about this morning, the sovereignty of God as He's working in our lives. In other words, God will not allow you and me to make an error. Can you say, "Praise God!" for that? Now when I say an "error," I'm not talking about momentary mistakes. I'm not talking about the fact that we're not going to make bad investments. I'm not talking about the fact that we won't make decisions that will put us in the valley of the shadow of death, but what we have confidence in is the Lord is my, say it, Shepherd. You see, He's the Shepherd and yet we find ourselves in the valley of the shadow of death. He's our Shepherd, but Jesus was led Himself by the Spirit into the wilderness to be what? Tempted of the devil. Many of us seem to think that because of adverse circumstances, we've somehow missed God. We need to realize that the steps of the good man are ordered by the Lord, praise God, and He delights in our way. So we need to see that God is delighting in the course that we're on and He's setting our steps before us. There needs to be that confidence.

We saw the need, then, to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts. The most important thing about divine guidance is this, and it's the toughest thing for every one of us, "...lean not unto thine own understanding." To divest ourselves of that self-confidence, "I know this is God!" You know what? It turns out to be your own lust, your own visions of grandeur, your own misappropriation of Bible principles, because you thought you were doing God a favor. Very frankly, He wasn't even in it. "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain." It doesn't mean you can't build a house. It just says it won't remain. When the winds and the waves come, the trials come and beat vehemently; it's not going to stand. In the final days, when there is the trial of God's holy presence, and everything that is wood, hay and stubble is burned up, it'll go up in flames. Only those things that are initiated from the heart of God can remain, because without Me, you can do nothing that I'll accept, is what the Lord is implying to us there. In other words, if it doesn't originate in the heart of God, it's not acceptable to Him.

Let's talk a little bit about these principles, and take a further look. Lean not to your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge God as the source; in all your ways acknowledge God as the purpose. The source and the purpose. Why are we doing what we're doing? Are we doing it for the Lord or are we doing it as unto the Lord? There's a difference. "For the Lord,' is Martha. "As unto the Lord," is Mary; the better part. The worship. The communion. You see, many of us are very active in working for God and we need to be worshiping our God. Our obedience needs to be not works, but worship. It's so important, then, as we're walking in this journey to not lean to our own understanding and in all of our ways acknowledge God. We're doing it as unto the Lord. We're doing it by the Lord. Then, the Scripture says, He will be the Director of our paths. Interesting word, "direct" there means to "establish," or to "make firm" the path that we're on. To keep our feet from slipping. It works in direct relationship to that passage in Proverbs that is so vital for us to understand divine guidance as it pertains to the sovereignty of God.

That's in Proverbs 16. Turn over there for just a second, and we want to take a look at a couple of very important passages. Proverbs 16, verse 9. The vital, vital principles for you and me are to understand if we're ever going to have absolute confidence in the Lord's ordering of our steps. How many times have you quoted, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want"? I mean, you can preach forever on that one verse, but we need to understand, then, that "want" is limited. Isn't it by the Lord's teaching of, the Lord knows what you have what? Need of. I shall not want. He didn't say you wouldn't want for your lusts. He didn't say that your little pet projects wouldn't want. He said that you would never want as it pertains to His revealed will for His children. That's the wanting in the area of building Christlikeness, because as we look at the Scriptures and we understand the sovereignty of God and, of course, the big theological debates of Calvinism and Arminianism we talk about predestination. The one thing we do know is this, we are predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Amen? "I shall not want." Every step I take, God is directing me more toward the image of Jesus. Every trial I face, I'm becoming more purified and becoming more in the image of Jesus. So, it's very important to understand what this process that we're in is all about. It's not to leave a mark on the world. It's not to leave an inheritance for our children. This course that you and I are on is to conform us to the image of Jesus. Everything else is going to perish. It's all going to pass away. God's working in us to will and to do His good pleasure.

So in Chapter 16 of Proverbs, verse 9, we understanding this principle, "A man's heart deviseth his way..." Now, we're talking about sanctified intellect. We're talking about the fact that not everything we choose to do comes by a specific--listen very clearly to what I'm saying--a specific revelation from God. When I talk about specific, I'm talking about--and we'll look at it possibly this morning; if not, tonight. Probably one of the chapters of Scripture that has some of the most specific direction that God ever gives, it's found in Acts, Chapter 10. Don't turn over there now, but you can take a look at that a little bit later. So many of us are sitting and waiting and not about Father's business, because we're waiting for a specific word from God. We saw on Wednesday night that many of the spectacular, specific visitations that so many of us want to base our lives on in the Scripture, are not for us. Because we found out, very frankly, you're not Moses. Amen? You're not Abraham. We saw, Wednesday night, something very important. God visited Abraham, and everyone else in Abraham's house didn't get specific revelation; they just followed Abraham. Wherever Abraham went, they went. "Well, how come I can't get a revelation? How come God doesn't speak audibly to me? Why aren't there any visions that I receive?" Because God set up another plan for guidance in your life. You want to know what it is? It's called your husband. It's called your parents. "Make your bed." "Wait a minute, Dad, I'm waiting for a vision." Now, we laugh, but how many of us respond that way when we're receiving counsel, direction and guidance? How many of us have already been given an understanding of general purposes that we're to be about, in being conformed to the image of Jesus, yet we are failing to be involved in those because we're waiting for a specific word on something that very likely is the devising of our own minds? "I'm waiting to hear from God." You're not going to hear from God, because it's not His will. Now, you'll hear a voice if you keep seeking one, but it will not be God's.

So how are we going to make discernment? How are we going to protect ourselves against these false messages and these intentions? The first thing we need to realize is what's in the heart of man. Now in us, the apostle said, in my flesh is what? No good thing. The heart is desperately wicked. It's deceitful and who can know it. We say, "Yeah, but praise God, I've been born again and I'm filled with the Spirit, praise God!" That doesn't negate those principles, because the moment we begin to move in a contrary direction to His Lordship, those principles of the sin that's in our members--and I'll tell you something, you're not any more sanctified than Paul was--are still there that we have to battle against.

Born again, Spirit filled, seeking to take up my cross daily and yet, you know what? I still have some ego I have to contend with. Anyone else here have an ego? Or do I have all of it? I have to deal with that, and I battle against pride and natural initiative. I think I'm what they call a "Type A" personality. God really works overtime with Type A's, but if He can get one of them going in the right direction, you can get some stuff done, man. Those people that are shakers and movers, you battle against thinking that everything you're involved in is God. Anybody here know what I'm talking about? Any of you Type B-pluses?

We realize that within us, look what it says, a man's heart devises his way, you see. We come up with some great ideas, man, and we think, "Praise God, this will really work for God. This is something that'll reach that neighbor. You know what we need to do? If we do this, this will reach the youth. We need to have a concert, with lights, strobes and all this stuff. Set our hair on fire and all of these things and scream and every once in a while say, "Jesus," and the crowds will come, praise God. Good idea." But I want to ask a question. How does that relate to, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel for it's the power of God unto salvation"? How does that relate to the fact that no one can come if Father doesn't draw them? So we come up with all these great ideas of how to help out God. All the while, praying for His will. "Lord we just want to do Your will. We want to be about Your purposes, Lord."

Then the heart of man devises his way. That word "devise" in the Hebrew just means to "invent" or "create." We plan; we begin to set up this plan as to how to fulfill this purpose. So a man's heart invents the path that we're on and, very frankly, God allows that. He allows our sanctified intellect to establish purposes that are in agreement with His general revelation, the Word of God. We shared with you Wednesday that so many people are wasting so much time praying about specifics and "Lord, where do you want me to be and what do You want me to do." We shared this very basic principle: if we become how God wants us, He can get us where He wants us.

The most important thing that you can do, if you're going to be looking for guidance, is first of all ask yourself, "Am I keeping the general revelation of God? Am I seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Am I [Listen!] humbling myself? Am I making sure, am I looking at my own heart and initiative and am I humbling myself, so that in due time, what? God might exalt me?" You see, once we deal with these general revelations, the will of God, the direction of the Holy Spirit and we know that we're in right relationship and we know that we're seeking the kingdom first and we're pursuing holiness, without which no man can see the Lord, then we're going to be able to have confidence that He will supernaturally put us on course, because look what the verse goes on to say.

"A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). Can you say, "Praise God!" for that? "The steps of the good man are ordered by the Lord." The Lord directs his steps. Get it in your notes, the word "directs." Vitally important; He sets right. You know what that tells me? That not every step I take is going to be right, but God will set it right. Amen? Not every step is going to be right, but God will set it right. If I'm a man after His own heart, if I'm one of those "good" men, the Scripture says the Lord orders the steps of the "good" man. That word "good" actually isn't even in the original. If "good" was in there, "good" isn't the right word, because the word that's been inserted in there, "good," is actually saying not morally right and upright, but it's talking about a hero or a valiant man. "The steps of the valiant man are ordered by the Lord." So we realize, then, that it's talking about the champions for God. Those, who have an intention, as Paul was fully extending himself to apprehend the prize, the high calling of God that's in Christ Jesus. Those are the people that are going to have their steps set right by God.

So we have this confidence in the sovereignty of God. As I'm walking and making decisions, I don't have to be fearful about every specific step that I take, because as my purposes are to do the will of God, He will set me right. Now, how will He do it? I don't know. The Scriptures give us a lot of different ways that God sets people on course. We gave you 12 on Wednesday night that we're going to talk about in the next couple of weeks. We talked about the specific revelation of the Word. We talked about audible voices, dreams, visions, trances, angels, and we're going to look at all those different things. I don't know how God's going to visit you and set you right, but the thing we need to get in our hearts as we start this study is, God will set us right, praise God. Amen? That's the confidence we have that the steps of the good man are ordered by the Lord, that the Lord sets us right in this pursuit. We devise these ways, believing that what we're doing is the will of God, but having absolute confidence that the Lord will direct our steps. He'll set them right.

Now, if that's the case--listen, this is very important--we talked about humility that means I have to be open to God to believe that maybe my decisions are not infallible. So many of us say, "I heard from God." We start in this direction and because of pride, we can't say, "I heard from God, but everything I'm doing isn't of God because He's revealed to me to take a step to the left and I haven't done it." You say, "Yeah, but if you do that, man, and you admit that you missed God, your children aren't going to have confidence in you, your wife isn't going to have confidence in you." I want to tell you something; I'm going to have confidence in someone that can say they were wrong. Amen? Because I don't know anyone who is right all the time. Now, you don't want to have to say that every decision. "Oh, boy, that was wrong." "Oh, man, I missed God over there." Dear Lord! But the ability, if He's going to set us right, what does that imply? In our decision-making, we're going to get off course, but He will set us right. We get a little uncomfortable, and say, "Ah man, you know, is that carnality? Does that mean I am missing God?"

Paul wanted to preach in Asia; made all the preparations to go to Asia, but what happened? The Holy Ghost forbid them. Now watch how He set him right. The Holy Ghost forbid them to go into Asia and at that particular time, look what He did. Then comes the Macedonian vision. How many of you are glad that Paul was up to having his steps set right? You know what happened, don't you? That's when the gospel came to Europe. That's why you and I are saved, praise God. The Holy Ghost forbid him. Forbid him to preach? Forbid him to spread the gospel, to do something good? Yes, because He had a specific purpose. Listen. God will interrupt your life for His specific purposes. If you believe in His sovereignty, if you believe in the Lord my Shepherd, who makes me to lie down in green pastures, who leads me beside the still waters, who restores my soul, then there's no fear, because God is going to set me right, praise God. God's actively involved in my life and He's going to direct our course. "Well, what happens if I take this step and I'm off course, and then all of a sudden, an angel doesn't appear, the Holy Ghost doesn't forbid me and I go another step off course and there's no audible voice and I go another step off course and no brothers or sisters come and reprove me and bring me the Word of the Lord that is profitable for reproof and instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect and thoroughly furnished into every work?

We saw the good news in Jonah, didn't we? Jonah did everything wrong and got where God wanted him. Does that give you assurance? How many of you are as dimwitted as Jonah? No, don't raise your hands. The guy did everything wrong! He totally got in the flesh. He was in direct opposition to God. He went down and bought a ticket to go the exact opposite direction that God told him to go. Talk about divine guidance! "Lord, what would You have me to do?" "I want you to go to Nineveh." "I'm going to Tarshish." The Lord spoke, "Go to Nineveh." "I'm going to Tarshish, man. Those people up in Nineveh they'll skin you." Literally. That's how they would torture their enemies; they would skin them alive. How many of you think you might be headed to Tarshish? "I'm going to Tarshish. I hear what God said, but I'll tell you what, bless God. I've tried to help those people. They're so hard-headed, dear God, they don't want to hear the gospel, just let them die." Now, none of us here are that hard-hearted, but many of us find ourselves in the opposite direction that we should be going. Not just one or two steps. Defying God! Rejecting the counsel! Going to Tarshish!

I've got some good news for you: God's got a fish just your size. Amen? I don't know what it is that will swallow you up, but I guarantee you, it'll have something to do with pulling down the idols in your life. How He chooses to do it, I don't know. It'll have to do with breaking your self-will. As we sang the song this morning and in one of the utterances that came forth, it talked about the still small voice of the Lord. You want to know why so many of us are not having guidance today and hearing from the Word? Because our lives are way too noisy. God needs to come and swallow up some of your cell phones. We're way too busy. Our lives are way too noisy. We need to get still before God. I don't know what kind of fish it's going to be, but it'll deal with your self-will. It'll deal with the idols in your life. It'll deal with, ultimately, the little foxes that ultimately begin to destroy the vine. The things that we don't see at first, but then the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of things begin to choke the Word of God out of our lives and God has to set us free. Whatever it takes. Aren't you glad that He will come and set you free, praise God? Whatever it takes, He'll put you back on course. Jonah did everything wrong and God spit him right up into the will of God. Got his attention and a man's heart devise his way, but the Lord directs his steps. He'll set you right. Oh, beloved, if you can get that confidence down in your heart this morning. The assurance that God is going to set us right. That He that has begun that good work in you, He's going to finish it, praise God. He keeps that that we've committed unto Him against the day. So that directive comes to us.

Look over at the 19^th Chapter of Proverbs. We find another statement along these lines in verse 21. Actually, let's begin reading in verse 16. "He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; [obedience, the more sure word] but he that despiseth his ways [ultimately and refuses the counsel of God] shall die. He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying." Verse 20, "Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. There are many devices in a man's heart..." That word "devices" in the Hebrew means "projects." Any of you know what I'm talking about? How many of you have a project? You have a goal you're pursuing on the job, a position that you're trying to achieve. There's a certain status that you want to reach in society.

We look around us, you know, and we see people that are enjoying natural affluence, ease and comfort. I think it's interesting, I've heard it numerous times and it's an interesting thing. Whether we're out driving on the road, or at some of the events that we've been to and I've heard this so many times and it's interesting when you apply the thought process. People are sitting there and they're getting frustrated. Man, there's traffic and here it is Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock and you can't go anywhere! You get to the place you're going and it's crowded and here's the statement, "Doesn't anybody work anymore?" How many of you have heard someone say that? How many of you have said that? Why weren't you working? We're living in this environment of affluence and, you know, people now having their free will. So many jobs you can work at home, set your own hours just so long as you get those two papers clipped together. You know, that's fine. That's a day's work. So we find people are setting their own courses. It's becoming natural. It's becoming something we expect to do. So we want to rise up to that position and we want to reach whatever goal it is. We have these projects. It says that this is what is within a man's heart.

"...nevertheless [the passage goes on to say, it's] the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand" (verse 21). It's the counsel of the Lord that shall stand. Listen, don't go out, set up your own project and try to put God's name on it. Jesus is not your co-pilot. He is Lord. Amen? You know, these people that say, "Jesus is my co-pilot." "Me and the Big Guy upstairs." Who do you think you are? People's commonness as they approach God. I want you to understand that the men who knew Him best, when they just got a glimpse of His glory, fell at His feet as dead. A lot of why people aren't receiving guidance today is because of this commonness in the relationship they have with God. They think God is going to come partner up with them and bless them that He's obligated by certain covenant promises. "God is obligated to do what I expect Him to do." I want to tell you something, God is obligated to be who He is and that's all He's obligated to. It's very important that we don't misunderstand how our direction has to be a complete dependence upon the sovereignty of God. We don't set courses that God comes and rubber-stamps because we say, "In the name of Jesus." So it's so important, beloved, that we realize that though we're devising certain things in our own hearts, God is ultimately going to set us on the eternal purposes and course for which He came to seek and save that which was lost. That's why we're here. That's why we can draw upon the power of God to continue to bring forth this message that we freely received, we're to freely give it.

I shared a quote out of one of Tozer's books the other evening that is so applicable to what we're talking about. How many of us, you know, we seem to think our first responsibility is soul winning. "We've got to reach souls!" I love Tozer's quote, he says our first responsibility is not to preach the gospel, but to be worthy to preach the gospel. (Needed: A Reformation Within The Church, A.W. Tozer " Our first responsibility is communion with Father, fellowship with Him, the partaking of His image and His likeness. The humbling of ourselves in realizing the great gift that we've received, because we didn't love Him. He first loved us. We didn't seek Him; He sought us. He called us. He ordained us to go forth, bear fruit and that our fruit should remain. So many people want to go out and have this great privilege of calling God. "Lord I've started this project, now I'm calling You into my ministry." So we realize that these passages concerning sovereignty have to become the foundation before we can have proper Biblical guidance, spiritual guidance. If we're under the misconception that somehow God is going to endorse our activities, somehow we can become so spiritual that everything we do is of God, we're not needing our course set back into the straight and narrow, that we never make a mistake by trying to go to Asia when he wants us to go Macedonia, then we'll never really know the visitation of God. But, if we'll humble ourselves, even though everything externally seems to be out of order, He'll get Jonah where He needs him to be, praise God. You see, Jonah's like the man that said, "I'm not going," and then repented and went. As opposed to those that always say, "Oh, yeah, praise God. Whatever the Lord says, I'll do," and not do it. Know your heart. Know the tendencies that are in man. The original sin, it's what we battle every day: self will, and pride. When we understand that works in us, it's going to cause us to be able to humble ourselves that we can hear more clearly from Father.

Let's look at one more passage here in Proverbs. Look over at Proverbs 20, verse 24. "Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?" Lean not to your own understanding. You see, many times our ways are being directed by the Lord and we don't understand. Like Abraham, we're going not knowing where we're going. Most people think that guidance is knowing what's going on; it's not. Guidance is going. Guidance is obedience. How can you know it? I don't understand a lot of what God's doing. I want to tell you something; this will help you out; listen. If you understand the whole plan, it's probably yours. How can a man know the ways of the Lord? His ways are above our ways. You're not going to be able to comprehend. You're not going to know all of the subtle nuances that are taking place. You don't know why that happened, "I don't know why I said that, I don't know why I chose to do that. I don't understand. I just know that I'm in God's way." "How do you know?" "Because He continually puts me on right path and that's the confidence I have in Him." Therefore, spiritual guidance--This will seem like an obvious statement. Spiritual guidance, divine guidance, has to be solely in the realm of faith. Most of us, though we boast about faith, don't really like it. We're not comfortable walking by faith and instead we prefer sight. It's very unnatural to us, but without faith, it's what? Impossible to please God. It's impossible to be on the course that God intends for our lives.

You're not going to understand everything that's taking place in your life as the Spirit is leading you. We walk by faith and not by sight. So we have confidence in what? The Lord my Shepherd. We're driving down the freeway and we're reading all the signs, Exit 21, Burger King. "Ah, this has to be God, because He set a table before me in the presence of my enemies." Looking for the Lord's will. "Where we going to stay tonight?" I'll tell you where you're going to stay tonight, green pastures. "Hallelujah!" Still waters. "Glory to God." Valley of the shadow of death. "Who said that?" That means you took an exit into Southeast. What does it matter where you're staying if the Lord's staying with you? Amen? He directs our path. The Lord is my Shepherd.

Until we come to the sovereignty of God and we understand that all things work for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose. If we can't get there, we're not in faith. So, it's so important for us to get these principles down and to begin to have confidence in our Heavenly Father that where I find myself today is in the perfect will of God. "It can't be the perfect will; I still have these vices in my life; these carnal appetites in my life. This can't be the perfect will of God." This is the perfect will of God for you, right where you are today. "Yeah, but I should be praying more, and I should study more and I should have memorized, you know, the New Testament by now." Can I ask you a question? Who put you under that standard? What's the motivation? Pride? Works? Memorizing the New Testament is a very good thing; obeying It is better. Amen? You see, memorizing is something you can do in the natural. Obeying is something you can only do in the Spirit. What's your confidence in, the things you can do or the things God's doing?

So we understand that as we're walking in the Spirit and this divine guidance, it's going to take us away from the natural. It's going to make us depend in the supernatural and the spiritual realm. There is no comfort in the natural as you're walking in the Spirit. Now don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I'm not saying you're in turmoil, because He keeps us in perfect peace whose minds are stayed upon Him. "Peace I give unto you, not as the world gives." Talking about the natural. See, the natural mind, until it can figure it out, is never happy. That's why you get guys like R.C. Sproul, who are on the verge of a nervous breakdown at all times. Not manifesting itself. I'm not talking about irrational behavior; I'm just talking about the fact that their minds can't rest. You know, they finally come to that place; we've talked about it, trying to understand God. They get to this aspect of sovereignty. Then, you have the Calvinists, who say God is absolutely, totally sovereign and therefore, you know, in the establishing of His will, it is irrefutable. Amen. Amen. Amen. Giving and allowing no free moral agency to man, they have to then conclude that since man is no free moral agent, since no creature has ever had any free moral agency, then everything that happens originates in God. I have trouble with that, because you need to then explain to me the origin of sin. R.C. will go all the way to that point and go [Exhibiting total exasperation!] He can't let it come out of his mouth, so he must be born again. An intellectual giant in ignorance of his Father. Sovereignty. God turns all things to good to those that love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Nothing operates outside of the scope of His majesty and His omnipotence and His omniscience. God sovereignly chose to make you a free moral agent. You can, just like Jonah, make choices to move, but God and His sovereignty will change and move Heaven and earth, if necessary, to put you back into His eternal purposes. Lean not to your own understanding. In all of your ways, acknowledge God and He will direct your path.

Let's finish up with this for this morning's sessions and we'll pick it back up this evening. When we see the steps of the good man, then, being ordered of the Lord and the delighting in the way. Now that "delighting," you can understand it two different ways. Number one, I as a Spirit filled man, obedient to the Lord, I'm delighting in the way God is taking me. Therefore, since I'm delighting in this path, guess what? In the midst of this thing, I can count it all joy when I fall into diverse temptations. Knowing this that the trying of my faith works patience and if I let patience have its perfect work, let it work that you might be perfect, entire, lacking or wanting nothing that's eternally necessary to you in finishing this course. Do you delight in the way of the Lord? "I delight in the green pastures. I delight in the still waters. I really like that banquet table in the presence of my enemies! I love seeing my enemies out there trying to kill me and I'm just sitting back and enjoying my feast, praise God. A full gospel preacher." Valley of the shadow, do you delight in that? Can you lift up your hands and worship in the presence of your enemies? Many are they that rise up against me, many are they that say of my soul, there is no help for him in God, but thou oh Lord are a shield to me, my glory and the lifter of my head, praise God. God's for me, who can be against me? It doesn't matter what course I'm on, God's for me. Who can be against me? Now, it's how you perceive this also. God's for me! Or, God's for me! How big are you in this thing? You see, many of the promises, now, focus on the glory and purpose of man instead of the glory of God. I want to tell you something: if you humble yourself, God is working in you, God is for you. God is for God. "Who are You for, us or them?" "No." God's for God and we have the privilege of serving in His kingdom and being used as an instrument of His righteousness. So, it's very important that we see these principles.

Proverbs 11, and we'll finish with this. Proverbs 11, verse 3. We have a long time in this study. Hopefully we will be able to get to some practical things that will cause you to walk in peace. One of the things we want to try to do in this teaching is to get you away from the fallacy of looking to and seeking the spectacular and missing the supernatural. Because, very frankly, most of us here are not going to have audible voices, visions, angelic visitations. The majority of your life is going to be dictated by the more sure word of prophecy as you're just about being sanctified, being obedient; walking in what you know to do in pursuing Christ-likeness and having absolute confidence and rest that God is setting you on course. Most of you will be directed in your lives at one point by parents, at another point by a husband. In many points by spiritual overseers.

You want to know what one of the biggest problems is in most churches? It's that very thing. People that are seated in the congregation believe they have to hear from God to give affirmation to the man of God. If you're the one that's going to have all the spectacular visitations, then why didn't God place you? "Well, maybe God didn't put them there." Maybe you need to take that up with God. You mean to tell me that guy slipped in past the sovereignty of God? "Yeah, but maybe it's not the Word of the Lord." His sheep know His voice and another they will not follow. There's nothing that says you have to follow extra-Biblical revelation, non-Biblical principles. Children don't have to obey their parents who are asking them to go contrary to the Word. Wives do not have to submit to their husbands who are causing them to go contrary to the Word. But, you see, what happens is, we begin to think there's this certain visitation that each one of us should experience. Because of that we become deceived and we do have these visitations. They're just not of God. God does not lead from the bottom up. There are exceptions, "A child will guide them," and these different areas. You need to find the basic principles, walk within those divine orders and it'll make you safe in spiritual guidance. We'll deal with that in more specifics as we talk about our counselors.

I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but let me just help you out with this. In Acts, Chapter 10. I'll give you one of the great examples, Cornelius. A man of God. Known in the heavens. Prays to God. Has favor of the Lord. God speaks to him. Angels appear to him. He sends for Peter; now, watch. The guy's hearing audible voices, and having angels show up, and listen to what they say. "And Peter will come and tell you what to do." Interesting isn't it? So, what do you think is the most authoritative way of guidance, then? Angels, voices, or God's messengers and gifts that He's put in His church? It's interesting as you study it out and see how God speaks to people and the responsibility we have to walk within the order that He's established.

Proverbs 11. You find that yet? Chapter 11, verses 3 - 5, let's finish with this. "The integrity of the upright shall guide them..." One of the things we need to understand is, if we're going to be led by Holy Spirit, we need to become men and women of integrity. Now, there's a very interesting rendering for this word "integrity" that I think we have to grab hold of. "Innocence." You know, we talk about how innocent the children are. You know, this is such an innocent little child or whatever. Innocence is an attitude of purity and humility. The innocence of the upright shall guide them. As our motives are pure, as our egos are in check and we're humbling ourselves, we don't assume we know. Therefore, we seek the wisdom of the multitude of counselors. We listen to those that are over us in the Lord: husbands, parents, etc. As we become humble and that individual of integrity, then God begins to order our steps. We're beginning to be confident that our steps will not slide. The integrity of the upright. That word "upright" means pure or perfect. "Perfect" being whole or mature. So along with maturity comes guidance. In other words--listen--maturity and humility go hand in hand. Maturity and holiness. We're talking about maturity, growing up in the Lord. Humility, submission and obedience are all derivatives of maturity. We have the wrong concept. Maturity being able to stand alone, praise God. Have assurance in our own understanding, application and abilities. He says very clearly that the integrity of the upright is what guides 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." So we see the necessity, then, of each one of us who are in right standing with God, who have covenant, to realize there needs to be the maturing in this of humility, of innocence, that assures God, then, ordering our steps. We devise it in our hearts, and God sets us right. The power and authority of our Father cannot be thwarted. He works all things after the counsel of His own will.

Father, we thank You for Your Word this morning and we ask that, as we continue in this study, we would have ears to hear what Your Spirit would say. Father, we're not interested in just learning principles; we want to get this down to our daily lives. We want the reality, Father, of every young person in here to rest and be in absolute confidence that they've heard from God when they've heard from their dads. We want every wife in here to be absolutely at peace that they've heard from God when they've heard from their husbands. You have established the order. The supernatural spectacular specific visitations were limited to events of magnitude that had to do with preserving nations, covenant principles and establishing of the kingdom. They were not for everyday function in life. You've set the order. It is the will of God and it is the direction of God to: obey your parents, to submit to your husbands, to know those that labor among you and are over you in the Lord, to seek the multitude of counsel, to hear the more sure word of prophecy. Do we have enough integrity for that? Is there enough faith in Your sovereignty? Is there enough innocence to rest in the Fatherhood of our Shepherd? That becomes the real issue. Work it in our hearts, Father, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord this morning. As Gary plays for us and we take a moment here, let the Holy Spirit make these principles real to your heart. Acts Chapter 10 is full of voices, trances, angels, the spectacular, and specifics. People's names being revealed; addresses, where to find this person. "Here's his name. Here's what you'll find him doing." And we want to be led like that. Beloved, that was the establishing of the Word of God to the gentiles. It was a pretty big deal. Whether you buy a Ford or Chevy isn't that big of a deal. Don't expect angels, voices, or visions. We take these events of magnitude and we try to apply them to every area of our lives, and God has given very clear understanding of how we're directed in those areas. The everyday essentials of hearing from God. They're not always spectacular, but they are always supernatural. Do you believe your God is able, in His sovereignty, to set you right to establish His will? Can you rest in that? That's the walk of the Spirit. "I don't understand, but I obey." That's pleasing to God.

Let's sing this together and just rejoice in His presence and His working in our lives. Thank You, Father. Thank You, Father. "Lord, You are so precious to me..." Just thank Him for His love this morning. Thank Him for the ordering of your steps. Thank Him that while you were a sinner, He loved you and He sought you out! Now He calls you His own, praise God. He bought you with a price, His own precious blood, and there is no one that can pluck you out of His hand, praise God. We rest in Your love, Father, and we thank You for the finishing of that that You've begun in us that You might be glorified; that You, Jesus, would surely be all in all. We'll give You the praise, Father, we'll give You all the glory, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah!

Before you go, turn to someone next to you and say, "The Lord will set you straight, praise God!" Amen. Go in peace. God's love go with you.

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