Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Our Father's Gift Pt.2

Something that we can constantly keep our eye on; it's an area that really spills over into the subject that we're dealing with right now in being able to hear the voice of the Spirit and walking with an understanding of God's purposes and order in our lives. Go back--I think it's probably one of the more important teachings we've had in recent years--just go back and keep making yourself familiar with the notes over those twelve sessions. [How Great is the Darkness - Oct. - Nov. 2003] There is no greater danger than self-deception. There is no greater darkness, as we saw in the Scriptures, than the moment you begin to find yourself drawing back a little bit and wanting to isolate. It's a danger sign. When your first response is to justify and to make excuses, it's a danger sign. When you begin to be overly critical of people that are "too radical" in their serving God, it's a danger sign. When you're very confident that you're probably the only one who knows the truth, it's a danger sign. As you go back over all of those different areas, just keep yourself familiar, remain teachable, allow yourself to be humbled by the Spirit of God and realize that, most likely, you're the man. If we can walk in that kind of humility, then there is some safety for us and we can be able to rejoice in the good things that Father is doing.

Let's go ahead a pick up where we were this morning. We've got about twenty-five minutes or so, and I want to go back and emphasize and begin to lay some foundation principles of one of the major truths. Turn to the gospel of John. I want to deal with this one aspect of being able to hear the voice of God in light of the fact that that voice will always glorify Jesus. That voice will always speak in absolute agreement--now listen--with obvious biblical principles. It's not obscure, not something you have to interpret; it's not something that one church or one little organization may have revelation on, but obvious biblical principles. The Spirit of Truth will always speak clear biblical principles that even the youngest and most innocent, inexperienced, can understand, so that when there's a choice against it, it doesn't have anything to do with understanding. "I don't understand that. I haven't been studying the Bible for thirty years." There are spiritual principles that even the youngest of those that have embraced spiritual life can comprehend. That's what John 16 is talking about.

Turn over to John 16, and let's look at a couple of principles in these few minutes that we have. As we're looking at this, here is basically what we want to contrast. You can even apply it to the skit that we've seen tonight. When someone comes to you with counsel, when someone comes to you with a revelation of yourself, when there is a voice that speaks, whether it's a brother or sister, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and it's contrary to what you want to hear, want to do, do you have the capacity, by being regenerated, to stop, silence yourself, humble yourself, and be able to say, "Lord, not my will, Thy will be done"? Until we can do that, we will not hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. He won't even bother to speak to us. It's important that we grab hold of those principles. John, chapter 16, take a look at this for just a moment, some passages that we're all very familiar with (you can go back actually to the 15th chapter, verse 26). "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth...." In the next couple of sessions when we make reference to the Holy Spirit, let that phrase be predominant in your thinking: the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit that speaks the Word. Now contrast the Spirit of Truth with the other kingdom whose lord is the father of lies. I want to tell you something. The liar will tell you whatever you want to hear, so that voice that always agrees with you is most likely not the Spirit of Truth. That spirit that tells you that you're greater than you really are and gives you that false image and tells you that it's acceptable to pursue the things of this world, the course of this world, the god of this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and to justify it, as we saw in the skit tonight, "Because everybody's doing it. I'm better than so-and-so." It's the father of lies. We need to see these two kingdoms and the warfare that's constantly going on in our lives. We're living in a society where we've been deluded. We've been told so many lies about ourselves--more gold stars, everybody gets a ticker tape parade--that we've really become incapable of dealing with the truth, of knowing the truth when it's spoken.

There's a program on TV and I hadn't seen it. I saw the last couple of episodes last year, but I hadn't seen the beginning. When we were on vacation, my brother said, "You've got to see this thing." He said, "You won't believe it." We sat down when we were out at Lake Tahoe, when my brother and his wife were visiting, and we watched the first couple of episodes of American Idol. What a study in deception! Many of you are laughing, but it's not about singing. Jeff told me about the meeting with young adults on relationships. Some of the reports I got back, I want to tell you, many of you that have sat in here service after service are just as deceived as those people on American Idol, the way you see yourself and how you just can't come to grips with why everybody else is incapable of seeing this "gift" to the world. The inability to deal with truth will keep you in darkness the rest of your life. You're going to believe the lies of Satan, and if you believe them beginning in the area of who you are, you're never going to be able to be made what God wants you to be. Beloved, we sit there and we laugh and we see these people that get up and make absolute fools out of themselves. Three professionals say, "You stink!" And they say, "That's your opinion. My friends say I'm great." The one that I thought was classic is the guy goes down to get people to defend him. He brings people in and this one guy says, "Do you think the guy can sing?" The guy says, "Yeah, I think he's great! He sings better than me. Now, I'm tone deaf...." I love that, because that's where people live in the natural. This is on the extreme side in some cases, but the question we have to ask ourselves tonight is: are we capable of hearing the truth about ourselves? Are we capable of hearing the truth? If we're not, then we won't hear anything from the Spirit of Truth, because that's all He speaks, and He won't bother to speak to those who refuse to hear.

It's so important that we begin to open ourselves up to the reality that God wants to reveal our hearts to us, so that He can make us into the creatures that He wants us to be. He's so loving. He's so patient. He is that Father that we spoke of in the first session, who, like an earthly father, He pities His children. He knows that we're just dust. God knows, but the problem is, we don't. I wasn't necessarily going to speak toward this, but just as Jeff was relating some of the things--it's an amazing thing. There were the comments that were made in the relationship thing. There were statements being made about judging brothers and sisters as being people who were aloof and thinking they are better than everybody else. Those are some dangerous accusations to make just because you're not getting the attention you think you deserve; to call a brother or sister a respecter of persons, accusing them of sinning, just because you're not getting what you think you deserve. As we relate it to that, let me ask you a question, just for some of the young adults. There seems to be in so many areas, and naturally so, there's a desire to know who possibly is a life mate for me. We understand that. It's natural. There's nothing abnormal about that desire to have a partner, to be able to share your life. The Lord says it's not good for man to be alone. In this area, that's one of the most important areas in each of your lives. That decision of who's going to become your life partner is the second most important decision you'll ever make.

Can I ask you a question this evening? Are you even capable of hearing the Holy Spirit on that subject, or is your mind made up? Are you deluded? Are you so influenced by the world's methods and standards? Are you so convinced that your perception of yourself.... Can you even consider that maybe your perception of yourself is not correct? Maybe you are (and I'll go way back for Harry) the "cat's meow." How about "cool"? How about (I'm trying to think about what's coming up to contemporary. Since we're talking about guys, we can say "dog," huh?) We're talking about the most important decision you'll ever make, hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit as it pertains to a life's mate, and are you capable of hearing the Spirit of Truth?

What makes us capable? What will allow us to hear the Lord's ordering of our steps? The comment was made by someone that we said, "Don't make a list. Just let God order your steps." One of the people responded, "Yeah, I heard about all that list stuff and how it's supposed to be on character. But how come all the good-looking people are gone?" Are they? Are all of them gone? What is this comment being based upon? "Well, not all of them. I'm one left and I'm looking for somebody." "You ain't all that." To begin to draw these kinds of assumptions is to draw an observation about yourself that maybe you would want some counsel. Maybe if you're wrestling with some of these things you would want some counsel. Can I suggest something to you? If any of you have seen that American Idol thing, the one guy that's on there is a pussycat. You want to know the truth? Come and sit down and I'll tell you about yourself. Call and make an appointment. We'll meet with you on Tuesday, myself and all the Pastors. We will tell you who you really are, if you want to know, and there will be no Paula there to bail you out.

Now the point I'm making is this. How can we ever hear the voice of God if we don't want to know the truth? Turn to Kings; let me show you what I'm talking about. How will we ever hear, how will we ever know what God is really doing in our lives if we're not ready to hear the truth? 1 Kings 22:7, "And Jehoshaphat said, [I really want to know the will of God, can we, verse 5, inquire at the Word of the Lord? We're getting ready to do something important. We need to hear what God has to say about this thing in my life. You know, like getting married, finding a life's mate, surrendering my life to go to Africa, surrendering my life to serve in the nursery in Sterling.] Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might enquire of him?"

Now here's what's interesting. "Yeah, we've got boatloads of prophets, man. There are people hanging their shield on every corner. "Prophet." They'll tell you what you want to hear, or they'll tell you the obvious." I saw a commercial. I don't even know what the commercial is about, but I saw it this afternoon. It was great! This woman is sitting at a crystal ball. The guy is across from her, and she says, "You have on a blue corduroy shirt. It's raining outside. You appear frustrated. You're now getting angry. You're leaving." It goes on to something else, and she says, "Man, I'm good." Tell me something I don't know. I love the fact that all the tarot card readers and the fortune tellers and the ones that can tell the future, and they have their little booths on the boardwalk, and different places right next to a casino. They're going to tell you the future, and they're in this little dump? If you know something, go mark the right ticket. There's One who knows, who's trying to talk to you. There's a person who really knows your future, what you need to be doing, who you need to be with, what will bring most glory to Him. Are you ready for the truth? (One of the great scenes in a movie, as Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson are in the courtroom, [and Nicholson] screams out, "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!" Dealing with the murder at Guantanamo Bay.) Can you? "Isn't there a prophet?" "Yeah, there are tons of them." There are people that put themselves forth as prophets in churches all over this country. There are prophets and counselors that stand beside those people that make fools out of themselves and say, "Oh, you can sing. You're great!"

"And the king of Israel [responded and] said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah...: but I hate him; [verse 8] for he [never prophesies] good concerning me...." Do you want to know the truth, or do you want to hear something good about yourself? If you're going to get quiet before God and hear what the Spirit has to say about your life for eternity, then you're going to have to deal with some things that are pretty brutal, because dying is ugly. To walk in the spirit is to die daily to self. Dying hurts. It's ugly. It's not pleasant to look upon and it's a daily process for the man that's going to walk in the spirit, that's going to hear the voice of God, because it will speak always truth and not always what's good about you. If we're going to hear the voice of the Lord, if we're going to walk in the spirit, then we've got to be ready. We've got to be hungry for the truth.

The Scripture goes on and it tells us here: "And the king of Israel [verse 10] and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah [came and] made him horns of iron: and he said, [So shall you drive out] the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. And all the prophets [verse 12] prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hand. And the messenger [had gone forth to find] Micaiah [he said, Listen, all the] prophets declare good [they're all of one mind, all of] ...one mouth [they all agree]: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them.... And Micaiah said, [verse 14] As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak." How many of you want somebody like that in your life? Here you are, getting ready to make a decision that can affect your life and the lives of those that are around you. The world's system and the father of lies are telling you what you want to hear. (Telling you that you can sing. Telling you that you're pretty.) "So he came to the king. [And he says,] Go, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver [you. Now look at it. This is a very important principle.] And the king said unto him, [verse 16] How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord?"

Most of us know we're believing a lie, but we want to believe it. We know it's not the truth, but we want to believe it. Because of that, it becomes truth. You can tell a story so many times that it becomes true to you. Do any of you remember stories from when you were little? You've heard it told so many times that you thought you were there? Has anybody ever had that happen to them? Anybody? I have. You've heard it so many times, it's like you saw it. You were there. What do you believe to be true this evening? Do you want to know the truth? I've done an interesting thing in recent years, because this very thing that I was talking about, I had observed it on a couple of occasions. Greer actually saw me do this. I've been doing it for a couple of years. When I was able to get with my family, with my grandmother and my mother and them, and we were sitting around, I'd begin to ask. "Do you remember this story?" "Yeah." "Did it really happen that way?" Because some of us, when it happened more than ten years ago, have a tendency not to remember, and when it's 20 and 30 and 40 years and more.... The thing that caused me to start asking those questions was that I just want to know the truth about everything, anything that would pertain to my life. I want to know whether it's real or not, whether it's true, even trivial things. How jealous are you for the truth? It will make you free.

As we begin to look at these principles, look what happens. He says, "Listen, tell me the truth. You're not telling me the truth." [Micaiah] says, "Do you want the truth?" He begins to relate to him the destruction that's going to come to them. "Now watch, here's what's going to happen to you." Those of you, listen to me very clearly, and you know who you are that have battled in this way, those of us that want to be flattered, those of us who refuse to hear anything that speaks contrary to our own self-imposed image. "And the Lord said, [verse 20] Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his [counselors, his friends, the people that will tell him what he wants to hear]." There is nothing more dangerous than believing a lie about yourself and surrounding yourself with people who will support that lie. You'll never be able to know the truth. You'll never be able to be free. "And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so."

We see, then, this principle. Ezekiel speaks in another manner of some of the same dangers. Turn to the book of Ezekiel for just a moment, a passage that some of us are familiar with. Ezekiel 13:1. The prophet speaks and says, "And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord." What we're dealing with here are people--whether it's prophets speaking to us, us speaking to ourselves, us hearing this inner voice--because the fact of the matter is, most of us are confident that the greatest truth in the universe is what we sense in our hearts, what we believe God is speaking to us. "This is God." Why do you hold so strongly to that voice being God? Why are you not open to it not being God? If you're jealous for the truth, you won't be so defensive that this is God. "This is God!" Maybe it's not. "Hey, if it's not, I want to know." Amen? What are we doing holding on to that so vehemently? Because if this isn't true, what about all those other things that I've convinced myself of?

So he speaks and he says, "...prophesy against... [those] ...that prophesy [lies. Look at verse 2. Who] ...prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, [Oh, beloved,] that follow their own spirit, [their own inclinations, this perception that they have of truth] and have seen nothing!" They say they've heard. They've heard nothing. They've seen nothing. It's all been self-induced. As we build these false images of ourselves, of our children, of our marriages, as we shroud personal ambition with terms of biblical character, we say it's for God, and it's for ourselves. We've seen nothing. How can we know that voice, when it's the voice of truth, and we've chosen to believe a lie? All the while, the Spirit of God is there, the Comforter wanting to speak to us, the paraclete, the Greek word, the one who's come alongside to assist you and to give ballast to your life, that still, small voice that says, "This is the way." But, we've already made a way and we're defending it.

I was sharing with Jeff concerning some of the young adults and the list thing and I said, "You know, really, there's nothing wrong with having a list, if you've got the right items at the top. If the right items are at the top, the rest are going to fall off. They're going to be meaningless." What do you have at the top of your list, if you have one? Some of you would say, "They need to be good looking," because that's what you're lusting for. Others would say, "Rich." Some of us would say, "Good looking and rich." I mean, why settle? If you're going to make a list, why settle? The bad news is that you're not on anybody's list. You can make all the lists you want. You need to get on a list. Okay? You will never get on the list of anybody who's credible until you learn how to die.

What are you hearing? Who are you? All of the personal lust--because let me tell you something, all these things we're talking about--do you want to know what category it fits into? Lust of the eye, lust of the flesh, pride of life. Get it off your list. That's not of the Father. It's not of the kingdom. It's of the world. It's of the father of lies. It's of the enemy of God. You can wrap it any way you want. You can try to defend it, but if that's what you're hearing that God has for you, if that is so prominent and so strong that you know that's what God wants for you, then you are hearing the voice of the father of lies and believing it's the voice of God and you're in trouble. Somebody say, "Amen" or "Oh me." It's the truth. As you read into John 16, you're going to see that what the Holy Ghost is saying glorifies Jesus. It doesn't satisfy your lusts. You say, "Yeah, that's easy for you to say, Pastor. You've had it pretty good." I've never chosen. God has done all my selecting. God has selected my life's mates. God has selected my vocation. God has selected my position in life. The Lord has given. The Lord has taken. Blessed be the name of the Lord. The bottom line is: are you going to trust God with your life or not?

Now you can believe me or not believe me. You can call me a liar if you want. I chose to trust God. What are you going to do? You can have what you want and it will come out of your nose, many times, just as the quail did. "Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit...." Verse 6. "They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word." In other words, self-fulfilled prophecies. They've sold others on the fact that this is the voice of God. They've convinced others that this is what God is doing. "This is what God wants you to do. Here's what we should be doing. I think this is what...." They've convinced others, and it comes to pass. "See, God was in it." I want you to see what the Spirit says. They've seen vanity and "...a lying divination [witchcraft], whereas ye say, The Lord saith it...."

Most of us will justify our actions--because we're Christians, after all--by saying, "The Lord said. I believe the Lord is leading me." Self-willed, rebellious children saying this is what Father told me to do. "And the Lord has not said." When we begin to look at this principle as to whether or not we're going to be able to hear the voice of God, we've got to ask ourselves that basic question. Do I want to know the truth? Do you want to know the truth? ("YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!" Whoa, sorry about that.)

"Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies... [Verse 8. You don't want this in your life, beloved.] ...I am against you, saith the Lord God." When you choose the voice of darkness, the father of lies, God becomes your enemy. When you've thumbed your nose at what God is doing in your life, when you demand on keeping control of your life and God meeting your standards, and God doing it your way, and God fulfilling your vision--it's about a change of heart. Hey, I'm not stupid. "Hey, I saw your wife the other day. She sure is ugly." "Yeah, but she can cook." "Good looking and rich." We already talked about that this morning. "If I had my choice, that's what I'm going for." Why? "Because we're talking about me here." I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with what you.... You know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it? Beauty is only skin deep. Ugly goes clear to the bone. Who determines? I mean, if you go to Samoa, baby, we're going to have to glue three or four of you together to make a woman! You wouldn't stand a chance. They'd look at you and they'd be afraid. You're so skinny, you're knees banging together, they're afraid you'd start a fire with sparks. They're not interested in that. They want a woman with some meat! So, who's beautiful? The point I'm making is that whatever it is that you perceive [beauty] to be, God is not going to say, "Well, since that's what he wants, he ain't getting that!" Your Father isn't that way. Father is not trying to make life tough on you, but He is trying to make you into His image. Okay?

Where is your treasure? Where is the beauty? It's not physical. I happen to catch a glimpse of an article--one of the old articles--as I was scanning through some just the other day. I was talking about Janet at that time. She was a very beautiful young lady. In her 20s, she was a fox, man. Good looking. I was lying next to her in the bed and she started crying. I said, "What's wrong?" She said, "Look at me." Scars on her body, the ostomy pouch; she looked 100 years old as her body was being torn up by that cancer. She said, "Look at me." I said, "I can't see you. Jesus is in the way." What's important? The physical can go away. What kind of treasure are you going to let God give you? It won't rust. It can't be corrupted. A beauty that the thief can't steal, or are you going to settle for that which can be defiled, destroyed, mutilated. You need to reprioritize your treasures so you can hear the Spirit of Truth.

We'll end with this one. Chapter 14, the problem is, Ezekiel, verse 3: "...these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their [sin] before their face...." Tell them don't even bother to come to me. Don't even come and ask. Drop all of this religious nonsense that you're holding on to. Just pack up your stuff and leave. Why bother? Why play the game? Why live for yourself? Why live by the world's standards? Why live under the auspices of the father of lies, the god of this world and waste your time here? If you're going to do it, go do it right. If you're going to be in the world, go be in the world. Why bother, God says, of even coming? He continues in verse 4. "Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his [sin] before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; [In other words, I will make sure that you hear exactly what you want to hear and that you stay in deception and in death. I, the Lord, will see to it.] That I may take the house of Israel in their own [craftiness] heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols." The images they have of themselves, of the ambitions they've set, the priorities that are not eternal. God says, "That's what you want? I'll see to it that's what you get." If we're going to hear the Spirit of Truth, then we need to be man and woman enough to hear the truth and it will set you free.

Father, we thank You for Your Word and we just ask, as the people of light, that You would illuminate our hearts. There is nothing easy about dying and yet Your grace is sufficient. Unless we fall into the ground and die, we'll never be resurrected and produce fruit that remains. Until these personal ambitions die, until these false illusions of who we are, this rose garden mentality, and the adolescent ignorance of what life is really all about is dealt with, then you will just stay under the chastening hand of the Lord, because He loves you. He'll bring you through it, most of you, but it's going to be the hard way, or you can listen to your counselors and you can ask people--not your friends, not the tone-deaf ones--"Who am I? What am I? Help me to see myself. I want to be able to hear the voice of God. I want to hear the prophet of God and not the false prophets of men." Give me a choice and I'll take Micaiah every time. Where are you tonight? Which camp?

Let's stand before the Lord tonight. As Gary plays for us, we'll take just a moment. How can you know the truth when you're so discontent, when Jesus doesn't satisfy you? What do you want to hear that will satisfy you? What do you think will satisfy you if Jesus doesn't? Do you think your goals, do you think your little dreams, do you think it's that person or that place? That's the voice of the father of lies. Nothing that is said will convince anybody who doesn't have a heart for the truth. I'm talking to you that have an appetite to say, "Man, I want to do it." Some of you don't even have an intention to do it. There are some of you right now, young people, who are saying, "Pastor, you don't know what you're talking about. I know what God has spoken to me. I mean after all, what do you know about life? What do you know about the voice of the Spirit of God? I've heard. I know." I'm not talking to you, Ahab.

If you want to hear the voice of God, of those that come to Him, He will turn none away. It doesn't matter how badly you've failed. It doesn't matter how ignorant, prideful, and ugly you've been. If you come to Him, He won't turn you away. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me..." (Matthew 11:28-29). Are you ready to do it God's way? Then, as we worship Him, just reach out and say, "Lord, wipe the slate clean. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to go out and go in. Who am I to try and make some plans and think I have this all figured out and try to get You to answer according to my idols? I want one thing tonight. I want a relationship with You." Let's sing it together and make sure that's intact. Open Our Eyes Lord.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Father, we've spoken primarily to some of the young adults, the young people, but we know it's applicable in all of our lives, vocations, investments, retirement plans. We all pretty much think we have it planned out and what I've heard and planned has got to be the truth because, after all, I authored it. Help us to say, "What do You want us to do, Father?" Help us to treasure more highly than anything else those words for this life, "This is the way, walk ye in it...." so that we can hear, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." We receive it, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Before you go, turn to somebody and say, "The Spirit leads us into truth." Amen. Go in peace. God's love go with you. Amen.

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