1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,920 Happy Easter, Dr. Ryan Dellamater in San Clemente, California with Ocean Water. 2 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:09,400 Ocean Water helps people all over the world get their drinking water from the 3 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:14,800 ocean for free. I'm stoked you can join us for today's message. Today I want to talk 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:21,320 with you about one word, guidance. We have many questions now as we contemplate 5 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:26,200 the season as we look at another 30 days of being at home until May 15th. 6 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:31,800 Stressful times indeed. How will we survive the impact of COVID-19? What will 7 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:36,760 be those implications for my family, my work, my kids, our friends? The list of 8 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,680 questions right now is longer than the list of answers so in this next season 9 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:45,520 we'll need God's guidance to help navigate these challenging times. We 10 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:50,800 need wisdom in this season and I'd like to help with that. God promises to guide 11 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:55,440 us at all times. How do I find His will for my life, especially now, because it's 12 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:59,280 probably the most commonly asked question that I hear from people. How do I know 13 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:04,000 what God wants for me? How can I find His will? How do I get His direction? These 14 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,480 and many other questions come to mind. People want to know how do I move 15 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:13,120 forward like right now even when I don't know necessarily what direction I'm 16 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:17,440 supposed to go in? How do I deal with uncertainty? What does God say about my 17 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:22,740 future? Does He even have a plan for my life? Recently I was talking with someone 18 00:01:22,740 --> 00:01:27,960 who was saying, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. They felt stuck, frozen, 19 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:32,080 because they're waiting for a really clear picture about life so they can 20 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:37,000 move towards it. And sometimes we're unafraid to make a decision and 21 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:42,420 sometimes we just rush right ahead without thinking at all. So what's the 22 00:01:42,420 --> 00:01:48,900 balance there? We can vacillate between fear and mindless courage. So 23 00:01:48,900 --> 00:01:54,200 does God want to help us with that? What does the Bible say about how we find 24 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:59,680 guidance from God? What does God promise about this? How much of it does He just 25 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:05,240 leave to us in our minds to make those decisions? Well, I want to start with one 26 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:11,400 passage, one of my favorites in Isaiah chapter 42 about God's promise of 27 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:15,920 direction and guidance. And I want to look at this sort of phrase by phrase. 28 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:20,040 And I'd like to read it to you a little bit at a time. Have you ever felt like 29 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:26,600 there was a time in your life when God seemed silent or really quiet? Well, then 30 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:31,320 he starts speaking and he says in Isaiah 42, I will lead a blind by the way they 31 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:36,200 do not know. I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them and 32 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:40,680 rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do and I will not leave 33 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:47,600 them undone. As you look at this a little bit at a time, it teaches us a few things. 34 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:52,600 The first phrase says, I will lead the blind by a way they do not know. What is 35 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:57,420 what is he saying? When you can't see where you're going. So we can be blinded 36 00:02:57,420 --> 00:03:02,840 at time by pain, by tears, by confusion, by disappointment. When you can't see 37 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:07,840 where you're going, God will lead us even though we may not know where we're going 38 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:13,400 because even when we can't see clearly, God sees perfectly and he promises I 39 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:18,720 will lead the blind by a way they do not know. I'll take them in a way where 40 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:23,800 they've never been. In the next phrase he says, in paths they do not know I will 41 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:30,760 guide them. When you don't know which path to take, he says I'll show you. It'll be 42 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,280 it might be a way that's completely unfamiliar to you but that doesn't mean 43 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:39,760 that it's unfamiliar to God. Then he says, I will make darkness into light before 44 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:45,640 them. When things are dark and bad, he says, I'll turn the lights on for you. 45 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:50,120 I'll turn the darkness into light. That's why the Bible says that the Word of God 46 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:55,440 is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. That he uses the dark times, the 47 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:59,600 dark events, to shape and mold the direction that he ultimately wants us to 48 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:05,680 go. One of my favorite Bible verses is Romans 8 28 and it says God uses all 49 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,560 things to work together for our good for those who are called according to his 50 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:15,520 purpose. So he makes things for our good work out out of all of that. He says I'll 51 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:20,800 make rugged places plain. He's talking about obstacles, disappointments, rocks, 52 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:25,800 walls, people, things that seem to be blocking what we hope God's gonna do in 53 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:30,600 our life. God says I'm gonna come in like a bulldozer and I'm literally gonna pave 54 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:36,640 a way for you and make the road clear. Then he says and these are the things I 55 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:40,160 will do I will not leave them undone. He's saying I will see you through 56 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:45,200 through all the way to the end. So when you cannot see where you're going, God 57 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:50,040 says he will lead you along unknown paths. He will light the way for you. He 58 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:54,760 will remove the obstacles and he will not stop until you reach the end. It's 59 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:59,240 one of God's promises about how he's gonna guide us. But as we'll see in a 60 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:05,920 moment, many of God's promises also have premises or conditions to things. So 61 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:10,720 God's promises have premises but let me come back to that in a little bit. Psalm 62 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:15,360 32 8 says another promise about God's direction. I'll instruct you and teach 63 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:20,200 you in the way that you should go. I will counsel and watch over you. People often 64 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:24,400 ask why doesn't God just show me the whole thing all at once? It would just 65 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:29,000 make life so much easier for me and probably easier for God because I 66 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,320 wouldn't have to keep talking to him over and over again about the same 67 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:37,000 things whenever it is that I do pray. You see if God was to show us the whole 68 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:43,960 story we may not like exactly how it turns out. How could we be so sure that 69 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,840 we would actually do that he what he would want us to? The chances are you 70 00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:51,400 might not like what you see. It's like the FaceApp where you can see what you 71 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,480 look like when you're old and you go I don't know if I want to do that. You 72 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,680 might not like what you see. I sure didn't. You might want to run the other 73 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:03,040 direction if God tells you what he wants you to do. I think one of the reasons God 74 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:07,120 doesn't show us the whole thing is because he knows that we might get 75 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:11,440 impatient. We might get ahead of ourselves. We might try to find a 76 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:16,960 shortcut or speed the process along you know for God instead of relaxing and 77 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:22,080 just letting God do it. God also knows that we might not like the plan. We might 78 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,240 say no. We might go in the other direction. That's what this guy named 79 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:31,080 Jonah did in the Old Testament. God told Jonah here's what I want you to do. Jonah 80 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:35,000 didn't like it. Jonah went the other direction. He ran away, got swallowed by 81 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:39,240 a fish, ended up on the beach. But I guess even in the middle of that God was 82 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:44,320 merciful because after all there are two ways out of a fish. But if that's how all 83 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:49,200 the great heroes of the Bible responded when God gave them the big picture, well 84 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:54,760 then what does it make us think that we would behave any differently? So there's 85 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,440 another reason that God doesn't show us the whole picture all at once and it's 86 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:04,200 because if he did then you wouldn't need any faith. God is more interested in our 87 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:10,240 faith than anything else. Hebrews 11 6 it says without faith it is impossible to 88 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:15,080 please God. If you want to please God you have to have faith to do that. If you 89 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:19,000 know everything all at once you don't need anything and without faith it's 90 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:24,540 impossible to please God. Second Corinthians 5 7 we live by faith not by 91 00:07:24,540 --> 00:07:28,840 sight. That's what God is interested in because he's building our character and 92 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:32,960 our characters not built overnight. Characters built one day at a time, one 93 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:37,800 step at a time, one test at a time. So God makes things clear one step at a time 94 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:42,160 and he's waiting for us for you for me to take the step and then he'll show you 95 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,520 what the next step is. If you don't take the first step he'll not make the next 96 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:52,560 step clear. Proverbs 4 18 says the path of the righteous like the first gleam of 97 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:57,120 dawn shining ever brighter until the full light of day. It says the path is 98 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:01,960 like the first gleam of dawn. It means that this that the God of that the will 99 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:09,360 of God dawns on us not all at once but one step, one moment, one choice at a time. 100 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:14,520 And things get more and more clear until you see what God has had in mind all 101 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:19,920 along. God's will is like a scroll. It gets revealed just a little bit at a time. 102 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,880 One of the great examples of this in the Old Testament is the life of Abraham. 103 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:28,800 And in Genesis chapter 12 God is speaking to Abraham. He shows up to 104 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:32,480 Abraham out of nowhere. Abraham didn't have the kind of background we would 105 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:37,200 expect for a man that God would use and yet God chose him and spoke to him and 106 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:39,680 called him into a future. 107 00:08:39,680 --> 00:08:46,000 Maybe you don't feel like you have the right background or the right family or the right pedigree. 108 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:51,720 It's okay. God uses all sorts of people that you wouldn't expect. Exhibit A. Romans 12 says 109 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:56,520 Abraham leave your country, your family, your relatives and go to the land I will 110 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,880 show you. I will bless you and I will make your descendants into a great nation. 111 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:04,560 He's saying Abraham do you want your life to be blessed? Well then here's what I 112 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:10,120 need you to do. I need you to step out of what you know to be true. Step out of 113 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:16,080 your comfort zone. Step out of your past. Step out of your plan for your life and 114 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:20,280 step out of the world that you're comfortable in and step into the unknown 115 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:24,240 and take a step of faith because that's where my blessing is going to be for you. 116 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:30,000 And notice that he said I want you to go to a land that I will show you. He didn't 117 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,800 show Abraham the whole picture all at once. I can imagine Abraham would have 118 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:39,920 said you know well God where are we going? God's like I don't know I'll just 119 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,960 tell you when we get there. Just go in that direction. Take your first step and 120 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:49,120 I'll show you what the next step is. It has to be a step of faith. It is to walk 121 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,880 into the unknown by an unfamiliar road like that verse we just read in Isaiah 122 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:59,520 in paths they do not know I will guide them. It's a walk of faith. So this is 123 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:03,200 what living by faith is all about. It's stepping into the unknown before you 124 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:08,440 have the answer. But God cannot guide you until you take the first step. You can't 125 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:13,800 steer a parked Harley. It's got to be in motion. It's much easier. Psalm 77 says 126 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:17,680 your road led through the Red Sea, your pathway through the mighty waters, a 127 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:22,000 pathway no one knew was there. It says your footprints were unseen. They couldn't 128 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,560 see where God was leading. He brought them to an obstacle, a rugged place that 129 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:31,440 he was about to turn into a plane and it was a pathway they had never seen before. 130 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:36,840 His pathway it says led through the sea. We often expect that God's pathway for us 131 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:42,280 would lead us kind of around the trouble. But God's pathway usually leads through 132 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:46,280 the trouble. He says your pathway led through the sea and that's what faith is 133 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,960 about. It's making the decision when I face that obstacle, that challenge, that 134 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:56,120 barrier, am I gonna turn back or am I gonna go forward? Am I gonna take a step 135 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:02,080 into the unknown because I believe that's where God's calling me? And am I 136 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:09,280 gonna step in and see what God reveals as I go? So how does God do it? How does 137 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,400 God guide us? Well I want us to look at five different ways that I've learned 138 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:21,000 how God guides us. And the first one is that God guides us by his spirit. When 139 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:27,800 you open your life to God, to Jesus, you say come into my life Lord forgive me of 140 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:32,640 all the bad I've done. Put me on the path that you want me to be on. Psalms 1, 43, 10 141 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:38,400 says this, teach me to do your will for you are my God. May your good spirit lead 142 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:43,840 me on level ground. It is the spirit that leads us, the Holy Spirit. And one of the 143 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:48,760 ways he guides us is by opening our minds to understand what the Bible says 144 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,120 because without the Spirit of God the things of God don't make sense to us. 145 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:57,840 Jesus said this about the Holy Spirit in John. He said that his role is truth. He 146 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:02,520 says when the Spirit of truth, that's the Holy Spirit, when he comes he will guide 147 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:07,200 you into all truth. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and 148 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:10,600 making it known to you. And then in Corinthians he says here's the role of 149 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:14,680 the Holy Spirit in the Word of God. He says no one knows the thoughts of God 150 00:12:14,680 --> 00:12:19,480 except the Spirit of God. We have received the Spirit who is from God. Why? 151 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:24,640 That we may understand what God has really given us. The man without the 152 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:28,480 Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God because 153 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:33,640 their foolishness to him. And he cannot understand because they are spiritually 154 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:37,480 discerned. So if you're not spiritually alive you can't understand these 155 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:42,920 spiritual truths. He says we have the mind of Christ. So God guides us through 156 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:48,440 the Holy Spirit. The second way that he guides us is by his word. He guides me by 157 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:53,480 his word. The will of God is in the Word of God. If you want to know what God 158 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:58,120 thinks about something then you'll need to know what he's already said about 159 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:03,880 something. So we know God's will by knowing God's Word. This is why we try to 160 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:09,120 read it every day. The Bible is not a map. You're not gonna open the Bible and 161 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:12,880 find step-by-step directions that will lead you to the destination of your life 162 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:17,840 because it's not a map. The Bible is more like a compass. It points you in the 163 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:23,280 direction of the truth. True north where you can say my thoughts and my doubts 164 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:28,320 and my fears and my ideas my dreams. How do they line up with the compass and the 165 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:33,080 direction of the Bible? God will never tell you to do something that contradicts 166 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:40,400 what his word already says. That applies to relationships. It applies to our 167 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:45,800 ethics. It applies to our finances. It applies to how we live our lives. He's 168 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:50,680 not gonna tell you something that he's already said. I don't want you to do that 169 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:55,600 kind of stuff in the Word. God will never violate his written Word. So if you want 170 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:59,880 to know what God thinks about a decision you're facing then you need to know what 171 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:06,080 he's already communicated about. And again that's in God's Word. So we always 172 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:13,400 want to look to the Bible. So God guides us by his Spirit. God guides us by his Word. 173 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:18,680 And that helps us navigate all of the things in our life because many times the 174 00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:23,160 answer you're looking for is already here. It's already written into God's Word. 175 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:28,480 Psalm 19 says your word is a lamp to my feet and it is a light for my path and 176 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:33,560 opening the Bible is like turning the lights on in a dark room. It just 177 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:38,480 reveals things that were hidden in the dark. It dispels all of the shadows. His 178 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:45,240 Word lights the way for us. Second Timothy 3.16 says that all scripture is 179 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:51,040 inspired by God. That means it's breathed by him and it is useful to teach us what 180 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:56,280 is true. It is useful to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. All scripture 181 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:01,040 is useful to correct us when we're wrong and it teaches what is right. So the Word 182 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:05,520 of God under the power of the Holy Spirit is God's primary means of guidance 183 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:13,320 for our lives. Now thirdly he guides us by his people. What does that mean? It 184 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:17,640 means that you can't live a godly life in isolation. You were made for community. 185 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:22,160 So you need spiritual mentors, people that help you, a small group. You need to 186 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,480 surround yourself with people that you trust, people you know, people who love 187 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:29,280 God, people who know him and know his Word, people who know you, people who aren't 188 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:32,760 afraid to tell you the truth. So that when you think you know I was wondering 189 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,960 if God was telling me to do this or if this is the direction that I'm supposed 190 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:40,920 to go, you can turn to your crew, you can turn to people that know God's Spirit and 191 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:45,360 know his Word and know you and they can help you discern that direction and that 192 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:50,200 decision. We help direct one another. We need people that are praying for us 193 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,960 especially when we're making big decisions. Here's some of the things that 194 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:59,080 the Bible says about this. Colossians 3 to 16, let the word of Christ dwell in you 195 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:03,120 richly as you teach and admonish one another. So we each teach one another 196 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:08,000 what is the Word of God. Proverbs 27 says, his iron sharpens iron so as a friend 197 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:12,360 sharpens another and Hebrews says and let us consider how we may spur one 198 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,680 another on toward love and good deeds. That is the directional passage that we 199 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:20,640 give direction to one another to love God and deeds. God uses us to guide each 200 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:26,540 other. The fourth way that he guides us is by our circumstances. God guides me by 201 00:16:26,540 --> 00:16:31,680 my circumstances, closed doors and open doors and there's nothing wrong with 202 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,640 asking God for a sign. There's nothing wrong with that. You might remember in 203 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:40,160 the Old Testament the man Gideon when God told him what he wanted him to do he 204 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,880 gave him some direction and Gideon wanted to make sure that he was hearing 205 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:49,280 right so we asked God for a sign. You may remember this story. He took a 206 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:53,280 fleece, a blanket and he laid it on the ground and he said to God, Lord if you're 207 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:58,920 ready to tell me to do this then in the morning let this blanket be wet and let 208 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:02,960 the ground be dry and that's exactly what happened. You can read it in Judges 209 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:08,960 chapter 6. It's exactly what God was trying to say to him. He said now just 210 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,920 one more time I'm gonna put this blanket on the ground here by this time let the 211 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:18,320 blanket be dry and the ground be wet and that's exactly what happened. But here's 212 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:23,080 the thing. God did not get mad at Gideon. He did exactly what Gideon asked him to 213 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:29,440 do and so Gideon's circumstances then confirmed what God was saying to him but 214 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:33,400 we have to know that this fleece, this blanket, this test that this was not 215 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:38,160 because Gideon doubted God he did it because he doubted himself. He doubted 216 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:42,640 his own ability to really clearly hear from God. He was not arguing with God he 217 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,640 was just saying I got to make sure that I'm hearing right and so I need a sign 218 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:51,040 that I'm hearing and that I'm hearing you speak to me and I'm not fooling 219 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:57,120 myself. Again Romans 8 28 we know that in all these things even losing your job in 220 00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:01,680 all things God works for the good of those who love him who've been called 221 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:06,480 according to his purpose. So God uses our circumstances good and bad and it seems 222 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:11,320 that God uses actually circumstances more than anything else because you could 223 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,480 read your Bible and pray for an hour every day but you still have 23 hours of 224 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:20,240 circumstances. Those circumstances, meetings that open, doors that close, sign 225 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,560 posts of the road that you're supposed to take. Why would he give you those 226 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:27,800 things if he didn't intend for you to use them for his glory? Why would God 227 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:32,320 give a cheetah speed if he didn't want the cheetah to run? Why would he give a 228 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:37,240 falcon wings if he didn't want it to fly? Why would God give you what he's put in 229 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:42,080 your life if he didn't intend for you to use those things in the will the purpose 230 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:47,560 that he has in mind for you? Those are signposts. They could help set you on the 231 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:53,000 pathway that God has had in mind for you all along. All of those things point you 232 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:57,520 toward his purpose. And the fifth way, kind of the last way that he guides me 233 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:03,320 is by his still small voice. That phrase, God's still small voice, comes from the 234 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:08,480 Old Testament when we read about Elijah, a great powerful man, and he had just 235 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:12,800 experienced this really big spiritual victory, this over-the-top demonstration 236 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:16,960 of God's power that nobody could question God's hand was on this man and 237 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,400 that God was involved in his life. And you would think that Elijah would come 238 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,440 away from that thinking, man I can do anything, I got this, but instead for 239 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:29,240 whatever reason he panics and he runs away and he goes into hiding because 240 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:34,760 he's afraid. Look at what the Bible says about this. It says Elijah went into a 241 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:40,160 cave to spend the night and suddenly the Lord spoke to him. Elijah what are you 242 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:45,320 doing here? And he answered, listen to the panic in his voice, he answered, Lord, God 243 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:49,240 Almighty, I've always served you, you alone, but the people of Israel have 244 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:53,360 broken their covenant with you, torn down their altars, killed all your prophets, 245 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:58,240 I'm the only one left and they're trying to kill me. He's in an absolute panic, just 246 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:02,600 spun up in this thing, they're trying to kill me, but here's an important lesson. 247 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:09,560 Just because I'm in a panic doesn't mean that God is in a panic. God is never in a 248 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:15,920 panic. Relax. Well he says they're gonna kill me, he's yelling, but look at how God 249 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:21,280 responds. He doesn't even address it. God says go out out of the cave and stand up 250 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:24,440 before me on top of the mountain. The Lord said to him and then the Lord passed 251 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:29,560 by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks, but the 252 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:33,520 Lord was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing and then there was an 253 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:39,640 earthquake, but the Lord wasn't in the earthquake and the Lord wasn't in the 254 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:47,720 fire and after the fire there was the soft whisper of a voice, Elijah what are 255 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:52,760 you doing here? God didn't yell, it was a whisper, a small voice, Elijah what are 256 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,920 you doing here? When God asks you a question it's not because he's looking 257 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:03,920 for information. He just wants to know if you know what he knows. He's bringing you, 258 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,720 waking you up to the reality and he doesn't need to raise his voice to get 259 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:12,520 your attention, just that still soft whisper. That's enough. He speaks to us 260 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:17,080 through a still small voice. Isaiah 30 says you'll hear a voice behind you 261 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:21,280 saying this is the way, walk in it. It's a voice encouraging you, confirming the 262 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:26,920 direction. Yes it is, keep going. You're heading in the right direction and most 263 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,960 often God seems to lead me through hindsight where I can look back and I can 264 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:35,400 say oh yeah this was the way. I'm gonna keep going this way because I can look 265 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:39,400 and I can see yes there's the confirmation that I needed all along in 266 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:45,560 my life. But notice also that God says this is the destination, walk to it. He 267 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:50,400 says this is the way, walk in it. In other words God's call in your life, his 268 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:55,280 guidance and direction for your life is more to a path than it is to a 269 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:59,780 destination because there will be a lot of destinations in your life. It's the 270 00:21:59,780 --> 00:22:04,880 pathway that's most important to God. His call is more to a path than a 271 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:10,400 destination. So you'll say well where do I start? Well you could probably start 272 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:14,000 with the most famous Bible verse about God's guidance and direction. It's 273 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:19,360 Proverbs 3.6. It says in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your 274 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:25,200 paths. Now I want us to look at that verse for a moment here. It says in all 275 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:29,880 your ways, not just some of your ways, all of your ways and that's the key. Now 276 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:36,960 what does it mean to acknowledge God? You acknowledge God in all of your ways by 277 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:41,640 asking what does he think about my ways, about the decisions that I'm making, by 278 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:46,480 looking for his will in every area of my life and doing what he has already told 279 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:53,000 you to do. That's how you acknowledge God in all of your ways and if he says you 280 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:58,680 will do that he will direct your path. Read it again. In all your ways 281 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:04,320 acknowledge him and he shall direct your, what's the word? It's paths. He will 282 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:08,600 direct your paths. It does not say in all your ways acknowledge him. He will show 283 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,760 you the ultimate destination in full detail. It says he'll show you which way 284 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:18,120 to go. So the Bible says this, seek his will in all you do and he will show you 285 00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:23,280 which path to take. Another version says he will show you the right way to go and 286 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:29,640 another he will clear the road for you to follow. So where I end up in life, well 287 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:35,520 that's the destination. Where I end up in life is not nearly as important as how I 288 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:41,060 get there. Where I end up in life is not nearly as important because I have to 289 00:23:41,060 --> 00:23:49,060 ask the question, did I get there by obedience or by compromise? It's the way 290 00:23:49,060 --> 00:23:54,560 that is important. God calls you not to a place but to a way of life, a way of 291 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:59,400 living. Jesus said this in Mark 8. He says, what good is it for a man to gain the 292 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:03,580 whole world and yet forfeit his soul? So while you're waiting on God for 293 00:24:03,580 --> 00:24:08,880 specific instruction be sure that you're obeying his general instructions in all 294 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:13,280 of your ways. The things that God has already told us to do, he's already shown 295 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:17,960 us in general for all of us in his word and if we don't obey God's general will, 296 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:22,080 his general instructions, well then he's not likely to give us specific 297 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:26,640 instructions because after all why would he tell you to do something if you 298 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,880 haven't done what he's already been asking you to do? So for example when 299 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:35,960 Jesus said that if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, we say well 300 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:40,460 those are nice words but is that how you're living or are you carrying a 301 00:24:40,460 --> 00:24:44,240 judge? He's saying you've got to let go of those things. You can't walk into the 302 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:48,880 future if you're still living in the past. So we've got to let go. We've got to 303 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:53,480 travel light. We don't want to carry the weight of a grudge into the future or 304 00:24:53,480 --> 00:25:00,480 when he says don't share in the sins of others. So we stand away from evil 305 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:06,360 influences. Are we living the best life that we can for God? Are we living our 306 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:13,320 life in a general way so that we can have God give us specific direction? So 307 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:19,400 what I'm talking about is this. Welcoming his direction of living, a 308 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:23,440 life that can be guided, that can be directed by keeping ourselves 309 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:28,440 blessable, by keeping our ears tuned to God's voice. It'd be like hanging a sign 310 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:33,000 on the door of our heart that says welcome Lord I'm open for business. How 311 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:37,440 can I serve you today? That's the kind of openness that God wants us to have in 312 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:42,640 our relationship with him. But it shows our but it shows itself first in how we 313 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:47,040 follow the Lord. I want us to look at one last passage because it has to do 314 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:52,000 with the difference between the general and the specific instructions that God 315 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:57,600 gives us. It's Isaiah 58 verse 11. It says and the Lord will guide you always. 316 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:02,200 He will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and you will strengthen 317 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:05,880 your friend. You will be like a well watered garden like a spring whose 318 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:10,560 waters never fail. But that is a beautiful promise and it has a premise. 319 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:14,280 There's a condition to it and in the context of God giving this instruction 320 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:19,440 there's something God is saying I want you to do and if you will do this you'll 321 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:24,920 make yourself blessable and you'll make yourself if I can say this word 322 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:32,200 guidable. If you'll do what I tell you to do God will then kind of have your back 323 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:37,040 and give you that extra blessing. So when you look at the verse in this context 324 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:41,040 you find out what God is requiring of them in his general instructions. Here's 325 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:47,960 what he's saying. It's kind of long but but listen to this. They had been fasting. 326 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:51,720 Well isn't this the kind of fasting that I have chosen? It's to loose the chains 327 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:55,520 of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break 328 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:59,480 every yoke. Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor 329 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:04,240 wanderer with shelter and when you see the naked to clothe him and not to turn 330 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:08,980 away from your own flesh and blood then your light will break forth like the 331 00:27:08,980 --> 00:27:12,840 dawn and your healing will quickly appear. Then your righteousness will go 332 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:17,120 before you and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will 333 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:21,320 call and the Lord will answer you. You will cry for help and he will say hear 334 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:26,200 am I if you do away with the yoke of oppression, if you do away with the 335 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:31,160 pointing finger and malicious talk and if you spend yourselves on behalf of 336 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:35,680 the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed then your light will rise in 337 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:41,880 the darkness and your night will become like the new day. That's the premise and 338 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:46,720 now we come to the promise and the Lord will guide you always. He will satisfy 339 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:50,520 your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You'll be 340 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:54,680 like a well watered garden like a spring whose waters never fail. He's saying 341 00:27:54,680 --> 00:28:00,040 don't live only for yourselves. What's the reason you're asking God's guidance 342 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:03,200 for your life for your direction is so that we can serve ourselves or other 343 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:08,440 people. He's saying don't only live for yourself give hope to people who don't 344 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:13,760 have hope meet the needs of others. If you'll do that then God will direct your 345 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:19,040 path and he will cause your life to flourish. You might say what if I miss it? 346 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:23,680 What if I get off track? What if I make a mistake? What if I'm missing God's will 347 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:29,120 for my life? The Bible tells us he's a good shepherd and shepherds know what 348 00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:34,160 it's like to have a sheep wander away from the flock and get off the path and 349 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:39,880 like a good shepherd when you get off the path just call out let God hear your 350 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:43,520 voice and he'll come and find you and he'll put you on the right track just 351 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:47,920 like he has with me a hundred times. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will 352 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:52,460 direct your paths. So let's pray about this. Would you pray with me? It's simple 353 00:28:52,460 --> 00:29:00,120 just say God help me today to follow you to trust you. Be my Savior in Jesus name 354 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:06,680 amen. Thank you for being with me today. I'd like you to message me at 355 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:13,520 Ocean Water OCNWTR. I'd like to send you a daily verse, daily reading, video 356 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:18,800 content for a weekly group. We're taking trips now all around the world we're 357 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:23,720 heading to India and to India and several other places. I'm Dr. Ryan 358 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:27,880 Dellamater with Ocean Water. I want to wish you a happy Easter and I 359 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:50,880 hope you have a great day. Thanks so much.