How to Be Led by God's Spirit - Part 2

0:27 Let me show you something that a lot of Christians and believers don't get. Let's show you two verses that look totally opposite each other up here on the screen. 1 John 2.15, by the way, they're written by the same guy. John wrote the book John, and he wrote 1, 2, and 3 John letters. And in 1 John chapter 2, he says this. Do not love the world or anything that belongs to the world. if you love the world you cannot love the Father. Whoa, that's pretty clear. Now, that same guy who wrote that also wrote this the most famous verse in the Bible. God so loved the world. Well, what is it? I mean, huh? That looks like a big contradiction right there. God so loved the world and then he says, but you, you're not to love the world and if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you.

1:21 Well, which is it? You need to understand the meaning of the word world. The world is used two different ways in the scripture. It refers to the world's value system and it refers to the world's people. We are to love the people and not love the value system. Does that make sense? We are to love the people, no matter what kind of lifestyle they live, but we are to not love, in fact, the Bible says we are to hate the value system of prejudice and racism and injustice and sexism and people hurting each other and war. We're to hate the things that hurt people in the world.

2:04 Love the people, hate the value system. You know what the problem is? We got it reversed. We love the value system and hate the people. Christians do this all the time. They're no different, they're just as materialistic, they're just as hedonistic, they're just as involved in everything in culture. They love the culture and hate the people. God says, no, no, you got that all wrong. You got it backwards. Love the world, people. Don't love the world's value system. Okay, five things I have to stop doing. One, I can't follow a culture that doesn't follow God. Two, I can't follow friends who aren't led by God. Number three, third thing, why I often miss God's will is this. I can't look to other sources besides God.

2:55 If I'm looking for direction for my life, the best place to look is not on a TV talk show. The best place to look is to read the owner's manual, that's the Bible, and talk to the creator who made you, and that's where you're gonna find out about your life. I can't look to other sources besides God. Now, there are many other sources that want to tell you how to run your life. Many other replacements. There are many other substitutes for God. A lot of substitutes for God in the world. They're actually called idols. I mean, for instance, when you're looking for what am I supposed to do with my life? I've actually met some believers who think they can pray to God and read a horoscope.

3:39 Really? That's like saying I believe in reincarnation and heaven at the same time. They're mutually exclusive. You either believe in one or the other. You can't believe in both. That's illogical, irrational, and it makes no sense at all. And so God says, I want you to look to me, and don't look to other things for your guidance. Now, when people look to anything else besides God for guidance for their life, do you know what that's called? When they're looking for divine guidance, but they're not actually praying or reading the Bible. It's called divination. Divination. You heard this word? Divination. Divination means to try to find about your future without going to your creator. That's called divination. And there are countless kinds of ways to define the future.

4:32 Fortune telling and stuff like that. Predictions and prognosis and things like that. Do you know in ancient times what was the most common way that people discerned the future? Anybody know what this is? It was called consulting the liver. They would actually sacrifice animals. They'd cut out a liver, because the liver was supposed to be the heaviest organ in the body, and then somebody would look at it and go, yeah, go to war, go to battle, you'll win this one.

5:02 Now, I mean, this is not some little minor thing. The Roman Empire was built on defining the liver. No Roman soldier would go into battle without looking at the liver. The Babylonians looked at the liver. The Etruscans looked at the liver. This was the most commonly used form of predicting the future. And in fact, it's actually even mentioned in the Bible. Look at this verse here on the screen. The Bible says in Ezekiel 21, the king of Babylon now stands at a crossroad uncertain of whether or not to attack. He was gonna attack Jerusalem, he didn't know. So his advisors will cast lots by shaking arrows from the quiver. That was another popular way. You take arrows in a quiver and you throw them out on the ground and you go, mmm, don't go to battle. Okay, and that was one. And the other, and they will inspect the livers of sacrificed animals. 50 ways to lose your liver, right there.

5:56 Or love your liver, or whatever. So that was called divination. Does that kind of stuff still happen today? Hello? Have you ever seen a palm reading shop? or tea leaving shop or a crystal ball and madam so and so. I mean that stuff's still around. Tarot cards, horoscopes. These are called divination. Looking to the future without looking to God. And God says no, no, don't do any of that kind of stuff. Don't go call the psychic hotline.

6:34 By the way, here's a little tip. If the psychic hotline says what's your credit card number? Hang up. They should know that. I want to say, you tell me. If you're so smart, you tell me. If he can't tell me my credit card, he can't tell me anything else that's valuable because he has no ability at all. I actually did a little research on this just for fun this week looking at the modern, it seems divination. And there's some crazy bizarre things out there. For instance, in Russia they throw beans on the floor and then look at the pattern. And I'm going, that's a lot of beans right there. So, okay, that's a pile of beans or whatever. There's a thing called parrotmancy where you let a parrot out of its cage and it goes over and picks up a card and then you know who you're supposed to marry.

7:31 I'm not making this up. There's a divination called Rumpology and there are people you can pay who will tell you your future by looking at the shape of your butt. I'm not making that up. Okay, I'm not making it up. That's called stupidity. That's saying, I would, and why do people go to all these, because they don't want a boss in their life. They want the future, but they don't want God. They don't want a Lord. They don't want somebody that they have to serve. And so the ridiculousness of looking to other sources besides God. The Bible warns us. Look at this verse. Deuteronomy 18 says this. Never look to psychics or seances or fortune telling or the stars or people who claim to be in contact with the dead. People who do these things are doing evil, and God hates it with a passion.

8:27 now I doubt any of you are doing this but I will tell you this if you know a believer who's doing this politely, gently, lovingly tell them you're heading down the wrong track you're never going to know God's will through a seance through a medium through a horoscope through astrology if you are following the stars you're not following the sun S-O-N you're not following the sun and you're not following God. These are counterfeits. You know, today, years ago, Gideon used that fleece to discern God's will. People get fleeced all the time today. Cults and fad therapies and Scientology and all kinds of stuff. The Bible tells us, 2 Corinthians 11, Satan masquerades as an angel of light, so we've just got to avoid that. And the Bible tells us in 1 John 4, verse 1, don't believe everything you hear.

9:22 That's a good thing to do on the Internet. Actually, I read a quote the other day on the Internet. Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Abraham Lincoln. That guy was way ahead of his time, all I can say. Alright, I know I'm taking a long time on this, but if you want to be led by the spirit of God, there's some things you have to stop doing before you start doing that. Can't follow culture, can't follow friends who are not following God, can't look to other sources besides God, like all those divination things. four, this is one that would apply to a lot of us, I must stop being led by my circumstances.

10:06 Now, the other ones may have not been relatable to you, but this one is certainly, I must stop being led by my circumstance. I'm amazed how many believers, the number one way they try to determine God's will is, well, what's my circumstance? You know, I missed the plane, it must be God's will. The heavy traffic, it must be God's will. The offering plate skipped my That was God's will. I've had people, you know, I bumped into them in a cart, it must be God's will we bumped into each other.

10:41 I won't say anything about that. But, you know, I overslept today, it is God's will I don't go to church. You're skating on thin ice, shallow, shaky ground, when you build your life around your circumstances. There are a lot of examples in the Bible where the circumstances were the exact opposite of God's will. When I think about the story of Jonah, God said to Jonah, Jonah, I want you to go to Nineveh and I want you to preach to it. And they were the hated enemies of the Israelites because they had oppressed them for years. And Jonah said, I'm not going. It was literally racial prejudice. I'm not going. And instead of going east to Nineveh, He gets on board a ship headed for Tarshish, which is a seaport on the coast of Spain.

11:33 He's going as far east as he can. God said go west, and he goes east. But the circumstances, there was a ship waiting there, headed for Tarshish. He had the money for a ticket. They had space on board. He gets on board. They take him on. It must be God's will. I've seen circumstance ruin a lot of businesses and business opportunities because it looked like a good deal. Let me give you another example from Paul. I wrote the scripture down there on your outline. You might want to read Acts 27. It's about another Mediterranean cruise about 2,000 years later. And Paul is being taken to Rome as a prisoner. And the night before the ship is leaving, God says to him in his prayer time, tell him not to go tomorrow because they're going to head straight into a storm.

12:29 and Paul says to the sailors and the captain of the ship, guys, if we leave today, we're gonna go straight into a storm. But they didn't listen to him. And here's what the Bible says up here on the screen. Paul said, men, he's talking to the sailors, if we sail now, this voyage will be a disaster. We'll lose the ship, the cargo, and maybe even our own lives. But when a gentle breeze came up, they thought this is exactly what we wanted have you ever had a gentle breeze come up in your life and think this is exactly what i wanted and you were heading straight into a storm when a general brief came up, they thought this is exactly what we wanted, so they launched out thinking it would be smooth sailing. Sound familiar? That new business venture?

13:21 Thinking it would be smooth sailing, but at sea, a violent typhoon storm arose which made it impossible to control the direction of the ship, so we gave up and just let her drift. That is the epitaph of many a believer who trusted in circumstances. we just finally gave up and let her drift because we thought it was right. The circumstances looked good, but that was a disastrous business deal or marriage or whatever. How about you? How many times have you ever thought of something circumstantial was an open door and you later found out it was a trap door?

14:01 You can't just trust circumstances. I can give you example, example in the Bible about this where David, he had sent his army to war in spring and he's at home lollygagging around in his PJs and he's upstairs and he looks out and he sees a beautiful woman taking a bath on her roof. What's she taking a bath on her roof for? And he looks down from his palace and sees her and he goes, very pretty. Her husband's at war, I'm home alone, she's attractive, and he falls into a fair. circumstances can lead you the wrong way. the fact that Satan can manipulate circumstances. You just need to be aware of that. And so you always check your circumstances against God's word. And what I mean by that is that you don't use circumstances to discern God's will, but you use it to confirm God's will.

14:58 Now let me give you one more stop. If I want to be led by God's spirit, I cannot be led by my feelings. If I want to be led by God's spirit, I cannot be led by my feelings. Because your feelings lie to you all the time. Now every emotion is temporary, whether it's a good one or a bad one. You can be elated at your wedding and it will not last. You can be elated at Disneyland, it will not last. You can be elated at winning a game for a team that you were rooting for, it will not last. and the same is true. If you're depressed, if you're discouraged, it will not last. No emotion can stay at the same level of intensity. If you have a panic attack, one thing you need to know, it can't last. You cannot stay in a perpetual state of panic.

15:52 This too will pass. And so you can't be led by your feelings because they're not permanent, they're just temporary. And the most common mistake, and I even hear Christians saying this today, is, well, just let your conscience be your guide. I hate to tell you this. Your conscience is often wrong. So is mine. The Bible says the heart is deceitful. I've told you this many times, that you lie to yourself more than you lie to anybody else. Just because you think it doesn't make it true. Just because somebody else thought it doesn't make it true. Just because it's popular doesn't make it true. Something is true because it's true. not what you think is true is true, not what you hope is true, not whatever, all these other things. Truth is simply truth. It's either right or it's not right.

16:47 Now, most people base their decisions on how they feel. And I can't tell you how many times, and it sounds like a spiritual thing, say, why did you do that? Well, I just had a piece about it. That's not enough, friend, to make a decision on. Well, I had a peace about it. Peace is a good thing, but you better have more basis for your decision than just a peaceful feeling, because you can have a peaceful, easy feeling. and I know I won't let you go, so.

17:21 You are really old, people. If you know those lyrics, you are really, really old. I just, I'm feeling right at home here right now, okay? You can't just go by your feelings. Feelings lie. It may be the result of some burrito you ate or something, you know? Do you remember that story of Jonah? I told you, hey, here's a ship. Hey, I got the money. Hey, they take me on board. And he goes down and he goes into the bottom ship and he falls into a nice, peaceful sleep. He's totally out of the will of God. And he's at peace.

17:58 So that's not enough. Peace is a good thing. But it's not enough to base your life on simply emotions because he was totally disobeying God. Satan can give you false peace. Proverbs 14, verse 12. you may feel circle the word feel you may feel you're on the right path the right road and still end up dead okay and the result of being manipulated by moods look at the next verse we've all strayed away like sheep we have left God's path to follow our own and why do we leave God's path to follow our own because we felt like it those are things you have to stop doing if you want to be led by the Spirit. Now, the stuff you should do, it'll be a whole lot faster. Okay, quickly, it's not going to take me a long time because this is self-explanatory on this. You talked about the five things you've got to stop doing. What are the five things you start doing? Very easy to understand. Number one, if I want to get guidance from God, I want divine direction. Number one, I must want to be led. I got to desire it first. I must want to be led.

19:10 It starts with desire. It starts with longing. It starts with craving. Have you ever had anybody hold your head under the water so long that you go, I have got to get air? When you get that desperate and when you cry out to God, say, God, I have got to know. I've got to know what you want me to do. I kind of would like to know. It would be helpful to know. If you don't have any intensity or passion in your prayer life about knowing God's will, God's going, well, I guess it's not that important to you. But when you say, I've got to have it, it's like, I'm hungry, I've got to have food. I'm out of breath, I've got to have oxygen. I don't know which way to go in life. God, I've got to know your will. I must want to be led by the Spirit. Psalm 40, verse 8. My God, I want to do what you want, and your teachings are in my heart. The reason why he wants it is because he's reading the Bible. Your teachings are in my heart. Number two, I must be willing to do what God says.

20:17 I must not only want God's will, I've got to be willing to do what God says. I'm willing to obey in advance. In other words, God, before you even tell me what you want me to do, my answer in advance is already yes. God doesn't tell you his will, and then you get to decide whether you do it or not. You have to decide in advance. You pre-qualify. God's not going to show you what he wants to do with your life, and then you get to decide about it. You say, God, I surrender my life to you completely. I don't just want your will. I'm willing, whatever it is. I don't even understand it. I don't even know it. But whatever it is, I am willing in advance. John 7, 17, Jesus said this, whoever is willing to do what God wants and chooses it, it's a choice. You choose God's will. Will know if what I teach comes from God. So he says, trust me in advance.

21:16 I don't know about you, but I am encouraged after that message. And let's keep the encouragement going with a letter from one of our listeners. Here's Rick. You know, I love hearing from Daily Hope listeners like you. And here's one note that I got from Raymond in New York. Dear Pastor Rick, I'd like you to know how much I appreciate the Daily Hope broadcast, the nuggets that I get I share with my lunch group at work, and my family benefits as well because at dinnertime, my wife and my son hear the nugget that I learned during the day and we discuss it. It's awesome. Well, let me just say this. Raymond, thanks for writing me and thanks for sharing your story. You encouraged me just now. I'm happy to hear that you're sharing daily hope with your coworkers and with your family. If God has used this broadcast in your life, would you let me know about it and tell your story? It'll be good for you.

22:13 it'll be good for me and it'll be good for all the others who hear it. I love you and I thank God for you. And join me next time as we continue to look into God's word for our daily hope.