Wandering in the Wilderness Part 3 See the Signs, Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley

0:00 Let's have a word of prayer before we receive the word from the Lord today. That word, O Lord, is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Pray that as we now search through scripture, that our way will be made clear, that our faith will be strengthened, that our witness will be renewed, that through our living of your word, someone will come to know your love. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. As you all know, a few weekends ago, we began this new series, Wandering in the Wilderness, as an opportunity to not only strengthen our faith, deepen our hope, but encourage our life in Christ in the midst of this wilderness of COVID-19 that we wander through. I shared with you as we searched through scripture that wilderness is that space of absolute and abject uncertainty, that place of life where you have more questions than answers, that season when you experience the loss of loved ones and there's nothing you can do to prevent it, that place you land when you're dealing with issues you could not predict and weren't prepared for, when there seemingly is no end to the bad news, where today looks exactly like yesterday and there's nothing you've heard that gives you hope that tomorrow will be any better.

1:21 And in this wilderness, I want to remind you of what the children of Israel experienced. And that is simply this, that God is with us, Emmanuel, and that God guides us in and through our wilderness of life. We've been looking at some of the signs of God's guidance and how it is that God leads us in times of uncertainty. In the very first part of this series, we dealt with the ministry of manna. reminding ourselves that we have a God who provides and the lessons we learn through identifying the daily provisions of God, even in wilderness experiences. Last weekend, we talked about the pillar of cloud. And in that sermon, The Clarity of Clouds, I reminded you that when the children of Israel were wandering, when they were wondering what God's will was, when they're trying to figure out whether to go left or right, the way they discerned the will of God was to go outside and look at the clouds.

2:26 That the clouds for them were their way of knowing what God wanted, where God was leading, and what God required of them. Now, you and I don't follow clouds to discern the will of God, but it does raise an important question. What are your clouds? How is it that God guides and leads you? How do you discern the voice of God? How do you know the will of God? Beloved, I would suggest to you that that is one of the most critical questions that every child of God needs to learn to answer. Because if you're not certain on the ways that God speaks to you, if you don't know the people and the places and the resources and the signs and the voice of God, you will never be able to live a life that is fully pleasing to God because you can't discern the will of God. If you don't know your clouds, if you don't have clarity on the ways that God speaks to you, you'll look at other people who seem to have an intimate relationship with God and know what God wants of them, and you'll be jealous, wondering, why does God seemingly talk to them more than God talks to me?

3:38 And even worse, beloved, if you're not clear on how God speaks to you, you will always be dependent upon someone else to share with you God's will for your life. And God never made you to be dependent upon someone else to know his will. People who have clarity on their clouds don't need psychic hotlines. People who have clarity on their clouds don't need their palms read. They don't need tarot cards. They don't need anyone to tell them what God wants from them. because they hear the voice of God clearly themselves. And people who have clarity on their clouds, they can be in the presence of someone who says to them, the Lord told me to tell you, and they can say, I don't receive that. Because they know God's voice. What are your clouds?

4:36 You recall that the metaphor, the illustration I used last week was that of a radio broadcast. No matter where you are right now, you're being bombarded with radio waves. Your radio station is broadcasting right now. Similarly, the will of God is always being broadcast. God is always speaking. God always has a will. From the most minor thing to the most major decision you've got to make, God speaks about what God wants for you. God has a will for what you're going to wear tomorrow. God has a will for what you should eat for dinner. God has a will about what school you should go to, who you should marry, where you should invest your money. Whatever the issue of your life is, God is broadcasting a will. But in order to get and hear the broadcast, you need what is called a receiver. The receiver is the device that allows you to receive the broadcast.

5:38 And we shared last week that the receiver for the child of God is a dedicated and disciplined devotional life. We went over the five components of that devotional life. Scheduled time with God. Sacred space to be alone with the Lord. A commitment to feeding yourself with the word of God. Falling on your knees and being persistent in your prayer. and having an open and obedient heart to do whatever God calls you to do. It is that dedicated, disciplined, devotional life that teaches you how to hear the voice of God even when it's a still, small voice. The more time you spend with God, the more you know the voice of God and the language of God. I spend a lot of time with my sons and I'm gonna tell you this we can be in a crowded store they can be three aisles over and if they call me I know their voice I know the way they sound in the midst of a large crowd that the more time you spend with God you can hear other voices but you know God's voice for yourself not only do I know their voices I know their language I took my mother and my sons to Target one day, and the boys were in another aisle, and we heard someone say, Daddy, Daddy.

7:05 And my mother leaned at me. She said, Isn't that Cooper calling you? I said, Well, it sounds like Cooper, but it's not Cooper. She said, How do you know it's not Cooper? I said, Easy. Cooper doesn't call me Daddy. Cooper calls me Father. And I know his voice and his language because of the time I've spent with him. The more time you spend with God, not only do you discern the voice of God, you know the language of God. You know what God would say and what God would not say to you because of your dedicated devotional life. You need the broadcast. You need the receiver. But then once you get the receiver, you've got to be tuned in to the right frequency. That frequency is how God speaks to us. What are the ways that God communicates God's will to those who have a dedicated and disciplined devotional life?

8:00 To get into that, I'm going to invite you to turn in your Bibles to Numbers chapter 14, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. And once you've found the 14th chapter of the book of Numbers, I want to begin reading out of the New International Version, beginning in verse number five. Listen for the word of the Lord as I read aloud. Numbers chapter 14, beginning in verse 5.

8:51 into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them. But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites, the Lord said to Moses, how long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me? In spite of all the signs I have performed among them, I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you a nation greater and stronger than they. Moses said to the Lord, then the Egyptians will hear about it. By your power, you brought these people up from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, Lord, are with these people, and that you, Lord, have seen face to face that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land.

10:17 He promised them an oath. So he slaughtered them in the wilderness. Today, as we get into part three of wandering in the wilderness, I want you not only to know the ministry of manna and have clarity on your clouds, but today I want you to learn to see the signs. See the signs. Numbers chapter 14 is one of the most critical chapters in the journey of the people of Israel as they wander in the wilderness. In Numbers chapter 14, they've made it to the boundary of Canaan. They are right there at the doorway to the promised land. And you'll recall that they send, upon the recommendation of Moses, 12 spies into the land to see what the land is all about. They go into the promised land and they find out that everything is just as God said it would be, a land flowing with milk and honey.

11:19 But they also find out there are some giants in the land. There's some great warriors who live there. And they realize that in order to take Canaan, there's going to have to be a battle. So when the spies return and they meet with Moses and all the Israelites, Ten of the spies try to convince the people that we should not go into the promised land. Only Joshua and Caleb believe that the promised land is God's will. Ten spies persuade the entire Israelite nation not to go into the wilderness, into the promised land. and as a result God is so displeased that God sends them into a 40-year time out to wander even more to get themselves together. Now I want to make certain you see the problem. They've made it to the promised land and the question I have, how did they get there? How did they know Canaan was where God wanted them to be?

12:23 If you've been following along, the answer is simple. The clouds. The same clouds that guided them out of Egypt have now been guiding them to the border of the promised land. They've been following these clouds faithfully. And now the clouds are confirming that Canaan is where God wants them to go. The clouds are right above Canaan. If they want to know if it's God's will, all they need to do is look up and if the clouds are there they know this is where God wants us to be and yet they doubted the promised land even though they had the clouds the clouds confirmed it but they misread the cloud and doubted whether Canaan was where they should go now watch on the other hand there's Moses Moses has never entered the promised land Moses never set foot in it.

13:21 Moses didn't see it. Moses didn't walk in it. And even without seeing it, even without experiencing it, Moses knew that Canaan was where God wanted them to be. How is Moses certain of the thing the children of Israel are uncertain? Simple. The clouds. So here's the question. How can Moses and the children of Israel see the same sign and come up with different answers? How could Moses see the clouds and know this is where God wants me to be? And how could the children of Israel see the cloud and be confused about whether they should go in or not? They both had the same sign and came to different conclusions. How does that happen?

14:11 The answer is simple. Because, beloved, there is a difference between external confirmation and internal revelation. There is a difference between external confirmation and internal revelation. Let's take a pause, because there's a slide right there. Okay.

14:48 Here's the difference between Moses and the people. It's real simple. Moses spent time alone with God. Moses alone goes into the tent of meeting to talk with God. The Bible says that Moses is called up on the mountaintop and there he hears the voice of God. Moses was so intimate with God that the Bible says that he met with God face to face. Moses is so close to God and knows the voice of God that the clouds only confirm what Moses has already discerned in his spirit. The people are not so. They don't worship. They don't have a dedicated prayer life. They don't know the voice of God. They're always dependent upon Moses. And the only way they know God is through external signs. And the reason they misread the clouds is because the clouds are trying to confirm what they had not already received in their heart and in their spirit.

15:50 because external signs are only confirmation of what should already have been received as internal revelation. That before God proves it in your eyes and before God confirms it in your ears, God wants to speak it in your heart. Since you're not misled by what someone else says and what you see and what they saw and what they shared, but you heard the voice of God for yourself. And I would argue with you, my brother and my sister, that one gift God desires for each and every one of us is to have a discerning heart. To be able to know the will of God and hear the voice of God in our spirit without the need of any external sign or confirmation that you just know what God has placed on your heart. Now, have you ever run into a Christian who said to you, God told me such and such?

16:55 And you wonder, what does that really mean? Have you ever come across someone who's deep in their walk with God and they say, the Lord laid something on my heart? What does that really mean? Have you ever heard someone say, God said to me? What does that really mean? It means that they have a discerning, an urging, a press on their heart, something that they sense God has called them to do. That when you have a discerning heart, you feel the Lord put an urge in your spirit. You feel the Lord lay a burden on your heart. You feel the Lord whisper something in your ear. You sense that there's something God wants you to do. It's not something I just thought myself into. It's not something I just contemplated and decided to do. but I feel and sense the Lord giving me an instinct and an intuition and a gut feeling, if you will. But discernment is more than just instinct and intuition.

17:52 Discernment is the product of instinct with a prayer life. Discernment is the end result of gut feeling with devotional life. That when you've spent time on your knees with God and in the word of God and listening to the voice of God, you can begin to discern what it is God has placed on your heart to do. And I've got a word of encouragement to you that if you have a dedicated devotional life and if you've been in prayer and if you're in your word and you sense God speak to you and lay something on your heart and give you an urging, trust it. If you've been in prayer and you sense the Lord saying, maybe not that, trust it. If you've been in prayer and you sense that God has called you to do something, trust it. if you've been on your knees and you get that instinct that there's something that just didn't come out of your mind, but came out of something in your heart, God might be speaking to you and you've got to learn to trust it.

18:51 Because discernment is like a muscle. The more you use it and trust it, the more you'll hear God. Beloved, this happens to me in my life. that one of the ways I discern the will of God is that every now and then God wakes me up with someone pressing on my mind. I see a member, I feel a name, I hear someone's voice. And I've learned that when I sense that, God wants me to pick up the phone and call them. This happened to me when I was young in ministry and I ignored it. And I ignored it once and the very person that God asked me to call died the very next day. And I made a decision in my mind that day that any time God put someone that heavy on my heart, I would pick up the phone and call them.

19:47 It's a discerning. I don't know where it comes from. I don't make it up. It's not on the list that I just wrote, but I feel that person in my heart and in my spirit, and I know that God wants me to do something, and I want you to trust that discerning that when you've got that dedicated and disciplined devotional life, trust that urging in your heart to obey God. God gives us internal revelation. But here's the good news. God also gives us external confirmation that God has a way of giving us signs to confirm what God has already spoken in our spirit. And I want to share with you a few of those biblical signs that God uses to confirm God's will in our life. A few words. Number one, this is not an exhaustive list. I realize that there are multiple ways God speaks.

20:42 I just want to share with you some that I find biblically interesting and have been active in my own life. And I want you to know that I am intentionally not speaking about dreams. I know that dreams are one of the ways that God speaks. But I want to share two things. One, dreams can be both internal and external. And I don't know enough about dreams. The Lord doesn't speak to me through dreams. And I want to let you know that I'm ignorant about dreams, haven't done enough study, and I'm not going to get up here and try to teach about something that I don't know myself. So I know that dreams are there. We'll come back to that on another sermon. I want to share with you the five ways, biblically, that I sense and see God confirms through external signs. You got pen and paper? Let's get into the Word. There are at least five biblical ways we see God confirming God's will.

21:38 Can I share them with you? Number one, God confirms his will through, watch this, closed doors. God confirms his will through closed doors. The book of Revelation chapter 3 in verse number 7 says this. Jesus is speaking to John on the island of Patmos. And here's what Jesus says. I can open a door no man can close. And I can close a door that no one can open. Watch what Jesus testifies. I know how to control the doors in your life. I can open a door that no one can close. And watch this, baby Bubba. I can close a door that nobody can open. I'm going to address open doors in a minute because I believe that every open door is not an opportunity that God has created. But I do believe this, that if I'm moving in the wrong direction, if I'm outside of the will of God, if I'm pursuing something that's not part of God's plan, God knows how to close the door. Beloved, I came by to talk to you about the ministry of closed doors, that God knows how to shut some stuff down. God knows how to make some things hard for you. God knows how to disturb your joy and your peace. God knows how to bring it to an end. God knows how to close some doors. As a matter of fact, is there anybody listening to the sermon this weekend that knows about some closed doors? Have you ever heard God say no? Have you ever seen God shut it down and no matter how hard you try, you couldn't open it back up? Have you ever found out that what you wanted from God was not what God wanted for you?

23:25 Have you ever had God close a door in your life? And I know that's hard for us to accept because we are some spoiled saints. And we believe that everything we want from God, we ought to get a yes to. That if we pray about it and plead for it, that God ought to just give it to us. And that's because we've not matured to the point where we realize that whatever God wills for you is better than what you want for yourself. Let me say that again. God's will is greater than your want. And when you walk with God long enough, you'll find out that if God shut one door, it's because God is redirecting you to something better he has in store for you. And when you grow up in God, you will reach the place where you thank God for closed doors. I feel like preaching to someone today who is thankful that God didn't give you what you asked for. God didn't let it go down the way you wanted it to go down. God did not say yes. God did not deliver it.

24:26 God shut that thing down. And now you can look back over your life and thank the Lord that that closed door just redirected you to something better God had in store. God will speak through closed doors. And so if you're at a crossroad trying to discern the will of God, there's nothing wrong with praying to God like this, Lord, if this isn't your will, shut this thing down. Lord, if this is not what you want from me, let me get the rejection letter and be all right. Lord, if this is not your desire, it may break my heart, but bring it to an end. God, shut and close the door. God has a way of directing you and confirming his will through closed doors.

25:18 Number two, not only does God direct us through closed doors, but God also directs us and confirms his will through answered prayer. One of the ways God confirms his will is through answered prayer. Remember, Revelation 3 says, I can close a door no one can open and open a door no one can close. It's easy to discern closed doors as God's will. It's harder to discern open opportunities. I would suggest to you that every open door is not God's calling for you to walk through. Every opportunity is not divinely ordained for your life. Let me give you a side order scripture. Acts chapter 16. Paul and Silas are locked up in jail unjustly.

26:11 The Bible says around about midnight, they began praying and singing hymns. There was an earthquake and the jail cell burst open. And now an unjustly incarcerated Paul and Silas have an open door in front of them. And they refuse to go out because they believe that God has called them to stay there. That every open door is not God's opportunity for you to walk out of something. Open doors are not always God's will. So how do I discern if an open door is God's way of directing me? It's real simple. Pray. And I believe it is all right to ask God for a sign if this is his will. If you don't believe me, you need to read your Bible in Judges chapter 6. In the sixth chapter of Judges, God has called Gideon to come and be of service.

27:05 and Gideon is hesitant to believe that God's calling is on his life and in verse 17 of chapter 6 this is what Gideon says in the Howard John Wesley translation he says God if this is what you want me to do I'm gonna need a sign God if this is what you want here's what he says I'm gonna put a rug out and in the morning I want the ground to be wet and the rug to be dry and then he flips it and says okay God on the next day I'm gonna put the rug out and I want the rug to be wet and the ground to be dry and God honored Gideon's request. I'll give you that sign. But there's nothing wrong with saying to God not only do I want you to close the door but Lord if it's your will confirm it by doing such and such. That was my experience back in 1994. I was graduating from Duke University on my way to medical school on a full ride scholarship and the Lord had the audacity to tell me to go to seminary. Now I'm gonna tell you me and the Lord had to battle on this thing because I was not about to walk away from a full ride to medical school to go be a preacher and a pastor. You know why?

28:14 Number one, I know how messy church can be. Number two, I grew up in a place where preachers didn't make a whole lot weren't able to provide for their families and I did not go to college to be broke. So Lord, I am not going to seminary. So let me tell you what I told God. I said, all right, Lord, you want me to go to seminary? Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to apply to all Ivy League schools. I'm going to apply to Yale, Princeton, Harvard, and Boston University. If you want me to go to seminary, you're going to have to let me get into one of them. I figured there was no way an engineer was going to get into seminary. Y'all, let me tell you about God's sense of humor. I got into all four of them. And I said, all right, God, because you know I'm a little stubborn. I said, if you want me to go, I got to get a full scholarship because you know I ain't paying to go to school and come out with some debt to work at a church that can't pay me. Sure enough, Princeton offered me a scholarship. I went to Princeton. I was in class for a whole week. Then Boston University called and offered me the Martin Luther King scholarship, which was not only a full ride, but $10,000 stipend and the honor to study in the name of Martin Luther King Jr. And I said, okay, God, now you're just tripping. You're just showing out now. You're trying to prove that you can go exceedingly and abundantly above all that you you to ask your thing because when you need confirmation God will answer your prayer and let you know that's that open door he's given God speaks through closed doors through answered prayer and watch number three it's gonna be a little quiet God speaks through wise counsel One of the ways God confirms his will in your life is to surround you with those who have wisdom that they pour into you.

29:58 Those who help you see when something may not be a wise choice. Those who help you weigh out the pros and cons. Those that remind you to be prayerful and to walk by faith and not by sight. Beloved, what we need most right now in the body of Christ is a dose of wise counsel. You know, that's what the book of Proverbs is all about. That Solomon, the wisest man in the history of humanity, is pouring wisdom on his son so that his son won't make mistakes and live a life that is displeasing to the Lord. Every child of God needs wise counsel. You need someone smarter than you. You need someone who's walked in your shoes. You need someone who's experienced what you've experienced. You need somebody who's done the daggone thing. You need somebody who does what you do and do it better than you do. You need some wise counsel.

30:52 And the Bible teaches us that Solomon's son, Rehoboam, read your Bible, 1 Kings 15. Rehoboam, 1 Kings 12, excuse me. Rehoboam ignored the wisdom of the elders around him. And because he ignored wise counsel, he lost the kingdom of David that he should have inherited. because when you won't listen to wise counsel, you might miss the will of God in your life. You are not as smart as you think. And I don't care how anointed you are and how many scriptures you can quote. Every child of God needs wise counsel because God is not glorified in foolishness. The Bible teaches us that God's not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind that sometimes the way you combat fear is with a sound mind.

31:46 And beloved, I came by to tell you today, I am growing weary of those who cover their foolishness with the word of faith. That you cannot hide foolishness and claim that it is faith. It is not faith to take off your mask and anoint yourself and say you're not gonna get COVID-19. That's foolish. It is not faith to say we're gonna ignore social distancing and gather in church anyway. That's not faith. That is foolishness. And God is not honored in foolishness. Faith and wisdom are not mutually exclusive.

32:23 And if we're going to walk by faith, we've got to be wise. That you are not displaying a lack of faith simply by exercising counsel. I thank God for wise counsel. I thank God for John Borders and W. Franklin Richardson, who speak wise pastoral counsel in my life. I thank God for Frank Thomas and Valerie Bridgman, who make me a better scholar. I thank God for Teresa Frye Brown, who makes me aware of my male patriarchal privilege. I thank God for Walter Thomas and Xena Jacques, for the wise counsel they pour in my life. I thank God for Alvin and Helen Wesley, my mother and father, for the wise counsel they gave me. I would not be where I am were it not for wise counsel. Who is God sending to your life to confirm his will through wisdom?

33:19 You need some wise counsel. Listen, God speaks through closed doors, answered prayer, wise counsel. Here comes number four, and this may seem a little self-serving, but you know how God confirms his will? Through his preached word. God confirms what has been internally spoken by the Holy Spirit into your heart through the preached word that you receive when you're under a good pastor. Here's what the Bible says. The Bible tells us in the book of Jeremiah that a good pastor is God's gift to your life. A good pastor is God's gift to your life. I ain't talking about some Johnny come lately. I'm not talking about someone that doesn't apply themselves to study. I'm not talking about some charlatan who lacks integrity. I'm not talking about some con artist who's just trying to raise money. I'm talking about a good pastor.

34:11 When you get a good pastor, here's what will happen. God will speak something to your spirit. And one Sunday, you're going to walk into church. You're going to sit down. And by the time the sermon is in mid-swing, you're going to be texting your girlfriend or your best friend asking them, why did you tell that preacher all my business? Have you ever been in the midst of a worship service and you looked around to figure out, is God just talking to me? Because this word is from me. Here's what the Holy Spirit does. The same revelation the Holy Spirit gives you, the Holy Spirit then confirms in me so that when I preach the word and share what God wants you to hear, it aligns itself with what God has already spoken. And now you know what God wants you to do. Beloved, that's why you need to belong to a good church with a good preacher, a good woman of God, a good man of God, because God confirms God's will through God's preached word.

35:13 Listen, I got to let you all go. It's time to be out of here. God speaks through closed doors. God speaks through answered prayer. God speaks through what's number three? Wise counsel. God speaks through his preached word. But watch how quiet it's about to get. God also speaks through obstacles and opposition. God speaks through obstacles and opposition. Sometime the confirmation that you are right where God wants you to be is that there's an obstacle in your way. Sometimes the way God confirms that you are right where God wants you is that you're surrounded by enemy who oppose you. Sometimes the only confirmation you get is that there are haters and evil folk around you who are trying to block what you believe God has called you to do.

36:07 Watch this, y'all. The children of Israel have followed the cloud all the way out of Egypt. This cloud has never let them down. And now they're in the promised land and they see that there's going to take some battles and some fights to be what God wants them to be. And they allow the presence of opposition to cause them to doubt the clarity of the cloud. Don't you miss this? The cloud had never let them down. And now they see that there are some haters and some battles and some enemy and they doubt the cloud simply because of the presence of opposition. God, deliver me. From weak and wimpy Christians who doubt your will at the drop of a dime because it's going to be some battles involved. Beloved, I'm tired of saints of God who want everything to be easy, to think that all you ought to do is pray and say amen.

37:07 And then you're going to be like Dorothy and ease on down the road. That's not how it works, my sister. That's not how it works, my brother. Sometimes the will of God will lead you right into the middle of opposition. Now, now, somebody ought to be asking the critical question. Reverend, how do I know the difference between a closed door and opposition? How do I know if a closed door is an obstacle or is it God saying I shouldn't go in that way? It's real simple. A closed door, no matter what you do, you cannot open. God says, I'll close it. You can't open it. But an obstacle, watch this. This is how you know an obstacle. Stand still and watch God handle it. The Bible reminds us that every time you have opposition and an obstacle, beloved, don't you give up, don't you doubt, don't you be discouraged, because an obstacle and an opposition is just God setting the scenery and the stage for God's next performance of a miracle in your life.

38:10 Let me say that again. If it's opposition and if it's an obstacle, all you've got to do is stand still. And watch God set the scene for the next performance of a miracle in your life. Oh, I wish I had a Bible reader. The Bible says that the disciples found a boy who was born blind and they asked Jesus, how did this happen? And Jesus says this happened so God's glory could be revealed. When Lazarus drops dead and dies, the disciples want to give up. But Jesus says to them, don't give up just yet. A miracle is waiting on the other side. When he gives his life on Calvary, it's a set up. When the walls of Jericho are there, it is a set up. When the Red Sea is closed, it is a set up for God's next miracle. And I would argue with you, COVID-19 ain't nothing but a set up.

39:08 The obstacle and the opposition is God setting the scene and the stage for the next performance of a miracle in your life. When you've got that internal revelation, you see closed doors and answered prayer, get you some wise counsel, preached word, obstacles and opposition. Here's how you know you're in the will of God. It's simple. Joy and peace. that God never calls you to something that's going to make you miserable. The Bible teaches us in the book of Nehemiah chapter 8 that the joy of the Lord is our strength, that in order to perform the will of God, I need the joy of the Lord because it gives me the strength to do it. Now, that doesn't mean you'll always be happy. That doesn't mean you won't have struggle, but it does mean that there's an internal joy.

40:01 That's where the old saints get that song, this joy I have, the world didn't give it, and the world can't take it away. And peace. All of us know what it's like to lack peace in our spirit. And if you are not in a peaceful place, you may not be where God wants you to be. God, show us the signs. Our prayer is that you would develop a discerning heart to know the will of God in your own life. Next week is Mother's Day. We're going to pause our wandering in the wilderness and I want to talk to you about Moses' moms on next Sunday. Next Sunday, we also have communion. And as we've done before, I'm asking you to be the priest of your own home to prepare your elements of communion, whatever type of bread you have, whatever type of wine, grape juice, water you want to use. We're going to bless our table.

40:54 We're going to share in the word of God together. It's Pastor Howard John Wesley. Love you with the love of the Lord and paraphrasing and stealing and plagiarizing my friend Joe Nickens, and there's nothing you can do about it. I'll see you all next weekend.