How To Hear The Spirit Part 2 | Pastor Shane Idleman

How to hear from the Spirit, part two. Okay, all the things I didn't get to. Anybody need help in this area? Or are you here perfectly from God? No questions? No, this is going to be very important. And as I was... When my wife and older kids were gone, I took my seven-year-old to Disneyland. And Monday wore her out, so I was happy about that. But I was able to listen to Chuck Swindoll. How many of you follow his ministry? What a great Bible teacher. I haven't listened in a while, but I used to listen all the time when I came back to the Lord. But it actually came on 99.5 KKLA and then I put on the app. And the title was Unidentified Inner Promptings. UIPs. Instead of UFOs, UIPs. Unidentified Inner Promptings. And I'm like, ah, that's what I'm talking about too. And I was happy to hear, you know, you don't get the full message because the radio's edited down, but pretty much a lot of the same things we talked about and what I want to talk to you

about this morning, because it's a tough topic. When you talk about these kind of things, some people get a little frazzled, especially like in a reformed, conservative church, they're totally against what they call inner voices or inner promptings. And if you were to like that, I am too. Right? We want to be careful and cautious. Because they've seen so much weird stuff that's out there. However, I've learned through my life, as I'm sure many of you, God leads sometimes through those unidentified inner promptings. Many times. And I would say we have the Word as practical application, but it's that conviction that is the number one tool that God will use to draw us or to lead us. And it makes sense, so if you have the Holy Spirit in your heart as a believer, that Holy Spirit's directing through those types of inner promptings. However, we get off balance and that's all we're listening to. And not the Word.

And actually, I put this out just to remind me and to cover my drink. But it was written by a Puritan. The Christian in Complete Armor. The Christian in Complete Armor. Very thick. You might want to get the revised version. But it's just how to put on the complete armor, walk in the Word of God, follow the principles of the Word of God. That's the best way to be led to hear God's voice is to obey the principles. And then there are times where it's like, Lord, there's no book I can turn to that tells me should I take this job or not? I can't look to Luke 14 and see if I should move out of state. Or if I should sell my house. Or should I start this ministry? Should I start this business? Sometimes we don't have those answers. Now, there's principles to follow, is there not? And I believe unequally yoked has not just to do with marriage, but also with partnerships of any kind. Business partnerships for sure. Because they're going to want to hide things on taxes and be dishonest in this area. It's going to be very hard.

What the fellowship has light with darkness is not just in marriage, but in all areas of life. And so this topic is interesting because we see it throughout the book of Acts. And I think we have the screen from last week where it talked about being led by the Spirit. The Bible says it, not me. Led by the Spirit. And they heard from the Spirit. And the Spirit told Philip. And then the Holy Spirit stopped them. He forbid them from going into Asia. He did not allow them. And so the Spirit is leading them. So it seems like some of this is an internal witness. Led of the Spirit. Heard of the Spirit. It's an internal witness. Like, I just can't... There's something... I need to do this. Now, if it's biblical, normally, it will help others. It will not gratify the flesh. You're probably not going to be led to go to Starbucks and get a double-mapped Frappuccino, extract, whatever. But led to call that person back.

You met at the bar. There's things where you know it's not God, it's the wrong voice that's trying to get my attention. And I'm not going to go into it, but last week, I talked about the devil planting thoughts. Actually, your flesh wants comfort. So when you're led of the Spirit, often it's not very comfortable. Like, oh, Lord, you want me to talk to that person? You know, and fix that relationship? That's probably not the devil. And for me, I've noticed that he will lead in these promptings. I don't know what else to call them. But they're very solid Bible teachers that will talk about this. And I do find it interesting. I've talked about this before, but I just want to show you the relevance. You know, we lost one of the heroes of the faith a while back with John MacArthur. And I have a study Bible. And they would probably lean towards... He wouldn't talk about what I'm talking about. They're very cautious on this letter of promptings, led of the Spirit. And I reminded people that go there, I said, hey, by the way,

I went to the Shepherds Conference about ten years ago. And they had up on the screen one of the professors at the seminary he persecuted China. And he was talking, and he said, I was on my bike, and the Holy Spirit led me a different path, and I voided the police who were at my home. And I wanted to stand up and say, that's all I'm saying. Why can he say it? Because it's one of their guys, right? But so we see that the Holy Spirit is leading. The Puritans talk about led of the Spirit. But it's a point where you have to be careful. Because we do see people who are not very balanced. Thinking that God talks to them all the time. These little voices. But they're not grounded in the Word. They're not obeying the Word. The devil's after my finances. No, you don't budge it. You have bad spending habits. That's the devil. And so it's just such an area to be careful in. But praise God we have the Scriptures. I did talk about how the Spirit leads us in January when I was in the book of Acts.

But this is more hearing the voice of God. And so where I left off was keys to hearing the Spirit. Keys to hearing the Spirit. And a reminder that as the disciples were led of the Spirit, He stopped them, He led them, He told them. They were filled with the Spirit and prayed up. That will make the difference. Because if you're quenching and grieving the Spirit, and you're not prayed up, it's going to be hard to distinguish those voices. Because really, the leading of the Spirit comes from the overflow. As you're surrendering to God, as you're filled with His Word and praying, it's an overflow. You're led in that natural direction. But if you're not teachable, you're not humble, you don't really want to do what He wants you to do, it's going to be hard to be led of the Spirit. So we have to remember that God's voice dominated their thoughts. They were dead to the things of the world. And we must begin here. Also, maybe for some of you, you must begin with repentance.

Lord, I've been off track. I'm repenting. I want to get back on the right track. Because when you're in sin and unrepentant, the only voice you're really hearing is the voice of conviction. What you think is God's voice, although it could be God, God directs unsaved people. I've heard of that many times. But more often than not, it's going to be hard to hear His voice if unrepentance is clouding and stopping up our ears. So we must begin here. And also, the more time you spend in the Word, the better you'll hear. Isn't that true? This is a number two here. This is what I added this week. The more time you spend in the Word, the better you'll be able to hear. Because then you also know, oh, that's not of God. That's not a godly principle. I don't think that's the case. And what you're doing, the human brain is amazing. You've heard me talk about it before. Neuroplasticity.

It really came probably in the last decade where your brain can actually change. It's not like genetics and you're wired this way. Your brain can actually change things in your mind and develop habits that you never thought you could develop before. And what you're doing is the Word, actually you begin to get closer to the mind and heart of God. And so when you know somebody better, you know what they're already going to do, don't you? Oh, I know what my spouse would say in this situation. Or I know what my kids... Or you hear something like, oh, I know what kid said that. Because of that relationship in His Word. And in the Word, to me, even the Word is like spiritual nutrition. Physical nutrition, right? We know it restores and helps the body. But the Word is spiritual nutrition. And the best way to be led of the Spirit is to hear His voice through it. He's already spoken. He's actually already spoken. Most questions can be answered in His Word. Is this wise? Is this a good thing to do? And then the leadings usually supplement the Word.

They never take the place of it. Ever. You buy supplements sometimes, don't you? B-Complex or whatever. Vitamin D, vitamin K, whatever. That's not the meal. It's a little tablet to supplement the meal because you're not getting enough. Also, this is not a point yet. I haven't got to two. But I want to remind you, they waited. In order to be led, the disciples waited. So that's a good phrase to remember. They waited to be led. Usually when God leads, it's while we're waiting. It's not while we're rushing. When you rush, you get ahead of God. When you wait, that prompting, as you're waiting, you know, it begins to feel right. It begins to saturate in your heart. And like Psalm 130 says, I wait for the Lord. My soul waits. And in His Word, I do hope my soul waits for the Lord. And remember, waiting.

Waiting is actually an active tension filled with hope that trusts entirely in God's strength. So waiting, it's not just sitting on the couch with your feet up all day. It's an expectation. It's expecting God to move and waiting on Him. You've heard that still, small voice before. Have you heard that? The Bible, maybe preachers have taught on it. The still, small voice of God. And it goes back to Elisha where God wasn't in the fire, He wasn't in the thunder and the wind and all these things when He escaped from Jezebel. But it's very interesting, He says, but His voice was in the still, small voice that followed. That delicate whisper. And isn't that how God leads? Sometimes there's that, when you know you're getting into the big boy sins, like don't go there. Nah, nah, nah, nah. But there's other areas where it's just that gentle whisper. And gentle doesn't compete with harsh noise. That's why it's good to just quiet yourself

before the Lord. Take a day to pray and fast. The insight is amazing when you take time to just wait on Him. I quoted this back in January. I thought it would be good today to remind you of it. It's a poem. It says, Is there some door closed by the Father's hand which widely opened you had hoped to see? Trust God and wait, for when He shuts the door, He keeps the key. I've seen many times when God shuts the door, it doesn't mean it's final. It can be. Sometimes it is. It could be just that waiting time. And then again, where we left off last week, considering the decision you're about to make seems to lead to peace as long as it's biblical. So when it comes to being led of the Spirit, actually hearing God's voice, you know what you're about to do or what you're contemplating. Is there peace there? Is there peace? Because it's hard to fight against peace.

Can anybody still force that decision? When there wasn't peace? And it's hard because you know, man, Lord, help me. That's when we say help. Get me back on track. If I could go back and do that. And so just thinking about that is so important because peace, I don't know how it works, but it's almost like the Holy Spirit's at rest if that makes sense. You know, you fill with the Spirit. You have the Holy Spirit. The Spirit's leading. And there's peace. There's not a restlessness because you know, hey, this seems like the right decision. Now, there is false peace. I've seen people, and we've talked about this before, and I even mentioned it last Sunday, where they would say, but pastor, God knows my heart. I have peace about it. And you know they're wrong. I mean, it's clear they're wrong. Biblically speaking, they're wrong.

But I have peace about it. You don't have peace, you've ignored the leading of the Spirit so long that you've quenched and grieved His voice. That's not peace. That's quenching and grieving the Spirit. And you've moved forward in that disobedience so long that hey, it feels like Him. There's no big warning lights. So be very careful in that area. Repent and say, God, I want to know Your will. Number three, disobedience clouds our vision and clogs our ears. How many have lived that? Reading the Bible is no substitute for responding to the prompting of the Spirit. So many people read the Bible, or they'll go to church, but they ignore the conviction of the Spirit. I don't want to do that, but let me just read. Just read. No, no, no. I'm not going to obey, but I'm just going to read. And it's lethargic. I mean, it's not lethargic, but it makes you feel good. I read the Word even though I'm in disobedience. He leads us primarily through conviction and the wisdom in His Word. And we talked about because in Acts, He actually had a dream or a vision

to go to somewhere. And so I'm going to talk about that in a minute. But God primarily will lead you through conviction and the wisdom of His Word. You have to have both. Because you have to line up that conviction with His Word. And compromises, excuses, justifications, and procrastinations can also dull our hearing. Anybody been there before? Compromises. When you know God's wanting you to do something, but you negotiate. Any negotiators out there? Like, alright, Lord, but... Did the Scripture jump out into your head on that? James, be doers of the Word and not hearers only deceiving yourself. And so many guys, I can't tell you how many times I've seen this. People quote the Scripture, but they don't obey it. And they actually do live in deception. The Bible's right. I know what the Bible says. And they read it and they think they're good. But it's the obedience that really has the power. God leads us primarily through conviction and the wisdom in His Word.

They go together. Now, I did leave off last week. Actually, it was Paul. Correct? Was led by the Spirit with a vision. A dream. A dream is something you have when you're sleeping. A vision is something possibly that you would see. And Paul led him through this time in the book of Acts with a vision. However, again, what did I just say? He leads us primarily through conviction of the Spirit that lines up with His Word. Those two are wonderful. Aren't you thankful for conviction? Because if we didn't have that, we'd just read and we're like, well, I don't know what it says. I mean, I know what it says, and hopefully this is right, but that conviction adds that second layer of direction. And we want to make sure that compromises and excuses and justification and procrastinations do not dull our hearing. Because when God wants us to do something, do you ever compromise or negotiate with God? Or make excuses or procrastinate? That will knock you off the course as well. So I want to read something.

Just listen to this. I don't think we have it up there. It's from a friend of mine, Taco Canado. He posted this and I'm like, I have to share this Sunday. He said, one of the biggest things I've learned in my walk with the Lord is that we often ask God for more direction while neglecting the last thing He already asked us to do. Hello? This is so true. I've seen this many, many times. We often ask God for more direction, but we're neglecting the last thing He already asked us to do. We pray for another confirmation, another prophetic word. or another sign, but many times, the breakthrough that we're looking for is just on the other side of obedience. How many of you can relate to that? Lord, give me a sign. I already did months ago. Weeks ago. You already know what to do. Here's why it's hard, and we don't want to do it unless we know with absolute certainty.

So God, give me that sign. Give me that confirmation. I want to hear from You again. But let me tell you, the peace will come when you step out and obey. Number four, we must apply Scripture in context. We must compare Scripture with Scripture. So a lot of people will use verses. Have you ever heard the phrase cherry-picking? So they'll use certain verses, but they'll forget about the totality, what they call all of Scripture. So you look at the Word of God. For example, let's talk about sometimes the verse that people use on healing is taken out of context. By His stripes, you are healed. And you shouldn't be sick. That's not God's will for anybody to be sick. But every time I look at that verse, it has to do with salvation. Here's quoting Isaiah. By His stripes, you are healed. Now, is there healing in the atonement? Of course. But to say you never should be sick? That's not true. And the Scriptures they start to...

Andrew Womack, I guess, is one of the people who's been sending me, like, watch this guy. I mean, you should never be sick. Okay, what happens at 85, 87? Does God say now is your time? Where do you come up with this stuff? By His stripes, you are healed. That's not in context. The main context, look at it. Bled on the cross, was beaten without recognition, because of His stripes, you are healed, spiritually speaking, from sin. And so see, we throw these verses at people. And we have to make sure we're putting things in context. Look at the heart of God. Does He use sickness to get us back on track? Yeah? Amen. Could it be a demonic attack and you're going to have to press in like never before? And this kind cometh not out except by prayer and fasting? We don't know, but it's very dangerous. It's very dangerous to misapply Scripture. And we just have to be so careful in this area, because the blood of the Spirit means we're looking at Scripture in its totality.

Number five, you guys ready to get into the danger zone? Oh my goodness. It's so funny for me, because those who know me, I'm kind of conservative. I'm John MacArthur, study Bible. I'm conservative. I don't like weird stuff. But the power of the Spirit is real. It's evident. The gifts are real. But it's good because the church can become well-balanced. Because there's other churches, if you're too far in the other direction, you can get off kilter. And you want to try to remain well-balanced. Nobody has perfect interpretation on exactly how things do. Do we have church service exactly like God wants us to do it? Exactly perfect? Of course not. We've got a bunch of flawed, frail, broken people, including me, coming to minister to people and to worship God. And so in that, we're just trying to do the best that we can. But this is a danger zone because God will use dreams, visions, and confirmations.

But you have to be careful. So from the Bible, when God would use visions and dreams, I could just do a whole sermon on this. Because confirmations. Do I have any Gideons in the audience that like to throw out fleeces? Just me? Nobody else? Maybe you need a quick history lesson on fleeces? So God called Gideon to do something. He said, okay, Lord, if it's really You, let the fleece be wet and the ground dry. And that would not happen. And well, guess what? It was. And then like any good Gideon, I can do this. Okay, if this is really You... I'm going to flip it over. Let tonight, let the fleece be dry and all the ground around it be wet. If it's really you. And there's other times of confirmation. I think he had like three or four different confirmations on things. And so, for me, that's okay. Because God knows our heart. We want to make sure it's Him. Because if you're like me,

you say, Lord, I trust You. I don't trust me. So I need to know, is this You? So there are some things you can do. First, I don't know if we have these up here. Throughout the Bible, the heart was genuinely seeking the right path. So if you're asking God for a confirmation or dream, visions, your heart is genuinely seeking the right path. And God will honor that pursuit. Lord, give me clean hands and a pure heart. Okay, He's genuinely seeking the right path. I'm going to help him out a little bit here. Second, it often happened on major decisions. Whether you should go to Costco later or not, you're probably not going to get a vision. Or a dream or a confirmation. It's usually on pretty significant major decisions. Wise men were probably going to be killed. And the heretics say, come back and tell me about Jesus. Jesus was going to be killed, so God directed them differently. Joseph was going to be killed. And Jesus, so God delivered them differently to Egypt. Out of Egypt, I called my son.

And He actually led Joseph in another dream. He warned a king when he took Abraham's wife. I mean, it's like, God uses these things on significant things. The key is you don't get caught up on it. Like, oh, I had a dream. What does this mean? I had a dream. What does this mean? There has to be taking it to the Lord, waiting upon Him, and just being careful. Because I've seen, I don't know, I want to be careful what I say to you. I've seen a lot of people come through our doors. I've known a lot of believers. Many of you, right? I've lived here all my life. And the majority of them who are dreams and visions in the Lord, they're not stable. They're really not. They have a lot of issues. Character issues, financial issues, marriage issues, raising their kids. But it's always dreams and visions, and what are the prophets saying? They're not healthy, usually. Because you don't need that to be your source. God and obedience to His Word is your source. And then when you need a little help, the Helper helps you.

But you're already grounded in that. Does that make sense? And so people that get a little wonky, the right word, and you'll see even in the charismatic community, look at all these people that are just not ministering anymore. And they just get Mike Bickle, Chris Reid. I've been in Lancaster before. A guy named Sandu that Shekinah just warned us about now. And they email me about it. And you've got all these. They're just the dreams and visions. And you've just got to be careful because God uses that, but that's not the foundation. That's not your foundation. And people can be manipulated with that stuff. Oh, they've got prophetic word. Oh, they must be really close to God. Sometimes they're farther away. And they have to use that stuff to manipulate people. You want to be in God's Word building on the foundation, obeying His principles. Lead of the Spirit that way. And then third, they did not trust a sign alone. Boy, that could avoid some problems, couldn't it?

Hey, I've got a sign. No, no, no, hold on. The devil can give you a sign. Oh, I met this person. Oh, is there such thing as love at first sight? Oh, they're not a Christian yet, but God might be using me. Or the devil could be using you. We've had signs before that you have to weigh them out. You do have to weigh them out. It's been a long time, so now I can tell you about it. Hopefully, it's okay. My wife will remember too. But when Dave Prather was retiring at Central Christian, a lady said, God told me, impressed me, that you're supposed to be a Christian. I used to pastor that church. And I said, well, I'm not a Christian. Merge them together, I'm like, whoa! I'm not a Christian. I'm not a Christian. Like at the dentist's office. Over on 10th Street. Division Street Dental. Way back then. I'm like, wow! Okay.

She pulled out the God told me card. Okay, guess God told her. No, no, no, no, no, no. You might have had a good idea at night. That wasn't God. There's no peace. Obviously, God closed the door. But God told me. See, I don't know if I've ever said that in all of my life. I will say I feel strongly about this. God's really convicted me, I think. So she was wrong. Completely wrong. Was she not? Had I went on that alone, that would have been an ugly path. But God said, even though there's no peace. So be very careful. Be very careful on this. Jeremiah 32. I love this. I just love that the Bible is real. Jeremiah said, the Word of the Lord came to me. Okay. And Hanamel, the son of Shalom, your uncle will come to you saying, by my field. So the Word of the Lord came to him

and said, somebody's going to come to you and say, by my field. Alright, Jeremiah. But then he said, next screen. If we have it. Then, my uncle's son did come to me and he said, please, by my field. Then I knew that it was the Word of the Lord. Wait a minute, did you not know before that? But confirmation. Confirmation. Even the prophets. Now, it's a little challenging for people sometimes because the Word of the Lord said, the Word of the Lord said, but he said, I knew that this was the Word of the Lord for confirmation. That's why it's okay to pray for confirmation. Listen guys, God loves you. He knows you better than you know yourself. He's not playing hide and seek. He's not trying to make life difficult. He wants you to know as much as you need to know. And so, Lord, I need help in this. I need confirmation on this. Would You show me? Would You open or close the door? I'm going to wait on You. And he's not going, no, no. I'm going to make you suffer for a while.

He might make you wait to make you do this. Lord, I need to hear from You. I need to hear from You. And that waiting time's not wasted time. Here's a bonus. I don't know if it's in there. Fourth point. Well, it's kind of confusing. They have different points. Let's just say bonus. People will use dreams and visions or the Lord spoke to me to manipulate you. All those guys I just mentioned a few minutes ago did that. Some of them are still doing that. Be very careful. Have your spiritual eyes open. Seek the Lord. He will show you. Number six in hearing the voice of God. Be honest about who or what is truly influencing you. Be honest about who or what is truly influencing you. Well, Shane, isn't that obvious? Well, many people are not truly honest about what's influencing them. Right, they make a decision, yeah, but you're just being led astray by money and the world. No, no, no, no, I'm not.

God wants to use me. He wants to build my ministry. No, no, no, you're being influenced by numbers and status and recognition or people. Just be honest. Don't tell people if you don't want to, but at least be honest with God. Say, God, I don't know what's influencing me, but I want You to influence me. And the only reason I mention this is so many people think that they're being led of God's Spirit, but actually, the wrong thing is influencing them. Anybody ever influenced by their flesh? Every arm should go up. I might give you another opportunity in a minute. Seven, be slow to speak and actually slower to move. So when it's led of the Spirit, you're often not reacting. You're responding in wisdom. Okay, Lord, is this You? I'm not going to react. Any reactors? Balcony? Do you react up there? You want to fix things? Get it taken care of? React, react, react.

Often being led of the Spirit. Sometimes, if you're to react and get out of the way of a coming car on the wrong side of the road, but usually, Lord, I want to be led of Your Spirit. The reason we take time is because you have to flush out the wrong impulses. You have to kind of get rid of that why am I doing this? The less of the flesh, right? The less of the eye. And it takes time to flush out all that stuff. Number eight, remain teachable and humble. That is the best way for God to lead you. Is it not? Alright, parents, let's get real. How easy is it to grab your little two-year-old and say, okay, come on. There we go. No problem. Versus don't fit. And they anchor to that car. They're not getting up. We're going. Yes, you are. You're going. What's easier? How to lead them? Fighting, kicking, and fighting, and screaming?

Or like, Lord, where do You want to lead me? I think I even have the verse for that. Check out this verse. My goodness. The humble, He teaches His way. That tells me He resists the proud. James, I believe. He resists the proud. But He teaches, He leads those who are humble. In other words, if you want to be led of the Spirit, God will lead you. If you can truly say, don't tell people what they want to hear, but Lord, I truly want to know what You want me to do in this area. I can guarantee, He will lead. Might not be that day, type A people. Do you ever pray and I'm ready for the answer later today? Yeah, right now? Yes? I've done many of those. Number nine, seek godly counsel, but understand that God may lead you differently. However, the Bible says there is safety in the multitude of counsel. So many people go to one person, and that one person might not see things like you do. That's why it said in the multitude of counsel. The more counsel you can get from Christian people, the more safety there is. But sometimes God will lead you differently

when it's not a moral issue. Does that make sense? I clearly don't know what to do here. And He will open and close doors if He wants to. Will He not? When you're sincerely seeking Him. Here's one of the things I've been praying about. I don't want to talk about it. I actually hate talking about it. I was actually scheduled to fly out today to be on Dr. Daniel Pompa's podcast tomorrow, but I canceled a couple weeks ago. It's anxiety. I don't like talking about it. Most of you know what I'm going through. So, when I took the trip to Mexico, which I still recommend to people, alternative route, it's actually called integrative oncology. So they use the best of both worlds. Whatever works, basically. Don't worry, I'm going somewhere. It's an important point. So, godly counsel. I saw it. And even when I got there, talking to Christian doctors, and I was five hours away from beginning chemotherapy. Five hours.

Cyclophosphamide. Made in the 1940's from mustard gas. It's also a problem I know too much too. That doesn't help. But in micro, what they call low dosage, what it does is it reveals the regulatory T-cells. And often, cancer can hide inside the regulatory T-cells. Regulatory means they're regulating the immune system. And so what that low dose does is it exposes it. And so your immunity can get those cancer cells. I just didn't have peace. The whole time I'm fine. I'm going, but if you want to close this door, close this door. And that's actually what happened. I had vitamin C therapy. where they put electrolytes in your IV for an hour and a half, and my body just freaked out. It convulsed. It was bad. I was almost close to heading to the hospital. And to date, still don't know what caused it. That's not normal. We've never had that happen. And so I still said, okay, listen to counsel. Stayed, and it was Tuesday.

It was a Tuesday. And then they did ozone therapy where they put in a lot of oxygen, which is really good because cancer hates oxygen. And so normally, it's fine, and my body did the same thing. And I'm like, your teeth are chattering, but this is beyond. This is like out of control. They've got oxygen on my face. Doctors are in their stat. They've got my shirt open putting an EKG machine on trying to regulate my heart rate and injecting stuff to slow it. It's like what in God's... Doctors, they have no clue what's going on. So finally, when I calmed down, put on worship, and they wanted to inject stuff to get my fever down, I said, no, let me just worship for an hour and a half. And I said, I know what's happening. God is closing this door. And of course, they try to talk you into it. I go, ma'am, this door is closed. My wife's picking me up tomorrow, and we're going to Coronado for a few days. That's what God... That's the plan. So, all counsel, right? Even people kind of got mad at me. But it's like, God closed that door.

And because He deals with people differently. A pastor friend of mine has the same thing I have. He's on his third trip down there. And it's working great for him, but God works differently. And ever since I found out, once I start everything, the last five months I've been doing much better. I don't feel it much anymore. I have tons of energy. So, I don't know what that means though. I have no clue what that means. It just means day by day, trusting the Lord. But, God was using something different in my life. Because whatever the end of the story is, I don't know what it's going to be. He gets all the glory, all the credit. I can't say Mexico worked. Chemotherapy worked. This worked. That worked. It's like, I'm just trusting the Lord. And so that's why He will use... And talk about a closed door. I mean, we've never seen anything like this. I don't know what... Five hours away. And I still know. Cyclophosphamide.

Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip. And then you've got to take pills home. For months. And it says, yeah, don't touch them. And keep out of the way of kids. I'm like, I have to deal with this? What is going on here? But I also regulate. It's like, okay, I'm feeling great. This. My lymph nodes way down. This. Okay, Lord. Because He's also... He doesn't want you to be naive. And I was actually... Another where I use godly counsel is USC had... I was scheduled for neck surgery. I think back in March. And when I went to Mexico, or so, I don't have the exact dates. April. It was probably April. Morgan will remember. The head doctor there said, I actually wouldn't do that. I can do it. I can do it.

But I wouldn't do that. Because they're going to cut your whole neck open. Remove lymph nodes. And then they'll go in your mouth. You have to sign something that says they can take out whatever they feel necessary. And it's part of your tongue, your mouth. They can go beyond margins and things like that. He goes, for you being a speaker and quality of life... To me, that was okay. That's how I felt that piece too already. So God is using the counselors and He's opening doors. He knows my heart has never been more pure to know His will and to seek His will. And He'll lead in those certain ways. But He leads people differently. There's people even here this morning that have used chemotherapy and radiation and surgery. And God uses... How He guides is really up to the individual. And just so you know... Well, I won't get into too many

different details. But yeah, so that was one of the stories. I don't know if I'll tell it in a second because I don't like to talk about it. I like to just move forward. But I think it's important for you guys to understand how God will close a door if you're sincere if you're sincerely seeking Him. So seeking godly counsel. But understand God may lead you differently. Here's why. Most people have a certain lens they look through. Correct? Shane, you need to get healed. You need to do this. And so they're right. There's nothing wrong with that. But what is God doing? Your counsel needs to be weighed and weighted on, especially when people give you words from the Lord. Anybody get those? God told me. God told me to tell you. And it's an area you have to be very careful in. And then I'll close with point 10. Faith in His sovereign control.

Faith in His sovereign control is critical. Guys, this is where the rubber meets the road. As Christians, we control things. We make decisions. And if we're not careful, we can begin to try to control God. Anybody relate? So, being led of the Spirit, at some point, you get to this, hopefully every day, Lord, I'm trusting in Your sovereign control. It's critical. Because you'll have a certain idea of how things should be done. A certain way. And when they're not done that way, or in life, you get the bad news, the phone call, the doctor, you'll have a nervous breakdown. Because this is critical. Faith in His sovereign control. Sovereignty. Trusting God. It holds the line even when the course seems uncertain. Here's the thing, God often isn't very clear, so we walk in faith and we seek Him. If we knew with certainty, then it's not faith, and we would be less inclined to seek Him.

Did you catch that? I don't know, this is a tough one for me, because I want to know. I want to see clearly. I want to know, is this the right path? Sometimes it's like, maybe. As long as it's not bad, right? That's a no-brainer. But sometimes that's why it's called faith. Lord, I don't know if we should start this church. Step out. I don't know if we should do this. Step out. I mean, if most of us were honest, we were never 100% sure if we should marry the person we married. Maybe some of you were, good for you. But a lot of us, you know? Should I take this job? Gosh, we want the right path, but then it's not faith. Many times we don't know what that right path is. What about if the mountain, Jesus said, pray and this mountain will be moved into the sea. What if the mountain isn't meant to be moved, but meant to be climbed? From streams in the desert. I don't know if we have this one. You will never learn faith

in comfortable surroundings. God gives us His promises in a quiet hour, seals our covenants with great and gracious words, and then steps back and waits to see how much we believe. And then allows the tempter to come and the ensuing test seems to contradict all that He has spoken. This is when faith wins its crown. Is that not true? We think faith is easy. Actually, guys, it's hard. Faith is hard. Genuine faith. God says, here's My promises. Here's My Word. Now I'm going to step back. What about if you're not healed? What about if the tempter comes in? What about if you're overcome with anxiety and fear? What are you going to do about that? Also, faith doesn't always step out. Sometimes it stays put. So here's a verse for some of you. James 1.5 If any one of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. Does anybody lack wisdom today?

Look, is that a promise or what? I've read that over and over. I'm like, that's a promise from the Word of God. If you lack wisdom in a certain area, ask God. Now it does go on to say, He gives it to you. Don't be like a double-minded man. Compromising, contemplating, justifying. Everything we just talked about. Reminder of those? What were they? Excuses, justifications, procrastinations. No, once He gives you that wisdom, you've got to step out on it. If not, you'll become an unstable man. So, a closing conviction. I used it last week, but I want to put it up there again. Jesus said in John 16.8 that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. So the Holy Spirit will convict a person of their sin and their righteousness. They're not in right standing with God. And there is a judgment to come. So, as we're talking about

being led of the Spirit, if God is convicting you this morning to get that relationship right with Him, do not avoid it. That conviction, it's a wonderful gift. Do you know people wouldn't come to God without that conviction? The drawing of the Spirit? Nobody comes to the Son except by the Father drawing Him. There's a drawing. There's a conviction. You need to make that decision maybe some of you today. I'm coming home. I'm repenting. I'm believing. I'm coming home, God. Whether you're a prodigal, what about if you don't know Him? You truly don't know Him. You've been coming to church, and you're convicted of sin, and you know you're not in right standing with God, and you're fearful of the judgment. One thing that praise God, you're not fearful of the judgment, are you? As a believer? If you're in His Word, I'm not fearful, because you're not going to stand before judgment. The great white throne judgment

is for those who don't know Jesus. As we often say, we're ready to meet Him. I don't know about the process of getting there. You know, that concerns me a little. But meeting Him. Will you hear, well done thou good and faithful servant? There's only two options. Well done thou good and faithful servant. Or, depart from Me. I never knew you. That's heavy, huh? Can you imagine somebody living their whole life thinking they're okay? I go to church. I own a Bible. I live in America. God bless the USA. And if we had time, we could turn to it where He says, but we ate and drank in Your presence. You sat with us. We heard You teach. We did all these things. And He'll say, depart from Me. I don't know you. You who practice lawlessness. Now, of course, He knows who they are. Obviously. But there's no relationship there via repentance. So make that decision today if you haven't.

And for the Christian, the best way to be led of the Spirit is to be filled. The best way to hear is to be filled. The best way to know His will is to be filled with His Spirit. So, we'll end with this thought. How are you filled? You're as filled as much as you want to be. Me too. I don't think I'm at 100%. Nobody is. But the more you empty yourself, the more you empty yourself of self, of your self-will, of what you want, stop running from God, stop ignoring His voice, and get back to that just full surrender, that's when the filling comes. And it's beautiful. It's so much more easier to be led of the Spirit when you're filled with His Spirit. Amen? ♪ Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh ♪ ♪ Oh He says God is grace ♪