What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do | Pastor Shane Idleman

The title is what to do when you don't know what to do. Anybody struggle with that? There's a lot more than that. Let's be honest. I'm raising my hand. What to do when you don't know what to do. And we are in the book of Acts, Acts 12. And remember the word of God grew and multiplied. I talked about that last week. So Acts 12, the word of God grew and multiplied and Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry. These guys aren't yet pastors. They're not leading a church. God's just calling them to go out and fulfill their ministry. And they also took with them John whose surname was Mark. Back then they'd have different like Jesus of Nazareth and things like that to kind of identify them with an area or their trade or things like that. But the word of God grew and multiplied. And I just want to remind us this morning, you can't cancel God. You can't cancel God. The culture will try to cancel you. Won't they? Funny thing this week, few days ago, a friend of mine was going to boost the message I gave on Wednesday. If you don't know what that is, see me later. I can't say it here or YouTube might stop the message. But he was going to boost it on a separate platform and the ad manager sent him back a text that said, if you do that, we will no longer allow you to boost on this platform. Initials FB for the platform. If anybody's interested on what that means, I was gonna have my daughter put up the logo, but it's okay. But just trying to cancel and stop what God is doing. You can't cancel God. Right before this, the person that thought he could was eaten by worms. Man, God does not mess around. Guys, I'm having such a fresh look to unholiness. The holiness of God, not out of obligation, but out of relationship. The deeper the intimacy, the deeper the holiness. They go together because the more holier you are, the more you can worship and express yourself and be passionate about God. And I know it's hard for many to worship because of what they did last night. The key is to repent and let God restore your soul. I remember hitting schooners at the old location on Saturday nights and then I'd come to church Sunday mornings. Back row, back row jack. Convicted as all can be. Didn't like the worship. Give me, I need some George Strait right now. I need some country. I was drunk the day my mama got out of prison. I just, it was a fight. I couldn't worship because I was already worshiping the world. There was a conflict in my soul. I cannot serve two masters.

And that's why many of you are affected or not affected by worship on Sunday. It's because what you're feeding yourself all week. It's hard to come in and glorify God when you've been feeding on the carnal desires. And living a lukewarm lifestyle. All of us are in ministry. All of us are in ministry. They fulfill their ministry. So remember that when you leave here, you're in ministry, where you go shop, where you go eat later. Does your waitress need prayer? Does the person in front of you in line need their groceries paid for? The people are just walking by quickly. It's hard to even read the word without weeping. It's just incredible. But my heart broke this week. I went to Valencia and I just walked around the mall to get some steps in. I noticed a Spanish janitorial lady. Nobody ever talked to her. Just cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. Just walking by her, throwing down their paper, whatever. No acknowledgement. She left me with tears. And I said, God help us. Because I know tests go on and you have tons of tests. God help us. Ask how they're doing. Thank you. We're in ministry. And if you're given, I'm sure you know, by a percentage a few times your tests, We are to bring the light. And then we switch to Acts 13. sometimes it's two, sometimes it may be five. Now in the church that was in Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers. Certain prophets and teachers. Always remember God uses the lowly. A lot of people get excited about all these so-called

prophets all over the internet. I would be very leery. Very leery. I'm not going to call people out right now, but give me a break. What happens is God may use somebody. And then they get a little notoriety. They think every voice, every prompting is from God. How wrong are they half the time? I mean, it's just sad. A true person used prophetically is going to be often lowly and humble. Those prophetic voices, it's a nearness to God. And there's a distance from the world. It's not all about them and building a platform. Be careful who you listen to. And just I think last week or the week before you go to my YouTube channel, maybe the church is too, I'm not sure. But I began to upload some of Brian Long's sermons he preached here five or six years ago. Cattle rancher in Oklahoma. Talk about the anointing of God on the messages. I was listening just on repeat and like, man, that's who God uses. Now, he will elevate. He'll promote. But that person better stay close to the ground, close to the shepherd. And I'm not saying there are not authentic, reliable voices out there.

Of course there are. But be careful, because many people are following people who are not really following God closely. And so there were in the church, there were prophets and teachers. So obviously, there's a distinction here. A teacher is, hey, here's, we're going to, well, they didn't have the Bible as far as New Testament. So they had the Old Testament. And they would teach from the law. They would teach things. And they were teaching, edifying the people, encouraging them, giving them guidelines. And this is what God's word said, teaching. That's what a teacher does. It's a wonderful thing. How many of us thank God for teachers? I grew up with many good teachers that built that foundation. But then you need the Ravenhills and the Tozers and the Wilkersons to light the fire of that. And that's the prophetic voice that's bold. It's kind of in your face. It's lasered. It's, whoa, to wake up the church. And so you have to have, that's actually why they call it the fivefold ministry. I avoid that term, because there's some weird things with it. But he's given apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists.

It's actually a very beautiful thing. It's not a weird thing. We have people here who the heart's for evangelism. People call me that all the time. You're an evangelist. Okay, thank you. I mean, we need that. We need elders that are evangelists, pastors. And so you see all these roles in a healthy church. An apostle is not some title, apostle over this, apostle such and such. It's a person who is sent, a sent one. That's what it means. And then you have the prophetic voices. You have the teachers. You have the pastoring. So it's beautiful. It's a perfect picture of what the church should be. Because what do you have if you just have prophetic? It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, we need some teaching. Now in that, you do teach, of course, but teaching sound doctrine, verse by verse. And you go through things, and you need apostles. You need sent ones to be sent out. You need evangelists. And so the church had all of these things. And it's interesting, these prophets and teachers, they had no social media followers. A strong following rarely equals strong faith. Now, there are people out there in the social media world

who have lots of followers, and their faith is strong. I'm not saying that. But we automatically equate. Oh, a million followers, wow. This person must really be in tune with God. Not necessarily, I'm finding just the opposite, quite frankly. Now again, God grows people's ministry, but they've got to stay low. The more God grows, you've got to go low. Maybe we'll tag that phrase. And what I talked about, I think it was Wednesday or Sunday, no flesh should glory in His presence. No flesh should glory in His presence. Take credit for what God is doing. Oh, you're so good. You're so good. Thank you. That breath you just breathed is a gift from God. There's no, there's no, now you can say thank you for the gift, you know, thank you, you know, that God's, you know, there's, there's, you don't want to run to false humility either. It's like, thank you, God's given me this gift to bless others. And there, but there's a, there's a, there's, you can't explain humility and lowliness and being used by God and no flesh should glory in His presence unless you're living close to the Father. I mean, it's hard to explain that because you hear it, but if you're not living it, you begin to make excuses. Well, God is using me. And I hear this lots of different places. Just look at the fruit. Well, the Mormon Church down the street has fruit. They help a lot of people. Bad doctrine. So don't just look at the fruit. The fruit never justifies the means. I mean, think how foolish this is. A person's looking at porn. Oh, but at least I'm leading people who are also looking. Because the fruit. See, that, that, that's a, that's a bogus statement. Now, sometimes it's a good statement. Hey, look at what God is doing. Look at the fruit. If the fruit lines up with the character that consists, I mean, then it can be a good thing. So it's not a bad, fruit is good. But be careful when we use look at the fruit to excuse poor character. I guess is what I could have just said five minutes ago. And as they minister, oh my goodness, we're gonna get controversial again. And as they minister

to the Lord, and they fasted, we cannot get away from that word. And as they minister to the Lord, and fasted. So this is interesting. Many times, and I actually got convicted on this as well, because it's good, it's okay to do this sometimes, but I, where I messed up in my past, even as a pastor, as many times I would fast in isolation. Because you don't feel good, and you're grumpy, and you're hungry. And there are times to seek the Lord. But they actually ministered as they fasted. And I believe that's why Jesus said, when you fast, don't look like you are. You obviously are out in the public. And so ministering and telling King, stomach shut up, is a powerful combination. Can you imagine, hey, you know what, I'm not going to In-N-Out today, I'm going to the, I'm going in and out of the hospital homes. The only reason you have to go get something is it's addiction. It really is, it's addiction to the chemicals. You can tell the body, no, stop dominating me. And begin to serve others. And that's what they did, as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted. Now, this is where it gets interesting. The Holy Spirit said, it's a touchy subject. It doesn't need to be, if it's properly vetted through Scripture, but the Holy Spirit can speak to his people. Now how, to what degree, that would take probably a sermon series, to look at different verses and things. And how often. And trust me guys, I want to be careful here, because I do not want to minimize the power of the Spirit. I do not want to minimize people used of God with the Spirit. But sometimes people get carried away with, and you know what, I want to be careful again. Lord, help my, guide my words. I've seen some people, many are not real stable. I mean, that's not a good word either. that every prompting is from the Holy Spirit. Lord, do you want me to left at the green light? All right, do you want me to go to church? Do you want, and I don't think it works that way. Because you can be misled pretty easily with your own voices. I have, I thought it was God. And so what we see in scripture

is these leading of the spirit and then a drawing away for a while while they do the spirit's work. Now, of course, there's daily communion. There can be daily communication. There's daily worship. I just want to be careful on the, God told me 10 times today. Just all I'm saying is be careful. Take that to the Lord. Because a lot of those people that I know are unstable. I guess I said, okay, financially, relationally, it seems like there's always drama. Drama queens. And like, well, if God's talking to you so much, why so much drama? Often don't apply the word as much because they don't go against it, but they're, you know, and I've just felt there, and I've been there. Like, Lord, is it, and it's a hard balance to find. I understand that. But, and all I'm saying is be careful. Make sure it's the Holy Spirit and not ulterior motives. Because we can make things happen. We can make things happen. We have to be careful. And so the Holy Spirit said, how did he say this? Separate unto me Paul and Barnabas. Whoa, did you hear that? Probably not.

Probably not. But he did tell them, now separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. The Holy Spirit said the leading probably was internal and not audible. Only because, again, Scripture, and in my own life, you can't use your experience to, never use, D. Martin Lloyd-Jones says, we don't use our experiences to interpret Scripture. We use Scripture to interpret our experiences. However, there is an internal witness of the Holy Spirit. And often I've heard, I've seen where God, he's confirmed it in spouses that went out and sought the Lord and they prayed and fasted, they came back with the same internal witness. And we don't know, maybe there was confirmation. Maybe somebody came in prophetically and said, hey, God wants to separate Barnabas and Saul, separate you guys. I know, I've been sensing that. God's really put that in my heart. What about you, Saul? Oh my goodness, the same thing. So there couldn't be an internal witness. I wish God would speak loudly, over like, okay, that is clear. Now there are probably three times in my life that I can remember where it was clear. It was like, what was that? And they were all life-changing, pivotal moments

in my career, in my life. Marriage, my calling, can't remember exactly the other one. Oh, buying the radio station, there you go. This is so clear, it's like, what? And so God can use those things. But be careful, be careful. And I think as a Christian, it's easy to be careful when we say, Lord, is this you? Give me confirmation. I trust you, I just don't trust me. And I want to be love your spirit. The reason it's internal is because we need audible voices, don't we? I mean, we can't communicate really without audible voices. Unless, I mean, you know the look in your spouse. You get that look, you're like, oh my goodness. Or in your kids, those close to you, you can get the look. But often, often, we don't need audible with God because God is spirit. And those who worship him must worship him in spirit and the truth. And this is key, the voice you hear depends on what you pursue. The voice you hear the most, the loudest voice in your mind is what you pursue. That's why you'll hear those terms often, lead of the spirit. Be careful if you're living like hell and think you're lead of the spirit all the time. Because ultimately, lead of the spirit

is lined up with God's word. Lead of the spirit is lined up with what he wants you to do for him, not you. Lead of the Spirit is an internal witness. It's something we, there should be fear and trepidation. Right, like, Lord, are you leading me in this area? It's so powerful. The voice, again, depends on what you pursue. And the voice, the promptings, or my passion, what I hear about the Word this morning is a result of the whole week. Do you guys know, this message right now is not necessarily being preached today. Now, I'm talking about, I'm telling you, but it's been preached all week. In my heart, how I live, the Word of God coming alive, praying over it, it's, you internalize it. And that's why A.W. Tozer said, who a man is all week is who he is when he steps up to the pulpit. Your lifestyle preaches. So the internal witness of the Spirit that hits your heart, it's coming from what God has been doing in my heart all week. Lead of the Spirit. And thank God he works through imperfect vessels. Throughout the Bible, very few times was it audible. Very few times was it audible. Often, it's an internal witness accompanied by peace and certainty.

When you don't have peace, and like, I don't know about this, as a believer, just take that to the Lord. Now, you can be fearful. I don't have peace, I know God's wanting me to do this, but I'm fearful of it, that's different. Because that you know, I know God wants me to do this, but I don't want to. That's a lot different than like, I just don't, man, I don't feel good about this, Lord. I don't know what you're doing. I mean, I could go into a lot of practical things that I'm dealing with that would really apply right now on this, but I won't. And number three, closed or open doors that align with God's Word. And number two, you put those together. So that's how you hear, one of the ways you hear God's, I mean, this isn't a message on hearing God's voice, or we, you know, going over a lot of points. But I also look for God to close or open doors, led of the Spirit. And we don't know, they could have said, no, separate to me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them, and there could have been open doors. Hey, I met this guy, he's got a vessel selling here. Or I've met this guy, they've got this transportation, and oh wow, this confirms what God is, and so there's open doors.

If God doesn't open the door, we don't go. And if God closes the door, any door pushers open? Just me, when God closes the door? Okay, I'm pushing this door open. And usually that door's on a spring. Pow, pow, pow, forcing the door open. But sometimes that door needs a little WD-40. And you pray, that's why praying and staying close to the shepherd is so important, because you're like, Lord, are you closing this door? Are you closing this door? Or is the world closing it? Or is the enemy closing it? You know, I mean, just because a door closes doesn't mean necessarily, oh well, obviously. Obviously that wasn't for me. Because when we first planted this church, Morgan, remember, every door was closed. Every building I looked into, every place I called, the rent was either too high or they didn't want us there. It was like, I guess I missed that one. Closed door, no, I could not force a door open. Well, is that, so I guess we shouldn't have planted the church, it's a closed door. But you also say, Lord, I feel strongly about this, I have peace, and so actually the church Ronnie was attending, Pastor Sean, got lunch, he goes, how's it going? I said, not good, there's, I guess I missed it, he's, I mean, there's literally no open door.

And that's when he said, why don't you use our church on Saturday nights for free, and we can have you, Ronnie can help, our sound team, I'm like, oh my goodness, but see, so that one I kind of had to, you still pray and ask God for direction. So just because it's closed, if you know a God direction has a closed door, then you get the WD-40, and you pray, and you seek God, and you ask for, it's all being close to the shepherd. I know this might sound complicated, how do I? No, you just sometimes know. Because hey, Lord, the door's closed. I'm trusting in you. I'm resting in your sovereignty. I mean, I'll wait on you. Let me know if I need to do anything. I can go to sleep at night because I've done everything I need to do. Same with you. The further you are away from the shepherd, the more you're open to the attacks of the predators. And the farther you are away from the shepherd, the less I'll hear his voice. So that's why many of you confuse you're living out there in the meadow. Come back today. Come back today. What to do when you don't know what to do? What to do when you don't know what to do? In the natural, here's why they call it in the natural,

meaning how we live, we make calculated decisions based on what we think is best. Anybody else in here type A, take charge, get things done? I went on my schedule this week. I got it all planned out. Oh, why is this happening? It's because of this, so I'm gonna go fix it. Just me? Just anybody else in this room that like that? Okay, most of my kids, it was passed down, I know. Sorry, guys. But it can be a really good thing. Highly disciplined, motivated. But we, so we make decisions based on what we think is best. Now, that's not wrong because the Bible says above all things, get wisdom and all you're getting, get understanding, she will exalt you, she will promote you. Wisdom is the principal thing. Make wise decisions. See, to know what to do is not wise. That's knowledge. Wisdom is applying it. And so you do search after wisdom. And when I have to make decisions, is that a wise decision financially? Is that a wise decision financially? Make wise decisions. But when it comes to the supernatural and God's moving of the spirit,

you're like, this doesn't make sense. Oh, hmm, hmm, this doesn't make sense. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean on your own understanding in all your ways. Acknowledge him and he will direct your path. What to do when you don't know what to do? In the supernatural, we pray, we stay, and obey. I try to isolate the three things you'll remember. They rhyme, it's easy. Pray, stay in the word, obey his principles. That's the best, I mean, when you're on, how are you gonna go off course when your job decision, whatever it is, like, Lord, I'm praying about this, I'm living for you, I'm staying in your word. So in other words, the strength about the word of God is you're planting the very thought and nature and character of God into your heart. So you can say no to these things a lot easier because it doesn't line up with my mental diet of being not conformed to this world but being transformed by the renewing of my mind. So half of our problems are because we're not renewing the mind. We're allowing the world to shape us. Stay in his word, obey his principles, obey his principles, and pray for direction. That's how we get the leading of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8, look at this. The Spirit himself, I thank God for this verse. I don't know about you.

This separates all other religions on planet Earth from Christianity. This actually, people say, oh, that's your religion. It's not a religion, it's a relationship. Every religion is man reaching up to God. Relationship is God reaching down to man. And so Christianity is a relationship and this sets it apart from everything else. The Spirit himself, when you truly believe, when you are filled with the Spirit of God, when you want more of God, he bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. This is why nobody can take that away. This is why people go to their death and martyrdom. This is why they can't be shaken because of the glorious cross of Jesus Christ is because I have an internal witness. I have an internal umpire. I have an interior security guard. I have the interior, I know that I know that I know. For the Bible told me so. And that's what people, they don't, like if you're arguing or debating an atheist, well, that's what you say, that's what the Bible told you so. No, I have an internal witness. Now, with that witness. Sometimes you fear, you can stray away, but that internal witness is also the alarm bell. You ever hear that alarm bell? Eh, eh, eh, like when I used to back up heavy equipment.

I hated that thing, but it was good so people would get out of the way. Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Don't talk to your spouse that way. Kids, don't mock your parents. Listen. Don't date that person. I know, but I know. Eh, eh, eh, eh. And what I found, what you found, is that that sound actually becomes quieter the more you disobey. And it's hard to make that decision because now that alarm is not there. Now that alarm is not as loud. Well, maybe God's okay with it now. As soon as you hear that conviction, as soon as you know, turn, turn, turn, turn. But the helper, thank God we have a helper. Thank God we have a helper, John 14. But the helper, the help, oh, I need some help. This is what people don't understand who think that the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the supernatural gifts have ceased today because they say we just have the word. Yes, even if I just have the word, though, I need some help. I need some help. Because I have the word for principles and godliness and living life,

but God, I need some help here. That's why he is the helper. He helps us. Whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. I thank God when I was a little kid, it was hard, but my mom would make me, give you a dollar if you memorize Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Exodus, you know, all that, boom, boom, boom, boom, and I'm like, probably not the right motives, but man, it comes back later. It comes back later. When I came back to the Lord, it just, the word just came alive. Oh, I remember that from when I was a little boy. What does it profit you to gain the whole world but lose your soul? Lord, I've been following the world. Oh, spirit of the living God, convict me, the prodigal is coming home, and you begin to remember those things that were deeply implanted in your heart. Likewise, the spirit, Romans 8, likewise, the spirit helps in our weakness. Anybody weak? You better be weak here this morning. Don't be strong, and I don't need, when the sun's shining, it's easy not to pray.

When things are going good, it's easy not to pray. God forbid some type of nuclear device goes on in L.A. and our gas goes to 30 bucks an hour, I bet we'll have a full prayer room then. Shouldn't prayer be the first resort? That's how you prepare for battle. When the Navy SEALs go into battle, or the Army Rangers, or the Delta Force, they're already prepared. Same thing for Christians. The spirit helps us in our weakness. Sometimes we don't even know what to pray for, but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. That's right, so during that prayer time, I don't think you're, oh, that's the Holy Spirit talking to God, blah, blah, blah, Lord, no, no, no, no, no, internal witness. Some people tie this into tongues, that's fine, possibly, of course, but there's that, oh, God, I don't even know how to pray. My prodigal is so lost. My family member's incarcerated for a long time. My marriage is gone, it's over. I don't even know how to pray. But that internal witness of the spirit begins to direct you, and you begin to, it's funny, it says groanings. I mean, I don't, a lot of people, but real prayer is, it's not easy.

You know, we think of like, oh, let me just, in the morning, get my cup of coffee and green tea for some of you, I don't know, and you open up your devotional, and you pray, and praise God for that. But when you go to battle, it talks about. groanings, labor. It's, it's, it's, and even after the prayer room, those on the prayer team, you're exhausted when you go home, are you not? And contending for your family and praying because there's there. Why? Because it's spiritual weight. Spiritually, and you're, you're tired, because of it, you're, you're, you're, you're laboring. And that's what really seeking God and, and finding him and, and pressing in and pushing forward. These things all take effort. If it's not important to you, it's not important to God. Could it be that your prayer life is stifled because you're not pressing in? Well, I'll let you answer that. Well, Shane, how do I know what these leading of the spirit and all these different things, a couple of things that really help silence, silence. I think it was David McIntyre in his book on prayer said find a quiet hour, a quiet place and a quiet heart. The silence, there's got to be a place where you go. Wife with kids have your husband watch for a couple hours, guys, you'll survive. It's okay. I see it from my like, when are you back? I'll do texting. How much longer? How much longer? I don't know what they don't want their bottle. They don't want nothing. I don't know what they are they dying. And you know, I told you this before, I didn't change the diaper much. I waited till she got home. Of course I do if it was it was bad. And I found out. But that's a side note. That's

really why you want to get home quicker. But finding that silent I had to break up the I could feel the heaviness. It's a good heaviness. But that silence because it's interesting God. I mean, he speaks wherever, whenever, however, but you don't, I don't hear him and his voice and, and spending that time with him in a crowded mall. Or a busy dinner engagement or a fellowship event, which are all good. But there has to be a time where you silence those voices. And I don't want to use it necessarily as a proof text, because it's not necessary. But it's very interesting. Very interesting. The verse we all love to use. He was in the still small voice, Elisha, her God. It says he wasn't in the fire. He wasn't in the wind. He wasn't in the earthquake. He wasn't all these loud. He was in that still small voice that followed. Now God can wake us up. For sure, speak loudly, boldly, clearly over the things that are going on. But you need to find that silent spot. Solitude, solitude, quietness. The four S's silence, solitude, seeking, seek him and surrender. Surrender. We pray for God to direct us but it's hard to direct a vessel that's not moving. You got to be moving in his direction. Lord, what do you want me to do? And the Holy Spirit said, now separate. Now separate me. Separate. And this is a good reminder. Separation is often the direction. Christian, let me tell you, this point is so important. Following God's lead, hearing his voice, knowing what to do when you don't know what to do. Now separate me. Now there's a separation has to occur. How many of you have heard the verse? Come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord. Come out from among them and be separate. And so what he's talking about here, when you fast, you separate. Big time, don't you? And when you obey the word of God, you separate from

the world. And that's why he said, you're in the world, but you're not of the world. So we have to live here, but we can't be influenced by it. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed. How? By the renewing of your mind. So you have to gauge your social media. How much of that are you listening to? How much friends are you listening to? If it's not of God, no matter how strong you think you are spiritually, those thoughts will begin to take root. There's just no way around that. That's a biblical principle. Come out from among them, be separate. And it doesn't mean you don't have friends, you just sit at home. The word is really about, I mean if we had turned to 2 Corinthians chapter six, the whole thing, and actually I think he's pulling from the Old Testament, the sins of Israel. It's really, I'm not gonna live like the world. I'm not living like the world. So the choice is, the way you live is different than the world. And the world doesn't like that. Has anybody noticed that yet? Well you're weird. Is that, are you a holy roller or a religious nut? Man, you're extreme. Whoa! People used to call West Side extreme, and I take it as a compliment. Yeah, we're extremely pursuing God. How else do you suggest we pursue him?

Well think about that for a minute. Think about, how else do you pursue him? What's the opposite of extreme? Lukewarm, carnal. That's why many pulpits never change our nation. It's because the church is lukewarm and carnal. The fire of God is not there, and it's the fire that changes and transforms. Extreme, the Bible tells me to seek him with all of my heart, strength, mind, and soul. Might follow under the category of extreme, just saying, but it's okay, extreme snowboarding. Extreme makeovers. Extreme motocross, whoa, but that's okay. But don't you dare follow God like that. When you truly follow God and are led of the spirit, even carnal Christians and lukewarm Christians will not appreciate you. I've seen this more times than I can count, and it's pretty, now if they're ready to come back to the Lord and fully surrender and be on fire, it's a beautiful thing. But if they're not, watch out. You will be labeled legalistic. Oh, that's just legalism, really? The legalism is I'm doing these rules so God will love me more, and look how special I am. Wisdom says I'm following God's word because I want a deep relationship with him. Big difference, big difference.

I don't want to go watch all those movies out there because it will affect me spiritually. I don't want to get hammered at a Bible study because we have freedom. Then having fasted and prayed, then having fasted and prayed, wow, and laid hands on them so they were fasting, they were praying, we don't know how long. I wish they would have said they fasted for 24 hours. Thank you, Lord. Some of you even said they fasted again and they prayed some more. That's why the Bible doesn't give us exact details because sometimes people, some of you need to press in even more. Maybe God is wanting you to go into a season of fasting. Maybe others, I'm going to miss dinner. That can be very beneficial, many different levels. I'm just going to go in. Can you imagine saying I'm not going to eat after two and God, I'm just going to feed on your word when I get home. Just hey, spouse, I'm going to be in the room for an hour, hour and a half. Can you imagine? So they laid hands on them. Somehow they were confirmed and that's what we lay hands on for too as well is to just acknowledge. It's an acknowledgement.

And they sent them away. So being sent out by the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit sent them out and it was incredible. And from there they sailed to Cyprus and when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant. All right, put on your seatbelt. I'm going to have to go pretty quick. to get through. Ministering to the Lord involves worshiping and praying as well as ministering to others. If you're stuck in a cycle right now of just funk, don't have a better word to say it, just spiritually, begin ministering to others. Do you know we have hospital homes now where you can go and visit the patients? If you're a little nervous on how to do that, get with Paula. She'll meet you there and she'll walk you through it. I got the list. There's a couple that the homeless people from Kern County and I said that's where I'm going. That's ministry 101. Can't pay you back, can't tithe, can't grow the church, but that's the need. When you did that to the least of these, you did that to me. And that breaks you out of that spiritual slump because now you're ministering to others. And I've been guilty, guys. We just want to be fed, don't we? Feed me. Sermons all day, podcasts all night, worship. Just feed me. Feed me. I can't do that. I'm in the Word. Feed me. Hey, can you handle this email? Can you counsel this person? No, I'm just meeting the Lord this week. Because it's easier. I don't have a problem with God, it's people I have the problem with. So isn't that true? My goodness, I've not had an issue with him in a long time. He doesn't talk back. He doesn't get an attitude, you know that attitude? Doesn't challenge you. He just waits. Well, he challenges you, I guess. That's for sure. So get involved. Talk to Paula. Talk to those helping. And go and just minister to people. And it's

incredible. Life-changing. Minister to them at your home. People, I mean, it's just, we just have to, we have to do it. I don't do it perfectly either. I can go through a whole day like, I didn't really talk to anybody. I had a lot to do and I wanted to get it done. And that's not good. Number two, question. Question. Ministering. When it says ministering to the Lord, could it also mean taking care and stewarding our temple? When I looked it up and studied a little bit, ministering to the Lord encompasses everything we know to be right. Stewarding ourself, our temple. Taking care of the whole, this is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Taking care of that. Helping others. Fasting. Telling King's Stomach, no. And that's how it also plays a role. Fasting is an internal discipline. Fasting is an internal discipline, whereas ministering to the Lord can be external. Humbly serving needs, whether they, wherever they are at. That's what ministering to the Lord is. Now, it's also worshiping the Lord, right? You can just, Lord, I'm just gonna minister to you today. I'm gonna worship. I'm gonna fast. And just, you know, just do your thing. That's very good. But that's all we do. We have to get out and do something and help others. And there's no time frame given for fasting, like I mentioned. They might have fasted twice, or Luke is re-emphasizing fasting here in the book of Acts. But again, let me throw out the question, or the statement, what to do when you don't know what to do? What to do when you don't know what to do? Okay, guys, here's, here we go. Here's what the early church did. When you don't know what to do. You should probably go back, remember this, send it to friends. This is gonna be so important. But I will give you an alert. We have heard all of this before. Okay? But let's pray for a fresh look on these things. Because many times we can hear things so much, we just don't apply it. We hear it too much. How many times have your kids heard to take out the trash? We'll go put that trash in their room. They don't get out. Right? There's a fresh look on that trash. Eat your broccoli. Eat your vegetables. Well, if that's all you have in the refrigerator, the fresh... Look. So here we go. Fasting. Fasting. Based on this text, there's often a deep

spiritual concern. Here's when you need to fast. There's a deep spiritual concern where concentration is needed to determine God's will. So if you need to determine God's will, I would incorporate a season of prayer and fasting. And what that looks like is between you and the Lord. I wish I could tell you. I do know this. If it doesn't cost you anything, I don't know if it's worth it. It has to cost something. It's between you and God. In the Bible, fasting is closing the mouth. So it would mainly mean obviously just drinking water. But of course, I mean, I get in a whole sermon on that. I've got books on that that you can get from the ushers for free if you have questions on fasting. It can also involve though protection, but it usually focuses on direction. Ezra said, we're gonna journey and we need God's protection. We're going to fast first. Something happens in the spiritual realm. Look at Daniel. Something happens where there's a protection. The early church actually, and I don't push this too much because you don't want to get legalistic about it, but we've lost it. You can look at the Didache or Didachte, however you want to pronounce it. You can look at early church writings. Wesley Methodist. Fasting was a weekly discipline. It wasn't like, oh, January's not for eight more months. January 1st. When it gets here, Pastor, come summer. The problem is the appetite takes over really quickly, and it's a way of subduing the flesh. You live, you enjoy food, and you subdue the flesh. You discipline the body versus it disciplining you. And again, as a fellow struggler, remember I've been honest before, food is my comfort. I know it's challenging, but the power of fasting is incredible. It's throughout Scripture. It's so powerful. Does anybody ever wonder why? Did Jesus just have 40 days to blow? I don't have nothing to do for 40 days. Jesus. Jesus. This blows my mind. Lead of the Spirit. Lead of the Spirit. And what? Fasted. And came out in the Spirit of God. The Bible says that. Came out of the power of God. Something I don't know. I'm not gonna overcomplicate this issue. 40 days. That's impossible. It's actually not impossible. Many of us have a lot of stored energy. Now you get into electrolyte balances. I don't know. Just between you and the Lord. But there are

places and people that...and I wouldn't say that's for everybody. That's a special calling of God. But if we can't even do a day, you'll find out just...it's actually not the food. I keep telling you. It's actually not the food. It's the chemicals and the addiction and the sugar. It's really...I know it's offensive, but it's an addict needing their fix. We look down on the alcoholic or the fentanyl. Oh, you poor addicts. Well, you can't stop caffeine, nicotine, or sugar. The results are worse, but the addiction is still the same. And that's why it's so hard. We go like the first couple days. I just...because you're detoxing all the chemicals. Fasting is a key aspect of repentance and is the primary mechanism for building self-discipline. If you don't incorporate fasting somehow into your lifestyle, it's gonna be really hard to discipline your body. Because that's the main control mechanism of self-discipline. Is disciplining this. And when that falls under...and it's no secret. Gluttony and pornography go together. Gluttony and alcoholism go together. Gluttony...it all fits together because it's tied to spiritual roots. So fasting, fasting, fasting. When you don't know what to do, fast. And then next, obey, obey, obey. Direction from God often comes from obedience. Breakthrough comes when we listen and healing comes when we yield. You cannot ask God to bless what you're unwilling to surrender. Dr. David Jeremiah, many of you need to yield to major lifestyle changes for your health, physically, even spiritually, other things. There's a yielding that needs to take place in our lives. Obey the word of God. When you don't know what to do, obey the word of God. Okay, Shane, I'm gonna think about fasting and I'm pretty good with God.

I've repented and I think, okay, good, good, good, good. Let's keep going. Pray, pray, pray, a fresh look. God, give us a fresh look on this. I talked about this Wednesday, I think, or the Wednesday before that. They estimate, this blows my mind. I had to triple research it and I still can't believe what I'm about to tell you. They estimate that there are two, have you ever watched a video of what a trillion dollars looks like? Compared to, it's like just gone. And so, in the observable, meaning, I don't think the universe has end caps. I think it could be, they estimate, I don't know how they come with these numbers, I think they just guess, because two trillion, not stars. Are you guys getting this? Do you know how big a galaxy is? A galaxy. Like, if they said there's eight galaxies, I'd be like, wow, that's a lot. Two trillion galaxies. And then how many stars are inside? I don't want to explode your brain. That God, that God who created all of that, I mean, maybe it's just me, maybe I'm overly dramatic, maybe I'm overly sensitive,

but that God says call and I will answer, cry out and I will hear. That God who hung the universe's nose, every star and place, that God says, call unto me and I will answer. Folks, you need to get back in the prayer closet. You need to be contending for your families. Men, where are you? Men, where are you? You're missing in action. Get on your face before God. Call out to him. Guard your family, guard your marriage, guard this nation. What's going on in the nation? Look in the mirror. Until morning of last month, Shane Eidelman 2.0 might push some people away, but I'm not remaining quiet when I believe things are so important. The call is now. The call is now. If all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved, how much more his children? Think about that. All who call upon, all unbelievers, mockers, God-haters, all those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How much more when he hears the voice of his child? I just can't picture the universe. That many in this little tiny blue dot and the creator of all that says, pray.

If we took that seriously, wouldn't we change our entire lives around prayer? Wouldn't we? Apathy, apathetic, myself included. But remember, many of our favorite verses are prayers. Are they not? Oh God, there's nothing we can do against this great army. Oh God, rend the heavens. Oh God, I cried out to the Lord and he heard me. My voice shall hear in the morning, oh Lord. My voice, you shall hear in the morning, oh Lord. And we pray, Lord, come, Lord Jesus, come. Come upon your people. Move upon your people. Convict in comfort. We want to be a church, Lord. We are hungry for more of you. Can you imagine that prayer? Can you imagine if we prayed as a corporate body? Lord, we are hungry for more of you. you. Holy Spirit, you're welcome in this place. Hungry for more of you. God, come and convict us and challenge us and change us. God, we need you. Hungry. We desire more of you. And if I haven't ruffled feathers yet, this last point, will. If prayer is a priority, so is worship. And when you don't know what to do, this has been my life for the last month. This has literally been my life for the last month. When you don't know what to do, worship. Worship is not separate from prayer. It is prayer in its most surrendered form. It's prayer in its most surrendered form. It's basically the heart reaches out to God when words are no longer sufficient. Anybody been there? Did you know people have a hard time worshiping because they have a hard time praying? That's the connection.

That's always the connection. Worshipers are prayer warriors and prayer warriors are worshipers. They're not separate things. It's who we are. It's our, we have to worship the living God. And I remember, Ronnie, I'll say, when you first started, we had some people leave. It always happens with my preaching or worship. One of the two gets them out. Man, that's just too emotional. Pastor, that's too emotional. Your church is too emotional. I'm not an emotional person. And I said, well, your wife says you express anger real well. You're handcuffed. Your emotions are not engaged with God. How can you not worship a God who created all of that? See, the more you seek Him, the more you find Him. And the more you find Him, the more you seek Him. We're not here reminiscing. We are battling. When we sing the old hymns sometimes, we're not reminiscing. We're battling. This is spiritual warfare. It's not nostalgia. It's warfare. That's what worship is. This is how I fight my battles. This is how you'll lead the prodigal son home or the wayward daughter. This is how you will cover your family. When all hell is breaking loose, you find an altar and you get to it. Whether that altar's your home or somewhere in the desert, you get to that place and you cry out to God. The reason the church is not alive in America and the revival breaking out is there's too much carnality, too much lukewarmness, everybody jockeying for position. We need to get back to that heart of worship. We're not just killing time with worship, we're killing sin. You shouldn't be bored when you're going to war. Before they drop SEAL Team 6 off, they're not sleeping on the helicopter. What are they doing? Everything's up. I'm ready. Let's get, let's open the door. Let's land this thing. Let's land. We're going to war. Why aren't you in church? Why are you bored? We're callous. We're bored. Here we go. I don't know if I should even go to church this week. When I was a kid, it was every Sunday. Now it's, I think, 1.2 Sundays. I don't know where they get the .2 from, but it's...sports is taking over Sunday. Travel ball, sports, NASCAR, basketball. We've lost our heart of worship, and that's why the church is dead.

Well, Shane, I don't think we're going to war. Well, what are you going to do when the lion comes after your family? Hey, hotshot, what are you going to do when the lion comes after you? Not Jesus the lion. Thank God for that lion. But your adversary. So don't get all...you have an adversary. You're not that protected. I'm not that protected, nobody's that protected. We have an adversary, the Bible says, that is to kill, to steal, and to destroy. That's his goal, that's his mission, that's a target on your life until the last breath you take. You're in war, you better act like it. Because many people act, I mean, many people act like they're guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier during wars. Dignified, strong, yeah, I'm not emotional. Have you ever seen those guys? Pretty impressive, watch a video when it's raining and stormy. Right, you just, I'm dignified, I'm reserved, I'm guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier. I'm steadfast, I'm solid. You're not guarding God, he's guarding you. And that's how you do it, you become worshipers. You become worshipers. Guys, I know the hardness of the human heart, especially in men, we think toughness and tenderness don't go together. Yet we have Jesus as the perfect example of tenderness and toughness.

When we worship, reminders, I talked to you about this before, it says, the Bible says, taste and see that the Lord is good. Taste and see, look at these promises. Look at, how can we sit and be disengaged in church? The living God who hung the universes out there somewhere, he says, taste and see that the Lord is good. And like a deer that pants after that brook, oh, my soul panteth for thee. If you don't have that soul panting for thee, pray out to God, repent of your apathy. Repent of that apathy. One thing have I desired. Dave, you think you're tough, have you killed Philistines? And brought back their foreskins? David was a man of war. David was a man, he couldn't even build God's house. God said, no, no, no, your son's gonna do it because you've shed too much blood. You are a man of war. And yet he says, one thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. One thing will I seek, that's it. Because guys, everything else falls into place. Everything else falls into place. Oh God, you are my God. Oh God, you are my God, you are our God. Early will I seek you, my soul thirsts for you,

my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land wherever there is no water. And I'll close with this verse, John 4, 10. While we're talking about thirsty and water and living water, Jesus said to the woman, if you knew the gift of God, it's a gift of God. Living water is a gift from God. Listen, once you drink of this well, you will never thirst again. Once you drink of the living water, you don't want anything else. That's why all these different religions can pull you away. I don't want anything else. Nothing satisfies me like living water. He said, if you knew of this living water, you would say, give me a drink and I would have given you living water. So every time I preach, every opportunity, that's why I'm excited. I know I tick some people off. I know I got some people sitting here. I don't care. I don't care because I'm after the thirsty. I'm after the thirsty. Are you thirsty? Are you thirsty? If you're not thirsty, there's the door. We want thirsty people in this church. Hungry for more of God. Hungry for more of God.

Thirst for more of God. Gene, that was mean. I know, that maybe wasn't the right thing to say, but it was true. Why would I want the lukewarm and the carnal who poke fun and don't want to be here to be here? You're welcome here. We love you, but drink deeply. Drink deeply of the well of living water and repent of. Jesus said, if you drink, not maybe, not we'll think about it, not there's chances are good, like the lottery. If you drink of this living water, you will never thirst again. So wouldn't our position in worship be, pour in, pour into my heart. God pour in, I need to drink deeply. Lord I'm hurting, I'm broken, I don't feel, I don't feel that presence anymore, I'm a leaky vessel, but living water God is, I need that again, and you cry on me, living water, and you begin to seek God, you get filled with his spirit, and it empowers you, and challenges you, and changes you, and then you get up and say, even though I don't know what to do, I'm gonna follow him, and he's gonna show me what to do. But here's a reminder, the Christian drinks to be nourished, the unbeliever must drink to be saved. So those listening, I don't know if they're here this morning, listening later, you need to fully surrender, repent of your sin, and believe in Jesus Christ, as you have you ever, I don't care if you've been a Christian all your life, you're raised in a Christian home, your parents were Christians, you're a Baptist, none of that matters, have you repented and believed, you must drink of this living water to be saved. So if you need to make that decision during worship, just pray Lord, I need that, I need to repent, I've been following the wrong thing, I've been misled, and I need to come home. I need you to save me Lord, and he will do that.