Join us in this enlightening episode as we delve into how to truly know the will of God. Pastor Adrian Rogers brings clarity to a profound question faced by many: ‘Lord, what would you have me to do?’ Drawing from the powerful transformation of Saul on the road to Damascus, we explore the significance of knowing who Jesus is and the path He sets before us. Pastor Rogers breaks down the misunderstandings many have about God’s will, using engaging anecdotes and biblical wisdom to guide us through.
Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers has introduced people all over the world to the love of Jesus Christ and has impacted untold numbers of lives by presenting profound truth simply stated. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here’s Adrian Rogers.
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How to know the will of God. Now take God’s word and find the book of Acts, A-C-T-S, and turn, if you would, to chapter 9, the book of Acts, chapter 9. I want to ask you a question. If Jesus Christ were to meet you face to face, literally, bodily, physically, were to appear in this room to you, well, first of all, you’d fall on your face and worship in adoration. But suppose you could say, Lord Jesus, there’s one thing I want to ask you. What would it be? Suppose he said to you, what do you want to know? What would you ask him? What would your question be? Do you know what I think it would be? I think you would ask him this question. Lord, what would you have me to do? What do you want me to do? Now that episode literally happened. He appeared to a man named Saul, and that’s what Saul asked him. Look, if you will. Verse 1, And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest and desired of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. In plain English, that means he had authorization to take Christians… put them in chains, and bring them back to Jerusalem to be persecuted. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, now here’s the question, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, arise and go into the city and it shall be told thee what thou must do. The two greatest questions that anybody could ever ask at any time, question number one, who are you, Lord? Question number two, Lord, what do you want me to do? Those are the two greatest questions. And the Apostle Paul spent the rest of his life Finding the answer to those two great questions, just who Jesus is and what Jesus has for him to do. And those are the two questions that I want you to ask today. Because man today has been described as a generation of misguided men in an age of guided missiles. We are clever creatures. who have lost our way in the darkness. I was reading recently about a young ensign who had made his first trip on a destroyer across the ocean. He had impeccable training, and so it was assigned to him to take that destroyer out of the harbor and bring it back to the United States. It was his first endeavor to do such a thing and he wanted to do it right. He was a very bright boy. And in a moment, the deck was buzzing with action. He was barking commands here and barking commands there and everything was moving like a Swiss clock. as that destroyer made its way out the harbor. And you know, that’s a very meticulous thing and a very treacherous thing to get a big boat out of harbor. But they set sail and they were on their way in record time when someone came to the young ensign and said, you have a message from the captain. And he thought it strange because it was a radio message. But he read it and the captain said, young man, you’ve done an excellent job. You’ve done it with great speed, with dispatch, according to the book. But he said, there is an unwritten rule that you’ve overlooked. The next time you set sail, make certain the captain is on board. What he had done was to leave the harbor and leave the captain back on the shore. And I want to say to you, friend, that no matter how wise your plans are and how capable you are before you set sail anywhere, you’d better make certain That the captain is on board. That you are in the will of God. Now that’s what we’re talking about today. How to know the will of God. Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 23 says… It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. I have three propositions from this passage here. In the life of Saul who later became the Apostle Paul. There are three things I pray that God the Holy Spirit will emblazon upon your heart. Number one… And what a blessing this is. Number one, guidance is promised. God has promised to guide. Now look, if you will, in verse 6, the last part. And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee. What thou must do. I don’t think Jesus could have given him a better promise than that one right there. It will be told you. Well, you say that’s what the Lord said to Saul. He didn’t say that to me. Well, let me give you some more verses. Jot these down. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10. The Bible says, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which he hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. What does that mean in plain English? God has a plan for your life. Psalm chapter 37 and verse 23, listen to this one. The steps… of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way. Let me give you another one. Psalm 32 and verse 8, God says, I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye. Isn’t that a wonderful promise? Listen to this one. Isaiah chapter 58 and verse 11. And the Lord shall guide thee continually. Listen to this one. Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 5. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall. Direct thy paths. Friend, guidance is promised in the Word of God. How blessed those of us are who know the Lord. We have a Father above us controlling all things. We have the Savior beside us directing our steps. We have the Spirit within us impressing our hearts and we can know the leadership of our Lord. We can know His will. Now God’s will, God’s will is in three ways as it comes to us. First of all, it comes to us as His sovereign will. Now God’s sovereign will is always done. You can’t stop it. I can’t stop it. God is God and God accomplishes what He desires to do because there is none who can withstand the Lord. That is His sovereign will and God’s sovereign will is mysterious. It is unknown. I can’t know it. You can’t know it. It is known entirely to God alone. Deuteronomy 29, verse 29, the secret things belong unto the Lord our God. But those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever. The secret things belong to God. Friend, you’ll be a happy person if you just resign from being God and let God be God. Just go ahead and let God be God. There are certain things you will never understand until you get to heaven if you understand them then. The secret things belong to the Lord our God. That’s God’s sovereign will. God is sovereign. I’ve told you before, not a blade of grass moves without His permission. Now there’s a second will, and that’s God’s moral will. God has a moral will. There are certain things that God says, are right and there are certain things that God says are wrong. For example, it is wrong to commit fornication. It is wrong to steal. It is wrong to murder. It is wrong to lie. Pride is wrong. All of these things are wrong. There are certain things that are right. Love is right. Righteousness is right. Honesty is right. Kindness is right. consideration. This is God’s, this is God’s moral will. It’s not going to change for me. It’s not going to change for you. There is a fixed standard of right and wrong because God has said so. All right. That’s his moral will. And that moral will is found in the word of God. No stutter, no stammer, no apology, no hesitation, no ifs, ands, and buts. That’s it. God says this is right and this is wrong. That is the will of God. He’s not going to change it for you. He’s not going to change it for me. But then there’s a third kind of a will and that’s what we’re talking about now. And that is God’s particular will. That is God’s special will for you. God had a particular will for Saul. For example, look if you will in verse 15. And the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my sake. That is, God had a very special plan for this man. God said, My plan for this man is he is going to be an apostle to the Gentiles. He is a very special man. He’s a chosen vessel. Now, it’s very important to me that God chose him specially, particularly to be a chosen vessel. And God has a special will for every one of us. God has a particular will for every one of us. For example, it was God’s sovereign will that the man named Adrian Rogers be saved. I’m a part of the elect of God. Hallelujah. I don’t understand it, but I rejoice in it. That’s God’s sovereign will. God sovereignly set his love upon me and saved me. I thank God for that. But then there was God’s moral will that I marry a Christian. Now, the Bible says not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. And so I know that God had a moral will that if I got married, I’d marry a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. But, oh, God had a particular will also, and that her name is Joyce. Her name is Joyce. You see, God’s sovereign will worked in my life. God’s moral will was in my life. I knew that I wanted to marry a Christian girl, but oh, when I would walk Joyce home after a date or after we’d been to church or after we’d been to some high school function, a football game or something, I would walk home and I’d pray, oh God, let Joyce love me. Oh God. God cause her to love me. Oh God, one day I want to marry that girl. And I believe with all of my heart that God answered my prayer because it was in his will. And I believe that God gave me that wonderful special girl. So God has a plan for your life. God has a particular will for your life. Now why God would be interested in you or me? It just shows his great love. It’s like a We’re just a fleck of spray in an ocean of existence. And yet God knows us. He knows our going in, our coming out, when we sit down, when we rise up. The very hairs of our head are numbered. Oh, friend, God cares. God loves not all of us. God loves each of us. A little boy was quoting that prayer that we call the Lord’s Prayer. And he said, our Father who is in heaven, How does he know my name? Now, God’s will is promised. Leadership guidance is promised. Do you have it? God has promised to guide you. Now, there’s six mistakes. Six myths about the will of God. And I want to clear these up today. I hope that we can, I hope we can just take these out of your mind forever. Now here are six myths that need to be destroyed. Number one, that God will give you a roadmap for your life. He does not do it. He didn’t do it for the apostle Paul here, and he won’t do it for you. God will not give you a roadmap. God’s will for you is not a roadmap. It is a relationship. When he led the children of Israel through the wilderness, how did he lead them? Did he give them a map? No. He gave them a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire and said, follow that. Just stay in a relationship with me. So many of us would like a map to say we’re going to go from here this way, that way, this way, and then we’re going to end up there. But God won’t do that. And I’m glad he doesn’t do it. Because friend, that takes the romance out of it. That takes the excitement out of it. It may put a certain fear and apprehension into it if we knew what tomorrow holds for us. I’m glad we don’t. I’m glad we don’t. When I was a college student, another preacher boy came and sat down beside me and he said, Adrian, guess what I did last week? I said, what? He said, I went through Memphis, Tennessee and I stopped in to see R.G. Lee. Now, if you’re new here in Bellevue, R.G. Lee is one of the former pastors of our church and was indeed one of the greatest, finest, most godly gifted ministers ever. who’s ever walked the face of the earth. I really, truly believe that. And for that young neophyte, embryonic theolog, to say that he had stopped by and went in to see Dr. Lee just absolutely astounded me. I thought, well, how did you get in? And why would he waste his time with a twerp like you? And all of those things I was thinking, but thinking all the whole time, boy, I sure would like to do that. It’d be like you saying, you know, I went through Washington and stopped in to see the president or something. And so… I said, well, tell me about it. And he told me about how he had an outer office and there was a secretary. And he said, I asked her if I could go in and see him. And she said, well, yes, you can go in for a few minutes and so forth. And I thought, well, how would she know who he would see? And all of that, I asked those questions in my mind. I tried to conjure up that office. And I said, what did you do? He said, well, we talked a while and he prayed for me. And that was very interesting to me. I just tried to imagine the whole scene. The years came and went. Subsequently, consequently… I became the pastor of this same church. I happened to be sitting in that same office, sitting behind the same desk, when the secretary buzzed on the intercom and said, Pastor, Dr. Lee’s out here, wants to know if he can come in and see you for a few minutes. Yeah, let him in. You know, You know, I am so glad that as a college student, Brother Jim, I didn’t know that. I mean, I’m glad it would have blown my gaskets. Absolutely would have blown my gaskets. I would never have ever been able to get anything done the rest of my life until that time. God’s will is not a roadmap. It is a relationship. Myth number two. Take out of your mind the idea that God is some sort of a celestial killjoy. That if you do the will of God, that’s the end of your joy. You know, there are a lot of people who don’t want to know the will of God because they’re afraid of what they might find out. You know, if I told the Lord I’d do anything He wants me to do, why, no telling what He might do to me. Suppose you’re parents, you’ve got a 14-year-old boy, Dad, and he comes to you and he says, Dad… I’m convinced you’re a good man, a godly man, a wise man. And, Dad, I’ve just decided from now on whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it. And your wish is my command. Now, I doubt many 14 or 15-year-old boys are saying that. But suppose he just said, Dad, I want to know what you want me to do. Do I want to do what you want me to do? Now, what would you do, dad? Would you go to your wife and say, boy, did you hear what Junior said? Now let’s see what we can do to make his life miserable. Boy, you’ll be sorry he ever said that. What is the meanest, worst thing we could make him do? Of course not. If you’ve been thinking about buying him a new bicycle, that might tip the scales. Friend, don’t be afraid of the will of God. The will of God is what you’d want for yourself if you had enough sense to want it. God is a good God. God loves you. God is not a cosmic killjoy. Now, here’s a third myth that I want to destroy, and that is… You get the idea that God only speaks to a certain category of persons. That God has a will for pastors and missionaries and ministers of music and people who work on church staffs and those kind of things. But God doesn’t have a will for ordinary persons. God has a particular will for you, whether you be a missionary or a secretary, whether you be a pastor or a plumber. God… Has a will for every life. And don’t get the idea that God’s will is only for a particular type of people. Now there’s another myth I want to destroy and take out of your heart and mind. And that is when God shows you His will for your life, that it’s going to be some dramatic experience like the Apostle Paul had on the road to Damascus. Now it may be that way, but it may not be that way. Remember when God spoke to Elijah and there Elijah was up in the mountains and there was a wind and God wasn’t in the wind and there was a fire and God wasn’t in the fire and there was an earthquake and God wasn’t in the earthquake. And then the Bible tells us in first Kings chapter 19, there was a still small voice and that was God speaking. Now, God sometimes does speak in earthquakes. Sometimes God does speak in fires. Here, the Apostle Paul had a kind of an earthquake experience on the road to Damascus. But you let God be God in your particular life. Some folks are Quakers and some folks are Earthquakers. God speaks quietly to some folks, and God, I guess some of us, God just has to get our attention. But don’t buy into the myth that you must have some sort of a dramatic, earth-shaking experience. Next, another myth I want to take out of your heart and mind is that God shows His will to young people, but not to older people. You know, we always are telling young people, oh, young person, young person, young person, you’ve got to find the will of God for your life because your life is before you. I want to say whether you’re 9 or 99, you ought to be seeking the will of God every day of your life. If God were finished with you, He’d take you on to heaven. God has a plan for your life. You say, well, God called me to be a preacher when I was young. I missed it. God called me to be a missionary when I was young. I missed it. So what? Find God’s will now. God says, I will restore the years the locust has eaten. God has a will for everybody who can hear me today. Now, last of all, here’s a myth I want to destroy. That somehow God hides his will so that we must find it. Let’s go back to that boy again. And he’s standing in front of his dad this time. And his dad says, son, there is something I want you to do. And if you do it, I’m going to reward you handsomely. And son, if you don’t do it, I’m going to carry you to the woodshed and apply the board of education to the seat of knowledge. You say, well, dad, since you explained it that way and you really want me to do this thing, dad, what is it you want me to do? He says, I’m not going to tell you. That’s up to you to find out. Now, what kind of a father would do that? Friend, God does not hide His will from us. God, in all of these scriptures that I’ve given you, say that God wants to reveal His will, that God wants to show His will. The will of God is not some sort of an Easter egg hunt. Listen, in the truest sense of the word, You don’t find the will of God. The will of God finds you when you’re walking in the Spirit. God is not hiding His will from you. So now, let’s just wrap all of that up under one heading and say that guidance is promised. Secondly, guidance is provisional. Now there’s certain provisions that come into play before you can know God’s guidance. Number one, there must be willingness. Look again in verse six. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord. What wilt thou have me to do? Now that just presupposes that he wanted to do what God wanted him to do. A lot of folks don’t really want the will of God. They want to do their will and have God rubber stamp it. There’s some folks who come to an architect. They think they want a house and they want the architect to design it. But what they want the architect to do is really to redesign what they have in their mind, which that’s all right in building houses, but it’s not all right in building a life. I heard about a man who was sort of a vagabond. He just went everywhere just by the will of the wisp. And somebody asked him, said, well, where do you go? He said, well, just wherever I want. I just, whatever I want to do. Someone said, well, when you come to the fork of the road and there’s a road that goes this way and a road that goes that way, how do you determine which road you’re going to take? Oh, he says, I just pick up a stick off the ground and I throw it up in the air. Whichever way it lands, he said, that’s the way I go. I said, is that right? He said, yeah. He said, sometimes I have to throw it up as many as six times to make it come down right. You know, that’s the way we are. We say, oh, Lord, whatever you want me to do, I’m just willing to do it. But it’s a lie. It’s a lie. We don’t really mean it. Friend, when we say, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Friend, if you want to know the will of God, there must be number one, willingness. Number two, there must be meekness. You know what he said? He said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? That is, you are in control. I’m not in control. Do you know what meekness is? Meekness means that you are teachable. Psalm 25 and verse 9, the Bible says, and listen to this because this is a key verse. Psalm 25 and verse 9, the meek will he guide. The meek will he guide. Now, are you meek? If you’re not willing and you’re not meek, you won’t know God’s will. Now, here’s the third thing. Not only was there willingness and meekness, but there was openness. He sought the will of God. He’s praying. He’s saying, Lord, show me your will. Have you been open to the will of God? Now, don’t just simply say, well, now, if God wants to show me, he can’t. Have you earnestly, sincerely prayed and said, Oh God, I want to know your will. Do you report for duty? Do you think it’s up to God to put his hand on your shoulder and snatch you and turn you around? Or after you’ve met the Lord Jesus, are you going to be like… Paul and say, God, what is it? What is it, Lord, you really want me to do? Let me ask you a significant question. You’ve been saying, I’ve been stumbling around. I can’t find the will of God. I don’t know the will of God. May I ask you a very personal question? How much time are you spending alone with God with your Bible in a quiet time reporting for duty? It may be that God is speaking, but you’re just not listening. And even when you pray, you’re not listening. Rather than saying, speak, Lord, your servant hears, you’re saying, listen, Lord, I’m talking. And you’re just praying and telling God something. There must be openness. Now again, here’s another provision. There must be yieldedness. Look, if you will, in verses 8 and 9. And Saul arose from the earth. And when his eyes were opened, he saw no man. But they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. Can you imagine that? Here’s a man… that is taking everybody else captive. And now, like that little lamb we were singing about, a docile man, they take him by the hand and they lead this man. He is yielded. You know, the Bible says that we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice. Can you say it this morning and mean it? Thy will, no hesitation. No reservation anywhere, anytime, any cost. Can you say that? Are you yielded to the will of God? We say, God, I just want to know your will. Are you ready to do it if he showed it to you? Imagine a man pushing an old automobile into a service station. All four tires are flat. The crankcase is cracked. There’s no oil in the crankcase. The headlights have been broken out. The battery is gone. All the fenders are dented and flopping. And this man shoves this car into the service station. It has a gas tank, but there’s a hole rusted in the bottom. The attendant comes out wide-eyed and amazed. And the man says, fill her up. If you were pumping gas, what would you think? I think what you say is what for, isn’t that right?
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What for? Oh God, show me your will. God says, why? Why should I show you my will? You’re not prepared to do my will.
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You don’t really mean it when you want to know my will. Friend, are you yielded to God? And don’t come around here saying, oh, I want to know the will of God. Unless there is that willingness. Unless there is, friend, that meekness. Unless there is that openness. Unless there is that yieldedness. All of those things are there when the Apostle Paul prayed and he said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Now here’s the third thing I want you to see. Not only is guidance promised. Not only is it provisional, but thirdly it is practical. Now, God has given some very practical ways that you can know the will of God. And we’re going to find them. They’re right here. And I want you to look at them. One way that you can know the will of God is by miracles. And I would be dishonest if I left this out. Look in verse 3. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus. And suddenly, this shined round about him, a light from heaven appeared. And he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And God may speak to you in a vision. God may speak to you in a dream. God may speak to you with an audible voice. God may speak to you and guide you with a miracle. I want to hasten to say he does not normally guide this way. But he does sometimes. Now since we have the New Testament and the Bible is completed, these kind of miracles are not greatly needed today. And that is not God’s normal way. But I mention that because it’s here in the Word of God. God may speak to you that way. But if you have a vision, a miracle, a dream, or whatever, you’d certainly better check it out by the other things that I’m about to give you and see if it squares and it’s not mere auto-suggestion. Number two. God will speak to you and God will guide you with His Word. Now did God guide the Apostle Paul with His Word? You better believe it. Number one, he was a rabbi and he was steeped in the Word of God, the Old Testament. Number two, he had just heard a sermon and that sermon was by one of the greatest preachers who ever lived, an anointed, Spirit-filled man of God whose name was Stephen. And when the Holy Spirit, God appeared to Saul and said, it’s hard for you to kick against the pricks. That is the goads of God’s word. God will speak to you and God will guide you with his word. Psalm 119 verse 105, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And much of the will of God for your life, friend, is found in the Bible. For example, I said, it’s not God’s will that you marry an unbeliever. If you’re dating a person and that person is not saved, then why date somebody you couldn’t marry if you fell in love with them? You know God’s will many times from reading the Bible. And you say, well, God is leading me to divorce my wife and marry somebody else. That’s a lie. It’s a lie. It’s right here in the Word of God. And it is sheer arrogance for you to pray and say, God, show me your will when God has already shown you His will. Now I want to mention a third way that God will lead you. Not only by the Word of God, but God will lead you by His people, by the people of God. Look, if you will, in verse 10. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas. For one calls Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem. Now, every word that Ananias was saying right now was from his heart because his heart was in his throat. God says, you’re going to go down there and speak to this man. Who’s going with me? You’re going by yourself, Ananias. And here he hath authority from the chief priest to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, go thy way, for he’s a chosen vessel unto me. Now, here’s the point. When God was speaking to Saul, God also took a man named Ananias and used Ananias to confirm the will of God. Now, God will do that. The Bible says in a multitude of counselors there is wisdom. Proverbs 24 and verse 6, by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war. And in multitude of counselors there is safety. Now what does that mean? It means that when God is speaking to you about something, God will often confirm it to somebody else because in the mouth of two or more witnesses, a thing should be established. And don’t you be so proud and don’t you be so arrogant that you’re afraid of the counsel of other people. When I was ordained to preach, I had an ordination council and that ordination council asked this question, what would you do if we refused to ordain you? You know what this young 19-year-old boy said? Boy, I drew myself up, wrapped a robe of righteousness around me, and I said, I’d preach anyway. Boy, I thought that sounded good. I said, you know, I don’t depend upon you guys. It’s God that’s called me. But I’ll tell you, after having been on the trail this time, if I had some wise and godly men around me that would say that, you know what I’d do? I’d say, gentlemen, let me pray some more. Let me pray some more. Oh, friend, in a multitude of counselors, there’s wisdom. It’s a terrible thing for a man to think he has the gift of preaching and nobody else has the gift of listening. Amen. Now listen, the Bible teaches that we’re going to know the will of God in the context of other things round about us. Now there is… the people of God. I’ll tell you another way that God will confirm His will to you, and that is the Spirit of God. Look in verse 17, And Ananias went his way in entering into the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, has sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God from that time on was leading this man. It was this same man who wrote in Romans chapter 8 and verse 14, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. And this same man wrote in Galatians 5 verse 18, but if ye be led of the Spirit, you’re not under the law. The Spirit of God will lead you. You will hear His voice. Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice. And let me tell you how the Holy Spirit leads. If you ever see a person composed, they’re probably being driven by the devil. God does not shout and God does not shove. God whispers and God leads. He leads his sheep. He’s not driving them to the slaughter. He is leading them to the pasture. And you had better get sensitive enough that you can hear the Spirit of God and know the voice of God. I wish I had more time to deal with that. But let me give you the last way that you can know. Not only the Spirit of God, but the wisdom of God. God will lead you with sheer wisdom. Notice in verse 20 and straightway, speaking of Saul now. He preached Christ in the synagogues that He’s the Son of God. Now, wait a minute. You mean right away? Here’s this man right away. He’s preaching Christ. Yes. But all that heard him were amazed and said, is not this he that destroyed them, which called on his name in Jerusalem and came hither for that intent? That he might bring them bound unto the chief priest. But notice verse 22. But Saul increased the more in strength. He’s not talking about physical strength now. He’s not pumping iron. And confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus. Proving that this is the very Christ. Where did he get this wisdom? Where did it come from? God gave him supernatural wisdom. James chapter 1 verse 5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not. And it shall be given him. Oh, friend. The will of God is found between your ears. Right here. Oh, you say, no, that’s naturalistic. You shouldn’t use your mind. Well, why do you say you shouldn’t use your mind when the Apostle Paul says in the book of Philippians, we have the mind of Christ. The Bible says we are to present ourselves unto God a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by what? The renewing of your mind. The renewing of your mind. Do you know what wisdom is? Wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view. Friend, when you pray and you get the Spirit of God in you and you get the Word of God in you and you get the supernatural life of God in you, you will begin to have wisdom. Knowledge comes by looking around, but wisdom comes by looking up. And God will lead you and God will give you wisdom. I don’t know how to explain it any other way than that, but it is supernatural when a person is walking in the Spirit. He says, I have the mind of Christ, and he’s not afraid to trust what he has up here. That is not naturalistic. That is supernatural. Friend, wisdom is not getting all wet around the lashes and warm around the heart. It is having a mind that is stayed on God, full of the Word of God, led by the Spirit of God. And the Bible says that God will guide you with wisdom. There’s one other thing, I just want to put it in here, that God leads with, and that is the providence of God. Now, at about this time, if you read this chapter, there were some people who decided they had enough of this man, and they’re ready to destroy him. But he heard about it, and they let him down over the wall in a basket. You remember that story? There’s the great apostle in a basket. Well, how did he learn about that? Well, you see, in the providence of God, word came to him, Saul, they’re trying to kill you, friend. And the providence of God led him. You know what God does? God opens doors and God closes doors. And the meek, he just simply guides. And what you think are happenstances are God’s plans and God’s ways. And God just simply guides us through this world. And many times we don’t even know it was the providence of God until years later as God guides his own. Listen to me, friend. Don’t be afraid of the will of God. The will of God will not take you where the power of God cannot keep you. And the will of God is the absolute best thing for you, for your wife, and for your children. And listen very, very carefully right now. The way to know the will of God for the rest of your life is to do the will of God right now. It’s hard to steer a ship that’s not moving. You see, the way to understand the part of the Bible you don’t understand is to obey the part you do understand. The way to know about the future is to obey God right now. And if you’re interested in having the will of God in your life, I want you to say what the Apostle Paul said so long ago, Lord, who are you? And Lord, what do you want me to do? Let me tell you who He is. He’s the Son of God who died for your sins. And what He wants you to do right now is to receive Him into your heart as your Lord and Savior. And I promise you on the authority of the Word of God, if you give your heart to Jesus Christ today, number one, He will forgive every sin. Number two, He’ll come into your heart and send His Spirit into you. Number three, when you die, He’ll take you to heaven. And number four, you’ll have a wonderful time getting there. It’s just wonderful to know Jesus Christ. But, oh friend, he doesn’t take rebels to heaven. You must say, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Not what you’ll have someone else to do. And not what someone else will have me to do. But, Lord, what would you have me to do? Father, I pray that you’d bring this message home to our hearts. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SPEAKER 03 :
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