HOW TO KNOW ITS GOD
Part 2
“How to Know God is Guiding You”
Isaiah 30:21 “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Here the Lord promises to guide us, but how can we know that it is really God saying, “This is the way…?”
—When you’re making an important business decision,
—or considering a new relationship,
—or whether or not to move,
—or to go in some new direction in your career…
How can you know that it is the God of the Bible saying, “This is the way…?”
How can you be sure it’s not your own imagination, or your flesh, or even the enemy?
And why does this even matter?
Because stepping outside of the boundaries of God’s will can ruin your life!
Deception is Satan’s favorite weapon against God’s people, and he particularly uses ignorance of God’s ways of guiding us to trip us up.
He’s successfully used deception since the Garden!
The Apostle Paul often warned the church about not being lured off the narrow path:
2 Cor. 11:3 “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
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To illustrate this:
I once read of a certain Italian harbor that can be reached only by sailing up a very narrow channel between dangerous rocks and obstacles.
Over the years, many ships have wrecked, and navigation is hazardous.
To guide the ships safely into port, THREE LIGHTS have been mounted in the harbor on three huge poles.
—When the three lights are perfectly lined up and merge as one, the ship can safely proceed up the narrow channel.
If the pilot sees two or three lights separate from each other, he knows he’s off course and in danger.
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Likewise, God has given the Christian 3 harbor lights of Guidance that must agree as one in order for us to know that God is indeed guiding us!
The three harbor lights of guidance are:
1.) The Word of God (objective standard)
2.) The Holy Spirit (subjective witness)
3.) Circumstances (divine providence).
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So the FIRST harbor light of God’s guidance is…
I. The Word of God
The Word of God is the unfailing, infallible, objective standard given to guide us through life.
And it is the FIRST and UTMOST harbor light in all guidance!
God will never ever lead us in a direction that is contrary to His Word.
—There are no exceptions,
—no new ‘truths’
—or new revelations that can overrule the written Word of God.
The Bible says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105)——It guides my next step, and leads me down the right path!
Here’s the thing—deception gets a foothold when we take that first step outside the boundaries of God’s word.
—Being one inch off on a map will lead you 1,000 miles off course!
And taking one reckless step out of God’s Word can lead you miles and miles out of His will!
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For instance, I have seen this happen over and over again when a believer puts more stock in a subjective experience than they do God’s objective Word.
We’ll often hear someone say, “I feel led” to go here or there, to do this or that.
But if its a significant decision and they don’t run it through the sifter of God’s Word they can end up burned!
And to take this a step further, some Christians seem to be more led by personal prophecies and supernatural visions and dreams than by the Scriptures.
I have known some who would record personal prophecies by well-known “prophets.”
Then, without really praying about it,
or comparing it to Scripture,
or getting discerning counsel from seasoned leaders in the church,
They just obey the prophecy as if it were as inspired as the Bible.
And there are still others who claim that daily visions and dreams from God are what guides them.
While I do believe God can speak through visions and dreams, we have to be careful.
Satan also comes as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) and can deceive naïve believers who think that just because they have a supernatural encounter that it must be the Lord.
And this seems to happen most often in churches that are ‘Spirit-filled’ and believe in the gifts of the Spirit (which we do).
They assume that—since they walk in the gifts and have had deep experiences with God—they can trust an experience,
or “Holy Ghost Bumps” without running it through the safety net of Scripture.
Peter exhorted us to always let God’s word be the final guide:
“So we have the prophetic word made more certain (than anything else). You do well to pay [close] attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place,”—2 Peter 1:19
So even if you see pink pigs flying backwards across the sky, if its against God’s word you can know for sure its not Him guiding you!
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The second HARBOR LIGHT of God’s guidance is…
II. The inner witness of the Holy Spirit
While God’s word is the OBJECTIVE witness of guidance, The Holy Spirit is the SUBJECTIVE witness God has given to guide us…
—God’s Spirit guides us primarily by giving His peace about something, or by taking His peace away…
Paul the Apostle writes in Phil. 4:7 “…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Notice, the “GUARD” over your heart protecting you is God’s peace, which acts like a sentinel standing watch over your soul.
If you have a deep, settled, abiding peace about a path you’re considering, that is one of the signals God is in it.
Jesus promised, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).
The Holy Spirit is the SUBJECTIVE WITNESS that guides us by His peace and inner promptings.
—For instance, when Paul and Silas were on their 2nd missionary journey, they tried preaching in Asia but:
“..they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.”
Then they tried to go into a province of Rome called Bithynia “…but the Spirit did not permit them.”—Acts 16:6-7
How the Spirit checked them we do not know.
But it was very likely in part by the Spirit removing His peace.
The Bible instructs the believer, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).
When you experience the grieving of the Spirit within, then by that very grieving instead of His peace, He may be trying to tell you you’re heading down a wrong path.
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*But here’s the thing: The inner witness is not infallible like God’s word is.
There are times we can truly feel within ourselves that something is right, that we are on the right path, but when you run it through the safety net of God’s word, it doesn’t agree.
—Remember, those HARBOR LIGHTS have to line up!
The fact is that sometimes our own emotions or our own heart can masquerade as God’s leading!
Prov. 28:26 “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be kept safe.”
So the first 2 harbor lights are 1) God’s Word and 2.) the inner witness of the Holy Spirit.
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And the THIRD harbor light is…
III. Circumstances
The Bible teaches that the circumstances of life are in the hands of our Providential God.
And when God is leading, He will providentially bring circumstances into agreement with where He is taking us.
—The FINANCES will come in,
—That once impossible DOOR will open,
—The things needed in order to PURSUE GOD’S PATH will fall into place.
Paul wrote, “for there is a wide open door for me to preach and teach here. So much is happening, but there are many enemies.”—1 Cor. 16:9
—It really is true that where God guides, God provides!
—God will make a way where there is no way.
He will remove obstacles that stand in your way, and make the impossible possible.
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But again, we need to use wisdom.
There can be times when circumstances seem to point to God’s guidance,
but they won’t pass the smell test when you run it through the Word.
ILLUS: David and Saul in cave
“Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’”
But David said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.”—1 Sam 24:4-6
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CLOSE: So if God is truly leading you, the 3 harbor lights of:
—God’s word,
—The Spirit’s inner witness, and
—Divinely ordered circumstances will all line up…
When all 3 line up and agree, you are safe to navigate your ship into that harbor!
LET’S PRAY