Equipping for Spiritual Battle: Trusting God's Guidance

The Apostle gives a very solemn warning to these Ephesians and through them to all other Christians to bear in mind always that they are confronted by the Ws of the devil. This is authory of the Christian is not just that he believes and is converted and saved and never has another problem unless that isn't true. [00:01:17]

The devil knowing this presses them along that very Point what he does of course he doesn't do it openly but what he does is this he knows that the conscientious he knows that they're sensitive people highly strung people people who are never content to do a thing anyhow somehow they're perfectionists. [00:04:07]

The Bible's got a great deal to say about this there is a great deal of warning in the Bible against what it calls the cares of this world, clearly it's something that has always Afflicted God's people this type in particular the cares of this world or if you like you've got a classic example of this in the case of Martha. [00:04:51]

The devil tries to get us into that state of worry and Hyper anxiety and the answer is along the lines I've been trying to indicate now there's something closely related to this and that is fear of the future it's a subdivision if you like of the previous one and yet it does deserve uh a classification on its own. [00:18:09]

Timothy had many good reasons for being afraid of the future the great Apostle is in prison rumors are circulating that he's about to be put to death there are troubles in the churches he Timothy is but a young man what's going to happen What future can there possibly be in such cir cumstances everything seems to be going. [00:19:34]

This fearfulness with respect to the future is not only lack of Faith it's worse it's unbelief and let's pull it out and look at it and put the appropriate label on it and let's just tize ourselves the whole art of defeating the Ws of the devil is to see that he's at the back of it all. [00:24:56]

The Christian life is not like that that makes it into something almost magical not only that if it were as simple as that there'd never be any growth in the Christian Life you can't get growth and development in a machine but where there's life there's growth and development and there is in the Christian Life. [00:34:58]

The Apostle Paul did not get automatic Guidance the Apostle Paul was sometimes in difficulty about his guidance let me give you an example out of Acts 16 in the 16th chapter of Acts this is what I read in verse 6 now when they had gone throughout friia and the region of galatia and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost. [00:36:06]

The Apostle thought quite clearly that he was to preach in Asia and in Bethania here is this man of God this great Apostle he believes this is what he's to do the Holy Ghost has to prevent him and prohibit him specifically and in the same way he would never have gone to tr us he would never have gone from trus into Macedonia. [00:36:43]

The Apostle was not clear in his guidance and face to face with such an example I say we must never teach that guidance is certain automatic and infallable it's not true it's not true in Apostolic experience neither has it been true in the history of the Saints since then you read their biographies and you'll find that they've had great trouble. [00:37:10]

We are meant to get our guidance through the scriptures through an enlightened spiritual mind and understanding through an enlightened reason through an enlightened conscience that's how normally God guides us thank God he does and he gives us certainty through these meth you read your scriptures and their teaching you apply it if you're in trouble. [00:45:39]

Commit everything to God illness future guidance everything take it to the Lord in prayer tell him that you one desire is to know his will and to do it now if you can't be honest at that point you might as well stop you start with yourself and you say can I honestly say to God that I desire nothing but to know his will. [00:47:38]