THE CALL TO MISSIONS - Guidance of the Lord (Other Means of
Guidance)
7. Prophecy
A prophet (man) or prophetess (woman) is one who is inspired to
proclaim
the word of God—either by “forth-telling” the word applicable
today or by
“fore-telling” something that will occur in the future. See more information on prophecy under the heading “church” in section A-4
above.
8. Discerning Between Spirits
Some people have the gift of being able to distinguish between
those who
follow God and those who do not. See 1 Corinthians 12:12:10. Such
gifted people are not easily misled into following the advice of
false
prophets. Scripture says that those who deny that Jesus Christ has
come in
the flesh are false prophets. See 1 John 4:1-3.
If someone claiming to be a Christian provides advice to us, we
can test
their advice by consulting with one who has the gift of discerning
between
spirits. And we can test the advice of the prophet by comparing it
with
Scripture.
If you are married to a godly person, it is often helpful to
determine your
spouse’s perception of a person offering guidance. It is more
difficult to
mislead both a man and a woman than it is to mislead one person.
9. Wisdom
Some people have the gift of wisdom. See 1 Corinthians 12:8. This
gift
allows people to see things from God’s perspective, and to
exercise godly
judgment in making decisions.
10. Knowledge
Those who have the gift of knowledge are able to retain much
information
that may be helpful in making decisions (1 Corinthians 12:8).
11. Life History
I don’t know of Scripture that advises us to look at our life
history to
determine what we should do in the future. We may have taken a
path in
the past that is contrary to the way that God is leading us in the
future. In
such a case, following the path that we took earlier may lead us
in the
wrong direction. However, it may be useful to look at our life
history to
see how God has prepared us for the future.
For example, I was given training in how to deliver short
presentations to
groups of people. Immediately after finishing such training, a
pastor
approached me and asked me to make presentations to children
during
worship services. The pastor did not realize that I had just been
trained for
a job like the one that he was asking me to do. I felt that God was
calling
me to accept this ministry opportunity. After all, it was
Scriptural to teach
children the Bible, I was gifted in relating to children, and I
had just
received training.
How has God been preparing you for service? What spiritual gifts
has he
given to you? What interests has he put in your heart? What is
your
passion? What resources do you have that could be used in
ministry? If
you see that you are prepared for a certain course of action, pray
that God
will either confirm or deny that course of action.
C. Measures to Avoid
There are some measures used to seek guidance that are not to be
followed by Christians today.
1. Chance (Casting Lots)
In Old Testament times, believers sometimes sought the guidance of
God
by casting lots (Leviticus 16:7-10). Casting lots was somewhat
like flipping a coin or drawing straws today. There is one reference in
the New Testament to casting lots (Acts 1:26).
As explained on page 40 of
the link http://freebiblecollege.com/ casting of lots was not used after
the Holy Spirit indwelled all believers. God wants us to follow him, not to
follow chance.
2. Seeking a Sign (Laying Out a Fleece)
There is one instance in the Old Testament in which a man asked
God to
reveal his will by use of a sign. Gideon used a “fleece” to confirm
what an
angel had already revealed to him (Judges 6:36-40). He placed a
wool
fleece on the ground and asked God to let there be dew on the
fleece and
that the ground around the fleece be dry. Then he asked God to let
the
fleece be dry and the ground around the fleece be wet. If these
things
occurred, Gideon would know that God was calling him to follow the
directions of the angel. God permitted this sign, but Scripture
later teaches
against asking for signs. Jesus said that it is evil to seek after
signs. See
Matthew 12:39. God indeed gives us signs to bring us to faith, but
we are
3. The Occult
Satan can give signs to mislead people. See 2 Thessalonians 2:9.
He
wants people to worship him and follow him. He utilizes various
means of
deceiving people through the occult. Occult practices include such
things
as astrology, fortune-telling, horoscopes, palm-reading, sorcery
(magic),
witchcraft, and Satan worship. The Bible warns against occult
practices.
See Deuteronomy 18:10-14. Practicing the occult is following
Satan.
When we ask God for something, he may respond in various ways; he
may say “yes,” “no,” or “wait.” If we are seeking guidance in making a decision,
we don’t want to delay when God gives us direction, but we don’t want to get ahead
of God. See Psalm 5:3. Rather than being anxious, Scripture teaches us to be
still and know that God is in control. See Psalm 46:10; Philippians 4:6,7.
While we are waiting for an answer from God, should we remain
idle? Of course not!
There is much work to be done that doesn’t require new instruction
from God. The Bible instructs us to work, to provide for our families, to
witness to non-believers,and to help the poor. We are to love God and love our neighbors.
If we continue in obedience to the Lord, he will guide us in his time.
God’s timing may not follow our expectations! Moses spent forty
years learning leadership skills in Egypt before he took action to help his
fellow Israelites. Then he spent another forty years in exile from Egypt before the Lord
called him to lead the Israelites from slavery. And he spent another forty years leading
the Israelites as they wandered in the desert. And in the end, Moses only looked into the
Promised Land—he didn’t enter. How many of us grow weary waiting forty years for
some significant event or direction from God?
Abraham was a hundred years old when his child promised by the
Lord was born.
Circumstances would seem to indicate that Abraham and Sarah would
not have the child, but Abraham trusted God. God has control over circumstances.
There was no closed door to Abraham in this instance, because God had spoken to
him, promising that Abraham would have many descendants through the promised son.
See Genesis 12:2.
E. Applying These Principles
How can we apply the principles in this module to receiving
guidance from God? We can do the following.
_ Submit our will to God, asking him to take charge of our lives.
_ Rely upon the Holy Spirit, as we utilize the primary means
available to us
(Bible, prayer, church, and circumstances) for guidance.
_ As appropriate, apply the other means of guidance from Section B
above.
_ Ask God to reveal his work to us, so that we may join him in
that work.
We can assess our spiritual state. Do we have peace about what we
are doing now? If we are sincerely seeking God’s will, God will not grant peace when
we are not in his will. Jeremiah the prophet was called to prophesy, and when he
stopped proclaiming God’s word, the word became like a fire in his heart and bones so
he could not stop preaching . See Jeremiah 20:9. But if we are not seeking God’s
will, we may mistake complacency for peace. We can be satisfied with the path
that we are on, but we may not be truly following God. So let us pray that God reveals
his will, and as we seek to follow him, we will guide us.
God guides us one step at a time. Prayerfully, we make plans in
order to do many things—take a trip, marry, have children, build a house, start a
business, and so on.
Scripture teaches that some planning is needed. The Bible says
that one should count the cost before beginning construction of a tower and one should
decide if he could win a battle before confronting an enemy. See Luke 14:28-30. We
should make plans, asking God to guide us as we plan. See Proverbs 16:3.
Ultimately, the Lord decides the outcome of such plans. See Proverbs 16:9.
God often calls us to do something without revealing much of the
future. God called
Abraham to go to another land, without showing him the whole
journey in advance.
See Genesis 12:1; Hebrews 11:8. In the same way, you may be called
to be a
missionary, and God may not immediately tell you where to
minister. As you obey the call to prepare for missionary work, he may then tell you to
go to a particular country. When you go, he may then tell you to develop a particular
type of ministry—say to a particular culture within that nation. God
doesn’t burden us in advance with the knowledge of the whole journey.
Suppose you feel called to missions, but to go would cause you to
break one of God’s commandments in Scripture. For example, you would have to separate
from your spouse or divorce your spouse, who is unwilling to go to the
mission field.
Should you go to a mission field without taking your spouse? No,
you should pray that God will reveal his will to both you and your spouse. God
doesn’t call us to break His commandments.
If we apply these principles of guidance, will we sometimes fail
to recognize God’s guidance? Yes. We are human, and as humans, we all make mistakes.
When we fail, the important thing is to turn back to God, and again seek his
will.
(For
details and for free course visit <www.missionstraining.org>)
