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>)
