Leading
Scripture Reading - Proverbs 6:20-23 KJV
20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
Recently while ihlcc was praying we saw something that helped our faith (understanding) in God. Hopefully, today’s lesson will increase your faith in God too. It is not that we heard some new doctrine but rather it is a better understanding of what we already knew to be true in Christ Jesus. Just so you will understand this concept in context we will explain what was going on in our mind at the time of this revelation. Someone close to us was sharing what they wanted to do in the near future. This thing (idea, thought) that they were speaking about was a new direction that was a change from what they were doing today. Although this new direction seemed foreign to us we were praying to God for them to see clearly God’s Will and for us to clearly see God’s Will concerning them, so we would not be a stumbling block for them if (and we did say, “if”) they asked us what we thought about it. We (ihlcc) have found that many Christians say they are being led into a certain direction but since we as listeners are not God there is nothing we can do to challenge that belief when they say they are being led. We can remember one time that the Lord told us, “If they think they are following God when they are learning how to follow Me and you correct them by saying they are not following God, wouldn’t you wound their weak conscience? And if this is done repeatedly you could turn them off to God and yourself.” With that in mind we (ihlcc) have found it better to simply pray for those following God and let the Good Lord do His part in dealing with them to show them the right ways of God to follow His Direction. Therefore, we default to not saying anything unless we are invited into their thoughts by them specifically asking for our opinion on certain matters. Historically we have found this approach to be less problematic and much more satisfying by all parties involved because when things do workout right everyone unitedly praises God for the good outcome. Even if things don’t turn out the way we think they should we are glad we stayed out of if because it is very easy to lose some influence with people when you try to correct them and they don’t want to hear it from you. Typically, people who are sincere and truly want to follow God’s Will are open for God’s correction and all we need to do is confirm the correction the Lord has already dealt with them about or simply point them to the scriptures that highlight God’s thoughts on certain issues. Now that you know the background we will add that this person was thinking of pursuing a new career path while they are walking down another road for a different career. They thought the two different paths would lead to the same goal which is to glorify God in your life. Generally, speaking all good paths lead to God but we do know that having two visions means that you are divided and being divided will (not maybe, but shall) cause you to fall according to Matthew 12:25,26. So we were a little perplexed about the whole conversation but we dare not say what was God and what was not God because we didn’t want to start any confusion or frustration for another child of God. Have faith have it to thyself because your faith should never be a stumbling block to another.-Romans 14:21-23 However, while praying we heard this thought, “When people are truly following God what they are doing and/or what they shall do should line up with the Holy Scriptures.” What the Lord was trying to show us is that we must know the Word of God (The Holy Bible) well enough to accurately discern what is in-line with His Word and what is not. Simply put, if a person states that they are going into a certain direction we should be able to know if it is a profession that glorifies God or is it more of a profession that glorifies the works (or desires) of men? This is not at all saying only the five-fold ministry offices of Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher and Evangelist are godly because we certainly don’t believe that. What we (ihlcc) firmly believe is that you ought to be willing and able glorify God in whatever position you serve in as a fulltime career. However, just because you feel led to go into a certain thing doesn’t guarantee that it is God Himself leading you into that direction. If you want to know how we now know how to tell the difference we will share this secret with you. Listen to them for an extended period of time and see if what is coming out of their mouth has more to do with glorify God and what He told (or asked) them to do or more of what I thought or I want or I could do. If the words of their vision speak more about their own will as opposed to scriptures clearly revealed to us in God’s Word the direction is probably not from God. The only reason we used to word probably is because it is always possible to have the direction from God but just do a poor job of articulating (writing and sharing) the vision to others. Today’s verse states that God’s Commandments (His Word) will lead us, keep during our sleep and talk with us during the day. This simply means when the vision is from God it is not going away and the people around us should hear that same vision repeated over time. Yes, the things of God do not change randomly but rather endure over the long haul and sometimes even to next generations. So please understand with us that when wondering about if a person is planning on following a new direction don’t wonder any more but rather measure their words and actions by the Holy Word of God and then and only then will you clearly know if that new direction is inspired by God or a work of man. Note: There is nothing wrong with doing a work of man in the earth as long as it is a good thing. However, a problem can arises if this new good work of man interferes with the Holy Word (and Work) of God. So be wise dear child of God never judge another person’s heart but rather measure the words they speak and the vision they propagate because either you hear God’s Word in their vision or you do not. This is not deep truth it is only Thee Truth we seek according to God’s Word in the Awesome Name of Jesus. Amen!