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The History of the De-Emphasis Of The New Birth

Compiled By Robert Wurtz II (used with permission)

Section XI - SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE

There is a great difference between ‘figuring something out’ with your own reasoning skills and discerning the mind of God through Divine revelation.
The reasoning faculty of man is resident in the soul. When man operates on this ‘level’ he/she does things that ‘make sense’ to the natural man.

Man has a mind with the ability to take into account known facts and make judgments based upon the information available. This is man using his/her ability to decide apart from God. This is in complete contrast to the leading of the Spirit. Yet, many believers direct their lives based upon their own understanding. They say they are trusting in God, but their whole life is directed by their own natural logic of what seems best.

We have a early ‘glimpse’ of what it means to walk in the Spirit from Proverbs 3:5, 6;

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

The word ‘lean’ in Hebrew means to ‘rest upon’ or ‘rely‘. This passage is conveying a concept that is not the same as making decisions based upon what looks like the sensible thing to do. The world makes decisions like that and they are spiritually dead. This passage is about trusting God with all your heart, leaning NOT upon your own understanding, and in everything God is acknowledged. These are the three prerequisites for walking in the Spirit and making spiritual decisions. If we do that, we have done our part. Can you trust God to direct your paths or do you feel like you need to keep control? Are you making decisions based on your own “mind, will, and emotions?” What makes sense, what you want to do or some emotion ranging from anger and on and on? For those bent on God’s leading, there is no need to micromanage God, he shall direct thy paths.

THINGS YOU DON’T NEED TO PRAY ABOUT

If God has already spoken on a topic and the answer is clear from the word of God, there is no further need to pray for a different answer. God will not lead a person contrary to His word. You can pray about stealing something all you want, and God will still call it theft. You can pray about adultery all you want, but God still calls it wickedness. You can pray about covetousness all you want, and when you get up it will still be idolatry.

Prayer does not change God’s word. And this is the crux of our subject, where is the prayer originating from? In the soul or the spirit? Is it man’s will or God’s will? In genuine prayer the Holy Spirit is leading a person through their human spirit to pray the will of God be done (Luke 11:2). In ’soulish’ prayer there is a wish list that is unanointed, based upon the desires of the heart of the person apart from God. This is why we must pray until we ‘touch God’. Tozer called it “praying until you PRAY.”

If God puts the desire in your heart that is one thing, but when prayer and direction from God is sought in such a way as to bring man’s will to pass, God is not glorified and most of the prayer is in vain. Why? Because you have not prayed until you can say, “THY will be done.” C.S. Lewis is to have said once that prayer does not change God, prayer changes us. There is a lot of truth in that saying. Do you pray with the intent on changing God as if you have a better and most acceptable method or way than His? Would it not be wise to accept the will of an all knowing and loving God as being the best possible route we could possibly take?

What if God had FULL control of a person’s life? What if they were utterly dead to their own will? What if God’s will was done in our lives as it is done in Heaven?

GAINING DIRECTION FROM GOD

Most bad decisions are made by Christians because they did not truly seek God’s will in prayer. This is often rooted in an absence of a personal relationship with God. Not having a real ‘revelation’ of who God is, they want God to sign off on their plans, rather than their signing off on His.

A right understanding or apprehension of God will have a profound effect on our behavior. I often say that what we often need is a fresh revelation of God. God began revealing Himself to Israel through Moses as He desired to lead them from Egypt. They were given instructions on how to wait on the Lord (as it were) as they had not yet had a revelation of Him that would enable them to rightly relate to Him. This was about to change during the first Passover.

Our lifestyle should be such that we are ’standing’ as Israel when they were consuming the Passover in Egypt. This was a taught behavior for them, but should be our very nature as the regenerate who have had a personal experience with God.

And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’s Passover
Exodus 12:11

This is a people awaiting ‘marching orders’ from God. This should be the posture of our hearts. There should be a ‘readiness’ to do the will of God, not just because of what God has done for us, but because of who He is. It is ‘logical’ or ‘reasonable’ to present ourselves to the Lord as a living sacrifice; but more than that, because of the consciousness of God which we have, we should have a persistent attitude of reverencial awe and submission to Him.

You will notice that they had “done all” and were standing (Ephesians 6). We need to have ourselves ready to abandon all and do God’s will. No obstructions, weights or sins. No incumberances, but an “instant in season and out of season readiness”. This means a readiness to manifest the person of Jesus Christ in every situation. This is constant denial of ’self’.

When ’self’ shows up in the situation SIN is lying at the door (Genesis 4:7). Satan, as we have mentioned in previous studies is always faithful to suggest that we ‘pity’ ourselves; but Jesus said we must utterly deny ourselves (Matthew 16). This is the same Greek word as used in Peter’s denial. This is a picture of how we ought to deny ourselves.

How did Peter ‘disown’ the Lord? In so much that he went out and wept bitterly. He realized that he had denied the Lord in the way he was commanded the Lord to deny HIMSELF. What a picture! This is no mere coincidence. You will find that the only place that this specific Greek word is used is for denial of ’self’ and Peter’s denial of Christ. We are left to reckon with what it means to ‘utterly’ deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.

PRESUMPTION OR GOD’S WILL?

We must make a distinction here and observe what soulishness really is. This is ‘that’ which originates in the soul of man, rather than the Heart of God. Ideas, plans, and schemes are often the result of man’s strategies, rather than God direction. Anything we do for the Lord, must have the Lord as its source. It has to begin in the heart of God or we are no different than Cain.

This does NOT mean that we sit idle and wait for instructions; we already have ‘marching orders’. As Ron Bailey has said, “God should never have to speak more than once. If He speaks the second time it is definitely grace that allowed it.” We are taught in Proverbs the means of rearing a child properly. God is not like many parents who talk and talk and threaten and threaten their kids; God will use the rod of correction without hesitation if it is in order. Anything else would spoil His child. God cannot allow us to get into the habit of disobedience or even ‘delayed’ obedience. The will of God must needs be carried out in us as it is in Heaven. That is lightening fast obedience. This is not lingering and weighing the options.

So what are we to do? Are we not to wait for the ‘call’? Every Christian is called; but few Trust in the LORD with all their heart; and lean not unto their own understanding. In all their ways acknowledge him, and He directs their paths. Many hide behind the whole ‘call’ thing. They say they have no ‘burden’ for ministry. As if they were waiting on God to call. The very same people will get up in the morning and brush their teeth and wash their face of their own volition with no need for permission from God. They only seek permission if it is God’s work. Can we reasonably conduct ourselves like this and suspect it is being led of the Spirit?

Some of the most spiritual things you will ever do as a Christian is that which you were not specifically ‘called’ to do. (G.W. North). God needs a people with their loins girded, prayed up, packed up, willing and ready to step into the path He is directing them into. This is a conscious readiness to walk in the path God sets before them. The trouble people get into is that they have not trusted in the LORD with all their heart; and leaned not unto their own understanding. In all their ways acknowledged him, so that he SHALL or ‘will’ direct their paths. Soulishness is refusal to do the afore mentioned three prerequisite things and then attempting to do anything for God. It is a most simple truth of scripture. Call it presumption or strange fire, but we must live by Proverbs 3: 5, 6 as an active posture of the heart or we will have one or the other.

We have to learn to follow Christ. We have to let Him lead, but this is more like ‘merging’ into the flow of God’s will than looking for a ‘green light’. As we are walking He directs our steps. It is more complicated than this, but it is not, really. This is the foundation of our walk with Him.

EVERY THING TO GOD IN PRAYER

Can man alone build Christ’s Church? What does the scripture say? And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).

The gates of hell will not prevail against the Church that Christ builds, but surely it will prevail the ‘church’ man builds. Imagine going about to build a building without a total disposition to build according to the Owner’s plans? Your work is your work. That which we do under His direction is His work. His materials, blueprints and staff.

Where does this process begin? Proverbs 3:5, 6;

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

This is not making decisions based upon what looks like the ’sensible’ thing to do. This is trusting God with all your heart, leaning NOT upon your own understanding, and in everything God is acknowledged. Did God mean what He said or do we look for another method? He has siad that if we do these three things He ’shall’ direct thy paths.

This principal is as old as the Old Testament and is a timeless as any principal in scripture. This didn’t go out of date with the New Covenant. When we sincerely trust God in faith that He is going to direct our path, we have to be ready to disregard our own understanding. We have to be ready to do things that seem like utter nonsense at times. Did it make sense to dip an infection ridden body into a river 7 times for healing? Did it make sense to pour water into water pots in hope of having wine? That none should glory in His presence, we are left to follow Christ in faith.

We have to be ready to follow the Lamb whethersoever He goeth. We have to be ready to trust God with our whole lives. The Bible is loaded with such accounts of God leading people according to Proverb’s 3:5, 6. It is when man began to look to their own sensibility that God’s displeasure fell on the people. When David numbered Israel or the children of Israel looked on the outward appearance. We don’t know the facts or even the multitude of variables involved. More than that, we don’t know the will of God unless we seek His face and walk in the revelation He has given.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 at 7:33 pm and is filed under Evangelism, The Betrayal of the Ages, Theocracy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.