I was at 5:30 this morning the Lord showed me in a dream this message for today. The message is an answer to this question:
- What do you do when you pray for directions and God is silence?
It was earlier this week when I was reading in the book of 1 Samuel Chapter 14 that I came across this story: King Saul was fighting the Philistine Army. He had gave a foolish order to his men that they should not eat anything that day until after the battle. His son Jonathan was one of his men in the army but he had not heard this order. The men fought all day and they were very tired and hungry. The bible tells us as they were walking from one engagement of battle to another area Jonathan sees honey in the woods and puts his rod into it and eats some and gets a boost of strength to continue to fight. The other men with him did not due to Saul’s order. Later after they finish the battle the men are so hungry that they begin to eat the animals of the philistines raw with the blood which is a big no/no in the law of the Lord.
1 Samuel 14
33 Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the Lord, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day.
34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the Lord in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there.
35 And Saul built an altar unto the Lord: the same was the first altar that he built unto the Lord.
36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God.
37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day.
***Now we should pause here to ask how it was that God would speak through the priest to give clear instruction to his people
Exodus 28:30
30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.
The Urim and Thummim were a priestly device used to determine God's will and obtain oracles. The Urim were stones that meant "lights" and the Thummim meant "perfections" or "truth". The high priest wore the Urim and Thummim in a pouch on the breastplate of judgment, which was attached to his ephod, an apron-like garment.
We do not know the method that was used to by the priest but we do know that the Lord could speak through the Urim and Thummin: Yes, or No, or no response.
Today we do not go to a priest to get direction from God for our lives. Listen to the words of Jesus to his disciples
John 14:23-27
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
***The 1st point of the message today: God leads and guides you through his word and by the Holy Spirit.
- Now back to the question for the message today? What do you do when you pray for directions and God is silence?
**As I was laying in bed meditating on this question the Lord spoke to me so clearly through his word: God wants us to choose life!
Turn with me to the book of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
16 In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
20 That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
**The 2nd point of the message today: God wants you to choose life and not just follow directions.
Any of you like me who have children understand what I am talking about this morning. When are children are small we give them instruction and want them to follow direction. As they grow older we want them to make wise choices based on the instruction and direction we have provided them in their youth. Nothing makes our hearts more happy and proud than when we see one of our children make a good decision about something…..and nothing is sadder than to watch one of your children take a course in life that is a series of poor decisions.
God tells Joshua to make it very clear and very plain to the children of Israel. They are about to go into the promise land. They are about to go forward into the blessing promised for generations to their fore fathers. They are the ones who are privileged to be able to walk in the fulfilment of prophecy but they have to choose: Life or dead, blessing or cursing
I want you to think back with me to the very beginning in the Garden. God made perfect man, perfect woman, perfect garden, perfect fellowship and relationship with God. Everything God made was good. Adam and Eve were living the dream of every human being that has ever breathed the breath of life in their lungs. And they were blessed with something that was unique to them over the animals or other created beings God had made: Free Choice and Free Will.
God said to them you have a choice, Life or Death……
Genesis 2:15-17
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
**You see my friends the choice has always been the same: Life or Death, Blessing or Cursing:
***The 1st point of the message today: God leads and guides you through his word and by the Holy Spirit.
**The 2nd point of the message today: God wants you to choose life and not just follow directions.
Now I have to admit some of the choices were easier to make than others. For instance, there was a time when it was easier to pick a husband or wife. God made Adam’s wife Eve for him. But when God made his covenant with Abraham the field of potential mates got a whole lot smaller. Lets look at what Abraham said to his servant about selecting a wife for his son Isaac
Genesis 24:3-4
King James Version
3 And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
So what did Abraham say? Canaanites bad, Cousins cool!
***Point #3 of the Message today: God has answered most of your questions already in his word.
For example sticking with the theme about marriage, let’s say you are praying about if it is Gods will for you to marry a person but they are not a believer. God has already answered that question in his word:
2 Corinthians 6:14-16
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
***But what if you are already married and you get saved but your husband has not gotten saved yet?
1 Corinthians 7:13-15
13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
You may say Pastor Jon, These are fairly clear but we have all kinds of choices in life that are not so clearly spelled out in God’s word. Sometimes I just need a clear answer from the Lord about something…..Sometimes I just need a yes or no answer.
Before I respond to that, I want you to know that following the principles of God’s word for every are of your life will bring you to a life of peace and joy. When you are faced with a decision to make apply these simple test:
- Which choice is Life (will draw me closer to the Lord), which choice is Death (will draw me away from the Lord).
- Which choice:
- true
- honest
- just,
- pure
- lovely
- good report
Philippians 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
- Finally, which choice has the fruit of this world? Which choice has the fruit of the spirit?
Galatians 5:16-26
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
***The 1st point of the message today: God leads and guides you through his word and by the Holy Spirit.
**The 2nd point of the message today: God wants you to choose life and not just follow directions.
***Point #3 of the Message today: God has answered most of your questions already in his word.
*** In closing point #4 of the Message today: God can sometimes delay an answer to build faith and relationship in your life.
*** I want close the message today with some examples from God’s word when God used difficult situations and request from people to build faith and relationship in their lifes.
You may be here today carrying a heavy burden of a life decision and you have been praying, seeking, knocking and you have not heard any response yet from heaven. Sometimes God delays his response to build character in our lives, to build faith and trust in our relationship with him.
1 Samuel 13:11-13
King Saul was waiting for Samuel, the Prophet of God to come make sacrifice before they went to battle against the enemy. Samuel was delayed in coming to sacrifice and Saul got impatience and did the sacrifice himself. Look at the response from the prophet Samuel when he shows up a few minutes after Saul had foolishly did the sacrifice himself…
11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
*** Point #5: Impatience can rob you of God’s blessing in your life.
So you may say. What do I do then Pastor Jon?
***Point #6: It is safe to fast and pray while waiting for the answer.
In Daniel Chapter 9 and 10 we see he is fasting and praying to seek and answer from God on why God’s people have not been freed from captivity after the 70 years as it was promised in God’s word.
Samuel’s Mother, Hannah was fasting and praying at the temple asking God to give her a son.
Jesus fasted and prayed 40 days at the beginning of his ministry to obtain direction and power from the father God.
***The 1st point of the message today: God leads and guides you through his word and by the Holy Spirit.
**The 2nd point of the message today: God wants you to choose life and not just follow directions.
***Point #3 of the Message today: God has answered most of your questions already in his word.
*** In closing point #4 of the Message today: God can sometimes delay an answer to build faith and relationship in your life.
*** Point #5: Impatience can rob you of God’s blessing in your life.
***Point #6: It is safe to fast and pray while waiting for the answer.