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Acts Series Part 18: How do we know when God is opening a door? · Growing Together in the Gospel

0:29
SPEAKER_01: How do we recognize a God-given opportunity?
0:32
SPEAKER_01: We often assume an open door means everything falls into place, the timing's right, people are encouraging, and the path feels easy.
0:41
SPEAKER_01: But what happens when doing the right thing becomes difficult or an exciting opportunity raises questions we can't ignore?
0:49
SPEAKER_01: In Acts chapter 14, Paul and Barnabas encounter remarkable responses to the gospel alongside misunderstanding, opposition, and suffering.
0:58
SPEAKER_01: Yet at the end of their journey, they celebrate how God has opened a door of faith.
1:03
SPEAKER_01: Their experience reminds us that difficulty doesn't automatically mean stop, and approval doesn't automatically mean go.
1:11
SPEAKER_01: Recognizing God's leading requires more than favourable circumstances.
1:17
SPEAKER_01: This message invites us to consider the opportunities and decisions we face through three practical questions.
1:24
SPEAKER_01: Does this fit what God has already made clear?
1:28
SPEAKER_01: What does love require in our circumstances?
1:32
SPEAKER_01: And what is the next wise step we can take with others?
1:36
SPEAKER_01: Through prayer, honest reflection, and wise counsel, we can move forward with courage and humility.
1:43
SPEAKER_01: Whether you're facing a new opportunity, a difficult conversation, or demanding responsibility, the encouragement is this.
1:50
SPEAKER_01: We don't need to know the whole journey to take the next faithful step.
1:54
SPEAKER_01: We can receive God's kindness gratefully, examine opportunities wisely, and trust Him with what follows.
2:03
SPEAKER_00: We've been in Acts for a few months now, and we've said last week that the shift in Acts has taken place in Acts 13.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: We've been following Peter and his journey all the way through, but Peter has now stepped off the stage, and a man named Paul and his friend Barnabas have taken centre stage and we're now following their journeys.
2:19
SPEAKER_00: They are men who've been sent out.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: We saw that last week, they've been prayed over and sent out to go to different areas.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: Areas that are unlike the area that Peter ministered in.
2:27
SPEAKER_00: These are areas that aren't Jewish.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: They don't have the Old Testament and the story of Israel.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: They are a gentle audience, although there are still some Jewish people around in the places that they serve.
2:36
SPEAKER_00: And they travel around.
2:37
SPEAKER_00: Normally, in the back of some Bibles, you'll have a set of maps and you'll see their journeys and where they go, the different places.
2:42
SPEAKER_00: You can still visit many of those places.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: Today, places where they get shipwrecked and where all sorts of fascinating things happened.
2:48
SPEAKER_00: You can go around all that Mediterranean area and explore them.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: In Acts chapter 14, they are traveling around and exploring different places.
2:55
SPEAKER_00: And they get sent off by the church, and then at the end of the chapter, they bring a report back.
3:00
SPEAKER_00: And the report they bring back is this it says, On arriving back in chapter verse 27, they came back to the church after journeying and they gathered the church together and they reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, and they stayed there for a long time with the disciples.
3:17
SPEAKER_00: And it was that line that stood out to me because it's a line that is quite common in Christianity.
3:21
SPEAKER_00: God opened a door.
3:22
SPEAKER_00: So in this case, he opened a door to the Gentiles.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: But we often talk about God opening a door or shutting a door.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: If you watch the sound of music, you'll know Maria says that when God closes a door, he opens a window somewhere else.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: Have you heard that one?
3:35
SPEAKER_00: You often think about this that God he opens doors, but we we often push against them and we're trying to get through.
3:42
SPEAKER_00: And we talk about this.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: I'm waiting for God to open a door.
3:44
SPEAKER_00: Or we say God closed the door.
3:46
SPEAKER_00: And different ways that we think about this.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: Until God opens a door, there's a little saying until God opens a door, praise him in the hallway.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: It's the idea that God's going to open up an opportunity, but until he does, praise him where you are.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: I've had another one that says, Why is it when God opens a door I still manage to walk into the frame?
4:03
SPEAKER_00: Another one that said, God keeps opening doors for me, but it's always the fridge door.
4:09
SPEAKER_00: It's common language in Christianity.
4:11
SPEAKER_00: God opened the door, God closed the door.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: And I wanted to think about that a bit today.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: What does it mean for God to open a door?
4:16
SPEAKER_00: That language that we use, Jesus take the wheel, Jesus take control.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: Would you take charge?
4:21
SPEAKER_00: Would you lead me?
4:22
SPEAKER_00: Would you guide me?
4:23
SPEAKER_00: But then the question is, how do we know when God is leading and guiding?
4:27
SPEAKER_00: How do they know that God was opening a door in this instance?
4:30
SPEAKER_00: Because it can be used in all sorts of circumstances.
4:32
SPEAKER_00: You can go to the shops and a parking space opens up and you go, God opened a door for me, for me to find a place to park, or an opportunity.
4:39
SPEAKER_00: You got offered a job and you say, Well, God opened a door for me to work in this place.
4:43
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps it's uh a mission work or a ministry work where God opens a door, you might talk like that, God opened opportunity for me there.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: But how would we know?
4:51
SPEAKER_00: How do we know an opportunity isn't just a coincidence?
4:54
SPEAKER_00: How do we know that this opportunity is something to step into or something to avoid?
4:58
SPEAKER_00: Because as we go through this chapter, we find it's not as clear-cut as we often think.
5:03
SPEAKER_00: We often think that the idea of an open door is if it's easy, then God has opened a door, and if it's difficult, God has closed a door.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: And that's normally the the surface level of how we we operate.
5:14
SPEAKER_00: If it made if God made it easy and it was smooth sailing and all the traffic lights turned green, and I found a parking spot, and I walked into the job and they asked me all the right questions, and I walked up, then it must be God's will.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: And the opposite.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: If all the traffic lights were red and I couldn't find the place and the bloke was annoying and asked awkward questions, then it can't be of God because it was difficult.
5:31
SPEAKER_00: And we operate on that surface level on the circumstances.
5:35
SPEAKER_00: If the circumstances are bad, God can't be in it.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: And if the circumstances are good, then God must be in it.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: But this chapter prods at that a little bit and says, is that really how we discern God's heart and his will for us?
5:47
SPEAKER_00: How do we know when God is opening a door?
5:49
SPEAKER_00: And how do we know it's not just the things that we should be grateful for, the good things that God may give us, but not the guidance that we need.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: And that's a helpful distinction just to start off.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: God gives you many good things, many good things, but that doesn't mean that he is guiding you in those good things.
6:05
SPEAKER_00: There's a lovely shop opened up just at the top of the road, Puffin' Cream Pastries Bakery, have you seen it?
6:10
SPEAKER_00: And they do these incredible things.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: Now that's a good thing.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: And God has built it, and they do good for these croissants with this pistachio cream in it.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: Now, just because it's a good thing, does that mean I should go there every day for lunch and eat it?
6:22
SPEAKER_00: See, a good thing doesn't have to be a guidance thing.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: Just because it's good doesn't mean that it's something that God is guiding you in.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: And so we need to step back and say, well, how do I discern what is God guiding and leading, and what is simply a good thing that I can be grateful for and give him thanks?
6:37
SPEAKER_00: But I don't have to take as any more than a good gift for my Father, rather than something that's leading me in a different direction.
6:43
SPEAKER_00: How do we recognize a God-given opportunity when the circumstances are sending us mixed signals?
6:47
SPEAKER_00: When there are several good options?
6:49
SPEAKER_00: How do we decide which one is the one that God wants to lead us in?
6:53
SPEAKER_00: And so we go back.
6:54
SPEAKER_00: Well, they say a door has been opened, we've got to go back and look at what happened on this journey.
6:59
SPEAKER_00: Because it says to us that at the start, at Iconium, it's not verse 27, it's the first verse, so sorry about that.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.
7:12
SPEAKER_00: But the Jews refused to believe, stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: So Paul and Barnabas spent continual considerable time there speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: The people of the city were divided, some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.
7:32
SPEAKER_00: There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.
7:37
SPEAKER_00: But they found out about it and fled to Lyconium cities of Lystra and Derby and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel.
7:45
SPEAKER_00: So they've gone into this place and there was some receptiveness, but then this plan is hatched.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: We're going to stone them to death, because that will shut them up.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: And so they hear about this plan and they leave.
7:55
SPEAKER_00: Now we look at that and we go, right, was that an open door?
7:59
SPEAKER_00: At the end of the chapter, they say it was, but it certainly didn't come through circumstances that were easy.
8:04
SPEAKER_00: Difficulty does not mean no.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: Here we find that they they are going to this place, they are seeking to do what God has asked them to do, and as they get there, they meet opposition.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: Some respond and they are enabled by God in different ways, but what happens is a plot is hatched, their life is in danger, and they have to leave that place.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes following God's guidance creates the difficulty.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the open door isn't the door of ease.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: Doing that thing that God has asked you to do creates an issue, it stirs up some controversy.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: Apologizing, a good example, can be uncomfortable.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: Establishing a boundary with someone can disappoint.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: Being honest can cost you an advantage.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: Learning to care for someone can disrupt your plans.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: Just because it is difficult doesn't mean that God isn't in it.
8:57
SPEAKER_00: And so often we can dismiss something for thinking it's wrong when actually it's just hard.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: Right and easy are the two options.
9:07
SPEAKER_00: There's sometimes the right thing and the easy thing.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: And the right thing doesn't mean that it's not easy.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: Right thing is often hard.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: Right thing often costs you something, it requires something of you, but it is still the thing that God is asking you to do.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: Most of us would recognize that hard circumstances will discourage us.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: Not that it won't take something from you, not that you should be happy about it, or that you should enjoy it, but the circumstance itself doesn't show you that God has said it closed the door on you.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: Here they have to leave that place and go to another, but God is still at work because later on they say, God did open a door in those circumstances.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: They go to their next place and they get a slightly different reception.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: It says in Lystra, there sat a man who was lame.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: He had been that way from birth and had never walked.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: He listened to Paul as he was speaking.
9:54
SPEAKER_00: Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed, and called out, Stand up on your feet.
9:59
SPEAKER_00: And at that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
10:01
SPEAKER_00: When the crowd saw that what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lyconian language, The gods have come down to us in human form.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: They love it.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: What a thing to do.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: These guys incredible.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: We love them.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: Come on in.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: You are like gods among us, walking among us.
10:14
SPEAKER_00: They get praised and adored.
10:17
SPEAKER_00: Barnabas, they called Zeus.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: That's their great god.
10:20
SPEAKER_00: You must be the chief of the gods.
10:21
SPEAKER_00: And Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he had he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: What an open door, what a reception, what adoration and praise from these people.
10:37
SPEAKER_00: Surely that must got that's the sign God's at work.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: These people have welcomed us in, they've they've blessed us, they want to bless us and sacrifice to us.
10:45
SPEAKER_00: They're calling us these high and exalted names.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: That must mean that God is at work.
10:50
SPEAKER_00: And just as the difficulty doesn't mean no, the praise and the affirmation and the ease in which they come in doesn't mean yes.
10:59
SPEAKER_00: It costs them something.
11:00
SPEAKER_00: They look at this and they respond saying, no, no, no, this is wrong.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: Don't sacrifice, they say we are we are nothing like what you say.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: We are mere human beings.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: Don't offer to us.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: In fact, we are worshiping a God who's invited you to turn away from these practices.
11:16
SPEAKER_00: They're worthless.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: Don't make any person God, don't make anything God.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: These are not what we are proclaiming to you.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: We're proclaiming Jesus, who is King of kings and Lord of Lords.
11:27
SPEAKER_00: But if you notice that yes that they received, the ease in which they came in, it wasn't a sign that God was at work.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: In fact, it was a danger to them.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: Had they received the worship, had they taken the praise, had they wholeheartedly embraced it, because surely God's in this.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: If He's made them so affirmative and so receptive to us, surely God's in it.
11:47
SPEAKER_00: If they had done that, then they would have compromised themselves, they would have disobeyed God, they would have grieved the Holy Spirit.
11:54
SPEAKER_00: That ease in which they entered isn't a yes.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: The parking space outside the shop doesn't tell you what to buy inside.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: The offer of a job doesn't tell you whether you should accept it.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: Something good happens, and as I say, you can receive it with gratitude, but you also need wisdom.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: You need wisdom because sometimes that good thing can turn out to be the very opposite.
12:15
SPEAKER_00: We have an enemy who doesn't try to bait you with broccoli because no one's gonna eat broccoli off a hook.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: It will be cake, it will be chocolate, it will be something sweet, something that tastes good, something that seems good, because he knows us.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: He knows that we can't be deceived by something that we know is obvious.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: And so he will surround it.
12:35
SPEAKER_00: He will coat it in something else before he presents it to us.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: And here we see that because if they received it, then soon they would have been turned on, which is what happens anyway.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: Some of the Jews come from Antioch and Iconium, and they win the crowd over, and they stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: They thought they'd murdered him, and they were they were glad with that.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: This incredible courage.
13:00
SPEAKER_00: The next day he and Barnabas left for Derby.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: So again, you see, the uh the affirmation isn't a yes, but also then when he's stoned out, what does he do?
13:08
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't say, Well, God's obviously closed the door, they don't want to hear this, I'll go elsewhere.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: Gets up, brushes himself off, and in an astounding show of courage and faith, walks back into the very same city.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: God's still obviously got something here.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: That's the level of discernment that we're talking about.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: To be stoned and left for dead and get up and go, hmm, I think God's still got something here.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: To be dragged outside and say, I still think God's opening a door to these people, and to walk back in.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: That's that discernment.
13:40
SPEAKER_00: And you must see that it can't be based on the circumstances, it can't be based on whether it's going well or going badly.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: That's too fickle.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: This world is too chaotic, there are too many voices and so much noise and so much at work to allow that to rule our hearts.
13:56
SPEAKER_00: It seems that there is a word that might sum up how they approach discerning what God has asked them to do and how they are to act.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: And it's a word that isn't glamorous, isn't fancy.
14:06
SPEAKER_00: You can't put it in a nice little phrase that you can put on a coffee mug or cross stitch like the open door ones.
14:11
SPEAKER_00: It's faithfulness how do we discern what God's will is?
14:17
SPEAKER_00: The answer at its base is faithfulness.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: Am I being faithful?
14:23
SPEAKER_00: Do I have faith in God?
14:24
SPEAKER_00: Not faith that God will work it all out, and if I take my hands off the wheel, Jesus will drive.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: That isn't the picture of faith the Bible gives us.
14:31
SPEAKER_00: It is faith that God has called me to do something, He has instructed me in how I am to live, and if I live in step with that, I can trust that He will open the doors, He will guide my steps, He will lead my ways in paths of righteousness, and I haven't got to discern what door needs to be opened or not.
14:49
SPEAKER_00: My role is faithfulness.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: Today, what I'd like to do is lift off you the burden of certainty, to lift off your shoulders the burden of is this a door I should walk through or not?
15:00
SPEAKER_00: Is this something or is this something God's closing or not?
15:02
SPEAKER_00: Because very rarely we can discern.
15:04
SPEAKER_00: If you notice, even here, they only say it after the fact.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: After they get back to the church, they say, as we look back, we see that God has opened a door to us, to those who were seeking faith in Christ.
15:15
SPEAKER_00: But in the moment, in the moment, they're just walking in faithfulness.
15:20
SPEAKER_00: God has called us to live a certain way.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: He has sent us out.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: We saw that in the previous chapter.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: We've been sent out by the Holy Spirit, so we're going to be faithful to that, and we're going to go and step with the Spirit.
15:31
SPEAKER_00: God has called us to act with love and grace, and so we're going to do that.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: God has called us to be holy and set apart, not to accept the worship of others and make ourselves more than we are.
15:40
SPEAKER_00: We aren't worthy of that.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: And so we were to be faithful to that call to holiness.
15:45
SPEAKER_00: We're to be faithful to the call to love.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: Even when it costs us so much, even when we're left for dead, to get up and walk back in.
15:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm faithful because I'm called to love.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: And faithful to the call to wisdom.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: And those are the three things that I would say if you're discerning, if you're pressing on an open door or not, your circumstances may be good, they may be bad, but there's a greater question or set of questions to ask.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: The first is, is it holy?
16:12
SPEAKER_00: Is the thing that you're doing, is it is it a mark of someone who is set apart by God?
16:16
SPEAKER_00: Because you have been set apart.
16:18
SPEAKER_00: Not saying that you should try and do the holy thing, which often for us means you avoid all the bad stuff.
16:23
SPEAKER_00: Being holy is more than that.
16:25
SPEAKER_00: You have been set apart by God.
16:27
SPEAKER_00: You've been called to live a distinct way.
16:30
SPEAKER_00: You've been called to live in a way that shows that God is God and you are not.
16:34
SPEAKER_00: And so your choices and the things that you do should reflect that.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: God has called me to be obedient to certain things.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: God has called me to walk in a certain way.
16:45
SPEAKER_00: God has called me to be faithful to him because he is the only one who is holy, holy, holy, as we've sung today.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: And so I will not do anything that would compromise that.
16:55
SPEAKER_00: I will not do anything that will bring his name into disrepute.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: I will not do anything that would cause him to seem smaller or lesser than he is.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: When he has called me to act, I will act.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: I know what he has said for me to do, and so I will do it.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: And anything that is sin, even anything that the Bible says, if it has the appearance, if it would lead into that that assumption, then I want to steer clear and be careful of it.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm called to be holy.
17:21
SPEAKER_00: Is it holy?
17:22
SPEAKER_00: Next one is is it loving?
17:25
SPEAKER_00: Who will be affected by this decision?
17:27
SPEAKER_00: What responsibilities have I already accepted?
17:30
SPEAKER_00: Do I have the capacity for this?
17:32
SPEAKER_00: This thing may be a loving thing, but if I do, if that's my only guide, then it may be that I say yes to everything.
17:37
SPEAKER_00: But at that point, my love reaches a limit.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: I've been given certain people to be responsible for, certain things that I'm to look after.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: And if I say yes to this, if I go through this door, is it going to mean that I'm less loving to those that God has entrusted to me?
17:50
SPEAKER_00: This might apply to a job or a calling or some activity that you're doing.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: The thing might be good in itself, but does it make me less able to love those around me?
17:59
SPEAKER_00: Does it mean that my energy and my capacity to love is diminished?
18:03
SPEAKER_00: Is it bolstering myself because love is not proud?
18:08
SPEAKER_00: Is it a loving thing to do?
18:09
SPEAKER_00: And the last one, if we ask this question, it would save 99% of all our issues.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: Is it wise?
18:18
SPEAKER_00: See, in the Old Testament, you have laws which tell you what is holy, what is good and right.
18:24
SPEAKER_00: You have the prophets who are constantly calling us to return to our love for God, to return to that first love, to love God and to love others.
18:31
SPEAKER_00: And then you have the wisdom literature.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: We've looked at one today, the Proverbs, which asks the question, is it wise?
18:38
SPEAKER_00: You see, most of us have a brain.
18:43
SPEAKER_00: Those who didn't respond, they're the question mark.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: Most of us have a brain.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: Most of us can reason out if I do this, then this will happen.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: Most of us have experience.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: I've done that before and it didn't go well, or I didn't do that and it didn't work out.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: Most of us have a conscience, which we've talked about.
19:04
SPEAKER_00: An intuition, something in us that says, this doesn't seem right, this doesn't feel right.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: All of us, because we are here, have a community.
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SPEAKER_00: Brothers and sisters.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's where wisdom sits.
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SPEAKER_00: Wisdom says, if I take all that, is this the right choice?
19:19
SPEAKER_00: If I if I pull all this together, my my reasoning, my experience, my conscience, and my community, the voices of those around me, is this the right way to go?
19:29
SPEAKER_00: And if we were to walk in that kind of wisdom, it would spare us from so much heartache.
19:33
SPEAKER_00: Because a number of people have made choices and they hadn't thought through where it would lead, whereas everyone else was looking, going, well, that's obvious.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: Or they'd done it before and then they did it again and then they did it again and then they did it again and then still went, I don't know why it happened the same way.
19:49
SPEAKER_00: Or they knew it was wrong when they were doing it and they carried on doing it.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: Or everyone around them said, I don't think this is right.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't seem right, and yet they carried on because they knew best.
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SPEAKER_00: If we were to live in that wisdom, it would spare us with so much, and it would help us to discern what God is doing because God has given us these.
20:09
SPEAKER_00: He's given you a brain to reason, and he's given you experiences that you might grow in them, and he's given you a conscience, in fact, he's given you a Holy Spirit to sit with your conscience, to whisper and to speak and to guide.
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SPEAKER_00: And he's given you a community to speak into your heart.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: Wisdom lies at the heart of us discerning God's will.
20:31
SPEAKER_00: And so often I think that what we want to do is we want to avoid this because these require some responsibility on our part.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: It's so much easier to say, well, the circumstances are bad, therefore God must not want this.
20:42
SPEAKER_00: Circumstances are good, so therefore God must want this.
20:46
SPEAKER_00: And therefore, we've almost we've we've um sold off our responsibility.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: I haven't got to make a choice anymore because it's already been made for me.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: But these give us more responsibility, they also give us more dignity.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: God, when he looks at you, doesn't see someone of a little baby who needs to be mothered all the way through.
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SPEAKER_00: He sees you as a child who is growing into the likeness of Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: He sees someone who has the mind of Christ because you have the Holy Spirit in you.
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SPEAKER_00: He sees someone who is able to grow into what the Bible calls maturity, that you might know and be able to discern what is right and good, not because of the circumstances, but because you know God and you know his heart, and you know what he has done and what he has called you to do, and so that you can make choices that are good and wise.
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SPEAKER_00: I've used this illustration many times, but it's it's it's still relevant.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: I have two boys, and and at the moment, sometimes you have to get them dressed, you have to tell them where their clothes are, and you have to sometimes help them out if they put the jump on the wrong way or head goes in a sleeve or something like that.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's fine, I'll do that for now.
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SPEAKER_00: If they come to me when they are 40 years old, and I'm still trying to get their head out of the armhole, there is a problem.
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SPEAKER_00: Because there is a level of maturity that they should grow in discernment, and that's true with us with Jesus.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: There is a time where we are babies and there is milk and we needed to guide, and God is very generous and gracious, and maybe you've experienced that.
22:06
SPEAKER_00: And that's probably where that comes from, the idea that sometimes circumstances are good or they're bad, and that's great as a baby with that milk, and you need that to guide you and to help you and lead you.
22:14
SPEAKER_00: It's not that God doesn't do that, but it fits within a pattern of God leading us at the start.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: And then gradually, as we grow till we get to the point where we've got Paul and Barnabas, where they are so able to discern God's heart that even when the circumstances are probably the worst they could possibly be, you've been rejected, told to be quiet, stoned and left for dead, and dragged outside the city.
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SPEAKER_00: You can get up and know, God, I know that I'm to return.
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SPEAKER_00: I know that I'm to go back and to continue in the thing that you've called me to do because I know you.
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SPEAKER_00: And I know what you've asked me to do.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: I know the work that I've been given.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: I know the responsibility.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: And so I'll do it.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: This is the kind of thing that as a church, as a people, we want to grow in.
23:02
SPEAKER_00: But it takes a step from us.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: It takes us saying, my goal, the purpose of me as a Christian is to grow, is to mature.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: Is to get to a point where I'm no longer being babied.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: In fact, there are warnings in scripture.
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SPEAKER_00: You should be older than this, it says.
23:19
SPEAKER_00: You should have grown beyond this, and yet still you're going over these same things, you're making the same choices, that there should be a point where you've advanced beyond that, where there should be some steak on your plate.
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SPEAKER_00: No longer bottle fed, but but steak and potatoes and things that are real and can be chewed and mulled over.
23:36
SPEAKER_00: That's what God, how it describes it.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: We want to be mature.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: And here we see two people who, having gone through this, they've been rejected to one place, they've seen God work in others, they've seen some people respond, they've been their lives being threatened, they've been dragged out, they returned to a church, and they say, We saw, what do we see?
23:55
SPEAKER_00: We saw hardship, we saw saw God's blessing, we saw weakness in ourselves, we saw God's strength and enabling.
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SPEAKER_00: But more than that, we saw that God has opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: We saw that God worked, that He provided something that we could not do by ourselves.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: God does open doors, but he doesn't ask us to open them ourselves.
24:18
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't even ask us to find them.
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SPEAKER_00: If we are faithful, he will open the doors, he will guide, he will lead.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: It's that kind of discernment that I think reaches into ordinary life.
24:30
SPEAKER_00: It means that the way you work, the care you give, the conversations you have, the way you speak about Jesus to others, all of that is yours to discern and walk in.
24:40
SPEAKER_00: But you do not have the burden of certainty.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: You have the easy yoke of faithfulness.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: You haven't got to work out is this the right, is this the right thing, and have I missed it, have I got it wrong?
24:52
SPEAKER_00: God lifts that off you and says, be faithful.
24:55
SPEAKER_00: Be faithful in what I've called you to do, be faithful in who I've called you to be.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: Walk in wisdom, and I will make your paths straight.
25:05
SPEAKER_00: I will guide you in ways of righteousness.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: I am your shepherd.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: So you haven't got to know what field you're going to next.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: You haven't got to know what next season will bring, because I'm the shepherd.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: I discern all that.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: You go where I lead you.
25:17
SPEAKER_00: And if it's a valley, I will be with you.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: And if it's green fields, you'll find rest that you can be grateful for.
25:23
SPEAKER_00: But I am the shepherd, you are the sheep.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: You may not recognize everything as it's happening, but as you walk in holiness, as you walk in love, as you walk in wisdom, you'll be being faithful to all that I've asked of you.
25:37
SPEAKER_00: Keith Green used to sing a song.
25:39
SPEAKER_00: He said, You keep doing your best, you pray that it's blessed, and God will take care of the rest.
25:44
SPEAKER_00: It might be a bit oversimplified, but it's the same idea.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: You do what God's called you to.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm set apart to be holy.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: He's called me to love first and foremost.
25:54
SPEAKER_00: He's invited me to walk in wisdom.
25:56
SPEAKER_00: And so I'll do that.
25:58
SPEAKER_00: And with God's blessing, he will take care of the rest.
26:01
SPEAKER_00: He will open doors, he will provide a way for us.
26:05
SPEAKER_00: Let's just pause for a moment and invite you, Father, just to come and thank you that you care for the ordinary details of our lives.
26:15
SPEAKER_00: We each have perhaps opportunities in front of us, decisions to be made, things to consider and to walk in.
26:23
SPEAKER_00: And we want to ask as we think about those things, Lord, what would faithfulness to you look like in that next step?
26:31
SPEAKER_00: We thank you that that is all that you've asked.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: Faithfulness.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: And so we ask, Lord, that you would give us wisdom as we consider opportunities.
26:43
SPEAKER_00: Give us courage when the right thing is difficult.
26:46
SPEAKER_00: Give us humility when the way is easy and people praise us.
26:52
SPEAKER_00: Help us listen to wise counsel, help us to honor our responsibilities and love the people who are affected by our decisions.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: And when we can't see the whole journey, Lord, help us to take the next faithful step and to trust that you will open the doors in the right time.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: Before we move on, I just feel we'd just take a moment just to respond personally to God.
27:14
SPEAKER_00: Maybe there is a decision that you're facing.
27:16
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps there is an opportunity you're considering or a step you already know that you need to take.
27:26
SPEAKER_00: Don't mean you have to reach a decision in the next few minutes.
27:30
SPEAKER_00: Some things always need further prayer or conversations or wise advice, but we begin by offering that situation to God.
27:37
SPEAKER_00: You might find it helpful if you want to close your eyes or just to open your hands in front of him as an expression of prayer, but let's just bring those things to God, those decisions that we need to make.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we just bring these things to you.
27:54
SPEAKER_00: As we started, we we continue, we were willing to listen, to receive your help.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit, would you help us to recognize where we need your wisdom or your courage or your peace?
28:14
SPEAKER_00: Father, some of us have taken a faithful step and have found the road harder than we expected.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: And perhaps there are some here who are tired or where they've done what they thought was right, but the response was discouraging.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: And they've wondered whether that difficulty meant God had left them or they'd done something wrong.
28:34
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we just bring those situations honestly to you.
28:37
SPEAKER_00: We ask, Father, would you give us strength for what is hard and wisdom on how to proceed?
28:48
SPEAKER_00: There are others who might be facing a decision and feeling anxious about getting it wrong, so we bring that to you too, Father.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: Would you help us to choose wisely?
29:00
SPEAKER_00: Would you give counsel from brothers and sisters?
29:06
SPEAKER_00: Would you help us to trust you while we still can't see the whole journey?
29:13
SPEAKER_00: For some of us, Lord, your word may have brought a motive perhaps into focus.
29:19
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps we want other people's approval or we want something to happen so much that we've stopped asking what faithfulness requires.
29:26
SPEAKER_00: We're simply going ahead and ignoring any warning or guidance.
29:30
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps we've ignored wisdom, Lord.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps we've allowed fear or difficulty to hold us back.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: We thank you, Lord, that there is grace in Jesus.
29:42
SPEAKER_00: That if we've been going down the wrong road, that the answer is to stop and to return to you, to receive your forgiveness and to allow you to move freely, to speak to our hearts, and to ask, Lord, what would the next faithful step look like?
30:01
SPEAKER_00: And so we bring all these situations, these possibilities, and others that we we can't see, but you can see, God.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: Help us to take the next faithful step.
30:13
SPEAKER_00: Whether it's a conversation, whether it's advice, maybe it's an apology, a change of direction.
30:20
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps it's to sit until a clear answer comes.
30:24
SPEAKER_00: Would you come, Holy Spirit, and give us what we need to respond to you?
30:29
SPEAKER_00: Give us wisdom where we're uncertain, courage where we are afraid, strength where we are weary.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: May you lead us, Lord.
30:42
SPEAKER_00: May you lead your people.
30:56
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't depend on making the right choices.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: Your love seeks us.
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SPEAKER_00: Your love follows us.
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SPEAKER_00: Lead us, Lord, that we might walk in your ways and live for your glory.
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SPEAKER_00: We ask it in Jesus' name.
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SPEAKER_00: Amen.
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SPEAKER_01: Thank you for joining us on Growing Together in the Gospel.
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SPEAKER_01: We hope that you've enjoyed listening to Dean's teaching today and encourage you to feed back to us any questions or reflections that you might have.
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31:48
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