Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Those Unidentified Inner Promptings Msg 714 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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Those Unidentified Inner Promptings Msg 714 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: Well, in case you've forgotten, we are engaged in a
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  Speaker 1: fascinating study of the intimate spirit of God. We're learning
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  Speaker 1: how to fly closer to the flame. We're learning to
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  Speaker 1: be comfortable in his presence. We're learning to get a
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  Speaker 1: sense of closeness and oneness with him about whom we
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  Speaker 1: know the least among those within the Godhead. I say
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  Speaker 1: it's fascinating because we are dealing with dimensions that are
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  Speaker 1: seldom addressed. And I really don't know why they are
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  Speaker 1: not addressed more often. Because these are experiences, as I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to describe them, that we have all the time.
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  Speaker 1: I want to talk in this particular message about those
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  Speaker 1: unidentified inner promptings that we seldom connect to the work
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  Speaker 1: of the Spirit. For example, Have you ever had an
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  Speaker 1: uneasy feeling, a churning in the pit of your stomach?
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  Speaker 1: Maybe you're coming to a decision and there's a fork
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  Speaker 1: in the road and you can go either this way
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  Speaker 1: or that. And there's no biblical guideline to lead you
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  Speaker 1: one way or the other. Both could be right. However,
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  Speaker 1: you know that God doesn't lead in both directions and
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  Speaker 1: you have to make a decision. It's interesting, isn't it,
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  Speaker 1: that when you come right to that place of decision
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  Speaker 1: and you think of going in that other direction, there
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  Speaker 1: is this churning that accompanies you and you pull back
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  Speaker 1: and you go in the other direction. And you look
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  Speaker 1: back and you realize what a difference it would have
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  Speaker 1: made in your life had you gone in the first
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  Speaker 1: way that you thought of going. I'm leaving it vague
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  Speaker 1: on purpose. Now, what do we call that? Well, normally
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  Speaker 1: we give that the name of intuition. Just intuitively, I
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  Speaker 1: knew that I shouldn't go there, but I should do
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  Speaker 1: this and not that. Why is it we do not
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  Speaker 1: realize that most often it is the direct influence of
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit of God who works often within the feelings
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  Speaker 1: of our lives? Another example. You're spending time in the scriptures.
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  Speaker 1: You're sitting at the kitchen table. You need the truth
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  Speaker 1: somehow to what we call speak to you. And yet,
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  Speaker 1: no light dawns. It seems like mere print on the page.
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  Speaker 1: And you are searching God's word for some direction. Suddenly,
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  Speaker 1: in an unusual moment of, in a rare moment of
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  Speaker 1: understanding God, a passage of scripture that might have been
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  Speaker 1: very familiar, or for that matter unfamiliar to you, opens
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  Speaker 1: up to you. And you're able to grasp a truth
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  Speaker 1: that you've never seen before. And it brings a sense
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  Speaker 1: of contentment and peace and delight. What do we call that? Well,
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  Speaker 1: we usually call that insight. You're given insight into this section.
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  Speaker 1: Why is it we do not call it the inspiration
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  Speaker 1: or the illumination of the Spirit of God. That that
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  Speaker 1: inner prompting that comes to you and gives you such
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  Speaker 1: a refreshing understanding of this slice of life, why is
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  Speaker 1: it we do not realize that is the work of
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit? It's not just human insight. One more, if
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  Speaker 1: I may. You're going through a severe test. You can't
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  Speaker 1: see your way through. Not only is it deep, it
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  Speaker 1: is long. And it's heavy. You're discovering the longer you
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  Speaker 1: live in this test and the less understanding you get
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  Speaker 1: in it, you lose your appetite. You lose your ability
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  Speaker 1: to sleep well. Fear and panic replace quietness and peace.
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  Speaker 1: There's a growing sense of isolation. You don't even want
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  Speaker 1: to be at church with other believers. In fact, you
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  Speaker 1: are in sort of an unhealthy, pensive mood, and it
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  Speaker 1: won't lift. And so, by the way, I've had this
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  Speaker 1: experience three, four times in my life. One I can
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  Speaker 1: remember like it was yesterday, though it happened in the
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  Speaker 1: early 1960s. And in my case, I remember walking out
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  Speaker 1: of our home. We lived in another state, another place
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  Speaker 1: at that time. And out behind our home was a
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  Speaker 1: long alley. You entered your driveway in the back of
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  Speaker 1: the house rather than the front. And I walked out
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  Speaker 1: the driveway and I turned and I walked down this
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  Speaker 1: long alley that lasted about three blocks. And it was
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  Speaker 1: a moonlit night. And I wept the whole time I walked.
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  Speaker 1: And I was so heavy over this, I by then
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  Speaker 1: didn't know what to ask for. I just said, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: I can't take this much longer. I remember coming to
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  Speaker 1: the end of the alley and turning around to go
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  Speaker 1: the other direction. And the burden was gone. It was
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  Speaker 1: as if God slipped into my life, lifted this 95-pound
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  Speaker 1: pack off my back, took it away. The tears were gone.
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  Speaker 1: I didn't necessarily have the answer as to what was
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  Speaker 1: going to change. I just knew the burden was gone.
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  Speaker 1: Three or four times it's happened to me in my life.
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  Speaker 1: What do we call that? We usually call that relief
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  Speaker 1: or coming to terms with the pressure. No. Why is
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  Speaker 1: it we don't give credit to the one who lifts
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  Speaker 1: the burden? The Holy Spirit does that. These are those
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  Speaker 1: inner promptings that we're not able to tag with a
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  Speaker 1: title and yet they're there. They happen in life not infrequently.
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  Speaker 1: Let me show you why. In the Psalms, number 139,
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  Speaker 1: I have turned to that psalm, one of my favorites.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, I'm going to look at this on
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  Speaker 1: a sanctity of life Sunday as we take a careful
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  Speaker 1: look at life among the unborn. So I'll not really
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  Speaker 1: develop verses 13 to 18 here, but I just want
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  Speaker 1: you to see how David leads up to a statement
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  Speaker 1: he makes about our makeup. Verse 7, Psalm 139. Where
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  Speaker 1: can I go from thy spirit? The implication is, I
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  Speaker 1: can't get away from your spirit, Lord. And then in
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  Speaker 1: good Hebrew poetic fashion, he asked the same question in
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  Speaker 1: an amplified manner. Or where can I flee from thy presence? Theologically,
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  Speaker 1: it's a reference to God's omnipresence. Wherever I go, God goes.
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  Speaker 1: It's impossible to flee from his presence. St. Augustine said
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  Speaker 1: in a time of temptation in his life, he spoke
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  Speaker 1: to himself and recorded it in his journal, Fool, dost
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  Speaker 1: thou not know that thou art carrying God around with thee?
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  Speaker 1: He was stating in simple, practical words the omnipresence of God.
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  Speaker 1: Everywhere I go, God goes. He resides within me. And
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  Speaker 1: as a child of God, he resides within you. I
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  Speaker 1: can go nowhere to flee from your presence. I cannot
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  Speaker 1: get away from it. And then he uses all the
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  Speaker 1: different extremes. If I ascend to heaven, you're there. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: the Hebrew just uses the pronoun. If I ascend into heaven, thou.
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  Speaker 1: If I make my bed at the grave, thou. If
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  Speaker 1: I take the wings of the dawn, it's a picture
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  Speaker 1: of hitchhiking on the morning rays of the sun. If
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  Speaker 1: I could travel the speed of light, almost 200,000 miles
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  Speaker 1: a second. And suddenly find myself in the remotest part
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  Speaker 1: of the sea. Even there. Thou. Now in light of that.
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  Speaker 1: Since your spirit is within me. And since it is
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  Speaker 1: impossible to find a place on this planet. Where I
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  Speaker 1: can be away from. Or escape from him. There's something
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  Speaker 1: he's doing within me. Verse 14. Just a phrase. I
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  Speaker 1: will give thanks to thee. For I am fearfully and
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  Speaker 1: wonderfully made. Let your eyes study those words. I think
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  Speaker 1: they're some of the most fascinating words in the Old Testament. Fearfully,
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  Speaker 1: wonderfully made. It's a statement of awe regarding the human anatomy.
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  Speaker 1: A Jewish writer named Cohen says this. Even with his
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  Speaker 1: elementary anatomical knowledge, the psalmist is inspired with awe and wonder.
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  Speaker 1: O Lord, I realize that there are secret chambers within
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  Speaker 1: my life. There are hidden capacities that the brute beasts
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  Speaker 1: of the field do not possess, and I have them.
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  Speaker 1: O Lord, I realize I am able to receive divine
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  Speaker 1: information from you. O Lord, I understand that I have
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  Speaker 1: the capacity to to grasp the depths of spiritual truths,
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  Speaker 1: and to respond to you as no animal can respond,
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  Speaker 1: or not even the trees of the field or the
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  Speaker 1: fish of the sea. You have given me your image,
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  Speaker 1: the Imago Dei. the image of God is within me
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  Speaker 1: I'm fearfully and wonderfully made and because of that men
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  Speaker 1: and women we are able to grasp the promptings of
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  Speaker 1: the spirit of God and to be led unlike animals
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  Speaker 1: could be led who often need leaders or often go
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  Speaker 1: by what we call instinct. We do not rely on instinct.
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  Speaker 1: We do not need leaders in these deep moments of
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  Speaker 1: our lives. We have within us the compelling, impelling presence
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  Speaker 1: of the Spirit of God. His inimitable, still, small voice
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  Speaker 1: addresses needs in my life and makes known to me
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  Speaker 1: truth that I need because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Now,
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  Speaker 1: how does this work? In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, I'd
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  Speaker 1: like to have you look there next. Verse 23 is
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  Speaker 1: an unusual verse because it names the makeup of the
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  Speaker 1: human person. We are made up of body, soul, and spirit.
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  Speaker 1: All three are named in 1 Thessalonians 5.23. This is
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  Speaker 1: not the only verse, but this is one of the
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  Speaker 1: clearest ones. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify
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  Speaker 1: you entirely. Now look closely. And may your spirit and
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  Speaker 1: soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the
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  Speaker 1: coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some people take great
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  Speaker 1: pains to describe the difference between the soul and the spirit.
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  Speaker 1: I'll leave that argument to them. It'll only get us sidetracked.
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  Speaker 1: Sometime I see them as being equated in scripture and
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  Speaker 1: sometimes they seem to be divided. That's not my subject.
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  Speaker 1: Let's put them together. Let's call it the soul spirit.
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  Speaker 1: The part of us that can be felt and seen,
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  Speaker 1: the part of us on which the surgeon works with
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  Speaker 1: scalpel is the body. You go to the doctor, he
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  Speaker 1: wants to look into your throat. He wants to listen
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  Speaker 1: to your heart, wants to thump around on your back
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  Speaker 1: or your lung or your chest. Fields down at your
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  Speaker 1: stomach and your abdomen. He's working on the body. So
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  Speaker 1: we are made up of body. And then we have
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  Speaker 1: an invisible part of ourselves. There is this soul spirit
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  Speaker 1: part of us. Very interestingly, this is the best description
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  Speaker 1: of death. Death occurs, and it always means separation, when
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  Speaker 1: the soul spirit separates from the body. What we bury
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  Speaker 1: is the remains, the body of an individual, but there's
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  Speaker 1: no personality because the soul spirit has been lifted at death,
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  Speaker 1: moved to another realm, and that's another subject. But we
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  Speaker 1: are made up of body and soul spirit, the visible
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  Speaker 1: and the invisible. Look at Hebrews 4.12. I know where
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  Speaker 1: I'm going, so stick with me here. Hebrews 4.12 says...
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  Speaker 1: For the word of God is living and active, sharper
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  Speaker 1: than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the
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  Speaker 1: division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow.
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  Speaker 1: And the same word of God is able to judge.
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  Speaker 1: Critikos is the Greek word. Critik comes from it. It
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  Speaker 1: is able to judge. Tell the truth about the true
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  Speaker 1: condition or the intentions of the heart. It is able
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  Speaker 1: to judge. It is able to discern the thoughts and
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  Speaker 1: intentions of the heart. You've read the scriptures at times
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  Speaker 1: and you thought, how did he know? He gets exactly
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  Speaker 1: where I am. I've preached the scriptures and I've had
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  Speaker 1: literally had men walk up to me in the front
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  Speaker 1: of the church and say, my wife talked to you
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  Speaker 1: this week, didn't she? I said, no, no, no, really.
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  Speaker 1: And he gives me his name and I don't know
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  Speaker 1: the name. And he said, No, she called you, didn't she?
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  Speaker 1: We've had these arguments. And I said, no, she didn't. No,
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  Speaker 1: she didn't call you. And I said, no, she didn't
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  Speaker 1: call me. Okay, I don't know you. And because I
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  Speaker 1: had preached something that cut to the heart of this
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  Speaker 1: man's life, he was so convinced that I had been
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  Speaker 1: informed about him. I was using him without calling his
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  Speaker 1: name as the example of my message. When I didn't
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  Speaker 1: even know him at all. What happened? The Spirit of
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  Speaker 1: God took the truth and drove it into his heart
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  Speaker 1: even where a surgeon's scalpel cannot touch. No surgeon can
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  Speaker 1: do surgery on the soul. That's the work of the Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: No matter how brilliant the neurologist may be, he cannot,
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  Speaker 1: with all he may know of the brain and nervous
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  Speaker 1: system and the spine, he cannot touch the Spirit. That's
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  Speaker 1: God's realm. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We're able
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  Speaker 1: to understand gross anatomy. We're able to understand the body
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  Speaker 1: by observation and centuries of searching. And the study of
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  Speaker 1: it is fascinating. But how little we know of the
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  Speaker 1: soul and spirit. That's the realm where the spirit of
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  Speaker 1: God works. That explains why you can be in the
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  Speaker 1: midst of recovery from an intense surgery and have a
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  Speaker 1: remarkable peace. Because the Spirit of God is flooding you
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  Speaker 1: with that sense of relief. Bringing about that prompting. Remember,
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  Speaker 1: this is very mysterious. This is one of those examples
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  Speaker 1: of divine truth we cannot nail down and dissect with precision. However,
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  Speaker 1: we cannot deny it. I would say virtually every one
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  Speaker 1: of us in God's family has experienced at one time
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  Speaker 1: or another some inner prompting of the Spirit. I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to illustrate four examples in just a moment. We call
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  Speaker 1: them other things. We call them hunches. We call them intuition.
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  Speaker 1: We call them premonitions. We call them flashes of insight.
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  Speaker 1: We call them simply a sense of peace. I got
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  Speaker 1: a good rest last night, so I really feel better today.
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  Speaker 1: May have very little to do with rest last night.
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  Speaker 1: though that does help at times, the mysterious work of
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit of God can give you peace even though
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  Speaker 1: you haven't had enough rest. This is all part of
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  Speaker 1: his working and it's so seldom mentioned. We feel strange
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  Speaker 1: when we talk about it. We shouldn't. Let me show
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  Speaker 1: you four biblical examples of the work of the Spirit
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  Speaker 1: and one is found in 1 Kings chapter 19. So
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  Speaker 1: turn back there if you will. And you and I
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  Speaker 1: will track, or sort of leaf through the scriptures, and
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  Speaker 1: track down four examples of these inner promptings. Not only
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  Speaker 1: did they happen then, but they still happen today. Now,
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  Speaker 1: if you'd like to take notes, let me give you
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  Speaker 1: a title for this first prompting, and then we'll analyze
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  Speaker 1: it from 1 Kings 19. Here it is. In times
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  Speaker 1: of extreme desperation... In times of extreme desperation, the Spirit
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  Speaker 1: prompts hope and encouragement. In times of extreme desperation, you
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  Speaker 1: might even add the word loneliness, the Spirit of God
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  Speaker 1: prompts hope and encouragement. 1 Kings 19 has an interesting context.
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  Speaker 1: It is sort of the climax of Elijah's life, if
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  Speaker 1: not 18. Elijah has been the one who stood before
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  Speaker 1: King Ahab and pronounced a drought and it didn't rain
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  Speaker 1: for three and a half years. Elijah is the one
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  Speaker 1: who commanded the fire of God to fall on the
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  Speaker 1: altar that was flooded with water and it fell to
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  Speaker 1: the amazement of the prophets of Baal and then they
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  Speaker 1: were slain. Elijah is the one who has witnessed the
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  Speaker 1: power of God in giving him survival in the midst
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  Speaker 1: of a dried up brook in the dry wilderness of
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  Speaker 1: his world. He has known The presence of God. And
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  Speaker 1: on the heels of these great occasions of victory, when
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  Speaker 1: he was most vulnerable, Jezebel, the wife of Ahab the king,
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  Speaker 1: threatens his life. And it hits him where he isn't
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  Speaker 1: prepared to be hit. And he's devastated. Ahab told Jezebel
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  Speaker 1: all that Elijah had done and how he had killed
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  Speaker 1: all the prophets with the sword. Jezebel sent a messenger
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  Speaker 1: to Elijah saying, may the gods do to me and
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  Speaker 1: even more if I do not make your life as
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  Speaker 1: the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. Now,
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  Speaker 1: before you feel kind of easy about all of this
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  Speaker 1: and wonder why Elijah made so much of it, chances
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  Speaker 1: are good you've never had your life threatened. If you
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  Speaker 1: have ever had your life threatened, where it is a
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  Speaker 1: serious threat and somebody tells you within the next 24
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  Speaker 1: hours you'll be history, then you understand the feeling Elijah had,
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  Speaker 1: especially when it was someone in authority who had her
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  Speaker 1: henchmen all around and was a wicked woman to the core.
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  Speaker 1: She says to Elijah, you're as good as dead. Now,
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  Speaker 1: of course, theoretically, Elijah should have said, Lord, I ask
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  Speaker 1: you to come down and be my protection and the
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  Speaker 1: very present help in time of need. Stop all these
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  Speaker 1: attempts give me a sense of but he didn't do
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  Speaker 1: that he ran for his life and in an unusual
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  Speaker 1: moment of depression and desperation and loneliness full of doubt
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  Speaker 1: don't we all have such moments he ran deep into
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  Speaker 1: the woods and And he sat down under a tree
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  Speaker 1: and he asked the Lord to take his life. Apparently
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  Speaker 1: the thought of suicide did not enter Elijah's mind. That's
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  Speaker 1: another subject. But he does say, verse 4, it is enough,
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  Speaker 1: take my life, for I am not better than my father's.
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  Speaker 1: So he's at the bottom. A more pathetic picture of
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  Speaker 1: personal heartbreaking loneliness cannot be found in the scriptures than here.
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  Speaker 1: This is Elijah who had withstood Ahab and Jezebel, called
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  Speaker 1: down fire from heaven, faced the prophets of Baal. But
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  Speaker 1: what does God do? God doesn't shame him. God doesn't
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  Speaker 1: rebuke him. God ministers to him. He says to him,
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  Speaker 1: verse 11, Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Behold,
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  Speaker 1: the Lord is passing by. And a great and strong
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  Speaker 1: wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces and
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  Speaker 1: the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not
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  Speaker 1: in the wind. And after the wind, there was an earthquake.
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  Speaker 1: You don't need an illustration of that, do you? After
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  Speaker 1: this howling wind in the wilderness, there was this giant earthquake.
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  Speaker 1: But the Lord wasn't in the earthquake. And after the earthquake,
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  Speaker 1: there was this fire. And the Lord wasn't in the fire.
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  Speaker 1: But after the fire, look closely. There was a sound
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  Speaker 1: of a gentle blowing. Pause right there. The old King
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  Speaker 1: James Bible says that there was a still small voice.
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  Speaker 1: That's where we get the words, still small voice. The
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  Speaker 1: new King James renders it in a similar manner, but
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  Speaker 1: gives this footnote a delicate whispering voice. The New International
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  Speaker 1: Version of the Bible says, After the fire came a
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  Speaker 1: gentle whisper. Got the picture? Elijah, wrapped in his desolation, loneliness,
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  Speaker 1: and doubt, and despair, is standing here looking at the fire,
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  Speaker 1: feeling the earthquake, This enormous wind is deafening and the
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  Speaker 1: Lord is in none of it and all of a
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  Speaker 1: sudden I take it, that dies away and there is
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  Speaker 1: this whispering voice that speaks to him just like this.
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  Speaker 1: Very reliable Old Testament scholars named Kyle and Dalich write this.
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  Speaker 1: It was not in the tempest that Jehovah was and
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  Speaker 1: after the tempest and earthquake, it was not in the
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: earthquake that Jehovah was And after the earthquake fire, it
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: was not in the fire that Jehovah was. And after
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: the fire, a still gentle rustling. It was in a soft,
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: gentle rustling that he revealed himself to Elijah. And what
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: is it Elijah does? He wraps himself in his mantle.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: He senses the supernatural presence of God. And he moves
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: toward the mouth of the cave. He doesn't run from God.
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: He moves toward him. I want to be fair here.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: I want to be careful. But I want to be
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: fair with the scriptures. There have been times in my life.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: When the Lord's promptings have been just as real as
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: Elijah's here. I didn't hear a voice. I did not
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: see a vision. But I felt his presence as real
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: as if I could touch him. It was magnificent. I
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: didn't pray for it. In fact, I felt somewhat distant
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: at the time. Now, it's important to remember that not
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: every evidence of the Spirit of God is public or
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: loud or large. Sometimes His best ministry to us is
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: when we are all alone. Take time to be alone.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: I hope that you have at least one hobby that
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: you can do all alone. I hope that you reward
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: yourself on occasion. You cannot do it, of course, every day,
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: but that you somewhat regularly reward yourself with walks and quietness.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: We're fortunate to live near the beach, and within another
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: hour we are near the forests, the mountains. Do you
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: take time for that? A walk in the woods. There
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: is a sense of gentle blowing that you hear in
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: the forest. It's therapeutic. Don't be afraid of that. Sometime
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: it is all that's needed for the scales to be
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: removed from your eyes and for you to see through
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: the harassment and the noise of your day. And you
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: come to terms with things. The Lord was in a
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: gentle whispering. I took a walk in the woods a
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: few weeks ago. It was cold. Snow was about. And
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: I stood and leaned against a tree. I was knee
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: deep in the snow. I stood there for five, six
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: minutes and listened. It was wonderful. Scripture says, be still
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: and know that I am God. Elijah was still and
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: that was all he needed to be touched by the
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: living God Acts chapter 20 is the next stop. The
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: first was in times of desperation and loneliness. Let's give
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: this one another title. In times of threatening fears, the
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: Spirit prompts a calm determination and courage. In times of
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: threatening fears, the Spirit prompts a calm determination determination, and courage.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: My thoughts have to do with Acts 20, verses 22
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: down to about 27. A quick word about the context.
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: Paul will not see the Ephesian friends anymore, not until heaven.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: This is his swan song. These are his elders, men
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: with whom he has had a close relationship for an
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: extended period of time. It's a moving account because he's
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: saying goodbye to And goodbyes are frequently emotional. Especially if
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: you're close to the people you're leaving. And especially if
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: you won't see them again. What I find interesting in
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: verse 22 is that he is bound in the spirit.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: I would love to know what that means. 2022. And
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: now behold, bound in spirit. I think it means bound
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: by the Holy Spirit. Captured in thoughts of. Surrounded by
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: the presence of. Unable to get away from the reminders of.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: I am bound one on one with the spirit in this.
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: I am on my way to Jerusalem not knowing what
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: will happen to me there. Except. The Holy Spirit solemnly
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: testifies to me in every city. Look at this. saying
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: that bonds and afflictions await me. This is a premonition
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: of fear. Ever have them? Not every premonition comes from God,
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: but we know this one did. Verse 23 says it
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: was from the Holy Spirit. He solemnly testifies to me, saying,
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: you're in for trouble, Paul. No matter what city you enter,
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: you're going to encounter intensified trouble. And that's exactly what happened.
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: He was bound in spirit. He was en route to Jerusalem.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: He was sure that trouble awaited him. But don't stop reading.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: This threatening fear could have seized him and and sidetracked
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: him the Holy Spirit has told him bonds and afflictions
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: await me but I do not consider myself my life
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: of any account as dear to myself in order that
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: I may finish my course in the ministry which I
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: received from the Lord Jesus to solemnly testify of the
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: gospel of the grace of God and now behold I
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: know that you all among whom I went about preaching
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: the kingdom will see my face no more. Therefore, I
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: testify to you this day that I am innocent of
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: the blood of all men, for I did not shrink
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. And
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: then he warns them about the future of the church
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: at Ephesus. Normally, when you and I know that bonds
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: and afflictions await us, we are frightened. But not when
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: the spirit of God brings a sense of reassurance. Could
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: this not explain the relentless courage and determination of the
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: martyrs and the missionaries of years gone by? When you
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: read their lives, you say, shaking your head, I can't
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: imagine how they endured such a thing. How did they
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: live with themselves? How could they even sleep at night?
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: It was the Spirit of God. They were bound in
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: the Spirit in the midst of these threatening fears. Could
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: this not explain the courage and determination of the reformers?
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: Who though they would lose reputation, occupation, status. Imagine that.
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: For their convictions they would be excommunicated from the Roman
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: Catholic Church. For their convictions they would be burned at
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: the stake in some cases. For their convictions and they
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: considered their lives worthy of death. To die in such
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: a glorious manner for the Lord. You read these stories
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: and you realize how shallow and superficial many of us
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: live our lives. How could they do that? They are
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: bound in the spirit. And I say to you again,
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: I can't make it more clear. I don't know how
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: to make it clearer than that. There is just that
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: inner prompting, I am here. I am aware of what
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: you're going through. I know of the threats. I tell you,
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: I will take you through them. The flame will not
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: hurt you. I only design thy dross to consume and
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: thy gold to refine. And with that assurance, we're able
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: to go on. Praise God for his spirit's working. Now,
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: a warning here. It is one thing to presume and
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: to be foolish and to be daring and to dance
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: too close to trouble in the energy of the flesh.
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: This has nothing to do with that. But when the
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: Spirit communicates his presence in a true sense of his
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: incredible power, it is remarkable how fear leaves. And that's
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: what happens here with Paul. Turn from Acts 20 to
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: Acts 27. Let me give you this subject and then
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: we'll look at it rather quickly. Acts 27, one of
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: the most adventuresome scenes in all the New Testament. If
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: you love sailing, you will love Acts 27. If you
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: like life in the open sea and the challenge of
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: going from point A to point B in a storm,
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: you are weird, but you will love Acts 27 because
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: that is what this is all about. I read a
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: story in Sports Illustrated recently of a man just like
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: that and planned to travel across the North Atlantic from
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: New York all the way across to Europe. By the way,
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: He didn't make it. And that's another subject. They haven't
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: found him, but his friends are so convinced that he
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: made it, they say he'll show up. You'll see him
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: someday on some piece of wood floating up to the shore,
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: or he'll find a way. He's a survivor. I certainly
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: hope he is. But this is that kind of scene,
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: Acts 27. In this account, Dr. Luke is present, which
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: is why he says we all the way through the account.
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: He's the writer of Acts, and he's including himself with Paul.
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: There's a crescendo of danger intensifying as each mile passes
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: in the sea. So let me call it this. In
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: times of potential disaster, the Spirit prompts inner reassurance and
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: outer peace. In times of potential, let's call it danger
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: and disaster, the Spirit prompts reassurance, inner reassurance and outer peace.
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: I think you'll love this account. If you're not familiar
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: with it, we'll enjoy it for a few moments. How
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: interesting as it unfolds. When it was decided that we
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: should sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: named Julius. Remember the centurion. We'll see him several times
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: on the ship. And embarking in the Andromedian ship, which
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: was about to sail to the regions along the coast
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: of Asia. Sorry you don't have a map in front
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: of you. It's very exciting when you study exactly where
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: they went. We put out to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus,
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: a Macedonian of Thessalonica. And the next day, we put
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: in at Sidon. And Julius, there's our centurion friend, treated
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: Paul with consideration, allowed him to go to his friends
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: and receive care. And from there, we put out to
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: sea and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: winds were contrary. You get the picture that the storm
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: is building, and you're exactly right. That's exactly what's happening.
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: And when we had sailed through the sea along the
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia,
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: and there the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy,
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: and he put us aboard it. So they changed ships.
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: And when we had sailed slowly for a good many
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: days and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, Since the
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: under the shelter of Crete off Salmon. And with difficulty
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: sailing past it, we came to a certain place called
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: Fair Havens. Isn't that a great name for a harbor?
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: Fair Havens. Makes you want to get a hot cup
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: of coffee and watch shipwrecks there. Near which was the
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: city of Lasea. And when considerable time had passed. And
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: the voyage was now dangerous. You got the picture? It's
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: like a crescendo. In this musical score. The wind is building.
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: And the crests of the waves are getting greater. And
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: the currents are getting stronger. And the sails are flapping.
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: Or straining. Groaning under the wind. When considerable time had passed.
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: The voyage was now dangerous. Since even the fast was
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: already over. Paul said. began to admonish them. Look at
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: what he says. Men, I perceive that the voyage will
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: certainly be attended with damage and great loss. This is
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: called a premonition in human terms. Not only of the
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: cargo and the ship, but also of our lives. I
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: sense we're in for severe danger. But the centurion was
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: ship than he was by what Paul said. And because
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: a decision to put out to sea from there if
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: northeast and southeast, and spend the winter there. And when
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: a moderate south wind came up, supposing that they had
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: gained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: Crete close inshore. But before very long, there rushed down
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: from the land a violent wind called Heraklilo. And when
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: the ship was caught in it and could not face
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: be driven along. We're in for trouble, okay? We're out
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: of control. And running under the shelter of a small
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: island called Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: ship's boat under control. And after that, had hoisted it up,
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship and fearing
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: that they might run aground in the shallows. They let
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: down the sea anchor and let themselves be driven along.
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: The next day, as we were being violently storm-tossed, they
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: began to jettison the cargo. And on the third day,
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands.
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: And since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days,
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: and no small storm was assailing us, from then on,
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned. Have
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: you ever been in a situation, anything like that? Maybe not.
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: My brother went through the Hurricane Andrew in South Florida,
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: lost his home, most of his home in the process.
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: And he listened to 150 mile an hour winds throwing
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: timbers through his home like spears and ripping chunks from
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: his ceiling and from his roof and throwing it against
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: garages four blocks away. Both cars damaged. He said the
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: good thing about it was that all the fences got
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: blown down. The next day we got to meet our neighbors,
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: which I thought was a It was a pretty optimistic
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: way to look at everything. But in the midst of
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: all of this, they were hiding in the bedroom, the
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: only room in the home that wasn't really touched. He
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: and eight other members of his family. Where you know
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: the passing of every hour, you are moving closer to
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: what may be your death. I mean, we sit in
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: this comfortable place and we read this story and we think,
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: when is he going to get through? I want to
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: get that coffee before I go to bed tonight. I mean,
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: we got our minds on a hundred other things and
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: I mean, imagine this. And then on top of everything else,
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: they're at sea. And they're starting to lose cargo. They've
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: already lost control. And they're afraid of losing life. That's
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: the picture. That's the panic. That's the disaster, the potential disaster.
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: And so... Verse 21, when they had gone a long
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: time without food, Paul stood up in their midst. Now
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: watch this. This is terrific. Men, you ought to have
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: followed my advice. Don't you love guys like that? I
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: told you so way back there. And here he is
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: in the ship. Now men, I told you back when
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: we were together that we didn't have to go through
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: all of this. And he's bouncing all around, hanging on
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: to the lines, the cables. And not to have set
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. And
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: yet now I urge you to keep up your courage.
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: How could he say that? It is the work of
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: the Spirit of God that gives this kind of courage.
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: It doesn't come naturally. Like how could my brother not
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: panic as he's in that bedroom with his wife? Darling
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: family around him and they're on their knees. It's because
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: the spirit of God protected them and preserved them. And
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: gave them a sense of inner reassurance and outer peace.
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: He says, I urge you keep your courage for there
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: shall be no loss of life among you but only
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: of the ship. For this very night an angel of
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: before me saying, Do not fear, Paul. You must stand
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: before Caesar and before God. And behold, God has granted
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: you all those who are sailing with you. Therefore, I've
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: heard from God. Keep up your courage, man, for I
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: believe God. It will turn out exactly as I have
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: been told. But we must run aground on a certain island.
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: How's that for a concluding comment? By the way, we're
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: going to run aground. But when the 14th night had come,
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: as we were being... 14th night? No wonder they hadn't eaten.
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: Vomiting 14 days in a row. We were being driven
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: about in the Adriatic Sea. About midnight, the sailors began
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: to surmise they were approaching some land. They took soundings,
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: found it to be 20 fathoms. A little farther on,
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: they took a sounding, 15 fathoms. fearing that we might
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: run aground somewhere on the rocks. They cast four anchors
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: from the stern and wished for daybreak. I love that.
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: There go the anchors. Bring the daybreak, bring the daybreak,
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: bring the daybreak. Hurry, hurry, hurry. They waited for daybreak
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: and had let down the ship's boat into the sea
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: the bow. Paul said to the centurion and the others,
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: unless those men remained in the ship. You cannot be saved.
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: You guys are forgetting. In panic, you're getting off like
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: rats from a sinking ship. Stay exactly where I told
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: you to stay. See, he had met with God. The
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: soldiers cut away the ropes from the ship's boat and
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: let it fall away. Until day was about to dawn,
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: Paul was encouraged them all to take some food. Isn't
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: that great? Hey, let's have breakfast, you guys. Sit down.
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: Let's eat. We're going to need a little strength. Today
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: is the 14th day You've been constantly watching, going without eating,
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: having taken nothing. I encourage you to take some food
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: for this is for your preservation. Not a hair from
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: the head of any of you shall perish. He said
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: this now for the third time. Having said this, he
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: took bread, gave thanks. He broke it and began to eat.
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: All of them were encouraged. They themselves took food. Isn't
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: it amazing the power? the inspiration one man can bring
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: to a whole ship full of people, even seasoned sailors.
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: And here is this man, not that accustomed to sailing,
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: who says to them, trust me, get a bite to
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: eat and we'll watch God work. And that's exactly what happened.
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: And all of us on the ship were 276 persons,
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: verse 37. And when they had eaten enough, they began
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: to lighten the ship by throwing out the wheat into
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: the sea. When day came, they couldn't recognize the land,
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: but they did observe a certain bay with a beach
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: and they resolved to drive the ship onto it. Casting
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: off the anchors, they left him in the sea, while
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: at the same time they were loosening the ropes of
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: the rudders and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: were heading for the beach, striking a reef where two
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: seas meet. They ran the vessel aground, and the prow
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: stuck fast and remained immovable, for the stern began to
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: be broken up by the force of the waves. The
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: soldier's plan was to kill the prisoners, that none of
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: them should swim away and escape, but the centurion, here
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: he is again. Wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: them from their intention, commanded that those who could swim
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: jump and get to land and the rest should follow,
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: some on planks and others on various things from the ship.
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: And thus it happened that they all were brought safely
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: to land. All 276 persons, exactly as God had said.
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  Speaker 1: How could Paul remain so encouraged? The Spirit of God
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  Speaker 1: prompted him in this night vision, this presence, this sense
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: of reassurance that he was in it and he would
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  Speaker 1: keep his arms around those men on the ship. Rare,
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: but real. There's one more in the next book, Romans
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  Speaker 1: chapter 8. It is not as adventuresome as that, but
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  Speaker 1: it is just as real. Here it is. In times
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  Speaker 1: of great sorrow and grief, the Spirit prays for us
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  Speaker 1: and ministers to us. Romans 8, 22 through 27. In
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: times of great sorrow and grief, the Spirit prays for
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  Speaker 1: us and ministers to us. Some of you need to
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  Speaker 1: hear that. You're ministering to those who are sick. You
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  Speaker 1: may very well be sick yourself. And you have the
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  Speaker 1: biblical assurance that even though you don't know how to
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  Speaker 1: pray as you should, the Lord prays for you. Look
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  Speaker 1: at 22 of chapter 8. We know that the whole
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  Speaker 1: creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: And not only this, but also we ourselves having the
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: first fruits of the Spirit. We ourselves groan within ourselves
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: eagerly waiting for our adoption, the redemption of our body.
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: For in hope we have been saved, but hope that
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: is seen is not hope. Why does one also hope
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: for what he sees? But if we hope for what
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: And in the same way, the Spirit also helps our weakness.
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: For we do not know how to pray as we should.
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: But the Spirit himself intercedes for us. Here are those promptings.
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  Speaker 1: And he calls them groanings too deep for words. Have
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  Speaker 1: you ever been so overwhelmed in a need that you
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  Speaker 1: could not even articulate your prayers? Yes, you have. And yes,
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: I have. At that moment, God interprets the groanings. He
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: understands what is best and dispatches it. And then comes
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: that favorite verse, we know that all things... God causes
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: all things to work together for good to those who
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
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  Speaker 1: You know a classic example of this? I want to
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  Speaker 1: show it to you and then we're through. 2 Corinthians 12,
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: where Paul didn't know how to pray as he should.
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  Speaker 1: He prayed for what he felt was the right thing
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  Speaker 1: to pray for. He had a thorn in the flesh,
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  Speaker 1: some physical ailment, some terrible pain that he couldn't get
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  Speaker 1: rid of. And he wanted relief and he asked for
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  Speaker 1: relief and relief didn't come. And he tells us that,
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  Speaker 1: verse 8, for this thing, I prayed three times that
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  Speaker 1: it might depart from me. I've heard people teach that
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  Speaker 1: you're only supposed to pray for something once. Well, Paul
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  Speaker 1: prayed for this three times. Our Lord tells us to
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. It's
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: a heresy to say pray only once for something. The
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: Bible teaches you keep asking. Now, it so happens after
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: his third request, the Lord broke into it. He said,
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: you're off course, Paul. My answer is no, I'm not
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: going to take the thorn away. This, by the way,
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: is a real message for those who think that every
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: suffering deserves healing. Here's an example of God saying, no,
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  Speaker 1: I won't heal you. It is not always God's will
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: that we be healed from our affliction or pain. Paul
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  Speaker 1: wasn't and what is it that the spirit said to
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: him what were the promptings do you know what they
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: were there right here in verse eight and nine some
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: of our favorite words in scripture came right from the
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: Lord to Paul he said when I heard the Lord
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: say no I I also heard the Spirit say, My
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: That's what the Lord said to Paul when he told
• 49:52
  Speaker 1: him no. And now Paul's response, Most gladly, therefore, I
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: will boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ
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  Speaker 1: may dwell in me. When are we going to learn
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: the truth of that? I mean, if we want to
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  Speaker 1: boast in anything, boast in the things that you are
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  Speaker 1: inadequate over or about. Terrible English, but it's true. The
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  Speaker 1: things that you feel weakness in, inadequate over, things that
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: you have to candidly admit you struggle with, say that.
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: Paul says, I will boast in my weakness. I won't
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: hide the fact that I live with pain because when
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: I am weak, he is strong. Verse 10, therefore, I
• 50:38
  Speaker 1: am well content with weaknesses and insults and distresses, persecutions, difficulties,
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, why? I'm strong.
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: I can tell you from firsthand experience that some messages
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: that I have brought in times of enormous pressure and
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: weakness and inadequacy in my own life have been the
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: messages most blessed of God. And I struggled through them,
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: didn't feel like anybody would even want to listen. I
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: couldn't wait to get out of the place where I
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: was teaching or preaching because of my own struggle at
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: the time. And I heard response after response. I can't
• 51:14
  Speaker 1: tell you the times when in weakness God's power has
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: been perfected and revealed. There is something about pain that
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: gets us to identify with other people. All the walls
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: break down and God really ministers. Well, those are the promptings.
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: Did you get them? In times of extreme loneliness, desperation,
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: the Spirit prompts hope and encouragement. In times of threatening fears,
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: the Spirit prompts calm determination and courage. In times of
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: potential danger and even disaster, the Spirit prompts inner reassurance
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: and outer peace. And in times of great sorrow and grief,
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: even weakness, the Spirit prays for us and ministers to us.
• 52:04
  Speaker 1: A couple of practical suggestions, if I may. Then we're through.
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: When we're not sure it is from the Spirit, and
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: sometimes it's not, tread softly. Don't be too dogmatic. In fact,
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: keep it to yourself. Say little. Be sure that nothing
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: that you're promoting contradicts scripture. The Lord doesn't lead against
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: his own revealed word. So don't get on a hobby
• 52:41
  Speaker 1: horse over something that is clearly non-biblical. Please. When you're
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: not sure, tread slowly. Keep it to yourself. If Paul
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: had not been so sure on that ship, I doubt
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: that he would have stood up and said, not a
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: hair from anyone's head will be touched. We'll all make
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: it safely to land. Now, when we are sure that
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: it's of God, stand firm, even against other people's doubts.
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: Be strong. Be confident. It's a part of walking by faith.
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: There are times that you will have other people say
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: there is no way in the world that God could
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: be in this and you know absolutely in your heart
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: that he is. Stand firm. You won't be able to
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: convince them. But your testimony is that God has prompted
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: me in this and I am assured he is in
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: it and will see me through. You know, I don't
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: know where you are in this time of your life.
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: I don't know how God is going to use this
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: message in anyone's life hearing my words today. Today. But
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: I have a feeling some of you needed to hear
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: these things. He said one thing to one person. And
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: something altogether different to someone else. But there's something in
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: all of this for some of us. And I hope
• 54:15
  Speaker 1: you will hear. And not soon forget. Dear Father. Thank
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: you for your counsel. Which comes. so consistently from your
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: book that has withstood the test of time. Thank you
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: for truth that is more reassuring than feelings. Thank you
• 54:47
  Speaker 1: for a sense of confidence in the midst of pressure
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: and even danger. That gives us hope to endure. Thank
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: you for reassurance through the path of pain. I pray
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: that you will use what has been presented from your
• 55:13
  Speaker 1: word in a special way in the lives of a
• 55:16
  Speaker 1: few people. Take away our fear of the unknown. And
• 55:26
  Speaker 1: While we wish to have discernment, Lord, in the midst
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: of the supernatural, we're often a little unsure, for your
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: work is supernatural. So we pray that you will guide
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: us into truth and not error as we begin to
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: live this out. And I do pray that you will
• 55:44
  Speaker 1: bring a great deal of comfort to an individual or
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: to individuals who at this moment need that the most.
• 55:52
  Speaker 1: A quiet, calm sense of confidence. that you are at work.
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  Speaker 1: In the dear name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
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