GOD’S GUIDANCE IN HIS WORD

• God promises us three things in His Word: instruction; teaching; guidance:

‘I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with my eye’, Psalm 32 verse 8.

• Reading the Bible is essential if we want to know God’s will for us – the more we become familiar with it, the more we will know His will is for us.
• Remember: God’s will NEVER conflicts with His Word
• David used God’s Word like a torch in the dark: ‘Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path’, Psalm 119 verse 105.
• Some things are abundantly clear in the Bible, e.g. salvation; baptism; fellowship with other believers; marriage – the importance of the equal yoke. We do not have to ask God for guidance on them – we should obey them without question!
• The Bible gives us numerous examples of characters who took both the right and the wrong pathway in life – ‘For whatever things were written before, were written for our learning’, Romans chapter 15 verse 4.
• The Bible challenges us – ‘Present your bodies a living sacrifice . . . do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and PERFECT WILL OF GOD’, Romans chapter 12 verses 1-2 – we can know the will of God.

BUT IT IS CONDITIONAL:

• present your bodies a living sacrifice
• don’t be conformed to this world
• be transformed by the renewing of your mind
• we must be committed Christians, prepared to place ourselves on ‘the altar’ for God, so that we can prove what is the perfect will of God

God’s Word encourages us to pray for guidance – we must not be afraid to put God to the test in our daily lives – only then will we get to know His will.

William Carey, the well-known British Christian missionary in India said: “ATTEMPT GREAT THINGS FOR GOD, EXPECT GREAT THINGS OF GOD!”

Jesus promised His disciples that when He had returned to His Father in heaven the Holy Spirit:

• ‘He will TEACH you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you’, John chapter 14 verse 26.
• ‘He will GUIDE you into all truth’, John chapter 16 verse 13.