The Ohio Independent Baptist, July 1963

' , f "' r t f ,1 11:t\' l' ti,ctl tl1l' f hr ,1,c " I telt lc"i .. at \)t11c tt111c in \.'Ur 11,c ,, tll'll \" 11~ a "t '""n , · hct ng ,l Ilc<.i t n l l' t1t,r1 )cca~1(.,r1all, ,, c h,1, c c, 1 "l' ' ' '-'l' t Jt1,t1t, ~t1ch c1 statcn1cnt. httt 11<.)fC t ten than not the phra~c re- ,,. t' ·cnt~ the la t feeble rcft1gc of ~on1c- r 1 • f "'r1c ,, ht1 •~ Cl1n crncd. and t\. no\, , 1 t . H1 pride,, 111 n t pcrn11t h1n1 t adn1i t an error f Jttdgn1cnt. large or n1all. a c111nor fa1~e step r a n1ajor blunder. ..1 felt led.. 1s the pite u plea he ,, t1t1 ld 1 ile tran, lated. Hdon't hold me re ·pons1blc. blan1e n1y guide!" It 1, norn1al to eek cou n el or guidance in life-effecting deci ion . F, en though Mo e had the "pi ll ar of fire·· at night and the "cloud · by day (E'\. 13:21-22) he per uaded hi brother-in-law to go with them into the \\'ilderne to be their guide. ( um. l O: _9-32). It i convenient to have a far - ighted man along to tell , ou ,vhat he ee ahead e pecially ~\ hen God ha o clearly marked the path 1 ·ou know you are to take! Why doe the Lord in i t that we learn to ..\\'alk by faith, and not by ight"? Compl icati ng factor The complicating fac tor in all thi i that all guidance i not of God. Satan ha not ceased in his educa– tional pr ogram. He continue to give un olicited advice, and it always sound o rea onable! For example: remember what the people of I rael aid at Kade h-barnea? "Let u make a captain. and let us return into Eg}·pt. ·· That ounded o much better than facing tho e giants in Canaan! The va t majority could ee it was the en ible thing to do. The fact till remain that God ha promi ed to direct our live if we will a1lo\\ Him. Moses prayed, ' If I have found grace in thy ight, how me no\\ thy way, ' ' and God an wered, " 11· presence shall go with thee." ( Ex. 33: 13-14) ' 'The meek will He guide in judgment. and the meek will He teach his way.' ' ( Psa. 25: 9) 'I \.\'ill in truct thee and teach thee in the \\' 8}' "hich thou shalt go: I will guide thee "''ith mine eve:· (Psa. 32.8) John ., IO a:, s of the shepherd in his relation– h1p to the sheep. that he "'leadeth them out.. and ·thev know hi voice" ., and ..the) 1 foilow me.. (ver es 3, 4 and _7 . Page 4, JULY, 1963 ?' ' • l1c 1irol,lcr11 1, th,,t we rcatl lhc\c pr <.)n11,~, an<.I ,tcknowlctlgc tir need t r a gtai<.lcti life and then we hea r of ,0111conc ha\ ing e traordinary ht1nchc\ <.1r , er unu~t1al gt1idancc and we hope c1nd pra for a in1ilar experience. We think the mo. t wonderft1l thing in the \.\ or]d would he lo have omething c n1parable. Fleece miracle Gideon and hi fl eece incident i looked upon a Scriptural precedent for phenomenal guidance. Remember Gideon did not determine the will of God by putting out the fleece! The ' 'anoel of Jehovah ' had already told 0 . him that! The fleece miracle wa given becau e Gideon lacked the faith to act upon the revealed wil l of God . There i a danger of becoming like a machine - moving only by lever in- tead of a urning per onal re pon– ibility in and for all our action . Some C hri tians are confident of God' g11idance only after they have tuck a pin in a Bible verse or pulled one out of a promi.. e box (With the eyes closed, of cour e) that issue a clear command outlined their next step. Remember the one that tried thi ? On the first try the pin tuck on the phrase "and went out and hanged him elf." Somewhat taken back he tried again and thi time the pin came to rest on ''go, and do thou likewi e." Guiding principles There are ome guiding principle that hould be borne in mind a one seek to determine the will of God. l . D o no t let fleshly desire cloud the pic ture . This is one of the most difficult principle to apply. To et a ide one' per onal de ire i never ea y. To eliminate carnal intere t i to "put to death' ' the "old man .' Who want to die? Self-preservation and elf– a ertion are the normal exerci e of ego. (Gal. 2:20· Rom. 8: 13 ). 2. Study it out and then li ve in genuine suojection to the revealed will of God as it is found in H is W ord. Martin Luther said, "My conscience i tied to the Word of God. ' A beauti– ful ) 1 oung mother wept a he told me he didn't know how he could go on Jiving with her husband. She wa sure he wa being unfaithful. How could this happen to her? S!1c wa o - By Rev . Lynn Rogers \ Ure 1t Wa\ C1 oc.l 1 s will she 111arry hi111. he hatf prayetl mt1ch abot1t it . Hacl I l)ccn her pastor whcr1 she was being cot1rtec.f by him I'd have advi~cd "Qu it praying and start obeying!" Ciod ~ays. Hbc not uneqt1ally yoked ." HY 0t1 know he makcc; no pretense of bc1ng a hri tian!,, There i no ub titute for a knowl– edge of the Bible. If you en5e a woc– f ul Jack in thi area be urc you pre ent your ,problem with suffi cient detail to one well-ver ed in the Word. ( John 7: 17 ; Rom. 12 :2) Don,t ex– pect God to guide you if you are refu ing to act on light already given. ' 'What oever he saith unto you, do it.' (John 2:5). 3. Clear understanding of His lrvill is an answer to prayer and is the h) 1 - produc t of a Spirit-filled life. (Col. l :8· Eph. 5 : 17-18 ; Rom. 8 :5-9). Prayer support J esu spen t all night in prayer be– fore he selected the apo tle . It is a shock to me when Christian whom I love dearly announce plan that are life-effec ting and to my knowledge 1 they haven' t asked for prayer support nor have their lives been bearing the "fruit of the ,pir it. ' If you have made such decision , just don' t claim that its the Lord' will. Personally accept the re pon- ~ sibility since it wa your will and you know it! Never support your action by the action of another. 2 Cor. 10: l 2b can be literally rendered: "They are measuring themselve by them elve , and comparing them elve among them elve , lose all ability to discern. ' • Finally: 4. Ask G od for wisdon1 in suff icie11t faith so tlzat yoz-1 real!}' be– lieve H e ga ve it to ) 1 ou. (Jame I: 5-6) Thi i not an arrrogant pirit but rather one who really recognize hi own limitation in hi judgment (ability to weigh pros and con ) ; therefor e, in child-like faith he cast him elf upon the Lord. He is counting on God to give him di cernment. "The meek will He guide in judg– ment,' "the path of the just i a the hining light, that hineth more and rnore unto the perfect day." Re,,. L) 1 nn Rogers is pa tor of orthfield Baptist Church and Treas- urer of Ohio ssociation of Regular Baptist Churches. The OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTi ST