HIS DIRECTION – OUR LIVES

 

  1. Choosing His direction
  • As we desire to do our best in aligning ourselves to God’s sovereign and moral will, how do we choose so as to be in line with God’s Personal will for us?
  • With the acronym A.C.T. Simply put, how to ACT:

 

ROADMAP

To choose His direction, we must… A.C.T.

  1. A – Ask for direction
  2. C – Confirm His direction
  3. T – Trust in His direction

 

  1. A – Ask for direction
  • Asking for counsel is one very important way of knowing God’s personal will for us but that requires humility
  • This is where we want to take you to the story about King Ahab in the Bible in 1 Kings 22. King Ahab’s wife was a wicked woman called Jezebel.
  • Background: During the period when King Ahab was reigning as king over the Northern Kingdom, there was peace and on the third year, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came to visit him.
  • At that time, a place East of Jordan in Gilead called Ramoth was under the control of the King of Syria even though it belonged to Israel. So King Ahab requested for King Jehoshaphat to go with him to fight at Ramoth Gilead to which Jehoshaphat agreed… Here we pick up the story…
  • 1 Kings 22:5 Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire for the word of the Lord today.”
  • In other words, what is God’s will before we make this decision? Let us ask for advice on this matter.
  • 1 Kings 22:6a Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?”
  • The advice of Jehoshaphat is a good one and it is also good that Ahab agreed to seek counsel.
  • It is a powerful principle for us that when there are decisions that to be made and when we are not sure, to seek counsel.
  • Some verses that illustrate the importance of seeking counsel:
  1. Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.
  2. Proverbs 13:10 By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom
  3. Proverbs 19:20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days.
  4. Proverbs 24:6 For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.
  •  Seeking counsel is a good thing, but who do you seek counsel from is another matter. • The four hundred prophets told the kings in 1 Kings 22:6b “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.” • They simply say what King Ahab wanted to hear. • When we choose who we want to get advice from, how often would we pick a person whom we know is likely to agree with us?

 

  • Who do we ask?

 

  1. Ask mature, godly men or women (Being matured has nothing to do with growing old).
  2. Ask someone whom we desire to be like in life – not someone who is in deep trouble like us.
  3. Ask someone who has nothing to lose by telling us the truth.
  4. Ask more than one person if possible
  • When asking, we must choose to be sensitive and humble as God may speak to us through the person.

 

  1. C – Confirm His direction
  • Look for confirmation.
  • Confirm with Scripture, believers and signs. It is important to note that there should be NO CONTRADICTION.
  • Unfortunately, when confirmation bias is present, the bible can be so misused; as we try to fit the word of God into what we desire. Nonetheless, the Bible is still the key to knowing God’s will for our lives.
  • Asking for direction or seeking counsel: In 1 Samuel 22:7 And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of Him?”
  • It seems obvious to Jehoshaphat that these four hundred prophets were just saying things King Ahab wanted to hear.
  • 1 Samuel 22:8 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!”
  • So King Ahab ordered a messenger to get Micaiah…
  • 1 Samuel 22:15 Then he (Micaiah) came to the king, and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king!”
  • Micaiah was being sarcastic at this point.
  • 1 Samuel 22:16 So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
  • Tell the truth? But King Ahab did not want to hear the truth. Anyway, Prophet Micaiah went ahead to prophesy to king Ahab.
  • 1 Samuel 22:17-18 Then he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’” 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
  • Learning to listen is an important factor for us to know and do the will of God.
  • It is no wonder in the Bible, there were many occasions when we are told “He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit of God is saying”. In other words, there are many “deaf Christians” who listen, but not hear.
  • Let’s train ourselves to listen to counsel with teachability and humility.
  • Choosing God’s direction requires us to surrender all our bias or selfish desires and fully obey God.

 

  1. T – Trust in His direction
  • Continuing from the story, since King Jehoshaphat had agreed to go to war with King Ahab, he had no choice but to go ahead to war. An important lesson for us to learn here is that we should not agree to anything unless until we have inquired of the Lord first.
  • As if this decision was not bad enough, King Ahab, having heard the prophesy of Micaiah, decided to outsmart God’s will by making a very unreasonable request of King Jehoshaphat.
  • 1 Samuel 22:30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
  • This was a very bad deal for King Jehoshaphat. It was as good as asking him to go and risk his life. Interestingly King Jehoshaphat agreed.
  • Yet another important lesson to learn from this is that when we are seriously desiring to do God’s will, God can even turn around for good the worst decision we had made in the past.
  • 1 Samuel 22:31-33 The king of Syria commanded thirty-two captains of his chariots to fight with no one but only with the king of Israel. So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they thought he was king Ahab until Jehoshaphat cried out, then they realized it was not Ahab. Therefore, they turned back from pursuing him.
  • At the most frantic moment of King Jehoshaphat’s life, he cried out and I believe God heard him and delivered him. It is interesting that the Syrian captains realized that he was not King Ahab.
  • We may have made some bad choices in the past, what is important is that we must continue to do God’s will and for sure, God can turn our bad situation around.
  • 1 Samuel 22:34 Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”
  • When we are walking in the center of God’s will, God can turn it even the most terrible situation around.
  • Not so for those who do not align their lives to God’s will though; even the most random arrow from the devil, will take them down. Ultimately, we must know that His will is to do His will.

Application

Let’s A.C.T.