Newsletter #401 - March 2012 - By Shepherds Chapel - http://www.shepherdschapel.com/
You always want the Holy Spirit to guide you. God has made many promises to His Children. You must claim those promise, or quite frankly, you miss out. One of God's promises is that He will guide you. If you ask, He will lead you in the right direction. That is especially important as we near the time that the Holy Spirit will speak through some of you. Open your Bibles to Acts.
Acts 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship.
The angel of the Lord is the Lord manifested in such a manner as man can see Him. The Lord gave Philip a direct command. When God guides you, be sure to follow His direction. Don't overlook the fact that the eunich had traveled a great distance to worship God. He believed.
Acts 8:28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
The Holy Spirit is guiding Philip to accomplish the will of God with this eunuch who was no doubt a Gentile. This is an example for you today. If you don't know what God wants you to do, ask Him. He will guide you.
Acts 8:30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
God sent Philip to this eunuch. It is God who is guiding Philip and the eunuck.When you learn to trust God to guide you, the unction of the Holy Spirit will cause you to intuitively knowwhen God opens a dor for you, or in some cases, when He shuts the door.
Acts 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
The eunuch was quating from Isaiah 53:7-8, which is prophcy and witness of Jesus Christ.Who will declare the truth of Jesus Christ to the world, after His crucifixion? We will. With God guiding, and we following, the truth is a blessing to everyone.
Acts 8:34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
The eunuch needed someone to guide him and help him understand.
Acts 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
The eunuch latched onto the teaching of of Philip in a hurry. Don't forget the Holy Spirit is guiding the eunuch through Philip. The euch was ready to be baptized.
Acts 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
We learn what condition you must meet in order for God to guide you in this scripture. You must believe.
Acts 8:39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
Philip and his four virgin daughters were all excellent teachers of God's Word (Acts 21:8-9). Why? Because the Holy Spirit was guiding them. That is why you want to pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you, as well.
Acts 8:40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
Azotus is the same as Ahdod. Philip and his daughters converted much of Gaza to Christianity. The armies of Israel never conquered Gaza, but with the guidence of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God did. Let's go to John.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
If you have a Companion Bible, check out Appendix 106. The word "mamifest" in this verse means "to cause to be shown plainly and clearly; used of causing to be seen (or known) which would not have been cognizable by the unaided eye (or mind)". If you love Jesus and keep His commandments as best you can, He will help you see and understand. He will guide you.
John 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
How is it that Jesus could manifest Himself to the disciple and not the rest of the world? If you keep the commandments and love God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will abide with you. The Holy Spirit will give you unction to intuitively know when God is opening or shutting doors in your life. God will guide you. That unction also allows you to spiritually discern right from wrong.
John 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
Jesus guided the disciples while He was with them. How would He continue to guide them, after the crucifixion?
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
If the Holy Spirit dwells within you, He will teach and guide you. He will show you how to get things done. This is ever so important in this generation of the fig tree. Are you going to need His guidance when the antichrist is here on earth? You better believe you will!
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
God's elect have true peace of mind, today. When you are serving God, there is nothing to worry about or fear.
Psalm 143:7 Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. 8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
David is asking God to guide him in the way he walks. We should do the same.
Psalm 143:9 Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. 10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
The word "Teach" is translated from the Hebrew word "lamad" (law-mad). The word also means "to goad".A goad is a stick with a sharp point on the end of it. It is utilized to make unresponsive livestook cooperate. David is asking God to correct him, if he needs correcting. In conclusion, let's go to Psalm 25. It is an Acrostic Psalm.
Psalm 25:1 Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
Put you trust and faith in God. If you enemies are God's enemies, they won't have the victory over you.
Psalm 25:3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. 4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
Here we have the Hebrew word "lamad" in the word "teach", again. David is asking God to goad him into doing the right thing. If God is guiding you, you will do right.
Psalm 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. 6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He loves His children. He loves you.
Psalm 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD. 8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
Sometimes a little tough love is necessary to goad sinners into the right way. Father may or may not love what you are doing, But He loves all His children, including sinners.
Psalm 25:9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
When God guides you in judgement, it means that He helps you make the right dicisions. Would you like to make better decisions in your life? We all can with Father's guidance. Ask Him to guide you. God promises He will.
Psalm 25:11 For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
This verse is the center of this Acrostic Psalm. It is the first time in this Psalm that repentance is brought forward.
Psalm 25:12 What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. 13 His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
The word "fear" can also be translated "revere". God teaches and guides those that reverence Him.
Psalm 25:14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. 15 Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
The counsel of the Lord is with them that revere Him. He will deliver you out of the net of deception that is coming with antichrist. Ask Father to guide you!
Psalm 25:16 Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.
Ask God to guide you out of stressful situations.
Psalm 25:18 Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins. 19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
Look around. The enemies of God are many. They want to remove God from our vocabulary. They want Him out of our schools. They hate God. They hate those who serve God, that is to say you.
Psalm 25:20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee. 22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
You won't be ashamed, because you study God's Word. You put your trust in God to lead and guide you through this troubled world. Father promised He will redeem Israel.
In His service,
Arnold Murray