September 16, 2011
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Receive the call, wait for instructions, and obey by Pastor Don Moore
Bible study taught 6/3/11 by Pastor Don Moore
A pastor’s job is to manipulate you toward your appointed destination in time, to find people who know they are called and make the choice. We want to get to the place where we are closer to what God wants us to do with our life.
Acts 9:1-4 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
The early church was called – The Way. Saul set out to persecute the Church and the saints.
Acts 9:5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
The pricks, the briers, an ox goad had a point that, if you kicked against it would end up hurting you.
Acts 9:6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The first step of being called is to receive the call. The first step is to shut up, sit down, and wait for instructions. We are an asset if we are obedient and cooperative. We are a liability if we are fleshy and doing our own thing, for that embarrasses God.
False teachers will be exposed and people who follow a false teacher lack discernment. Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. The goats are those who let their flesh dominate the Word of God, instead of obeying God’s teaching as an obedient sheep. We can know the Word and begin to identify the false teachings. Sometimes when God gives us an instruction we don’t initially see God’s purpose. Never judge too quickly. The Word will help us to discern the truth from the lies. When we admit we are wrong, we show humility. Pride comes before a fall.
Many are called, but few are chosen. God throws a call out widely to be fair, but not all will obey and follow God, their pride gets in the way. We want to see what to do, but we can be easily distracted. We need to change our values scale and make a decision not to be distracted. To be chosen we need to be obedient, or we will not be chosen.
Acts 9:7-9 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Saul lost his vision, his eyesight. He had to be humble and be led, to get in position to receive the call. The Word does not say that ALL are called. Only our position places is where we can receive the call. The Lord can call us and leave us on the backside of the desert for forty years. The Prince of Egypt (Moses) tended sheep. The Egyptians hated sheep, so that was a major humbling job for Moses.
When the Lord calls, he has to get our attention. The first test you get is: Will you wait for instructions? This is where many people fail. While they are waiting for instructions they begin to complain, are disappointed, etc. We need to wait in hope. God will never send a depressed person to win the lost. The lost need to see the blessing of the Lord in their lives. God put the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years because they murmured.
We need an attitude of gratitude if God wants to use us for signs and wonders. Our flesh can limit our capability and makes it hard for God to use us.
God brings us to the place where we could be. We need to learn not to complain. Until we control our tongue we wait, it could be thirty days, sixty days or thirty years until we get control of our mouth.
When Moses received the call he killed an Egyptian, not what God would have ordered, and he had to go to the wilderness. God wanted to lead people out of bondage.
So we don’t make a wrong choice, when God calls, shut up and wait for instructions.
Ask yourself, is God able to support what He has ordained? Of course He is. If a church or a ministry fails God is not in it.
Pastor Abraham (from India) said something sad to Pastor Don. He said that he is amazed at how much Americans can get done without praying. Pastor Abraham will pray for days, get directions from the Lord, and do far more by waiting than acting without God’s instructions.
Ruth Heflin said that the Western way of doing church is without God.
Paul was called of the Lord, but he didn’t wait for instructions. He assumed God wanted him to kill the believers.
If you don’t wait for God’s instructions, the work he has for you to do may take a long time to come to pass, so our best bet is to be yielded.
Acts 9:10-12 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”
And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”Paul had to sit and wait until God tells him who will mentor him. God chooses mentors to instruct us. God has great blessings prepared for us. The waiting is worth it for the wonder and joy we will receive when the pieces fall into place.
David spent seventeen years waiting and running from King Saul until God could prepare the hearts of the people to receive David as their king. When Saul was selected, he was everything the people thought a king should be. He looked like what they thought a king should look. David was short and ruddy, and did not know courtly ways. He received Saul’s daughter for a wife. But she felt was still caught in courtly ways and mocked his worship before the ark as undignified. She ended up living a barren life for she was not willing to humble herself, but David was a man after God’s own heart.
God does not forget us, even if we are waiting for instructions for a long time. We need to trust that God is putting things into position for us to step into our destiny. If we make a mistake and get off the path, God will bring us back to a place where we are supposed to be. God wants us to achieve His best for us.
When it comes to matters of the heart, we find it hard to learn from God. We live with the burden of an inner child that needs to be stoned to death. Our flesh is not able to hear from God. The devil is also able to show us signs and wonders. We can be fooled and lose our path. If we find that we have strayed, we need to be like King David. When David messed up, he repented and turned back to God.
Lord, if you want to use me, fix this mess. Show me how to change so that I can do your will.
When God calls, stir up the giftings within us, sit down and wait for instructions. Paul waited for his mentor to come. The more talented and gifted you are, the longer you have to sit down.
Acts 9:13 Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.
As a disciple of God, Ananias has the right to ask God questions. when instructions are given, to make sure he understands, but then he has to obey God’s instructions.
Acts 9:14-16 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
God is fair. If Ananias was in the flesh, he would not have heard and obeyed God. The flesh shuts us down. We can have great vision, but not see what is around the corner. We need to keep walking and obeying God until God shows us what is around the corner. The flesh can confuse us, for it cannot see God’s plans. We need to listen to God, not the flesh, and be in prayer, waiting on God. We can check to see if it is of God, for it will agree with the Word of God. If our heart’s desire contradicts the Word, it is not of God.
If we say, “No, but…” to God, we can remain in our mess for twenty years. It is important to stay put until God gives us instructions, and then follow them. Stay away from distractions.
I hope this teaching blesses you.
Heather
