Rick Warren - How to Be Led by God’s Spirit—Part Three

Hello, everybody. This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope with Rick Warren.

I'm really glad you're here today. We're continuing our series

from Psalm twenty three called living in the Goodness of God.

It's all about how God's goodness meets you right where

you are and brings hope even in difficult seasons. And

let's join Rick right now for the final part of

a message called how to be Led by God's Spirit

Number three.

If I want to be led by God's spirit, I

must look to God's word. I must look to God's word.

God's will is found in God's word. Psalm one nineteen

one oh five. Your word is a lamp to guide

me and a light for my path. If you're not

in the Bible every day, you're in the dark. You're

walking through life without a flashlight. Your word is a

lamp to guide me and a light for my path

Proverbs one nineteen. Psalm on nineteen is what that's supposed

to be. Psalm one nineteen one thirty three says this,

guide my steps by your word, so I will not

be overcome by any evil. It's up here on the screen.

Guide my steps by your word, so I won't be

overcome by any evil. Now, I want to give you

a couple statements real quickly. I could go into this

in detail, but I won't. About the word of God.

Write these down. Number one, God's will is found in

God's word. God's will is found in God's word. Most

of God's will is already revealed. No, the name of

your spouse is not there, But that's not what you're

misunderstanding what I'm saying. The principles are there on how

to find the right kind of man or the right

kind of woman that would be God's choice. And as

you read God's Word, he speaks to you. When you

open your Bible, God opens his mouth and he starts

talking to you. And when you close your Bible, God

closes his mouth, He shuts his mouth. We discovered the

will of God in the Word of God. So let

me just say it this way. Stop listening for a

voice and start looking for a verse. Some of you

want God to write it in the sky. Why would

he need to write it in the sky. He's already

written it in a book, but you won't even open

it on a daily basis. Stop looking for a voice.

Write it in the sky. Give me a word. Start

looking for a verse, and God will teach you the principles.

And by the way, God expects me to obey what

I already know before he shows me something new. So

if God's already shown you something, I want you to

do this and you haven't done it yet, why is

he going to show you step two until you've done

step one? It's already there. He said, I God, I

need to know if you want me to change jobs.

And God says, O, well, are you following what I've

already told you? Are you already doing that? The key

if you want to be led by the spirit, start

doing what you already know is God's will. Just start

doing what you already know is God's will. God's will

is found in God's word. The other thing I want

you to write down is this, God's will never contradicts

God's word. If you get an idea and you can't

find the basis for us in the Bible, it's wrong

because God has already given us his word. You know.

He says, well, I had this impression. People tell me

all the time, Pastor Rick, I had this impression. Well,

what does the Bible say? You know? This is how

cults get started. I got this idea. The Bible tells

us in Galatians chapter one, verse eight that even if

an angel shows up and tells you something like here's

some new books to add to the Bible, he says,

you don't even trust that, because if it's not in

the Bible, he says, you don't God's will will never

contradict God's word. Most of what God's already wanted us

to know is found in this book, and if you

read it, God will guide you. You know. He said, Well,

if I act on what God's already told me, then

you're telling me He's going to tell me more. That's

exactly what I'm saying, all right. Number four, If I

want to be led by God's spirit, I must ask

the Holy Spirit to be my guide. I must ask

the Holy Spirit to be my guide. Do you remember

in high school they had a position on the faculty

called the school guidance counselor. And I remember that the

school they were supposed to help you decide if you're

going to go to college or get a job, or

get in the military or whatever. And they were the

guidance counselor. You have a guidance counselor for life. He's

called the Holy Spirit. And you don't just have this book.

It's nice to have this book, but what's even nicer

is to have the author speaking in your ear going

And this is what this means. And he is your

guidance counselor. But where I say, I must ask the

Holy Spirit circle that word ask. One of the reasons

you don't know God's will is you don't ask for it.

And in James four, verse two, the Bible says you

do not have because you do not ask God for it.

You just need to understand God's interested in every detail

of your life. He has the hairs on your head

numbered and he knows everything about you. He knows your

details more than you do. He knows the health problems

you've got that you don't even know you've got. God

knows them. And one of the best ways to engage

your guidance counselor is ask a specific question in prayer.

So I'm twenty seven verse eleven, teach me Lord what

you want me to do and lead me down the

right path. Now, how does he do that? How does

God lead me down the right path? Well, there are

a lot of different ways. But let me just mention

a couple one of the miss The primary way the

Holy Spirit guides us is by reminding us what we've

read in this book, because you read stuff in here,

and if you memorize it, then it's stored in the

back of your mind, and at the right moment, when

you're in that conflict at work, God can bring that

verse to mind, and Holy Spirit reminds us. The problem

is we are not good at retention. We have good forgetters,

but unfortunately a part of the Holy Spirit's job is

to help you. Remember have you ever been talking to

somebody and you go, I don't know what to say,

and then all of a sudden the idea pops in

your mind. The Holy Spirit just reminded you of that.

And the more this book you get in your mind,

the more he can bring back. Now, if there's nothing

of this book in your mind, what's he going to

bring out? Nothing? So you got it. You got to

get in the book. I can't tell you how many

times I've walked into a meeting or a phone conversation

or an interview, or a skeptic on the street or anything,

and I hadn't the slightest idea what I was going

to say, and I just shoot up a quick prayer,

guidance counselor what do you want me to say? Here,

Holy Spirit, what do you want me to say? And

he'll bring something. Some of you've never had that happen,

as I said, because you don't have anything stuck there

in your mind. So God gives us ideas through his word.

And the other way is he puts ideas in your mind. Yes,

he does put impressions in your mind. When God gives

you an idea, that's called inspiration. When the devil gives

you an idea, that's called temptation. When you get an

idea that's called dumb. It's just teasing. God gave you

your brain. He wants you to use it. Satan cannot

control you accept suggest thoughts. If you accept them, then

he's controlling you. God will not control you because He's

given you that free will. But when he puts an

idea in your mind you respond to it, then he

enlightens it. Now, is there any way I can speed

up that process that I get God's ideas quicker? Yes,

I'm going to tell you how you can speed up

the process of getting ideas quicker, like I need a

new product, I need a new solution. Two things write

these down. Number one, ask humbly, Ask humbly. That'll speed

up the process. Proverbs twenty five, Psalm twenty five, verse nine.

God guides the humble in what is right, and he

teaches them his way. The more humble you are in

coming to God, the quicker, God gives you the information

you need. Pride goes for a destruction a haughty spirit

before a fall. God says, if you just be humble

and say, God, I need you. I got to know this,

he said, I'll give it to you. The Lord is

my shepherd. So we're just talking about he leads me

in the paths in the right past for his name sake,

and I just be humble about it. Another way is

asking faith. I ask humbly, and then I ask in

faith and I say, God, I need to know what

you want me to do in this situation, and I'm

expecting you to give me the answer. Thank you in advance,

Thank you in advance. You got to have faith, James,

Chapter one. If you want to know what God really

wants you to do, and I hope that's what it

is for you. If you want to know what God

wants you to do, ask him and you'll gladly tell you,

for He is already ready to give a bountiful supply

of wisdom to all who ask. Remember ask combly, asking faith,

but be sure that you really expect him to tell you.

If you don't ask in faith, don't expect the Lord

to give you any solid answers. That's why you don't.

Often don't know what God wants you to do, you're

not asking in faith. I remember years ago we were

driving down the road. I think we're going up to

Fresno or something, and Kay Kay was looking down. She

was driving, and she looked down in the the gas

tank was on empty, and I said, where's the nearest

gas station? And we'd seen a sign about a mile back, said,

the next one is like thirty miles up. I think

we're up going up on five thirty miles down the freeway.

So then I put it into one of these little

you know apps, and it said get off the freeway,

go ten miles down that little road and there'll be

a gas station. Now the question is am I going

to believe the sign or the app thirty miles down

that road or ten miles on the app and go

down a little road. This is a test of faith

and sometimes that's going to happen in your life because

you'll say, God, what should I do here? And God,

I'll tell you to do the exact opposite of what

you think you ought to do one time. If you

want to know God's will, just figure out what you

naturally do and do the opposite because you're off and wrong,

so that would be a good thing to do. But

you can always trust God's guidance system. He's never wrong.

You do have to believe him all right. Number five.

The fifth thing, if I want to be led by

God's spirit, I must listen for God's response. And this

is really a big reason why we don't hear God

is because we ask and then we immediately run off.

We don't wait, we don't be quiet, we don't listen,

we don't pause. We say God, I need to know this,

and then take off and then turn on the radio

or start listening to your iPhone or answering calls or

reading texts, or you know, watch a TV. And all

the circuits are jammed and God can't get through to

you for the answer. I cannot overemphasize the importance of

you taking some private time alone every day just to

sit quietly. I do this all the time. And I

sit down and I say, God, is there anything you

want to say to me right now? I just shut up.

I just listen. I've read your word. I've talked to

you all throughout the day. Job thirty three, verse fourteen.

God does speak, sometimes one way and sometimes another, even

though people may not understand it. He uses the Bible,

he uses teachers like what I'm doing right now. He

uses impressions, He can use circumstances, he can use pain,

he can do all these different things. But the key

is to tested by the word. And I want to

close with this Psalm seventy seven, because sometimes you say,

God don't want to know your will, and you look

out and you go, that doesn't make sense at all.

This is a test. Psalms seventy seven, verse nineteen is

actually a verse about Moses. You remember the story of

the Ten Commandments, when Charlton Heston, you know, stood up

there and he put this thing in the water, and

the nile turned red, and all of the different miracles

and things like that, and when finally Pharaoh said after

ten miracles, and all those miracles were making fun of

false gods. Pharaoh finally says, okay, you can go, And

so a million Jews are leaving and they're heading across

to go across the Sinai Peninsula, and all of a

sudden they come up to a little cul de sac

and they're standing with mountains on either side, the Red

sea in front of him, which looks impassable, and Pharaoh

has changed his mind, and the army's coming after him

and back. So they're himed in and they we're going

to be slaughtered. We got mountains on either side, we

got an ocean in front of us, and we've got

Pharaoh's armies and they're armed and we have no arms,

and they're coming after us. And they were in God's

that'll called the Sacon. It looks like it's a goner.

They're gonna be dead. The name of that place was

called Bales of Fawn, which means God's hidden treasure. God

had him exactly where he wanted him to be. He

was going to do a miracle, and suddenly the ocean splits,

you know the story, and they start walking through on

dry ground, and imagine how in shock. Everybody had to

be walking through that area, and when they get through

the other side, it closes up, and you know the

whole story. This verse in Psalms talks about it, and

it says, your road lord led by a pathway through

the sea, a pathway no one knew was there. I

love that verse. There have been so many times in

I have come up against enormous barriers, financial barriers, approval barriers,

physical barriers, energy barriers. And I'm looking at this and

I go, God, there's mountains on the east side and

an impassable barrier in front of me, and the enemy's

caving in, closing in very quickly. And I'm in bales

the fawn. I'm in God's hidden treasure. And God says,

I've got you exactly exactly where I want you to be.

Watch this, and you made a pathway through the sea,

a pathway no one knew was there. Bam, some of

you are in balesa fon right now. There's no way

we're getting now this. We're going into bankruptcy. There's no

way getting now this. It's we've heard the sea word cancer.

There's no way out of this. We're headed for a divorce, court,

there's no and you are exactly where God wants you

to be. He wants to do a miracle. But there

are five things you got to stop doing, and there

are five things you got to start doing stops and starts,

stops and starts. And when you do that, you get

God's guidance and he shows you a pathway that nobody

knew was there. That's power heads. God can make a

way when it seems there is no way. Now we've

just gone only into three verses of this incredible passage

Psalm twenty three, And out of that we know that

because God is good, when I'm worried, he will meet

my needs. The Lord is my shepherd. I have everything

I need. And when I'm stressed, He'll teach me to relax.

He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads

me beside still waters. When I'm empty, he will replenish

my strength. He restores my soul. And when I don't

know what to do, he will guide me. He leads

me in the right paths for His namesake. Would you

pray all right? Now? Talk to God? Why don't you

say something like this, Dear God, I want to be

led by your spirit I don't want to go through

life on my own ingenuity and power. I've had too

many dead ends. I know that's not the solution. You

have said. Only those people who are led by God's

spirit are God's children. Because you are a good God,

you guide us in your goodness. Lord. Starting today, there's

some stuff I want to stop doing. Help me to

remember that I cannot follow a culture that doesn't follow you.

Do not copy the behavior and values of the world.

To love everybody, but do not love the value system

the Lord. Help me to remember that I can't follow

friends who aren't led by you. I don't want anybody

leading me in the wrong way. I want to love people,

but I don't want to lead me. I want to

be an influence, not be influenced. I want to be

a thermostat, not a thermometer. Help me to remember that

I can't look to other sources besides you and come

to you with a clear conscience. It's not horoscopes and prayer.

It's not self help books and the Bible. They're not

on the same level. I want to stop being led

by my circumstances. And most of all, Lord, I want

to stop being mastered and manipulated by my moods. I

cannot be led by the spirit if I'm led by

my feelings. I'm sorry for the times that I've made

feelings my God, and I did what I felt like doing,

not necessarily what you wanted me to do. Lord. Today

I'm telling you I want to be led by your spirit.

I want to be led. I've got to be led.

More than that, I'm willing to do whatever you tell

me to do. I don't have to understand it. I'm

telling you yes in advance. Help me to look to

your word every day. Guide my steps by your word

so I will not be overcome by any evil. Your

word is a lamp to guide me in a light

for my path. Be my flashlight. Help me to remember

that your will is found in your word word, that

your will will never contradict your word. And so today

I asked you, Holy Spirit, to be my guidance counselor

for the rest of my life. I'm asking you humbly,

and I'm asking you in faith and help me to

not be so impatient that I can't stop and just

listen for your response. Help me to learn to wait

on you, to be still and know that you are God.

Thank you the good Shepherd. If you've never invited Christ

in your life, just say, Jesus Christ, come into my

life right now. I want to get to know you.

I want to learn to trust you. I want to

have a relationship and a friendship with you. And I

pray this humbly in your name. Amen.

Hey, if you've just prayed along with Rick to accept

Jesus in your life, Rick would love to hear from you.

Just email Rick at Pastororrick dot com. And now here's

a closing thought from Pastor Rick.

God has five purposes for your life. He wants you

to know and love Him. That's called worship. He wants

you to belong to his family that's called fellowship. He

wants you to grow in him. That's called discipleship. He

wants you to serve Him with your gifts and talents.

That's your ministry. And he wants you to share the

good News with other people. That's your mission. Now today,

as we close, I want to talk to you about

the third purpose, discipleship or personal growth. How do we

grow well? We grow through the nourishment of God's word.

It's how we get to know God. To know God's

word is to know God's will. God's word is the

source of God's will, and God's ultimate goal for your

life is for you to become like Jesus Christ. To

do that, you have to fill your life with the

word of Jesus Christ. Two Timothy three seventeen says through

the Word, we're put together and shaped for the tasks

that God asked for us. I remember in the Old Testament,

the Bible says that Job treasured God's word more than

his daily bread. That's how I want you to treat

God's Word. That's how you grow in discipleship. Get into

his word every day, study it, memorize it, and meditate

on it. Apply it. Never take it for granted. God's

word is as essential to your soul as food is

to your body. So get into the Word today. God

bless you.

Be sure to join us next time as we look

into God's Word for our daily hope. This program is

sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.