Learn to Follow the Holy Spirit | Mark Brazee | World Outreach Church

Romans the 8th chapter 14's verse.

Romans chapter 8 verse14

Romans 8 · chapter mention

and we'll see where this takes us.

And I was looking out. I thought we've

got turbans here. They just you guys

just got back from Italy and

>> Ireland.

>> Ireland and Italy. Okay. And uh where's

Matthew Matt? Where's you just where

where all were you? You're over there in

>> Australia and New Zealand. Australia,

New Zealand.

Who else is just coming back from

somewhere?

Oh, yeah. You were in Israel. What, two

weeks? Almost two weeks there. How'd you

like it?

Yeah. Amazing. She says, "Good. Going to

go back sometime." Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Hallelujah. Well, we're going to keep

sending folks out. We're going to keep

raising up funds. We're going to raise

up people. We're going to send them out

to the nations of the world. I'll tell

you what, God's doing something and we

get to be a part of it.

>> It's a wonderful thing. Hallelujah.

Praise God. Well, uh in uh

Romans chapter 8 and then uh verse 14, I

Romans 8 · chapter mention

I'll back up a little bit. There's a a

saying, if you've been around here long,

you've heard me repeat it. I [snorts]

heard it years ago now. And uh the first

time I heard it, it just got on the

inside of me. Okay. I had come out of um

Michigan uh got my life right with God

over at Michigan State University. Uh

went into the real estate for about a

year and then packed up and uh moved

here to Tulsa to go to Rama. Brother

Hagen had just started it up. I didn't

know who Kenneth Hagen was. I didn't

know what a Rama was. I just knew there

was a Bible school. I needed whatever it

was. I didn't know what a Bible school

was. Now, [snorts] they didn't have

Bible schools in the group I came out

of. They had seminaries, but that wasn't

going to work for me. And so, uh,

anyway, got moved down here and and I

remember being in school and I couldn't

tell you exactly, it was probably in the

first month or two of the school there,

which would have been 1974.

Um, I I heard this phrase, the man or

woman that shuts their spirit away,

cripples themsel in life, and becomes an

easy prey to selfish and designing

people. I'd look, I didn't know what

designing was. Designing means people

with wrong motives. you know, they're

out there

>> and they'll try to get in the church

world. They'll try to get in the

churches. But it said the man or woman

that shuts their spirit away, cripples

themselves in life and becomes an easy

prey. Not just to pray, but an easy pray

to selfish and designing people. But the

individual, here's the best part, the

individual that will learn to be led by

the spirit of God will rise to the top

in life. Well, I heard that and I

thought, man,

you know, I thought, well, if you go to

the top in life, whatever that is, it

must be up to God. No, didn't say it's

up to God. Well, sure not up to the

devil. If it's up to God, everybody rise

to the top. He's no respector of

persons. If it is up to the devil,

nobody rise to the top. He's no

respector of persons either. He'll

steal, kill, and destroy from anybody

and everybody. And so, but that phrase

that it it just got working on the

inside of me. There's another one. I

won't go into it this morning. Another

one actually uh EW Kenyon said roughly

the same kind of a thing. Talked about

if you learn to follow the inward

witness of the spirit of God, you'll

rise to the top. Rising to the top is

not a financial place, although it will

affect your finances.

>> I heard a couple amens in there. It's

not a financial thing. It's not how many

millions you got. It's not a financial

deal, but it will affect your finances.

If you're willing and obedient, you'll

>> land

>> eat the good of the land. So the bottom

line is it will make a difference but

bottom line in there is but u Kenyon

said it uh I when I heard this it was

actually from brother Hagen I don't know

if he coined that or who did but back

the same thing man or woman shuts their

spirit the way cripples themsself in

life. Yeah I I heard that and I thought

you know if I get crippled in life it's

not anybody's fault but my own. If I

don't rise to the top in life it's it's

my own fault. It's not somebody else. I

I can't blame it on God. He's not going

to steal from anybody. I can't blame it

on the devil. He can't get away with

anything I don't let him get away with.

>> If the church will just get hold of

that, you know, the devil gets blamed

for everything. He's not that smart.

>> He's not that smart. He's not that

powerful. He doesn't have that kind of

authority. If he's getting away with

stuff, if he's stealing, killing, and

destroying, it's somehow it's because we

have let him steal, kill, and destroy.

>> He can't do what I don't let him do in

my life. He can't get away with what I

don't let him get away with. It's it's

it's it's all it all stops right here.

And when I when I first heard that, it

changed the course of my life. I thought

the man or woman I qualified man or

woman that shuts their spirit away

cripples themsself in life. If it

happens is my fault. Okay. Well,

somebody says, "Well, I'm already

there." Well, then there's got to be a

way out of it. If I'm the one that made

the problem, I'm sure the one that can

fix it. Now, not without God's help. I

need his help in there. But at the same

time, if I connect with God, let him

help me the way he wants to help me. If

I find out how to get the things of God

working in my life, okay,

>> says the man or woman shuts their spirit

the way cripples themsself in life and

becomes an easy prey. I don't like that.

Becomes an easy prey to selfish and

designing people. If there's folks out

there to get me and steal, kill, and

destroy, they're not coming down my

path.

>> I'm not going to let that happen. Why?

Because the man or woman that shuts

their spirit away cripples themsel in

life becomes an easy prey to selfish and

designing people. But the individual,

one person that'll change your life, the

individual that'll Now, here's the key

to it right there. I heard this and it

just went on on the inside of me and got

stuck there forever. The individual that

will

learn. Didn't say knows how.

>> We're all learning.

>> We don't have all the answers. We've a

lot of us have come a long ways, but I

don't know about you, I've come a long

ways, but I got a long ways to go.

>> I'm thankful for where I've come to, but

I'm not yet where I'm going to go from

here. But the individual that will learn

to be led by the spirit of God, learn to

be led. It's a process. It's a growing

thing. Well, I haven't done very well in

the past. Well, the past is the past.

It's the future that's going to make the

difference. that will the person the

individual that'll learn to be led by

the spirit of God uh will what rise to

the top in life.

>> Well, if there's a top in life, I I want

to go there. And if it's up to me

whether I go there or not, then I'm

going there.

>> Top in the top in life is not a

financial place, okay? It's not a

political place. The top in life is to

be able to go to bed at night saying, "I

am in the will of God.

>> I I'm in the will of God. I haven't made

everything so far, but I've come a long

ways and I'm gonna go a long ways.

Rising to the ch top in life is when I

get hold of the fact that I've come a

long ways and I'm gonna go a long ways.

>> Why? Because it's up to me.

>> Somebody goes, "Well, how do you do

that?" Well, we could spend the next

year on all that. But, you know, a lot

of it just starts out with our words.

>> That's not the message this morning, but

it all it it starts out with our words.

Okay? We can go back through there and

find out uh he that dwelleth in the

secret place 91st psalm. He that

dwelleth in the secret place of the most

high God shall abide under the defense

of the almighty. I will say of the Lord,

he's my refuge, my fortress, my God. In

him will I trust. Man, I can start out

right there. If I just start out living

in the secret place

>> because it's not a secret to me. If I

can start out there, I what do you say?

If I if I stay in the defense of the

Almighty, if God's my defense, I'm going

to be in good shape.

>> I've seen God My goodness, Pastor Janet

and I uh we've seen God take care of us.

We've been places we probably ought not

to have been. We've been in shark waters

in South Africa. We've been in We've

been in well Zambzi River where there

were uh hippos one direction and

crocodiles the other direction. Didn't

know we weren't supposed to be in there.

Nobody told us. Somebody loaned us a

skiboat. We found somebody to drive it

and away we went. We didn't know there

were crocodiles along the shore and

their hippos out in front of us and the

the crazy the boat stalled and wouldn't

start back up. We're floating down the

river toward the hippos. I thought they

were kind of cute for, you know, these

big Roton guys. Well, we can go back

through and say, "God has taken care of

us.

>> God's taken care of us. He's got a lot

of practice with us." I think he's

probably got a a a media room over there

in heaven where we can say, "Let's go

take a look at all the times he took

care of us, met every need, paid every

bill, protected our lives, kept us out

of trouble." I I'm I'd like to see a

video of all that. good.

>> I think I'd like to see it. Maybe not.

But anyway, anyway, the part I want to

get to

is when when uh that saying the man or

woman. And then if you go, of course,

back over to Romans 8:14, says for as

Romans 8:14

many for as many. This isn't for

everybody. It's just for the ones that

decide to do something about it.

>> This is a choice deal. boy, if we just

got hold of the fact that so many things

in life are choices

and it isn't, well, you know, so and so,

you know, people I've watched people get

so concerned about, I just don't want,

you know, I'm dealing with some issues.

I'm dealing with some physical issues

and I don't want people around me

because they might speak unbelief. I

don't get what they speak.

>> Do I need to say that again?

>> Well, they get around me, they're going

to speak unbelief. Let talk all they

want. They say what they want. I don't

get what they say. I get what I say.

Whosoever shall have whatsoever he

saith. If I saith it, I'll getth it.

It's okay. I don't have to have what

somebody else says. People get so

concerned about, well, somebody I get

around people. You Christian folks get

so worried about being around, oh,

they're dealing with physical issues and

they're so so concerned that they'll get

around some people that'll find out

about it. Tell them.

Tell them. We know one we got one

particular friend in another country

that uh was diagnosed with um um I

couldn't even tell you what kind of

particular kind of cancer bad report and

u somebody said you'd mind if we tell

people they said tell them nothing tell

everybody put it on everything you got

put it in the newsletters put it

everybody I want everybody to pray for

me

>> the ones that agree with me I'll take it

the ones that don't I ignore them

>> anyway

for as many here's what we're looking

before Romans chapter 8:14. For as many

as are what?

>> Led by what?

>> Spirit of God. They are the sons of God.

How many you stop and think about that?

Not to take a lot of time on this, but

uh if you go back to the third chapter

of the book of Luke, you go to the all

the what I don't know how many

generations from from Adam all the way

to Jesus. You go all the way there and

uh I think there's 14 generations, then

another 14, then another 14. And you go

back through there and if you look at um

uh the very end of the third chapter of

the book of Luke, it said, "Who is the

son of Seth? Who is the son of a who's

the son of Adam? Who is the son of God?"

Well, you go back through there and

when God said, "Let us make man, let us

make him in our image and after our

likeness," we've got that in Genesis.

And so God, you know, he formed man from

the dust of the earth. He breathed his

own life into him. He became a living

soul. We we know all that. And Adam was

called the son of God. But God told him,

"Do not eat of that tree. Eat of the

tree of life all you want. Don't eat of

the tree of knowledge of good and evil

because in the day you do, you'll surely

die." Well, that's the first one there

hanging around.

>> Ate of it and they did die. They Well,

somebody said, I heard a guy on the

radio one time say, "Well, they God lied

to him. I wouldn't want to be the one

telling him that.

Said he told them they'd die, they

didn't die. And I thought that's cuz

you're not smart enough to know what

death is. Death is not to stop existing.

Death is separation.

>> And they got separated from God.

>> And what happens if you notice that for

the next 4,000 years, there was not a

son of God on planet Earth.

>> Think about that. God started out with

Adam. Okay? Things, this is a great

plan, great system. Who knows if things

would have stayed in the path they were

on. we'd probably be populating the

universe by now. I don't know. But at

the same time, you see back here where

God told them, "Do not eat of that tree

because in the day you do, you'll surely

die." And they did. They were separated

from God. And you don't see anybody. You

can track it through. I haven't. Maybe

you found something I haven't. But

tracking it through, I have not found

anywhere where anybody's called a son of

God. We've got servants of God. We've

even got a friend of God in there.

>> That That's the best they could get.

4,000 years. Four. Think about that. God

who started out with a family lost the

family. Ended up with servants, ended up

with friends, but he didn't have any.

There were no son. There was no son. So

God was he was God. He was Jehovah, but

he wasn't father. Had all those names,

but he wasn't father. Why? He lost that

lost that place. Adam gave it away. He

switched over. He he gave his his his uh

trust to to Lucifer, Satan, and Satan

became the god of this world. And you

know, and Adam's over here. He's he's

God knows him. God's taken care of him,

but he's not a son of God. And so, we

read all this and we come back here and

Romans chapter 8:14 says, "For as many

as are led by the spirit of God, they

are the sons of God." I'm telling you,

the very first thing that happened when

you and I when the minute we're born

again, the spirit of God moved on the

inside of us. We had 4,000 years of God

on the outside. All of a sudden, now

through the new birth, Christ in you,

the hope of glory. What know you not

that you're the temple of God and the

spirit of God dwells on the inside of

you? God, all of a sudden, now we're

going somewhere with this in a few

minutes. All of a sudden, God, who was

with us for 4,000 years, suddenly now

through the new birth, he's in us.

>> For God so loved the world, John 3:16,

John 3:16

for God so loved the world, he gave us

only begotten son. Jesus was the only

begotten son, but he showed us what a

son looked like, walked like, talked

like. He showed us what a son did. And

then he made us sons.

>> Moved on the inside of us. And so in in

in looking at that uh when he moved on

the inside of us, everything changed

there. For as many as are

>> led by the spirit of God, they are the

sons of God. The minute he moved on the

inside, everything changed around.

Everything changed in the way he guided

my life. Okay? If I will learn to be led

by the spirit of God, I'll rise to the

top in life. And what happened was he

made it so easy because he put the he

put the uh the compass on the inside of

me. The guide is on the inside. the

spirit of God lives on the inside of me.

>> Okay. And but now looking back through

there, um

the the the church world um we we

haven't grown to where we should grow.

We're headed the right direction, but if

you go back through there, we'll take a

little time to cover this this morning.

If you go back through, you'll find

there are particularly three primary

ways that God has led mankind. Okay?

First of all, those 4,000 years that it

was God who was with us and God led and

guided and took care of us. But there

was only one one particular way he'd do

that. First of all, he'd use the the uh

the prophet's office. You've you got

prophets from Genesis all the way

through Malachi through the gospels.

It's the prophet's office has been there

all along. And God would use the

prophet's office. We had kings to walk

in that office. We had priests to walk

in that office. But the prophets were

the ones that would hear from God and

bring message to humanity. Okay? They're

called prophets and they're also called

seers. God would show them things.

They'd see and know things

supernaturally.

You go back through there. Um you know,

King David, he'd pray even the king

would pray, say, "Do we go to battle or

do we not go to battle?" They'd go to

the prophet and find out. The prophet

would say, "No, don't go in." or yes, go

ahead and do it. And so in in going back

through there,

we can see where where um uh the the uh

the prophet's office was the main gift

God would use to speak to humanity. And

and he would do that. But see, the

average person like you and me, we

didn't have that kind of a deal.

>> We didn't have a a prophet on the uh in

access. In fact, if you go back through

there, when uh um Saul was about to be

anointed the first king over Israel

said, "We want a king." God said, "No,

you don't. I'll be your king." They

said, "No, everybody else got a king. We

want a king." God said, "No, you don't

want a king. He'll take your sons. He'll

take your money. He'll put them into

slavery." They said, "We don't care. We

want a king." He said, "Well, if you

want it, you'll get it. Sometimes you

have to be careful what you want."

>> They said, "We want it." He said,

"Okay." Okay. And so he called, picked

one up, took the best one, Saul. Okay.

And Saul's fathers had uh had uh donkeys

that were lost. Couldn't find them. And

his dad said, "See if you go, you take

one of the guys and go to the

countryside. See if you can find my

donkeys are lost." And so they start,

they went place after place after place

after place and could not find them.

Finally, they said, "Well, let's go back

home. Dad's going to be concerned about

us." And the servant said, "No, let's go

one more place. Let's go talk to the

prophet." Well, that's kind of what they

do. That's how things worked in that

day. We'll go to the prophet. Okay. Um I

I I've been able Pastor Janet and

myself, we've been able to uh over the

years, we've been able to be connected

with a number of different people that

were, as I've said before, I've known

nonprofits,

but we've also known people that really

walked in that office. that's still

available today. The prophet's office is

still available on planet Earth. It's

still in the body of Christ. But going

back through there,

they went to the prophet and said, "Uh,

you know, dad's uh his his uh critters

are gone and we don't know where they

are." And he said, "Come on in. I'll

tell you where they are, but first we

got to take care of something else." And

he anointed him with oil and said,

"You're going to be the next king over

the nation of Israel." So through the

middle of this whole thing, God raised

up that prophet's office to be a seer to

see and know supernaturally what's going

to take place and to anoint Saul to be

the first really the first king. Did

kind of a bad job. God had to replace

him with King David. But to go back

through there, the prophet's office was

so uh so used. If you just read from

Genesis to Malachi, it's everywhere. The

prophet's office, you got Elijah and

Elisha. You got Elijah who is a prophet

stood before the king said as the Lord

God lives before whom I stand there will

be neither dune nor rain these years but

according to my word. I mean they they

were bold and then God raised him up and

said now he said you're going to leave

but I want you to prepare the guy that's

going to take your place. Stand in your

room. Go find this guy. He's out plowing

with 12 yolk of oxin. He with the 12. Go

find him and cast your mantle on him.

>> Yeah.

>> He goes and finds Elisha. He's out

plowing those 12 yolk of oxin. He takes

his mantle. That's a picture of the

prophet's anointing. Throws it on him.

The prophet's anointing came on Elisha

for probably 10 minutes or so. Me seeing

he's knowing he's got a real deal going.

All of a sudden, Elijah took it back,

put it back on, said, "Come with me."

And away they went. And he and he was in

the helps ministry for 15 years, called

to be a prophet. But you don't start out

there.

>> That's right. God talked to really

really Paul talked to to Timothy and so

on. He said he said nobody's going to

start out in the office they're going to

end up in the uh you know the the the uh

um basically go back through there and

the bishops the deacons nobody's going

to start out in that office. Everybody

has to be prepared for the office

they're going to walk into. And so

the you know so Elijah takes Elisha with

him and Elisha is working with him for

15 year 15 years a long time in the

helps ministry. Okay. But about that

time he said what is it you want from

me? You're faithful. What do you want

from me? He said I uh I don't want fame.

I don't want fortune. I just want a

double portion of what's on you. What's

what you've got on you is helping

people. I want to help twice as many

people. I want a double portion of what

you got. Elijah said, 'Well, you've done

hard in asking, but if you see me when I

go, you'll get it.

>> Yeah.

>> And of course, he slept with one eye

open all the time there. He said,

"You're not you're not leaving the

middle of the night. If you're going, I

am going to be watching it." And of

course, they went to the river and the

the you know, the the chariot of fire

came along and Elijah got caught up in

that threw the mantle over the side. We

we see prophets all the way through for

4,000 years. We got the prophet's

office. And that's how God would deal

with people. That's how he talk to

people. It's how he lead and guide

people. The first way God would guide

people. Now, he said here for uh Romans

Romans 8:14

8:14, for as many as are led by the

spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

There's something about being a child of

God. The first thing we've got is the

ability to be led by the Holy Ghost.

First time I heard that, I thought if

that's available, I'm going after it. I

didn't know you could. I thought I'd

bet, you know, the starting out 1972

starting out, man. heard about prophets.

I thought, I'm going to go to meetings.

I'm going to find prophets. Uh there was

a guy that was supposed to be a prophet.

Had a meeting going near my hometown.

Found out he was a not a good guy.

Anyway, he's not a prophet, not a

nonprofit. He's just a bad guy. And uh

but I went to the meeting and the Holy

Ghost spoke to me on the inside. Said,

"Get out of here. Go back where people

love you and take care of you. Get out

of this place." He didn't say this guy's

a shy. He didn't say, he just said,

"Just get out of this place." So I did.

found out later the guy was a con. But

you know I go and went to another

meeting where uh Charles and Francis

Hunter were at. Now that was a meeting.

But anyway, I wanted to go there. I

heard when they were they were laying

hands on people, people were falling

down. I thought I'd do that without

anybody laying hands on me. But I went

over there. I thought I was looking for

I wanted to know how can we hear from

heaven. I knew I was supposed to do

something with my life. I didn't know

what that meant. Never heard of such a

thing. Didn't know anything about a call

of God. Didn't know anything about the

anointing of the Holy Ghost. I just

wanted to get some answers and I thought

you got to get it through the prophet.

Well, I got around some prophets and

they weren't prophets. Just wasn't a

good deal.

So anyway, the first thing God now God

would do that for about 4,000 years. And

the minute we come into the New

Testament, you still got prophets, but

they work differently today. They're

still seers. They see and know things

supernaturally, but they're not given

direction to people's lives.

say, "Well, yeah, but I got I I found a

coupon in the back of a Christian

magazine for $25. I can get a word every

month. I'll save you 25 bucks. I'll give

you one. Go to the Bible. Go to the

Anyway."

>> Anyway, where was I? Um, so anyway, you

know, we we go back there and and uh um

the fact that, you know, we're trying to

get direction and for 4,000 years, God's

he's he's bringing direction to people's

lives primarily through the prophet's

office. But the minute we come into the

new covenant, when God's moved out of

the outside into the inside, why would

God spend the blood of Jesus? Why would

he pay the price to bring us into his

family? Why would he spend the price he

spent to move on the inside of us and

then talk to us from the outside?

>> Why would the guide move in us and then

God call somebody down the street to

give us direction for our lives?

>> Just doesn't work that way. Somebody

goes, "Well, I know somebody got a word

and it worked." Well, God bless them. I

heard somebody say one time. Somebody

say one time, "Every blind s finds an

acorn now and then." Every now and then,

you're going to find something that

works.

>> Yeah,

>> that just slipped out. Sorry.

Now I've lost my own place. Anyway,

anyway, so going back through there, we

we had this great system, not such a

great system. If you want a direction,

you're going to have to get a prophet, a

seer to see and know supernaturally that

worked for 4,000 years until all of a

sudden we come to a new and better

covenant established upon better

promises. And God's living on the inside

of us. Yeah.

>> Greater is he that's

>> in you than he that's in the world. What

know ye not that you're the temple of

God and the spirit of God dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 3, 1 Corinthians 6, 2

Corinthians 6, 1 John 4:4. If we can see

1 John 4:4

God spent all the New Testament trying

to get across to us that the one we need

to get to is already on the inside of

us.

>> And what I need to know, he knows. God

knows more about my future than I know

about my past.

I've got a greater one on the inside of

me. When the church gets hold of this,

we don't we won't be running around

trying to get somebody to give direction

to our lives. We've got the direction

living on the inside of us.

>> Okay. Now, somebody says, "Well, he

hasn't told me everything." You don't

need everything. That's

>> right.

>> Some things are on a need to know basis.

>> Some things I There are a lot of things

I didn't know until I needed to know

them. There a lot of things I still

don't know. Some things I don't need to

know yet. I don't need to clutter up all

the stuff up here. I just need to know

what I need to know. And when I need to

get that, the spirit of God will let me

know what that is. Okay? And there are

prophets today. I could go across the

board. You know, you've heard me talk.

Well, of course, we've spent uh a number

of years working with brother Hagen.

Probably the leading prophet in the

nation, if not in the world, in the time

he was on planet earth. Okay. But um you

know, I was around him for a long time.

Number of your spirit. you spiritual

father for us for 30 years surrounding

for a long time and I watched that

prophet's office work so many times

sometimes it was public a lot of times

it wasn't public a lot of times it was

things in private a lot of the prophet's

office we talk about it's not somebody

standing up in front of a multitude of

people giving words out sometimes it's

God having somebody minister to somebody

and bring a word to their uh life but if

you go back through there it's almost

I've never seen

Maybe it did happen. I can't say for

sure. But I never saw Brother Hagen in

that office. I never saw him give tell

somebody what to do.

>> He might tell him some things that are

coming down the road, but he never told

him what to do about it.

uh the 11th chapter uh Agabus the

prophet 11th chapter of the book of Acts

uh Agabus the prophet shows up 11th

chapter he shows up at um the uh the

church at Antioch and he said there's a

great drought coming he didn't say hurry

up take up an offering if you hear that

run for your life

>> he didn't say hurry up and take up an

offering there's a drought coming and

you need to you need to take care of the

church in Judea and so on he just said

there's a drought coming and the church

decided to receive even offering

themselves and send it to the people

that were going to need it.

>> I found I found uh prophets that were uh

and this is not even my message yet. I

found prophets that knew things but they

didn't tell people what to do with what

they knew.

>> The Apostle Paul Agabus saw him 21st

chapter of the book of Acts took his own

sash took Saul's sash and said thus

sayith the Holy Ghost so shall it

wrapped his own hands and feet with his

sash. Thus saith the Holy Ghost, so

shall the Jews at Jerusalem do to the

man that owns this girdle, and shall

deliver him into the hands of the

Gentiles. I heard a guy say one time,

"Well, Paul missed it. God tried to

deliver him." No, God didn't try to

deliver him. He just told him what was

coming. That's right.

>> It'll bring direction. It won't bring It

will tell you what's coming, but he

won't tell you what to do with it.

>> If they're given direction on what to do

with it, you're probably hearing from

the wrong person. There was a lady in

town number of years ago said she was a

prophet, I guess. I don't know. But

anyway, anyway, she had all kinds of

stuff going on. All kinds of stuff. She

had it was anything but the Holy Ghost

giving people all kinds of direction.

Well, people found out she was a con.

She said, "Well, I guess this pond's

dried up, packed up, and left town."

Thought, "Good. Don't come back." Now

anyway

anyway going back through here we can

see with the prophet's office um he said

thus sayaith the Holy Ghost so shall the

Jews at Jerusalem do to the man that

owns this girdle and shall deliver him

into the hands of the Gentiles. He

didn't tell him not to go. He just told

him what was going to happen if he did

go. But he said I've already heard from

God. I know I need to go. I've been to

Jews. I've been to Gentiles but I've

never been to kings. I've got one more

step to take in my call to stand before

kings and I'm going to have to go to the

Jews, be delivered uh into the hands of

the Gentiles, and I'm gonna have to

appeal to Caesar. He knew that. Okay,

the prophet said, "This is what's

coming." He He didn't tell him to go or

not to go. He just said if you do go,

this is but it's good. It's always your

choice.

>> So anyway, well, we'll keep moving here.

Anyway, so the first thing, how does

there are three primary ways God will

lead? Okay, number one,

he does not any longer lead through the

prophet's gift. He did, but he doesn't

now. They're out there, but God doesn't

work that way through that gift.

>> Okay? It doesn't bring it doesn't tell

you what to do with your life. Might

tell you some things coming, but it's

not going to tell you what to do with

your life. Okay? So, and second of all,

God's not going to lead through fleeces.

Anybody remember reading after about

Gideon?

>> Yeah.

>> Lord, if you really want me to lead the

nation of Israel against the Midionites,

I'll put a fleece out tonight. When I

get up in the morning, have the fleece

wet and the ground dry. And it was. He

said, "That's pretty good, but if I'm

going to lead the troops, let's reverse

that. Let's wake up tomorrow morning.

Let's have the fleece wet and the ground

or the fleece uh uh dry and the ground

wet." So, he did. So he knew assuredly

God had called him to lead the nation of

Israel into freedom. And what happens

now, and I know because I did it. What

happens now is sometimes we want to put

fleeces out or we want to have natural

situations guide our lives.

>> Well, you know, the car broke down, the

washing machine broke, everything's

broke. You know what? God, what are you

trying to tell me?

>> All God's trying to say is get into the

Bible, get some help. God didn't do all

that,

>> but he gets blamed for everything.

>> People People walk through life thinking

no matter what comes along, God's

probably trying to tell me something.

God does not lead us through situations,

circumstances, thoughts, imagine. God

does not lead us that way. God doesn't

lead from up here. He leads from in

here.

>> God is a spirit.

>> He doesn't lead through our body. He

doesn't lead through our soul. Doesn't

lead through our mind. He leads through

the inward man.

>> Okay? But people people just are never

lack of knowledge.

God said my people are destroyed for

lack of knowledge. That's the problem

there. But people here think well you

know I'm going you know I I and then

they want to put fleeces out. God if you

want the I did that. I was making some

really major decisions in my life. I

hadn't been walking with God very long

and I was making some really big

decisions. If I would have followed I

put a fleece out. I got a book on how to

know the will of God.

read that crazy book, read that thing,

and they said, "The best way to find out

what the will of God is to put a fleece

out." So, I thought, "Well, I'll do

that. I'll put a fleece out." Of course,

it was a financial fleece, but I put a

fleece out. And I'm telling you, this

fleece came to pass supernaturally

accurate. It was It was very accurate. I

said, "Lord, if if this is your will,

this if this is your will for me,

everybody kept telling me what God's

will was for me. That'll that ought to

throw you off right there. If everybody

else knows more than I do, then

somebody's wrong.

>> And so I got this

fleece out there. I said, "Lord, if this

is what your plan is for my life, then

have this happen." It was a a sales uh

basically sales that I was in the middle

of with in real estate. this I if this

is your will for me, then have this come

to pass. Have this happen. There were

two guys I was working with. One wanted

to sell property, one wanted to buy it.

They almost got in a fist fight. I

thought I was going to have to get in

the middle of it, but I thought they'll

punch me out. I'm just going to stand

back. Big guys. One guy had big bib

overhauls and and um he was big guy.

Found out he had uh well anyway uh he

was doing illegal uh gambling stuff and

all. Found out later. I didn't know. But

anyway, he uh he uh had he came up. He

said, "I want to buy a piece of

property." And he pulled out a wad of

money about that big around. He said, "I

don't care what it is. I can afford it."

And I said, "Well, no, we kind of have

to do some paperwork. We got a few

things we need to do here." And uh you

know, so I'm in the middle and these two

guys, they couldn't get along. I thought

they were going to shoot each other.

This was not a good thing. I thought,

"These guys will never never get along

long enough to close on this piece of

land." They wanted guy wanted it as a

big piece of land. He wanted to put some

cattle on it. And um I said, "Okay,

Lord, if this is what you want from my

life, then have those two get along and

have the deal closed and the check on my

desk by next Friday." I knew that would

never happen. These guys couldn't get

along with anybody. And there's no way

I'm going to have a check on my desk the

next Friday.

So, I go through the all week long. I

don't hear anything. The broker's not

saying anything about these guys getting

along. there's nothing said about them,

you know, being able to close on the

deal and so on. And uh I thought, man, I

I dodged that bullet and because I

really didn't something about this.

Everything looked good out here.

Everything sounded good out here, but

somehow something on the inside I just

couldn't go along with that. Something

didn't feel right. Nobody told me that's

what you're supposed to do. Nobody said

follow what's on the inside.

>> Greater is he that's

>> in you than he that's in the world. So,

I got back to the office, went to lunch

that day. Got back to the office and uh

when broker hollers from his office,

says, "Mark, go into your office.

There's a check on the desk. We had an

unusual closing take place this morning

and that deal closed, named the two guys

that closed and they c they closed on it

and and the the commission checks on

your desk." And I went in and looked at

it and it was the exact amount I had to

have for the deal I was in the middle

of. I thought, "Oh, great." First time

in my life I didn't want a paycheck,

but I had a paycheck in there and it was

exactly what I mean like 35 cents left

over, something like that. Had the exact

amount came in. That fleece came to

pass. Well, I didn't know what to do

about that, but I started I if I would

have if I would have followed that

fleece, I would not be in ministry

today.

>> If I followed that fleece, I would be

doing business in the state of Michigan.

I would be doing something totally

different if I would have followed the

the fleece because it was so accurate.

If id have followed that I would not

have it wasn't but a month after that I

packed up and headed for Tulsa to go to

this new Bible school by some guy I'd

never heard of. I didn't know what it

was. But I'll tell you what, I didn't I

I I didn't follow the fleece. I decided

to follow what was on the inside. When I

did that, my life took a totally

different change. And I've never been

back to M Michigan since then for

business.

>> Okay. In fact, the Holy Ghost said, "Get

rid of your license, let it expire, and

don't ever don't ever don't ever renew

it."

>> I said, "Well, Lord, that's how I'm

going to finance myself for a while." He

didn't seem to care.

I've been young. I'm a little older now,

and I've never seen the righteous

forsaken his seed begging bread. Yes.

>> So anyway, um goodness, I haven't got to

my subject yet, but anyway,

God know first way God used to lead us

was either through the prophet's office

or through uh fleces, situations,

symptoms, circumstances, things going on

out here. Well, I got a flat I got four

flat tires and you know, my car broke

down. Doesn't matter what's happened out

here. That's not how God leads. God God

does not live on the inside of us to

lead us from the outside of us. If we'll

learn to listen to the one inside, we'll

not be as concerned about what's going

on on the outside.

>> That's good.

>> We could go on and on with that. But but

let's just go on. We'll go just a few

more minutes and we'll we'll pick up on

this probably the next week. Um the

second thing God these are ways, excuse

me, he [clears throat] doesn't lead, but

there are some ways that he might lead.

Okay? There's the not and then there's

the maybe and then there's the how he

will. And if we'll get these all figured

out, the part in the middle that God

might lead us in certain ways, if we'll

get hold of the fact there are things he

pro he probably won't do, but he might.

He's left himself room to do that. Okay,

you go back through there and and God's

he's he's he's left um I'll put it this

way. Uh there is a more of a spectacular

side to how God leads, more of a

spectacular way that he does things.

It's It's a lot more flamboyant. Well,

that most of us, that's what we've

always wanted. Wanted to go to a meeting

and get a word. I used to go to meetings

hoping they'd give me a word. I wanted

somebody to give me a word. Then I'd

know what to do. Well, I got a bunch of

words and found out it didn't work. And

then I read what Paul wrote to Timothy.

1 Timothy 1, he talked about the

prophecies that went before him that by

them he might war a good warfare. I

found out the more spectacular it is,

the more you're going to need it. Right.

>> The more these things, the the more uh

flamboyant it is, the more uh the more

it's it's flashy, the more extreme it

is, the more the more that happens.

There there is a place where God can and

will do some things like that. He's left

himself room to do some uh to guide our

lives. It's not going to be through the

prophet's office. It's not going to be

through putting fleeces out, you know.

Well, what you know, see if the if I

wake up in the morning and the fleece is

wet. Well, no, it's not that. But what

is God going to do? How how is he going

to guide us? The Bible said, "For as

many as are led by the spirit of God,

they are the sons of God." Okay? And if

we can find out how he wants to guide

us, there's this middle zone in here

where God can and will do some things

like that.

>> He will be able to do some things. I

could we could probably go through the

crowd here and find probably 90% of us

have had God do something a little more

flashy for our lives. But you go back

through, he's left himself room to do

this. We're not going to get very far

this morning, but first of all, go back

there. God can and will he he's never

stopped moving through the the the the

realm of dreams.

Okay. Now, I've had people say, "Well,

you know, I had such and such a dream,

and I've been trying for five years to

get somebody to tell me what it's

about." Well, it's about you probably

had too much pizza.

You know, if you get a dream and you

don't know what it's about and you can't

figure out what it's about, just put it

in the back shelf or the circular file

or just leave it. If you have if you

can't figure out what it's about, it's

probably not about anything. Okay? But

at the same time, God can do that. You

stop, think about it. You know, when

when Joseph and Mary Mary was found

with, you know, Mary's found with Chad

and Joseph, he decides he's a nice guy.

Okay. Now, he doesn't know what's going

on here and he's going to put her away

so she's not a spectacle to everybody.

Okay. And the Bible said, I think it's

numbers, excuse me, Luke chapter 1, I

Luke 1 · chapter mention

think it is, said he had a dream at

night. And when he did, God got an angel

appeared to him in a dream and said,

"Don't hesitate to take her to be your

wife. What's in her is of the Holy." He

had a dream. And if you follow um Luke

Luke 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1, chapter 2, I think almost

over into chapter 3. Uh God had Joseph

gave him three different dreams in three

chapters.

>> Three different dreams. What? To keep

everything safe. To keep the child safe.

to make sure when Herod wanted to kill

him, he's off into another country. God,

how did he guide him back there? Through

dreams.

>> Through dry dreams. And Joseph seemed to

know enough to follow those. Okay, you

go a little later on. You go clear to

the end of the chapter and you've got

pot uh not Potterer, you've got uh

>> Nope, there's another one. We've got uh

uh

>> Pilot's wife.

>> Pilot. Thank you. Pilot's wife. Just

seeing if you knew. Okay, Pilate's Thank

you. Pilot's wife. They're about They're

about to crucify. Pilate is making the

decision on what they're going to do

with Jesus and his crucifixion, which is

of course going to be his choice anyway.

[snorts] But Pilot's making this

decision. And his wife got word to him

and said, "Don't have anything to do

with this man because I have been

bothered because of a dream I had today

about what's going to h something about

him. I don't know what this is, but you

leave that man alone because there's

something about it. I had a bad I I am

in bad shape because of this dream. I

don't want anything to do with it. So

Piper's uh wife had a dream about Jesus

said leave told told him leave leave him

alone. There's something about this.

Don't have a part of this. Okay. And you

can go back through I uh

I can I can remember I'll go a little

further. Um there was a we ministry-wise

we're heading into some new territories

and that's fine but Paul did make the

statement writing to the Corinthians. He

said 1 Corinthians 16 he said uh there's

a great door

>> great doors are great but he said

there's a great door and effectual

before me and there are many

>> adversaries. Just because you get a

great door doesn't mean it's gonna be an

easy trip. and we were we were heading

into into some directions and um all I

knew was I knew something was going to

give us some trouble. I didn't know

what, when, who, where. All I knew is

something was coming. And I knew this

was not going to be a pretty thing. And

I thought I really don't know if I want

to do all this. This is this is not a

really good thing. And uh I can still

remember I can close my eyes and tell

you what it looked like. I remember one

night and I'm not that much given to

dreams. Okay, pizza. Yeah, lots of

times, but not just dreams. And uh all

of a sudden one night I had a dream. And

in this dream, I'm walking down this

dark place into kind of a basement. And

as I started to step over into the the

basement, the entire floor was covered

with snakes.

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Don't like snakes. Whole floor covered

with snakes. And I thought, "This is the

end right here. These thing these things

are going to take me out." And I saw one

particular one over here that looked

bigger than the others. It looked like

it's kind of meaner than the others

possibly. And in the middle of that, I

thought, I don't know where to run to.

This is in this dream. And I heard in

this dream, I heard this.

[clears throat] I heard this uh don't be

concerned. There's only one in here that

could hurt you, and that one won't.

Fine. Just walk through. You'll be all

right. You're not going to have a

problem out of this. Well, I woke up and

thought, I don't know what that all

meant, but we went through that whole

situation and came out without the smell

of smoke on us. God took care of us.

>> But I'm thankful we didn't have to um

spend a lot of time uh fasting, praying,

and all everything else to be about

these snakes, whatever they could have

been or would have been or should have

been. Okay. And u and and then just

about two years ago, and I'm not really

one given, you know, and again, those

those happen. Acts chapter 2, these men

Acts 2 · chapter mention

are not all drunken as you suppose,

seeing it's but the third hour of the

day. But this is the beginning of that

which was spoken by the prophet Joel. In

the last day, saith God, I will pour out

of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons

and daughters will prophesy. Your young

men shall see visions and your

>> So I'm not real sure exactly what that

means. [laughter]

Your old men shall dream dreams. And

upon and he goes on to Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

but I I remember a particular time. It's

about two years ago now, something like

that. and uh wasn't wasn't praying about

anything particular kind of focusing on

maybe what some things God was having us

praying about and so on and uh middle

middle of the night and like I said I'm

not really one given to dreams the only

other one I ever known have known of but

in the middle of the night all of a

sudden I mean I woke out of a sound

sleep and in this dream um somebody had

come up to me in this dream to give

something to me and I knew what it was I

knew what it was before. I didn't know

when it was going to take place, but I

knew God had sent somebody to bring

something to me. And whatever that was,

it's going to take place in someday in

the future. Some things don't happen

instantly like that. I woke up and

thought, "Dear God, I don't know what

that is, but I think I'm thankful for

it." But I looked down, that's at least

two, maybe three years ago now. I didn't

write it all down, but I knew at that

time God's going to have somebody bring

something to me for the future, and it's

going to be very effective. It's going

to be a real help. I know what it is. I

know what it's for, etc. But that just

was a real thing. Okay. Now, again,

haven't had another dream since then.

Didn't have one before that. But yeah,

God will work. He can and does work

through dreams. Not quite as often. Not

quite quite as frequent for most of us.

Okay. But you'd go from there. And uh

the next thing would be angels.

The other thing he'll do, a lot of times

he'll bring direction from uh angels.

I'll throw a couple ideas out here.

We'll finish up another time, maybe next

week. We'll see. But God will he'll

he'll work through angels. Thank God for

the ministry of angels. They're they're

sent to minister for those to be heirs

of salvation. There's a lot they can do

in our lives. God's not going to guide

us through prophets. He's not going to

guide us through fleeces. He might bring

direction through a dream, but you want

if you don't know what it's for, just

leave it alone. Just don't eat pizza

before you go to sleep at night. Okay?

He you might not know what that is.

That's no big deal. But then uh then you

come back through here and and you get

to angels

and look back through the particularly

through the book of acts. God he works

so so often through the ministry of

angels. All right? We know from the very

beginning. We know the angel that came

to uh Zachcharias. We know the angel

that came to Mary. We we know all that.

But you go a little further down the

road. Here's a guy named Cornelius. And

uh he's a gentile important guy. And uh

I think it's what ninth hour. I think

it's about three o'clock in the

afternoon. An angel appears to him. God

will work through angels. I've had a

couple different encounters like that.

Not a lot. I've got friends that have

kind of a consistent flow of angels in

their lives and ministries. I'm not one

of those people, but I've had a couple

things. Had going through some stuff at

one time years ago in ministry. We were

standing outside a hotel in Fort Worth,

Florida uh Texas and um standing right

there and um uh man there's just stuff

that was just bombarding my head and

just like that all of a sudden somebody

standing right next to me. Well, I

thought I'm not even going to turn look

see who that is because there's somebody

there and there I don't think I can see

them. And I there was this being

standing right next to me and I heard

this on the inside. I heard I'm an angel

of God to send to garrison your mind.

everything's going to be fine and then

disappeared just like that and it wasn't

instant but within a few days time all

the things that were like in the process

of going wrong slowly turned around

everything ended up right okay seen

angels hadn't had angels help us in uh

in the bad lands of Kenya came walking

out of the woods got dropped off by an

airplane we're out there in the middle

of nowhere storm's coming two of us out

there with our suitcases and an angel

comes walking out of we didn't know it

was an angel right then comes walking

out of the woods back there perfect

English says may I help you

said probably so

said we need a ride we need to get into

a place called Kasumu that's where our

pilot dropped us off and took off he

left so we need to get to a place to

Kasumu and get a ride to uh uh in Kicho

and we need need to get to Kassumu we

don't know where we don't know what

country we're in we didn't know if we

were still in Kenya he said okay he gets

out here comes us a little pickup truck

down the road. He stands out in front of

it, does this, stops the thing, puts our

luggage on top, arranges the price,

helps us to pay for that, waves goodbye,

and disappears back into the woods.

>> We we got to the next morning, we got to

our hotel in Kasumu, and uh Brother

Silus Auichi was there, our host, great,

wonderful man. He said, "Oh, my

brothers, where have you been? We

couldn't find you." Thought that's okay.

we couldn't find us.

We told him where we were and the the

more we talked, the bigger his eyes got.

We described where we were and he said,

"Oh, oh my, my my my brothers, we've had

a miracle. That's a well-known area and

most people get caught there and they're

never seen again. They just find their

belongings around the countryside. You

are in bad territory there. You've had a

miracle." I thought, I'm going back to

bed. I am going to go turn on this

thing. I don't want to hear about any

more of this.

But God you he's used angels numerous

times in our lives and in ministry.

God's had angels come and bring

direction to us. We could go on and on

about that. So often times he uh and

like I said the the more flamboyant the

direction is probably the more you're

going to need that down the road. Every

time God's used an angel to bring

direction to us down the road, we've

been able to go back around say, "Lord,

I thank you for the prophecies that have

gone before us that by them we might

warfare."

We could go on and on, but I'll tell you

what, it doesn't pay to pray, "God, I

need an angel to do this." That doesn't

work that way. Might might not might and

might never have might. You might never

have an encounter with an angel. You

might do it and not even know you had an

encounter with an angel. Doesn't make

any difference. All we know is that God,

he's not going to give us direction

through pro uh prophets. He's not going

to give us direction through um uh

basically through fleeces, but God can

bring us direction through dreams.

>> It's not as much that regular, but he

did say his young men shall see visions

and his old men shall dream dreams. So,

we shouldn't be surprised if those

things show up and they should have an

interpretation with them so we know what

we're doing. And then the other thing is

angels. Somebody goes, "Are there more?"

Yeah, we've got a number of other things

that God will use to bring direction

into our lives. We'll get to that

another time, but we we've got visions,

voices, visitations. There's other

things that God's left himself room to

do this. He can use those things and we

shouldn't brush those off. We ought to

be real welcome to those things and

perceptive to them because I'll tell

you, God, if God, if we'll let him, God

will find ways to bring information to

us. Hallelujah. Praise God. Well, let's

all stand to our feet.

Father, we thank you, Lord. You said in

your word, for as many as are led by the

spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Father, we be we were brought into your

family through the new birth. You live

on the inside of us, and the first thing

you want to do is to guide our lives.

We're so thankful for that, dear Father.

You living on the inside of us. you

guide us and we're grateful for it,

Father. And so we do, we trust you.

Teach us what we don't know. Teach us

what we haven't seen. Show us what we

haven't heard. Speak to us. Prepare us,

dear Lord. There's things we need to

know. There's direction we need to have.

You'll keep us out of trouble. You'll

keep us out of bad situations. You'll

get us in the right place at the right

time. And we trust you, Father, to do

that. You've put the greater one on. The

one on the inside of me knows more about

my future than I've ever known about my

past. And so I thank you for that, dear

father. Hallelujah. And while heads are

bowed and eyes are closed and Christians

are praying,

every this all comes to pass as a result

of being born again. The minute you're

born again, you become a temple of the

living God.

If you've never been saved, never been

born again, if you've never given your

life to Jesus, if you've never passed

out of darkness into light, never passed

out of sin over into right standing with

God, if if your life's not where it

needs to be with God, I want to pray for

you. If that's you, wave your hand at

me. Say, "Pastor, pray for me. I want to

make Jesus Lord of my life."

Anybody here, just wave your hand at me.

I want to pray for you.

Glory to God. Hallelujah. Anybody here?

Just wave your hand at me. I want to

pray for you. Not going to embarrass

you. Want to pray for you. Anyone here?

All right. Well, Father, in the name of

Jesus, I thank you so much. I I uh I

thank you, Father. I I know some things

that you have used to change my life,

and I know you want to you want to get

that working in every one of us. What we

don't know, teach us. We're looking for

that, dear Father. You want us in the

right place at the right time, doing the

right things and getting the right

results. And so, we're thanking you for

that, dear Father, in the wonderful name

of Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory

to God. Praise God. In Jesus name, we

are grateful for it. Hallelujah. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Robert