And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. – Genesis 11:4-5 KJV

The ones that built the Tower of Babel were in one accord alright but did not consider God at all. They were like so many of people today trying to make a name for themselves. And sad to say but this is how much of the Church world has become. Glorifying self instead of glorifying Jesus.

One indication that we have allowed ourselves to be in bondage to Babylon is that most Christian parents make the following statement to their children; “You can become whatever you want to be!” Sounds good on the outside. We all want our children to become all that they can become. BUT it is not true that they can become what THEY want to be. Each person is designed by the Master with a specific plan for their life! We are to encourage (and lead by example) our children to seek God for each step of their lives. We want to glorify Jesus in each decision that we make and break free from Babylon!

Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing? – Matthew 6:25 AMP

The words of Jesus about worry were powerful! STOP WORRYING! This was not just a suggestion, this was a “order” from our Commander in Chief.

If you are in the Army, do you have an option to obey orders? NO. Failure to obey a general order or command in the military will result in punishment by courts-martial according to Section 892 article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). There is no excuse to disobey orders, period.

For far too long we have approached worry as a “character flaw” to be proud of. It is not a “character flaw” and nothing to be proud of. It is sin! …and has to be dealt with as such. A Christian is to run from sin. Identify it and run the other way.

The answer for worry is to get so full of the Word of God that there is no room at all for worry. Trust God, fill your heart with the Word, watch your words, say what the Word says and worry will be a thing of the past!…at last!

“The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me.” – John 10:27 AMP

Hearing and listening are two different things. We can hear but at the same time not listen. This is why Jesus said many times, “Verily, verily, I say unto you He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” In modern language He would have been saying, “Hey, you guys listen up, pay attention, because what I am about to tell you is extremely important!” I believe that it was very necessary for Jesus to incite the disciples to listen because we all have mastered the ability to “tune things out”. We become very good at hearing what we want to hear. Teenagers have a problem hearing things like, “Clean your room” and “Do your homework”. Adults often have a problem with instructions such as, “Pick up some milk on the way home” and “please pay the insurance premium by next week.” We hear what we want to hear.

Jesus was saying in the above scripture that in order to follow Him we must first, be His sheep, second, hear what He is saying and lastly, listen to His voice.

Are you listening? and are you following?

The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step]. Psalms 37:23 AMP

God has ordained that we walk in the steps that He gives to us. The prerequisite is that we delight in His way. What exactly is delighting in His way? Seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. (His way of being and doing right)

We cannot seek our own good and do what we think is best and then ask Him to direct our steps. We must delight ourselves in His ways first and then our steps can be ordered by Him. We do something and then He does something. There is a man side and a God side to this equation. You do your part and that puts you in a place for God to do His part. (the ball is in our court!)

Before using a GPS unit you must turn the power button on. Once you turn the power button on then it will be able to do it’s job of leading you where you want to go. We turn our power button on when we DRAW NEAR TO GOD. Come into His presence so that He can order your steps. Step 1, step 2, step 3…

A man’s steps are of the LORD; How then can a man understand his own way? – Proverbs 20:24 NKJV

We should not be  paralyzed by fear of making a “wrong” move but yet not so quick to plow ahead without “peace”. Our communication with God is key in receiving direction. We should not expect to “be led” without spending the necessary time that we need to know in our “knower” (spirit) that we are taking the step that God wants us to take WHEN He wants us to take it.

Spending time in prayer is never wasted time even though not every time in prayer is what we would consider productive. I remember one time going to prayer with my Bible, notebook and pen in hand expecting to God to speak. After all He knew that I needed an answer and quick. Before I begin to pray the presence of the Lord came upon me like a thick, heavy blanket. I could not move as I sensed the awesome presence of the Lord so strong. I began to speak and could not…so I dared not. I stood for one hour holding my Bible, notebook and pen. After over a hour I sensed the presence of the Lord lift and I asked the Lord, “What was that all about?” No sooner than I asked Him this question He answered, “I just wanted to see if you would wait in My presence.” Wow, I learned alot that day. It is just as important what you don’t do in prayer as what you do. Be sensitive and allow God to speak to you. Be ready to write it down when He does. And you are only responsible to do what He has asked you to do, nothing more and nothing less. Be led.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. – Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV

This verse was not given to us in order to frustrate us but to identify that we are inadequate in and of ourselves. He wants to show us things to come. (John 16:13) He wants us to experience His leading and direction so that we can make the right decision, EVERY TIME! We do not have to take a “shot in the dark” when it comes to the issues of life (large or small). God has given us everything that we need to live a successful life every minute of every day and in every area! He delights to see us fulfill His plan. He is not trying to hide anything from us but He is endeavoring to reveal all things to us. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who is our guide into all the truth. When we take our thoughts to the Lord and say, “Lord, these are my thoughts…here you take them…and I in exchange take your thoughts…because they are higher…and always right…thank you that I have the ability to think like You by the power of the Holy Spirit!”. He is pleased with a prayer like that.

This is exchanging our inferior way of thinking for His superior way of thinking. Thank God that His thoughts are higher!

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left. -Isaiah 30:21 NKJV

The Word of God is full of scripture that clearly shows us that it is God’s will that we have divine guidance when making the decisions that we need to make in life. Since this is true, then why are so many Christians wandering around in the “desert”, going around in circles never getting anywhere and constantly disappointed and discontent?

We have access to all the direction that we need when we need it through the Holy Spirit. In John 14 Jesus uses the words “another comforter” when He refers to the Holy Spirit coming into the life of every believer. One meaning of this Greek word can be actually translated “guide”. He is our guide! He gives us direction as long as we are relying on Him to lead us. It depends on us more than it depends on Him. He is ready to lead us but we must invoke Him. We are His sheep and we know His voice. Expect Him to speak…then listen. He will lead…will you follow?

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

God has provided His Spirit to lead us everyday and in every decision that we must make. Far too often we only depend on our mental ability to make “sound” decisions. Common sense “rules” our life. We must be logical and do things according to some “text book” or our prior training or experience…we think.

When we don’t rely on the Holy Spirit we are left to every other source of guidance. Any other source is totally inferior to the Holy Spirit! He is the Spirit of Truth and will lead us and guide us into all the truth! He knows the future and can lead us in every step that we take BUT we must resolve to move out of our head and into our spirit.

We have to leave the shore of fleshly methods and swim out into the depths of the spirit where God can show us things that we have not seen before. Face it, we are not smart enough to lead ourselves. We need the Leader, the Helper, the Guide to show us the way. He is waiting for us to follow.

Let’s go!

You do not have to worry about having enough love inside your heart. God’s Word says, His love is shed abroad, or has been poured out in your heart, by the Holy Spirit. We need to activate it by making the decision to allow it to flow.

Here is a prayer to pray everyday:

“Father, in Jesus Name, today I make a new and strong commitment to live a life of love, to let the tenderness of God flow through me and help those I come in contact with. Help me and teach me to love even when things go wrong, to be patient and kind to those are not, and to lay aside all hurt. Teach me to talk in love, walk in love and season my words with grace and mercy.

Lord, Your Word says, that Your love has already been poured out in my heart, so today I resolve to remove every obstacle that would keep me from flowing in love. I place all resentment behind me, and I forgive all those who’ve done me wrong. I take upon your cloak of peace, the robes of righteousness and Your eyes of compassion. Thank You Lord, that You cause me to increase and excel and overflow with Your Love and that I am a living example of Your love to those around me. Amen.”

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:7-17 NKJV)

Then Jesus, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in [by] the [Holy] Spirit. – Luke 4:1 AMP

There are two things that are necessary in order to be constantly led by the Holy Spirit.

1. Being FULL of the Holy Spirit
2. Giving control of our lives to the Holy Spirit

Jesus did what He did in His ministry on earth because He was filled by the Holy Spirit and controlled by the Holy Spirit. He was led by the Spirit of God because He decided to be. Jesus had a will (this was real obvious in the Garden in the final hours of His life). He had to decide to be baptized by John in the Jordan river. This is also the time that He became filled with the Holy Spirit. After being baptized with the Spirit He then had to give control of Himself to the Holy Spirit so that the Holy Spirit could do His job and lead Jesus to do the Father’s will at all times.

If we desire to be led by the Spirit of God on a continual basis we must be filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit. This requires us to yield ourselves (spirit, soul and body) to the Holy Spirit. We can think of our will as the remote control for the TV. The TV cannot choose which channel it shows at random. When we bought the TV it became ours and belongs to us. The remote control came with the TV and is used to change the channel. The TV has no control over itself. It serves us.

We need to give the “controls” of our life more and more to the Holy Spirit and get out of control! Hand Him your will and step back waiting for Him to lead.

Will you do it?