Dr Charles Stanley - Which Direction - Part 2

0:00Obedience is the acid test of my faith. It doesn't make a difference. What I tell God, it doesn't make a difference how much I pray, how intense my desire is. If I do not obey the thing that God tells me to do, that is not faith. I am deceived. I want you to think about something. The Uralized that when you don't believe God, that you're insulting God, that you're grieving a spirit. The Bible describes the Christian life as a walk. That implies that since we walk with the Holy Spirit inside of us, we should be continuously moving forward in God's will. Today's message on in touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley challenges each of us to do a spiritual evaluation. Am I advancing in the right direction or has inactivity stalled my growth? Our series Forward by Faith continues. Faith is near the second or

1:04North spiritual. It is both natural and it is neutral. Everybody has faith. The only distinction is who is the object of my faith. That is the key issue about the whole idea of faith. Now, the question we want to deal with is this whole matter of how do we get our life moving forward by faith? The primary problem is our understanding of it. Once we begin to understand the real true nature of faith, what is it really all about? What's really involved in believing God? Faith involves several things. I want to give you seven single words. It's really that simple and yet it's complex to some degree when it comes to living it out. But I want you to jot these down. And if you really want to see God make a reverse in your life, you'll be wise enough not just to sit and listen, but you will jot them down. When we think about faith, the first word I want to share with you is the word assurance. Because you see faith that is believing God is expressing assurance. That is,

2:09there is no question in my mind that God will keep his word. Assurance says I have confidence that what I have asked God to do, which I know is his will, he is going to bring about in my life. Assurance doesn't look around for a lot of evidence. Assurance says God, if you said it, that settles it period. That's what faith is all about. Faith is assurance that God is going to keep his word, not hope he will, not maybe he will, not intense desire, but strong, blessed confidence. The first word is assurance. The second word is anticipation. Anticipation, that is, if I really truly believe that God is going to do what I asked, then I am going to anticipate it, that is, I'm going to prepare for it. I'm going to make plans. If you go to God and you ask him for something and you make no preparation to answer, listen more than likely, you don't really

3:10and truly anticipate God answering your request. You may hope he will. You may be crying out to God that he do it, but are you making any plans? Anticipation is a vital part of our faith. We are looking forward to it. Listen, we are living it ahead of time. You see, what faith does? It gives me the privilege to reach out on the future, bring it into the present and enjoy it even now. Listen, it's hard to be down to the mouth and be negative and listen, it's very difficult to be walking backwards when you're planning on God doing something. If you're planning on God doing something, what are you doing? You're moving toward the goal because you have trusted God. You're not just hoping so. You're making preparations and plans for God to do something very vital in your life. Assurances are part of that faith. Anticipation is a very, very vital part of that life. The third word I want you to jot down is awareness. When you are believing God, you become

4:12aware of the presence of God. You begin to be sensitive. The Holy Spirit begins to enable you to see oftentimes little itsybizzi evidences that God is already up to something that he's already working in this circumstance, in this situation about which you concern. He's already concerned. Now listen, the awareness of the presence of God, listen to me carefully, gives you the spiritual capacity to see what the human neck it eye cannot see, but the spiritual eye can see vividly as an accomplished, finished deal. And if you cannot, more than likely you need to turn your focus to the Lord God and begin to become more and more aware of Him. Well, there's a fourth word I want you to notice and that word is access. You see faith involves access. And what I mean but that is simply this, that everything you listen, all of our access to all mighty God comes by faith. In fact, faith is the key that unlocks

5:14the treasure house of every single one of God's blessings. How did you come to God in the first place? You said, well, I came by grace, you sure did. And that was the gift of God. The Bible says the gift of God through what? Through faith. And that is you responded to the offer of forgiveness by expressing faith in God who made the offer that he was offering something that had the liturgy to it. That is, if he made the offer, he would fulfill his promise. All of our access to everything that we have is by faith. We're to live by faith. Listen, faith isn't some fuzzy feeling you have on Sunday sitting in a worship service. Faith is what we live by. It is believing God is placing a trusting God. It is an assurance. It is an awareness. It is an anticipation. It is access to the Father's throne. That's why he says don't be anxious

6:16about anything. Why? Because you hold in your hand the key to everything you and I need. Does that mean God's going to give me everything I want? Certainly not. And I certainly hope he doesn't. Because all of us have wanted things we had no business having. He certainly has given us the key to open the treasure house of God's blessings for every single thing that fits his will in his timing. And that means that's absolutely perfect. Faith involves access. Think about this. Because you and I have placed a trust in Jesus Christ as a personal Savior, the very throne room of holy God, where God in hell of his glory and his matchless indescribable glory sits upon his throne. We have access there. Not that we would walk in the loop, but you and I can kneel on our knees in our bedroom or in our den or our living room or wherever. Or sit in the automobile or stand on your job and talk to Almighty God and listen by faith in the throne room who stand before him in the Lord Jesus

7:18Christ as there is your mediator as your advocate, which means that you have access to God the Father simply because the Lord Jesus Christ who is your blood mediator, whose death at Calvary opened the door of heaven for you. It is access. But there's another word I want you to jot down and that is authority. And let me distinguish between what I mean by authority and arrogance and pride. I don't mean you can come to God and say, God, I demand that you do so and so. Can you imagine a net demanding of an elephant to move aside? It's about what it would be like. We have no right to demand anything of God. This is not arrogance and pride. Here's what I want you to see. Our authority, listen to this, our authority is the Word of God. By the authority of the Word of God, you and I have authority to come to God. The authority has been given to us through His

8:24promises. He says, ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock in the shall be open to you. Heavenly Father, I come to you in Jesus name. I come to you by faith. I am trusting you. I come to you not begging. I come to you not pleading. I come to you as a servant, but I come to you with the authority given to me by the person of Jesus Christ who is my light. You have drawn back the veil. You are living on the inside of me. I have access to you and I come based on the promises that you have given to me and I have blessed assurance that what I'm asking for. Somehow in some way, according to you will, it will be done. We come not as beggars, but as children who have authority with their parents. When you look at the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews, these men and these women came, verse 33, who by faith? He just listed some there whom you know conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness,

9:25obtained promises, shut the mouths of lines, quench the power of fire, escape the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put far on the arm is to flight. Women received back there dead by resurrection. Others were tortured not accepting the release and order that they might obtain a better resurrection. Then he goes on to talk about scourgeings and mockings and chains and imprisonment and stoning and being put to death in swords and sheepskin, goatskin, destitute, afflicted. He will treat it in all the rest you say, well, it looks like their faith didn't work. Yes, it did. Their faith did work. You mean to tell me that you believe that those saints of God who trusted God and whose head was severed from their body and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they didn't conquer, they conquered the trials and the temptations of denying the living God and in a brief moment of time or catapulted in their spirit toward heaven in the presence of Almighty God, they

10:25conquered the fear of death and they conquered temptation and they conquered Satan. So I don't want to say to you that in some people tell you you just believe God, everything is going to turn out right. Everything is going to turn out according to the will of God. I mean, I'd always turn it the way I want it. And it's interesting and I'm grateful that he didn't just stop before he talked about all of these things that came to pass. But what does he say? He says all of them had the approval of God. Why? Because they placed that trust in him. We have a authority with him. But do you come as a scraping begging, child, hoping with intense desire or do you come with the authority of the Word of God? This is why I said to you over and over again. This book needs to be a part of your daily diet. You see, listen, if I know what the promise of God is and I know what the will of God is, I can come to him and say, I just want to thank you, Lord Jesus, but what you're going to do I accept it as a done deal. I don't have to

11:27feel anything. You know why most folks don't trust me? I can't feel it. Friend, I've had to trust him and my feelings were 10,000 miles away and I felt absolutely nothing. All you have is the promise of God. That's all the authority you need. The Bible doesn't say the Joshua of the feelings. We should walk by feelings. He said, we're not even to walk by sight. We're to walk by faith trusting him, believing assurance, confidence, anticipating, access to him, aware of his presence, the authority of God in our life. And that authority is authority that comes as a result of believing God. You see, part of the problem is there's a whole lot more of self in us than we realize. Well, now Lord, I'm going to trust you and I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that and I'm going to do that. You know what the Christian life is all about? The Christian life is all about trusting him to be in me

12:28and to do through me and to provide for me. Everything, his perfect will chooses when those people came to Jesus and they said, what are the works we shall do? He said, there's only one work for you to do. Believe, that's the work. Trust him. It isn't our efforts. It is the work of God. That's the authority we have. In other words, I want you to jot down is the word action. For example, Noah believed God and therefore built a what? He built an ark. Now, suppose Noah said, yes, God, I believe it's going to rain. You're going to wipe out everything. God said, build an ark. Do you believe it? Well, God, I really believe what you're saying. And God says, Noah, if you work 24 hours a day, starting today, it's going to take that to build us like God, I'm believing you. If you said it, God, I believe it. Now, I want you to listen real carefully

13:28because I want this to get so deep down inside of you, you cannot pull it out. The acid test of your faith is your obedience. Don't tell me you are believing God when you will not obey Him. Obedience is the acid test of my faith. It doesn't make any difference. What I tell God, it doesn't make any difference how much I pray, how intense my desire is. If I do not obey the thing that God tells me to do, that is not faith. I am deceived. Now, let me say one other thing. I want you to think about something. The Uralized that when you don't believe God, that you're insulting God, that you're grieving a spirit that tells us something on Nippin and God who has the power to do everything. Yeah, I'm asking you, I hope so.

14:28My friend, the basic problem, every sin that you and I commit in every failure in our life is the result of insulting God. We don't believe Him. If I believe God's going to meet my needs, I'm going to stop trying to meet Him myself. The acid test of your faith is obedience. Now, listen carefully. Don't come to God praying about 15 other things over here, disobeying Him in an area that you know is an act of disobedience. Because listen, you can say, well, I'm believing God for these things, but I somehow can't believe Him for that. Forget it. Acid test of my faith is my obedience to God. I serve. I love. These are action words. Now, I hope that just grunts real good inside of you. And you may not like it, but that's okay. I want to ask you again, does your life declare that you believe in God?

15:33Then what you have to ask is am I living obediently before God? Last word, approval. Listen to this. In the second verse of the 11th chapter, he says, for by it that is by faith, men of old gain, what, approval, the you realize that when you genuinely trust God for anything, that God is putting in human terms, is happy. That is God is delighted. You realize that when you trust God, He just wants to do more. You know what really frustrates me as a pastor? When I see God wanting to bless people and you won't let Him, He's trying and you won't let Him, because you want to be Him in something simple, obey Him and let Him bless you with the best. Now, all of that has been rather self-centered, to some degree, but it's all the truth. And we are talking about us and our faith

16:33and what we want. But let me just step one step beyond that and listen very carefully. There's something more important than God just answering my prayer and honoring my faith for my sake. In the 40th Psalm, I want you to listen to this. I waited patiently for God to help me. He listened and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog in the mire, and set my feet on a hard firm path and steadied me as I walked along. Now, many will hear of the glorious things God has done for me, and they will stand in all before the Lord, and they will put their trust in Him. Listen to that. Do you know the ultimate primary reason that God is going to honor your faith?

17:33Because you see when you and I believe God and God does these things in our life, what happens other people see God working in your life, and they stand, listen to this. They stand in all, not of you, but of God. And the Bible says, then they too learn to put their trust in Him. That's what the walk's all about. It is by faith that we move forward in our life, and the question is which direction are you moving? If you've never trusted Him as your personal savior, I can tell you which direction you're moving in reverse, backwards, and things are not going to ever get any better for you. All you may make more money and get a promotion here and there, but on the inside, they'll never be peace, never be assurance, never be the content of the confidence that you're looking for,

18:33and you'll never be satisfied in life until Christ Jesus becomes your savior, and He becomes your savior, how? By placing your trust in Him that is death at Calvary, paid your sin debt in full, and that you will interbelieve Him, and receive Him as your savior, and accept His forgiveness for your sin. Then you're in a position because God is your savior, and you will not trust Him. God's treasure house is open to you. We can't control all that happens to us, but we can choose how we respond. Dr. Stanley's message encouraged you to take the first step in a life of faith. Trust Jesus Christ to forgive your sin and begin a lifelong walk with God. If there's more you'd like to know about Jesus and how to know God personally, you'll find a wealth of information at ntouch.org, and click on the link to

19:34today on radio to hear this message again. You can order a copy of Dr. Stanley's complete message from our online store. The title is which direction or order His teaching set forward by faith. Again, log on to ntouch.org or call or text 1-800-INTouch. To write to us, address your letter to ntouch. Post office box 7900, Atlanta, Georgia 30357. God intends for you to follow His plan. The question is, are you asking Him for guidance? Today's moment with Charles Stanley is coming up. We all know that prayer can change lives, and people pray in many different ways. Whatever method we choose, the good news is that God hears the prayer of His followers. Prayer is God's loving invitation to be in constant communion with Him. Pray like this. A 32-page booklet from

20:36ntouch ministries is set to equip you with the tools to make prayer truly yours. To order your booklet, visit ntouch.org slash pray like this. Does your prayer life need a jumpstart? With the ntouch praying with purpose cards, the time you spend talking with God will take on a whole new level of energy and intimacy. Beautifully designed and easy to use, or to share with a friend. There are prayers to lift up each day of the month, along with corresponding Bible verses, and more. For your set of praying with purpose cards, call 1-800-INTouch or go to ntouch.org slash store. You're listening to ntouch. Trust in the Lord and He will make your path straight. With insight for believers from the book of Proverbs, here's a moment with Charles Stanley. Have you ever asked God to show you His plan for your life?

21:38Have you ever asked Him if you were following His will and His purpose for your life? Or did you just sort of go up thinking I'll do what comes next, I'll do what's the most convenient to do? If you have never asked God, show me your will for my life. What is your plan for my life? If you've never thought about it, you need to think about it now. Because God has certainly done that. He's made a plan. And the question is, if He has a plan, is He willing to guide you in that plan? And the answer is yes, what He says. He says in Psalm 32, I will teach you and instruct you in the way which you should go. I will guide you with my eye upon you. Then He says in Proverbs 3, 5 and 6, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not to your own understanding in all your ways, acknowledge Him. And He will make your path straight. Listen to that. If you will acknowledge Him, consider Him,

22:39open the door for Him. Acknowledge that He's there. Recognize Him. His power. He says He'll make your path straight. If you will simply trust Him and follow His guidance and direction for your life. God has a plan for your life. And He's continuously giving you a sense of direction. But if you're not listening, you're going to miss it. Because you say it's one thing to be guided. It's something else to be a listener. So I'd ask you this. What do you watch and listen on TV? What do you listen to on the radio? Who do you listen to among your friends? Who do you listen to that you work with? Who has priority in your listening? Is it God or is it somebody else? How much time in 24 hours of a day? Do you spend listening to Him in order to make wise decisions in every aspect of your life?

23:44You can learn more about seeking guidance from God at intouch.org. And if the gospel has changed your life and if this program has been part of your story, please let us know. Tomorrow on Intouch, we'll look at the call of faith issued to Abraham and how his response has affected every generation that followed him. I hope you'll be back with us Wednesday for Intouch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. This program is a presentation of Intouch Ministries at Lanta, Georgia and remains on this station through the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts.