He Won’t Ignore You

Transcript

Alright thank you very much and hello again my dear radio friends. How in the world are you? Are you doing Alright? Well that little corny greeting establishes the fact that this is indeed your good friend, Bob Cook. And we’re back together again you and I. The miles drop away and we’re together again for these precious moments around the Word of God. I love that, don’t you?

We’ve been looking at 2 Peter chapter 2 where Peter talks about folk who are living after the laws and the influence of the old sinful nature which he calls the flesh. Now for a contrast we’ll just turn over to Romans Chapter 8 where Paul is talking about people who live not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

And we got as far as Verse 13 in Chapter 8, the last time we talked together he said that if you through the Spirit, now where does He live? By his Spirit that dwelleth in you, Verse 11. “So if you, through the Spirit that dwells in you,” Verse 13, “do mortify,” that means put it to death, “the deeds of the body, ye shall live”. That means to say that my natural propensity is to sin; the old desires, the old habit patterns, the old compromises, the old disasters that I used to face. I can now trust the blessed Spirit of God not only to rescue me from that, but to enable me to do God’s will instead, that’s what that talks about.

In that connection after the broadcast finished I just thought of a story Dr. Ironside used to tell, he told of two sisters who were — they were social butterflies, they were at every party and every dance and everything that was going along; they were beautiful and talented and sought after. And so they were just — they were just in everything. Well there came a time when the two of them were converted. And they gave their hearts and lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, were saved. Now they knew that their lifestyle had to change because some of the things they were doing were not Christian things. And so what were they going to do about it? Well they thought about it, thought about it and asked some folk. And someone pointed out the verse in Colossians where it says, “Ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. Set your affection on things above for ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God,” Colossians 3 Verses 2 and 3.

Well there came the inevitable invitation to something that was questionable from Christian point of view and so they said what are we going to do? Well they wrote a careful reply and they said, “We’re very sorry that we cannot attend because we are dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God.” They sent it back (Laughs). “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body,” what does that mean? You turn your back on the things that are sinful, you turn your back on the things that are wrong, you commit them to your blessed Lord and He rescues you from them and enables you not only not to do the wrong thing but also to serve God in the power of the enabling, indwelling Holy Spirit of God. And you really live — I insert the word really live. If you through the Spirit do put to death the deeds of the body will really live, why? Because Jesus said, I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. God wants you to have an overflowing abundant life, not just the scrapings.

So then now we go on, he says, “You’ve not received,” well Verse 14, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God,” –new leadership. Walking in the Spirit means you get new leadership. What do I do next? Ask God about it.

How long has it been since you’ve prayed about a traffic matter or about a parking space? Or about a decision involving a contract? Or about a decision involving some personnel matter? Hiring or transferring or whatever it may be, some other human being who was under your care? How long has it been since you’ve prayed that God would guide you? He says, many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God you can reverse that equation. Those of you who know mathematics, you know if you have an equation you can reverse the factors of it and it comes out the same.

So you could say as many as are the sons of God they’re led by the Spirit of God, same thing. Things equal to the same thing are equal to each other. And so the leadership of the blessed Holy Spirit — “When He the Spirit of truth has come He shall guide you into all truth”, the Lord Jesus said. The Old Testament promises, “the Lord shall guide thee continually,” and the wisest man said, “In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths”. The path of the Lord, “the steps of a good man,” said the Psalmist, “are ordered of the Lord and he delighted in His way. Though he falls he shall not be utterly cast down for the Lord upholded him with His hand”.

Dr. Pettingill used to say, “God takes care of your steps, your stops and your stumbles.” And that’s very true; you can depend upon the leadership of the blessed indwelling Holy Spirit of God. Now I know there are some people who say, don’t bother God with little things; He expects you to use good sense. Well of course He does, “let your sweet reasonableness be known unto all men, the Lord is at hand,” said Paul in Philippians 4. Use good sense, of course — “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men”, said Solomon.

God is in favor of good sense; he speaks disparagingly of people who are fools that those fools don’t learn by experience or by re-proof — that’s what God calls a fool. God is in favor of learning, God is in favor of good sense, God is in favor of success in business, God is in favor of thrift and frugality; God is in favor of orderliness and authority and all of that — yes He is, the Bible says so. I know that, that’s true so do you. Halleluiah that it is true, right?

Having said that, God is a big enough God to be concerned about the minutest detail in your life. Jesus said, the very hairs of your head are all numbered — didn’t say counted, said numbered; a separate number assigned to every hair follicle on your head. God is a God of minute details, He cares about little things. He has a plan that involves the small details, oh yes He does, oh yes He does. And you can trust Him; you can trust Him to guide you about things moment by moment, step by step. “When He puts forth His own sheep He goeth ahead”, Jesus said. You can trust Him to be there ahead of you, to guide you — the Lord shall guide, the contingent, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”.

Believe today that God has understood enough in you not only to give his only Son for your salvation; not only to invest in you the wealth of all the inspired Word of God. Not only to have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within you as you’ve just seen from this scripture that we’re looking at, but He’s also interested enough to guide you every step of the way.

And so I have often said to the students at the college, I was president there for nearly a quarter of a century — pray your way through the day. Pray your way through the day; prayer is God’s method of getting things done. And so you consult Him about things as you go on and you’ll find — oh yes you’ll find that He answers prayer about little things as well as the so called big questions in life, He does lead you, that’s part of walking in the Spirit.

Would you try one day, one whole day of whispering a prayer as you go from one task to another? Asking God to guide you, would you try that? You’ll be delighted. You don’t have to have a long prayer meeting, there’s no time to get down on your knees and pray a long prayer. If you start doing that the boss will call for you and you’ll be in personnel by 11 AM and the men in white coats will have you by noon. You know, you can’t do that if you’re on the job; but you can pray, you can whisper a prayer. It doesn’t take but a few seconds to say, “Jesus guide me now,” see? Make a habit — one whole day of looking heaven-ward and asking God to guide you. Every time you take up a new test or a new relationship; every time you answer the phone, every time you open a letter, every time you write one, every time you make a decision — just pray and ask God to guide you. You’ll be amazed and delighted at what He will do — new leadership.

Then there’s a new cry, not of fear but of family. “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” — where Abba’s a word for Papa — Papa God. See it’s not a fear, it’s family — what a difference. I’ve had the experiences you have of coming into a meeting of family — father, mother, little child. And it’s a new setting and here I am a stranger, and although I’m smiling and saying hello to the little child let’s say, he or she is maybe two years old, something like that.

I’m strange, I’m a stranger. And so there’s a shyness, and there’s a backing away and there’s a puckering of the lips almost to cry. And then the little toddler looks to her mother or daddy and runs to the safety of those loving arms and everything’s Alright.

Oh we’ve received not the spirit of fear; we don’t have to be afraid. You can run right to the outstretched arms of your loving heavenly Father, Abba Father — Papa God. You see when your heart is right within — you don’t have any fear of His arms. When your heart is right with God you don’t have any fear of His loving arms. Oh my how He loves to hold you and assure you of His love.

There’ve been times in my life I’m sure in many of yours dear friends when I just felt I needed God to love me a little and I have sat, or waited or knelt as the case was before I said, “Oh God I need you, I just need you — pour out your love on me, tell me again that I’m yours and hold me close to your heart”. As I waited before Him there came that indescribable sweet awareness of the presence of my wonderful Lord. And that I heard again His promises, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Oh He told me, and I believed Him and there was that wonderful relationship with the loving heavenly Father — Papa God.

My heart reaching out to him and those wonderful arms of love around my soul, you know about that? That’s what he’s talking about here. We do not receive the spirit of fear, but we’ve received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba Father. Now if you don’t know about that the best thing to do is just spend a little time with God.

First of all make sure your heart is right with him. You see when I was in some kind of mischief as a little boy, I was afraid not of my father’s loving arms but of his spanking hand. He had a hard hand and sometimes he enforced it with the long 18-inch walnut ruler that he had gotten from somewhere— oh that smarts, I can still remember.

And when I was doing something wrong, I wasn’t waiting for his hug, I was fearfully anticipating a spanking, many of which I deserved, I’ll tell you that. But then when things were right, when things were right — oh then the joy of being unafraid nestled in those fatherly arms. So the first thing is to make sure your heart is right and then just wait before Him and by faith open your heart to Him and depend upon the fact that “If you draw nigh to Him, He’ll draw nigh to you,” that’s what He says. You pour out your love to him and you’ll find Him answering with the warmth of an eternal love, the fires at which can never be quenched and you’ll be delighted.

Dear Father today, oh put your arms of love around us and hold us fast in Jesus name, Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!