COMISIÓN PERMANENTE Nº 5
TRATAMIENTO BITUMINOSO
marker identifies
a time o f transi
tion, decision,
or direction
when I clearly
know God has
guided me.
• G od had chosen to involve Moses in His divine purpose for Israel. H e was going to use Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt and plunder the Egyptians at the same time.
• After Moses obeyed, G od would bring them to this very m ountain to worship. This worship service on the m ountain would be Moses’ sign God had sent him. God wants to involve you in His purposes. God has been working in the world all along (see John 5:17). H e was accomplishing His purposes for your life prior to your birth, and H e has been active in your life since you were born. God said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Before I form ed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5). W hen God is ready for you to take a new step or direction in His activity, it will always be in sequence w ith what H e has already been doing in your life. H e does n ot go off on tangents or take meaningless detours. H e builds your character in an orderly fashion w ith a divine purpose in mind.
A Spiritual Inventory
I have found it helpful to identify spiritual markers in my life. Each time I have encoun tered G od’s call or directions for my life, I have mentally built a spiritual marker at that point. A spiritual marker identifies a time o f transition, decision, or direction w hen I clearly know G od has guided me. Over time I can look back at these spiritual markers and see how God has faithfully directed my life according to His divine purpose.
W hen I face a decision about God’s direction, I review those spiritual markers. I don’t take the next step without the context o f G od’s full activity in my life. This helps me see G od’s perspective for my past and present. Then I examine the options before me, looking to see which direction is most consistent with what God has been doing in my life. Often one o f these opportunities will be right in line with what God has already been doing. If none o f the directions seem consistent, I continue to pray and wait on the Lord’s guidance. W hen circumstances do not align with what God is saying in the Bible and in prayer, I assume the timing may be wrong. I then wait for God to reveal His timing.
1 In your ow n words write a definition o f spiritual marker.
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Using the previous paragraph, describe in your own words how youcould use spiritual markers to help you discern G od’s direction at a tim e o f decision. _______________________________________________
I W hy do you think spiritual markers are helpful? What do they help you do? _______________________________________________________
W hen I was approached about taking a position w ith my denomination to direct its emphasis on prayer and spiritual awakening, I had never had such a job. Only God
ers in my life to see this decision from G od’s perspective.
M y heritage goes back to England, where a number o f my family were graduates of Spurgeon’s College at a time when Charles Spurgeon was trying to win England to Christ. I grew up in a town in Canada where an evangelical witness o f Christ was desperately needed. M y father served as a lay pastor to help start a mission church in that town. In my teen years I began to sense a deep burden for communities all across Canada that did not have an evangelical church. In 1958 w hen I was in seminary, God assured me He loved my nation enough to want to bring a great movement o f His Spirit across our land. W hen I accepted God’s call to go to Saskatoon as a pastor, God used the pros pect of a spiritual awakening there to affirm my call. While I was in Saskatoon, a spiritual awakening started in that city and spread across Canada in the early 1970s.
In 1988 a man called me and said, “Henry, for more than two years we have prayed about filling a position in prayer for spiritual awakening. Would you consider coming and directing our denomination in the area o f spiritual awakening?”
As I reviewed God’s activity in my life (my spiritual markers), I saw that an emphasis on spiritual awakening was an important element throughout my ministry. I said, “You could have asked me to do anything else in the world, and I would not have considered leaving what I am doing, but spiritual awakening has been a deep current that has run through my life since the time I was a teenager.” After m uch prayer and confirmation in the Word and by other believers, I accepted the position. God didn’t shift me; He focused me on something He had already been doing through the course of my life.
Prepare a spiritual inventory o f your life and identify your spiritual markers. These may begin with your heritage, your salvation expe rience, and times you m ade significant decisions about your future. What are som e times o f transition, decision, or direction in your life when you clearly knew that God guided you? Using a separate sheet o f paper, your spiritual journal, or a notebook, start preparing a list. I f God used specific Scriptures to speak during those tim es, record the Scriptures. D o n ’t think it has to be com prehensive. Add to it as you continue to reflect and pray about G od’s activity in your life.
You will have an opportunity to share some o f your spiritual markers in this week’s small-group session.
SUM M ARY STA TEM EN TS
In a d e c is io n -m a k in g tim e my g reatest d iffic u lty may not be choosing between good and bad but choosing between good and best. Two w ords in a C h ris tia n ’s
la ng ua ge cannot go together: “ No. Lord." God works in sequence to accom plish His divine purposes.
When God gets ready for me to take a new step or direction in His activity, it w ill be in sequence w ith w hat He has already been doing in my life. A s piritual marker identifies a tim e of tra nsition, decision, or direction when I clearly know th a t God has guided me.
Review today’s lesson. Pray and ask God to identify one or m ore statements or Scriptures He wants you to understand, learn, or practice. Underline them . Then respond to the following.
W hat was the most meaningful state- Rew ord the statement or Scripture W hat does G od want you to do
E X P E R I E N C I N G G O D
Da y
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A S I F U N C T I O N I N R E L A T I O N S H I P T O T H E C H U R C H , I D E P E N D O N O T H E R S I N T H E C H U R C H T O | H E L P M E U N D E R - j s t a n d G o d’s w i l l. i ! i | E p h e s ia n s 4 :1 5 - 1 6"S peaking th e tru th in iove, we w ill in ail th in g s grow up into him who is the Head, th a t is. C hrist. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every s u p po rtin g lig am en t, grows and builds its e it up in love, as each part does its w ork."