For those or some of you who have just arrived, who have not followed what has been going on so far, this morning we spoke about spiritual ambition. We saw the vital importance that the whole course and direction of our life should be changed. And changed so completely that the carnal ambitions that we once had, we now abandon. And we are renewed in our minds, as Paul said in Romans chapter 12 and verses 1 and 2: "Be transformed by the renewing of your minds."
Have you ever wondered, when you talk to some Christians, what's so different about them from the non-Christian? They seem to be simply non-Christians dressed up in Christian clothing. They seem to be nothing particularly Christian. They just know how to talk evangelical verbiage. But there doesn't seem to be anything remarkably different from their way of thinking. You all are familiar with those elders of churches and those pastors who, after the service, they have a little mahjong game somewhere in the New Territories. They reserve their little table in that restaurant there. Everybody knows these stories. They're going around all the time. And it's sometimes painful to hear the conversation between pastors. They're so interested in the things of this world. There's no great change in their thinking. Their ambition has not yet become spiritual. And what are they doing in God's work?
Our whole mind must be transformed. Our thinking must be renewed. To become a new creature means not just that somehow our label has changed. It means that the inner substance has changed. Our whole way of thinking has changed. I would like to ask you whether you have changed since becoming a Christian. Whether your whole way of thinking has changed — your attitude towards people, your attitude towards life. If not, then there's a lot to think about whether or not you're really a Christian, or whether you are still pursuing the world. But you still belong, after all, to the world and not yet to Christ. You cannot belong to both at the same time.
Now somebody might say, "Oh, that's very nice. You know, I just hear you saying this. I seem to see you driving a great big car outside there." Sure, I do drive a big car. The car doesn't belong to me, though. It's worth your knowing that the car belongs to the church, in case anybody gets ideas. Sometimes, you know, before making judgments or passing judgments on people, it is well worth finding out what the facts are. And when you have found out the facts, the things turn out to be very different from what they appear to be.
But we noticed, we saw this morning, the importance of spiritual ambition. And we need to change. God must change us more and more, that the spiritual things become more and more significant to us. The things of this world, they just fade away. You know, this applies also in so many Christians, that they think that they can do the things of this world for the sake of Christ. There is a snare there: that I can get more honor for myself in this world and say that it was for Christ's sake. That sounds a rather good way to get around it, isn't it? You see, if the non-Christian is going for worldly honor and for worldly position and for more and more degrees, you say, "Well, these guys always run after the world." But when the Christian does exactly the same thing, he says it's for the Lord, you see.
You know, we must once and for all be saved from this kind of hypocrisy. Because we fool no one except ourselves. The non-Christian says, "You hypocrites. You do exactly the same thing as we do. And then you say it's for the Lord." I bought a big house, but it's for the Lord, you see, because I can get more people meeting in my house. The non-Christian buys a big house — you say, "You love the world." The Christian buys a big house and he says it's for the Lord. How convenient. All we need is to pass everything to the Lord.
And so the non-Christian buys a big car and he says, "Worldly." You see, that's how non-Christians are. And a Christian buys a big car and he says, "You see, I needed to take people to church with me." Oh, everything is so convenient. And then you — the non-Christian pursues after one degree and another, getting worldly glory, you see. The non-Christian, he's just like that. And so what are you doing it for? You're also pursuing one degree after another. "Oh, no, no, no, no. That's for the Lord, you see. My degrees are all for the Lord." Oh, that's just right. That's just beautiful. How handy to have the Lord around to help you to buy a big car, to help you to get a big house, to help you to get all your degrees. I mean, you have an advantage over the non-Christian. The poor guy has nobody to pray to when he's facing the exams. And when you face the exams, praise God, you can pray to Him. That's just nice.
You see, we better examine our thinking to see whether it's really been renewed, or whether we are fooling ourselves by what I have called evangelical verbiage, by means of which we can deceive ourselves so effectively that we're actually convinced by the truth of it. I ask you, when you have got so many degrees, I ask you, how exactly does the glory and the honor belong to God? Does He get the degree or do you get the degree? Who gets the degree anyway? If Jesus got the degree, then He gets the honor. If you get the degree, I don't quite see how He got the honor. You say, "Well, you see, I'm going to use it for God." Well, that's exactly the same argument. "I'm going to use this big car for God. I'm going to use the big house for God." Everything is for God. So the non-Christian can't have it. Or if he has it, he should be criticized. The Christian has it — it's just right.
I'm not sure I understand this kind of reasoning. It rather puzzles me. Can you work it out? I need your help to think this one through. How do you work this thing out? Now, I'm not saying that Christians should therefore cease from their education. We should all be illiterate because that's most glorifying to God. What I'm saying is, by all means, do what you need to do. But don't go using God as an excuse for doing it. You can very well study. Every Christian should have a profession. It's right. It's good. Why shouldn't he have a profession? It's the proper thing, the scriptural teaching. Every person should have a profession. But you don't need to use God as an excuse for that.
The non-Christian doesn't need to use an excuse. You don't need an excuse. If you go on to do a master's, there's nothing wrong with that, if that is the way you see it right before God. But you don't have to use God as an excuse either. And if you go on to a PhD, there is no sin in that either. But brothers and sisters, don't use God as an excuse. Just leave God out of it. Just say, "I see it is right for me to get this PhD and to do whatever job it is to do. And in that area, I will try to live for God's glory. Certainly, I will seek to do it." But don't say, "I'm going to get the PhD for God's glory."
You know why I'm saying that? I'm criticizing myself. Yes, I'm hitting myself. I'm giving myself black eyes in saying this. I myself pursued in exactly that way, saying, "I'm going to get this degree for God's glory." And so ambitious was I in this area that, in fact, before I even finished — when I was still doing my undergraduate course in theology, I was already writing my doctoral thesis. And I had just about finished the doctoral thesis in theology before I even graduated from the undergraduate course. Imagine that. I had written over 340 pages in a doctoral thesis on the subject of the doctrine of salvation, which I was going to submit to the University of Zurich in Switzerland for the doctorate in theology. And you know, I said to myself, "All this is for God's glory. It's for Him."
And exactly what I'm sharing with you is what God convicted me of. I remember walking up and down in Cambridge one day, and God was saying, "I'm not going to let you go through with this." And I said, "Why not? It's for You." The Lord said, "Is it for Me or for you? Let's get this thing straightened out." And you know, so utterly deceived was I that I was absolutely convinced it was for God. I said, "It's sure for You." He said, "Think again." I said, "But sure." He said, "Think again." I struggled on and on until I realized — who gets the doctorate? Me. Not God. But you say He'll be glorified in you. No, no. He's not glorified in you. You are glorified in yourself.
But you know, this line of thinking is so difficult for us to adjust to, isn't it? I have talked to so many young people. They have gone to theological college. And they always assure me that it is for God that they are getting their degrees. I wish that God would open their eyes to see really what is the truth of the matter. In all honesty, stop deceiving ourselves. And though the University of Zurich had accepted me into their faculty for the doctorate of theology, to this day, I have never submitted the thesis. I cannot submit it because God showed me that this was not the way I should go about it. Today, those 340 pages of manuscript, photostatic and double copies, still sit in my drawers. God is saying to me, "Will you serve Me without the recognition, the glory of men?"
You see, this morning we were speaking about spiritual ambition. We want the praise of men because we think the praise of men to us will bring praise to God. That is the logic. If men praise us, it follows that the praise to me will be praise to God. Think about it again. Are you sure? If that is the case, we should all go for the praise of men. What we spoke about this morning, what the Lord Jesus said in John, was all wrong. "How can you believe who seek glory from men?" But we think that seeking glory from men is good because if we get the glory, it's God who gets the glory. You see how we have twisted up the whole business, so teaching that what Jesus said was wrong? We are, after all, to be going for worldly ambition because the worldly ambition, the worldly success is going to prove to God's glory.
How do you work this out? So the more glory I get, the more success I get, the more glory God gets. On this logic, brothers and sisters, then what the Lord Jesus said this morning was all wrong. He said you must go and get glory and praise from men because in that praise and glory you get from men, God will be glorified. That's our evangelical logic of this 20th century. That is the accepted statement throughout all the churches. And here I come along and I make everybody uncomfortable. I upset the apple cart and say this is wrong. You say, "Dear me, just now I was feeling comfortable. Just now I was going on nicely doing everything and getting the praise of men. I was getting all these things — my big car for the glory of God, my big house for the glory of God, my degrees for the glory of God. And you come along and tell me that this is not right." I didn't come along to tell you anything. I just told you what Jesus said.
On your reasoning and on your logic, we must go for more praise from men. Every Christian, work hard from today and tomorrow whenever you get back to work, and get plenty of praise from men. Everybody praise you. Say, "Wow, he is wonderful. He is marvelous." And oh, God gets all the praise. I ask you, how does God get the praise? Exactly how? Just how does He get the praise? When I have a PhD, you look at me and think, "Wow, this marvelous guy, Doctor of Theology from the famous University of Zurich." Where does God get the praise? It's not here. Don't kid ourselves. Let's not fool ourselves, brothers and sisters. Think this out in your mind clearly.
The Lord Jesus says, if you seek the praise of men, you are not going to get the praise of God. But how can we not seek the praise of men if the praise of men redounds to the glory of God that we get? You see, that is evangelical reasoning. We must get more praise from men. If you do your job beautifully, everybody praises you. God gets the glory. How does it work out? Think about it. You need to be a logician to be a Christian.
Well, if in this conference we are dealing with fundamentals, it's good. Because what's happening is this: we are beginning to change our whole outlook on life. Not until we learn to think correctly is God going to use us. Are we able to fight the spiritual warfare? Think of the logic like this. If John Sung had reasoned in this way, and he said, "Well, I'm going to accept the chair of chemistry in the University of Nanking because this is to the glory of God that I'm doing it. And everybody says, 'Look, John Sung, professor of chemistry in the University of Nanking, he is a Christian.' Everybody is going to believe in God." Well, why doesn't John Sung do this thing then? Why not?
Instead, he does the most stupid thing you have ever heard of in your life. He turns down the chair of chemistry. I hope you know what the chair of chemistry is. The chair, of course, is the chief position in the English universities of any department. The highest position — the person in charge of the department has the chair of that department. And John Sung was offered that primary position. Do you think John Sung shouldn't he have accepted that? Don't you think that — how many people in that age when science was so exalted were turned to God because John Sung, professor of chemistry? Instead he becomes a poor pastor. Instead, he becomes a nobody. And he goes around the countryside preaching to little churches here and there, having opposition from other Christians, some of them regarding him as mad, others regarding him as demon-possessed. How exalted if he had only been in the chair of Nanking. Instead, he goes around.
Oh, you say, "Well, look at him, how God used him." But you have the benefit of hindsight. You only know it now because you look back and say, "Yes, John Sung did the right thing." But don't use an unfair argument. Look at it at the beginning, when he had the choice of doing one of two things: going out and being an unknown preacher when nobody ever heard of John Sung at that time, or going and becoming the chair, instantly famous, of Nanking's university. Which would you have done, brothers and sisters? I don't think I will miss the answer if I know which one you would do. If you were offered the chair of any department, I'm sure you'll jump in it. You'll take the chair, the bed, and everything else, anything that they have to offer around there.
Strange. What did John Sung do here? Do we understand it? He chose the hard road. He chose the road of being nobody. He went out and preached the gospel with no paraphernalia, no titles, nothing. He just went out and preached the gospel. We must do God's work and fight spiritual battles in God's way. Because so many people meant well to serve God and ended up nowhere because they did not understand the spiritual principles of spiritual warfare. It's not good enough to mean well. It's important to do the thing in the right way. So many Christians, they mean well and they end up nowhere because they didn't understand the principles of God's work.
You know, I'm not saying that God cannot use you if one day you are going to become professor of chemistry or whatever it may be. God certainly can use you. I do not say that you may not become any of these things. Scripture does not allow me to say so. You have every right to take the chair of any department. But I am saying, if you intend to serve the Lord and bring glory to Him, don't go about it in the wrong way. You are academics, most of you anyway. But learn to serve God in the right way. Only in the path of the cross will you ever be able to serve God effectively. And that we are going to talk about tomorrow morning in greater detail.
I want to share with you a lesson that I learned so powerfully through a great friend of mine, still a great friend. I don't think he will mind if I mention his name — a professor in London, Professor Fairbairn. I knew him when he was still a lecturer, or what in this country would have been called, I believe, an associate professor or something of this kind. I knew him in those days, and he loved the Lord very much. He was already a very distinguished scientist. And we became very good friends. He always made a point of witnessing to his students. He always made a point of serving the Lord, never missing an opportunity.
And as he went up, he went up and up in the scale. He went up into the heights of England's academic society. From the PhD, which he had to start with, which was the minimum anyway, he went on to the Doctorate of Science, DSc, which is an honorary doctorate. He went on to the highest prize among all British scientists, the FRS, the Fellow of the Royal Society. He was loaded with honors for his research, crowded with the praise of men, distinguished throughout the world. His textbooks, I believe, are still read, and his contributions to his particular science are still read by people who are studying the subject today. He went all over the world lecturing on his subject and taking opportunity to witness for Christ. He was often invited to speak at various meetings and conferences simply because he was quite a good speaker.
And one day after a particular meeting, he opened his heart to me as I was taking him to the station. He said, "Eric, I would really like to share something with you." I said, "What's that?" He said, "I feel so bitterly disappointed." I said, "Why?" He said, "You know, Eric, I do love the Lord." I said, "I know that." He said, "I make it a point to serve Him in whatever way I can." I said, "I know that too." He said, "But you know, one thing I don't understand is why God is not pleased to use me." I said, "Why do you say that?" He said, "Well, I preach the gospel, but nothing ever happens. I teach, and nobody seems to be instructed. I try to reach my students, and nothing happens." He said, "I just feel so discouraged."
Well, I tried to comfort him at the time, and I wondered in my mind why this was so. He is a good speaker. He was a truly Christian man. He was one who loved the Lord. Why was this so? I wondered in my mind, until I understood the scriptural principle of service.
The scriptural principle of service is this, brothers and sisters: that not until we have learned to die to ourselves — and that means dying to ourselves, turning our back on the world as John Sung did — will God be pleased to use us in full measure. I don't say God didn't use him in any way, but he did not get the results that he so longed for, that he so desired, which he seemed so well to deserve. He did not get them. It was a mystery to him, and a mystery to me at the time. I could not figure it out, because no one could be more eloquent than he was. No one more fluent. No one more pleasing a speaker. No one who could put his subject together more beautifully.
In preaching the gospel, brothers and sisters, it is a matter of power. The power that comes from above. It is not a question of eloquence. It's not a question of your style. It's not a question of how you behave on the platform, whether you jump up and down like John Sung or you stand stuck still like a piece of wood. It has nothing to do with it. It has to do with the power from above, that God chooses to use you, or He doesn't use you. You can be the most eloquent man on the face of the earth, most learned, most distinguished, and God doesn't want to look at you. You can talk your mouth dry. You can preach until you're absolutely exhausted, and God doesn't look at you. Nothing happens whatsoever.
The secret of service — and I'm sure many people are far better speakers than John Sung, better preachers, whose Chinese was better, their English is better, everything is better. And why does God choose to use him and not the other person? It was precisely for this secret that I studied John Sung's biography, seeking to learn something. And he tells his own story exactly this. He said his secret lies in this: that he loves God with a devotion that nobody can exceed, and with a devotion that does not consist in the abundance of words, but in the action that turns his back upon the world. That like Paul, turned his back upon the world and threw the whole thing away. He said, "All the things that I counted gain, I now realize was not gain — it was loss. And therefore I have thrown the whole thing away as rubbish and regarded as so much dung."
Well, why can't you have both? There's no hope. What you regard as gain, remember the principle we saw this morning? That will be lost to you. What you lose, you gain. Is that difficult for you to understand? Think it through. What you cling to is going to become a hindrance to you. What you lose is going to become a blessing to you. Why can't we serve God and have the other thing? You can, after a fashion. God doesn't choose to use you. It doesn't work that way, brothers and sisters. It doesn't work. I don't mean to say that God will not use you at all. That was not the statement we have said. But that your power will be so reduced that the amount of blessing that comes through you becomes quite minimal.
And so I share with you this spiritual principle that unless you die, you will not live. John chapter 12, we saw this morning in that verse: if a man loves his life, he will lose it. But except a grain of wheat — which is us — fall into the ground and die... How do you die? Die to this world means you have lost, you have given up all the claims you have made upon this world. Oh, that's a high price. It's a high price. A costly price.
You see, as we mentioned this morning, I could also take up a lectureship in some university and preach the gospel from time to time at a conference or at a meeting. Why not? Why can't I do that? What's there to stop me? Nothing. But you know why I do not do it? Because I know that I end up with nothing, spiritually speaking. I know that it must be all. That's what Christ says. Take up your cross. You cannot have the hope of accomplishing much for God at little cost. You see, spiritual power is bought at a very high price, if I can put it in that way. The pearl of great price — to obtain it costs everything. If it doesn't cost everything, you don't get it. No way. The pearl of great price costs everything to get.
Is it sad to give up everything? No. Because it's the pearl of great price we get. The question depends on your spiritual perception. If you see how precious it is, then it is not the cost that bothers you, that worries you. You say, "What is the cost?" I always remember how after Brother William gave up his electrical engineering to serve the Lord, how many people said to him, even in my presence, "Oh, what a cost you have paid to serve the Lord." And I remember his almost indignant reply. "What cost? Oh, what cost? The cost of electrical engineering? You gave up your bachelor's, you gave up your master's, everything you gave up to preach the gospel." And I must say that his witness spoke something to me, as he said, "What cost? What is the cost? To get the pearl of great price, what is a bachelor of science? What is a master of science? What is any of these things? What cost?" Right. What cost?
When you have seen what is ahead, when you've got the spiritual ambition, when you've seen the beauty of Christ — when you ask Paul, "What a cost you have paid! Look at this, Paul. You could have been professor in Jerusalem. You would have been a member of the Sanhedrin. Maybe he already was one. And you end up preaching the gospel — poor man, kicked about, regarded as the scum of the earth, the dregs of society." He uses the very word, the offscouring of all things, the rubbish. Paul says, "What cost? What cost? It's that I may gain Him. It's worth it." That little tribulation, he says, that we suffer now is nothing in comparison to that which we shall obtain. There's nothing by comparison, nothing to talk about in terms of cost.
So remember this. In spiritual warfare, to fight and win, to serve effectively, you must know the principle of the seed. Always remember that unless you fall into the ground and die — that is, die to the world and become alive to God, fully alive to God, fully dead to the world — only then will you bring forth much fruit. Oh, may God cause us to understand this. That is what we mean by the basic principle of spiritual ambition: that once we have caught the vision that the world is passing away but He abides forever, then we pursue after Him. Our whole ambition is to obtain Him.
And we have constantly used this word "ambition," and we have seen throughout the New Testament this morning how it is. And there are other references which I have not quoted to you. In 2 Corinthians 5, verse 9, Paul uses exactly the word "ambition" in the original. The RSV once more translates it by the word "aim." Ambition is the word. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 9: "So whether we are in the body or out of the body, we make it our ambition to please Him." Oh, marvelous words. My ambition is to please Christ. Is that your ambition? Your aim in life? Your purpose? He uses again the same word "ambition," and this time the RSV translates it correctly by "ambition" in Romans chapter 15, verse 20. What does Paul say here? "I make it my ambition to preach the gospel wherever Christ has not been preached before." I make it my ambition to preach the gospel. What kind of ambition have you got? Is that your ambition? The ambition to please Christ, whether in the body or out of it — dead or alive, in other words. My ambition is to please Christ. My ambition is to preach the gospel to all those who need it. Here Paul uses the very word "ambition."
Now in 2 Timothy, in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 20, many of you may have been studying this passage, we find this ambition here again. Chapter 2 and verse 20. We have not much time to stop with it. We read these words, 2 Timothy 2:20: "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earthenware, and some for noble use and some for ignoble use." Verse 21: "If anyone purifies himself" — notice these words — "if anyone purifies himself," it's something that you must do, and don't wait for God to do it. It doesn't say, "Wait till God purifies you." "If anyone purifies himself from what is ignoble, then he will be a vessel for noble use, consecrated and useful to the master of the house, ready for any good work." There again, the same principle of spiritual ambition.
You see, God has not predestined us to be either a vessel of wood or earthenware, or predestined us on the one hand to be vessels of gold or silver. If that's the case, there is nothing more to do. If that has already been settled, there is no point anymore striving or having spiritual ambition. But He says, no. If you purify yourself, then you are going to become a vessel of gold or silver. This is what you can do. You can aspire to it. 1 Timothy says, "If anyone aspires to the office of a bishop," that is of an overseer, a pastor, "he has desired a good thing." Why? Because he desires to serve the church. That's what the pastor is there for, to serve. As the Lord Jesus says in Mark 10:45, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve."
This great house, this temple of God — in the temple of God, there are all kinds of utensils. There were golden utensils that were used in the holy place and in the holiest place of all. There were golden things, especially in the holy place. There were the golden candlesticks, the golden plate for the showbread, golden objects which were in the holiest place of all. But further out, there were great big earthenware jars where people could wash their hands or wash the sacrificial parts. There were wooden utensils also for scraping things, for containing things. There were wooden utensils which were used because they were less susceptible to uncleanness under the law. But I shall not bother to explain that now.
Which in the temple of God are you going to be? It hasn't been predetermined. We saw this morning: we all start out at the same starting point. It's where we finish that will be different. We all start out at the same point, but we are going to end up some as vessels of gold, some of silver, some of wood, some of earthenware. Which are you going to be? That is the reason why we've got to run the race to obtain. You are going to decide your place in the kingdom of God. You'd be well to think about it. It is exceedingly significant.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul says that he has laid a foundation which is Christ. No other foundation can be laid than that which is already laid, namely Jesus Christ. And then he goes on to mention something which so many Christians can't understand. And why should it be hard to understand? By the time you know the principle of spiritual ambition it is very easy to understand. He says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 11 — which is the verse I just read of Christ being the foundation — verse 12: "Now if anyone builds on the foundation which is Christ, if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble — whichever it will be, each man's work will become manifest." What are you building with? Gold, hay, or stubble — what are you building with? Now notice, the gold is the costliest of all. The hay costs nothing. You see what I just mentioned about cost? It is the cost to accomplish something spiritually. In the spiritual world, everything that is precious is costly to obtain. And so, what you build with depends on how much cost you are prepared to pay out. Oh, brothers and sisters, this principle is so exceedingly important.
And then in 2 Timothy, in the passage we just read, it says you must purify yourself. How to purify yourself? That you may be vessels of gold and silver, etc. And don't come back with false modesty again, please. And say, "Well, it's alright to be a wooden utensil, a vessel of earthenware. I mean, they all have their uses, isn't it? I mean, after all, you need these things." Why need these things? It would be perfectly alright in the temple if everything were made of gold. But that is false humility. "I am quite willing to be the small things, the insignificant things." Nobody talked about small and insignificant things. We only talked about the quality. And you are saying you are willing to be low quality, that's good enough? You need low quality things too, not only high quality things. Some people say, "Well, you need soldiers in an army too, you can't all be officers." Well, that's perfect logic. Why not? I think it's fine if everybody were officers. It's fine with me. So the point here is this: we mustn't confuse ourselves with mock humility. Here we are talking about quality, not about station — the quality of what you offer to God. What is it?
Now, why do we emphasize all this? What has all this got to do with guidance? It has everything to do with guidance. You know why? It is not surprising that in a church today that knows nothing about guidance is the same church that knows nothing about spiritual ambition. Don't you see the connection? And so there is endless confusion. "How do I get guidance?" How do you get guidance to become a vessel of gold? We are told already.
But you see, when we come to the matter of guidance, once you understand the principle, it's so simple that it doesn't take a lot of time to expound. And I don't know what these great books are for that tell you about guidance. To know the will of God, you have to look at some external circumstances, some internal circumstances, some this circumstance and that circumstance. What is this talking about? Where in the Bible do you read such things? Where did they invent this thing from? Guidance has nothing to do with the kind.
You know, there was a girl who married a non-Christian and she knew very well she shouldn't have done it. And you know what she did? She said, "I wanted a sign from the Lord that it was pleasing to Him." Hear me — you have already done what is displeasing to God and now you want a sign from the Lord? And I said, "What sign?" And she said, "Well, you see, I asked that there might be sunshine on the day of the wedding." Well, your chances of having sunshine on the day of the wedding are statistically not too bad in any case. So having got sunshine on the day of the wedding she said, "You see, the Lord has granted me this." Oh, dear me, brothers and sisters, into what utter delusion we come to. What a pitiful situation. You need to look for this kind of external sign? How do you know somebody else wasn't praying, "Lord, I want sunshine today," and somebody else saying, "Lord, give me rain"? Which one is God going to answer? What a ridiculous way to look for a sign. And what a pitiful way that Christians come to this pathetic state of affairs. Guidance is nowhere to be sought in this fashion.
There are others who look for guidance. The technique is apparently to have a quick flip of the Bible and stick your finger in the position, read the words there. I heard it said that somebody trying this technique ended up quite disastrously, because somebody flipped the Bible open and stuck the finger at the point and you know what they read there? "And Judas went and hanged himself." Well, if you use that technique for guidance, you need to expect that. You see, such is the pitiful state that the church has come to that this is what is called guidance.
Or else, guidance is said to be seeking the advice of the multitude of opinions. Well, you can call that human guidance. It has absolutely nothing to do with divine guidance. There was somebody who wanted to serve the Lord with me. He had spent three years in Bible college and, brothers and sisters, he still doesn't know what guidance is about. And he had to face a great cost of serving the Lord with me. It meant he had to give up medicine. I didn't ask him to do it. That was his own choice. I never talked anybody into doing anything in this kind of way. Every person must make his own choice. And he longed to serve the Lord with me. And he said, "I want to give up medicine." I said, "Before I left England to come to Canada, he came to see me once more." He'd seen me many times before on this subject. And he wasn't always too sure — he was going to serve the Lord with me, then he wasn't too sure, then he was going to serve the Lord again. And finally, before I left, he came to see me and he said, "I intend to serve the Lord with you." I said, "Well, I seem to have heard that before. The question now is, what are you going to do about it?" He said — I said, "Do you really mean business with God?" He said, "I really do mean business with God."
Well, so much for his business with God, because his mother put her foot down with a very simple device to knock him out of it. How? Took him to three pastors, all of whom said that he shouldn't give up medicine. "A wonderful subject like medicine is not something that anybody gives up. Go and be a doctor. You don't need to preach the gospel." I would like to see these pastors. I'd like to see who these people are. Do they love the world to that extent that somebody who knows that he is being called out to serve the Lord is going to be told, "Get back to your job"? I'd like to see who these pastors are. I want them to give an account of themselves before God. Whatever on earth do they think they are doing? How much have they loved the world? But after all, it's not surprising. This was in Hong Kong. And doctors seem to live somewhere halfway between heaven and earth. Apparently, by the time you become a medical doctor, you're so high up in society in Hong Kong at least that nobody could conceive of the degradation of coming down to become a preacher. So what happens? The poor man is split apart. He doesn't know whether he's going to serve the Lord or he's not going to serve the Lord. That is called guidance, brothers and sisters. Is that divine guidance or human guidance? I don't think you need to be a genius to draw your own conclusion.
Guidance can be dealt with quite simply in this way. There is general guidance and there is specific guidance. What exactly do we mean by general guidance? General guidance is what every Christian must have. If you are not generally guided by the Lord, you are not a Christian of any sort. Listen to Romans chapter 8 and verse 14: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." That means every son of God, every child of God is led by the Spirit. That is a condition of salvation. There is no specific guidance here. Every Christian is being led by the Spirit of God. You are being led by the Spirit of God if you are a Christian.
That word "led" there, from the point of view of accurate exegesis and exposition, is a word which is used exactly in the same way in the Old Testament of Israel. In Psalm chapter 18 verse 1, God is spoken of as the shepherd of Israel that leads Israel. And the word "led," rather vague again in English, is in the original a present tense which is continuous in its significance. "As many as are constantly being led by God, these are the children of God." That is general guidance. Constantly being led by the Spirit of God. We are being led on all the time. We are not sort of standing there and occasionally needing some guidance. We are being led to keep
# Divine Guidance: General and Specific Leading in 2 Timothy (Part 2)
Every Christian is being led by the Spirit of God. You are being led by the Spirit of God if you are a Christian. That word "led," from the point of view of accurate exegesis and exposition, is a word which is used exactly in the same way in the Old Testament of Israel. In Psalm chapter 18 verse 1, God is spoken of as the shepherd of Israel that leads Israel. And the word "led," rather vague again in English, is in the original a present tense which is continuous in its significance. "As many as are constantly being led by God, these are the children of God." That is general guidance. Constantly being led by the Spirit of God. We are being led on all the time. We are not sort of standing there and occasionally needing some guidance. We are being led all the time in the direction of eternal life.
Every Christian is being led. If you are not led, you are not even a child of God. So in that sense, you don't need any special leading. You are being led all the time. Just as the children of Israel were led out of Egypt and constantly being led by God on to the promised land. All those who were led by Him were the people of God. They were the people of Israel. Those who were not led by Him were still back in Egypt. They were not even saved. And so in this sense, the word "led" — Psalm 18:1, Deuteronomy 8:2 and 15, Deuteronomy 29:5, and so forth — many such references how the people of Israel are the people who are led. They are a people who are led by God. And in the same way, Paul is drawing the analogy that we are being led by God all the time. Is that not part of your experience? It should be part of your experience. If you are in living relationship with God, you are being led all the time. That being led by God should not be a new experience to you. It is part of what Watchman Nee would have called a normal Christian life. Not something unusual. And because there is so much uncertain teaching, so many Christians have been crippled by this doctrine or lack of doctrine of guidance.
Now first then understand the general principle that if you are a true Christian, you are being led by God all the time. Not necessarily consciously so, but always definitely so. That is, the people of Israel were being led on, even though they may not always be conscious of the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night. When they were eating, when they were sleeping, they were not conscious of what was going on there. But He that watches Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. What is He doing then? He is leading them on, watching over them. All the time He is at work. And so God is leading. He is watching over your life all the time. You are as the apple of His eye, if you belong to Him.
But there is also specific guidance. And how shall we picture this? You see, specific guidance comes to nobody who is not being led by the Lord in the general sense already. And what kind of people are being led by the Lord? The people who already have the spiritual ambition. Remember, spiritual ambition is also part of the normal Christian life. It is nothing exceptional. It is part of the renewal of the mind when you become new in your thinking, your new outlook upon the world. Can you understand that? Has God changed you yet? If not, brothers and sisters, it is time to say, "Lord, change me. Transform me by the renewing of my mind." We want a complete thought reform. That is what Paul has talked about. The communists never invented that notion. Paul was 2,000 years ahead of them. The whole thinking must be transformed by the renewing of the mind so that our whole thinking becomes accurate — a thinking that has turned its back upon the world and turned its direction towards Christ. That is what repentance means. So elementary — turning away from sin and from the world to Christ. I thought every Christian knows that.
But there is specific guidance. And the way to illustrate it is like this. Perhaps since we are talking about spiritual warfare, we can use the military illustration. Take, for example, a whole line of tanks going forward into battle. You see these powerful machines rolling forward. And on top of these powerful machines, there is one very thin thing sticking up over the top. That is the antenna. Why does it have an antenna? Why doesn't it just go charging into the battle and shoot up the enemy? What's the antenna for? That's for specific command. You see, the tanks had general command: move forward into battle. They move forward in formation. There is a proper tank formation going into battle.
But suddenly, as you are sitting in one of these tanks, the earphones crackle and a voice comes through: "Turn the tank to the right. An enemy tank has come through between the lines. Turn your guns in that direction." So this tank, immediately tank number so-and-so, gets specific command. It turns around, and the big guns point into the direction of the enemy. You see, the head command behind has got radar control. It sees what's coming through. Those in the tanks only see what's in front of them. They didn't see. And then he gets the orders: "Turn in there."
But first of all, notice: the general command — it is already moving forward. The whole line, the whole formation is moving forward. And secondly, notice: it is in radio contact with supreme command. Many people say, "I want to know God's guidance." First, you are not even moving forward on the general orders. How can you look for specific orders? I mean, this tank that is sitting there that hasn't even moved forward is saying, "Give me some specific orders, please. I have been sitting here a long time." He hasn't even heard the order, "Move forward, all forward." He is sitting there, the whole line has moved forward, and he is still sitting there looking for orders. How can you use this kind of a person? Maybe it is because his radio communications are gone. He didn't hear the orders as they came through.
Now many Christians say, "How do I get guidance?" Well, a perfectly simple answer to the question: open up your radio communications. The tank commander sitting there says, "Funny, no orders have been coming through for a long time. How do I get orders from head command?" Simple. Switch on your radio if you've got one. Switch it on. That's how the orders are going to come through. So many people say to me, "I have been looking for specific guidance." First then, understand the principle: always fulfill all the commands already given to you. If you haven't done the things which have been already told you to do, what's the use of looking for specific orders?
For example, the specific order that we have looked at: the command to love one another totally. If you are not loving one another, you have already failed on one specific order. You have not moved forward in the formation. The result is some have fallen out, some are in disarray. How can you get specific orders? But those who are moving forward in the formation, they are going to get specific orders. It never fails.
Of course, specific orders in many ways are much more exciting than general orders, isn't it? It's nice to hear the crackle over the radio coming in. It's a break from hearing the endless pounding of the artillery, your big guns banging away. Certainly, it's nice to hear a human voice saying something to you. And how nice in the Christian life, when the battle is tough, to hear the voice coming over — the Lord's voice speaking to you. But it is pitiful in these days how few Christians ever hear God communing with them at all. Isn't that pitiful?
Now, God does not keep crackling over the radio every five minutes and say, "Have you got enough Coke supply there? Are you too hot in the tank right now? How are you feeling down there?" That's what human beings might be doing. Don't expect that kind of thing from God. He's got no time to mess around with this kind of statements. That's for the people inside the tank crew to communicate with each other, encouraging one another. That's what fellowship is for. God gives specific commands only when those specific commands are needed. He's not using a chattering station there, just talking over rather insignificant stuff. And I have found always that when I'm moving forward in part of this battle array, time and again I hear the crackle of the communications coming through. I hear the Lord speaking. And you say, "Wow, that's exciting." Sure, it's exciting. But you had better be first on your general orders. Nowhere else to look until you fulfill your general orders. Nothing will come through in specific command.
Take, for example, some illustrations in the Bible of specific orders. We see, for example, Philip in the well-known case in Acts. There he is preaching the gospel earnestly and vigorously. And then as he is preaching the gospel in Samaria, he has the voice coming through on his spiritual earphones: "Philip, go down to the wilderness because there's a job for you to do." What does Philip do? He turns around and he goes off to the wilderness and he meets the eunuch there. That is specific commands coming through. But you see, first of all, he was fully engaged in the general command of preaching the gospel to every creature. He was fully engaged in the love and the self-giving that is involved in the ministry of God's work. Only then does he get specific commands.
So do understand this. There is no use looking for specific commands when you are not even engaged in the general commands. You are not fulfilling His orders. You want specific guidance — that's presumably what you mean by guidance — then be on the job. Move forward. If you are part of the tank crew, move forward under orders. If you are part of the air force, go forward under orders. Don't stand there waiting on the airfield for specific orders when you should be up there and you are not flying. And many times, in the Lord's grace, you will find in the Bible that specific commands come through. If anyone has read Acts, you will see how often Paul's spiritual earphones are working and the Lord speaks to him. Every time you'll find it happening again: the Lord is saying a word, "I'm going to send you on to Rome." So Paul knows he's going to Rome. That is why he appealed to Caesar, as so many people don't understand. Why should he have appealed to Caesar? If he had not appealed, he would have been alright. He appealed to Caesar because he knew the Lord wanted him in Rome. He already knew the next step was to be taken. But this is something that you must advance to in the spiritual life if you want to understand spiritual and specific commands.
Now before you get any specific commands, in fulfilling the general commands, you need no specific guidance at all. The Bible says precious little about guidance. Now you know, it's a remarkable thing: the word "guidance" does not even appear in the Bible. Did you know that? Surprise, isn't it? The word "guidance," if you look under the concordance, does not appear one single time in the Bible. That should make you stop and think. If anybody had to prepare a talk on guidance, he would have discovered that, much to his consternation, he would have found there is nothing to talk about, simply because the word "guidance" doesn't appear.
And what is also remarkable is in the one time that the word "lead" appears, it refers in John to the work of the Holy Spirit: "He shall lead you into all truth." And here is not guidance in the sense that you are talking about whether you should go somewhere or not go somewhere. That word doesn't appear. He leads you into all truth. And the only other place that the word "guides" appears in the New Testament, it appears in connection with whom, do you know? With the Pharisees. "You blind guides." That's what it says there. And here we see from the word "guide" that it refers to spiritual teaching. They should have been teaching spiritual truth, but instead, what were they doing? They were leading the people astray. Blind guides. So we find that the word "guide" — and the word "guidance," I just said, doesn't occur. The word "guide" appears, relates to spiritual teaching.
Which means that the only reference to guidance in the whole New Testament is that verse that I just quoted in Romans chapter 8: "As many as are led by the Spirit of the Lord, these are the children of God." Does it surprise you? Does it surprise you? Why is that so? Why is there no particular reference to this in the New Testament? For one simple reason: that no Christian needs to be taught about guidance who is already in the general guidance of the Lord, being led on from day to day by the Lord. But the Bible does mention specific guidance not in terms of teaching, but by terms of example as in the case of Acts concerning Paul and concerning Philip.
Now in my own experience I have also experienced this kind of guidance as I have mentioned. And I have shared perhaps with some of you before, whether in Montreal or elsewhere. For example, when I was in China there was an occasion on which I had no food to eat. I was feeling very hungry. I didn't know what to do. And I just prayed to the Lord and said, "Lord, I am so hungry. I have nothing to eat and I am Your child. And please provide me with something to eat. Even as it is said in Your word, You look after the birds of the air, the flowers of the field, and now Your child has nothing to eat. And so, provide, I beg of You, the needs of Your child."
The Lord said to me, "Get up and go to this place." So I did. I went there and this lady whom I had not seen for a long time had a little conversation with me. And I wondered to myself, why did the Lord send me here? What's this for? So after a time I said to her, "Well, it's time for me to go now." So I made for the door, still puzzling. Why did the Lord ever send me to this place? She was not a particularly close friend of ours. I didn't know why I should see this lady. And just as I said goodbye, she suddenly produced an envelope. And she said, "Eric, you know, I have saved this envelope for you." "Oh," I said, "what's this for?" She said, "Well, I don't know why, but I just felt that you should have this envelope. So please do me the kindness of accepting it." So I accepted it very gratefully. And I walked away saying, "Lord, how perfect are Your ways. How perfect are Your ways." Specific guidance. How would I know to go to this place I had never thought of going to before? In fact, it was the first and the last time I went. But on this occasion, the order came through: go to this place.
Another occasion when I was in China and I did not know what the future was to hold. I didn't know whether I was to come out of China, to stay in China. But how could I get out of China? And I knelt down before the Lord and I said, "Lord, what do You want me to do? Do You want me to stay in this country or to leave? If You want me to stay, I will certainly stay here. But show me what work You want me to do." I did not ask to leave. I just asked for His will, His purpose. Now you see, in this kind of circumstances, you cannot have general guidance. You must have specific guidance. How would I know that He was going to supply my need through that particular person unless He sent me there? How would I know what He wanted me to do next unless He instructed me specifically? But first, you must be carrying out His orders in the general sense.
And as I knelt there before the Lord, my spiritual earphones crackled again. And the Lord's voice came over, clear and loud. And He said to me, "Eric, I'm taking you out of this country." Wow! I tell you, I nearly jumped straight up. Right up from my cement floor that I was kneeling on. The cement floor that I knelt on so often. Beautiful cement floor. And I nearly went straight up. I said, "Lord, how wonderful! You're going to take me out." Immediately, I packed my bags. Straight away. And I remember the surprise of my Christian friends in church. They said, "What are you doing?" I said, "I'm leaving the country." They said, "What? You got the exit visa?" I said, "No, I haven't even applied yet." Because I was applying the next day. I was rushing there as soon as the office opened. I'm going to apply right away. But they say, "You applied twice already. It's been refused." Never mind. This time, the Lord said He's taking me out. And so He did. That's the evidence you can see before your eyes.
Oh, it's wonderful when He gives us the specific guidance, when He speaks to us in this way. I used to wonder how the Old Testament prophets could say, "Thus says the Lord." I said, how do you know He said it? Did it ever cross your mind? Somebody asked me once, "How do they know that 'thus says the Lord'?" And when you have heard your spiritual earphones crackling and the voice of the Lord coming through, you know exactly how they heard it. And some people even went along saying, "I wonder if these prophets just imagined the whole thing. 'The Lord said unto me' — how did he know it?" Well, if he had imagined it, it would all be wrong, wouldn't it? How marvelously they predicted everything. They predicted the coming of the Lord Jesus. They predicted down to how He would die. Everything was predicted. You try working your imagination — see if you can predict what happens tomorrow. I'll just ask you, can you tell me what the weather will be tomorrow afternoon? And try to use your imagination and see what political developments will take place tomorrow. And the prophets could prophesy what will happen in a thousand years. Imagination indeed.
No, when the voice of the Lord — when you have experienced it, when He speaks to you, you know it. God speaking to you. His voice comes clear. And so it goes on. I can give you illustrations. There's another time I was about to leave Switzerland, booked my plane, and the Lord said, "You're not leaving tonight. You're going to stay." I wanted to go but the Lord wanted me to stay. I soon knew why. There was somebody to win to the Lord. There was somebody in need. And for that person I had to stay another day. That person came to the Lord the next day.
Or on another occasion, I was in the north of London and in my student hostel I was going to sit down to do some work, and my spiritual earphones worked again. The voice came across and the Lord said to me, "Go down to the center of the city, for there I have a job for you to do." And so I pondered — half past nine in the evening. It'd take me three quarters of an hour to get to the center of the city. What will I do at quarter past ten in the city? And I knew when the Lord says it, you do it. You don't ask too many questions. So I got on my motorcycle and off I went to the center of the city. All the time puzzling in my mind, what was I supposed to do?
Oh, it's wonderful. And the Lord said, "I want you at Central YMCA." See how specific is the command? Right down to the last detail. Central YMCA. So there I was at Central YMCA, standing in the Central YMCA looking around, and looking up at the ceiling, looking around. "Lord, here I am. What's next? What's happening?" And I had to wait quite a while. I suppose the Lord knew that sometimes I don't get there too quickly and not in time. He made allowance for that. So there I was, long ahead of time, standing there wondering, "Well, here I am, Lord." And I kept passing back over my spiritual communication, my spiritual radio, and said, "Lord, here I am," reminding Him that I had arrived.
And as I stood there looking at various people walking around, suddenly I was looking towards the door and somebody was walking through, and suddenly the voice of the Lord said, "There is the man." I said, "Yes, Lord. What am I to do with him?" I mean, I've seen lots of people walking through doors. It's not the first time I've seen somebody coming through the door. He said, "That's the man. Talk to him now." So I went to him and said, "Lord, what am I supposed to say to him?" Still no specific instructions. And the first thing I managed to say to him — I'd never seen this man in my life before — and I said, the only thing I could think of saying at the time is, "Can I help you in any way?" And he said, "Oh, yes. Yes, you could."
And so the conversation began. The outcome of it was he came to the Lord the following day. He was some professor who had come over from Taiwan. And he was in a conference in Geneva at the United Nations — rather reminding me of the Philippian eunuch, you know. And he was in London for just those two days. How would I ever know he would be in London for two days if my spiritual communications were not open? You see, the Supreme Command knows everything going on there. This man was going to be in London for two days. And so I was sent to the job right there and then, no time to waste. He came to the Lord the next day and went back to Switzerland. And he said to me afterwards, "You know, it is amazing. It is truly amazing," he says, "that now I have found what I've been looking for all my life. Without realizing it, that in fact, I have been found. Well, all the time I thought I was looking, I was searching. When in fact, it was God searching for me. His hand was on me all this time. And now I have found Him, He has found me." Oh, it's so marvelous. Specific command.
When I first came out of China, I was in Hong Kong wondering what the next order would be, waiting in Hong Kong. I had no money to go anywhere. And somebody else got a specific command. This time, somebody in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. This dear sister, although she was in her 60s, this dear sister who loved the Lord very much, was one day praying, and her earphones began to work. The order came through: "Go to Hong Kong." Oh, when the whole church, brothers and sisters, when the whole church functions as it ought to function, how marvelous, how beautiful is everything working out.
She arrived in Hong Kong and she didn't know exactly what the Lord wanted her to do. Why? By this time, I've kept saying, she didn't know, because why? Because God leads always on the principle: one step at a time. You take one step first and then you will see the next step. He's not going to show you everything first. That's why it must be by faith. You take the first step, then He'll give you the second step. You don't take the first step, you get no second step.
But thanks be to God for this sister who also learned to commune with God. Guidance is simply a matter of communing with God when you are walking with Him. So this dear sister who happened to be a rather wealthy person, at that time, she got the order to go to Hong Kong. So she arrived in Hong Kong. She had put everything she had at the Lord's disposal, waiting for the Lord to use it in any way He chose. If the Lord says, "I want 10,000 there," 10,000 goes there. "I want 20,000 there," 20,000 goes. Everything was at the Lord's disposal. She had learned to commit herself totally to God. And so, when she heard the order, she arrived in Hong Kong and she was wondering, "What's the next step?"
Until one day, I was in my room having a quiet time before the Lord and there was a knock on the door. I opened the door and she was standing in front of the door. And she said to me, "Eric, I want to tell you something." I said, "What's that?" She said, "I would like you to go and buy a ticket for Europe." You see, I knew that the Lord wanted me to go on to Europe. The only question is, I didn't know how. I tried to earn my way there. I tried to work my way on ships. Everything to get there in whatever way that God wanted me to be there. But God amazingly closed every door and I puzzled why this should be so. Later on, I realized why. God is so kind. He is so wonderful.
You see, when I had come out of China, those long years had taken quite a toll on my physical health. I wasn't sick, but I had become quite weak. I had very poor nourishment. I had been undernourished. I had become very thin. And in spite of my tough constitution, I wasn't sick, but very weak. And God, in His loving kindness, wanted me just to have a rest. Do you know, God cares for us so much that He just wants us to have a rest. I think of those touching words of the Lord Jesus when He said to His disciples, "Come aside for a while and have a rest. You have worked hard enough now." He is one who remembers our frame. He remembers that we are dust. How beautiful. "Come and have a rest. You are tired." He is so intensely practical. It's so wonderful.
I am always touched when I read how the Lord Jesus raised Jairus' daughter, that girl from the dead. And when everybody was jumping up and down and shouting how amazing — she's risen from the dead! You know what Jesus said? "Give her something to eat." Nobody ever remembered that the poor girl was hungry. They were so filled with joy and excitement. Oh, the Lord Jesus is just so wonderful. "Give her something to eat." In your joy, don't forget her physical need. She needs some food. Oh, He is so wonderful.
I tried to find a job. I was willing to work and the Lord said, "No, no job. You're going to stay there. I'm going to get you to Europe." He put me on a ship and the ship got stuck in a strike in Burma, with the result that instead of taking one month to get to Europe, I had two months to get to Europe. Two months of rest on the ship. I never had such a restful time in all my life. Two whole months with an entire cabin to myself. Can you imagine that? And I paid less on this freighter than people paid on the ordinary P&O ships from Hong Kong to England. God is so gracious and so kind.
And this lady was there and she asked me to buy this ticket. And I said to her, "Well, madam," I said, "look, you better pray more about this." And so a few days later she asked me and said, "Well, have you bought your ticket now?" I said, "No, I haven't." I said, "I would like you to be absolutely sure before God." She said, "Look, I am absolutely sure and I'll go and get that ticket." And so I did. You know, God is so perfect in His ways. That's specific guidance. There was this dear sister who had specific communion with the Lord. And when I left, when I got on the ship and left, she flew back to Portland, Oregon the next day. She said, "My job is done. Now I know why God wanted me to come to Hong Kong. My job is finished."
But where are God's people who are in communion with Him that He has to send somebody all the way from the United States to Hong Kong? Where were the people in Hong Kong who could have done the job? Nowhere. Nobody was on the earphones. You know, I think many times of it like this: that God is trying to speak to us, and here we are saying, "Lord, where is my specific guidance?" He is trying to speak to us all the time except we are not listening. Of all people in Southeast Asia, He had to send somebody all the way from the United States. Where are the others? Or could it be that just because He wanted to do something to teach this lady something — that could also be. Maybe it's not because there were others who didn't hear. Maybe it was because God in His wisdom wanted this lady to have this particular job. That could also be the case. So perhaps we shouldn't be too hard on other Christians.
And so here we see the importance of what we have looked at tonight. There is general guidance; there is specific guidance. But specific guidance is for those only who are on duty for the Lord. Let us take to heart these words and remember this. It is up to you whether you are going to strive forward in spiritual ambition. It is up to you then, when you are striving forward — and if you are striving forward, then you will experience, as you are being led forward by the Spirit, as you are moving forward, that you will find the Lord giving you specific commands. Oh, the Christian life is so exciting. It is so marvelous. I don't know why people are content with the mediocre, dull business that goes under the name of Christian life these days. The wonderful communion with God, the fellowship with Him that comes from having spiritual ambition — these are the people who get His guidance. Let us pray.