Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe gives us three questions to ask when discerning God's voice.

Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe gives us three questions to ask when discerning God's voice.

We need to learn as a people to wait on the Lord to to spend time in prayer before God, to search scriptures, to say, God, I'm waiting for you to make it clear, and I won't move forward until you have given me a clear green light or a very clear red light. God, because I'm waiting upon you.

We need to learn as a people to wait on the Lord to to spend time in prayer before God, to search scriptures, to say, God, I'm waiting for you to make it clear, and I won't move forward until you have given me a clear green light or a very clear red light. God, because I'm waiting upon you.

Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark job. Mark is president of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and Wayne Shepherd. Last week, Mark advised us to compare everything against the Scripture and ask, does this inner word violate a command of Scripture? Today on the program, we're answering the question, how do you discern the voice of God from all of the other noise? Along with two more questions to ask. Our message is titled Discerning the Voice of God. So if you have your Bible with you, turn to John chapter ten. As we continue this series hearing God with our Bible teacher, Mark Jobe.

Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark job. Mark is president of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and Wayne Shepherd. Last week, Mark advised us to compare everything against the Scripture and ask, does this inner word violate a command of Scripture? Today on the program, we're answering the question, how do you discern the voice of God from all of the other noise? Along with two more questions to ask. Our message is titled Discerning the Voice of God. So if you have your Bible with you, turn to John chapter ten. As we continue this series hearing God with our Bible teacher, Mark Jobe.

And immediately, the young girl, the spirit of divination, left her and she lost the ability to tell the future. But listen, it wasn't the Spirit of God that indwelt her. It was an evil, dark spirit that indwelt her, and that evil dark spirit would lead people astray. And it may open up a door. But once you have your foot in that door, there's an influence in your life that you want to stop and curtail. Psalms 119, verse 105 says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path. I believe it's the Word of God that gives you clarity. And so whenever you hear an inner voice, you need to ask yourself this inner voice compared to the word. Does it violate a command of Scripture? I remember sitting down with one young man quite a few years ago, and he had three DUIs, so they had taken away his license. And he came to me one day and he said, pastor, I believe it's God's will that I should drive to church. And I believe it's God's will that I should be involved in ministry. And I can't get to ministry, and I can't get to home group, and I can't get to church unless I drive a car. So I'm thinking that it's God's will that I get a fake license. Uh, hold on, buddy. I think you should be in church, too. And I think you should go to Bible study as well. And I think those are good things. But, but but let me ask you this. Does your solution violate a command of Scripture? The Bible says thou shalt not bear false witness. And so if your solution contradicts a command of Scripture, then you could be sure of this. It is not of God. So you can't say, well, it's God's will that I go down and and buy a fake driver's license. I, I know you know where to pick one up for 50 bucks, but no, it's not God's will even to go to church because it violates a command of Scripture. When your solution or your choice violates a command of Scripture, you can be sure that it's not of God, that it's the wrong choice or the wrong voice that you're hearing. Secondly, does it contradict a principle of Scripture? Sometimes it's not a command that's clear, but there's a principle that's implied. There's a difference between a command and a principle. A command is very clear about a certain objective. A principle is broader. You have to apply it to life. For example, the Bible tells us, do not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. For what fellowship does light have with darkness? So the principle is when I'm going to get into a strong, bonded commitment, that I should do so with another believer, not with someone that does not share my belief in God and my faith. That's a principle of Scripture. Now someone may say to me, and I've had people say to me, pastor, I think God's telling me to marry him. Okay. Marry him. Well, let's talk about him. Well, he's not a Christian like you would think of a Christian. He doesn't really go to church, never really been baptized. But he's a good man. He's got a Bible. He wears a cross chain. Well, he did go to church on Christmas and Easter. Hold on a second. You may have heard a voice inside of you say, marry him, but the principle of the Word of God is, if you are a woman, that Jesus is at the center of your life, that you know who your God is, that you're choosing to follow him and walk after his ways and live your life according to him. Then you have no business entering into a committed relationship with someone that does not share what's at the core of your heart. That should be Jesus Christ and have no business at all whatsoever. Going into a lifetime commitment of marriage with someone who does not share your same commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Do not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. And this has nothing to do with religion. Now some people say, well, oh, are you saying that I shouldn't marry someone that's not of my same religion? No, I never said that. I said you shouldn't marry someone that's not of your same commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I don't care what brand you put on that person, but they have to be someone that follows Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Because if Jesus is the center of your life, and the man that you're about to marry likes you but doesn't like Jesus, you're going to have a major problem in your values in life when you go into the future. So that's a principle. Someone says, God told me to marry him. I'm going to say, what does the Word of God say? You may have heard a voice, but it was probably the voice of your infatuation. Or your platonic love. But it wasn't the voice of God. The third thing we ask does it harmonize with the emphasis of Scripture? In other words, does it follow the character of Scripture? You know the heart of God or who God is, and does it harmonize with what God desires and wants for your life? I've had men come to me and say, God is leading me to divorce. My wife had a man years ago that was dogging me because he wanted me to bless his divorce. She was a believer. He was a believer. I said, why are you divorcing him? She just aggravates me. She just gets on my nerves, just aggravates me. Well, does she want to be married? Well, she says she does, but, you know, she's just a nag. I want to divorce her. I said, well, brother, I don't see you anywhere in Scripture where God says he's going to bless your divorce. And so he would bring me reams of paper and articles and, and, and and he was calling me up all the time, calling me up. So how can I get a divorce? And it was probably 12:00 at night. I got a call and I could tell from his slurred speech that he was drunk. He called me up and said, pastor, you're keeping me in bondage. I said, I'm keeping you in bondage. You're keeping me in bondage to this woman? I want you to bless my divorce. He said you're keeping me in bondage. You better watch your back. I'm going to jump you in an alley. You better, you better. I'm going to jump you. You better. I'm going to get up in church and tell everybody you're keeping me in bondage. Watch your back. Because I'm going to bring a sawed off shotgun. And this guy just come. He had come out of prison a couple of years ago, and I just had enough of it. I said, what do you think, I'm a punk. I'm one of your little gang banger friends. That you're gonna tell me what the Word of God says, that you're going to threaten me and I'm going to give in. That may work with your buddies in the street. But listen, I'm a man of God. I go by the word of God. Hey, listen, you want a church to tell you what you want? There's plenty of churches that will tell you whatever you want to hear. They're a dime a dozen. Go find one of them. But I'm going to tell you what the Word of God says. Preach. It's the word of God. But here's the thing. The thing is that sometimes the word of God doesn't. It contradicts what we want to do, where we want to go. I've had people call, tell me that God has told them to do something that extraordinarily violates Scripture and listen. You can rationalize what you want, but when God is clear about something, God is clear about that thing. And God never contradicts the word. If it goes contrary to the word, then it's not God. And so know the word, understand the word, study the word, get into the word. Secondly, it's not only screened through the written word, but we screen it through godly counsel. Proverbs 13 verse ten says, pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. Listen, some of you are going to do what you want to do, and there's going to be people around you that love you, that are going to speak into your life and that you're going to when you want to do what you want to do, you're going to turn against them. But the Bible says that pride does not allow you to receive counsel, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. If you do not take advice, then you are proud and you're going to end up in trouble because you're not open to counsel. Proverbs 1522 says plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers, they succeed. I want you to know that we all need people to speak into our lives, but we need godly people speaking into our lives. And I believe that one of the ways you screen, whether it's of God or not, is that you find. I would encourage you to find three godly people, three mature people that you know, walk with God, are mature in God, and ask them for advice about a decision that you're about to make. Because there's there's wisdom and counsel if you go to the right counsel. How many of you know that we can all go to people that we know agree with us? right? Oh, I'm smart enough to know that. I've had people coming to me, pastor. You know, I've I've talked to four people that agree with me about this. Oh, yeah? Tell me who they were. Well, one guy's Joey. What do you mean, Joey? With the bar down in the corner. You know, Joey, you know, we were just chugging some down, and he. He was telling me he thinks I'm on the right page. I'm not talking about some guy that's shooting the breeze at a bar. I'm talking about mature, godly people that know the Lord.

And immediately, the young girl, the spirit of divination, left her and she lost the ability to tell the future. But listen, it wasn't the Spirit of God that indwelt her. It was an evil, dark spirit that indwelt her, and that evil dark spirit would lead people astray. And it may open up a door. But once you have your foot in that door, there's an influence in your life that you want to stop and curtail. Psalms 119, verse 105 says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path. I believe it's the Word of God that gives you clarity. And so whenever you hear an inner voice, you need to ask yourself this inner voice compared to the word. Does it violate a command of Scripture? I remember sitting down with one young man quite a few years ago, and he had three DUIs, so they had taken away his license. And he came to me one day and he said, pastor, I believe it's God's will that I should drive to church. And I believe it's God's will that I should be involved in ministry. And I can't get to ministry, and I can't get to home group, and I can't get to church unless I drive a car. So I'm thinking that it's God's will that I get a fake license. Uh, hold on, buddy. I think you should be in church, too. And I think you should go to Bible study as well. And I think those are good things. But, but but let me ask you this. Does your solution violate a command of Scripture? The Bible says thou shalt not bear false witness. And so if your solution contradicts a command of Scripture, then you could be sure of this. It is not of God. So you can't say, well, it's God's will that I go down and and buy a fake driver's license. I, I know you know where to pick one up for 50 bucks, but no, it's not God's will even to go to church because it violates a command of Scripture. When your solution or your choice violates a command of Scripture, you can be sure that it's not of God, that it's the wrong choice or the wrong voice that you're hearing. Secondly, does it contradict a principle of Scripture? Sometimes it's not a command that's clear, but there's a principle that's implied. There's a difference between a command and a principle. A command is very clear about a certain objective. A principle is broader. You have to apply it to life. For example, the Bible tells us, do not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. For what fellowship does light have with darkness? So the principle is when I'm going to get into a strong, bonded commitment, that I should do so with another believer, not with someone that does not share my belief in God and my faith. That's a principle of Scripture. Now someone may say to me, and I've had people say to me, pastor, I think God's telling me to marry him. Okay. Marry him. Well, let's talk about him. Well, he's not a Christian like you would think of a Christian. He doesn't really go to church, never really been baptized. But he's a good man. He's got a Bible. He wears a cross chain. Well, he did go to church on Christmas and Easter. Hold on a second. You may have heard a voice inside of you say, marry him, but the principle of the Word of God is, if you are a woman, that Jesus is at the center of your life, that you know who your God is, that you're choosing to follow him and walk after his ways and live your life according to him. Then you have no business entering into a committed relationship with someone that does not share what's at the core of your heart. That should be Jesus Christ and have no business at all whatsoever. Going into a lifetime commitment of marriage with someone who does not share your same commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Do not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. And this has nothing to do with religion. Now some people say, well, oh, are you saying that I shouldn't marry someone that's not of my same religion? No, I never said that. I said you shouldn't marry someone that's not of your same commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I don't care what brand you put on that person, but they have to be someone that follows Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Because if Jesus is the center of your life, and the man that you're about to marry likes you but doesn't like Jesus, you're going to have a major problem in your values in life when you go into the future. So that's a principle. Someone says, God told me to marry him. I'm going to say, what does the Word of God say? You may have heard a voice, but it was probably the voice of your infatuation. Or your platonic love. But it wasn't the voice of God. The third thing we ask does it harmonize with the emphasis of Scripture? In other words, does it follow the character of Scripture? You know the heart of God or who God is, and does it harmonize with what God desires and wants for your life? I've had men come to me and say, God is leading me to divorce. My wife had a man years ago that was dogging me because he wanted me to bless his divorce. She was a believer. He was a believer. I said, why are you divorcing him? She just aggravates me. She just gets on my nerves, just aggravates me. Well, does she want to be married? Well, she says she does, but, you know, she's just a nag. I want to divorce her. I said, well, brother, I don't see you anywhere in Scripture where God says he's going to bless your divorce. And so he would bring me reams of paper and articles and, and, and and he was calling me up all the time, calling me up. So how can I get a divorce? And it was probably 12:00 at night. I got a call and I could tell from his slurred speech that he was drunk. He called me up and said, pastor, you're keeping me in bondage. I said, I'm keeping you in bondage. You're keeping me in bondage to this woman? I want you to bless my divorce. He said you're keeping me in bondage. You better watch your back. I'm going to jump you in an alley. You better, you better. I'm going to jump you. You better. I'm going to get up in church and tell everybody you're keeping me in bondage. Watch your back. Because I'm going to bring a sawed off shotgun. And this guy just come. He had come out of prison a couple of years ago, and I just had enough of it. I said, what do you think, I'm a punk. I'm one of your little gang banger friends. That you're gonna tell me what the Word of God says, that you're going to threaten me and I'm going to give in. That may work with your buddies in the street. But listen, I'm a man of God. I go by the word of God. Hey, listen, you want a church to tell you what you want? There's plenty of churches that will tell you whatever you want to hear. They're a dime a dozen. Go find one of them. But I'm going to tell you what the Word of God says. Preach. It's the word of God. But here's the thing. The thing is that sometimes the word of God doesn't. It contradicts what we want to do, where we want to go. I've had people call, tell me that God has told them to do something that extraordinarily violates Scripture and listen. You can rationalize what you want, but when God is clear about something, God is clear about that thing. And God never contradicts the word. If it goes contrary to the word, then it's not God. And so know the word, understand the word, study the word, get into the word. Secondly, it's not only screened through the written word, but we screen it through godly counsel. Proverbs 13 verse ten says, pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. Listen, some of you are going to do what you want to do, and there's going to be people around you that love you, that are going to speak into your life and that you're going to when you want to do what you want to do, you're going to turn against them. But the Bible says that pride does not allow you to receive counsel, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. If you do not take advice, then you are proud and you're going to end up in trouble because you're not open to counsel. Proverbs 1522 says plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers, they succeed. I want you to know that we all need people to speak into our lives, but we need godly people speaking into our lives. And I believe that one of the ways you screen, whether it's of God or not, is that you find. I would encourage you to find three godly people, three mature people that you know, walk with God, are mature in God, and ask them for advice about a decision that you're about to make. Because there's there's wisdom and counsel if you go to the right counsel. How many of you know that we can all go to people that we know agree with us? right? Oh, I'm smart enough to know that. I've had people coming to me, pastor. You know, I've I've talked to four people that agree with me about this. Oh, yeah? Tell me who they were. Well, one guy's Joey. What do you mean, Joey? With the bar down in the corner. You know, Joey, you know, we were just chugging some down, and he. He was telling me he thinks I'm on the right page. I'm not talking about some guy that's shooting the breeze at a bar. I'm talking about mature, godly people that know the Lord.

Find three godly people to give you advice on major decisions you have to make. That's our takeaway from the first half of this message from Mark Jobe here on Bold Steps. Mark will return to give us some more practical advice for learning how to discern the voice of God in just a moment, so keep listening. But if you ever miss any of Mark's teachings on the radio, you can always catch up by going online and listening at Bold Steps. Org and for even more convenient access to these messages, be sure to subscribe to our podcast. That way, you can enjoy listening to these daily Bible lessons while you're on vacation. Hitting the gym anywhere you go. Just open up your podcast app on your phone or mobile device, search for bold steps with doctor Mark Jobe and tap the subscribe button. When you do, please leave us a comment and a five star rating and then share the message you're listening to with a friend. And did you know that you can find Mark's teachings available on YouTube by subscribing to the Bold Steps channel on YouTube, you can watch Mark's insightful teaching videos on topics that really matter things like marriage, addiction, purpose, and what to do when you simply feel like giving up. So log in to your YouTube account, search for Bold Steps Radio and click the subscribe button. And while you're at it, join us on social media too. Just search Instagram or Facebook for Bold Steps Radio and let us know you're out there. Now let's get back into today's bold steps. The message is titled Discerning the Voice of God. And once again, here is Mark Jobe.

Find three godly people to give you advice on major decisions you have to make. That's our takeaway from the first half of this message from Mark Jobe here on Bold Steps. Mark will return to give us some more practical advice for learning how to discern the voice of God in just a moment, so keep listening. But if you ever miss any of Mark's teachings on the radio, you can always catch up by going online and listening at Bold Steps. Org and for even more convenient access to these messages, be sure to subscribe to our podcast. That way, you can enjoy listening to these daily Bible lessons while you're on vacation. Hitting the gym anywhere you go. Just open up your podcast app on your phone or mobile device, search for bold steps with doctor Mark Jobe and tap the subscribe button. When you do, please leave us a comment and a five star rating and then share the message you're listening to with a friend. And did you know that you can find Mark's teachings available on YouTube by subscribing to the Bold Steps channel on YouTube, you can watch Mark's insightful teaching videos on topics that really matter things like marriage, addiction, purpose, and what to do when you simply feel like giving up. So log in to your YouTube account, search for Bold Steps Radio and click the subscribe button. And while you're at it, join us on social media too. Just search Instagram or Facebook for Bold Steps Radio and let us know you're out there. Now let's get back into today's bold steps. The message is titled Discerning the Voice of God. And once again, here is Mark Jobe.

Remember the three wise men? The Bible talks about the birth of Jesus, the three wise men. Remember that the principle of the three wise men in First Corinthians. It says that it be confirmed by the witness of three people. I believe there's something about getting the input of wise people, mature people, into your life, listening to what they have to say, because they're every major decision that I've taken in life, every major decision, including marrying my wife. But I think there's there's room for godly advice. I talked to some godly people about it, some people, and gave input because sometimes the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? That's what the Word of God says. And I can guarantee you that you can ignore good, solid advice. You can just blind it out and think that no one knows what they're talking about. But if you ignore it, I can guarantee you you will end up reaping the consequences of it later in your life. So the wise listen and get godly counsel. By the way, can I say this? I've been a pastor for a long time. I've been a pastor for 25 years. When I was young, when people didn't take my counsel, I really wanted. I was offended by it and really wanted to push him to take it. Over the years, I've become, you know what? I'm going to give advice. I'm going to give godly counsel. They can take it or they can leave it. I'm going to pray for them that they take it. But I've been around the block long enough to know that I can't force anybody to do anything that they don't want to do, and I don't have the energy to try to force anybody to do something. I'm going to give advice. I'm going to pray. And if they choose to ignore advice, if they choose to ignore godly counsel, they will reap the consequences of it in their life. I've had so many, so many, so many, so many people come back to me three years after, said pastor. I wish I would have listened to what you or the leaders or someone else had to say. I wish I would have heard. I wish I'd have listened. I don't know why I didn't listen, I don't know why I didn't hear. I never say I told you so. I just say, let's love you through this. Let's try to work through it. But you know what? There's so many things that can be avoided when we seek godly counsel. I want to challenge you and encourage you made your decisions of your life that you would seek people that love you and people that love God to give input into your life. Number three. Screen it or filter it through inner peace. Filter it through the written word. Filter it through godly counsel. Filter it through inner peace. Colossians chapter three, verse 15 says this. And let the peace of God, the soul harmony of God, which comes from Christ, rule in your hearts. The word rule means to act as an umpire. What does an umpire do? An umpire makes calls on hard decisions. Umpires typically are not very popular people, because an umpire usually has to make the hard calls when it's. It looks like it could go one way or another. Have you ever been at a baseball game? And the ump makes a call and the opposing team all boos, and the other team all cheers. And if it's contrary to your team, you say he's blind. Where'd they get that guy? Someone bought him off because it's a hard call. Well, this is what the Bible says. Let the peace of God be the umpire in your heart to make the difficult calls. In other words, there may be certain things that you just don't have peace about. And it's the inner peace of God that helps you make some of the hard calls in your life that are difficult to make. Now, keep in mind that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, so it needs to go hand in hand with the screening of the word with godly counsel. But let the peace of God. If you don't have peace about it, then don't pursue it. If there's not this this check in your spirit that you have this peace of God, this contentment of yes, I know I can go for it and go forward in it. Then I would say, wait until you have the peace of God. There have been times when decisions seem like they were just common sense, but I didn't have the peace of God and people would say, yeah, go ahead, do it. I just don't have the peace of God about it. So I waited, postponed, and then later on discovered. Wow, I'm sure glad I didn't go that direction without the peace of God. Yeah. Number four I'm talking about filtering the inner voice. Screen it through, waiting on God. Psalms 27 verse 14 says, wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalms 33 verse 20 says, we wait in hope for the Lord. He is our help and our shield. Do you realize that one of the hardest things to do is wait? If you ever have applied to a college and you're waiting for the response, it's hard to wait. If you put in an application to get a job and you're waiting to respond, it's just hard to wait. You put in a loan to buy a house. It's just hard to wait for the answer. But there's something about waiting on God. There's something about saying, God, I'm looking to the heavens. And unless I have a clear green light from you, I will not move forward. And I'm just going to wait on you. I'm going to wait for your voice. I'm going to wait for your confirmation. I'm going to wait for you to make it clear to me. Because I don't want to go in or out of your will. I don't want to go to the left or to the right. I want to be right in the center. And so I'm going to wait upon you. It's hard to wait when we're looking to make a decision, but we may fall into the temptation that the king Saul fell into when Samuel told them to wait for him seven days, and when he seemed like the prophet wasn't coming, he went in and did his thing, and God held it against him. We need to learn as a people to wait on the Lord to to spend time in prayer before God, to search scriptures, to say, God, I'm waiting for you to make it clear, and I won't move forward until you have given me a clear green light or a very clear red light. God, because I'm waiting upon you. And as you wait upon the Lord. Make sure that your heart is clean and your ears are open. Psalm 66, verse 18 through 19 says, if I cherish sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Psalm 139 verse 23 says, search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts, and see if there be any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. There's a lot of decisions in this congregation that have to be made decisions about jobs, about marriage, about finances, about health, about ministries, about dreams and visions. There's decisions about moving. There's decisions about children and their future. There's many, many decisions that have to be made on a regular basis. And I just want to make sure that as you make those decisions, you've left room for the heart and the voice of God. It tells us in Proverbs. It tells us trust in the Lord with all their heart. Lean not in thine own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight. There are some of you right now that are at the crossroads, and you're tempted just to make a decision, just because it's the common sense decision. And I would say, listen, if it's a major decision, make sure you know it's God. Make sure you screen it through these filters. Decisions that you make. Now, there are certain decisions that you make in life that will have an incredible effect on your future. Incredible. You will live with the consequences for the rest of your life. And so I believe that we need to wait on God, learn to hear the voice of God, filter it through these things so that we are making decisions because we're listening to God.

Remember the three wise men? The Bible talks about the birth of Jesus, the three wise men. Remember that the principle of the three wise men in First Corinthians. It says that it be confirmed by the witness of three people. I believe there's something about getting the input of wise people, mature people, into your life, listening to what they have to say, because they're every major decision that I've taken in life, every major decision, including marrying my wife. But I think there's there's room for godly advice. I talked to some godly people about it, some people, and gave input because sometimes the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? That's what the Word of God says. And I can guarantee you that you can ignore good, solid advice. You can just blind it out and think that no one knows what they're talking about. But if you ignore it, I can guarantee you you will end up reaping the consequences of it later in your life. So the wise listen and get godly counsel. By the way, can I say this? I've been a pastor for a long time. I've been a pastor for 25 years. When I was young, when people didn't take my counsel, I really wanted. I was offended by it and really wanted to push him to take it. Over the years, I've become, you know what? I'm going to give advice. I'm going to give godly counsel. They can take it or they can leave it. I'm going to pray for them that they take it. But I've been around the block long enough to know that I can't force anybody to do anything that they don't want to do, and I don't have the energy to try to force anybody to do something. I'm going to give advice. I'm going to pray. And if they choose to ignore advice, if they choose to ignore godly counsel, they will reap the consequences of it in their life. I've had so many, so many, so many, so many people come back to me three years after, said pastor. I wish I would have listened to what you or the leaders or someone else had to say. I wish I would have heard. I wish I'd have listened. I don't know why I didn't listen, I don't know why I didn't hear. I never say I told you so. I just say, let's love you through this. Let's try to work through it. But you know what? There's so many things that can be avoided when we seek godly counsel. I want to challenge you and encourage you made your decisions of your life that you would seek people that love you and people that love God to give input into your life. Number three. Screen it or filter it through inner peace. Filter it through the written word. Filter it through godly counsel. Filter it through inner peace. Colossians chapter three, verse 15 says this. And let the peace of God, the soul harmony of God, which comes from Christ, rule in your hearts. The word rule means to act as an umpire. What does an umpire do? An umpire makes calls on hard decisions. Umpires typically are not very popular people, because an umpire usually has to make the hard calls when it's. It looks like it could go one way or another. Have you ever been at a baseball game? And the ump makes a call and the opposing team all boos, and the other team all cheers. And if it's contrary to your team, you say he's blind. Where'd they get that guy? Someone bought him off because it's a hard call. Well, this is what the Bible says. Let the peace of God be the umpire in your heart to make the difficult calls. In other words, there may be certain things that you just don't have peace about. And it's the inner peace of God that helps you make some of the hard calls in your life that are difficult to make. Now, keep in mind that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, so it needs to go hand in hand with the screening of the word with godly counsel. But let the peace of God. If you don't have peace about it, then don't pursue it. If there's not this this check in your spirit that you have this peace of God, this contentment of yes, I know I can go for it and go forward in it. Then I would say, wait until you have the peace of God. There have been times when decisions seem like they were just common sense, but I didn't have the peace of God and people would say, yeah, go ahead, do it. I just don't have the peace of God about it. So I waited, postponed, and then later on discovered. Wow, I'm sure glad I didn't go that direction without the peace of God. Yeah. Number four I'm talking about filtering the inner voice. Screen it through, waiting on God. Psalms 27 verse 14 says, wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalms 33 verse 20 says, we wait in hope for the Lord. He is our help and our shield. Do you realize that one of the hardest things to do is wait? If you ever have applied to a college and you're waiting for the response, it's hard to wait. If you put in an application to get a job and you're waiting to respond, it's just hard to wait. You put in a loan to buy a house. It's just hard to wait for the answer. But there's something about waiting on God. There's something about saying, God, I'm looking to the heavens. And unless I have a clear green light from you, I will not move forward. And I'm just going to wait on you. I'm going to wait for your voice. I'm going to wait for your confirmation. I'm going to wait for you to make it clear to me. Because I don't want to go in or out of your will. I don't want to go to the left or to the right. I want to be right in the center. And so I'm going to wait upon you. It's hard to wait when we're looking to make a decision, but we may fall into the temptation that the king Saul fell into when Samuel told them to wait for him seven days, and when he seemed like the prophet wasn't coming, he went in and did his thing, and God held it against him. We need to learn as a people to wait on the Lord to to spend time in prayer before God, to search scriptures, to say, God, I'm waiting for you to make it clear, and I won't move forward until you have given me a clear green light or a very clear red light. God, because I'm waiting upon you. And as you wait upon the Lord. Make sure that your heart is clean and your ears are open. Psalm 66, verse 18 through 19 says, if I cherish sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Psalm 139 verse 23 says, search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts, and see if there be any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. There's a lot of decisions in this congregation that have to be made decisions about jobs, about marriage, about finances, about health, about ministries, about dreams and visions. There's decisions about moving. There's decisions about children and their future. There's many, many decisions that have to be made on a regular basis. And I just want to make sure that as you make those decisions, you've left room for the heart and the voice of God. It tells us in Proverbs. It tells us trust in the Lord with all their heart. Lean not in thine own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight. There are some of you right now that are at the crossroads, and you're tempted just to make a decision, just because it's the common sense decision. And I would say, listen, if it's a major decision, make sure you know it's God. Make sure you screen it through these filters. Decisions that you make. Now, there are certain decisions that you make in life that will have an incredible effect on your future. Incredible. You will live with the consequences for the rest of your life. And so I believe that we need to wait on God, learn to hear the voice of God, filter it through these things so that we are making decisions because we're listening to God.

Leave room for the heart and voice of God. Mark this just one of the practical applications that we can take away from today's message.

Leave room for the heart and voice of God. Mark this just one of the practical applications that we can take away from today's message.

The challenge that I want our listeners to grasp is this. Ask yourself, what has God been saying to me lately and what am I doing about it? If you start to ask yourself that question, I think it can change the trajectory of our life because we are setting ourselves attuned to what the Spirit of God is saying, and we are deliberately taking action on it. That is life changing.

The challenge that I want our listeners to grasp is this. Ask yourself, what has God been saying to me lately and what am I doing about it? If you start to ask yourself that question, I think it can change the trajectory of our life because we are setting ourselves attuned to what the Spirit of God is saying, and we are deliberately taking action on it. That is life changing.

So be encouraged today as you consider Mark's challenge for your own life. And if you have taken bold steps in your walk of faith, we would love to hear about it. Visit Bold steps. Org and click on the Bold Stories link. You'll also find more bold Stories on our YouTube page at the playlist tab. Last month, we had a bold step gift designated for the modern Christian man. And now, as we step into July, we're excited to offer a special resource just for the ladies. You know, the message that most women get from the world today is hustle, hustle, hustle. If you're not climbing the corporate ladder or standing on a stage, you're not doing enough. But the message we get from the Bible couldn't be more different. That's why we want to send you a copy of Called to Cultivate. It's a book that equips women to see every sphere of influence as part of a bigger mission. Learn to approach your work, family, community, and more with an eternal perspective, cultivating what matters most for God's glory. By requesting called to cultivate. Today, we'll send you a copy with your gift of any amount to support the Ministry of Bold Steps, just call 800 D.L. Moody. That's (800) 356-6639 or give your gift online at Bold Steps. Org plus with your gift of any amount, you can also get your copy of the brand new Bold Steps with Jesus devotional. This 30 day guide will encourage you to live on mission for Jesus and take a new, bold step of faith in obedience. Each day. As you grow in your walk with Christ, you'll find the Bold Steps with Jesus devotional online at Bold Steps. Org. And it's yours with a gift of any size to support this ministry. I'm Wayne Shepherd. That's all the time we have today. Be sure to come back tomorrow when Mark continues this series on hearing God with a message called When God Seems Silent. Returning to the Book of Genesis for a closer look at the story of Abraham and Sarah, they received a big promise from God. But then nothing happened. Can you relate? What do you do when God seems silent? That's coming up Wednesday right here on Bold Steps with Mark John. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

So be encouraged today as you consider Mark's challenge for your own life. And if you have taken bold steps in your walk of faith, we would love to hear about it. Visit Bold steps. Org and click on the Bold Stories link. You'll also find more bold Stories on our YouTube page at the playlist tab. Last month, we had a bold step gift designated for the modern Christian man. And now, as we step into July, we're excited to offer a special resource just for the ladies. You know, the message that most women get from the world today is hustle, hustle, hustle. If you're not climbing the corporate ladder or standing on a stage, you're not doing enough. But the message we get from the Bible couldn't be more different. That's why we want to send you a copy of Called to Cultivate. It's a book that equips women to see every sphere of influence as part of a bigger mission. Learn to approach your work, family, community, and more with an eternal perspective, cultivating what matters most for God's glory. By requesting called to cultivate. Today, we'll send you a copy with your gift of any amount to support the Ministry of Bold Steps, just call 800 D.L. Moody. That's (800) 356-6639 or give your gift online at Bold Steps. Org plus with your gift of any amount, you can also get your copy of the brand new Bold Steps with Jesus devotional. This 30 day guide will encourage you to live on mission for Jesus and take a new, bold step of faith in obedience. Each day. As you grow in your walk with Christ, you'll find the Bold Steps with Jesus devotional online at Bold Steps. Org. And it's yours with a gift of any size to support this ministry. I'm Wayne Shepherd. That's all the time we have today. Be sure to come back tomorrow when Mark continues this series on hearing God with a message called When God Seems Silent. Returning to the Book of Genesis for a closer look at the story of Abraham and Sarah, they received a big promise from God. But then nothing happened. Can you relate? What do you do when God seems silent? That's coming up Wednesday right here on Bold Steps with Mark John. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.