Ride or Guide by Brother Curtis Hansen

         This morning we will be turning to the book of Joshua. We will be in chapter 3 and start with the first verse. Now, to give you a brief setting. The Israelites have come to the promised land after 40 years in the wilderness. Joshua is getting the people prepared to cross over into Canaan. 

        And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed the Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.

        2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;

        3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.

        4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

        5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

        In life, a lot of people make the claim they want to be guided by God, but a lot of time they are merely riding with him. Before you take even a single step, you need an idea and a direction in order to see where God is guiding you.

        If you don't an idea of who you are or who God is, nor have a clue what direction you should take, God can resemble a frustrating Alexa. All the information you take in, it isn't always accurate or biblically sound. Unlike Alexa, we don't order God around. It's not like you place God on a mantle or decorative table and ask for the weather, or give you stuff you don't need. Christians believe that they can order and boss God around because of their "faith". If you don't really know what faith is, you could requesting amiss. Yes, you should pray and apply your faith in seeking things from God, but even if you do it how you think it goes, this doesn't mean God's going to move the way you want him to. 

        Christians pray in faith for promotions and opportunities in the world, but they run from promotions and opportunities in the church. God leads with a need. God provides pressure as well as provision. Our needs are what pushes us into church. Goodwill take things in our life, our work or our family, to apply pressure to us. God will guide us where he wants to go if we remain humble and obedient. Yet we often think that where we are going is where he didn't want us to go because it disturbs our flesh. 

        Acts chapter 16 gives an example of God guiding. In the first 12 verses, Paul and Silas met Timothy and they establish churches in their travel. In verse 6, the Holy Ghost forbids them going into Asia. The Holy Ghost tells them no to a couple of other areas. So the men abide by the spirit and don't venture where they were told not to go. In verse 9 Paul receives a vision of a man from Macedonia praying for the men to come. When we get to verse 13 we see the need of Paul to preach and the need of Lydia to be saved. Do we obey God on this level? Have you been presented a situation where it's beneficial to your bank account but it could bankrupt your spirit man? There's a difference between needs and wants. Man often gets the two mixed up.

        God uses distance. We all have pressure points that when hit we move. If you have a job, so does God. If you sanctify yourself today, God will move for you tomorrow.