Guardrails for Guidance: Only Buy the Real thing

Building People of Substance for Works of Power

07/02/2025

I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

Habakkuk 2:1 ESV

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 ESV

Does anyone remember Y2K? It was the standard code for problems we expected as we entered the year 2000. It seems that a lot of computers weren’t prepared for the change of centuries. There were a lot of concerns about planes falling from the sky. Maybe the electrical grid would go down. People were worried about food supplies and random looting. Fear drove some to do strange things. Lots of scammers made a lot of money selling survivalist schemes. One well-known TV Christian actually encouraged people to stock up on food and buy guns to protect it. Does this sound at all like Jesus to you?

One guy in my church took some of our folks and left. He convinced them that I wasn’t a good shepherd because I had the crazy idea that we should trust God, fear not, and lay aside any plans to shoot our starving neighbors. It was a spooky-natural disaster, splitting churches, wasting millions of gospel dollars, and bringing ridicule to the Body of Christ. For me, the most distressing thing about it was that very few of the doom-sayers ever repented or apologized. Most of them just went to the next fundraising opportunity with their bibles in hand.

So, as we head to the tower and start looking to God for His vision, mission, and purpose, how can we avoid such catastrophes? First and foremost, take time to search the Bible to see if what you think you heard lines up with Scripture. That answers the majority of questions. God didn’t tell you to shoot your neighbor. He didn’t tell you to leave your wife and kids for the secretary. Hopefully, you get what I’m saying.

There are many things that the Bible doesn’t address specifically, so we need the guidance of the Spirit. The Bible does give clear instructions on how to avoid the catastrophes that result from attributing to God things that are actually from other sources. Here are some good safeguards to protect yourself and those you minister to:

• Don’t seek experiences. God didn’t promise that all of us would see visions or hear audible voices. There are lots of other spirits around that would be happy to provide you with an experience. Paul said that even Satan comes as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). John put it this way, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1). You should always pray for guidance, but let God decide how to deliver it.
• Test everything. Whether you get it straight from God or someone prophesies over you, it’s still your responsibility to test it. The word for “test” means to check something out to make sure it’s real, like you might do with a precious metal. Is it really gold, or is it just fool’s gold? You should test it out before you buy it. What kinds of tests can you apply?
  • Check it against the Word! Paul said that prophecy would edify, exhort, and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3). Does it build people up and move them closer to the Lord? Does it encourage them to persevere in His service (Acts 11:23)? Does it glorify a person, or does it glorify Jesus (John 16:14)?
  • Be sensitive to your own spirit. If you are born again, then you have a new heart, the Holy Spirit dwells in you. If something is coming from the Holy Spirit, it should bring joy, peace, or conviction (not condemnation) to your spirit. Indeed, many times it will simply confirm something you already knew on the inside. That doesn’t mean it will always sound fun or exciting. Learn the difference between emotions and the leading of the spirit.

Remember that when you stand before the Lord, He won’t care what someone else told you. You’re accountable for what He told you. If it doesn’t seem good to you, then just put it on the shelf. If it’s really God, He has other ways to talk to you. He will remind and confirm.

• Don’t be led by circumstances. The devil can open and close doors. Just because something is available doesn’t mean you should do it. He can also change circumstances to fit your fleece (See Judges 6:37-40). Sometimes good things can pull you away from the God things. You spend your time and resources doing things that are not evil, but they are not what God asked you to do. Be led by the spirit on the inside, not the rain or the sunshine on the outside.
  • Ask an elder. It’s not a good idea to run this race by yourself. You’re not sharp enough to figure it out. Sometimes we miss the point of what God has said because we’re so focused on our own feelings or cultural background. In 1 Corinthians 14:29 concerning prophecies, Paul said, “let the others judge.” When you think you’ve heard from God, run it by a trusted advisor, not just your buddies. You need someone who will tell you the truth. Buddies are good, elders are necessary.
  • Be slow to speak. Before you say “thus saith the Lord” or “God told me,” take a deep breath and run these tests in your mind. If you say something is from God, then other people may act on what you say. That is a terrible responsibility. Paul was careful to let people know when it was his opinion:
    • “as a concession, not a command, I say this”   (1 Corinthians 7:6),
    • “to the rest I say (I, not the Lord)” (7:12),
    • “I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment” (7:25), etc.

If you have a leading or an inclination, just call it that. It’s OK to just have a holy inclination. Remember how James described the decision he and the other leaders made concerning the Gentiles in Antioch: “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us” (Acts 15:28). In this case, they came to a consensus on the subject – it seemed good to them. Not “thus saith the Lord.” Be honest!

Just be sure to test out your revelations before you palm them off on somebody else as being from God. If you do miss it, be willing to admit it. It will give you more credibility, not less. There’s no hurry, We have all eternity, and a God who knows the end from the beginning. Isaiah said, “‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.” (Isaiah 28:16)

I especially like this one:

Being excited about something is not enough. You must also know what you are doing. Don’t rush into something, or you might do it wrong. People ruin their lives with the foolish things they do, and then they blame the LORD for it.

Proverbs 19:2-3 ERV

Once we believe that we have heard from heaven about our direction, it’s time to start spreading the news. Habakkuk records the precise instructions he got from the Lord about how to do that: write it, make it plain, believe God, and be patient. Next time we’ll learn more about how to write it so it works. “ “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” 

Pastor Virgil

3141 W. Ironwood Hill Dr.

Tucson, AZ 85741