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WELCOME TO ST. ANDREW'S, JERSEY
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How does God Guide Us?

January 9th 2016  Lindy Taylor
 
Welcome to a New Year and God has an exciting future for all of us. As we enter this New Year God also has a plan for each of us. The New Year bringing a new future and change.
As I speak today I’m reminded about many things, when Mike, myself and the children, Billy and Sammy, came over for an interview 19 years ago. Norma and Marion looked after myself, Billy and Sammy whilst Mike was interviewed by the Dean and the Church Wardens. The weather was absolutely dreadful so it was not that that drew us to the island at the time!


Norma was wonderfully practical and ensured the children were safe and happy whilst Mike and I were shown around the Parish and during his interview I remember Marion and I were in the dining room at the time and we were looking out of the window into the garden. I think Marion realised that I was thinking about change and being far away from my family. I remember her taking my hand and giving it a squeeze and I was suddenly reassured that everything was going to be alright!

Another memory is that 6 years ago on the 16/01/2010 we had our first Women’s Breakfast. This was following Elaine and I attending a Radiant Women’s Conference in Bournemouth 2009 and the idea of the Women’s Breakfast was born during a conversation Elaine and I had over breakfast when I told her of longing to equip the women of St Andrew’s with the tools to be confident women of God and to bring their children and grandchildren up as Christians also. Now six years later here we are and when I look around I can see mature women of God. These breakfasts would never have been sustainable if it wasn’t for the amazing team that keeps it going month on month. Jackie with her awesome admin/hospitality skills, Donna with the flowers and gifts, Chantal with the flowers and the verses she produces every month, Robin preparing the hall and Mary with her gift with worship. If not for the team the breakfasts would not still be going. So thank you all for sustaining a safe and secure place for women to come and learn about what it means today to be a Christian woman in our society today and trying with God always with us to overcome the daily worries, anxieties and fears that we face. Thank you also that we have been able to celebrate the joys we have all experienced together as a church and I’m reminded again of Matthew and Victoria Gordon’s wedding in 2014. What a wonderful privilege it was to see two young people brought up at St Andrew’s and married here also.


All these lovely memories lead me to my talk where God is leading Mike and I on to a new future in Somerset. So how did we get to this place? Well, we all have to make decisions in life. Such as relationships, marriage, church, use of time, jobs, homes, money, holidays, possessions, giving and so on.
What is the utmost of importance is that we make the right decisions, for instance choice of marriage partner or in Mike and my situation in life our decision or question was “Are you moving us on Lord? Decisions like this we need God’s help, and we as Christians need and want to know that we are following God’s will, being obedient and fulfilling God’s destiny for our lives.
Guidance springs out of our relationship with God. He promises to guide those who are walking with him. He says in Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go”. Jesus promises to lead and guide his followers: “He calls us, his own sheep by name and leads them out…… His sheep follow him because they know his voice. He longs for us to discover his will. He is concerned about each of us as individuals. He loves us and wants to speak to us about what we should be doing with our lives – about the little things as well as the big things.
God has a plan for our lives, for yours and mine. Sometimes people are worried by this. They think, “I’m not sure that I want God’s plan for my life. Will His plans be good?” We need not fear. God loves us and wants the very best for our lives is “good, pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). He said to his people through the prophet Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
He is saying, “Don’t you realise that I have a really good plan for your life?” I have prepared something wonderful. This cry from the Lord’s heart came, because he saw the mess his people had got themselves into when they didn’t follow his plans. All around us we see people whose lives are in a muddle, “Often people say to me after they have come to Christ, “ I wish I had become a Christian 5 or 10 years earlier. Look at my life now, it is such a mess.
If we are to find out about God’s plans for us, we need to ask him about them.
God warned his people about embarking on plans without consulting him: “Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine…… who go down to Egypt without consulting me (Isaiah 30: 1-2). Of course, Jesus is the supreme example of doing the will of His father. He was consistently led by the Spirit” (Luke 4:1) and only did what he saw his father doing (John 5:19).
We make mistakes because we fail to consult the Lord. We make some plan and think, “I want to do that but I am not quite sure whether God wants me to do it. I think I’d better not ask him, just in case it’s not his will for me.” God guides us when we are prepared to do his will rather than insisting that our own way is right. The psalmist says, “He guides the humble (Psalm 25:9) and confides in those who fear him. God guides those whose attitude is like Mary’s, “I am the Lord’s servant and I am willing to do whatever he wants” (Luke 1:38). The moment we are prepared to do his will, he begins to reveal his plans for our lives.
There is a verse in the Psalms which I go back to time and time again. “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act (Psalm 37:5). Our part is to commit the decision to the Lord and then to trust him. When we have done that, we can wait expectantly for him to act.
So given that we are willing to do what God wants us to do, in what ways should we expect God to speak to us and guide us? There are various ways in which He guides us. Sometimes God speaks to us through one or a combination of different ways. If it is a major decision he may speak through all of them.
Mike and I felt He spoke to us through a combination of ways we like to refer as the 5 C’s!


  • COMMANDING SCRIPTURE
As we see from God’s word, God’s general will for all people in all places in all circumstances as revealed in scripture.
Sometimes when we read our daily readings words can just jump out and hit us between our eyes.
When Mike was attending his interview in Somerset the words that jumped out at me were that evening from:
Jeremiah 6:16 “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it and you will find rest for your souls.” Funnily enough as is God’s way! Both Mike and I had the same scripture. We are both pioneers and as all the three churches at present are traditional they have come to a place where they recognise if they are to grow then they need to change. So both Mike and I feel that God is leading us to this parish to love the people and the community and to lead and teach them to have a closer relationship with God.
 
  • COMPELLING SPIRIT
Guidance is very personal. When we become Christians, the Spirit of God comes to live within us. When He does so, he begins to communicate with us. We need to hear His voice and discern what He is saying to us. Mike and I have felt somewhat restless for the past 18 months, Mike has been longing for one more challenge and I’m aware that my Mum is getting older and frailer year by year. On top of the difficulties and costs of getting to and from the mainland.

  • COMMON SENSE
When we become Christians we are not called to abandon common sense. The Psalmist warns “Do not be like the horse and mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and Bridle or they will not come to you” (Ps 32:9). Common sense is one of the factors to be taken into account in the whole area of choosing a life partner and deciding to move or change jobs.
Partner – is she/he spiritually compatible – unequally yoked
  • Personally compatible – do we have things in common
  • Physically compatible – are we attracted to each other
Jobs – common sense is vital and the general rule is that we should stay with the job we have already until God calls us into something else. Mike and I, when looking at other parishes read their parish profiles and chose churches that we felt we could help grow with our particular gifting’s as well as whether we complimented their values. For example, we were looking for churches who were looking to the future, were biblically based who wanted to reach out into their communities representing Christ and The Holy Spirit. Those churches who wanted to reach out to the lost, the broken and the lonely and bring Christ’s love into their lives.

  • COUNCEL OF THE SAINTS
The book of Proverbs is full of injunctions to seek wise advice. The writer asserts that “a wise man listens to advice” (Prov. 12:15). He warns that 2plans fail for lack of counsel” but on the other hand, “with many advisers they succeed” (Prov 15:22). Therefore, he urges “make plans by seeking advice” (prov 20:18).
While seeking advice is very important, we needs to remember that ultimately our decisions are between us and God. They are our responsibilities. We cannot shift that responsibility onto others or seek to blame them if things go wrong.
At New Wine we sought the wise advice of one of the speakers in May last year. Mike and I went up for prayer ministry about the promptings we felt we were having from God to move on in our ministry. The word we received was that we would be moving and that the whole process would be easy and quick. Mike applied for the post at the start of September, was interviewed early October and accepted immediately afterwards.
Mike has a spiritual mentor and I would recommend everyone to have a spiritual mentor as not only can they help you grow in faith but also guide you, come alongside you and encourage you when times are difficult. His mentor reflected with him and on his present ministerial role over 18 years and felt this was indeed the right time and that Mike was the right age to be able to move and still make a difference in another parish.
When Mike was interviewed there were 6 interviewers. When Mike discussed the interview later, he was telling me how traditional the churches were but how forward thinking their vision was which Mike found very exciting, but he was still struggling with how traditional they were. So I said to him “Let God’s yes be yes and His no be no” meaning that if he was not accepted for the post that it would be a firm no from God.
The following day Mike was contacted by the Archdeacon who told him that was the one the interview panel had chosen and that it was a unanimous decision. This seemed to be a fulfilment of the word given at New Wine as that it would be quick and easy as in the space of a month Mike had applied been interviewed and accepted for the post as Rector of Freshford, Limpley Stoke and Hinton Charterhouse.


  • CIRCUMSTANTIAL SIGNS
God is in ultimate control of all events, the writer of Proverbs points out “IN his heart a man pans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” (Prov. 16:9). Sometimes God opens doors 1 Cor. 16:9 and sometimes he closes them Acts 16:7. When both of us realised for various reasons God was asking us to leave the Island to continue our ministry elsewhere, I immediately put my practical head on and started throwing obstacles in the path. Such as “How are we going to pay our tax bill a year in arears?” How are we going to pay for Sammy’s University fees?” How are St Andrew’s going to afford to get the vicarage ready for a new incumbent? Will I get a job in Somerset?
Every obstacle I raised, God seemed to just tick it off patiently and with a smile. Mike was left some money which paid off our tax bill. Sammy’s next tuition fees are covered by an unexpected PPI rebate we didn’t realise we had owing. The church is now in a position to update and decorate the vicarage for the next incumbent. And finally I have been offered a job based near Bath and I can basically say when I want to start and what hours I want to work.
So it would seem that God is guiding and leading us to pastures new. We will be nearer to my sister in Fareham, Sammy in Bournemouth and Mum is only a car journey away in Wales.
Billy wants to stay in Jersey and as most of you know is hoping to be recruited to join the Police here. So it won’t be goodbye but au revoir. We have spent the last 18 years here on the Island, we have seen a lot of change in the church and on the Island. During the last 18 years we bought the first Alpha Conference to the Island, introduced New Wine and have hosted the conference for the past 11 years, and have seen the CPAS Growing leaders course have a positive impact on St Andrew’s and seen the fruit of that in the present leadership at St Andrews.
The whole of this talk is basically from Pslam 119 and questions of Life by the wonderful Nicky Gumbol. Pslam 119 is basically about the law of God and how precious it is and how it guides us in our daily lives. The verse you have “your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path” is what we found it to be this last year as we have tried to stay in step with God.

The family of St Andrews has always and will always be very special to us. We love you and always will. Both Mike and I with Celia and Sammy will miss everyone of you as you all have a special place in our hearts.


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    • Women's Talks >
      • The Lord is my song
      • How Does God Guide Us
      • Ruth
      • Being a Woman of Faith - Chasing after God
      • Living in Harmony
      • Talk by Helen Oliver
      • Trusting God in the Desert Times
      • God is always with us
      • Navigating through lifes terrain
      • Women - Gods image for us
      • You are beautiful
      • Loosed Women
      • Scriptual Meditation
      • Into Gods Presence pt 2
      • Into Gods Presence
      • Women Living Gods Way
      • The Father's Heart
      • Who am I Part 1
      • Identity in Christ Part 2
      • Created as a Woman
      • Role Models
      • Women of Security
      • Finding Your Voice
  • Talks
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