Poor Saul - at first he'd obeyed God and got rid of all the mediums and spiritists - but then he got himself into a fix and into sin. He found that in the state he was in God wasn't talking to him, but he was desperate to know what he should do - so he went to a medium. The result was an even bigger mess; his disobedience to God went to new levels, and he found instead of helpful guidance or a promise of victory that his own death was predicted.

It is a natural human desire to want to know what's going to happen to us and what decisions we should make. Rather than just letting life happen day by day and making all their decisions by themselves, people look for the answers in many different places. We can be extremely insecure and worried over the effects of making a wrong decision, so we need to know what is right.

Our society is very fatalistic; there is a belief that life is all mapped out, that the future cannot be changed - but that if we can find someone who can read that map, we can be better prepared for what is going to take place. If we want guidance about what we should do in a situation - we could always ask other people who we trust for suggestions, but people usually want more certainty about what is right than the opinions of the people they know and so they turn to other sources.

So what sources do people turn to? They seek guidance and a knowledge of the future from fortune tellers, clairvoyants, mediums, from horoscopes, tarot cards, crystals, runes - in fact almost everywhere apart from God. Things really haven't changed much in the past 3000 years. The only reason many people in Saul's time couldn't ask a medium was that he had originally obeyed God and got rid of them all.

Now science will tell you that these things are all a load of rubbish - it's just superstition, the movements of distant stars and planets can't affect you. Certainly there are no shortage of charlatans and con-artists who work in this area, but a lot of people are convinced that it works. They ignore the scientists because they hear truths about themselves which no-one else could know. Every day I encounter people who are talking about what the horoscope says, what the fortune teller predicted, about talking with departed relatives or revelations about past lives.

These forms of guidance have a strong grip on so many outside the body of Christ. Why is this the case, why does what science says is nonsense actually appear to work - and why does God say it is wrong? Wrong is actually a mild term - God hates these things, He doesn't want His people to have anything to do with them. In the Old Testament the solution to mediums was to kill them (Leviticus 20:27) - they were considered such a danger to Israel. So why does God hate these things so much - why is such an apparently innocuous thing as reading your horoscope such a threat?

Right from the start of the Bible we read that God made man to have a relationship with Him. He gave Adam everything he needed, anything Adam wanted to know He could ask God. The idyllic situation in Eden was wrecked because instead of taking advice and getting guidance from God, Adam and Eve turned to a snake for counsel - and not just any snake, this was Satan, Lucifer, the angel who had tried to make himself like God and been cast out of heaven for his rebellion. Ever since Satan has been playing this same game. He knows if he can get men to listen to him and follow his advice then it will get in the way of what God wants to do in their lives. He is a master of disguise - the snake was only the first of many - but he will always appear to be doing people a favour, helping them out, telling them what they want to know. The reality is that he is placing people in bondage and keeping them dependent on him, slaves to his will and destined to share his fate in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41). He will only tell you the truth to make you fall for a greater lie.

People involved in the various occult practices have many different explanations for where they get their spiritual talents and abilities. Some are honest enough to say that their revelations are mediated by a spirit - though they usually consider it a good spirit or an angel. Others have second sight, or an ability to read the stars or the cards or whatever, or they are able to contact the dead or some being from another planet or different dimension. The more you look into it the more contradictory the stories become. There is no consistency, but people trust it and believe it. In one report I read recently a man who had been dead for twenty years contacted an old friend by telephone and informed him that he was now working for an organisation of dead people based in an enormous building on the planet Marduk in a distant spiral galaxy on the third astral plane, where 60 billion dead people live on the banks of the river of eternity - total codswollop, but there are people who believe it. It was G.K. Chesterton who said that "when people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing, they believe in anything!" The whole point of keeping people ensnared in this deception is that you can't serve two masters (Matthew 6:24) - if you're trusting in and relying on the stars to guide your way, you can't also be following the Lord.

Some people would be surprised that fortune telling and seances actually work. There is nothing in the Bible to imply the devil can actually tell the future (though he knows what his ultimate destiny is), but by placing your trust in the promises he and his demons make, you put yourself into bondage so that he can manipulate your future to match the predictions. There is no problem in understanding how demons are able to masquerade as long dead relatives - after all they've been around for most of human history and at least some of them will know more about your ancestors than you do. It's all to keep you in the trap. If they make you think that things are actually quite okay for you after you've died, no matter what you do in this life or what you believe, then you're not going to believe the preacher who tells you that you will go to hell unless you repent and believe. This is why God says steer clear, have nothing to do with these things.

The nations around Israel all followed these doctrines of demons, they all sought guidance and success from their gods and opposed the God of Israel. They were a danger to the people of Israel; God would not allow His people to live in the land with them, they had to be removed. Isaiah said of the people of his time "Some people say, 'Ask the mediums and fortune-tellers, who whisper and mutter what to do.' But I tell you that people should ask their God for help. Why should people who are still alive ask something from the dead? You should follow the teachings and the agreement with the Lord. The mediums and fortune-tellers do not speak the word of the Lord, so their words are worth nothing" (Isaiah 8:19-20). The Lord is able to thwart the seers and prophets of the evil one, and reveal clearly things which they cannot see. As Daniel said to Belteshazzar "No wise man, magician or fortune-teller can explain to the king the secret he has asked about. But there is a God in heaven who explains secret things" (Daniel 2:27-28). Paul did not tolerate the girl who followed him and Silas around prophesying - he recognized that what she said came from an evil spirit, so he cast it out of her in Jesus name and she was no longer able to tell fortunes (Acts 16:16-19).

This world is in bondage to the forces of the enemy - but Jesus died to bring freedom. As a Christian you do not need to be enslaved to these things. You might have convinced yourself in the past that you were the way you were because you were a Taurus, and that's just the way Taureans were, but Jesus has broken any power that these star signs had over you. When you were saved it was a fresh start, you were set free from what had held you in the past, you were born again under a new sign, a sign of the cross.

Jesus has freed you from bondage - if He hasn't then let Him. If we want to know the future we can ask God, He's the only one who does know - but unlike demons He won't always tell you because it's not always good for you to know, and crossing His palm with silver is never a good idea! I know most of you know the Lord, but I also recognize that we need to be on our guard regarding some of these forms of revelation. 1 Timothy 4:1 "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons". Paul was concerned about believers compromising by trying to hold on to their old ways and still live as Christians. He said to the Galatians "In the past you did not know God. You were slaves to gods who were not really gods. But now you know the true God, why are You turning back again to these feeble and miserable elemental spirits - do you want to be slaves all over again?" (Galatians 4:8-9). The Old Testament's epitaph to Saul is that he blew it - "he consulted a medium seeking guidance and did not seek guidance from the Lord" (1 Chronicles 10:13).

All right, most of us are Christians, we don't go asking advice from the dead nor do we look for our future in the stars; what has all of this to do with us? We're still human and we have the same natural desire to know what to do in situations, we still need guidance. We are not harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36) because we've got a shepherd who guides us and leads us. He says "my sheep hear my voice and follow me" (John 10:27) - so as far as guidance goes our starting point should be making sure we are listening to the voice of the Shepherd and following Him.

God speaks to us in a variety of different ways - some people hear an audible voice, others get impressions, others see things in the form of pictures or visions. There's no shortage of different ways for God to get His message across. Sometimes He speaks to us directly, other times He gives us messages for other individuals or for the church as a whole.

Paul says that we can all prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:31) - he implies that when we meet together this will be a natural part of our gatherings. I don't think he can envisage the sort of one-way meetings which are found in most churches. We pray to God, we sing to Him, we give instruction about His ways - but apart from when we read the scriptures only rarely do we have the space for Him to say His piece. Paul says "when you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation" (1 Corinthians 14:26) - in that list about half of what Paul envisages taking place in our gatherings is coming from God to us, not from us to God. Yes it should be done in an orderly manner, but it should certainly be done. Paul wants us to prophesy, and if we don't to desire to prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:1).

The one thing we should always do is test the messages out - it's easy to get it wrong, especially when you're learning. That's one of the great things about the home-church groups - you can learn and make mistakes in an environment where you are with people you know and trust. If you prophesy that the world is going to end tomorrow, someone will probably sit down with you and suggest that maybe you haven't quite heard it right - you'll not be thrown out of the church for daring to make the suggestion.

God prophesies through individuals to individuals - He tells you what He is going to do in and through your lives, and what is going to happen to you - usually with the addition of "if" you walk in His ways or some similar condition. If we want to know what we should do we should ask God from the start, it should be a natural part of our Christian walk that we bring Him into all we do, and every decision we make.

As we develop our relationship with the Father we can learn to hear His voice - and as with prophecy it needs to be tested - many people have followed what they thought was the voice of God and ended up in a mess, but if you check it out and it matches up with what God says in other places and fits what He has revealed about His character you should be okay.

Hearing from God for one another should be a normal function of the local church body. It is in the small group/cell church environment that we should be learning to flow in and exercise these forms of revelation. Paul says that those who prophesy are speaking to people to give them strength, encouragement and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3). We should always be seeking God for things to share - church is about each of us learning to function as a body and ministering what God has given us to one another - it's certainly not just about turning up to a meeting and waiting for someone to minister to you.

I know there are some who will only believe God is speaking to them if the message comes from a big name evangelist, but this indicates more of a trust in an individual than in God, and this is not usually God's way of doing things - after all God can even use a donkey to get His word across (Numbers 22:28-30). You should never need to go looking for a big name evangelist to ask if God has given him a word for you - if God has a word for you He will tell you, He will let You know, you don't need to go pestering His servants. It is the same God who speaks in our small home-church groups as speaks through the speakers on the big platforms - and if He chooses He could bring His word to you in either situation.

One thing that worries me a little is these people who go around with a ministry of "personal prophecy", giving words from God on request - to me it smacks of people consulting a fortune teller and I don't think God likes it. You should never need to go asking someone if God has given them a word for you (unless God has specifically indicated to you that that is the case). God knows Your needs, He knows what you need to know, and He hears you when you call upon Him and ask Him for help and guidance. If He is going to answer your prayers by speaking to You, He will give someone a word for You. It is then that person's responsibility to deliver that message - if they don't God knows that too and will make sure you get to hear. But we shouldn't need to chasing big name preachers or these people with this ministry of personal prophecy - let God choose the means by which He will speak, don't try to restrict Him to your limited selection of options. Paul didn't need to go looking for Agabus to ask him if he had a word for him, God gave Agabus a word for Paul and he came to give it to him (Acts 21:10-12).

God does speak to us, He shows us the way we should go and tells us what to do - but that is not always the case. There are situations where we just need to make decisions - where we need to choose what we are going to do, and where God leaves that choice to us. Life isn't always straightforward and we can't always know what God wants us to do - at these times we need to try the doors available to us, to see which ones open. The whole decision about whether we will follow God or not is left to us to make (though He has known from the beginning who will make that choice) - God will not force us, he says "Choose this day who it is you are going to serve" (Joshua 24:15). While you can certainly ask the Lord whether or not he wants you to go shopping, or whether you should put the washing out, or what clothes he wants you to wear - he has given you a mind to make decisions - not everything requires divine revelation. When you are faced with a choice to do right or to sin, you don't need to ask for guidance. You need to make the right choice, and maybe ask for God to give you strength to do that and reject evil.

Now I mentioned about testing the prophecies you receive. First and foremost you need to know whether it matches up to what God has said in other situations. There is only one way to do this - read and study and meditate on this book. Get to know the Bible. To paraphrase a certain TV programme - the truth is in there. In fact the more you get to know how God deals with situations and learn the lessons in the lives of the people who He dealt with, the more you will know how to deal with situations in your own life. The great thing about God is He doesn't change - so what He said about something 2000 years ago is still as relevant today. In fact it's no good asking God to tell you what to do in the hope that He might have changed His mind and give you permission to do something that was forbidden in the past, it's still forbidden, and He's not going to change His mind and tell you anything different. If you believe He's told you something different, I expect that you've misheard or been misled, but would advise you to talk it over with someone wiser in the faith.

This book is the Word of God - this is a lamp for our feet and a light which shines on our path (Psalm 119:105). We need to be soaked in it - there is no other book which is remotely as important. We need to know and understand what it says more than we need to know what is happening in the news, more than what the characters in Neighbours or Eastenders or Friends are doing. If we don't find it easy to sit down and read it, get it on tape and listen. After all "faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ" (Rom 10:17).

The scriptures are normally very straightforward, they mean what they say - there are a few difficult sections, but there's plenty that's crystal clear to get to grips with and start putting into practice before we start worrying about the meaning of the beast with seven heads and ten horns in Revelation. Sometimes God will take a passage that in its context means one thing and give it a meaning to you that speaks to a situation in your life at that moment, but we should never get superstitious about using the Bible for guidance or revelation. You probably all know the undoubtedly apocryphal story about the man who wanted to know what God was saying to him. So he took the Bible, opened it at random and stuck his finger on the page and read "Then Judas went away and hanged himself". He decided he obviously hadn't done it right, so he tried again - this time he read: "Go and do likewise". By now he was getting worried, so he tried again, only to read: "What you are about to do, do quickly"! A few verses out of context could be made to mean anything - but in the proper context in which they appear and balanced with the whole of the scriptures they reveal to us the will of God for our lives.

You are not always going to know what the scripture is that speaks to a particular situation, but there's another gift which God gives through which we have an understanding of what God's way is, and that is by wisdom. God commends wisdom. There's an entire book in the Old Testament called Proverbs devoted to it. It is a command that we get wisdom (Proverbs 4:5). "The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight" (Proverbs 4:7). Wisdom comes through living life, and walking in relationship with God and getting to know His Word. It is knowing His ways, understanding His thoughts and what is the godly approach to a situation. "If you seek it ... you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. The Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding" (Proverbs 2:4-6).

There is a natural wisdom that people develop, but Paul doesn't have much good to say about this worldly understanding (1 Corinthians 1-3). There is also a wisdom which comes from God, which gives an insight into His heart and will. Paul prays that we might be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Colossians 1:9). James contrasts the wisdom which comes from above with that which is earthly, unspiritual and devilish. The wisdom from God is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy (James 3:13-17). He says that if we lack wisdom we should ask God - and it will be given to us (James 1:5). Jesus says that He will give us words and a wisdom which none of our opponents will be able to withstand or contradict (Luke 21:15). Wisdom is one of the manifestations of the Spirit given for the good of the body which Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12:8. According to Peter, Paul wrote according to the wisdom which God gave him (2 Peter 3:15).

It's always worthwhile to find those people who are wise and when you need some advice or counsel to ask them. They will be able to draw from that well of knowledge of the Lord to help you and guide you. We should always remember though, that the answer we seek is from God and never get too reliant on any individual. Sometimes you would be better learning to hear from God yourself than asking someone else who must ask God and then when God tells them, they tell you. Cut out the middleman and get your revelation firsthand rather than secondhand - listen to what He is saying to you directly and read what the Word says yourself.

So to recap: if we want guidance about anything we should ask the Lord. God speaks to us through many forms of revelation and through His Word. We need to learn how to hear what He is saying and we should help one another to do so. We should stay well clear of the ways in which the world receives spiritual guidance since this is one of the tools used by the evil one to keep people in bondage. We need guidance from the Lord - the Bible says "where there is no guidance a nation falls" (Proverbs 11:14). To conclude here's a series of promises from the scriptures. The Lord has promised to lead us, He will satisfy our needs in dry lands (Isaiah 58:11), He will guide me with His counsel (Psalm 73:24). The Good Shepherd has said His sheep will hear His voice (John 10:27). He has sent us the Spirit of Truth who will guide us into all truth and declare to us the things which are to come (John 16:13) He has said that if we continue in His Word, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8:32). God says "I will make you wise and show you where to go" (Psalm 32:8). "Get wisdom, get insight, do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth" (Proverbs 4:5). "Whoever has an ear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches" (Revelation 2-3).

Andy Williamson June 97