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Strauss, Ph.D. \line Biblical Studies Press \line{\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "www.bible.org"}}{\fldrslt{\cf2\ul www.bible.org\~}}}\cf1\ulnone\f0\fs24 \line 1997\par Contents\par \pard\li200\tqr\tldot\tx9360\fs20 The Time Is Now\par \pard\tqr\tldot\tx9360 PART ONE:\~ GOD\rquote S PERFECT PLAN\par \pard\li200\tqr\tldot\tx9360 Chapter 1:\~ The Game Plan\par Chapter 2:\~ All Your Ways\par Chapter 3:\~ He Will Be Our Guide\par Chapter 4:\~ One Step at a Time\par \pard\tqr\tldot\tx9360\~\par PART TWO:\~ YOUR PERSONAL PREPARATION\par \pard\li200\tqr\tldot\tx9360 Chapter 5:\~ Knowing the Shepherd\par Chapter 6:\~ Not My Will\par Chapter 7:\~ The Renewed Mind\par \pard\tqr\tldot\tx9360\~\par PART THREE:\~ GOD\rquote S PRIMARY PROVISION\par \pard\li200\tqr\tldot\tx9360 Chapter 8:\~ Equipped for the Journey\par Chapter 9:\~ This is the Will of God\par Chapter 10:\~ Charting the Course\par Chapter 11:\~ But I Felt Led\par \pard\tqr\tldot\tx9360\~\par PART FOUR:\~ OTHER PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES\par \pard\li200\tqr\tldot\tx9360 Chapter 12:\~ Ask God\par Chapter 13:\~ Flashing Lights and Clanging Bells\par Chapter 14:\~ Use Your Head\par Chapter 15:\~ Peace Like a River\par Chapter 16:\~ Right Where You Are\par \pard\fi720\sb60\sa60\qj\~\par \pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf0\b\f1\fs24 The Time Is Now \cf3\f0\par \pard\fi720\sb60\sa60\qj\cf1\b0\fs20 Every child of God faces decisions. Rarely do we get through an entire day without being confronted with maLVALny different choices\emdash most of them minor, some of them major. Is there any guarantee that we can consistently do the right thing?\par Not many people get interested in the subject of divine guidance until they face a decision of supreme importance. By then it may be too late. We prepare ourselves to handle the big decisions of life by dealing properly with the small ones. So the way to prepare for the major crossroads of the future is to begin learning in the present. The time to think about this subject is now.\par And God has help available. His Word is filled with prac\-tical suggestions for making proper choices. This book is an attempt to bring that information together for your encour\-agement and assistance. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, \ldblquote This is the way, walk ye in it\rdblquote (\cf4\ul Isa_30:21\cf1\ulnone ).\par \pard\sb100\sa100 This book was originally published in 1979 by Tyndale House under the title, \i Decisions! Decisions! How God Shows the Way\i0 . It has been scanned and is used by permission.\par Richard L. Strauss, was a 1954 graduate of Wheaton College, and received his Th.M. (1958) and Th.D. (1962) degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary. Richard authored nine books, and served as pastor of churches in Fort Worth, TX, Huntsville, AL. He was pastor of Emmanuel Faith Community Church in Escondido, CA from 1972 to 1993 when the Lord called him home. \par \f1\~\par \pard\sb100\sa100\qc\b\scaps\f0 Trademark and Copyright Information\b0\scaps0\par \pard\sb100\sa100\scaps Copyright \'a9 1997 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. and the authors. All rights reserved. For free usage information, please read the BSF Website Copyright Statement for fair use statements. \scaps0\par \scaps Electronic Access to this Material\scaps0\par \pard\sb100\sa100\qc\scaps This Material is available for use on the internet via an agreement with the Biblical Studies Foundation, a non-Profit Foundation at:\line\cf0{\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "www.bible.org"}}{\fldrslt{\ul\cf2rLVAL www.bible.org}}}\cf1\scaps0\f0\fs20\par \pard\sb100\sa100\scaps Biblical Studies copyrighted by individual authors and the Biblical studies Press are not shareware or public domain and may not be duplicated without permission.\scaps0\par \pard\sb100\sa100\qc\b\scaps BSF Website Copyright Statement\b0\scaps0\par \pard\sb100\sa100\scaps From our website at \cf0{\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "www.bible.org"}}{\fldrslt{\ul\cf2 www.bible.org}}}\cf1\f0\fs20 , you may download the information and print it for yourself and others as long as you give it away and do not charge for it. In this case, free means free. It cannot be bundled with anything sold, nor can you charge for shipping, handling, or anything. It is provided for personal study or for use in preparation of sermons, Sunday school classes, or other non-commercial study. This release does not apply to other media than paper printed distribution. \scaps0\par \scaps For Free distribution of more than 100 copies, you must obtain written permission and comply with reasonable guidelines of content control and include currently valid BSP copyright and organizational acknowledgments. \scaps0\par \scaps For permission, inquire by E-Mail to \ldblquote head@bible.org\rdblquote or call 800/575-2425.\scaps0\par \pard\sb60\sa60\f2\fs22\par \pard Formatted for e-Sword by David Cox\par Copyright \'a92008 Biblical Studies Press, reprinted with permission from \cf0{\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "www.bible.org"}}{\fldrslt{\ul\cf2 www.bible.org}}}\cf1\f2\fs22 for free redistribution.\lang3082\kerning28\f3\par \lang1033\par } % `4  0 g  U 02 All Your Ways"2&03 He Will Be Our Guide "@404 One Step at a Time"<005 Knowing the Shepherd "@4 06 Not My Will"." 07 The Renewed Mind"8, 08 Equipped for the Journeyzw"H< 09 This is the Will of Godvl"F: 10 Charting the Course8a">211 But I Felt LedԍX"4(12 Ask GodN"(13 Flashing Lights and Clanging BellsZB\P14 Use Your Head62&15 Peace Like a River+<016 Right Where You Areȵ>201 The Game Plan|2&00 How to really know the will of GodJ,\PLVAL{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;\red0\green128\blue0;\red51\green102\blue102;\red0\green0\blue255;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s1\sb240\sa60\qc\lang1033\kerning28\b\f0\fs28 PART ONE: GOD\rquote S PERFECT PLAN\line\pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf1\kerning0\fs24 Chapter 1: The Game Plan\cf0\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\f1\fs20 The management experts tell us we need to plan our lives. \ldblquote Set goals for yourself,\rdblquote they say. \ldblquote Decide where you want to be and what you want to be doing one year from now, five years from now, ten years from now. Map out a plan for getting there from where you are, and begin to follow that plan faithfully.\rdblquote\par They even suggest that our plan should reach right down to our daily schedules, that the things we do today should be contributing toward the fulfillment of our ultimate goals. Each day, they say, we should make a list of the things we want to accomplish in order of their priority, then work our way through the list. \ldblquote Plan your work and work your plan\rdblquote is the catchy little phrase they use to encourage us. And the solemn warning is sure to follow: \ldblquote To fail to plan is to plan to fail.\rdblquote\par Most of us want to be successful in what we do. We enjoy the respect that goes with success and the sense of satisfac\-tion that accompanies accomplishment. So we may listen to the experts, lay out a plan for our lives, follow that plan precisely, and still fail. Why? Because for the child of God there is another factor to consider: God also has a plan for our lives.\par The truest kind of success from God\rquote s perspective can be attained only when we follow his plan rather than our own.\par We may reach every goal we ever set for ourselves, and we may eLVALarn the admiration of all our friends and the respect of all our associates, and still feel a sickening emptiness inside if we have ignored God\rquote s plan.\par You see, God saved us to know and to do his will. In a message to a recent convert named Saul of Tarsus, Ananias declared, \ldblquote The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Act_22:14\cf1\ulnone ; \cf2\ul Act_22:15\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 Paul was chosen by God to come into an understanding of his will and to carry it out. He lived his whole life with awareness that God had a plan for him to follow.\par That awareness made an immeasurable difference. Some twenty-five years after his conversion, in the face of great affliction, Paul confidently affirmed, \ldblquote But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.\rdblquote\cf2\lang3082\ul Act_20:24\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 The word \ldblquote course\rdblquote was used of the race course laid out for a runner to follow in the Olympic Games, the plan for the race which was prepared ahead of time by the judges. Paul\rquote s great aspiration was to follow God\rquote s course for his life.\par And he did it. At the end of his life he reflected back over his years as a believer and said, \ldblquote I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course.\rdblquote\cf2\lang3082\ul 1Ti_4:7\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 And he used the very same word he had used years earlier. He was writing, this time, from death row in a Roman dungeon. He was soon to be martyred for his faith. Yet his life was a success; he had fullness of joy and a satisfying sense of accomplishment because he had completed the course God had laid out for him. He had done the will of LVALGod.\par Some will say, \ldblquote Wait a minute; that was the great Apostle Paul. Sure, God had a plan for his life, but what\rquote s that got to do with mine?\rdblquote All right, here it is straight. God has a plan for your life, too. Unless you are convinced that he does, you will probably lay your own plans and choose your own way. And someday you may look back and say, \ldblquote Well, here I am, right where I wanted to be. But why do I feel so hollow and unfulfilled?\rdblquote\par So we must firmly establish this basic biblical concept before we go any further: God has a plan for your life.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Too Good to be True?\cf3\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Nowhere is the principle more lucidly stated than in this pivotal verse: \ldblquote For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before\-hand, that we should walk in them.\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Eph_2:10\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 There is no doubt about how we got saved. We are God\rquote s workmanship; we were created anew in Christ Jesus by the regenerating work of his Spirit.\lang3082 Cf. \cf2\ul 2Co_5:17\cf1\ulnone ; \cf2\ul Tit_3:5\cf1\lang1033\ulnone He did it all of his own grace. \ldblquote For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of your\-selves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.\rdblquote\cf2\lang3082\ul Eph_2:8-9\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 But there was one very important reason why God recreated us in Christ Jesus. It was so we might \i do good works\i0 .\par \ldblquote So what?\rdblquote you say. \ldblquote Everyone should do good works, shouldn\rquote t he? Why is that so special?\rdblquote\par The special thing about the good works God wants each of us personally to do, is that they were selected ahead of time by him. They were \ldblquote prepared beforehand,\rdblquote that is, they were planned by God before we were even born. And now our responsibility is to accomplish thoLVALse specific good works which God laid out for us so long ago.\par When a football coach prepares for a big game, he lays out what he calls a game plan, a strategy for that particular con\-test. Before the game begins he knows exactly what he wants his players to do and how he wants them to respond in certain situations. They can choose other strategies, but the coach usually finds that they perform best when they follow the game plan he has prepared beforehand. Just so, there are many plans we can choose for our lives, many different di\-rections we can go. But only one plan will provide the op\-portunities to do all the good things the divine Coach wants us to accomplish.\par Only one road will bring us in touch with all the people he wants us to meet and influence for him. Only one direc\-tion will include all the circumstances he wants to use to mold and enrich our lives. We function best when we stick to his game plan, when we walk the path he has mapped out for us and do the things he has planned for us in advance.\par Some Christians are convinced that they are too small and unimportant for God to be that interested in them. \ldblquote People like the Apostle Paul, yes. But me? Never!\rdblquote Do you not realize what God is saying in this passage? Each one of us is so important to him that he actually charted a course for each life before we were ever born. To think that he cares for us that much is almost too good to be true. And it is not an isolated fact found only in this passage of Scripture. Look at some others.\par David said, \ldblquote You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your Book!\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Psa_139:16\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 The context assures us that while we were still in our mothers\rquote wombs, God was watching over us, superintending our development.\lang3082 Cf. \cf2\ul Psa_139:13-15\cf1\lang1033\ulnone But more exciting still is that he had already sketched out all ourLVAL days for us. Before we ever saw our first light, he had designed the direction he wanted our lives to take and the events he wanted to fill our days.\par Look at it again in another notable Psalm. \ldblquote The steps of a man are established by the Lord; And He delights in his way.\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Psa_37:23\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 The course which the believer\rquote s life should take is fixed or settled by God. And what joy it brings to God\rquote s heart when we follow the plan he has arranged for us. He delights in our way. Can there be any more doubt in your mind? God has a plan for every believer. He has a plan for you.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 A Parade of Witnesses\cf3\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 These simple statements of fact are enough to convince us, but there is still further evidence. God gives us an impressive array of living illustrations to cement this truth in our souls. Every reference in Scripture to a person doing the will of God reaffirms the fact that God actually did have a will for him, a plan for him to follow. There are many such examples in the Bible, as we shall see in the chapters to come. Look at just a few extraordinary ones here.\par The first is Isaiah. While there is no doubt that the Servant of Jehovah in Isaiah\rquote s prophecy refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, Isaiah was probably speaking from his own experi\-ence as well when he said: \ldblquote Listen to me, all of you in far-off lands: The Lord called me before my birth. From within the womb he called me by my name .\~.\~. the Lord who formed me from my mother\rquote s womb to serve him, who commissioned me to restore to him his people Israel, who has given me the strength to perform his task and honored me for doing it!\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Isa_49:1\cf1\ulnone ; \cf2\ul Isa_49:5\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033\par God brought Isaiah into being in order to fulfill a particu\-lar task. He formed him in his mother\rquote s womb for the pur\-pose of performing a uniqueLVAL and urgent mission, that of calling Israel back to himself. And he assured Isaiah that he would supply him with the needed resources to do the job. God had a plan for Isaiah\rquote s life.\par Another great prophet comes into view. Listen to God\rquote s encouraging word to Jeremiah. \ldblquote Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Jer_1:5\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 Jer\-emiah balked at first. \ldblquote Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth.\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Jer_1:6\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\par We sometimes do the same thing when we first learn about God\rquote s plan for us. \ldblquote Who, me, Lord? Certainly you must have the wrong person. I can\rquote t do that.\rdblquote But God is there with the answer. \ldblquote Do not say, \lquote I am a youth,\rquote Because ev\-erywhere I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you .\~.\~. Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant.\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Jer_1:7-10\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\par Many times Jeremiah must have thought back to the day he first learned about God\rquote s plan for his life. The people to whom he preached taunted him, rejected his message, spread false rumors about him, threw him into prison, and broke his tender heart with their rebelliousness and sin. Jeremiah\rquote s persecutors are seldom mentioned anymore. Few of us remember their names even after reading them in the inspired account. But Jeremiah\rquote s name lives on with honor because he followed God\rquote s plan for his life.\par Let\rquote s go back to the Apostle Paul for a moment. We saw that God saved him to do his will, but there is furtheLVALr evi\-dence that God had laid out the course for his life even before he was born. Here is how he explained it: \ldblquote But when He who had set me apart, even from my mother\rquote s womb, and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood.\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Gal_1:15-6\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\par Before Paul drew his first breath, God had already planned for him to pioneer the proclamation of the gospel to the Gentile world. That sense of divine mission gave him confidence and courage throughout his Christian life and ministry. In five of his epistles he introduced himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. \lang3082 Cf. 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians; Ephesians; Colossians; 2 Timothy.\lang1033 He knew he was doing exactly what God wanted him to do. He was fulfilling God\rquote s plan for his life.\par How can we talk about life plans without mentioning the earthly life of God\rquote s Son? The Father\rquote s plan for Jesus\rquote life was clearly settled from the foundation of the world,\lang3082 Cf. \cf2\ul Rev_13:8\cf1\lang1033\ulnone and the details of the plan fill the volumes of the Old Testament. On one occasion Jesus said, \ldblquote All things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accom\-plished.\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Luk_18:31\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 They had to be accomplished. They were part of the Father\rquote s plan, and Christ came to do the Father\rquote s will. He confidently declared, \ldblquote For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Joh_6:38\cf1\ulnone (NIV); cf. also \cf2\ul Joh_5:30\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Doing the Father\rquote s will was his greatest joy and delight. It was more important to him than eating.\par Do you remember that episode at Jacob\rquote s well in Sychar? The disciples had just returned from thLVALe city with provi\-sions, and they were urging their tired and hungry Master to eat. \ldblquote I have food to eat that you know nothing about,\rdblquote he said to them. \cf2\lang3082\ul Joh_4:32\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 When they questioned him further, he clarified his statement. \ldblquote My food . . . is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Joh_4:34\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par To finish his Father\rquote s work, to follow his Father\rquote s plan, to fulfill his Father\rquote s purposes\emdash that was Christ\rquote s highest goal. The writer to the Hebrews expressed the Savior\rquote s sentiments like this: \ldblquote Then I said, \lquote Here I am\emdash it is written about me in the scroll\emdash I have come to do your will, O God.\rquote\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Heb_10:7\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par But again, we\rquote re talking about prophets and apostles, and above all, about the Son of God himself. Aren\rquote t there any little people to illustrate the point\emdash inconspicuous folks like us?\par How about an obscure, unnamed, unknown beggar who couldn\rquote t even see? If God had a plan for his life, would you feel more like God might be interested enough in you to have a plan for your life? This particular man was born blind, and the religious leaders of his day always blamed such misfor\-tunes on sin. So when Jesus and his disciples saw him, the disciples asked, \ldblquote Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his par\-ents, that he should be born blind?\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Joh_9:2\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\par Here is Jesus\rquote answer: \ldblquote It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.\rdblquote \cf2\lang3082\ul Joh_9:3\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 God had allowed that man to experience all those years of blindness so that at this precise moment in time he might not only give him his physical sight, but also remove the scalesLVAL of spiritual blindness from his soul and provide an unanswerable testimony to others about the person and power of Jesus Christ. It was part of God\rquote s plan for his life. And after he had experienced the joy of knowing Christ and the freedom of having his sins forgiven, I doubt that he ever regretted those years of blind\-ness.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 There\rquote s Nobody Just Like You\cf3\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 If God had a plan for that blind beggar, he certainly has one for you. And I can assure you that his plan is custom made to fit you personally. Nobody else has one just like it. And since it was made for you, it is the very best plan you can possibly follow.\par You see, God never made another human being just like you. You are unique and distinct in all of his creation. And since he made you, he is the only one who knows you per\-fectly and completely. He knows you better than you know yourself. Therefore, he is the only one who can intelligently formulate a plan for your life that will utilize all of your potential to its optimum advantage.\par God knows your abilities and he knows your weaknesses. \ldblquote O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf2\ul Psa_139:1\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 He knows that some of the things you think are your strengths may really be limitations, and some of the things you think are liabilities are the very things which he can use with great power. Just as he made you, he also con\-structed a plan that is tailored to your personality and abilities. His plan has to be better than anything you could ever devise. In fact, his plan is perfect. That is exactly what the Apostle Paul calls it: \ldblquote that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.\rdblquote\cf2\lang3082\ul Rom_12:2\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 \par He not only knows you; he also knows the future. Most of us want our lives to go well, and we know that the decisions we make will have something to do with that.LVAL We also want things to go well for the ones we dearly love, and we know that our decisions will also affect them. So we lay our plans and make our choices on the basis of what we think will be best for all concerned. But unfortunately we do not always know what will be best because we do not know the future. As Jeremiah put it, \ldblquote O Lord, I know it is not within the power of man to map his life and plan his course.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf2\ul Jer_10:23\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033\par We really do not know how things are going to turn out ultimately. But God does. He knows us and he knows all the possible consequences of every alternative we can choose. So it makes no sense to choose any plan but his. That is the only one we know will turn out right.\par If you were traveling through a dense and dangerous jungle and had no knowledge of where you were nor what the next step would hold, you would be foolish to run off from your guide and try to blaze your own trail. He knows the way. He can lead you to safety. It is even more foolish for any of us to try to make our own path through life. Our Divine Guide knows the way. Following his plan will bring success and satisfaction to us and great glory to him.\par \pard\sb60\sa60\qc\kerning28\f2\fs22 --------------\lang3082\kerning0\f1\fs20\par } LVAL {\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;\red51\green102\blue102;\red0\green128\blue0;\red0\green0\blue255;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf1\lang1033\b\f0\fs24 Chapter 16: Right Where You Are\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Maybe you\rquote re thinking, \ldblquote If only I had learned this years ago, my life could have been different. But I\rquote ve wasted it now, and it\rquote s too late to change direction.\rdblquote I\rquote ve heard that from folks who believe they\rquote ve married the wrong person, or who failed to go to college when they had the opportunity, or who now think they\rquote ve been pursuing the wrong career all these years, or who closed their spiritual ears once long ago when God called them into some form of Christian service. What happens when we miss the will of God?\par We can miss it, you know. God made us with volition, and we are able to exercise that volition contrary to his wishes. We can thwart his perfect plan for our lives. We can go our own way.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Off the Track\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The Bible frankly tells us about people who resisted God\rquote s will. In fact, the very first people we meet in its pages did that very thing. God created Adam and Eve to glorify himself through worship, fellowship, and obedient service. But they decided that their way would be more exciting and satisfy\-ing than his way, so they exercised their wills in opposition to him. Their descendants have been following their lead ever since.\par People assert their own wills for many different reasons. Abraham took his wife\rquote s handmaid and had a son by her because he thought it was the smart thing to do. He wanted a son, and God had promised to give him one, so he thought God might like to LVAL!fulfill his promise through Hagar. But he never thought to ask God about it.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Gen_16:14-15\cf1\lang1033\ulnone It was human wisdom, fleshly reason. And we too can get sidetracked by listening to the wisdom of this world rather than to the voice of God. As one man confessed, \ldblquote I thought God needed my money more than he needed me. So I went into business when he wanted me in the ministry, and now that my business has failed, God doesn\rquote t have either me or my money.\rdblquote\par David committed adultery and then had the woman\rquote s husband killed. That pair of sins placed him far from the path of God\rquote s fellowship. And it all started when he failed to fulfill his responsibilities. He should have been with his ar\-mies, providing encouragement and leadership for them. In\-stead he was lounging around on his rooftop patio.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Sa_11:1-2\cf1\lang1033\ulnone We too can get derailed from God\rquote s best when we shirk our God\--given obligations. I\rquote m thinking of a man who failed to show his wife the sympathetic tenderness that God requires of every Christian husband. Her negative responses to his in\-considerateness gave him all the justification he wanted for an escapade with another woman, and his sinful experience now has him on the shelf of uselessness.\par Jonah found himself running in a direction opposite from God\rquote s, and it was nothing but stubborn self-will in his case. He didn\rquote t want to do what God had told him to do. God had instructed him to go to Nineveh and preach against its wick\-edness. Jonah said, \ldblquote No way, God; I\rquote m heading for Tar\-shish.\rdblquote And some of us have been running from God because we don\rquote t want to do what he has commanded us to do.\par Peter denied his Lord three times, and but for Christ\rquote s intercessory prayers it would have wrecked the rest of his life. It seemed to be the result of a human weakness\emdash his proud, presumptuous self-reliance. He had emphaticaLVAL"lly in\-sisted, \ldblquote Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mar_14:31\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 But he did! Our weaknesses may be different from Peter\rquote s, but unless we recognize them and trust God for vic\-tory over them, they can get us off the track of his will.\par Two other men who had contact with Jesus missed his plan for their lives because of procrastination. Jesus wanted them to follow him and be his disciples. One wanted to wait until his aged father died. The other wanted to go home and get everything in order, then come back when it was more convenient.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Luk_9:59-61\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Some of us have put off doing God\rquote s will for so long that now we are convinced it is too late to follow his leading.\par Whether it is due to human reason, or to nonfulfillment of our responsibilities, or to stubborn self-will, or to human weaknesses, or to procrastination, or to anything else, there are certain consequences for failing to do God\rquote s will.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Pleasure\emdash For a While\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Surprisingly enough, we may be quite happy about it at first. After all, Abraham did get his son, whom he named Ishmael. David had an exciting fling with a beautiful woman. Jonah got out of doing a disagreeable job. Peter got to see what they were doing with Jesus without exposing his identity. And those other two men got to go home where they wanted to be.\par We may have gotten everything we were looking for back there\emdash at the time we considered God\rquote s way but willfully set out instead on our own course. We may have money, mate\-rial possessions, status, acclaim, comfort, security, physical pleasures, marriage to that person who meant so much, or something else we considered important then. The writer to the Hebrews admitted that there are pleasures in sin for a season, and he was talking specifically about the glamorous things Moses gave up toLVAL# do the will of God\emdash the worldwide prominence of being in the royal family, and the fabulous wealth of Egypt.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Heb_11:24-26\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par You may have it all. Everything may be going your way. And you may be quite pleased with yourself about it. \ldblquote I did what I wanted to do and it turned out just fine. Why should I yield to God\rquote s will?\rdblquote May I remind you that the game isn\rquote t over yet. Another biblical principle will certainly swing into operation, and it could begin at any time. It\rquote s the principle of sowing and reaping. \ldblquote Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Gal_6:7\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par For one thing, we will reap a harvest of guilt, remorse, and shame, just as Peter did when he went out and wept bitterly. Then we will reap the natural consequences of our sin. In Abraham\rquote s case, Sarah and her handmaid became insanely jealous of each other; turmoil invaded Abraham\rquote s happy home. Later, when Isaac was born to Sarah, rivalry broke out between the two sons\emdash a rivalry that has continued to this day in the Arab-Israeli conflict. That\rquote s a rather long-lasting effect for one act of fleshly reason, isn\rquote t it? Some of David\rquote s children followed his poor example and brought heartache and grief to his family.\par Insisting on our own way will eventually have a devas\-tating effect on our lives. God has established basic princi\-ples for successful living. After we violate them we usually regret it. Mothers and fathers, for example, who neglect their children in order to enhance their careers or enlarge their net worth, eventually experience anguish of soul over those children. Husbands or wives who leave their mates for others often feel trapped in the tangled and complicated web they weave. These are some of the natural consequences of sin, and there may be no way to erase their marks from our lives.\par Sometimes God intervenLVAL$es directly with divine discipline as he did with Jonah when he sent a ferocious storm, fixed the sailors\rquote election, fingered Jonah as the culprit responsi\-ble for their plight, then prepared a great fish to swallow him.\par God can actually arrange a tragedy like that to stop us in our tracks and turn us in the right direction. And he does it because he loves us.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Heb_12:6\cf1\lang1033\ulnone He knows that we can be totally happy and fulfilled only in the center of his will, and he wants us to have that fullness of joy. But the discipline itself is never an enjoyable experience. \ldblquote No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful,\rdblquote the writer to the Hebrews reminded us.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Heb_12:11\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 Insisting on our own way always brings unpleasantness.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Something Beautiful\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Maybe you\rquote re saying, \ldblquote That\rquote s right where I am\emdash out of the will of God, under his disciplinary hand, and feeling miser\-able about it. I don\rquote t want to keep on going this way any longer. What can I do?\rdblquote For one thing, you need to be as\-sured that your waywardness did not catch God by surprise. He knows everything! And he knew from eternity past that you would disobey him and go your own way, so he planned for it. He knew Adam and Eve would sin even before he made them, and before he ever created the world in which they would live he arranged a perfect plan to reclaim them and their sinful descendants for himself.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Pe_1:18-20\cf1\lang1033\ulnone It was the best way to demonstrate the glory of his grace.\par That\rquote s the kind of a God he is. He knew about our sinful self-will before he drew the blueprint for our lives. And now he is able to weave even our past sins and failures into a future that will glorify himself. As the Psalmist put if, \ldblquote Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee.\rdblquote\lang30LVAL%82 \cf3\ul Psa_76:10\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 Everything that happens is permitted by God. And he promises ulti\-mately to use all of it to accomplish his own purposes. That\rquote s what Paul meant when he said that God works all things after the counsel of his own will.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Eph_1:11\cf1\lang1033\ulnone \ldblquote All things\rdblquote must in\-clude our sin as well as everything else. God can make even our sins to praise him, as strange as that may seem.\par Did you ever play the game in which one person scribbles a few lines on a piece of paper,\b \b0 then someone else has to draw a picture around it, using that meaningless scrawling as part of the picture? God is a master at that! He is the Great Adapter. Before we were ever born, he anticipated any mess we might make of our lives, and\b \b0 improvised an alternative plan in which our disobedience itself would ultimately serve a useful purpose.\par Christ can take a shattered life and remake it into some\-thing more wonderful than it was before the wreckage. In fact, our serious mistakes and failures may be necessary to make us see how weak and sinful we are, and only when we recognize our weaknesses can we know Christ\rquote s power.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Co_12:10\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par So it makes no difference where you have been or where you are right now. God has a plan for you from this point on, and it is the very best plan possible. It may involve going back and doing what God wanted you to do in the first place, as it did with Jonah, who finally went to Nineveh, where God blessed his ministry.\par But if it is impossible for you to go back and start again, God has a perfect alternative. I hesitate to call it \ldblquote second best\rdblquote as some have done, because right now it is the very best thing you can possibly do. You may have missed op\-portunities and joys that can never be recovered. But God has a plan for you to follow from this day forward that is absolutely perfect. It has to be, for it is his plan aLVAL&nd he is perfect.\par So don\rquote t look back with regrets. Preoccupation with pre\-vious mistakes will only contribute to future failures. Don\rquote t let the past deprive you of present blessing. Follow the example of the Apostle Paul: \ldblquote Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Php_3:13-14\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par But how can we forget all those wasted years? How can we forget the brokenness and strife which our self-will has left in its wake? There is only one possible way, and that is to confess our sins to God, forsake them fully, and then accept the gracious forgiveness which he offers. \ldblquote If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Jo_1:9\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 He says that he re\-moves our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_103:12\cf1\lang1033\ulnone He says he remembers our sin no more.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Jer_31:34\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\fs11 \fs20 He says he casts them into the depths of the sea.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mic_7:19\cf1\lang1033\ulnone If God is willing to forgive and forget, the least we can do is to accept his for\-giveness and go on afresh.\par That was what David did. His sin with Bathsheba made him miserable, \ldblquote until,\rdblquote he says, \ldblquote I finally admitted all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, \lquote I will confess them to the Lord.\rquote And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_32:5\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033\fs11 \fs20 And God was pleased to salvage his life and bless him. He did the same thing for Jonah, and for Peter, and he wants to do it for you. If you will acknowledge your sin, you can enjoy the sweet assurance of his forgiveness. If you will put yourself at hLVAL'is disposal, he will take you right where you are, make something beautiful of your life, and begin to use you for his glory. It\rquote s never too late to do the will of God.\par \b Why Bother!\b0\par Maybe some are thinking, \ldblquote Well, if God can salvage my life at any point in time and use me for his glory from then on, I think I\rquote ll just keep going my own way awhile longer. He\rquote ll work out the problems I create and his grace will be mag\-nified all the more.\rdblquote The Apostle Paul was afraid that some of us would think like that when we learned how gracious God is, so he said something about it in his letter to the Romans. \ldblquote What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Rom_6:1-2\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par True believers share in the benefits of Christ\rquote s death, and he died to deliver them from the domination of their old self life. It is difficult to fathom a person who has been freed from the authority of his sinful nature, saying, \ldblquote I\rquote m going to sin more so God\rquote s grace will become more evident.\rdblquote Such an attitude casts doubts on his salvation. A desire to do God\rquote s will is one prime evidence of genuine salvation. When that desire is present, it brings assurance; when it is absent, it causes doubts. And one reason some Christians have so many doubts about their salvation is that they are doing their own will rather than God\rquote s.\par Jesus said, \ldblquote Not everyone who says to me, \lquote Lord, Lord,\rquote will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_7:21\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 On another occasion he affirmed that only those who do God\rquote s will are rightly related to him.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mar_3:35\cf1\lang1033\ulnone The Apostle John added, \ldblquote The world and its desires pass away, but LVAL(the man who does the will of God lives forever.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Jo_2:17\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 These verses do not say that doing God\rquote s will can secure for us eternal life, but they do indicate that the person who possesses eternal life will prove it by doing what God desires. One great benefit of following God\rquote s plan, then, is a blessed sense of assurance that we belong to him. \ldblquote Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Pe_1:10\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Winners and Losers\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Another powerful motive was suggested by the Apostle Paul: \ldblquote For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Co_5:10\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 That word appear means \ldblquote to be revealed.\rdblquote Someday every Chris\-tian is going to stand before Jesus Christ. There the quality of his life will be exposed. What comes out into the open at that time will be the basis for his reward. The person who has done the will of God by the power of the Holy Spirit and for the glory of the Lord shall receive a reward.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_3:14\cf1\lang1033\ulnone The person who has lived for selfish interests and poured his life into things of no eternal value shall suffer loss,\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_3:15\cf1\lang1033\ulnone the loss of re\-ward.\par Some have said, \ldblquote I don\rquote t really care about rewards. Just so I get there; that\rquote s all that matters to me.\rdblquote Do you realize what that means? Think about it for a moment. You do enjoy words of appreciation and commendation, don\rquote t you? It means a great deal to you when somebody says something kind, or does something thoughtful, or shares something nice unexpectedly, doesn\rquote t it? Being completeLVAL)ly devoid of approval is more than most folks can bear. They long for some gracious word of praise. Living with no praise at all has led some into depression and despair.\par Can you picture what it will be like before the judgment seat of Christ, when our precious Lord Jesus, in whom all of our joy and pleasure will be centered, will evaluate our lives? \ldblquote Well done, good and faithful servant!\rdblquote he will say to others around us. \ldblquote Here is your reward.\rdblquote One after another, faithful servants of the Lord will be congratulated and hon\-ored. And now it\rquote s your turn. What will he say? The issue will not be primarily a matter of whether you went to church every Sunday or whether you gave a tenth of your income. It will be whether or not your will was fully yielded to Christ. Were you available to do whatever he asked? Was your life spent \ldblquote doing the will of God from the heart\rdblquote ?\lang3082 \cf3\ul Eph_6:6\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par John implied that there may be shame for some. \ldblquote And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall ap\-pear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Jo_2:28\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 Shame! What a horrible thought\emdash to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ with shame, the shame of an entire lifetime misused, misdirected, wasted. That fear should grip our hearts and compel us to do the will of God. That\rquote s what Paul was talking about when he said, \ldblquote Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Co_5:11\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\par Paul takes us to the stadium again to cement this truth in our minds. \ldblquote Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the game goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown of laurel that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last foLVAL*rever.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_9:24-25\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par In the Olympic games, not every runner can win the race and receive a medal. There are only three winners in each event. But the Christian race is different. Everybody can win if he wants to. In fact, the only way to lose is to decide to lose by resisting the will of God. Why be a loser when you can win and receive a reward? The reward itself should not be our principal motive, but the Scripture still tells us about it and encourages us to run in such a way as to obtain it.\par What a beautiful thing it would be to come to the sunset of our lives and to be able to say with Paul, \ldblquote I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteous\-ness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ti_4:7-8\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Best of All \cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 But there is one motivation for doing God\rquote s will that is higher than all others. And again, it was Paul who men\-tioned it: \ldblquote For Christ\rquote s love compels us, because we are con\-vinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Co_5:14-15\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 Christ\rquote s love! Above everything else, it is his love that seizes us and constrains us to live for him.\par It was his love that drew him from the supreme glory he had in heaven to a sinful, self-centered world that despised and humiliated him. It was his love that led him to Calvary, where he bore God\rquote s fearful wrath against sin in our place. It was his love that caused him to offer us forgiveness and life when we deserved eternal condemnation. And LVAL, when we grasp the immensity of that love, we shall live no longer for ourselves, but for him who truly loves us.\par Doing the will of God is not a matter of gritting our teeth and toughing it out: \ldblquote If I have to do it, I have to do it!\rdblquote It is thinking about the one who gave everything to secure our eternal blessedness and then responding gratefully and joy\-fully to him. He loves you, just as you are, with all your sins and failures. He is ready to receive you when you offer your body to him as a living sacrifice. He is willing to transform you, empower you, and use you to accomplish his eternal purposes. Yield yourself to him. Then you will be able to say confidently with the Psalmist, \ldblquote I delight to do thy will, O my God.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_40:8\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033\par \~----------------\par \lang3082 } LVAL,{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;\red51\green102\blue102;\red0\green128\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf1\lang1033\b\f0\fs24 Chapter 15: Peace Like a River\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The people of God in Isaiah\rquote s day had become prosperous, proud, self-sufficient, and self-indulging. They professed to worship God, but they did it \ldblquote neither truthfully nor right\-fully.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Isa_48:1\cf1\ulnone (Berk.)\lang1033 Their lives were steeped in sin and their hearts were obstinate and rebellious.\par Isaiah faithfully called them to repentance and warned them of their coming captivity in Babylon. Listen to him plead: \ldblquote Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you for your profit, who leads you in the way you should go. Oh, that you had listened to my commandments; then your peace would be like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Isa_48:17-18\cf1\ulnone (Berk.)\lang1033\par In the prophet\rquote s 2, 700 year-old message to Israel there is a great truth concerning the will of God for believers today. The lesson is simply that God wants to lead us, he makes his way known to us, and when we follow his direction we enjoy an inner quietness and assurance that has all the abundance, freshness, and persistence of a deep-flowing river.\par In other words, the crowning confirmation that we are walking in the will of God is peace. We can never know true peace when we go our own way. As the prophet pointed out, \ldblquote There is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Isa_48:22\cf1\ulnone (Berk.)\lang1033 But when we go God\rquote s way, there is LVAL-a beautiful calm within.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Strike One!\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The Apostle Paul taught much the same truth to the Colos\-sian Christians hundreds of years later. He had been telling them how they ought to live, naming things they should put out of their lives and things they should incorporate into their lives. But there would be some occasions when they might not know what God wanted them to do. How were they to decide those matters? \ldblquote Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,\rdblquote he says.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Col_3:15\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 The word rule actually means \ldblquote to act as an umpire, to arbitrate, to decide.\rdblquote Here Paul chose a technical term from the sports arena to help us determine the will of God. He said that an umpire called peace would make the final decision.\par Can you imagine a world series baseball game without an umpire? Fifty thousand fans are in the stands, the play\-ers are on the field, and the first pitch streaks across the plate. The catcher says it\rquote s a strike. The pitcher and fielders agree. The batter says it\rquote s a ball. Everybody in the dugout takes the batter\rquote s side. The fans are divided and total pan\-demonium breaks loose. There is no way the game can go on with that kind of confusion. But when the umpire steps be\-hind the plate and calls, \ldblquote Strike!\rdblquote the uncertainty is dis\-pelled and the tumult is averted. Not everybody will like his call, and there may be a little arguing about it, but not for long, because the players want to stay in the game until its end.\par Just so, God has provided an umpire to end the uncer\-tainty, settle the disputes, and avoid the confusion in our lives. When we are pursuing the path of his choosing, an inner tranquility and serenity will tell us so. A quiet confi\-dence and contentment will come over us. We will feel good about the direction we are going. Our minds will be at ease. As Isaiah put it, there LVAL.will be peace like a river.\par But if, on the other hand, disturbing and disquieting thoughts begin to oppress us, it may be God\rquote s signal to go back and rethink our decision, back to the Word, and back to our knees in prayer. We may even have to go back to the examination room of the heart and check out the sincerity of our yieldedness.\par Suppose, for instance, you are considering marriage, but there has been a great deal of bickering between the two of you lately. The man you plan to marry isn\rquote t treating you very tenderly and lovingly. Or the woman to whom you are en\-gaged is constantly nagging you about silly little things. You\rquote re beginning to feel unsettled and restless about moving ahead with the wedding. God may simply want both of you to get some counsel, change some of your personality traits, and grow in his grace a little more before you marry. But those uneasy feelings could mean you have been going your own direction rather than God\rquote s, and to ignore them could bring years of unhappiness.\par It is painful and embarrassing to break an engagement. Yet that pain is small in comparison with a life of misery with a person whom God never wanted you to marry in the first place. Most people have a few second thoughts before the ceremony. That\rquote s normal. But a deep, agitating uncer\-tainty must not be overlooked. God may be trying to say something.\par God used the umpire of peace to lead a pastor friend of mine to a new church. He had preached in that church while in that city on other business. Although he had no thought of changing pastorates nor any knowledge of what the people were up to, they voted overwhelmingly to call him to be their pastor. He and his wife prayed diligently over the deci\-sion and followed every principle of divine guidance they had learned, but still they were not sure what God wanted them to do. They were being used of the Lord greatly where they were, and had no desire to move. One morning he woke up and said to his wife, \ldblqLVAL/uote God wouldn\rquote t make us do some\-thing we really don\rquote t want to do, would he?\rdblquote She agreed that he wouldn\rquote t, and so that morning they decided together to remain in the pastorate they were then serving.\par He went to his office, wrote a letter declining the offer, left the letter on his desk, and went to teach a class for which he was responsible in their Christian day school. But his mind was in a turmoil. He struggled for thoughts as he paced from one side of the classroom to another, but he could not teach. \ldblquote Lord,\rdblquote he prayed silently, \ldblquote I thought I was supposed to have peace when I came into an understanding of your will. Where is the peace?\rdblquote\par Finally, in utter distress, he dismissed his class (much to the student\rquote s glee), returned to his office, tore up the letter, and wrote a new one\emdash a letter of resignation from his church. \ldblquote Suddenly the sweetest awareness of Christ\rquote s peace swept over me,\rdblquote he said as he related the story to me. And God soon gave both him and his wife great joy as they an\-ticipated their new ministry. The umpire of God\rquote s peace had made the final decision.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Can We Trust Our Feelings?\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 When I shared these thoughts with a group of college stu\-dents, one young man protested, \ldblquote Isn\rquote t that being led by our feelings? How can we be sure those feelings are from God?\rdblquote That is a valid question and it deserves to be answered.\par If the feeling of peace were our only source of guidance, finding God\rquote s will would be hopelessly subjective. But we are assuming that prior matters have already been attended to. First of all, we are properly prepared\emdash we know the Guide; we have yielded our wills to him; and our lives are being transformed by his grace. Second, we are living in the Word, applying its eternal principles to every issue we face. Some people say theyLVAL0 have peace when they are disobeying God\rquote s Word. But God never gives his peace about something contrary to his Word. A sense of peace must always be tested by the Word.\par Third, we are cultivating a deepening relationship with the Lord through prayer, claiming direction from him. Fourth, with sanctified common sense we are prayerfully evaluating our circumstances, our responsibilities, our gifts and abilities, and the advice of others. If we have been faithful in these ways, we can be certain that it is God\rquote s peace which has settled in our souls rather than a false sense of well-being. He promised us that!\lang3082 Cf. \cf3\ul Php_4:6-7\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par But is it not possible for something or someone other than God to disturb the peace he wants us to have, and so divert us from his plan for our lives? Yes. Even on occasions when I knew God\rquote s will, I have felt uneasy because I thought I might do a poor job and disgrace myself. My pride was destroying my peace. At other times, the prospect of great sacrifice, the anticipation of hard work, the fear of physical danger\emdash any one of these might disturb us, and we may not even realize what is causing the absence of peace.\par How can we count on peace to be a reliable umpire in cases like these? As we have seen before, the pathway is not always smooth in the center of God\rquote s will, and the thing that is threatening our peace may very well be one or more of those problems we are facing. So let\rquote s discuss further the matter of problems as they relate to God\rquote s will.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Stormy Seas\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 How can we forget the afternoon Jesus made his disciples get into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee while he went up into a mountain to pray?\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_14:22-23\cf1\lang1033\ulnone \ldblquote When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was againsLVAL1t it.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_14:23-24\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 Those disciples were out on that water by divine con\-straint. They were in the will of God, yet their lives were in danger. Contrary winds and stormy seas evidently do not prove that we are out of God\rquote s will. They may prod us to examine the reasons for the direction we are going, but not necessarily to alter it.\par We can expect trials, hardships, sacrifices, and difficulties in the will of God. Don\rquote t shrink from them. They are part of his plan to bring us to maturity. In fact, when we receive them in the right spirit, they actually increase our desire to do God\rquote s will. Peter said, \ldblquote He who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Pe_4:1-2\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 The Psalmist observed, \ldblquote Many are the afflictions of the righteous.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_34:19\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033\par Biblical illustrations abound. For example, God sent Joseph to Egypt to languish in prison so that in due time he could preserve the nation Israel. Later, God led the children of Israel out of Egypt right into an awful wilderness so that he could take them home to Canaan. He sent Paul to Philippi where he was beaten and clamped in stocks, then later sent him to Jerusalem, warning him that bonds and afflictions awaited him there. And he sent his Son to the cross to suffer all the agony which our sin deserved.\par We too will face hardships as we follow God\rquote s leading. One day as Jesus walked along the road, a man ran up to him and said, \ldblquote I will follow you wherever you go.\rdblquote Jesus said to him, \ldblquote Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Luk_9:57-58\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 He gave us fair warning. To be his faithful disciples we must be wilLVAL2ling to surrender the claim to everything we have.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Luk_14:33\cf1\lang1033\ulnone And we might as well count the cost before we volunteer to do his will.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Luk_14:28\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par But suppose we have counted the cost, given him all, sought his guidance, determined his will, and now we are joyfully walking in it, but then problems come and disrupt our peace. How do we handle that? We must go back to Solomon\rquote s first principle of divine guidance: \ldblquote Trust in the Lord with all your heart.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Pro_3:5\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 If God\rquote s leading was clear when the sun was shining, don\rquote t doubt him when the storm clouds gather. Believe that the problems themselves are part of his plan. Keep your eyes on the Guide rather than on the obsta\-cles, and move ahead by faith. Then trust will remove the uneasiness and restore the peace.\par No amount of trust can reestablish peace in the heart of the Spirit-filled Christian if he accidentally steps off the path of God\rquote s choosing. That unrest is God\rquote s way of showing him he has taken a wrong turn. It is also part of God\rquote s way of calling him back to the right road. But when we are walking in the center of God\rquote s will, with a firm trust in his sovereign and loving care, peace will reign in our hearts though the whole world crumble around us. Then to press on with con\-fidence and perseverance in spite of suffering will bring great reward. \ldblquote So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Heb_10:35-36\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 No Answer\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Another problem that frequently disturbs the peace of be\-lievers who are seeking guidance from God is a delay in getting answers. They want to do God\rquote s will; they have LVAL3pre\-pared their hearts, searched the Word, and sought the Lord, but still there is nothing. It\rquote s like trying to make an emer\-gency telephone call, only to hear the phone ring and ring at the other end with no answer. We get nervous and fidgety when that happens. And we often get just as edgy when God doesn\rquote t answer our request for unmistakable leading. It hap\-pens often to college seniors who approach the end of the school year and still do not know what they will be doing after graduation. Instead of resting quietly in God\rquote s promise of guidance and intelligently investigating the opportunities that may be open to them, they panic and start wildly grasping at anything.\par Most of us don\rquote t like to wait. We want answers now. We want things to work out for us right away. If it\rquote s any comfort to you, the Psalmist didn\rquote t like to wait either. \ldblquote Lord, why are you standing aloof and far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most?\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_10:1\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 \ldblquote I plead with you to help me, Lord, for you are my Rock of safety. If you refuse to answer me, I might as well give up and die.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_28:1\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 Job had trouble waiting too. \ldblquote Oh, that I knew where to find God\emdash that I could go to his throne and talk with him there.\rdblquote \ldblquote But I search in vain. I seek him here, I seek him there, and cannot find him.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Job_23:3\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Job_23:8\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033\par Our greatest mistakes in life are usually made because of our unwillingness to wait for God\rquote s timing. That\rquote s what happened to the nation Israel at Kadesh-Barnea. When God informed them that they would not be permitted to enter the promised land because of their unbelief, some of them got upset at the possibility of going back into the wilderness. The delay was more than they could handle. They thought that because they hLVAL4ad admitted their sin they should be al\-lowed to go right in, despite God\rquote s warning. But they lost their lives in the attempt.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Num_14:39-45\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par King Saul\rquote s refusal to wait also set him on a course that eventually destroyed him. God wanted him to bide his time until Samuel arrived to sacrifice a burnt offering in prepara\-tion for battle with the Philistines. But Saul couldn\rquote t wait. He intruded into the office of the priest, offered the sacrifice himself, and lost his kingdom as a result.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Sa_13:8-14\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par We do it too. We make rash and foolish choices which we regret for years to come because we will not wait patiently for God to show us his will. Perhaps no major decision is more commonly made in haste than the decision to marry. Some fellows and girls seem to think that they may never have another chance if they let this one get away. So they move ahead into an unwise relationship that brings heart\-ache and grief for a lifetime. Other people quit jobs for flimsy reasons, spend money frivolously and impetuously, sell a house and move to another city without any clear leading, or file for divorce without ever thinking through the consequ\-ences or seeing what God has to say about it in his Word. The Scripture says, \ldblquote He who makes haste with his feet misses his way.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Pro_19:2\cf1\ulnone (RSV)\lang1033\fs12 \fs20 When we get into a big hurry, we are bound to make mistakes.\par Why does God delay in giving us directions when we desire them so much? Isaiah makes one suggestion. \ldblquote And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you; for the Lord is a God of judgment; blessed are all they that wait for him.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Isa_30:18\cf1\ulnone (KJV) \lang1033 The longer he waits and the more desperate our situation becomes, the more gracious and powerful is his deliveraLVAL5nce and the more gloriously is he exalted. He waits so that he can demonstrate his mercy more dramatically and thereby magnify himself. Long delays are often followed by spectacular answers.\par Periods of waiting can also be times of great spiritual growth, times when our faith is stretched and strengthened, when we get to know God more intimately. Baxter suggests that through the delay God may be trying to teach us some\-thing which is better even than the answer we are looking for.\lang3082 [J. Sidlow Baxter, \i Does God Still Guide\i0 ? Zondervan, 1968, p. 134.]\lang1033 His delays always have a purpose. Although we may not know what the purpose is, he asks us to trust him and wait.\par Our impatience is usually due to unbelief, and we go back again to Isaiah\rquote s day to see it graphically illustrated. Judah was being threatened by the mighty Assyrians. The people were calling for some sort of treaty to placate them, or for an alliance with Egypt for protection against them. \ldblquote Let\rquote s not just sit here and be destroyed; let\rquote s do something,\rdblquote was their attitude. Here was Isaiah\rquote s word from God: \ldblquote Behold, I lay in Zion a foundation Stone, a tested Stone, a precious cor\-nerstone, a sure foundation; he who believes will not be hurried.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Isa_28:16\cf1\ulnone (Berk.)\lang1033\par It was a prophecy of the coming Messiah, but it was also a reminder to those people that the God they worshiped in Zion (Jerusalem) was their sure foundation. If they would believe him, if they would put their trust in him, they would not need to rush out in fear and frustration and make some foolish treaty or alliance. Trust would be their only defense against a hasty decision. In our day, too, the only way we shall be able to wait patiently and peacefully for God to guide us is to trust him, to believe that his answer will come when we need it.\par We must not set time limits on God. He does not always work on our time schedule. We cannot hurdLVALtry him. People may be yelling at us to do something decisive. Satan may be hurrying us to do something stupid that will ruin our lives. The flesh wants to take over immediately and do something brilliant and courageous that will prove its ability to handle any situation. But God is saying, \ldblquote Just trust me, and wait.\rdblquote\par David put it this way: \ldblquote Wait on the Lord; be of good cour\-age, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_27:14\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\par \lang1033 And it looks as though he took his own advice; for he was able to testify: \ldblquote I waited patiently for God to help me; then he listened and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, of praises to our God. Now many will hear of the glorious things he did for me, and stand in awe before the Lord, and put their trust in him.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_40:1-3\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033\par Has some decision been causing you to get impatient? Commit it to God. Tell him that you will trust him to guide you in his time. Ask him to help you wait patiently. And enjoy his perfect peace.\par \f2\fs22 ---------------\par \pard\par } LVAL7{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;\red51\green102\blue102;\red0\green128\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf1\lang1033\b\f0\fs24 Chapter 14: Use Your Head\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The Word of God is primary in divine guidance. And the witness of the Spirit, clarified through prayer and confirmed \-through circumstances, will invariably contribute to our un\-derstanding of God\rquote s plan. But some other factors also affect the decisions we weigh. Some of these fit in the category of \ldblquote the obvious.\rdblquote What is it you think God wants you to do? Ask yourself some self-evident questions about it.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Does This Make Sense?\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 I know that the most famous passage in all the Bible on God\rquote s direction forbids us from leaning on our own understand\-ing.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Pro_3:5-\b 6\cf1\lang1033\ulnone \b0 But Solomon did not mean that we should shift our brain cells into neutral before we make a decision. That would be contrary to a great body of biblical truth. On a number of occasions, New Testament writers used the verb \i sophroneo\i0 , which means \ldblquote to be of sound mind, to be reason\-able, sensible.\rdblquote Peter used it when he said, \ldblquote The end of all things is at hand; therefore be of sound judgment.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Pe_4:7\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 In other words, use good common sense.\par Paul used the adjective form of the same word when he said that elders should be \ldblquote sensible,\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Tit_1:8\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 or literally, \ldblquote of sound mind.\rdblquote He used the adverb form when he declared that the grace of God teaches us \ldblquLVAL8ote to live sensibly.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Tit_2:12\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 We can be ex\-pected to live sensibly because \ldblquote God did not give us a spirit of timidity .\~.\~. but .\~.\~. of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ti_1:7\cf1\ulnone (Amp.)\lang1033 That well-balanced mind is the hu\-man mind enlightened and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. We must not lean upon human wisdom alone, and that is the impact of what Solomon was saying. But when we are yielded to the Spirit of God, he helps us think clearly and sensibly, and that is exactly what we ought to do.\par God gave us our brains, the apparatus we need for making sound judgments, and he doesn\rquote t want them standing idle. He expects us to use them. Certain decisions are right simply because they make good sense. For example, if you\rquote re trying to decide whether or not to go on a picnic, it would make sense to get a weather forecast and to stay home if rain is due. If you have to get up early for work tomorrow, it would make good sense to go to bed at a reasonable hour tonight, not stay up to watch a late show on television.\par Suppose your child has a rare disease and there is only one place in the country where you can get proper treatment. It would make good sense to go there and get the help that is available. If a lack of money stands in your way, talk to the Lord about it and solicit the prayer support of other Chris\-tians.\par God will remove every obstacle that prevents us from do\-ing his will. He does the things we cannot do, but he expects us to use the good sense he has given us. When God deli\-vered Peter from prison, the angel supernaturally removed the chains and led him past two guards, then miraculously opened an iron gate before him. But once they were out in the street, the angel departed and left Peter to use his head.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_12:5-\fs22 19\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\fs20 God isn\rquote t going to do for us what he has endowed us to LVAL9do for ourselves.\par He may want us to gather facts on which we can base a sound judgment, or list the advantages and disadvantages of the various alternatives. For instance, if you are trying to decide what college to attend, you will need to compile some data. How much money do you have available? Which colleges fit your budget? What are your major areas of inter\-est? What schools offer strong programs in those fields? We must trust God to guide us, but we must also take the respon\-sibility for making an intelligent choice on the basis of the information we have. Insist on good reasons for the deci\-sions you make.\par When we moved to California, my oldest son, who would have been a senior in high school at the time, was offered early admission to a college in Tennessee. Both his high school record and his college entrance exams had dem\-onstrated his ability to handle the work in spite of his young age. It was a most attractive offer for him since it permitted him to remain in the general vicinity where he grew up and to avoid the inconvenience of entering a new high school for his senior year. But I was reluctant to let him go. I wanted him to be with our family during the first year of our new ministry.\par I asked him to spend some time alone with the Lord and prayerfully compile a list of the reasons why he felt God wanted him to accept that college offer. About an hour and a half later he came to me with the list. It included the human reasons which I had suspected, but along with them were some wise, spiritually sound thoughts. Those thoughts, as well as the promise of financial help which came unexpect\-edly that very day, convinced me that he was being led of God to enter college, and we granted our permission. Sub\-sequent events substantiated his decision as being the right one, but it was a decision based primarily on sound reason\-ing and common sense.\par Remember, however, that human reason is fallible. We can never be sure that we have obtained all the relevant facts, nor thaLVAL:t we are interpreting them correctly. Beside that, God may want us to do something totally opposed to unsanctified human reason. He asked Abraham to leave his home, his business, and his friends without any knowledge of where he was going. It made no sense, humanly speaking; yet it was the will of God.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Gen_12:1\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par It makes no sense to unbelieving parents that their son should turn down the family business to enter some low-\-paying Christian profession. But it may be God\rquote s will. It makes no sense to some people for a brilliant linguist to spend a lifetime working with one small primitive tribe of jungle Indians. But it may be God\rquote s will. If decisions are made in accord with the principles of God\rquote s Word, they take precedence over the dictates of human wisdom. All common sense must be subject to the scrutiny of God\rquote s Word.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Is This What I Ought to Do?\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The Scripture teaches that basic moral values are inscribed on the soul of every human being. Those values may differ from person to person or from culture to culture, but there is in every person a sense of \ldblquote ought,\rdblquote called conscience, which evaluates his behavior and either accuses or defends him.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Rom_2:14-15\cf1\lang1033\ulnone God can use that conscience to lead us.\par It is true that a conscience can be seared or branded by the effects of sin.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ti_4:1-2\cf1\lang1033\ulnone That happens when we regularly ignore its voice and neglect to heed its warnings. A conscience may also become overly sensitive and restrictive, prohibiting things which God permits.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Rom_14:1-2\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 1Co_8:12\cf1\lang1033\ulnone That is usually the result of excessive criticism during childhood. There is also the danger of a conscience being defiled, that is, common or unclean.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Tit_1:15\cf1\lang1033\ulnone A lack of discipline tLVAL;hrough one\rquote s early years of life may distort his conscience so that it allows things which God forbids. Each person\rquote s conscience is conditioned by knowledge, experience, and training, so it too must always be measured by the Word of God.\par But there is still that innate compulsion or restraint which must be reckoned with. \ldblquote I ought to help that blind man cross the street.\rdblquote \ldblquote I ought not to eat so much at the dinner table. My body doesn\rquote t need it.\rdblquote \ldblquote I ought to be spending more time with my children.\rdblquote Prayerfully heed the voice of conscience. It may express the will of God.\par Closely linked to conscience is the plain sense of duty. Certain things are obviously God\rquote s will simply because they are rightfully expected of us. As the Apostle James said, \ldblquote Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn\rquote t do it, sins.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Jas_4:17\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 If you have an exam tomorrow for which you have not studied, you need not struggle over whether you should go out with the gang or hit the books. You have a moral obligation to the people who made it pos\-sible for you to attend school to do the best you can. You don\rquote t even need to pray about it. Just start studying.\par According to a book by J. Sidlow Baxter, praying for \ldblquote guidance\rdblquote when duty is clear can lead to grave sins, deep delusions, and pathetic regrets.\lang3082 [J. Sidlow Baxter, \i Does God Still Guide\i0 ? Zondervan, 1968, p. 35.]\lang1033 Balaam was the classic example of that. God had told him he was not to go and curse Israel, but he just couldn\rquote t get his mind off that money. So we find him right back in God\rquote s presence asking again what he should do.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Num_22:19\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\fs11 \fs20 God finally let him go even though it was contrary to his will, but Balaam consequently lost both the money and his life. If you know what God wants yoLVAL<u to do, do it! Apologize to that person you wronged. Share Christ with that friend whose heart is open. Fix that leaky faucet your wife has been after you about. Pay back that money you borrowed. You don\rquote t need to pray about it. It\rquote s your duty.\par Doing our duty has another application as well. When you face a difficult choice and honestly cannot decide what to do, just faithfully perform the next thing that is expected of you as part of your daily responsibilities. Guidance may come and greater opportunities may open to you while you are carrying out those obligations.\par In his parable of the talents, Jesus reminded us that faith\-fulness in the little things will open wider avenues of ser\-vice. To those men who had faithfully invested their five talents and two talents as he wished them to, the master of the household said, \ldblquote Well done, good and faithful\b \b0 servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master\rquote s happi\-ness!\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_25:21\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Mat_25:23\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 The way to be used of God to our greatest capacity, and to enjoy the assurance that he will keep us in the center of his will, is to be steadfast and dependable in what he has given us to do. Keep doing what you are doing, and do it well until new guidance comes.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Am I Qualified For This?\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 God never calls on us to do a job which he does not equip us to do. It is doubtful, for example, that he will call you to minister in music if you cannot carry a tune. He may actually lead you to the job he wants you to do through a careful evaluation of your special interests, gifts, abilities, educa\-tion, or training. Each one of us is a unique combination of skills and personal characteristics, the sum total of all our past experiences, singularly fitted for the role God wants us to fill. We each have particular GLVAL=od-given potential, and we need to discover what it is.\par We may want to find a counselor who can administer a vocational guidance inventory to see what our unique inter\-ests are. Then we should be willing to try different things as new opportunities arise. I am not referring to a person jumping from one thing to another in an irresponsible search for the \ldblquote perfect\rdblquote job. God is not honored when we try to avoid our routine responsibilities just because they are monotonous. I am talking about a prayerful consideration of any opportunity for service that is offered to us.\par By attempting to do different things, we may discover where our greatest talents lie and where we can most effec\-tively be used of God. But by all means do something! God\rquote s call comes to the active, not to the idle. As many others have pointed out, it is easier to steer a moving vehicle than a stationary one. Trace the history of God\rquote s dealings with men in his Word and you will find that he nearly always laid his hand on those who were already engaged in some kind of meaningful activity.\par But it is interesting to note that he did not always call them to the same kind of service in which they were in\-volved at that moment. Some were called to new and differ\-ent tasks for which they did not feel qualified. Moses argued with God about leading Israel out of Egyptian bondage. \ldblquote Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, .\~.\~. for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Exo_4:10\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 Listen to God\rquote s answer: \ldblquote Who has made man\rquote s mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Exo_4:11-12\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 He can help us do what we do not feel capable of doing.\par In the final analysis, it really doesn\rquote t matter a great deal what we can or cannot dLVAL>o. What matters most is what God wants us to do with our lives and how he wants us to minis\-ter to others. He can provide additional training if we need it, and he can impart new gifts and abilities if he thinks we need them. He can take what we are and transform us into whatever he wants us to be, if we are willing. We are not capable of accomplishing anything eternally profitable through our own gifts and abilities anyway. They must be energized and operated by his power. \ldblquote Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Co_3:5\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\par God may use our past training if he so chooses. But he may also lead us in a direction that seems totally foreign to our past training. Survey any seminary classroom and see the diverse backgrounds of the people preparing for Chris\-tian service. There may be accountants, chemists, engineers, athletes, doctors, salesmen, and a host of other professions represented. God is more interested in our present submis\-sion to him than in our past education or experience.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 What Do Others Think?\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Someone has suggested that if you are the only one who thinks a particular course of action is right, you\rquote d better stop and pray about it some more. That isn\rquote t to say that one per\-son is always wrong when the majority disagrees with him. But it does reinforce the great truth of Christian community, that God has brought us together into one body so that we can minister to one another.\par The book of Proverbs makes a strong case for seeking the counsel of others. \ldblquote Where no counsel is, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Pro_11:14\cf1\ulnone (KJV); cf. also \cf3\ul Pro_24:6\cf1\lang1033\ulnone \ldblquote A fool thinks he needs no advice, but a wise man listens to others.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3LVAL?\ul Pro_12:15\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 \ldblquote Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Pro_15:22\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 \ldblquote Get all the advice you can and be wise the rest of your life.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Pro_19:20\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 \par New Testament writers agree. Paul exhorts us to ad\-monish one another.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Col_3:16\cf1\lang1033\ulnone The word means literally \ldblquote to put in the mind,\rdblquote therefore, \ldblquote to instruct or to warn one another.\rdblquote The writer to the Hebrews said we are to exhort one another. That word means \ldblquote to comfort, encourage or urge.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Heb_10:25\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par Other people who are not involved in our situation may be able to look at it more objectively than we can. They may have wider experience than we have had, or they may be able to see things we have overlooked. They may have a greater grasp of the Scriptures or a deeper insight into hu\-man nature. So seek the advice of mature Christian friends\emdash pastors, elders, teachers, and in the case of young people, youth sponsors, moms, and dads. God put certain people in places of responsibility to help you, and it would be foolish to disregard their advice.\par And be careful not to make Ahab\rquote s mistake, seeking coun\-sel only from those who will tell you what you want to hear. When trying to decide whether or not to go to battle with the Syrians, Jehoshaphat asked Ahab if there were a true prophet of the Lord whom they might consult other than just Ahab\rquote s favorite 400 \ldblquote yes\rdblquote men. That\rquote s when he admitted, \ldblquote Well, there\rquote s one .\~.\~. but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything good.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ki_22:8\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 We may be tempted to avoid counselors who disagree with us, but if they are spiritually minded people who know the Word, we do wellLVAL@ to hear them out.\par Some folks avoid seeking counsel because they think it indicates weakness or immaturity, or possibly a lack of spirituality or intelligence. They want to prove that they can handle their problems by themselves without any help from anybody else. But that is basically pride. To admit that we have a problem which we cannot solve, and then to seek help, is far more mature and intelligent.\par Just talking to someone else may help us clarify the issues in our own minds. But in addition to that, God may use the counselor to bring new insight to the situation or to point out some biblical truth that has direct bearing on our decision. God can also advise us through the writings of great saints from past years. Read how God dealt with them. It may help you understand how he is dealing with you.\par That is not to say that the advice of others is infallible. Nobody knows everything, and everybody has areas of bias and subjectivity. Weigh all the advice you receive carefully in the light of God\rquote s Word. Do not become overly dependent on the counsel of others. Ultimately we are responsible for our own choices, and we must answer to God for what we decide to do.\par In some instances we are obligated to take advice from others. I am referring to those who are in authority over us. God has established an order of authority in many realms of life. Regarding the local church, for instance, he says, \ldblquote Obey your leaders and submit to their authority.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Heb_13:17\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 The New Tes\-tament identifies the rulers of the local church as elders.\lang3082 Cf. \cf3\ul Act_20:17-18\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 1Ti_3:5\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 1Ti_5:17\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 1Pe_5:1-3\cf1\lang1033\ulnone God does not lead us to minister in the framework of the local church in any way that is contrary to the wishes of its elders. We are to be in submission to them. They are in a position to evaluate us and they may be able to recognize our limitationsLVALA better than we can. On the contrary, if the elders want us to exercise our spiritual gifts in a particular kind of ministry, we should give it serious and prayerful considera\-tion.\par The same principle seems to apply to a missionary who has placed himself under the authority of a particular mis\-sion board. As long as he is part of that organization, he is responsible to do what his superiors ask him to do. He can reason with them graciously if he feels that they are making a mistake. And if they ask him to do something that com\-promises his biblical convictions, he may have to resign and find some other missionary organization with which he can agree. But as long as he is under their authority, he has an obligation to submit to them.\par God has placed a wife under her husband\rquote s authority.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Eph_5:22\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Eph_5:24\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Col_3:18\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Tit_2:5\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 1Pe_3:1\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 1Pe_3:5\cf1\lang1033\ulnone God\rquote s will for her is to be with him as his helper. A loving husband will consult her, consider her opinions, and act unselfishly for her best interest. But she will find her greatest joy and satisfaction in submitting to him.\par When God led me to accept the pastorate in California, it was difficult for my wife to adjust to the idea at first. She had felt all along that we would not be moving, and when I shared with her the reasons I believed God was directing us to go, she was quiet and noncommittal. The next day, as she went about her regular duties, she was praying continuously in her heart, \ldblquote Lord, show me your will.\rdblquote\par Suddenly she realized that her prayer was different from what it had been previously. During the weeks prior to the decision she had been praying, \ldblquote Lord, show Richard your will.\rdblquote At that moment it dawned on her that God had shown me his will, and that his will for her was to be with me. From that moment on we both had perfect peace about th@ LVALP e move, and a beautiful harmony of spirit united us.\par When a husband asks his wife to do something contrary to God\rquote s Word, she has the right to decline respectfully.\lang3082 Cf. \cf3\ul Act_5:29\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Oth\-erwise, God wants her to believe that he will work through her husband to do what is best for her. It makes good sense to live as God has ordained.\par \f2\fs22 -------------\par \pard\lang3082\f1\fs20\par \lang1033\f2\fs22\par } LVALC{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;\red51\green102\blue102;\red0\green128\blue0;\red0\green0\blue255;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf1\lang1033\b\f0\fs24 Chapter 13: Flashing Lights and Clanging Bells\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The prize for the most popular method of attempting to dis\-cern divine direction among Christians today would proba\-bly go to the use of circumstances. I know many Christians who try to figure out what God may be telling them through the events around them or through the situations in their lives. No study of the will of God could be complete, then, without considering what the Scriptures say about cir\-cumstances.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 The Hand that Rules the World\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The Bible teaches that God is sovereign. That means he is superior in position, supreme in power, and unlimited by any other. He does what he pleases. Isaiah said that his purposes will stand and that he will do all his pleasure.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Isa_46:10\cf1\lang1033\ulnone David said that he rules over everything.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_103:19\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Paul said that he works all things after the counsel of his own will.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Eph_1:11\cf1\lang1033\ulnone That\rquote s sovereignty.\par A sovereign God can obviously affect our circumstances if he so chooses, and the Scripture indicates that he does. He may actively cause things to happen that have direct bearing on our lives.\b \b0 It may seem as though an event is purely acci\-dental, or that other people have caused a particular situa\-tion, when all the time God is at work directing our paths.\par For example, Joseph\rquote s jealous brothers sold him into Egyptian slavery. He may have thought LVALDat first that he had been the victim of their capricious actions, but years later he understood how it all happened. He said to his brothers, \ldblquote And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, be\-cause you sold me here; for God sent me before you to pre\-serve life.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Gen_45:5\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 God was directly responsible for that circum\-stance.\par One day a Benjamite named Kish realized that his don\-keys were missing, so he sent his son, Saul, to find them. Saul probably thought it was just one of those irritating events of daily living as he wandered unknowingly toward the place where the prophet Samuel was ministering. But the day before he arrived, God had told Samuel, \ldblquote About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Ben\-jamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he shall deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have regarded My people, because their cry has come to Me.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Sa_9:16\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 God was superintending those circum\-stances.\par In the early days of the church, fierce persecution broke out against believers in Jerusalem, driving them from their homes and scattering them throughout Judea and Samaria.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_8:1\cf1\lang1033\ulnone But everywhere they went they announced the good news of salvation through Christ,\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_8:4\cf1\lang1033\ulnone and so began to fulfill the com\-mission which Jesus had given shortly before he ascended into heaven.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_1:8\cf1\lang1033\ulnone We must conclude that God was directing those circumstances for the accomplishment of his own pur\-poses.\par And he can do the same for us. The circumstances in our lives may be more than coincidental. Suppose, for example, that a man has an excellent job opportunity in another city but feels rather negatively about the transfer. Then, quite unexpectedly, he meets a believer from that city who tellLVALEs him about an excellent local church there with a particular need that he can fill perfectly. That experience could be God\rquote s way of opening his mind to the possibility of moving.\par On the other hand, suppose his boss tells him they must close down his branch and it will be necessary for him to relocate in another city. He resigns himself to the unpleasant news without much thought. But the next day a friend calls to tell him about a job opening for which he is eminently qualified right in his own city. That could be God\rquote s way of opening his mind to the possibility of changing companies rather than relocating. God sometimes does things like that for us.\par We often refer to God\rquote s leading through circumstances as consisting of open or closed doors. That is a biblical concept. John saw Jesus as the one who holds the key to every door of opportunity and service. \ldblquote What he opens, no one can shut; and what he shuts, no one can open.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Rev_3:7\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 Paul spoke about open doors of ministry twice in his epistles.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_16:9\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 2Co_2:12\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\fs13 \fs20 Once he asked the Colossians to pray that God would open a door for his message.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Col_4:3\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par It is reasonable to assume that God will open doors for us to proceed in the direction he has determined. And it is obvious that he can close doors if he so chooses. He closed several for Paul and his companions. As we have seen, they tried to preach in Asia, but the Holy Spirit prohibited them. Then they tried to enter Bithynia, and the Holy Spirit would not permit that either.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_16:6-7\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\fs13 \fs20 The reason finally became evident. God was opening another door to a much wider ministry, and the gospel was about to penetrate the continent of Eu\-rope for the first time.\par God can do similar things for you. By a rejection of an application he may show you whichLVALF school to eliminate from consideration. By having a visa request granted or de\-nied, he may show you what country he wants you to enter for missionary service. When my wife was a teenager she thought God wanted her to be a missionary to China, but the Communist takeover in that country made it plain that he did not. That circumstance was one of the factors that helped her decide to marry me. Our sovereign God works in mys\-terious ways to perform his wonders. And circumstances often play a vital role.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 But What Do They Mean?\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Having said all that, however, I must quickly point out that circumstances are an uncertain guide. While God is in con\-trol of every event in our lives, most events can be inter\-preted in different ways.\par You may have heard the story of two new missionary ap\-pointees who were on board ship with all their belongings, ready to set sail for a mission field. Before the ship left the harbor, it caught fire and all their baggage and equipment were destroyed. One missionary interpreted it as God telling him to stay home and teach in a Bible college\emdash an alterna\-tive he had considered before deciding on missionary ser\-vice. The other interpreted it as a Satanic hindrance, and so raised additional money for new equipment and left for the field several months later.\par Which one was right? Both were greatly used of God in the years that followed. Maybe both were right. But there had to be other factors involved in their respective decisions. The circumstance alone was not determinative, because it was subject to varying interpretations.\par Many different issues can affect the way we view our cir\-cumstances. The pressures of the world, the desire for the material things we think we need, selfish preferences about climate or locale, subconscious compulsions, false pity, or any number of other things may make us prone to interpret the circumstances to suit ourselves, and then try to use them to LVALGprove we are following God\rquote s leading.\par We must also reckon with the possibility that Satan could be manipulating the circumstances. God does allow Satan some latitude to do that. For instance, Paul believed God wanted him to visit the Thessalonians on several occasions, but he indicated by inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Satan\b \b0 hindered him.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Th_2:18\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Satan can evidently deter us from doing God\rquote s will. He may be responsible for some of the impedi\-ments on our pathway, and we may not know for some time whether a specific circumstance is a divine door-closing or a Satanic hindrance.\par If God is leading, he will ultimately open all the doors and remove all the obstacles. Every circumstance must eventu\-ally fall into place when we are following his plan. We will not need to break doors down or walk over people to do his bidding. When we struggle to remove obstacles by the energy of the flesh, we can be certain that we are setting our own course rather than following God\rquote s. He wants us to re\-member patiently that he will clear the way before us in his own time if we walk on his pathway. If doors remain closed, God may want us either to change our course entirely, or to go as far as we can and then keep knocking gently and wait\-ing patiently on him. The circumstances alone do not tell us clearly.\par Sometimes the confusion comes from having too many open doors. If you have acceptances from three different schools, or you have three different job offers, you obviously cannot take all of them. And there is no guarantee that any one of them is necessarily God\rquote s will. Every open door can\-not possibly be the will of God for our lives.\par The same thing is true of needs\emdash another kind of cir\-cumstance. Some have said that the need constitutes the call to a specific service. But there are many more needs than we can personally meet, needs of a vastly different nature in every part of the world. If each awareness of a LVALHneed were the revelation of God\rquote s will, we might feel led to change direc\-tion every time a new need came to our attention, and that would result in hopeless confusion. We cannot do every\-thing that needs to be done, and God doesn\rquote t expect us to. He may lead you by burdening your heart with a particular need, but he does not want you to dissipate your energy by trying to attend to every urgent circumstance that clamors for your time. His plan for each of us includes the proper use of every minute, and our obligation is to use our minutes as he directs, to do what he wants done, not always what others demand. To find out what his priorities are for us as indi\-viduals, we may need to get alone with him, away from the commotion and pressure of people and circumstances.\par Some Christians feel that God\rquote s blessing or lack of it is a significant element in guidance. But being used of the Lord does not necessarily mean he wants us to stay where we are or to keep doing what we are doing indefinitely. It didn\rquote t for Philip. He was engaged in a successful evangelistic cam\-paign in Samaria\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_8:5-8\cf1\lang1033\ulnone when God told him to go down to the desert and deal with one Ethiopian eunuch.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_8:26\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\fs13 \fs20 Although God has called us to one kind of vocation or to one field of labor, he may not want us to remain in it for life. In Bible times he often moved people from one place to another and from one calling to another, and he often does the same today.\par Conversely, the lack of apparent blessing or the unpleas\-antness of a task does not necessarily mean that God wants us to move on. Pastors often feel that God is leading them elsewhere when a few people begin to disagree with them. But even persecution did not move the apostles in the early years of the church.\lang3082 Cf. \cf3\ul Act_4:1-31\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Act_5:17-42\cf1\lang1033\ulnone While others fled from Jerusalem, the apostles stayed.\lang308LVALI2 \cf3\ul Act_8:1\cf1\lang1033\ulnone And some faithful servants of God since then have been led to labor tirelessly for many years against overwhelming odds without any evident fruit. This en\-couraging promise from God has sustained them: \ldblquote Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Gal_6:9\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 And God has been faithful to his Word.\par God\rquote s leading in one circumstance may not necessarily mean that he wants us to do the same thing in a similar circumstance, either. Moses assumed that because God told him the first time to strike the rock to get water for his people, it would be permissible for him to strike it again on a later occasion. But he failed to enter the promised land because of his false assumption.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Exo_17:6\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Num_20:7-12\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\fs12 \fs20 We need to seek the mind of the Lord in every situation of life and not take any cir\-cumstance for granted.\par Circumstances alone will seldom determine conclusively what God wants us to do. They may open our minds to possibilities we have not considered. They may establish a general direction to pursue. They may eventually confirm a decision as being right or wrong. But every circumstance must be considered in the light of God\rquote s Word, in an attitude of prayer, with sensitivity to the inner witness of God\rquote s Spirit, and in full commitment to follow his plan rather than our own.\par God does not expect us to understand the meaning of every circumstance. \ldblquote Man\rquote s goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Pro_20:24\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 Some of God\rquote s ways are unfathomable, unsearchable, \ldblquote beyond tracing out.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Rom_11:33\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 While we should be alert to what he is endeavoring to do in our lives, we need not be constantly LVALJasking, \ldblquote Why did this happen?\rdblquote or \ldblquote What is God trying to tell me by that?\rdblquote We need simply to trust him.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Show Me\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The mention of trust brings us to another facet of this sub\-ject\emdash the seeking of signs from God. Some Christians are looking for God to lead them through supernatural phe\-nomena\emdash a bolt of lightning, a voice from heaven, a mirac\-ulous omen, a dream, or a vision. God did some spectacular things in Scripture. The children of Israel followed a cloud by day and fire by night.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Exo_13:21\cf1\lang1033\ulnone The high priest got answers from God in some tangible manner by using the stones in his breastplate called the Urim and the Thummim.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Exo_28:30\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Num_27:21\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Young Samuel heard a voice giving him instructions.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Sa_3:1-10\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Joseph had a dream in which he was told to marry Mary.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_1:20\cf1\lang1033\ulnone God led the leaders of the early church through casting lots.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_1:23-26\cf1\ulnone ; cf. \cf3\ul Pro_16:33\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Saul of Tarsus saw a great light.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_9:3\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Peter had a vision.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_10:10\cf1\ulnone -\cf3\ul 11\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Act_10:17\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Does God do things like that today?\par Maybe the signs we seek are not quite that spectacular. We may merely be asking God for some small visible evidence of his leading. Abraham\rquote s servant did that when he sought a bride for Isaac. He stood by a well in Nahor and prayed. \ldblquote Now may it be that the girl to whom I say, \lquote Please let down your jar so that I may drink,\rquote and who answers, \lquote Drink, and I will water your camels also\rquote\emdash may she be the one whom Thou hast appointed for Thy servant Isaac; and by this I shall know that Thou hast shown lovinLVALKgkindness to my master.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Gen_24:14\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\par Jonathan also did it when he pondered whether or not to attack the Philistines with only his armor bearer by his side. \ldblquote If they say to us, \lquote Wait until we come to you\rquote ; then we will stand in our place, and not go up to them. But if they say, \lquote Come up to us,\rquote then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand; and this shall be the sign to us.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Sa_14:9-10\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\b \b0 Should we seek verifications of God\rquote s will like that?\par The story of Gideon\rquote s fleece is most often used to justify the seeking of signs. God told Gideon that Israel would be delivered from the oppression of the Midianites through his leadership, but he would not believe it. \ldblquote Then Gideon said to God, \lquote If you are really going to use me to save Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way: I\rquote ll put some wool on the threshing floor tonight, and if, in the morning, the fleece is wet and the ground is dry, I will know you are going to help me!\rquote\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Jdg_\fs22 6\fs20 :\fs22 36-37\cf1\ulnone \fs20 (TLB)\lang1033\b\fs14 \b0\fs20 God condescended to grant Gideon his request, but he still would not believe. The next night he asked for the wool fleece to remain dry while the ground around it was wet.\par And with that episode as a precedent, Christians are ask\-ing God for all sorts of signs. \ldblquote Lord, if you want me to talk to those folks about Christ, you bring them to my house to\-night.\rdblquote \ldblquote Lord, if you want me to give that money to the church, you give me an extra good week in my business.\rdblquote \ldblquote Lord, if you want me to spend time in your presence, you wake me up early tomorrow morning.\rdblquote God can use events like these to help us understand his will, but the story of Gideon gives us no justification for demanding them.\par May I rLVALLemind you that Gideon\rquote s fleece had nothing to do with ascertaining God\rquote s will. He already knew what God wanted him to do, and he admitted it when he said, \ldblquote If you are really going to use me to save Israel as you promised .\~.\~.\~\rdblquote\lang3082 Cf. \cf3\ul Jdg_6:12\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Jdg_6:14\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Jdg_6:16\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Jdg_6:23\cf1\lang1033\ulnone His request for a sign was evidence that he did not believe God\rquote s Word. Jesus later said, \ldblquote An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_12:39\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 Christians are to walk by faith and not by sight,\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Co_5:7\cf1\lang1033\ulnone and sign seeking is in the realm of sight.\par Scripture relates no instance of a believer seeking the will of God through signs after the day of Pentecost. Today we have the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the completed revelation of Scripture. We have no need for signs. To devise specific stipulations and to demand them of God is to reduce God to our mold, to make him after our own image, to create our own God. Let God be God! He must be free to deal with us as he pleases.\par I\rquote m afraid some Christians seek signs in an effort to relieve themselves of responsibility for their actions. \ldblquote God didn\rquote t do what I asked him to do, so he must not have wanted me to .\~.\~.\rdblquote But God does not always accommodate himself to our unbelief, our lack of spiritual discernment, or our carnal de\-mands. He will not let us turn our personal relationship with him into a mechanical operation in which we punch but\-tons, pull levers, and get a readout of his will. He wants us to walk in fellowship with him, get to know him intimately, and then trust him implicitly to guide us by whatever means he chooses.\par He may on occasion do something unusual or dramatic to confirm his will. That seems to happen most often to newer believers whose conscience is still uLVALMnderdeveloped, whose knowledge of the Word is still meager, and whose young and tender faith needs to be strengthened.\b \b0 But in any case, we are not to be pleading for special signs nor sitting around wait\-ing for them. We are to trust God and obey his Word.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 You\rquote re Dreaming\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Dreams are one particular kind of sign about which many Christians have special questions. After all, we do not neces\-sarily want them nor do we usually ask for them. They just happen. Could they not be from God? In Scripture, the Spirit of God revealed his will frequently through dreams while the subject was asleep, and through visions in a waking state. Could he not use them today?\par He certainly could. Few would deny that. And he has. Some have been led to the gospel through dreams. But dreams are hardly a consistently reliable guide. The experts tell us that dreams are the expression of thoughts from our subconscious minds, usually the result of something we have seen or learned through natural processes. Dr. James Dobson writes, \ldblquote From a psychological point of view, dreams appear to have two basic purposes: they reflect wish fulfill\-ment, giving expression to the things we long for; and sec\-ondly, they ventilate anxiety and the stresses we experience during waking hours. From a strictly physiological point of view, dreams also serve to keep us asleep when we are drifting toward consciousness.\rdblquote\lang3082 [\i Dr. James Dobson Talks About God\rquote s Will\i0 , G/L Publication, 1975, p. 11.]\lang1033 If dreams reflect our own wishes or our own anxieties, we certainly will not want to accept them uncritically as God\rquote s guidance.\par Even if the predictive elements in our dreams come true, that does not necessarily mean they are from God. There is still much to be learned about the mechanism of the mind. Even before the Spirit of God began his permanent indwell\-ing ministry and before the Word of God was com LVAL pleted, God warned about trusting dreams alone. \ldblquote Let these false prophets tell their dreams and let my true messengers faith\-fully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between chaff and wheat!\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Jer_23:28\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 Put your confidence in the wheat of God\rquote s Word, not the chaff of dreams.\par \kerning28\f2\fs22 -------------------\lang3082\kerning0\f1\fs20 } LVAL"O{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;\red51\green102\blue102;\red0\green128\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s1\sb240\sa60\qc\cf1\lang1033\kerning28\b\f0\fs40 PART FOUR: OTHER PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES\~\cf0\fs28\par \pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf1\kerning0\fs24 Chapter 12: Ask God\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The battleground for every decision we face is the mind. That is where we wrestle with the pros and cons, weigh the potential consequences of each alternative, and ultimately make our choices. The impressions which weigh the heav\-iest and linger the longest in the mind will usually deter\-mine the course of action we take. What goes on in the mind is crucial!\par That is why we must be sure our minds are controlled by God\rquote s Spirit. Remember Paul\rquote s exhortation to the Ephesians? \ldblquote Don\rquote t be unwise,\rdblquote or \ldblquote Don\rquote t be without your minds.\rdblquote And in the very next verse he charges, \ldblquote But be filled with the Spirit.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Eph_5:17-18\cf1\lang1033\ulnone We cannot trust our impressions if our wills are not so yielded to the Holy Spirit that he dominates our minds. But when he is in control, we can expect our thoughts to be his thoughts.\par Since the mind is the high command headquarters where all decisions will be made, it must be not only controlled by the Spirit, but also programmed with the Word. We have dealt with that principle extensively. As Paul put it, \ldblquote Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and counsel one another with all wisdom.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Col_3:16\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par But there is a third matter which vitally affects the mind as it grapples with the decisions of life. It must be in tunLVALPe with the Lord. If we want him to lay his convictions on our minds, then we must be on his wavelength, and the line of communication between us must be kept open. If we want to be certain that the impressions on our minds are from him rather than from some other source, then we will need to talk to him about them. The subject before us is prayer.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Just Ask\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The Apostle James said it beautifully: \ldblquote If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Jas_1:5\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 Wisdom\emdash that is the major commodity we need as we stand at an intersection in our lives and ponder which way to go. Wisdom from above\emdash we get it by asking God for it.\par The central theme in the context of this verse is the suf\-fering in a believer\rquote s life.\lang3082 Cf. 5:2\lang1033 James wrote his book to Jewish Christians who had been driven from their homes and scat\-tered among the nations. At that very moment they were being persecuted for their faith, and that meant decisions for them to make. Trials almost always present us with deci\-sions. Where shall we go? What shall we do? With whom shall we talk about this problem? How shall we find help? And along with those questions comes the nagging question of why God allowed the trial in the first place. Why does he let ungodly people get away with so much while his own people suffer so?\par Where can we find wisdom to handle the pressure of perplexities like these? Ask God for it. It\rquote s just that simple. Ask God for it!\par How can we know what to do when God takes a precious loved one away from us, or when we face a long and serious illness in the family, or when we lose our job, or when the car breaks down, or the baby gets sick, or the neighbors get huffy, or the money doesn\rquote t arrive on time? We ask God for wisdom. If we want to know his wilLVALQl, we need to ask him.\par While this verse in its context refers to trials, it establishes a broad and basic principle that relates to every decision in life\emdash a principle found elsewhere in Scripture as well. Jesus said, \ldblquote Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_7:7\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\b\fs12 \b0\fs20 Whether it is one of the major decisions of life like the choice of a vocation or a mate, or one of those less consequential issues like where to go for lunch or what to cook for dinner, we are invited to ask God for wisdom.\par Jesus did. Follow him as he faces one of the most serious decisions of his life. There were multitudes who numbered themselves among his disciples, but he needed only twelve of them to be with him continuously and to receive the in\-tensive training necessary to carry on in his absence. Whom would he choose? \ldblquote And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Luk_6:12-13\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 If Jesus needed that much time in his Father\rquote s presence when he faced a major decision, how much more do we.\par Read the Psalms and listen to King David cry out to God for guidance. \ldblquote Lord, lead me as you promised me you would.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_5:8\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 \ldblquote Show me the path where I should go, O Lord; point out the right road for me to walk. Lead me; teach me; for you are the God who gives me salvation. I have no hope except in you.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_25:4-5\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 \ldblquote Tell me what to do, O Lord, and make it plain because I am surrounded by waiting enemies.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_27:11\cf1\ulnone (TLB); cf. also \cf3\ul Psa_31:3\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Psa_4LVALR3:3\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Psa_139:24\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Psa_143:10\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par David must have recognized the dangers of barging ahead with his own plans without consulting the Lord. And no wonder. There had been a vivid object lesson of those dan\-gers some years earlier in Israel\rquote s history, and David was probably familiar with the story. As Joshua led his people in the conquest of the land, the inhabitants of Gibeon tricked\b \b0 them into making a covenant of peace. That treaty would bring grief for years to come, and the Scripture tells us how it happened: \ldblquote So the men of Israel took some of their provi\-sions, and did not ask for the counsel of the Lord.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Jos_9:14\cf1\ulnone (NASB); cf. \cf3\ul 2Sa_21:1-9\cf1\lang1033\ulnone We cannot afford to make that kind of mistake if we want our lives to count for Christ.\par Paul Little told an interesting story from his under\-graduate days as he sought the will of God for his life. He had been running around to meetings, talking to people, reading books, and looking for some magic formula that would reveal God\rquote s will with sudden and dramatic certainty. Then at an Urbana Convention one of the speakers asked, \ldblquote How many of you who are concerned about the will of God have spent five minutes a day asking him to show you his will?\rdblquote The truth hit him with tremendous force and set him to praying.\lang3082 [Paul E. Little, \i Affirming the Will of God\i0 , InterVarsity Press, 1971, p. 17.]\lang1033\par Ask yourself that same question. Are you seeking the will of God in some matter? Would you be willing to spend at least five minutes every day talking to him about\b \b0 it? That may be the very thing he is waiting for.\par Maybe you are facing a significant decision in your life right now. You\rquote ve been frantically seeking direction from one source after another. You feel yourself getting anxious and apprehensive about it. Your worrisome attitude is not only hindering LVALSyour communion with God, but it is also short-circuiting your ability to think clearly about your op\-tions. Why not heed the advice of the Apostle Paul? \ldblquote Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and suppli\-cation with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehen\-sion, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Php_4:6-7\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 Talk to God about the decision. Share your thoughts and feelings with him. Thank him for his promise to guide you, and enjoy the peace of mind which he alone can give.\par Since prayer is such an important element in knowing the will of God, we should also pray faithfully for one another as we face life\rquote s decisions. Such intercessory prayer is illus\-trated in Paul\rquote s relationship with the Colossians. When he heard how they had been growing in Christ, he wrote, \ldblquote For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and un\-derstanding.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Col_1:9\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 And he assured them that his friend Epa\-phras had joined him in his request. \ldblquote He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God,\b \b0 mature and fully assured.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Col_4:12\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par Guidance is a worthy matter for mutual intercession. We ought to follow the example of Paul and Epaphras by stand\-ing with one another before God\rquote s throne of grace as we seek his mind. Solicit the prayer support of your friends. And as you pray, remember also the decisions they face.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 But Why?\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Maybe some are wondering why prayer is so important, since God has already promised to lead us. The only answer we need to offer is simply that he LVALTtold us to pray. And godly people obey. But there are probably many reasons why he requires it. For one thing, prayer is an admission of need. God wants to be sure we understand how helpless we are in our own wisdom. As long as we neglect to ask him for guid\-ance we are implying that we know what is best for our lives and that we can handle our decisions without his help. But our human reasoning powers alone are far from sufficient to grapple with the immense decisions that confront us through life.\par Solomon made that clear when he established his basic prerequisites for divine guidance: \ldblquote And do not lean on your own understanding,\rdblquote he warned.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Pro_3:5\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\fs12 \fs20 On the other hand, when we ask God to lead us, we are acknowledging that we are incapable of successfully directing our own future and that we need his help. That is exactly where he wants us to be\emdash fully aware that apart from him we can do nothing.\lang3082 Cf. \cf3\ul Joh_15:5\par \cf1\lang1033\ulnone God may have another reason for asking us to pray as well. Prayer is the communion of our hearts with him, the time when our minds are fixed on him. What more opportune time could there be for him to put his thoughts in our minds than in the quiet, meditative moments we spend in his pres\-ence? Some Christians might find it difficult to hear the voice of God if he did try to speak to them. They\rquote re moving in the opposite direction. They seldom spend any time talk\-ing to him. They ignore him for days at a time. They live far away from his fellowship. But when we cultivate the con\-sciousness of his presence, we become more sensitive to his gentle prompting in our spirits.\par God may clarify his will for us while we are actually praying. Convictions begin to form, issues begin to crystallize, and the fog begins to lift as the will of God comes into clear focus. If we have listed the advantages and disadvan\-tages of a particular alternative, or the reasons whyLVALU we would like to go in a certain direction, God may rearrange our priorities or transform our desires even while we pray. While Peter\rquote s guidance to Cornelius\rquote house came in the form of a vision rather than an impression upon his mind, it did come while he was in an attitude of prayer.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_10:9\cf1\lang1033\ulnone And there was no doubt that it came from God.\par The impressions God puts in our minds through prayer are not impulsive and irresponsible notions that send us scurrying off in one direction today and back in another direction tomorrow. They are deep convictions that form in our souls as we commune with God. And if they are truly from him, they will become deeper and firmer as we con\-tinue to wait patiently upon him in prayer.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 The Right Way to Do It\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 God does attach one major condition to praying for his will, however, and we need to explore it. Right after the exhorta\-tion to ask God for wisdom, James adds this note: \ldblquote But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Jas_1:6-7\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 The necessary condition is faith. It was also Solomon\rquote s first condition for enjoying divine guid\-ance\emdash\ldblquote Trust in the Lord with all your heart.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Pro_3:5\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par One thing we need to believe is that God will surely an\-swer our prayer and direct our path. The temptation to doubt may come if God delays, but it is interesting to note the tense James used in his exhortation to pray. He said literally, \ldblquote Keep on asking.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Jas_1:5\cf1\lang1033\ulnone God knows the best time to reveal his will, but he wants us to keep asking until that time comes. Christ\rquote s imperatives are likewise in the present tenLVALVse: \ldblquote Keep on asking; keep on seeking; keep on knocking.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_7:7\cf1\lang1033\ulnone We cannot give up because we do not receive an answer as quickly as we think we should. Faith requires persistence.\par Then we must also believe that God is at work within us, changing our desires and fashioning them after his own. That may be difficult to believe. Most of us have learned to suspect our desires of being selfish and sinful. And with good reason. We know our own hearts. We\rquote ve observed how many times we have acted out of selfish motivation. And we remember God\rquote s warning through Isaiah that our ways are usually not God\rquote s ways.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Isa_55:8-9\cf1\lang1033\ulnone But that need not continue to be true, for \ldblquote it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Php_2:13\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 We need to believe that God is exerting his power in our lives, helping us to want the same things he wants.\par Have you yielded your will to him? Do you sincerely de\-sire his will above all else? Well then, what do you want to do? Where are you mentally? What do you find yourself thinking about? That may be the very thing God wants for you. Believe it as you earnestly pray for his wisdom.\par Of course, we may still be doubting the sincerity of our own surrender. Do we really want God\rquote s will more than our own? Did we really mean it when we yielded ourselves to him? Make those doubts themselves a matter of prayer. Ad\-mit to God that you have certain likes and dislikes; tell him about your desires and your will. Then pray again what Jesus prayed in the garden, and mean it from your heart: \ldblquote Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Luk_22:42\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 Then be\-lieve that he will put his desires in your heart. And when the settled assurance of God\rquote s will does come, don\rquote t let Satan destroy it witLVALWh doubts. God said he would lead. Believe that he has, and joyfully do his will.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Prayer and Fasting\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Frequently associated with prayer in the Scripture is the practice of fasting. Does fasting have anything to do with prayer for God\rquote s will? It did when the Spirit of God told the prophets and teachers at Antioch to separate Paul and Bar\-nabas apart for missionary service. Those directions were given \ldblquote while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_13:2\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\par Fasting also played a part in the revelation of God\rquote s will to Daniel. He had been studying the prophecy of Jeremiah, seeking to discover God\rquote s plan for the nation Israel, but he could not fully understand it. So he set his face to seek the Lord \ldblquote by prayer and supplication, with fasting.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Dan_9:3\cf1\lang1033\ulnone While he was still praying, God sent the angel Gabriel who said, \ldblquote O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with un\-derstanding.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Dan_9:22\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 The result of Daniel\rquote s prayer and fasting was the unique prophecy of Israel\rquote s seventy weeks, outlining the future of that nation for years to come.\par Nowhere is the believer today commanded to fast, and it certainly earns us no merit from God. But when knowing the will of God is so urgent that we want to give ourselves totally to the Word and prayer without even taking time to eat, it shows that we are deeply serious about it. And God honors that degree of devotion.\par Fasting also helps us keep our minds\b \b0 on the purpose before us. It does not do that by eliminating all thought of food. I can assure you of that from my own experience. When I have fasted, the sensations in my stomach made me think about eating. But every hunger pang reminded me also of why I was fasting\emdash to ascertain the LVAL. direction God wanted me to go. Thus it helped me keep my mind on that goal.\par But more important still, fasting clears our minds to meditate freely on the things of Christ. The blood that is normally required to digest our food is available to sharpen our minds and increase the effectiveness of our thinking processes. If you want to apply your full mental faculties to communion with God when you face a crucial decision, fast and pray. It is no magic oracle that provides quick and easy answers. It is no substitute for preparation of heart or knowl\-edge of God\rquote s Word. But the Spirit of God may use it to contribute to your understanding of his will.\f2\fs22\par \pard ------------\lang3082\f1\fs20\par \lang1033\f2\par } LVAL"Y{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;\red51\green102\blue102;\red0\green128\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf1\lang1033\b\f0\fs24 Chapter 11: But I Felt Led\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Who of us at some time in our Christian lives has not had a strong impression to take some course of action, an inner compulsion we believed to be the leading of the Lord? At times in my own ministry I have felt compelled to call some\-one on the telephone or stop at someone\rquote s home, only to discover that the person in question needed to talk to me at that precise moment. Those impressions seemed to be more than coincidental.\par That kind of an experience should not be unusual for the child of God. The Spirit of God does apply gentle pressure to the yielded spirit of a person, burdening his heart with specific needs and leading him by placing certain impres\-sions on his mind.\par But the inner guidance of God\rquote s Spirit cannot be divorced from an accurate understanding of God\rquote s Word. To try to separate the inner from the written is to open ourselves to a variety of dangers. We have been discussing the place of the Word in divine direction. We have seen some specific state\-ments of God\rquote s will in the Word. We have examined ways in which positive and negative commands of the Word can help us determine God\rquote s wishes. We have noted how general principles in the Word cast light on our decisions. Now let\rquote s explore the relationship between the Word of God and the inner urging of the Spirit.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Our Inalienable Right\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The child of God has a right to expect guidance from the Spirit of God, and that guidance can come by the direct coLVALZmmunication of the Holy Spirit with the believer\rquote s spirit. Being led by the Spirit is one of the chief identifying characteristics of a true child of God. The Apostle Paul wrote, \ldblquote For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are sons of God.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Rom_8:14\cf1\ulnone (NASB) \lang1033 The leading referred to in this passage is primarily leading into a new kind of righteous living by putting to death the sinful practices of the old sin nature.\lang3082 Cf. 5:13 \lang1033 But whatever the objective of the Spirit\rquote s leading, the cer\-tainty of it is clearly established in this verse. And it is stated in a passage which clearly refers to the Spirit\rquote s personal witness directly with the Christian\rquote s spirit. The apostle goes on to say, \ldblquote The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.\rdblquote\cf3\lang3082\ul Rom_8:16\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\par Few would deny that God can place thoughts in our minds, or even control our minds, if he so chooses. Since he controls the circumstances which invariably affect the way we think, and since he controls the mechanisms by which our minds function, he obviously can direct our thinking.\par Solomon agreed. \ldblquote The king\rquote s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Pro_21:1\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 The Lord Jesus made a promise to his disciples which bears out this principle also. The disciples would have no need for anxiety when accused by the authorities for their faith, because the Holy Spirit would teach them in that very hour what they should say. \cf3\lang3082\ul Luk_12:12\cf1\lang1033\ulnone In other words, he would put thoughts in their minds.\par The Apostle John, in a prophetic vision, saw a dramatic example of this principle operating in the lives of unbeliev\-ers as well. Concerning ten kings who will someday join forces with a future world leader, he said, \LVAL[ldblquote For God will put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his pur\-poses.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Rev_17:17\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 If God can put his plan in the minds of unbelievers, he can certainly do it for Christians. We should have no problem accepting the fact that the Spirit of God can com\-municate his will directly to the mind of the believer.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Watch Him Do It\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Leaf through the pages of the book of Acts and observe the Spirit of God personally leading his servants. He spoke to a deacon named Philip and instructed him to approach a specific chariot where he found an Ethiopian eunuch open to the gospel message.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_8:29\cf1\lang1033\ulnone \lang3082 \lang1033 He spoke to the Apostle Peter and instructed him to accompany the three men who had come from Caesarea to get him.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_10:19-20\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Peter obeyed, and found a Roman centurion named Cornelius hungry for the truth of God. As he later rehearsed the story to his friends in Jerusalem, he said, \ldblquote And the Spirit told me to go with them without mis\-givings.\rdblquote \cf3\lang3082\ul Act_11:12\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\fs14 \fs20\par When a group of prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch fasted and prayed, \ldblquote the Holy Spirit said, \lquote Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.\rquote\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_13:2\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\fs14 \fs20 Later on, as Paul was doing that work, he at\-tempted to go into Bithynia to preach the gospel, but the Holy Spirit spoke again and told him not to go.\lang3082 \lang1033 \cf3\lang3082\ul Act_16:7\cf1\lang1033\ulnone As he returned from his final missionary journey, he told the elders from Ephesus that, although afflictions awaited him, the Spirit was constraining him to go to Jerusalem.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_20:22-23\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par The evidence is oveLVAL\rwhelming. The Spirit of God com\-municated directly with those men. Some Bible students be\-lieve that he spoke in audible tones, but the possibility exists that he merely placed strong impressions in their minds. And guidance like that has not been limited to New Testa\-ment personalities. It can happen today.\par Zac Poonen tells the story of an American preacher who was led by the Spirit to a logging camp which he found deserted. He was so certain of divine guidance that he went into the empty dining hall and preached the gospel. Years later a man approached him in London and reminded him of the incident. He had been the cook at the camp and was the only man there that day. He had hidden outside a window, listened to the sermon, trusted Christ as his Savior, and had gone on to serve the Lord. \lang3082 [Zac Poonen, \i Where Do I Go from Here, God\i0 ? Tyndale House, 1971, p. 46]\lang1033\par G. Christian Weiss tells of a missionary in South America who received the distinct impression that he should take a trip into the jungle. At nightfall, after a long and weary trek, he arrived at a hut where he found an old Indian on his deathbed. \ldblquote Where\rquote s the book?\rdblquote the old man asked, explain\-ing that on the previous night he had cried to God for help and had dreamed about a messenger bringing a book. He had been told in the dream to believe the message of the book and he would be saved. Needless to say, when the mission\-ary brought out his Bible and shared the message of salva\-tion, the old Indian trusted Christ. God had surely led him to that hut.\lang3082 [G. Christian Weiss, \i The Perfect Will of God\i0 , Moody Press, 1950, p. 86.]\lang1033 Illustrations like this abound. The Spirit of God can impress his will upon our minds.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Those Other Voices\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 But here\rquote s the problem. Impressions come from other sources besides the Spirit of God. For one thing, we may have strong inclinations that stemLVAL] solely from our own self\-ish desires. I remember a young mother who felt strongly led to get a job. That impression could have come from God, but it may also have originated in a selfish desire to get away from the tedious routine of housework and child care, and to add a little glamour to her life. She never questioned the source of the impression, however. She just proceeded to find work. Her doing so brought devastating results to her entire family. As she reflected on it, her excuse was, \ldblquote But I felt led.\rdblquote By that statement she tried to relieve herself of the responsibility for her poor judgment. But God does not ac\-cept the blame for things like that. Not every impression comes from him.\par I can remember a young man with a sizable family who felt led to quit his job and go into professional Christian service. He had no training for the ministry he wanted to enter, he was not particularly gifted to do the work he wanted to do, and there had been no opportunities offered him to serve. As I questioned him, it became obvious that his primary motive for seeking Christian service was not the call of God, but an unpleasant job situation from which he could see no other way out.\par Our impressions may be affected not only by our desire to add a little sparkle to our lives or to escape a difficult situa\-tion, but also by things as simple as the amount of sleep we have had, the condition of our health, our degree of confi\-dence and self-acceptance, the past experiences which we cannot erase from our consciousness, our subconscious fears, a sentimental bent, or emotional stress.\par More devious than any of these, however, is the inclina\-tion to indulge our lustful desires. We can convince our\-selves of almost anything in order to satisfy the flesh. James Dobson tells of the couple who felt led to have sexual rela\-tions before marriage because they loved each other so much. They said they had gotten down on their knees and prayed about it and had received the assurance from LVAL^God that it was all right.\lang3082 [James Dobson, \i Talks About God\rquote s Will\i0 , G/L Publications, 1975, p. 9.]\lang1033 That is mere self-deception.\par Impressions can also find their source in the influence of others\emdash close friends in whom we have great confidence, magnetic personalities whom we think could never be wrong, or merely the prevailing opinion of the people around us. It may be the opinion of other Christians with whom we fellowship, be it right or wrong. Or it may be the opinion of the world which has invaded our minds through the media or through the unbelievers with whom we come in contact.\par And then there is the most subtle influence of all\emdash that of the great deceiver. Did you know that Satan can put impres\-sions on the believer\rquote s mind? That may sound frightening, but it is true. Satan transforms himself into an angel of light,\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Co_11:14 \cf1\lang1033\ulnone that is, one who professes to give accurate information and provide competent counsel. In reality he is the prince of darkness, and by his clever impersonation he seeks to gain an advantage over us.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Co_2:11\cf1\lang1033\ulnone \par He did just that to a new believer named Ananias, by convincing him that it was acceptable to give part of his money to the Lord\rquote s work and yet imply that he was giving all of it. Listen to Peter as he put his finger on the root of the problem: \ldblquote Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land?\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_5:3\cf1\ulnone (NASB) \lang1033 The source of that foolish impression in Ananias\rquote mind was the archenemy of God\rquote s people, the master liar and father of all lies, Satan himself.\lang3082 Cf. \cf3\ul Joh_8:44\cf1\lang1033\ulnone \par Satanic impressions may be quite striking, as with one girl who assured me that God was leading her to marry an unbe\-liever. She described in glowing detail the unusual, almost mLVAL_iraculous, circumstances that had brought them together. Such amazing events, she said, had to be of God. But Satan is even capable of performing miracles to convince us of his lies. \lang3082 Cf. \cf3\ul 2Th_2:9\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Satanic impressions can be extremely forceful, almost to the point of obsession.\par The strength of an impression does not necessarily meas\-ure its validity. It is difficult for us to admit that our impressions have not come from God. We want to believe that God is doing something special for us. We want to tell our friends about the unusual guidance we have received. And our pride makes us all the more vulnerable to Satan\rquote s suggestions.\par With so many possible sources for false impressions, it should be obvious to us that we cannot trust all the thoughts that come to us. To empty our minds of all distractions and take whatever comes into them as the will of God, as some have recommended, is an extremely dangerous practice. When the mind is blank, Satan is free to implant his sugges\-tions. And there is nothing he would rather do than get us to listen unquestioningly to the impressions of our minds as though they represented the very voice of God. The Apostle John encourages us to test the spirits to see if they are from God.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Jo_4:1\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Paul tells us to test everything and to hold only to what is good.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Th_5:21 \cf1\lang1033\ulnone But how can we do that?\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 The Acid Test\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 There are a number of ways we can check out these inner urges, and we shall be exploring them in the remainder of our study. But the most important means is by the Word of God. Isaiah said it well when he warned the people of his day against listening to other voices: \ldblquote If they speak not ac\-cording to this word, it is because there is no light in them.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Isa_8:20\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 Every impression that comes from God LVAL`is consistent with his Word. Not one will ever contradict his Word. God cannot contradict himself.\par So measure your inclinations against the Word\emdash its direct statements of God\rquote s will, its positive and negative com\-mands, its general principles. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to lead us, and the more of the Word we know, the more capable we shall become at testing the source of our impressions. Exposure to the Word will not only help us distinguish our true Shepherd\rquote s voice from those other voices, it will also help us recognize some of those selfish motives which inspire many of our impressions. The writer to the Hebrews called it \ldblquote a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Heb_4:12\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033\par If the young mother had examined her biblical responsi\-bility to her small children and let the Word of God illumine her motives, she probably would not have gone to work at that time. If the man who wanted to quit his job had seen his scriptural responsibility to provide for his family, he would not have left his job to seek Christian service at that time. If the couple who engaged in premarital sexual relations had submitted to the standard of God\rquote s Word, they would not have followed their foolish notions. If the girl who wanted to marry an unbeliever had listened to what God had to say, she would have known that he was not leading her into that marriage.\par But even after considering everything that the Word has to say on an issue, we may still be confused as to what to do. Where shall we turn then? There is yet another way that the Spirit of God can lead us through the Word, and that is by us\-ing the Word itself to plant the impressions upon our minds.\par I am not referring to a statement leaping from the pages of Scripture and telling us exactly what to do. That has hap\-pened on occasion, but it has been the exception rather than the rule. I am referring to God laying certain things on our miXLVALhnds as we read the Word with an open heart and a yielded will. The major theme or emphasis of a passage may impress us with the things that matter most to God, or have direct pertinence to a decision we are facing.\par As I sought the mind of God about a new opportunity for ministry open to me in Escondido, California, certain things kept coming to my mind such as God\rquote s blessing on the ministry in which I was already involved, a concern for its well-being should I leave, a fear of the unknown elements associated with the new opportunity, a distrust of my ability to handle the prospective new work, and some of the disad\-vantages of the new situation. But as I got alone with God for an extended period of time and read consecutively through the book of Isaiah, God seemed to be impressing new thoughts upon my mind which I could not escape, thoughts that were summarized best by this passage: \ldblquote Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. Be\-hold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Isa_43:18-19\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 Although it was contrary to my wishes at the time, I took God at his word and made the move. And where God led me he has done some unusu\-ally wonderful new things in what has become the most fruitful ministry of my life.\par God may never lead me in that precise way again, and he may never lead you exactly in that way. But if we want only God\rquote s will for our lives, whatever the personal sacrifice, and if we open his Word to look for what he has to say rather than for what we want to see, we can expect him to speak to us through it. He has promised that his Word will be a light to our path.\par \pard\f2\fs22 ---------------\par } LVAL"b{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;\red51\green102\blue102;\red0\green128\blue0;\red0\green0\blue255;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf1\lang1033\b\f0\fs24 Chapter 10: Charting the Course\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The job of a navigator is to move his ship successfully from one point to another. His fundamental tool through the cen\-turies has been the chart, a representation of the earth\rquote s sur\-face with notations that help him carry out his task. With the assistance of a chart he can establish the course that will bring his ship to its destination.\par The navigational chart for the Christian\rquote s life journey is the Word of God. That Word contains the facts he needs in order to establish the right course for his life. We have con\-sidered some of the Word\rquote s plain statements of God\rquote s will. Now we want to determine how the commands and princi\-ples of the Word relate to finding God\rquote s will.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 This is Your Captain Speaking\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 When God says to do something or not to do something, that is obviously his will for us whether the phrase \ldblquote will of God\rdblquote occurs in the passage or not. When he speaks clearly about a particular issue, we need no other guidance. We need only to obey. And there are hundreds of imperatives in the Bible that have direct application to our lives. We need to read the Scriptures with our minds open to these positive and nega\-tive commands.\par Someone may object that occupying our minds with rules will make us legalistic. True. But the biblical concept is not that we must occupy our minds with rules. Rather, it is that we occupy our minds with the Lord, and the more we get to know hLVALcim and love him, the more we will want to please him. Since he tells us plainly what pleases him, it would be foolish to ignore it. He himself said, \ldblquote If you love me, you will do what I command.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Joh_14:15\cf1\ulnone (NIV); cf. also \cf3\ul Joh_14:21\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Joh_15:10\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 1Jo_5:3\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 2Jo_1:6\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par We obviously cannot look at all his commands here but we can illustrate how some of them may affect our decisions. Then we can begin to look for other commands as we study the Word ourselves. Here are some examples.\par People have asked me on occasion what they should do when another believer has wronged them. Often they have some ideas of their own, such as telling their pastor, or tell\-ing someone close to the offender who might get him to see the wrong he has done. But the human approach usually compounds the problem. Why settle for human reason when we have a divine directive? Jesus said clearly, \ldblquote If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_18:15\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par Did you notice with whom God says you are to speak about the problem? With the person who has offended you. Just you and him alone. Nobody else! To tell anyone else is to speak against the offender, and that violates another bibli\-cal command: \ldblquote Do not speak against one another, breth\-ren.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Jas_4:11\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 To tell someone else is also to give a poor report of the one who has offended us, and such reporting disregards the exhortation to think only about good reports.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Php_4:8\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par If we go to the offending brother in a meek and gentle spirit\lang3082 \cf3\ul Gal_6:1\cf1\lang1033\ulnone and he responds to us favorably, the problem has been solved and harmony restored. If he refuses to respondLVALd to our efforts, then we can take one or two others along to witness our genuine effort at reconciliation and to witness his re\-sponse.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_18:16\cf1\lang1033\ulnone If he refuses to listen to their encouragement, then we can tell it to the church. If the church agrees that he has transgressed, but he still refuses to listen and to acknowl\-edge his wrong, then Christ says he is to be treated as a gentile or a tax collector, which seems to mean that he is to be separated from fellowship until he is willing to work it out.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_18:17\cf1\lang1033\ulnone This divinely prescribed procedure will help eliminate gossip from the church, destroy factions and strife, and re\-duce hard feelings among Christians.\par Here is another example. Women have told me about out\-rageous things their husbands have done to them, then have asked, \ldblquote Don\rquote t you think I should divorce him?\rdblquote The Bible has the answer to that question. \ldblquote To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_7:10\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par To \ldblquote separate from\rdblquote means literally \ldblquote to divide.\rdblquote That it refers here to divorce is clear from the next verse, which insists that she remain unmarried if she does separate. God hates divorce.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mal_2:16\cf1\lang1033\ulnone It is never his perfect will. He clearly com\-mands that a wife is not to divorce her husband, and likewise, that a husband is not to divorce his wife.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_7:11\cf1\lang1033\ulnone God would always be pleased for a couple to stay together, to seek counsel, and to work unselfishly to make their marriage succeed.\par Why then does Paul even mention the wife separating? (He says, \ldblquote But if she does leave, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_7:11\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 ) Paul mentions sep\-arationLVALe because he recognizes that some may disobey Christ\rquote s command for one reason or another. If they do, then it is God\rquote s will for them to remain unmarried or else to be reconciled to their former mates.\par Paul makes no mention of fornication, which may be the Lord\rquote s one exception to this rule.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Mat_5:32\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Mat_19:9\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\fs12 \fs20 Nor does he say what to do if you are already divorced and your former mate has remarried, thus making reconciliation impossible. But he leaves no doubt about the right decision if you are presently married and your mate has not had extramarital sexual rela\-tions. Stay married! That is God\rquote s plan for you as you chart your future course.\par Speaking of marriage, how can we overlook one of the clearest commands in the Bible about whom you should marry, or, more accurately, about whom you should not marry. \ldblquote Be not unequally yoked together with unbeliev\-ers.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Co_6:14\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 This injunction prohibits a believer from being matched together with an unbeliever. That yoking or matching may refer to a number of things, but it certainly includes marriage, the closest bond in all of life. It is never God\rquote s will for a Christian knowingly and willfully to marry an unbeliever. Paul reinforced this standard when he gave permission for widows to remarry, adding, \ldblquote only in the Lord.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_7:39\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033\par This principle should also help a fellow or girl decide whom to date and whom not to date. It could be spiritually profitable to take an unbeliever to church with the prayer that he or she might come to know Christ through the public ministry of the Word, but other dating may lead to an emo\-tional involvement, tempting the believer to rationalize God\rquote s command concerning marriage and step outside his will.\par On the positive side, there are many passages that help us know whom we sLVALfhould date and marry. As we read our Bibles, we find numerous qualities that a man or woman of God should possess. It might be wise to list them as we study the Word, and then evaluate our prospects by that standard rather than by human criteria.\par I have been asked by counselees whether they should take a job that is open at the time, or go on welfare. The Bible has an unmistakable command relating to that decision too. \ldblquote For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: \lquote If a man will not work, he shall not eat.\rquote\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Th_3:10\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 If a job is offered and a person is able-bodied, he has a responsibility to work.\par Some excuse themselves by claiming that the available jobs are not suitable to their particular skills, or that they are beneath their dignity, or that they do not pay as much as welfare pays. So they become freeloaders and eat off of other people\rquote s labors. But work is God\rquote s basic means for providing our needs. It is a necessary part of life, and those who avoid it usually become a problem to others around them. That\rquote s what happened in Thessalonica. \ldblquote We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command and urge such people to settle down and earn the bread they eat.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Th_3:11\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 2Th_3:12\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par And while we are on the subject of work, let\rquote s talk about changing jobs. That is a decision which almost everyone faces at some time or other during his life. The important question is, \ldblquote Why do you want to change jobs?\rdblquote Is it to provide for your children\rquote s education? Is it to enable you to give more money to the Lord\rquote s work? Or is it merely so you can buy some of the material goods you have always coveted?\par The writer to the Hebrews gave us a command that might affect this decision. \ldblquote Keep your liLVALgves free from the love of money and be content with what you have.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Heb_13:5\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 I am con\-vinced that some people jump from job to job because of an underlying attitude of covetousness. They are always hoping that the next job is going to provide the big opportunity to get rich. But their irresponsibility and instability can hinder them from providing continuity and security for their families. In some instances it even deprives them of basic necessities of life. God tells us to be content. Not lethargic nor lazy, but content. True contentment encourages us to be faithful to our responsibilities, and faithfulness is re\-warded by God.\lang3082 Cf. \cf3\ul Mat_25:21\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Mat_25:23\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 1Co_4:2\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par The subject of jobs may bring the thought of vacations to some minds. What should we do for our vacation this year? God has a precept which affects that decision too. \ldblquote Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Eph_5:15-16\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 Vacations should be restful and relaxing, but they should also be meaningful and\b \b0 productive. There is no time to waste. The people of the world are lost and dying without Christ. The days we have left to win them are numbered.\par Even fun-filled vacations should include time to build our spiritual strength and rejuvenate us for the work God has called us to do. And even on vacation we should be alert for every opportunity to share God\rquote s good news of salvation in Christ. There is no such thing as a vacation from God. Chris\-tians who try to take one usually find their spiritual lives woefully weakened.\par These are only a few illustrations of how biblical com\-mands can help you make right decisions. Look for other commands as you read the Word, then think through their implications for your life. They may dispel the clouds LVALhof confusion as you chart your future course.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Just on General Principles\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The general principles of Scripture are every bit as essential to determining God\rquote s will as the precise commands. Princi\-ples are simply statements of fact, but the facts may have direct bearing on how God wants us to live.\par Let me illustrate first by talking about how we spend our money. A basic principle of Scripture is that God is the source of all wealth. Moses informed his people that it was God who gave them power to get wealth.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Deu_8:18\cf1\lang1033\ulnone David agreed: \ldblquote Riches and honor come from you [God] alone,\rdblquote he declared. \ldblquote O Lord our God, all this material that we have gathered to build a temple for your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you!\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ch_29:12\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 1Ch_29:16\cf1\ulnone (TLB)\lang1033 Paul concurred when he said that God is the one who richly supplies everything we enjoy.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ti_6:17\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par If all wealth comes from God and it all belongs to him, then he has the right to tell us how to spend all of it, not just the small percentage we give back to his work. He even wants to help us make our purchases, to decide things such as which house or car or washing machine to buy. There is some truth to the adage, \ldblquote You get what you pay for,\rdblquote but the question we ought to ask when we are ready to buy is, \ldblquote Do we really need all that we plan to get?\rdblquote Some extra expend\-itures may increase the life and value of our investment, or the economy of its operation, but others are for sheer lux\-uries that squander God\rquote s resources.\par Maybe we should make our purchases as though the Lord Jesus were standing right beside us telling us what he would need if he were doing the buying. Too often we operate under the false assumption that we need bigger and betterLVALi things than people who make less money than we do. Why should we assume that making more money entitles us to a higher level of living? When the owner of all the wealth in the universe walked the face of the earth, he possessed prac\-tically nothing. God may be permitting us to earn more money so that we can invest more in world evangelization, not necessarily so that we can live more comfortably. Awareness of the principle of God\rquote s ownership of all things can help us get our needs and our wants sorted out accord\-ing to his priorities.\par One day a lady came to my office to ask me what she should do about her brother who had swindled her out of her share of the small family inheritance. A man asked Jesus that very same thing one day, and he established a principle that helped my friend know God\rquote s will in her dilemma. \ldblquote Some\-one in the crowd said to him, \lquote Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.\rquote Jesus replied \lquote Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?\rquote Then he said to them, \lquote Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man\rquote s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.\rquote\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Luk_12:13-15\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par The guiding principle is simply this\emdash there are more im\-portant things in life than the material goods that money can buy. Learning this principle well can bring us great freedom and peace. No amount of assets could have compensated that woman for the damage she would have done to her relation\-ship with her brother had she sued him for a little of the family inheritance.\par Some folks are trying to decide which church God wants them to join. Biblical principles can guide them here too. For instance, Paul called the church \ldblquote the pillar and ground of the truth.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ti_3:15\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Since Jesus claimed that he was the truth\lang3082 \cf3\ul Joh_14:6\cf1\lang1033\ulnone and thLVALjat God\rquote s Word is truth,\lang3082 \cf3\ul Joh_17:17\cf1\lang1033\ulnone a true New Testament church would be one which magnifies the Lord Jesus Christ and emphasizes the preaching and teaching of his Word. We can use this principle to evaluate any church we attend, and we would be ill-advised to lend our support to one which has deviated from this biblical pattern.\par In an altogether different vein, a high school student was trying to decide whether or not God wanted him to go out for an organized sport. Are there principles in the Word for decisions like that? Listen to the Apostle Paul again: \ldblquote For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ti_4:8\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 Benefits can be gained from athletics, but there are other things to be considered as well. How will the time spent in practice affect his time with the Lord? How will it influence his walk with God? When a person begins to put sports before God, then he departs from God\rquote s plan for his life. If he is honest in the application of the principle, God will guide him.\par One of the big questions in the minds of many Christians concerns what we call doubtful things\emdash practices which some Christians think are permissible, but other Christians think are sinful. Should we engage in them or not? A number of biblical principles can help us decide. What is it we are questioning? Will it lead a weaker Christian into sin?\lang3082 \cf3\ul Rom_14:21\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Will it become my master?\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_6:12\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Will it harm my body?\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_6:19\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Will it build me up spiritually?\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_10:23\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Will it glorify the Lord?\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_10:31\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Can I do it with a clear conscience? The principle of Scrip\-ture is that \ldblquote whatever is not from faith is sin.\rdLVALkblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Rom_14:23\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 In other words, if I cannot do it as a redeemed child of God in the joy of my salvation, then it is sin, and it will surely hinder God\rquote s work in my life.\par Let me mention one more quandary Christians sometimes face. Should we share our hurts, our struggles, and our weaknesses with other believers, or should we keep them to ourselves? Some of us feel that our reputation as Christians and our influence for Christ would be destroyed if anyone ever found out what we were really like on the inside. But the biblical principle establishing the church as the Body of Christ should help us see this issue from God\rquote s viewpoint. \ldblquote The body is a unit though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_12:12\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 \ldblquote If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_12:26\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par How can we feel with one who is hurting if we do not know where he hurts? How can we support him before God\rquote s throne of grace if we do not know where he needs support? How can we bear his burden with him if we do not know what his burden is?{\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "unsaved://pagina_nueva_2.htm" \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\l "_ftn236#_ftn236" }}{\fldrslt{\ul\super\f0 [236]}}}\ulnone\nosupersub\f1\fs20 I am not suggesting that we broadcast all of our faults for everyone to know. But the practical out\-working of this principle might demand a greater openness with one another than most of us have. The honest admis\-sion of our shortcomings to our closest Christian friends will be an encouragement to them. They will know that they are not the only ones with weaknesses. It will likewise be a blessing to us as they pray for us, encourage us, and check with us periodically on our progress. The proper application of this principle stimulates spiritual growth.\par This has been just a small sampling of ho LVAL w to find guid\-ance through the Word. May it be a challenge to you to search the Scriptures personally for both the commands and the principles that will help you discern the will of God for your future course.\par \pard\f2\fs22\par ------------------\lang3082\f1\fs20 } LVAL"m{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;\red51\green102\blue102;\red0\green128\blue0;\red0\green0\blue255;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf1\lang1033\b\f0\fs24 Chapter 9: This is the Will of God\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 We as Christians have a distinct advantage over unbelievers when it comes to facing decisions. We not only know that our sovereign God has already planned the way that is best for us, but we have infallible information about his priorities that will help us follow his plan. We have the inspired Word of God. And God specifically mentions at least six things in his Word that are part of his will for our lives. He actually says, for all practical purposes, \ldblquote This is my will for you.\rdblquote These six things have direct bearing on many of life\rquote s deci\-sions. Let\rquote s look at them.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 First Things First\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 God\rquote s first priority is to glorify himself through man\rquote s de\-liverance from the condemnation of sin. He wants everybody to be saved, and he says so several times. He says, for exam\-ple, that he \ldblquote will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ti_2:4\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 He says also that he is \ldblquote not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 2Pe_3:9\cf1\ulnone (KJV); cf. also \cf3\ul Mat_18:14\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Joh_6:39\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Joh_6:40\cf1\lang1033\ulnone And he says that he \ldblquote sent his Son into the world to seek and to save the lost.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Luk_19:10\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par The first\b \b0 point in God\rquote s plan LVALnfor your life, therefore, is that you be saved. You must start here if you ever hope to know the rest of God\rquote s will. Admit your sin. Agree that there is nothing you have ever done or can do that will commend you to an infinitely righteous God. Believe that Jesus Christ died in your place and for your sins. Then put your trust in him as your personal sin bearer and Savior. God will forgive your sins, assure you that heaven is your destiny, and set you on an exciting new road of peace and purpose here and now.\par If God wants everybody to be saved, however, your own salvation is only the beginning. Now he wants to use you to bring others to a knowledge of the truth. \ldblquote As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you,\rdblquote said the Lord Jesus.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Joh_20:21\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 Our pur\-pose in the world as Christians is identical to Christ\rquote s\emdash to be God\rquote s instruments to bring salvation to the lost. Every Chris\-tian is divinely commissioned to share the good news of salvation through Christ. And if that is first on God\rquote s priority list, it ought to be first on ours. Every decision we face should be evaluated in the light of how it affects our ability to share Christ with a lost world.\par This priority of witnessing may affect your decision to marry. Do you see yourself as being a more effective witness for Jesus Christ married than single? If not, maybe God wants you to remain single. The priority of witnessing will also certainly affect your choice of a life vocation. In what line of work can you most capably be used to present Christ to the lost?\par For some that could mean career Christian service. Many Christian young people have never seriously considered missionary work, or any other Christian service vocation, because they are not sure that they are called. So they have simply chosen another profession that appeals to them. That is hardly consistent. We should have a sense of divine call to whatever field we enter. We should LVALohave a settled assurance that it is the will of God. And every Christian young person should at least prayerfully think about the possibility of vo\-cational Christian service.\par Some may honestly see how their special skills or abilities, applied in some secular field, could put them in con\-tact with people who would never be reached for Christ in any other way. And of course the ministry of the gospel by those in career Christian service requires the sacrificial sup\-port of others in secular employment. But whatever we choose for our life\rquote s work, this clear revelation of God\rquote s will concerning the salvation of the lost should be applied.\par God\rquote s desire to bring the lost to Christ through us may also help a young person determine which college to attend. Secular campuses desperately need a Christian witness. Yet Christian schools have a role to fill in training Christian workers for service. Only God can tell you which is right for you, but this basic revelation of God\rquote s will should be consid\-ered when you make your choice.\par The priority of witnessing may also help you decide which neighborhood to live in, or where to draw the fine line between luxuries and necessities as you establish your life style. Neighbors are prime subjects for evangelism, and the tremendous need for money in world evangelism should help us choose a modest level of living and put a high prior\-ity on giving.\par Christians have a tendency to make decisions like these without considering the will of God. One young man refused to go to a Christian school to study God\rquote s Word because he wasn\rquote t sure it was God\rquote s will. Then he turned right around and spent his life savings on a fancy new sports car without even thinking about the will of God. That\rquote s not honest. A married couple declined a short\_term missionary opportu\-nity which they were qualified for and capable of handling, because they weren\rquote t sure it was God\rquote s will. Then they went out and boughLVALpt a lovely home in a very affluent community and later admitted that they never thought about asking God his will in the matter. That\rquote s not honest. God wants us to discern his will in every issue of life by applying biblical principles fairly.\par Each Christian may apply this first principle differently in different situations, but every Christian should consider it. As Bill Bright put it, \ldblquote Every Christian should take spiritual inventory regularly by asking himself these questions: Is my time being invested in such a way that the largest possible number of people are being introduced to Christ? Are my talents being invested to the full to the end that the largest possible number of people are being introduced to Christ? Is my money, my treasure, being invested in such a way as to introduce the greatest number of people to Christ?\rdblquote\lang3082 [Bill Bright, Paul Brown Letter, Campus Crusade for Christ, 1963.]\lang1033 How high is evangelism on your priority list?\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 The Control Center\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20\ldblquote So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Eph_5:17\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Eph_5:18\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 Here is a second revelation of God\rquote s will.\par Scholars seem to be agreed that the \ldblquote and\rdblquote which connects these two sentences provides a transition from general coun\-sel to particular instances. In other words, getting drunk is a prime illustration of stupidity, and being filled with the Spirit is a prime illustration of God\rquote s will. God wants us to be Spirit\_filled; that is his will for our lives. So we need to know what the Spirit\_filled life is and how it relates to our deci\-sions.\par The biblical analogy between drunkenness and the filling of the Spirit is significant. It does not imply that we will act irrationally wLVALqhen we are filled with the Spirit, but it does introduce the concept of control. When a man is drunk he is not in control of himself. Something else controls him\emdash al\-cohol. When a man is filled with the Spirit, someone else controls him\emdash the Spirit of God.\par But how can we put ourselves in his control? First, we must acknowledge the things which keep him from control\-ling us. In Scripture this is called confession of sin. We are to confess to God those things in our lives which have been contrary to his wishes, both attitudes and actions, things we have committed which we should not have done as well as things we have omitted which we should have done.\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Jo_1:9\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par Second, we must willingly yield ourselves to his control. This is the presentation of our bodies to him which we have discussed before.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Rom_12:1\cf1\lang1033\ulnone When we give up the right to run our own lives and put ourselves at his disposal, then we are in his control. But if the Spirit of God is to remain in control, we must cultivate an awareness of his presence and a depend\-ence on his power.\par This is accomplished largely by saturating our minds with his Word. Paul said to the Ephesians, \ldblquote Be filled with the Spirit,\rdblquote and he said to the Colossians, \ldblquote Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Col_3:16\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 When we study each context we find that basically the same things follow each command. Being filled with the Spirit and being filled with the Word are parallel to each other. As we meditate on God\rquote s Word, our hearts are drawn to Christ. Spiritual things take on greater importance for us and begin to fill our lives. We begin to act in conscious dependence on his power rather than our own. We are dominated or controlled by his Spirit just as he wants us to be, and when we are in that condition, he is free to lead us.\par This was beautifully illustrated in the early dayLVALrs of our Lord Jesus\rquote earthly ministry. \ldblquote Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Luk_4:1\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 He was filled with the Spirit and led by the Spirit. And if we want to be certain that the course we are consid\-ering is the leading of the Lord, we too must be certain that his Spirit is in control of our lives.\par Just knowing that the Spirit\_filled life is God\rquote s will for us, is going to have a definite effect on our everyday decisions. \ldblquote Where shall we go on our date tonight?\rdblquote Let\rquote s eliminate from consideration all those possibilities that will detract from our thoughts of Christ and weaken the Spirit\rquote s domina\-tion of our lives. \ldblquote Shall we send our children to public school or to a private Christian day school?\rdblquote That is a com\-plex decision and a number of biblical factors should be weighed such as the quality of spiritual training we are pro\-viding at home, the children\rquote s individual spiritual strength, the need for a witness in the public schools, our children\rquote s ability or inability to provide such a witness, and what would be the best investment of our money. Some things may counterbalance others, so we need to establish an order of priority from a biblical perspective. But one important factor on our list of considerations will be the degree to which we believe the public schools will detract from our children\rquote s thoughts of Christ and weaken the Spirit\rquote s control of their lives.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 100% PURE\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20\ldblquote For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Th_4:3\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 It is God\rquote s will that we be holy. The word sanctification means holiness, conse\-cration, dedication to God. In this verse the word clearly appliesLVALs to the purity of our physical lives, that is, abstinence from sexual sins. The Word of God makes it clear that to have sexual relations outside the bond of marriage is impure, and Christians are to abstain from such practices. A fellow never needs to question whether or not God wants him to have sexual relations with his girl friend. God has already made his will known in that matter. He always desires purity.\par Some young people are trying to decide whether a certain special member of the opposite sex could be God\rquote s choice for a life partner; yet when they are together they are much too free\b \b0 with each other\rquote s bodies. The temptations they arouse in each other are more than they can handle. I can assure them on the authority of God\rquote s Word that they are not meant for each other, at least not so long as they are involved with one another physically. The Bible says, \ldblquote Flee fornication.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Co_6:18\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 More than that, it says, \ldblquote Flee also youthful lusts.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ti_2:22\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 If some\-one has become a source of sexual temptation to you, then God\rquote s will for you is to run in the opposite direction as fast as your legs will carry you. Get away from that relationship. It is not part of God\rquote s plan for your life. God\rquote s plan is purity.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 An Attitude of Gratitude\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20\ldblquote In everything give thanks; for this is God\rquote s will for you in Christ Jesus.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Th_5:18\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033 This is one statement of God\rquote s will that many Christians find difficult to accept. They know they should thank God for the good things that happen to them, but they cannot bring themselves to thank him for the problems. They are convinced that some circumstances give them a perfect right to grumble, gripe, and complain. They may try to jus\-tify themselves LVALtby insisting that this verse only requires thanking God in everything, but not for everything. \ldblquote I\rquote m still thankful for the good things God has done for me, even in this miserable situation,\rdblquote they claim.\par Paul clarified that in the same context in which he taught us that it is God\rquote s will for us to be filled with the Spirit. In the verses that follow, he listed four descriptions of the Spirit-filled life, one of which is: \ldblquote Giving thanks always for all things unto God.\~.\~. .\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Eph_5:20\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 God wants us to be thankful for ev\-erything, not just in everything. I don\rquote t think Paul meant that we should go around shouting \ldblquote Praise the Lord\rdblquote when a precious loved one is taken from us in death. That can be phony. Yet we can be genuinely thankful in our hearts for tragedies such as that, knowing that they are part of God\rquote s perfect plan for our spiritual enrichment.\par Whenever we face adverse circumstances we are prone to ask, \ldblquote What does God want me to do?\rdblquote By that we usually mean, \ldblquote What can I do to get this burden off my back?\rdblquote The teenager whose parents are being harsh and unreasonable wants to know what he should do. The man whose boss is taking unfair advantage of him wants to know what he should do. The woman whose husband pays very little at\-tention to her longs for advice.\par The first thing God wants each of them to do is to thank him genuinely and sincerely for the problem, and to thank him for another opportunity to grow spiritually and to learn more about his all-sufficient grace. That thankful spirit may be the very thing God will use to relieve the tension and make the situation more tolerable. Do you want to know God\rquote s will for your life? It is that you give thanks always, in every situation, for everything.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Keeping in Line\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20\ldblquote SubmiLVALut yourselves for the Lord\rquote s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God\rquote s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Pe_2:13-15\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\par \lang1033 It is God\rquote s will for us to submit ourselves to the laws of the land. This is one way he can shut the mouths of those who oppose the gospel.\par We all toy at times with decisions that involve breaking the law. For example, suppose I am running late to a meeting at which I am to be the speaker and where I must minister the things of Christ. I know that the leaders of the meeting will be getting worried and many other people will be in\-convenienced. Would I be justified in edging the speed\-ometer up over the speed limit to make up some time? I doubt very much that the highway patrolman who stops me will look favorably on trusting the Lord Jesus as his personal Savior after I give him my excuse for breaking the law.\par What can we do about poor laws? We can work to change them, but as long as they are on the books, God wants us to obey them. The only exception to that rule occurs when man\rquote s laws contradict the clearly revealed commands of God. At that point we ought to obey God rather than man, just as Peter and John did when the Jewish Sanhedrin told them to stop preaching in the name of Jesus.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_4:18-20\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Act_5:28\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Act_5:29\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par This God-willed submissiveness to authority reaches be\-yond our attitude toward government, however. Employees are exhorted to be submissive to their employers.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Eph_6:5-6\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 1Pe_2:18\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\fs13 \fs20 Wives are encouraged to be submissive to their husbands.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Eph_5:22\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul 1Pe_3:1\cf1\lang1033\ulnone BelLVALvievers generally are asked to submit to the spiritual leaders of their local churches.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Heb_13:17\cf1\lang1033\ulnone In fact, all of us are to develop a submissive spirit toward each other.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Eph_5:21\cf1\lang1033\ulnone If you are wondering whether God wants you to stand up for your rights, or argue for your opinion, or insist on doing things your way, you have your answer. God wants you to be submissive.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Rocks on the Roadway\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 This may come as a shock to some folks, but God wants us to suffer. Twice, Peter mentions suffering according to the will of God. In one place he says, \ldblquote It is better, if it is God\rquote s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Pe_3:17\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 In another place he says, \ldblquote So then, those who suffer according to God\rquote s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and con\-tinue to do good.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Pe_4:19\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 Now these verses do not say precisely that it is God\rquote s will for every Christian to suffer, but they certainly imply that it could be. And if we do suffer, it ought to be for doing good rather than for sinful attitudes and ac\-tions.\lang3082 Cf. also \cf3\ul 1Pe_4:14-16\cf1\lang1033\ulnone\par Two passages from Paul fit alongside these two from Pe\-ter. One passage says, \ldblquote For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Php_1:29\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 The other passage says, \ldblquote Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ti_3:12\cf1\ulnone (KJV)\lang1033 The phrase \ldblquote will of God\rdblquote does not appear in these verses, but the truth is evident in the light of what Peter has said.\par If we are living godly lives in this godless LVALworld, we are going to experience some kind of opposition for it. That is God\rquote s will, for he knows that it can draw us closer to him, make us appreciate him more, depend on him to a greater extent, and strengthen our spiritual lives. If we are breezing along through life without any static from the people of the world, one of two things is probably true\emdash either we are not living godly lives, or else they cannot see it. If they do see it, some of them are going to strike out against us and cause us problems. God says so.\par I\rquote m not talking about the kind of antagonism we can arouse by tactlessness, rudeness, or super-spiritual pompos\-ity. I\rquote m not talking about agitating people with our eccen\-tricities in order to prove our spirituality. That only damages the cause of Christ. I am referring to living a godly life, graciously letting it be known that we belong to Christ, and then happily accepting whatever comes\emdash anything from people snubbing us to doing us bodily harm.\par We need to consider the certainty of suffering when we face the decisions of life, and not make our choices merely on the basis of what will help us avoid it. That the neighbors hate us for refusing to conspire with them to cheat the city is not a good reason for moving to a new neighborhood. That a nation is not particularly friendly to the gospel is not suffi\-cient reason for crossing it off our list of potential places to serve the Lord. Jesus said, \ldblquote In the world you will have trou\-ble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Joh_16:33\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par Here then are six clear declarations of God\rquote s will for our lives. God wants us to be saved, Spirit-filled, pure, thankful, submissive, and ready to suffer. Seek God\rquote s wisdom in ap\-plying them to the next decision you face.\par \pard\kerning28\f2\fs22 --------------\par \lang3082\kerning0\ul\super\f0\fs20 } LVAL"x{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;\red51\green102\blue102;\red0\green128\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s1\sb240\sa60\qc\cf1\lang1033\kerning28\b\f0\fs40 PART THREE: GOD\rquote S PRIMARY PROVISION\~\cf2\f1\fs28\par \pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf1\kerning0\f0\fs24 Chapter 8: Equipped for the Journey\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 Our discussion of God\rquote s will has brought us unavoidably to God\rquote s Word, the living and powerful tool which God uses to transform our lives and prepare us to carry out his perfect plan. There is no way we can overemphasize the Word in our discussion of divine guidance. The Word is God\rquote s primary provision for steering us on the path of his choosing. It is the basic equipment we need to follow his plan.\par The writer to the Hebrews mentioned the matter of equipment relative to doing God\rquote s will. \ldblquote Now the God of peace ... equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ.\~.\~. .\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Heb_13:20\cf1\ulnone ; \cf3\ul Heb_13:21\cf1\ulnone (NASB)\lang1033\fs12 \fs20 Let\rquote s talk about that equipment.\par We need equipment for almost anything we do in life. To repair a car engine we need a certain set of tools. To replace a broken screen door on the house we need a different set. To play tennis we need a certain kind of gear. To hike in the mountains we need another kind. And when we leave on vacation we usually take all the equipment we think we\rquote ll need while we\rquote re away. Just so, if we want to do God\rquote s will on our journey through life, we need to be properly outfit\-ted and supplied. We need to take all the right equipment with us.\par \b Divine Outfitters, Inc.LVALy\b0\par The Apostle Paul described the equipment we need when he said, \ldblquote All Scripture is God\_breathed and is useful for teach\-ing, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul 1Ti_3:16-17\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033 \ldblquote Every good work\rdblquote is nothing else than God\rquote s will for our lives (as we discovered from \cf3\ul Eph_2:10\cf1\ulnone ). And what is it that thoroughly equips us to do these good works? All Scripture!\par The Scripture does everything that needs to be done to help us live in God\rquote s will. It teaches us what is right. It rebukes us; that is, it shows us where we have gone wrong. It corrects us; that is, it brings us back to the right path when we stray. And it trains us; that is, it disciplines us in right\-eous living. The Scripture, in and of itself, thoroughly equips us, fully furnishes us, completely rigs us out to do the will of God.\par The great Psalm extolling God\rquote s Word confirms this im\-portant principle. \ldblquote Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_119:105\cf1\ulnone (Amp.)\lang1033 We have discussed how a lamp lights the path in front of us, one step at a time. That lamp symbolizes God\rquote s Word, which is crucial to finding God\rquote s will. We can\-not hope to find it apart from the Word. It is doubtful that God speaks in audible terms today. He has spoken in his Word, which contains all that he wants us to know for now. If we want to hear his voice and know his will, we need to go to his Word.\par When a mathematician wants to find an unknown quan\-tity, he uses known factors to do it. If X is unknown, but he does know that three times X equals six, then he can figure out that X equals two. The known factors help him find the unknown. If we want to discover what God wants us to do, we need all the absolute, invariable, known information that we can gather. The WoLVALzrd is the only known factor we have for sure, the only source of absolute truth. So we must fill our minds with that Word. The Psalmist wrote, \ldblquote The entrance and unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding\emdash discernment and comprehension\emdash to the sim\-ple.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Psa_119:130\cf1\ulnone (Amp.)\lang1033 The \ldblquote simple\rdblquote are those who are not fully enlightened, who are still in need of spiritual guidance to keep them from being led astray. That would include all of us, wouldn\rquote t it? And God\rquote s Word provides the guidance we need.\par God\rquote s leading is always in accord with his Word. The more of the Word we know, the more sound and solid infor\-mation we can bring to bear on the decisions we need to make. Obviously, God\rquote s Word does not tell us what to do in every specific situation. It does not say whom to marry, or what occupation to choose, or where to take the family for vacation this year. But it does give us a great deal of infor\-mation that bears directly on all those questions, and on every other decision we will ever face.\par It is when our hearts are tuned to the Word and our minds are filled with the Word, that we are best equipped to recog\-nize God\rquote s guidance. It works like this: As we learn more of the Word, we grow to think as God thinks, we learn to see things from his perspective. Our attitudes, our opinions, our goals, our ideals, and our values become more like his. When we face major decisions we are able to evaluate them with the mind of Christ rather than with the mind of the flesh.\lang3082 Cf. \cf3\ul 1Co_2:15-16\cf1\lang1033\ulnone In many instances we will automatically know what God wants us to do, and doing what he desires will become our daily life style and normal habit pattern of living.\par The Word of God is the indispensable key to the whole subject of divine guidance. Think back to what we have al\-ready learned. We saw that the Word has assured us that God has LVAL{a plan for every detail of our lives, and that he wants to reveal it to us step by step. We saw that we get to know him and learn to trust him through the Word. We saw that our minds are renewed and our lives transformed by the Word, so that we can be prepared to discern and do his will. And now we learn that the directions themselves are found in the Word. G. Christian Weiss summed it up beautifully: \ldblquote There can never be any guidance contrary to the Word; there will seldom be guidance apart from the Word. Divine guidance must either come through, or in perfect harmony with, the written Word of God. Anything else is not divine guid\-ance.\rdblquote\lang3082 [Christian Weiss, \i The Perfect Will of God\i0 , Moody Press, 1950, p. 80.]\lang1033\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Instructions for Use\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 But how does God guide through the Word? When we buy a new piece of equipment we usually need instructions for using it. Maybe we should have some instruction on how to use the divine equipment of the Word to find God\rquote s will for our lives.\par There are four basic means by which God reveals his will to us through the Word. First, there are plain statements of his will\emdash statements in which the phrase \i will of God\i0 or its equivalent is actually used in the passage. Second, there are positive and negative commands which tell us what God expects of us. Third, there are general principles that are relevant to our decisions. And finally, there may be strong impressions made on our minds as we read the Word.\par We want to explore each of these in detail, but first we need to establish some guidelines. There is a right way and a wrong way to approach the Bible. The wrong way is to treat it as a magical fetish or superstitious charm, that is, to seek guidance from it as other people might seek it from a deck of cards or a pair of dice. Some Christians seem to think the Bible is some sort of sanctified soothsayer, a hallowed horoscope, or a holLVAL|y Ouija board. When they have a question or a decision to which they have not been able to find an answer, in sheer desperation they close their eyes, empty their minds of any past knowledge of the Word, open the Bible at random, point to a text, and accept that fragment as divine guidance. Or maybe they use a casual dive into a Bible promise box to get an answer to their dilemma.\par A great many Christians have been sadly disappointed at the results they have obtained by these methods. Some have gotten upset with God for letting them down, and their faith has been severely shaken. Although God did lead men by casting lots on some occasions before his Word was completed, there is no indication that we should resort to such methods of chance today.\par I am not denying that God has used isolated verses to bring comfort, encouragement, or guidance; nor that he has caused certain passages to come alive with decisive direc\-tion for the moment\rquote s need. He has done that for me, quite dramatically, in a number of critical circumstances in my life. But he did not give us his Word as an emergency con\-sultation service. He gave it to us to reveal his mind and to remodel our lives. It takes time and study to learn and to change.\par When a fellow receives a letter from his girl friend, he doesn\rquote t haphazardly pick several words out of the middle paragraph, pin all his hopes for the future on that one phrase, and disregard the rest of the letter. He wants to know what the whole letter says, and he understands that one phrase in relationship to its wider context. How can we stake a decision on a chance verse chosen like a sweepstakes ticket, or as Alan Redpath puts it, a \ldblquote lucky dip\rdblquote into a promise box?\lang3082 [Alan Redpath, \i Getting to Know the Will of God\i0 , InterVarsity Press, 1954, p. 13.]\lang1033 We need to begin familiarizing ourselves with the whole of God\rquote s revelation.\par In addition to this warning about the potential misuse of the Word, there are somLVAL}e positive guidelines to follow when we approach the Scriptures for direction. For one thing, we need to understand the words in their normal sense. Don\rquote t look for some deep, dark, hidden meaning. God has endeav\-ored to reveal his truth to us plainly, not to obscure it from us. And while figurative language does occur, those figures of speech were used to teach literal truths. The words which the writers chose were generally intended to be understood in a normal sense.\par Secondly, apply the accepted rules of grammar to what you read. Don\rquote t try to make it say what you want it to or what someone else has told you it says. Simply observe what the words actually say in their grammatical relationship to each other.\par Thirdly, understand what you read in the context in which it appears. If the statement can be understood in more than one way, choose the interpretation which is most con\-sistent with the subject of the paragraph, and with the theme and purpose of the entire book in which it is found. We can probably find justification in the Bible for doing almost anything we want to do by lifting proof texts out of their context. That is not divine guidance.\par In the fourth place, become familiar with the cultural and historical background of the original readers, and try to un\-derstand the passage as they would have understood it. Dif\-fering customs might have an effect on how we apply it to our situation. A good Bible dictionary, Bible encyclopedia, and books on Bible backgrounds will be helpful here.\par Finally, be sure to recognize to whom the passage was written. While we gain benefit from every part of the Bible, it was not all written to be our rule of life as Christians in this age. For example, God commanded the Israelites to throw stones at a man who was found gathering sticks on Satur\-day.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Num_15:32-36\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Obviously that is not God\rquote s will for us today. While all Scripture is profitable, and while great principles of godly liviLVAL~ng are found throughout its pages, God\rquote s specific direc\-tions to us are found chiefly in the New Testament epistles.\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Let\rquote s Get Started\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 If we want to know God\rquote s will, and if the Bible is the su\-preme source of guidance, then we need to get started equipping ourselves for life\rquote s journey. As Jesus said, \ldblquote Search the Scriptures.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Joh_5:39\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Follow the example of the Bereans who \ldblquote searched the Scriptures daily.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Act_17:11\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Take advantage of every opportunity to increase your knowledge of God\rquote s truth. When the church doors are open and the Word is being taught, be there.\lang3082 \cf3\ul Heb_10:25\cf1\lang1033\ulnone Bring a notebook along with you and write down what God is saying to you personally through the exposition of the Word, what changes he wants you to make, how he wants you to live. Get involved in a home Bible class with a knowledgeable, spiritually minded teacher. Listen to tapes of reputable Bible teachers.\par Spend time in the Word privately every day. Read it slowly and thoughtfully, a paragraph at a time, pencil in hand. Look for information about the Lord himself, what he is like how he thinks and feels, his purposes and priorities, his values and standards. Write them down. Ask yourself how the passage applies to your own life. Decide how God may want you to implement it in daily living. Write it down. You will be building a wealth of divine truth into your life that will help you evaluate your decisions from God\rquote s view\-point.\par Consider taking your vacation at a Bible conference or Christian camp where you not only find recreation but add to your understanding of the Word. Consider taking some Bible correspondence courses or some classes at a good Bible college. Whatever you plan to do with your life, it might be profitable to spend at least a yearXLVALh in a Bible college in order to establish a firm foundation in God\rquote s Word. Your grasp of the Scriptures will not come overnight. It will take time and discipline. But as you approach the Word with an open heart day after day, seeking the will of God, he promises to direct your path.\par Alan Redpath tells how God used the Word to lead him out of the business world and into the ministry. First he wrote on a piece of paper all of his reasons for staying in business. Then he wrote all of his reasons for entering the ministry. He took that paper with him each morning as he met with God, desiring only to do what God directed. As he studied the Word day by day, God began to give him verses that answered his arguments for staying in business. It took more than a year, but eventually God eliminated every one of those arguments and left him with only the reasons for en\-tering the ministry. He made his decision on the basis of God\rquote s priorities for his life as they were revealed through the Word. That is a valid use of the Word for finding the will of God.\lang3082 [Redpath, op. cit., pp. 13, 14]\par \lang1033 Isn\rquote t it time we got serious about studying God\rquote s Word? It\rquote s a big book, and none of us can be expected to master all of it in one lifetime; but that is no excuse for procrastination. What we learn today may help us in the decision we face tomorrow. Let\rquote s get started.\par \f2\fs22 ---------------\par \pard\par } LVAL"{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f2\fnil\fcharset0 Georgia;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;\red51\green102\blue102;\red0\green128\blue0;} {\stylesheet{ Normal;}{\s1 heading 1;}{\s2 heading 2;}{\s3 heading 3;}} {\*\generator Riched20 5.40.11.2210;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\keepn\s2\sb180\sa60\qc\cf1\lang1033\b\f0\fs24 Chapter 7: The Renewed Mind\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20\ldblquote How can I be absolutely certain that I want to do God\rquote s will?\rdblquote Sharon was a college student who had come to my office for counsel concerning her future. She was earnestly seeking the will of God, but she doubted her own yielded\-ness to Christ. \ldblquote Am I really willing to do anything he asks? I think I am, but how can I be sure?\rdblquote\par Her question has been asked by many Christians at some point in their lives. If knowing the will of God depends on our total surrender to him, how can we be sure we have actually done it and meant it? The answer comes to light where Paul explains another essential prerequisite for dis\-covering God\rquote s plan for our lives, that of transformation. \ldblquote Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God\rquote s will is\emdash his good, pleasing and perfect will.\rdblquote\lang3082 \cf3\ul Rom_12:2\cf1\ulnone (NIV)\lang1033\par \pard\keepn\s3\sb60\sa60\b\f0\fs24 Doing Your Own Thing\cf2\f1\par \pard\sb60\sa60\cf1\b0\fs20 The first thing Paul mentions in this verse is our tendency to conform to the philosophy of this age. This tendency con\-stitutes a pressure against transformation. The word conform means to fashion or shape one thing like another, particu\-larly in