“Your Will Be Done”
Making Decisions in God’s Will (part 2)
Praying The Lord’s Prayer, Part 5
Lord, Teach Us to Pray March 16, 2003
Some decisions are harder than others to make. When choosing whether I want chocolate ice cream or vanilla, I don’t really sweat it, and pray, “Lord, shall I have chocolate? And should I add whipped cream?” It just isn’t that big a deal.
But then there are other decisions—like whether or not to take a job that forces you to travel across the country; or whether to move into another home or stay in your present house; or how to invest your money for your children’s education; or if you will ask the girl you’ve been dating to marry you.
Last week, we looked at the Will of God and some of the myths surrounding it. We came to the conclusion that no matter what, the Will of God has GOT to be that which is revealed in Scripture—we are supposed to live life in obedience to what God has told us in the pages of the Bible. We do not need a direct word from God for every decision. God has given us his Word in the Bible. We also discovered that God is sovereign over all our decisions, which should give us comfort and boldness in making choices.
We discovered that when faced with more than one option that are equally moral and wise, we need not panic that one may be “outside God’s will.” Rather, we can thank God that he has given us these choices, and seek to make the wisest choice possible.
Instead of asking “What is God’s will?” we need to ask, “How do I make good decisions?”
That is the topic of today’s message: Five guidelines on how to make good decisions.
1. Good decision-makers are obedient to the command to love (seeking the best for others).
Last week, we said that the primary concern in making decisions is to obey the moral commands of God as revealed in Scripture. In the Gospel of Matthew, somebody asked Jesus a question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Paul wrote, “Love is the fulfillment of the law” in Romans 13:10.
Therefore, if we want to make decisions that are in the will of God, we have to weigh each decision based on whether or not it is the loving thing to do.
Christian love is when we have a heart-felt desire to seek to do what will benefit others, not merely what will benefit me. Therefore, as I make decisions, I must ask myself, “Between choices a, b, and c, which is the most loving choice? Which choice will seek to benefit others the most?
This is an important question to ask, because, truth be told, much of our decision-making is based not on how our decisions will affect others, but how they will affect us. We are inherently selfish. So, pausing and seeking to be obedient to the law of love (seeking the best for others) will keep us from making bad decisions.
One time, a person asked me my opinion on whether or not he should open a new branch office in Eastern state for his business. He was struggling with the decision. It was a great opportunity—a chance to double his business. But he already had two branches (one locally and one in western Pennsylvania), and he spent a lot of time on the road with the branch in Pennsylvania. So, opening a new branch would probably mean moving to the East coast. He said that his wife was concerned because of the time he already spends away from their young children. She felt that they were getting established in their church, and that relationships with neighbors were going well enough to start sharing her faith. But he was divided! The opportunity was so great! He asked my advice. I told him, the first rule in decision making is to ask, “What is the most loving thing to do? Maybe doubling your income is the most loving thing you can do for your family and for the glory of God. Maybe not moving would be the most loving thing to do. I can’t decide that for you. But prayerfully filter each decision through obedience to the law of love.
About a month later, he told me that he had decided not to move—that it was the most loving thing to do for his family.
2. Good decision-makers take into account their giftedness and godly desires.
In perhaps one of the most funny, yet most crass movies ever made, Caddyshack, the young caddy asks Chevy Chase’s character, “Did you ever have to take the Preference Test when you were a senior in High School?” Chase replies, “Oh, yea. I took it. They said I was supposed to be a firewatcher. What are you supposed to be?” The young caddy answers, “An underachiever.” Then the caddy laments about how he will decide whether or not to go to college, to which Chevy Chase’s advise is a spiritual (albeit, misguided) answer—“There’s a force in the universe that make things happen. And all you need to do is get in touch with it. Stop thinking; let things happen; and be…the ball.” That is, the golf ball. All there is in this man’s life is golf.
At least he knows what he’s good at. Nobody at the golf club is better than he is at golf! And, interestingly, his advice is to “stop thinking, let things happen…” which is what many of us wish we could do in making decisions—let God take care of it, and not take any responsibility for our decisions. But that is not what God wants from us, he wants us to make wise decisions.
Good decisions do take into account what we are good at. Sometimes taking a personality test like the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) or Taylor-Johnson Temperamental Analysis or a Spiritual Gifts Test can give you insight into the kind of person you are. But more often, the way we figure ourselves out is through trial and error—and that’s okay! We need to be open to new experiences (as long as they are within the bounds of God’s moral will), so that we can explore who we are.
We have one guy in our congregation that has hiked the entire Allegheny Trail, from Georgia to New Hampshire. That experience has helped define him as a person.
You may have never taught a children’s Sunday School, and may even feel intimidated by such a thing, but without trying it, you’d never know that God had gifted you to be able to do it! You may find out that it’s not for you, but at least you stepped out to try to figure that out. As Rick Warren says, “It’s easier to discover your gift through ministry than to discover your ministry through your gift!” So the first thing we need to do before you’re even in the position to make a decision is to take steps to know yourself. What are you good at? What are your gifts? What are your strengths?
Paul tells the Corinthian church,
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” (1 Cor. 12:6-8)
In other words, “Go with your strengths!”
People ask me, “Did you receive a ‘call’ to ministry?” Now, that’s a loaded question! It almost presupposes a Damascus Road experience for each person who goes into full-time ministry. I feel that I need to say, “Yes, Jesus knocked me out of my recliner one day, blinded me and said, “BE A PASTOR, BOB!” But that did not happen. It also presupposes that deciding a vocation in full-time ministry is more important than deciding any other vocation, which is a false assumption. All vocations are equally under God’s kingdom rule, based on our gifts and abilities that he has given us. That means that God does not look down upon those who do not receive their paychecks from a church as second-class Christians. Instead, we are to understand that God has gifted each of us in specific ways in order to serve Christ. These giftings and talents are accompanied by the godly desires to do them. If you are good at fixing things, God wants you to use this ability for his glory. If you are good with kids, God wants you to do something with that. In my case, I found that I was good at teaching. And I had a godly desire to study the Word of God and I really enjoyed sharing with others what I find there for their good. That was my indication as to my “calling” in life. I felt a desire and I was confirmed in my gifting as a teacher of the Bible. I felt that no other occupation could utilize these gifts and desires quite like that of Pastor-Teacher.
Your gifting, talents and desires need to be factored into your big decisions as well. If you are facing a big decision, go with your strengths! Sometimes, we focus on our weaknesses a little too much. It’s certainly a good thing to try to shore up those areas where we are weak, so we need to choose to be stretched in those areas. If you are shy around people, you need to force yourself to stick around for Circle Groups after the service. If you tend to be tight with your money, you need to consciously seek to give more to God’s work and to the needy. That’s a good thing. But in big decisions, like choosing a job or choosing a spouse, go with what you are gifted in, talented at and enjoy doing.
3. Good decision-makers consider circumstances, but are not ruled by them.
Many of us can share stories of when we’ve been in situations where it is very clear to us that God is working. The “chance encounter” with somebody that you realize is of no “chance” at all (when you realize that there really is no such thing as a coincidence)—it is a “God Appointment,” set up by God for a great spiritual purpose. There is no doubt that our God is alive and active in our lives and in the lives of those around us. He is invading our lives on a regular basis to get our attention to the reality of spiritual matters. Very often, he uses circumstances around us to do so.
Last week, I was saying that we should not “put out a fleece,” to divine God’s will. We should not make deals with God, saying, “If Joe is in the lunch room, then I will know it is your will to share my faith with him.” That is making God jump through hoops for you to do his will. I’ll tell you God’s will in regards to “Joe”: God wants you to go out of your way to meet with Joe in order to build a relationship with him in order to genuinely share your faith, not wait for some divine sign to do so.
Putting out a fleece is different from finding yourself in a God-appointed circumstance. You walk into the lunch room, and there is Joe, all alone at a table (He is never alone! It’s so hard to have a heart-to-heart with him because so many people are always around!) You take your lunch over and ask to sit with him. He looks up at you, and says, “Well, I don’t know if I will be good company today.” You sit down and ask, “What the matter?” He looks at you and says, “You believe this whole God-thing, right? You say the Jesus is real to you.” You nod your head. “If God is so good and loving, then why is my marriage about to disintegrate?” It is a God-appointed moment. You can confidently interpret this situation as God’s will to share with Joe your faith and the hope you have in Christ.
Granting that God places us into certain circumstances in order to do good works, we must also say that we are not necessarily ruled by our circumstances. Since we have experienced such God-appointments, we make the mistake of looking at our circumstances as a crystal ball into the will of God. Many of us seek to try to interpret all of our circumstances in order to figure out what our next choice should be. Looking to the “circumstantial evidence,” though, can be a tricky proposition. You see, circumstances are less the indicators of God’s will than they are the parameters in which we make our decisions. In other words, consider what your circumstance have to say about the decision to be made, but do not allow the circumstance to rule your decision.
In the Book of Acts, Luke relates a story of what happens when we let circumstances rule our perception of God’s will.
Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. (Acts 28:1-6)
Notice the islanders’ interpretations of these circumstances. First, when they see the viper hanging from Paul’s hand, they interpret it as a sign that Paul was evil. But when Paul shook the snake off into the fire, they changed their interpretation—now they thought Paul was a god. In both cases, these people were doing their very best to interpret their circumstances; and in both cases they were wrong!
Circumstances are more useful to us if we use them as the outline for our decisions, not as the divine word from God for making our decisions. For instance, you may have an opportunity to do something that you’ve always wanted to do. Just because the door is open to you, does that mean you have to go through it? Not necessarily. You still have to evaluate the opportunity; not be ruled by the opportunity. That’s what Paul the apostle did.
In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul relates to his readers, “I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.” (16:7-9)
Paul explains to them why he is staying in Ephesus—opportunities have opened, and he wants to take advantage of them. There is an “open door,” and he decides to go through it!
But then we read in a later correspondence to the Corinthians this: “Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.” (2 Corinthians 2:12-13)
Some decisions are harder than others to make. When choosing whether I want chocolate ice cream or vanilla, I don’t really sweat it, and pray, “Lord, shall I have chocolate? And should I add whipped cream?” It just isn’t that big a deal.
But then there are other decisions—like whether or not to take a job that forces you to travel across the country; or whether to move into another home or stay in your present house; or how to invest your money for your children’s education; or if you will ask the girl you’ve been dating to marry you.
Last week, we looked at the Will of God and some of the myths surrounding it. We came to the conclusion that no matter what, the Will of God has GOT to be that which is revealed in Scripture—we are supposed to live life in obedience to what God has told us in the pages of the Bible. We do not need a direct word from God for every decision. God has given us his Word in the Bible. We also discovered that God is sovereign over all our decisions, which should give us comfort and boldness in making choices.
We discovered that when faced with more than one option that are equally moral and wise, we need not panic that one may be “outside God’s will.” Rather, we can thank God that he has given us these choices, and seek to make the wisest choice possible.
Instead of asking “What is God’s will?” we need to ask, “How do I make good decisions?”
That is the topic of today’s message: Five guidelines on how to make good decisions.
1. Good decision-makers are obedient to the command to love (seeking the best for others).
Last week, we said that the primary concern in making decisions is to obey the moral commands of God as revealed in Scripture. In the Gospel of Matthew, somebody asked Jesus a question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Paul wrote, “Love is the fulfillment of the law” in Romans 13:10.
Therefore, if we want to make decisions that are in the will of God, we have to weigh each decision based on whether or not it is the loving thing to do.
Christian love is when we have a heart-felt desire to seek to do what will benefit others, not merely what will benefit me. Therefore, as I make decisions, I must ask myself, “Between choices a, b, and c, which is the most loving choice? Which choice will seek to benefit others the most?
This is an important question to ask, because, truth be told, much of our decision-making is based not on how our decisions will affect others, but how they will affect us. We are inherently selfish. So, pausing and seeking to be obedient to the law of love (seeking the best for others) will keep us from making bad decisions.
One time, a person asked me my opinion on whether or not he should open a new branch office in Eastern state for his business. He was struggling with the decision. It was a great opportunity—a chance to double his business. But he already had two branches (one locally and one in western Pennsylvania), and he spent a lot of time on the road with the branch in Pennsylvania. So, opening a new branch would probably mean moving to the East coast. He said that his wife was concerned because of the time he already spends away from their young children. She felt that they were getting established in their church, and that relationships with neighbors were going well enough to start sharing her faith. But he was divided! The opportunity was so great! He asked my advice. I told him, the first rule in decision making is to ask, “What is the most loving thing to do? Maybe doubling your income is the most loving thing you can do for your family and for the glory of God. Maybe not moving would be the most loving thing to do. I can’t decide that for you. But prayerfully filter each decision through obedience to the law of love.
About a month later, he told me that he had decided not to move—that it was the most loving thing to do for his family.
2. Good decision-makers take into account their giftedness and godly desires.
In perhaps one of the most funny, yet most crass movies ever made, Caddyshack, the young caddy asks Chevy Chase’s character, “Did you ever have to take the Preference Test when you were a senior in High School?” Chase replies, “Oh, yea. I took it. They said I was supposed to be a firewatcher. What are you supposed to be?” The young caddy answers, “An underachiever.” Then the caddy laments about how he will decide whether or not to go to college, to which Chevy Chase’s advise is a spiritual (albeit, misguided) answer—“There’s a force in the universe that make things happen. And all you need to do is get in touch with it. Stop thinking; let things happen; and be…the ball.” That is, the golf ball. All there is in this man’s life is golf.
At least he knows what he’s good at. Nobody at the golf club is better than he is at golf! And, interestingly, his advice is to “stop thinking, let things happen…” which is what many of us wish we could do in making decisions—let God take care of it, and not take any responsibility for our decisions. But that is not what God wants from us, he wants us to make wise decisions.
Good decisions do take into account what we are good at. Sometimes taking a personality test like the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) or Taylor-Johnson Temperamental Analysis or a Spiritual Gifts Test can give you insight into the kind of person you are. But more often, the way we figure ourselves out is through trial and error—and that’s okay! We need to be open to new experiences (as long as they are within the bounds of God’s moral will), so that we can explore who we are.
We have one guy in our congregation that has hiked the entire Allegheny Trail, from Georgia to New Hampshire. That experience has helped define him as a person.
You may have never taught a children’s Sunday School, and may even feel intimidated by such a thing, but without trying it, you’d never know that God had gifted you to be able to do it! You may find out that it’s not for you, but at least you stepped out to try to figure that out. As Rick Warren says, “It’s easier to discover your gift through ministry than to discover your ministry through your gift!” So the first thing we need to do before you’re even in the position to make a decision is to take steps to know yourself. What are you good at? What are your gifts? What are your strengths?
Paul tells the Corinthian church,
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” (1 Cor. 12:6-8)
In other words, “Go with your strengths!”
People ask me, “Did you receive a ‘call’ to ministry?” Now, that’s a loaded question! It almost presupposes a Damascus Road experience for each person who goes into full-time ministry. I feel that I need to say, “Yes, Jesus knocked me out of my recliner one day, blinded me and said, “BE A PASTOR, BOB!” But that did not happen. It also presupposes that deciding a vocation in full-time ministry is more important than deciding any other vocation, which is a false assumption. All vocations are equally under God’s kingdom rule, based on our gifts and abilities that he has given us. That means that God does not look down upon those who do not receive their paychecks from a church as second-class Christians. Instead, we are to understand that God has gifted each of us in specific ways in order to serve Christ. These giftings and talents are accompanied by the godly desires to do them. If you are good at fixing things, God wants you to use this ability for his glory. If you are good with kids, God wants you to do something with that. In my case, I found that I was good at teaching. And I had a godly desire to study the Word of God and I really enjoyed sharing with others what I find there for their good. That was my indication as to my “calling” in life. I felt a desire and I was confirmed in my gifting as a teacher of the Bible. I felt that no other occupation could utilize these gifts and desires quite like that of Pastor-Teacher.
Your gifting, talents and desires need to be factored into your big decisions as well. If you are facing a big decision, go with your strengths! Sometimes, we focus on our weaknesses a little too much. It’s certainly a good thing to try to shore up those areas where we are weak, so we need to choose to be stretched in those areas. If you are shy around people, you need to force yourself to stick around for Circle Groups after the service. If you tend to be tight with your money, you need to consciously seek to give more to God’s work and to the needy. That’s a good thing. But in big decisions, like choosing a job or choosing a spouse, go with what you are gifted in, talented at and enjoy doing.
3. Good decision-makers consider circumstances, but are not ruled by them.
Many of us can share stories of when we’ve been in situations where it is very clear to us that God is working. The “chance encounter” with somebody that you realize is of no “chance” at all (when you realize that there really is no such thing as a coincidence)—it is a “God Appointment,” set up by God for a great spiritual purpose. There is no doubt that our God is alive and active in our lives and in the lives of those around us. He is invading our lives on a regular basis to get our attention to the reality of spiritual matters. Very often, he uses circumstances around us to do so.
Last week, I was saying that we should not “put out a fleece,” to divine God’s will. We should not make deals with God, saying, “If Joe is in the lunch room, then I will know it is your will to share my faith with him.” That is making God jump through hoops for you to do his will. I’ll tell you God’s will in regards to “Joe”: God wants you to go out of your way to meet with Joe in order to build a relationship with him in order to genuinely share your faith, not wait for some divine sign to do so.
Putting out a fleece is different from finding yourself in a God-appointed circumstance. You walk into the lunch room, and there is Joe, all alone at a table (He is never alone! It’s so hard to have a heart-to-heart with him because so many people are always around!) You take your lunch over and ask to sit with him. He looks up at you, and says, “Well, I don’t know if I will be good company today.” You sit down and ask, “What the matter?” He looks at you and says, “You believe this whole God-thing, right? You say the Jesus is real to you.” You nod your head. “If God is so good and loving, then why is my marriage about to disintegrate?” It is a God-appointed moment. You can confidently interpret this situation as God’s will to share with Joe your faith and the hope you have in Christ.
Granting that God places us into certain circumstances in order to do good works, we must also say that we are not necessarily ruled by our circumstances. Since we have experienced such God-appointments, we make the mistake of looking at our circumstances as a crystal ball into the will of God. Many of us seek to try to interpret all of our circumstances in order to figure out what our next choice should be. Looking to the “circumstantial evidence,” though, can be a tricky proposition. You see, circumstances are less the indicators of God’s will than they are the parameters in which we make our decisions. In other words, consider what your circumstance have to say about the decision to be made, but do not allow the circumstance to rule your decision.
In the Book of Acts, Luke relates a story of what happens when we let circumstances rule our perception of God’s will.
Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. (Acts 28:1-6)
Notice the islanders’ interpretations of these circumstances. First, when they see the viper hanging from Paul’s hand, they interpret it as a sign that Paul was evil. But when Paul shook the snake off into the fire, they changed their interpretation—now they thought Paul was a god. In both cases, these people were doing their very best to interpret their circumstances; and in both cases they were wrong!
Circumstances are more useful to us if we use them as the outline for our decisions, not as the divine word from God for making our decisions. For instance, you may have an opportunity to do something that you’ve always wanted to do. Just because the door is open to you, does that mean you have to go through it? Not necessarily. You still have to evaluate the opportunity; not be ruled by the opportunity. That’s what Paul the apostle did.
In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul relates to his readers, “I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.” (16:7-9)
Paul explains to them why he is staying in Ephesus—opportunities have opened, and he wants to take advantage of them. There is an “open door,” and he decides to go through it!
But then we read in a later correspondence to the Corinthians this: “Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.” (2 Corinthians 2:12-13)
Here we find that a door of opportunity is open to Paul, but he does not feel compelled to go through. He couldn’t rest because he was hoping to connect with Titus to hear about what was happening in Corinth. Now, if open doors are the sure-fire way of determining the will of God, why would Paul ignore this one? In going on to Macedonia, had he stepped outside God’s perfect will? No. The open door is just a circumstance to be evaluated according to the priorities you have in life. Paul’s godly priority was to find out how the Corinthians were doing. Paul was free to choose, based on that godly priority, to seek to find Titus. An open door is not necessarily God’s divine guidance, but, many times it is merely one of a number of alternatives to consider.
You see, we must learn to trust that God has placed us in specific situations for his purpose, but not get all tied up in trying to divine God’s will through it all. We need to make wise decisions in the midst of our circumstances, but we do not have to be enslaved to our circumstances. We making wise decisions may even change our situation the way God wants it to change! That leads me to my next point, which may be the most important one.
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