Light Service Sermons for the Month
What Does Christianity Teach About.
God's Will
DATE: March 11, 2001
TEXT: Proverbs 3:5-8
Was it God's will that that young man shouting "I am the angel of death"
drove his car into those innocent bystanders killing four a couple of weeks
ago? Was it God's will that two young men should walk into that High School
in Littleton, Colorado and take the lives of their innocent classmates? If
we say, "Yes," what kind of God do we have? What kind of God would put in
the minds of these young boys to turn their cars into weapons or make bombs
to destroy their classmates?
This last winter I stood more often than I wanted in front of caskets of
members and relatives both old and young. As I stood there, I could not
help but wonder "Was any of this God's will?"
Over the years I can remember funerals over which I officiated of a young
man, murdered while hiding under a desk during a restaurant holdup to
prevent him from identifying any of the perpetrators. I remember the young
girl who was killed in a car accident or the young man who died from cancer.
Was God behind any of this? What kind of God do we have?
This morning we want to look together at what Christianity teaches about
God's will. Before we do that, please pray with me.
(PRAYER)
We're going to look together at a place in the Bible that Sheila read to you
a few moments ago. I want to spend just a moment on those words as we
review this message from God's heart that will lead us in discovering what
the answer is to some of the questions we have about God's will:
With ALL your heart.It doesn't say with a quarter of your
heart.half-hearted, 3/4, 7/8, but the Bible tells us "with all your heart."
The heart is the place of our emotions and thought processes. It really is
describing our whole being.
With all of our heart we must trust. Trust means "thrusting yourself into
the arms of." When I was a young daddy, I remember my son Skip standing at
the edge of the pool at Camp Luther near Conneaut, Ohio. I would hold out
my hands and say, "Jump Skip. Don't worry I will catch you." He would
stand there, jump up and down and pause. I could actually hear the wheels
turning in his mind as he thought, "Can I really trust this man?" Then out
he would come.
With all your heart you must trust the Lord. Lean not on you own judgment;
always let him lead you and he will clear the road for you to follow. What
does it mean to "clear?" It means that God is bound to us by a promise to
love us. Period. And he will remove the obstacles.
As an answer to the questions I posed when I began, I want to take a look at
five ways to know God's will. Five ways that come out of studying what is
in God's heart, what's on God's mind.
The first way to know God's will is to look in the Bible. We go to the
horoscopes; we go to books; and yet we don't look into THE BOOK, the source
of discovering what God's will is all about. In the Bible are real stories
of real people who have experienced exactly what you and I read in
newspapers, see on television, and, yes, even what we have watched these
past few days (someone's son miraculously being dismissed from jail for a
crime he didn't commit). As we look into the Bible we can find answers.
God does speak through the Bible. Have you read it? Do you study it? Have
you taken time to memorize anything out of it?
Terry Anderson was a hostage in Tehran. He talked often about how it was
scriptures that he had committed to memory that helped him survive those
terrible days as a hostage.
The Bible is more than just a "good luck charm." Some people have a Bible
sitting on their table and it looks good. It's a holy thing to do. But to
blow the dust off and get inside is how we find out what God's will is.
There are some who like taking a lucky dip into the Bible. It's kind of
like playing the lottery. We're told a story of a guy who was rather
distraught and he decided to find out what God had to say in the Bible. So
he randomly opened it up, closed his eyes, put his finger down, pointing to
the verse, "Judas went out and hanged himself." He was disappointed in that
verse, so he flipped again and put his finger down and it read, "Go and do
likewise." That wasn't satisfying either! He thought he'd take another
lucky dip and so he flipped again and pointed to a verse and it said,
"Whatever you do, do quickly."
That's not how you find out God's will! My recommendation is that for those
of you who are just starting (or maybe you haven't yet opened it up), is to
take time to go the back of the Bible into the New Testament and start
reading the stories of real people what will provide real answers.
Secondly, we pray. I have to admit as a busy young pastor 28 years ago, I
didn't take time to pray. (I was too busy!) Oh sure, I'd do the kind of
prayers like, "God I need help." But I didn't take time to listen and to
find out what God really wants. I can tell you this. Before we came to
this place there were hours poured into prayer because I wanted to know if
God wanted this. I wanted to know if our coming to this place was God's
will. There were times that I'd skip a meal to pray (and that was a
sacrifice) because I wanted to seek God's heart and find answers.
I can tell you that prayer works. Through prayer God promises there will be
answers. Sometimes it is "no"; sometimes it is "yes"; sometimes it is
"wait". But it does depend on God. And God makes a promise that he will
answer. Even the desire to pray comes from God.
Third, use what God gives through you. God wants to work through your mind,
your life. So often we ignore that. We say, "Well, who am I?" Well, God
created you and me in his image. God wants to work through you. The more
intimate we become with God through reading the Bible and praying the more
we can sense what God is doing in our lives.
For example, I've been married a little more than 33 years. Linda and I
have a great relationship. (But after all what's not to like, right Linda!)
I'm talking about the kind of relationship where you understand one another.
You know what one another needs. You know their hopes and dreams. God
knows all of that about you and wants to make clear what is in God's
plan--God's will for your life and your future.
So trust God to work through your life! What God desires, God inspires
within us.
Fourth, we must accept coaching and Christian friendship. Sometimes we have
a hard time being coached. I don't think there is a person here who knows
it all. In fact, we don't have to know it all. We can accept that God is
going to work through Christian coaches and Christian friends.
We have started having quarterly meetings of all the leaders here at Faith,
people who are leading a ministry, a small group. During those meetings we
have been taking time out to be coached, to learn, to grow. They in turn
are being asked to mentor, to coach others to continue the ministry and
improve it. Many people have health trainers. You go for a workout and you
have a trainer help you accomplish some of your goals. God wants that, too.
God sends people into our lives to help us, to show us the way.
Finally, we need to make a commitment. A commitment of all that we have and
all that we are to God's will. "God, I want what you want." The coach, Mr.
Sanders, from Columbine High School made a commitment to protect the
students and help save their lives. Though it cost him his, he made a
commitment. God invites us to make a commitment because he made a total
commitment to us through Jesus Christ. God sent Jesus to show us the way
home--to show us how to live--to demonstrate that we don't have to wonder
anymore or guess. God made this commitment to us.
This morning God wants us to make a commitment. God invites us, and I
invite you to respond to God's invitation.
We come to the point where we must answer, "Was it God's will, what happened
in Littleton? Or Oklahoma City?" As we've examined the facts, the answer is
no. God did not do that. God allows us to have freedom. That freedom for
these boys took them into the dark side of life. God didn't put them there.
They chose to go there. As a result some terrible things happened. But
that was not God's will.
I'd like to wrap up with a 10 questions quiz to help discern the will of
God:
- As we decide what to do, is it consistent with the 10 commandments?
- Will it deepen my relationship with Jesus Christ?
- If I do it, will it bring joy to God's heart and help me grow as an
empowered follower of Christ?"
- How does it line up with what the Bible says? (We need to ask if it is
consistent with the truth that is in the Bible.)
- Is it adventuresome enough to require God's power in order to become a
reality?
- Have I prayed and asked God to show me and give to me what he wants?
(Are we praying?")
- Am I eager to thank God before it happens? (I believe that if God is
inspiring it, we can thank God as we move ahead with faith.
- Does it express authentic love and will it bring ultimate good to
everyone involved?
- Will it cause me to grow and utilize talents and gifts God has given?
(God want us to grow and sometimes he pushes us to the very edge. There's a
risk.)
- Will my expenditures still allow me to generously give 10% or more of my
money for the Lord's work and the needs of others?
God want to show his will to you. I invite you to open up and let God be
the Lord. The Lord is an intimate word for God--Lord means being in charge,
being in control. If you've never committed, I ask you to commit your life
to Christ. Also I invite others of you to recommit. That's how we live out
God's plan and God's will for our life.
AMEN