Finding the Will of God - part 2

A few years ago, Billy Graham told the story of how he was on a flight from Chicago to Charlotte, North Carolina. Directly in front of him on the airplane sat a rather large man who had obviously been drinking before the flight. Once the plane was airborne, this man immediately rang for the flight attendant and asked her to bring him a drink.

She said that she would not be serving drinks for another few minutes. He became very upset at her explanation and he began to curse the situation. A little while later, when the drink cart finally came along, he bought a number of drinks. The more he drank, the louder he became, the rougher his language grew, and the stories he told got more and more crude by the minute.

He continually embarrassed the flight attendant by rudely flirting with her. The people who were sitting near him were getting more and more annoyed by his obnoxious behavior. The tension in the air could have been cut with a knife.

Finally, one gentleman decided to take matters into his own hands. Rising to his feet, he said to the drunken man, “Sir, do you realize that the great preacher Billy Graham is sitting right behind you?”

At that, the bleary-eyed man staggered to his feet, slowly spun around, and leaned over the seat back, right into Billy Graham’s face. He stuck out his hand and said, “Billy Graham! Put ‘er there and shake my hand. I’m really glad to meet you. You have no idea how much your sermons have helped me!”

I hope that in some small way, the sermon that you listen to here today is going to help you more than that! Because today, we’re going to consider a subject that affects every one of us: it’s how to find the will of God for your life.

Now I must confess that I am not happy with that sermon title. It makes it sound as though God’s will is like a needle in a haystack. It’s hidden and we’ve got to go out there and find it. But that’s not how it is at all. If God has a plan for your life, and I believe that he does, it only makes sense that he wants you to know what that plan is. He’s not trying to play hard to get.

What we’re really talking about is how to make good decisions. How to make wise choices in life. Choices that will line us up with God’s will as he has revealed it in Scripture.

Let’s say you’re a young businessman. You are a Christian. You’re active in your local church. You have a young family, and you want your children to grow up with strong spiritual principles that are based on the Word of God. You place a high value on your family time together, and you value your church involvement.

One day, your boss comes to you with a fantastic career opportunity. He wants you to become the overseas sales manager of your company. It’s a big promotion, involving a big raise. You’ve been wondering how you were going to pay for your daughter’s orthodontics bill, and your car is about ready to bite the dust. You’ve been looking ahead to when the kids go to college and thinking about those tuition bills. This promotion would go a long way toward answering all of those questions for you.

But there’s a downside to it. Being the overseas sales manager would involve a lot of travel. You’d be away from home for extended business trips several months a year. You’d miss out on a lot of family times. You just wouldn’t be able to make those school concerts and Little League games. And church - you’d miss a lot of church. Your wife and children would just have to go without you.

And speaking of your wife, your new job would place a big burden on her to become the primary parent in the home. She’d have to deal with most of those day to day decisions in running the household alone. She’d have to handle the kids’ discipline matters herself. Sure, you’d be in touch with her by phone, but that’s no substitute for being there in person.

Would your marriage be strong enough to take it? Or would this new lifestyle, involving long stretches of separation, place new, potentially dangerous strains on it?

You’ve got to decide, and you’ve got to decide now. Your boss has given you a week to get back to him with an answer. You know in your gut that if your answer is no, you’ll probably be passed over for any future promotions in that company. You’ll be stuck in your present position, making not quite enough money to get by. And in today’s job climate, you shudder to think of starting to look somewhere else.

So what do you do? How do you find God’s will for your life?

Let me give you five steps that will enable you to make a sound decision that will be in keeping with the will of God.

1. Pray about it.

- Prayer prepares your mind for action

- Luke 6:12-13 - Jesus prior to selecting 12 apostles spent the night in prayer.

- Martin Luther -

- Prayer allows God to uncover any blockages in your life

- Isaiah 59:2 - But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

- Ps. 139:23-24 - Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

- Prayer lets God know that you are desirous of seeking His will

- Jesus in Garden - Not my will but thine be done.

- puts you in the position where God can bless you.

- Prayer enables you to obtain the peace of God about the decision

- Phil. 4:6-7 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

2. Weigh it in terms of what you already know is God’s will for your life.

- what is the reason for your existence on planet earth? what is your mission?

- Dan M’s question: What do you think are the really important values in life? That question reveals what a person thinks life is all about…

- is it to make lots of money? is it to be successful, as the world defines success? is it to be comfortable? is it to be happy? is it to find love?

- or is it to be a faithful servant of God?

- faithful to Him

- faithful to the people who are counting on you - your wife, your kids

- questions like this have a way of putting life into perspective. The answers to these questions are found in the Bible.

- if you have never sat down and thought about your mission in life, I would urge you to do so. I would urge you to write a mission statement.

3. Seek counsel from wise and godly friends.

Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.

Proverbs 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

Proverbs 20:18 Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance.

Proverbs 24:6 for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.

Proverbs 27:9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel.

- Talking things over helps you to gain insights and see issues that you might have missed on your own.

- We have a tendency to want to go it alone, be independent.

- God has given us a group of people who care about us and want what is best for us. It’s called the church. The church can be a valuable source of counsel in decision making.

4. Evaluate the circumstances

- God has a way of opening and shutting doors before us.

- e.g. if you want to become a doctor, but you can’t get accepted into any medical school in the country, then you should begin to re-evaluate your desire to be a doctor.

- Paul in Asia Minor - Acts 16

- wanted to go into the Roman province of Asia on their left; prevented by the Spirit from doing so.

- wanted to go into the Roman province of Bythinia on their right; the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t allow them to.

- they were being directed toward Europe; went into Macedonia

- But beware of looking only at circumstances.

e.g. - Once Jonah decided to disobey God’s call, circumstances lined up perfectly for him:

- there was a ship going the other direction

- he had enough money to pay the fare

- the ship was willing to take him as a passenger

- Circumstances alone are insufficient to answer the question “What is God’s will for my life?”

- Circumstances can lead us away from God’s will

- illustration of teacher who was offered a better contract. She broke her original contract to accept the better one.

- Christian girl with a non-Christian guy who proposes to her.

5. Take into account your own desires

- We all have strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, preferences, aptitudes, gifts, and abilities. Why? Because that’s how God made us.

- But somewhere along the line, we’ve gotten the idea that God’s will is going to run counter to the way he made us. We think that God will is going to be something we don’t like and are no good at. Round peg in square hole.

- Nothing could be further from the truth.

- Psalm 37:4 - Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

- If you are walking with God and seeking to please Him in the way you live your life, then your desires are going to line up with his will. And God delights in giving you your desires when that is the case.

- When we come to God and say, “What do you want me to do with my life?” He turns around and says “What do you want to do with your life?”

When you have worked through these five principles:

1. Pray

2. Consider your mission in life

3. Seek Counsel

4. Evaluate the Circumstances

5. Take into account your desires

The final step is to simply go ahead and do what you think is best.

God’s will for you isn’t like a dart board where you have to hit the bullseye with your choices. God doesn’t say “Well, nice try, but sorry, you missed.”

God’s sovereignty in our lives is big enough to accommodate our choices.

- Proverbs 16:3 - Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.