Hey, you know, last week in our ongoing series in the life of Moses, we looked how God used a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire to lead the Israelites step by step as they left Egypt and headed for the Promised Land. And we said that as followers of Christ, God wants to lead our lives today the very same way He led their lives 3500 years ago. Namely, God wants to lead us precisely and He wants to lead us specifically even in the smallest details of life. And I told you last week that there are many Christian preachers around and many Christian book writers who will tell you that this is not so. They will tell you that God has no specific, no unique, no personal will for the individual details of our lives as Christians, things like who we marry, where we go to college, what car we buy, what job we take, what house we rent, whether we enter the vocational ministry or whether we become a missionary and to where we go.
So they will say, don't waste your time asking God for guidance about these kinds of things because He doesn't really get involved in them and He doesn't really care about them. And I told you that this week we were going to talk about this subject. And so today we want to answer two questions. They're really the same question. Number one, does God have a specific and individualized will for my life which extends to the smallest details? Well, the answer is yes. And is God willing to personally lead me even when it comes to the smallest choices that I face in life?
Well, the answer is yes. And I want to prove that biblically to you today. So I want you to kind of put your thinking caps on as we will go through this. And let's talk about this really important issue. Now, what is the real topic here? What are we really arguing about? Well, one of the most popular books on this subject in recent days is a book entitled Decision Making and the Will of God, written by Gary Friesen.
It was a wildly popular book when it came out a few years ago. Friesen says in his book, and I quote, it is our contention that the idea of an individual will of God for every detail of a believer's life is not found in the Bible, end of quote. According to Friesen, God has given us certain moral laws in the Bible, laws about things like lying, cheating, stealing, sexual purity, forgiveness, humility, and in these areas, according to Friesen, God expects us to give him specific obedience. But in the many areas where God's moral law has nothing to say, things like what college I go to, my job, my house, my car, my spouse, in those areas, we are free, Friesen says, to choose our own course of action. He compares this to like going to the beach, where there's a lifeguard sitting up there on the chair, that is God, making sure you don't go outside the rope out there in the water, which are the moral laws of God, but inside the ropes, well you can do whatever you want to do.
It's up to you. Friesen concludes by saying, well let's give a couple of examples. First, he talks about marriage, and he says all the moral law of God says about marriage is that we have to marry a believer. And so as long as the person you pick out is a Christian, God has no specific plan, no specific will, and no specific preference regarding who you and I marry.
He does not have a special man or woman picked out for me, so don't pray and ask God to lead me to Mr. Right or to Ms. Right, because there is no Mr. Right or Ms.
Right. How about the house or the car I buy? According to this theory, the moral law of God says pay your debt. So as long as I pick out a house or a car that's within my budget, God has no precise house or car that he wants to lead me to. Friesen concludes, and I quote, if we are correct in our conviction that there is no such thing as an individual will of God for every individual believer, then many believers are investing a great deal of time and energy searching for something that simply does not exist. End of quote. Now what does the Word of God really teach on this subject, friends?
Well, let's look and see. If you brought a Bible today, I want you to open it to Genesis 24. If you didn't bring a Bible, we've got a copy right under the armrest next to you. We're going to be on page 16. Page 16 in our copy, Genesis 24 in your copy.
And as you're turning, let me tell you what's going on here. Abraham is concerned that his son Isaac not marry an ungodly Canaanite woman, and so he takes his servant and he sends his servant back to Mesopotamia, back to his relatives that he left there to get a godly wife for his son Isaac. Now, when Abraham's servant asks Abraham, how's he going to find this woman? Here's what Abraham says. Verse seven, he says, the Lord God of heaven will send his angel before you and guide you to the right woman for my son. Verse 12. So when Abraham's servant arrived back at his relatives town, he prayed, Oh, Lord, God of my master Abraham, see, I'm standing beside this well where all the women of the town come out to draw water.
May it be that when I ask one of them, please let down your jars so that I may have a drink. And she replies, drink and I'll water your camels to let her be the one that you have chosen for my master's son. You think Abraham's servant was looking for a specific woman there?
Of course he was. Well, Rebecca came to the well, she replied to his question exactly the way he had postulated it. And so he went with her to meet her father, he found out that she was the grand niece of Abraham. And when he arrived, he shared with Rebecca's father, the prayer that he had prayed, and how Rebecca had fulfilled it.
And listen to what her father says. Verse 51. Her father says this is from the Lord.
Here is Rebecca, take her and go and let her become the wife of your master's son. For this is what the Lord has directed. Now, what do we see here in Genesis 24? Well, number one, we see that Abraham believed that God had a specific woman picked out for his son Isaac, we see number two, that Abraham believed God would personally lead his servant to that exact woman, we see number three, that Abraham servant believe that God did indeed lead him to the exact right woman. He says in verse 48, I bow down, and I worship the Lord, the son of my master, Abraham watch, who led me on the right road to get his grand niece as a wife for his son. And finally, we see here that Rebecca's father believed that God had specifically picked out Rebecca to marry Isaac, he said, verse 51. Here's Rebecca, take her and go and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has directed friends, the point is everybody here in Genesis 24, believe that God had a specific woman picked out for Isaac, and he had a specific man picked out for Rebecca.
Let's move on Genesis 28. Jacob here is fleeing his brother Esau after stealing his blessing. And he stops and prays this prayer as he's leaving town verse 20. He says, then Jacob made a vow and said, if God will be with me, and will watch over me on the journey that I'm taking, and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear and will allow me to return safely to my father's house, then he will be my God hated Jacob believe that God's leading in his life extended to what food he had to eat at any given point to what clothes he had to wear at any given point and to what his exact itinerary was going to be in life.
You bet he did. Last week, we saw in Numbers chapter nine, the Bible says that whenever the pillar of cloud lifted and moved in the Sinai, the Israelites set out and followed him. And wherever the clouds settled there, the Israelites camp, friends, God had a specific will for these Israelites as to not only where they traveled, but when they traveled, how far they traveled, how long they traveled, and he led them in the desert down to the smallest detail. First Samuel chapter 30. David was away with his men when the Amalekites raided his village and took all of his wall, the wives and all the children, their captive. David comes back and when he finds out this has happened, he falls on his knees, verse eight, and he says, Lord, should I pursue them?
Stop for a moment. Why in the world would David pray a prayer like that if he didn't think that God got involved in the everyday details of his life? And the Lord replied, verse nine, and said, pursue them and you will certainly overtake them and succeed in their rescue, which is exactly what happened. Let's go to Amos chapter seven.
I love this passage. Amos is prophesying against King Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom, a very ungodly man, predicting judgment. And one of the king's assistants comes to Amos and says, hey, look, man, get out of here. You're not even from these parts. You're from the southern kingdom of Judah.
What are you doing up here? Go back to Judah and prophesy. We don't want you up here. I love what Amos said. Verse 14. He said, I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet. I was a shepherd, but the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, go prophesy to my people Israel up here in the northern kingdom. Amos said, hey, buddy, listen, I got something to tell you. Being a prophet wasn't my idea.
I was tending sheep. The Lord himself stepped into my life and called me to come preach to you. Did God have a specific will for whether or not Amos went into the ministry or not and exactly where he went in the ministry? You bet he did.
A couple more. Luke chapter six. Jesus went out to a mountain to pray, the Bible says, and spent the entire night praying to God. And when morning came, Jesus called the disciples to him and chose 12 of them whom he designated apostles. Friends, why did Jesus spend all night in prayer before appointing the 12 apostles? Well, the answer is because he believed that God had a specific will about who those 12 apostles ought to be.
And he stayed up all night seeking God's specific will so he could get the right 12 people appointed in the morning. Acts chapter 16. Remember, the apostle Paul had a dream.
Verse nine. And during that vision, a Macedonian man was standing and begging him, come over to Macedonia in Europe and help us. Paul was in Turkey at the time. I always love how commentators argue about how Paul knew that this was a Macedonian man.
Folks, when somebody says come to Macedonia and help us, where do you think they're from? Huh? Come on now. And look what happened. So we immediately, Luke writes, got ready to leave from Macedonia.
Why? Concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Clearly, the apostle Paul believed that that vision represented God's specific will and plan about where he went to preach next. And then consider these verses of Scripture. Psalm 32, verse eight. God says, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.
Isaiah 30, verse 21. When you cry to the Lord for guidance, he will answer and you will hear a voice behind you saying this is the way walk in it. Proverbs 16, nine, the mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his what? His steps.
I'd call that pretty specific, wouldn't you? And finally, as David said, Psalm 73, you will lead me and guide me with your counsel. And afterwards, you will receive me into glory.
Folks, all of these verses about God's personal guidance in our life, these verses make no sense unless God has a specific plan for the specific details of our lives. So let's summarize. You still with me? Hello. You're okay, right?
Okay, a couple of you looking glazed over there. All right. Now, let's summarize. The Bible is clear that as followers of Christ, God has a specific and individual will for our lives, which extends even to the smallest details of life, who we marry, what job we take, what car we buy, what house we live in, what school we go to what college we pick, how we serve the Lord and where we serve the Lord.
And the Bible is clear that God will lead us step by step in his plan, if we'll just ask him to. Now, we want to stop at this point. And we want to ask our most important question. So are you ready? You ready? All right, here we go.
Nice and loud 123. Yeah, you say line. So what? Say what difference does any of this really make? Well, let's talk about that.
You know, I'm sure glad that Friesen's theory is wrong. Because if he were right, we would have to change a bunch of the hymns that we sing. Think about it now. Well, we instead of singing, he leadeth me, we'd have to sing, I leadeth me Oh, blessed thoughts. We'd have to sing. Don't guide me Oh, great Jehovah. Where I lead me I will follow. Danny Crosby's great hymn would become all the way I lead myself.
The Lord's my life guard I'll not want. And finally, have mine own way, Lord have mine own way. Ah, come on now. Say yeah, you come on. You're the one up there doing this. All right, fair enough.
You say okay, okay, line. So let's say you're right about this. And let's say Friesen is wrong. I mean, I don't really see what the big deal is here. I mean, all right, so even if I bought into his theory, so why is that a big problem, even if I did buy into that?
Well, folks, it is a big problem. And I'll give you four reasons why and then we're done. Number one, reason number one is because as a follower of Jesus Christ, Friesen's theory cheapens God's role in my life. It removes God from being personally involved in the daily details of my life. And instead it relegates God to being my detached lifeguard, letting me do whatever I want to do so long as I don't swim outside the ropes of his moral law. Listen, God did not redeem us to swim wherever we felt like swimming.
That wasn't why he did it. He redeemed us because he has a great plan for our lives individually, a specific plan. God does not want to be our lifeguard, my friends. God wants to be our shepherd.
And shepherds are involved in the lives of their sheep down to the smallest detail. Number two, the reason this is a problem because Friesen's theory draws me away from a moment by moment dependence on God. John 15 five, Jesus said, For without me, you can do nothing.
First Peter five seven, Peter says, Cast all of your cares on him, because he cares for you. The Bible says that God wants me depending on him as a follower of Christ, casting all of my cares on him moment by moment as a follower of Christ. But Friesen's theory takes me in the exact opposite direction. He promotes reliance on self instead of reliance on God. His theory promotes self-sufficiency instead of dependency on God. His theory prompts me to cast all my cares on myself because God's not all that interested in the little stuff in my life. Number three, reason number three, the reason this is a problem because as a follower of Christ, Friesen's theory leaves me open to making some huge mistakes in life. Proverbs three, verse five, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all of your ways, acknowledge him, look at this, and he will direct your paths.
Friesen's theory puts me in a position in life, friends, that I don't have the ability to be in, a position in life that you don't have the ability to be in, a position of directing our own affairs, the position of following our own logic and wisdom. Listen, this is how I ended up in the mess I ended up in 35 years ago that I had to ask Jesus to rescue me out of. I'd run my own life for 21 years and I'd made an absolute utter mess of my life. That was one of the key reasons I came to Christ in the first place is because I knew I couldn't run my life.
I proved it in spades. And friends, I don't want to make my own choices in life. I don't want to be my own shepherd. I don't want to be my own counselor and guide. I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt. You understand?
Friends, when I lead my own life, nothing but trouble happens. And may I say that if you're here today and you've never trusted Jesus in a real and personal way, that this is one of the greatest things about coming into a relationship with Christ. Do you get eternal life? Yes. Do you get a chance to go to heaven? Yes. Are your sins forgiven?
Yes. But one of the other great things about this is suddenly you come into connection with the living all-knowing God of the universe who can see the future and guide your life so that you don't step on alligators and landmines everywhere you go. And if you're here today and you're sick of running your own life like I was, if you're here today and you've realized that you're not capable of running your own life very well like I realized, I got a great offer for you. Jesus is offering to run your life for you.
And if you've got any smarts, you'll take him up on that offer. Something to think about. Finally, why is this theory a problem? Because number four is a follower of Christ.
This theory robs me of the confidence and the assurance that I need in order to press on in tough times. Many of you know who J. Hudson Taylor was, the first by faith missionary in the modern world to China. You know he, if you read his story, faced some enormous challenges in China. He faced some enormous opposition back home in Britain. A normal person would have thrown in the towel and quit.
But Taylor didn't. And I'd like him to tell you why he didn't quit. Talking about his sense that God had specifically called him to China, here's what Taylor said, and I quote. He said, Never shall I forget the feeling that came over me. I felt I was in the presence of God, entering into a covenant with the Almighty. From that time to today, the conviction has never left me that I was called to China. It is no small comfort to me to know that God himself has called me specifically to this work, putting me where I am and as I am.
Now look what he says. I have not sought this position, and therefore I dare not leave it. End of quote. Friends, listen, as followers of Christ, every one of us face tough times. When we're tempted to quit, we're tempted to throw in the towel we're tempted to give up, just as Hudson Taylor was. And in those moments, the only thing that allows us to stick it out is the absolute confidence that we are where we are because the living Lord Jesus personally put us where we are, led us to where we are, called us to where we are. And therefore, since he put us where we are, as Hudson Taylor said, we dare not leave or give up. Hey, this is the only reason why Moses made it 40 years in the desert with these Israelites.
It's because he remembered the burning bush and remembered that God called him and put him right where he was, and he better not leave. I got to tell you, this is the only reason I've made it 26 years at McLean Bible Church. I mean, there were some days where everybody was saying, you need to leave. Find another place. It isn't worth it.
Another church will take you. Go somewhere else. I had friends saying that. I had relatives saying that. I was saying that to myself. But you know why I didn't leave?
One simple reason. I knew God had called me to McLean Bible Church, and I knew that until God himself called me away, I better not leave. Now, if I had not known and believed God called me here, I'd have been gone. If Moses hadn't believed God had called him and placed him in front of the Israelites, he'd have been gone.
Hudson Taylor would have been gone. And you know, there are a lot of things in your life where unless you believe that God is leading you even in the details of life and put you right where you are, you'll be gone, too. Let me conclude and say that as followers of Jesus Christ here today, God wants us to know with utter certainty that for every single one of us, he has an individual personal will for every detail of our life and that he will personally lead us in that plan if we'll just let him. Folks, this includes who you marry, who you date, where you live, the car you buy, where you work, where you go to school, where you go to college, where you serve the Lord and every other detail of your life. This is one of the greatest benefits of being a follower of Christ. This is one of the greatest benefits of being a child of God. So don't let anybody rob you of this kind of intimate walk with God in your life. I don't care what kind of degree they got.
I don't care how fancy sound in a book they write. Don't you let anybody rob you of this kind of intimate walk that God offers you and me, a walk in which he offers to hold our hand and to tenderly lead us in every decision and choice we face moment by moment, day by day until you and I step on the shores of heaven. Friends, I pray about everything. I ask God about everything. When I drive into Washington, I pray about parking spaces. You go, No, you don't.
Yes, I do. I've taught my children to do it. When we go into the town, we'd all take time and pray and say, Lord Jesus, we're going in. We need a parking space. You know exactly when we're going to get there and exactly where we need to park. So we're trusting you for a parking space. You say, No, you didn't do that.
Yes, I do. I still do it today. If I'm unfortunate enough to have to go into the city, I do it today.
I got to tell you something. You would not believe the parking spaces we find as a family. And if you don't find those same parking spaces, my question is, why don't you pray about them? Don't you think God cares about your need to park?
Yeah, of course He does. So I'm not sure it goes that far. Why wouldn't it?
Why wouldn't it? Don't cheat yourself out of letting God be involved in every detail of your life. He wants to be.
So don't be educated beyond your intelligence, my friends. Let Him be. Let Him be.
I say, Well, Lon, that's great. But you know, it still leaves me with a big question, friend, and that is, OK, this is wonderful. But how can I figure out what God's will is so I can follow it? I mean, how did Hudson Taylor know God had called him to China? How did you know that God had called you to McLean Bible Church? I mean, I know Moses saw the burning bush. But if you don't see a burning bush, how do you know this? How do you discern where God's leading you?
Friends, that is a wonderful question. And that's what we're going to talk about next week in part three of our series, part three. And finally, we're going to answer the question, how can I discern God's leading in my life so that I can follow it?
I hope you'll be here for that. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, thanks for talking to us today about your role in our life.
You do not want to be our lifeguard. You want to be our shepherd. And shepherds are involved in the tiniest and most specific details of their sheep's lives. And so, Father, since you are the good shepherd, we know that you have a desire to do that for us. Encourage our faith today that we are not alone as we walk through life. Encourage our faith that we don't have to figure this out ourselves.
We have an all-knowing, all-powerful heavenly Father who's right there to lead us at every step if we'll just trust Him. So, Lord, help us embrace the role today that the Bible says you want in our life, our personal shepherd, our personal guide. And, Lord Jesus, thank you that we don't have to lead on our own understanding, but we can in all of our ways acknowledge you and you will direct our paths. Praise God.
What an incredible, incredible offer. Lord, help us take you up on it each and every day. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. In God's people said, amen. Amen.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-07-13 08:08:02 / 2024-07-13 08:18:27 / 10
