College & Career Session 4: Interpreting God's Will

Brain Storm:

Objective/Goal:

The classic understanding of God’s will is that it is linear and step by step. This understanding/interpretation is what permeates the church and is what is often taught to young people when they try and start making their own decisions in life.Often trying to make decisions for God’s will is hard if we are in a season when there is no clear answer, or our understanding of how life plays out as a believer is most of the time a set back when it does not match the classic understanding.This study/session is geared to help young adults understand that God’s will isn’t so cut and dry. Most of life and God’s will can be gray zones. Sometimes there are no open doors, or many, and we have more than 2 options to decide.

This understanding/interpretation is what permeates the church and is what is often taught to young people when they try and start making their own decisions in life.Often trying to make decisions for God’s will is hard if we are in a season when there is no clear answer, or our understanding of how life plays out as a believer is most of the time a set back when it does not match the classic understanding.This study/session is geared to help young adults understand that God’s will isn’t so cut and dry. Most of life and God’s will can be gray zones. Sometimes there are no open doors, or many, and we have more than 2 options to decide.

Often trying to make decisions for God’s will is hard if we are in a season when there is no clear answer, or our understanding of how life plays out as a believer is most of the time a set back when it does not match the classic understanding.This study/session is geared to help young adults understand that God’s will isn’t so cut and dry. Most of life and God’s will can be gray zones. Sometimes there are no open doors, or many, and we have more than 2 options to decide.

This study/session is geared to help young adults understand that God’s will isn’t so cut and dry. Most of life and God’s will can be gray zones. Sometimes there are no open doors, or many, and we have more than 2 options to decide.

Most of life and God’s will can be gray zones. Sometimes there are no open doors, or many, and we have more than 2 options to decide.

Sometimes there are no open doors, or many, and we have more than 2 options to decide.

The aim is to portray a more mature/biblical understanding of interpreting God’s will and how a lot of the time there is a choice that we can all have.Sometimes(maybe all of the time) there is no arrow, or confirmation on what choice to make, but to make a decision in faith and be faithful to it.

Sometimes(maybe all of the time) there is no arrow, or confirmation on what choice to make, but to make a decision in faith and be faithful to it.

Key passages:

, , .

Examples/Illustrations:

God’s calling me to Biola/CCBC/To be a missionary. To go or not.

Introduction:

Who here has a tough time making decisions?

Who here has a tough time making decisions?

I sure do.

I tend to over-think many decisions.

Who here does this?

This is already hard enough when life is complicated.

Life is full of decisions, and we can’t get around that…

You can’t escape them.

I wish I could, and I am at times, tired of them.

This goes into interpreting God’s will.

Sometimes I wish someone else would choose things for

The older we get, the more

The classic understanding of the will of God is linear.

For our age group(18-29 year old) life is full of turbulent decisions.

The older we get, the more complex our decisions are going to get.

We don’t think it will be that way when we are kids but it is.

I don’t know about you, but I have had more stress making decisions that I have lost sleep, and wonder if I made the wrong one.

We are hopefully including God in those decisions.

We claim to be believers, but so many times God is not in our decisions.

A sad truth, but I am guilty of it.

If we believe that He is there, then

This goes into interpreting God’s will.

The reality is that we need to learn out to interpret God’s will.

He has a plan for our lives right?

He knows all of our steps, and

We believe in a God who is living, and wants to be intimately involved in our lives.

We believe in theism, not deism.

Do you know the difference?

Deism: Belief that there is a God who created everything, but left the universe, and ultimately us, by ourselves.

Theism: Belief that there is a God who created the universe, and is intimately involved with His creation.

This means that God wants to be a part of our decisions.

He should be the reason that we decide to do anything.

The classic understanding of God’s will will is that it is linear.

In my experience, if you have been a believer for any time in your life, you understand God’s will this way.

The way it goes is that God will always open the door and His will will be on the other side.

We don’t have the full picture, but He will always reveal the next step(s).

This view is biblical…but is not the full picture.

Most of the time, God’s will is not so cut and dry.

It is not so cookie cutter.

I need to share my experience, because I used to be close minded to what the Bible truly teaches about God’s will.

I was this way for so long, that in seasons that it wasn’t clear what to do next, my faith was shaken.

That is the problem with this view, which I believe is popular, because it is romanticized .

Many young adults grow up believing that God’s will is linear, step a, the step b, and when life doesn’t work out like that, then they are stumbled and shaken.

This happens, because the reality of God, did not fit into our little box of who He really is.

There are many hard decisions that we have to make, and a lot of times, the options aren’t clear.

We need to understand that there are a lot of gray area to this life.

This is a truth that is more beneficial to understand earlier on.

Once we discover how to truly make decisions for the Lord, we can actually have a more meaningful relationship with the Lord.

We need to look at the Bible to best interpret God’s will.

Our generation is falling away from “sola scriptura.”

Are seeking our own opinions, or those of the world first,

I cannot emphasize this enough.

We need to go to the bible for all of our interpretations.

In the Old Testament they used something called the “urim and thummim.”

The Urim ("lights") and Thummim ("perfections") were gemstones that were carried by the high priest of Israel on the ephod / priestly garments.

They were used by the high priest to determine God's will in some situations. Some propose that God would cause the Urim and Thummim to light up in varying patterns to reveal His decision.

This was used in many big decisions in the Old Testament.

Either way, it was a way for a decision to be made based upon God’s will.

This method,although unknown what all of the details were, was blessed by God.

Others propose that the Urim and Thummim were kept in a pouch and were engraved with symbols identifying yes / no and true / false.

They also use to do something similar called “casting lots.”

The practice of casting lots occurs most often in connection with the division of the land under Joshua (Joshua chapters 14-21), a procedure that God instructed the Israelites on several times in the book of Numbers (; ; ; ).

God allowed the Israelites to cast lots in order to determine His will for a given situation (; ,).

Various offices and functions in the temple were also determined by lot (, ; ; ).

The sailors on Jonah's ship () also cast lots to determine who had brought God's wrath upon their ship.

The eleven apostles cast lots to determine who would replace Judas (). Casting lots eventually became a game people played and made wagers on.

Both of these methods in the Old Testament were blessed by God.

It is in the Bible as a favorable method.

But these methods were typically not for personal decisions, but big ones that would affect the course of the nation, leadership, etc.

Decisions like should we go to war, or who should we choose for our next leader?

Many believers today try and use similar methods in trying to determine God’s will in a given situation.

We look for confirmations and interpret them as God’s will.

We believe that He will always make known His will in each decision.

I have been there, trying to use a magic 8 ball to know what to do next.

But is this kind of method how we will, or should interpret God’s will?

The New Testament nowhere instructs Christians to use a method similar to casting lots to help with decision-making.

We now have the completed Word of God, as well as the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us.

Now that we have the completed Word of God, as well as the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us, there is no reason to be using games of chance to make decisions. The Word, the Spirit, and prayer are sufficient for discerning God’s will today—not casting lots, rolling dice, or flipping a coin.

The New Testament nowhere instructs Christians to use a method similar to casting lots to help with decision-making. Now that we have the completed Word of God, as well as the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us, there is no reason to be using games of chance to make decisions. The Word, the Spirit, and prayer are sufficient for discerning God’s will today—not casting lots, rolling dice, or flipping a coin.

We need to keep in mind that there is no reason to be using games of chance to make decisions.

The Word, the Spirit, and prayer are sufficient for discerning God’s will today, not:

Casting lots,

Rolling dice,

Or flipping a coin.

Let’s look at some verses and see what the Lord says about deciding our next decisions.

Proverbs 16:9 NKJV

9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

prov 16

We have our plans and goals don’t we?

Keep in mind that a goal is the outcome of a bunch of small steps or decisions.

I am going to be a Dr., a lawyer, get a fancy degree.

I am going to get married, buy a house, always have a car.

That is what we are being pressured into since we are children.

The church adopted their way of trying to prepare us to make decisions in our life, and spiritual lives.

But what happens when things don’t go that way?

I have found myself and so many friends stumbled, or confused, or at a loss.

When we make bad decisions, we a

The illustration is that we get to choose our direction.

There are 8 directions on a compass.

North, South, East. West, North West, South West, North East, and South East.

Let’s apply this to our life/spiritual life:

These directions do not include any path.

You have to choose a direction.

Start north, or whichever.

As you start going, the Lord will pave a path below you.

God might, and often does change our direction… are we okay when He does?

Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

proverbs 3:

We need to put our trust in the Lord and not lean on our own understanding.

This is the problem that I have a lot.

Although I walk with God, I typically only use my understanding.

I use my wisdom and logic.

Our understanding, and main influence in the decisions that we make are typically materially/fleshly.

The temporal things.

The things that will give us instant gratification, or pleasure.

Sometimes we will choose a way

So many of us are looking for a sign in the right direction.

But, the Lord, in my experience and most of the time, is not going to give us a sign.

This life is not a horoscope.

Sometimes we get so caught in needing to hear from the Lord, it cripples us.

Proverbs 16:9 NKJV

9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

When the children of were trapped by the Red Sea.

They had 2 mountains ranges on their right and their left.

They also had the Egyptians quickly approaching them from behind and they were eager to kill the children of Israel.

Moses knows what to do, and even encourages them with a great pep talk to not worry.

But then there is verse 15, that stands out, and I think really says a lot about what happens to a lot of us in stressful decisions.

Exodus 14:15 NKJV

15 And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

Exodus 14:14–15 NKJV

14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” 15 And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

God questioned why Moses was crying out to Him.

exodus 1

This means that Moses was praying to God.

Praying is always the encouraged response.

But God is questioning why Moses would do this in this decision.

He tells Moses to stop praying, but to make a decision.

To act, and not wait for the sign to do what he should.

He told Moses and the people to go forward.

We can often be waiting for a sign, or be in prayer waiting for the perfection of the Lord.

Sometimes maybe we are waiting, when we should act.

I know so many people who instead of getting a job, are waiting for the Lord to open the door.

They are confident that God will do a super miracle.

God is telling us that sometimes we need to make a choice.

That is what a lot of this comes down to is a choice.

That is what a lot of this comes down to is a choice.

I almost made no life decisions, because I was waiting for a sign.

I was accepted into Biola University.

I shouldn’t have been accepted.

My counselor went to bat for me, once she heard my testimony.

I had to jump through some hoops, but He got me in.

The answer was clear right, I mean it was obvious.

But then I was nervous about money and how much it cost.

I freaked out to the point that my friends all got annoyed.

I heard all sorts of things.

Then my pastor’s son said I could choose to go or not go.

That God’s will isn’t always so black and white.

He said to make a decision in faith.

He took me to this verse.

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV

6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

God wants us to make decisions in faith.

This will please Him.

This will show that what we choose with the unknown, we will trust Him.

Faith really pleases everybody.

People like the

I am about to make a very scary decision…but I am going to do it in faith.

I am a pastor at a good church.

I am about to make

But my family and I feel like we need to make a decision to resign in.