A Litmus Test of God's Will

In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz tells of a trip to his local moderately sized grocery store. He found 285 varieties of cookies, 13 sports drinks, 65 box drinks, 85 kids’ juices, 75 iced teas, 95 types of chips and pretzels, 15 kinds of bottled water, 80 different pain relievers, 40 options for toothpaste, 150 lipsticks, 360 types of shampoo, 90 different cold remedies, 230 soups, 75 instant gravies, 275 varieties of cereal, 64 types of barbeque sauce, and 22 types of frozen waffles. Anyone who has ever shopped for groceries in North America knows that this list is only a tiny fraction of all the options found in every aisle. That’s why we stick with certain cereals or brands or meals because we simply don’t have the time or energy to make new choices every time we venture off to the Super Walmart or Safeway. It’s also why my wife sends me with a very detailed list in the unfortunate event that I am responsible for the grocery shopping during the week. If she tells me to get baby food, with no further instructions, I could come back with anything from liquid peas to dissolvable, cherry-flavored wagon wheels. I need specifics because there are just too many ways I can screw things up.

In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz tells of a trip to his local moderately sized grocery store. He found 285 varieties of cookies, 13 sports drinks, 65 box drinks, 85 kids’ juices, 75 iced teas, 95 types of chips and pretzels, 15 kinds of bottled water, 80 different pain relievers, 40 options for toothpaste, 150 lipsticks, 360 types of shampoo, 90 different cold remedies, 230 soups, 75 instant gravies, 275 varieties of cereal, 64 types of barbeque sauce, and 22 types of frozen waffles. 3 Anyone who has ever shopped for groceries in North America knows that this list is only a tiny fraction of all the options found in every aisle. That’s why we stick with certain cereals or brands or meals because we simply don’t have the time or energy to make new choices every time we venture off to the Super Walmart or Safeway. It’s also why my wife sends me with a very detailed list in the unfortunate event that I am responsible for the grocery shopping during the week. If she tells me to get baby food, with no further instructions, I could come back with anything from liquid peas to dissolvable, cherry-flavored wagon wheels. I need specifics because there are just too many ways I can screw things up.

We are continuing to talk about God’s will this week. Last week we talked about how God’s will is always connected to God’s Kingdom. This connection means that God’s will is rooted not in your happiness, but in the accomplishment of God’s desire and will. But what does that mean for us? This week I would present to you that this means you and I have some deciding to do. Because as we will see today, God’s will is not always fun or the outcome we would hope for.

In recent history there has been an overflow of prosperity Gospel preaching. The TV, internet, and radio are infiltrated with pastors preaching messages that revolve around God’s desire for you is that you would be financially well off, have the best job, 4 healthy kids who are honor roll students and future ambassadors and NFL players, and that every sickness that comes your way can and will be healed....the problem with this kind of preaching is not Biblical AT ALL. As I told a friend of mine who bought into the prosperity Gospel- would you please look at the lower-middle class, homeless Jewish carpenter who is hanging on a cross for crimes and sins that he never committed that God’s plan is for us to always be happy?

One of the first things we must inventory when we are looking for the voice and movement of God in our lives is are we focused on a me centered Gospel or a Jesus centered Gospel.

I would like to give you three quick stories and examples…

Esther- So King Ahasuerus is looking for a new wife, so he calls a beauty pageant from all the people in the kingdom and a Jewish Orphan named Esther is chosen to be his new wife because of her beauty, but she hides the fact that she is a Jew. Esther is raised by her uncle Mordecai who falls out of favor with one of the King’s advisors Haman. So Haman convinces the King to kill all of the Jews in the kingdom. Esther finds herself in quite a hard spot- spare her own life and watch her people die, or tell the truth about who she is, put herself in danger, but have a chance to save all of her people. She chose the second- God’s will was not centered in her safety.

Jeremiah- Jeremiah the prophet lived a hard life because of his message. Jeremiah believed that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was going to act as God’s agent and take Babylon captive. He was right- but in the midst of Jeremiah’s story God gives Jeremiah a message to preach and in chapter 20 we read about Jeremiah and Pashhur. Pashhur was a priest, the son of Immer, and the “chief officer in the house of the LORD” ().  His title indicates that Pashhur was the leader of those Levites who were in charge of maintaining order and decorum in the Temple area. Because of his message Pashhur has Jeremiah beaten and thrown in the stocks- God’s will certainly did not benefit Jeremiah in that moment, did it?

Paul- How about Paul? A Giant of the faith. We could be here all day talking about the things that Paul did for the glory of God, he wrote most of the NT! But we could also be here all day talking about Paul’s pain and persecution. Listen to his words in : Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

We could be here all afternoon if we were to recall all of the stories in the Bible that see people following God’s will and not getting the best treatment in return. And by the way, we do not just have to turn to the ancient stories of Scripture to find this common thread. How about in Nigeria right now where members of our same denomination- EYN have had their homes burned, their kids kidnapped, and their lives threatened and taken for following Christ? How about the Christian scientist who was relived from his job for not fully supporting the school’s teaching on Evolution?

Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

You see, the bottom line is that the measuring stick of God’s will cannot be how the decision benefits us. Instead, the measuring stick for if something is God’s will is God’s character and the decrees of Scriptures. So, today we are going to examine because it reveals to us the first litmus test of knowing if something is God’s Will

English Standard Version Chapter 1

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Teacher job: Less money, more hands on, stressful classroom setting, possible interaction with harmed students/parents/faculty

Advocate: More money, less hands on, office job in controlled environment

If we take the prosperity approach it might be easy to say that the job that offers more money and less stress is the winner…but what if that is not, in fact, true.

So, our fist litmus test for discerning the will of God is to hold the decision that we are about to make up alongside the character of God. We know many of the characteristics of God, God is loving, merciful, patient, kind, holy, righteous…etc. So we take the decision and hold it alongside the character of God and that can be a clear indication if we should proceed. Let’s look at a story from the Bible where this happens, it is :51-56

DeYoung, Kevin. Just Do Something (p. 32). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

English Standard Version Chapter 9

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.

James and John ask for Jesus’ permission to do something and Jesus rebukes them. Why do you think that is? I think it is because Jesus expected them to know that Jesus was calling them to something different- something better, just by his actions and character. Almost as to say, guys you have been following me around for a while now, and at any point have I rained fire down on anyone? When has that been a thing?

God cannot go back or work in contradiction to God’s nature. God is love, so God will never lead us in the direction of hate. God is holy, so God will never lead us in the direction of sin. Today is Mother’s Day, and we sure do appreciate you mom’s out there, but I am going to make a guess, just a guess, that your kids were not thrilled with everything you moms told them to do or not to do, right? Because your calling as a mother is not chiefly to make them happy, but to care for them, right? And many times those two things cannot exist together- I will tell you flat out that my mother made me mad a lot because she would not let me do certain things- not because she wanted me to be miserable, but because she wanted me safe and out of harms way. So, if a mother’s greatest calling is not merely your happiness, but you care, how much greater is that calling for God?

So, when we are put in a situation and we are wondering what is God’s will the first thing we should do? We should cast alongside the character and image of Jesus say see if it lines us. As says, God speaks to us now through Jesus who reveals to us everything that God is like.

Our second litmus test is to hold the decision we are about to make up alongside the Scriptures and see if it lines up with the Bible. tells us that “16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” This book is our rule of faith and practice- it is the primary source for tell us how to live lives that please God. Have you ever played scrabble with someone who looked up words in the dictionary to make sure they were legit? Why would we not do the same thing with our lives and the Bible? So, we take the decision that we need take make and compare it to the Bible to see if it is morally/ethically acceptable to God.

Story of the boys and medical bills.....

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

You see, it cannot be God’s will if it stands against God’s Scripture. Bottom Line....

The question at hand becomes that of continuous revelation. Continuous Revelation is a theology that says God is still revealing truth. Churches like The Jesus Christ Church of Latter Day Saints, or the Mormons, the Quakers, and others believe this sort of line that God is still decreeing his will, and that we should be open to God saying “new things” to us. This becomes the argument for many touchy subjects.

I will tell you point blank, I do not buy it. I believe the Bible is the Bible and what God said is what God meant- I believe in different types of application and interpretation, but I do not believe God reverses course from his Word. This is why it becomes to important to be in the Bible- because to know the ethical and moral standards of God we must be reading God’s book. This is how many Christians lose their way, they trust not on the words of the Bible, but the words of other Christians, other teachers, other preachers and pop culture.

Another question, does God still speak?

You may say “their teaching sounds good” Or “It makes me feel good” Funny, that’s the same thing a heroine addict says but they certain learn another lesson. You may say “it makes sense” or “It speaks to me” well never forget God is bigger than emotion or human intellect. So do more than just listen to me preach, or any other preacher, please! I am asking you, begging you, encouraging you- open up your Bible and read it, compare what I preach to what the Scriptures say, I want to preach the truth. I heard a quote a few weeks ago and it has quickly become one of my favorites. D.L. Moody once said “The best way to tell if a stick is crooked is to lay it next to a straight one.” Please, lay my teaching and the teaching of any other minister against the straight stick of Scripture. Do not just accept it because it sounds good . Then, lay the decisions you are about to make next to the straight stick of Scripture.

Next week, we are going to be centering on the next layer of God’s will- when decisions are reflective of the character of God and they hold true to the ethical and moral standards of the Bible.

Again, the question boils down to this, when we are making a decision we must ask ourselves, is the decision rooted in a me centered Gospel, or a Christ centered one? After all, it the center of all your decisions is your happiness, your wants, your wills, and your desires, you have made yourself God.