Let me just begin our time by asking for God's help. Let's do that together. Lord, we do just pause before you. It is a joy to gather. It is a joy to know you, to have your word. You've given us everything we need for life in God. May the Lord be praised for that. We do just ask for your help through your spirit to, even as we look into your word on this topic of guidance and decision-making, just pray that you would handle, or cause me to handle your word accurately, and just even make it useful and fruitful for your people, for all of us here. And we pray this in your name for your glory, amen. So there's a news headline. The headline was, Man, 91, dies waiting for the will of God. Walter Houston, described by family members as a devoted Christian, died Monday after waiting 70 years for God to give him clear direction about what to do with his life. He hung around the house and prayed a lot, but just never got that confirmation, his wife Ruby says. Sometimes he thought he heard God's voice, but then he wouldn't be sure, and he'd start the process all over again. Houston, she says, never really figured out what his life was about, but felt content to pray continuously about what he might do for the Lord. Whenever he was about to take action, he would pull back because he didn't want to disappoint God or go against him in any way, Ruby says. He was very sensitive to always remaining in God's will. That was primary to him. Friends say they liked Walter, though he seemed not to capitalize on his talents. Walter had a number of skills he never got around to using, says longtime friend Timothy Burns. He worked very well with wood and had a storyteller side to him. But I always told him, take a risk. Try something new if you're not happy. But he was too afraid of letting the Lord down. So that's a fake Christian news story, if you didn't catch that, that was reprinted in this book by Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something, which I pulled a lot of my material from today. Might seem a little ridiculous, but could it be closer to how some of us have actually done decision-making in our own lives than we might care to admit? The fictitious story said this man was, quote, very sensitive to always remaining in God's will. What exactly does that mean? How do you know what God's will is? And how do you know if you're in it? Can you fall out of it? And what exactly is God's will? What relevance does that have for how we make decisions? Well, these are the questions we're gonna try to answer together in our time this afternoon. We'll begin our time by answering the question, what is the will of God? And then we will apply that to decision-making by looking at three main decision-making tools that we have as Christians, the word, prayer, and godly counsel. And if you take your handout, hopefully that will help you follow along, And hopefully I left you a little bit of room for notes as well. But first, why this talk, why this topic? Well, I think because first, this is a topic we all encounter, especially living in 2023 in the United States as Americans. We have more choice, more options, and therefore more decisions than arguably ever before. From what kind of ice cream to buy at the grocery store, to much more important decisions like career and educational pursuits, and of course, the all-important whom you should marry decision. Some of this choice can be good, but it can also feel overwhelming or even paralyze it, right? And second, at the same time, I think, sadly, the prevailing thinking in American evangelical circles on this topic is sloppy and unbiblical. And I think even in a good church like ours, with good teaching, we can be subtly influenced by that, unless there's intentional correction of some of these mistakes. So hopefully this will be a fruitful time as we dive in. Starting with, first, what is the will of God? Point one there on your handout. What is the will of God? So when we turn to scripture, we see the will of God is used in a variety of contexts and doesn't always have the same meaning. So traditionally, Christians have referred to the will of God in two ways. And even on those two ways, there's many different words or labels to sort of describe those two different basic ways of thinking about God's will. If you look on your handout, you'll see that verse Deuteronomy 29, 29, which is a very key verse for this whole topic. And that's where I took my primary labels for these two ways to think about God's will. And you'll see both of those ways of thinking about his will in that verse. So the verse says, you're welcome to turn to it in your own Bible as well, if you'd like to see it for yourself, but it says the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. So there are secret things, and there are also things revealed. And these are the basic two ways to think about God's will. And where the mistakes begin is when we want God to reveal something that he simply has not promised to reveal. So first, sub-point A there, God's secret will of decree. Again, taking the secret word from Deuteronomy 29, 29. Importantly there, don't think of that word secret in a negative sense. A lot of times as humans, we want someone to tell us, not keep a secret from us, but it's not like God's not telling you something you actually need to know. This simply gets to the massive difference between us as finite humans and our infinite God. We simply can never know everything that God has decreed will happen, period. So everything that happens does happen according to God's will of decree. And everything that God has decreed will, without a doubt, come to pass. That's the basic concept behind this way of thinking about God's will. His sovereignty is regularly taught and faithfully here at our church, but it's still worth looking at this in the Bible. So I put another verse from Isaiah 46 there on your handout if you want to follow along either in your own copy of God's word or on the handout. And in Isaiah 46, it says this. For I am your God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is no one like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, my purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all my good pleasure. So That's God's secret will of decree. Subpoint B, there's also God's revealed will of command. So back to Deuteronomy 29, 29. Moses describes this alongside God's will of decree, his secret will of decree. The things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever. And notice what he says we're supposed to do with those things that are revealed. That we may observe or do, right? All the words of this law. So we know the commands he's revealed. and it's absolutely God's will to obey them. Others refer to this sometimes as God's moral will. So the first kind of God's will, under Subpoint A there, always happens, and we don't know it ahead of time. The second one, there under Subpoint B, doesn't always happen because of sin, and it's not specifically time-based. So just, again, a way to think about the two basic categories Scripture uses to speak about this. But what about us? When we ask the question, what is God's will? We need to be clear, what do we mean by that? If what we mean is what is God's secret will of decree, sub point A, you're essentially saying, what is the future? And that's not something God deems best for us to know, at least not normally. In fact, if you look at James 4, God rebukes us for presuming to know the future. That's his job, not ours. And then again, if what you mean is what is God's revealed will of command, the answer is very clear. Look in the Bible. And there we see that God's will for you is to obey him, to be holy, and for Christ to be exalted. It'd be one way to summarize his moral will or his will of command. So we also see in verses like Romans 12, two, there's an important connection between obeying God, between obedience and wisdom. So as we're transformed, instead of being conformed in that verse, we're able to then better discern God's will. So one of the ways we get wisdom is by obeying God in the places we can see clearly. And then he will give us wisdom to discern obedience in places where it's less clear. So conversely, if you're rejecting obedience in places that are clear, that you can see, perhaps you shouldn't be so surprised that God's will seems fuzzy and unclear. Now here's where you might get a little frustrated that this is too theological and not practical enough, because this is a very practical question series, especially if maybe you yourself are facing a big decision right now and you really want to know God's will. Should you marry Tommy or not? Well, here's how one author addresses that question. He says, quote, if we ask, how can I know the will of God? We may be asking the wrong question. The scriptures do not command us to find God's will for most of life's choices. nor do we have any passage instructing on how it can be determined. Yet we persist in searching for God's will because decisions require thought and sap energy. We seek relief from the responsibility of decision-making and we feel less threatened by being passive rather than active when making choices. So not that I've done this perfectly in my own life, but one quick example from my life and my family's life was our decision three years ago to move here to St. Louis from DC. I think we mostly fought well against the temptation to over-spiritualize that decision, even as we broke the news to our then-church family and friends back in D.C. at the time, which admittedly was hard. And emotionally, it would have been much more comfortable to say something like, God's calling us to St. Louis, or to spiritualize that language and take the decision off of us and put it on God. But that would have sort of softened the blow, right? But I don't think that would have been true. Of course, we did pray about it, we sought counsel, and we did think about important biblical principles, like before we moved, did we know about a good church we could be part of in St. Louis? But really, our decision was as simple as we wanted to move, and then we decided to do it. So I think we tried to be clear about that, even in our language, how we talked about it. But I think it'll help us unpack this more if we move on to our next point, which is talking about point two, what God's will is not. Some common misconceptions about God's will. So first, God's Will is not like a choose-your-own-adventure book. And by the way, I looked this up, and these stopped being published apparently in 1998. So maybe this analogy only works in a certain age group, I'm not sure. But God's Will isn't about you only getting to heaven, only getting God's best, if you make the right choices and decisions. Or if you make the wrong choice, or like in the old choose-your-own-adventure books, you turn to the wrong page, you accidentally die a horrible death in a volcano, right? Again, if you're not familiar with these books, it may not mean as much. God is not hampered in his will ever by you, your decision-making, to do you good in all things. God will be faithful to keep his promise in Romans 8.28 and elsewhere, along with all the rest of his promises, period. So second, God's will is not a fairy tale of comfort and happiness. Most of us have probably heard that oft-repeated phrase, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. And that may sound good, but it can be very misleading. because God cares about our eternal happiness infinitely more than our temporal happiness. So just because something bad happens to us doesn't mean we somehow missed God's will. It means God has good in mind for you that's worth the cost you're experiencing. And finally, his will is not a target you can somehow miss. Now you can disobey God's revealed will of command that we talked about just a second ago, but you cannot escape his secret will of decree, period. So the fact you disobeyed God at one juncture in no way means you're confined to a life that's only God's second best. Yes, there are consequences for sin and foolishness, but even these operate within God's great eternal sovereign will and plan. So back to the question, does God want you to marry Tommy? So you're facing a big decision like that. Well, a reformed answer is, if you get to your wedding day and actually say, I do, then the clear answer is yes. But if should I marry Tommy is a question about God's secret will of decree, not his revealed will of command. Remember, scripture nowhere gives you the answer to a specific question like that or any similar questions. Other than, obviously, no, if Tommy is not a Christian. And except in unusual situations, God does not tell us his secret will of decree. So that may not be the best question to ask. And a far better question would be, is it wise to marry this person? In other words, does it seem marriage to this person is the best way to seek God's kingdom first and his righteousness? If so, go for it. God will not stop you if it's his will. Now scripture does lay out some primary tools we can use to make good and wise decisions. So those are what we'll look at next. But I want to emphasize there's no secret decoder ring or secret will of God for your life that you're responsible for somehow finding. God's normal way to guide our decisions is the wisdom he's given us. So we'll focus on how Christians should ordinarily make decisions here throughout the remainder of our time. Throughout scripture, God has guided his people with dreams, audible voices, prophets, visions, and so forth. And if you heard God's voice from a talking donkey, like Balaam, or a burning bush, like Moses, decision-making would be pretty straightforward, right? Except that while God can and has guided in this way in the past, this is not his normal practice. Certainly today, in an age where we have his scriptures in full. So the primary three tools that we'll go through, if you want to turn to point number three there, starting with point number three, are the Bible, prayer, and godly counsel. And we'll also finish thinking a little bit about circumstances, feelings, and desires, which we have to be much more careful of. So first, the first of the primary three decision-making tools, the Word. The Word. How does God's Word help us make decisions? Well, first, and very briefly, some wrong ways to use God's Word. It might sound crazy, but do not open up to random Bible verse and apply it directly to your situation. Bible's not a magic eight ball. But similarly, not too much different than that, be careful about taking a small portion of text out of context. This is a horribly mystical way to think about scripture. It's not how Jesus used the Bible or how the Bible teaches us to read itself. So just because a set of words come from the Bible doesn't mean they are God's message to you. They are God's word only in as much as they are read as God intended for us to read them, is one way to say it. So one brief example from Philippians 4.13, a wonderful and well-known verse, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. But many Christians have taken this verse out of context to mean they can achieve all their dreams and goals in life by the strength of Christ. If you look at the context, though, that's not what is being talked about at all in this passage. The surrounding context makes it clear Paul is talking about learning contentment in Christ through good and bad. So Paul isn't saying he can accomplish anything through Christ. He's saying he can endure all things through Christ and still radiate contentment. So context is key, and it affects the meaning of a verse significantly. So those are some wrong ways to use God's word. What about the right ways to use God's word? So point B there in your handout. We're going to look briefly at four categories of guidance the scriptures provide. So first would be specific commands, which are fairly obvious, right? The most obvious way scriptures guide us is through specific, clear commands. Is it God's will for me to marry a non-Christian? Well, clearly no. 2 Corinthians 6 says, do not be unequally yoked. Very clear. Case closed. And I know this seems obvious, but there are many times when Christians get all caught up in knots by feeling God's leading them in a direction, but seeing an explicit command in another direction. Just remember, God never contradicts himself. So if you feel God leading you to marry an unchristian, I can guarantee you with 100% confidence, your feelings are mistaken. Second, biblical principles. Of course, there are many commands in scripture that don't clearly outlaw a particular action, but are really helpful nonetheless. So let's say you're struggling with how you should respond to an invitation to a workplace lunch where one of your colleagues is going to announce his engagement to be, quote, married to his boyfriend. How would you handle that? It's not like he's inviting you to his wedding, right? So it's a little different category. The celebrated purpose of the lunch is not to celebrate gay marriage, but You know how the room's going to feel when he makes his announcement. Is there a clear command in scripture about this? Well, no, but consider biblical principles like Ephesians 5, 5, which says, for you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous, that is an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partners with them. Do not become partners with them. That's a really helpful principle to keep in mind as you wrestle through what to do in that situation. Or a verse like Romans 1.32, which says, though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. So how could you act so that you don't partner with others in their sin and so that you don't seem to give approval to their sin? Again, just one example of how to apply biblical principles to a specific situation. And next sub point three, thinking about biblical goals and motives. The Bible judges motives and goals we have in making a decision. And thinking about biblical motives and goals can sometimes unmask what's unbiblical in our hearts. So Hebrews 4.12 is a great verse for this, right? It says the word is able to quote, judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. So if you're dating someone or seeking guidance as to whether they would be a good spouse, look to passages like Proverbs 31 and see what a godly wife looks like. Or if you're a woman, passages like 1 Timothy 3 to see what a godly husband looks like. Or if you're thinking about a career change and want to assess your motives, you could think about a passage like 1 Timothy 6 that shows us the effects of sinful patterns of behavior, including the pursuit of riches instead of God. It could be helpful to even write down all your motives and goals, both good and bad, that you have for a particular question. And then write down the motives and goals you see in scripture, along with passages that describe them. Spend time thinking through those passages, pray through those passages, and as you do, God will give you insight into where your heart's desires are right and where they're wrong-headed. So finally, number four, wisdom, in terms of using the Bible as a decision-making tool. The main way the Bible helps us make decisions has nothing to do with decision-making at all. It's simply the wisdom as you grow and spend more time in God's Word that you have. If you spend zero time in the Bible until the day You have to decide if you're going to marry your boyfriend or girlfriend. I can pretty much guarantee you the Bible won't be a lot of use to you. So think about Psalm 1 where David writes, So get to know the scriptures. And over time, they will shape you and give you wisdom. And more than anything, it's wisdom that you need to know when a decision's important, as well as to make important decisions. So Ephesians 5, 15 to 17 links wisdom closely to understanding what the will of the Lord is. And being a Christian means a lifelong pursuit of wisdom, by fearing God, by knowing His ways and His truth, and by acting in light of what He said to be true. So that's all the first decision-making tool, the Word. Next, point four, if you look on the inside of your handout, the decision-making tool of prayer. And just like we did earlier, let's start with some poor ways you might use prayer to make a decision. So don't pray for God to do something he forbids. Again, like, for example, asking God to make a dating relationship with a non-Christian successful. And don't ask for a sign. Some might call that the Fleece Method, right, going back to the account of Gideon in the Book of Judges. For example, Lord, if you want me to take this job in Nashville, make the headlines in the newspaper tomorrow about Tennessee. Or you could think of a lot of other ways you could do that, praying to the Lord. So what's wrong with that? Well, mainly, God never promises to answer requests like that. He's given us everything we need for life and godliness, he says in Peter, and scripture sufficient to make us complete and equipped for every good work, he says in Timothy. But what about Gideon and his fleece? Isn't Gideon in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews? Well, yes. But while he did exercise faith, If you read the account of Gideon's life in Judges, you cannot necessarily come away thinking his life is a good example for us. So in books of history, descriptive does not mean prescriptive. That's one way to put it. So it's fine to ask God to make your decision clear, but we need to remember that in no way does he promise that. It might seem like if you ask for a sign, that's an indication of even having more faith. But in actual fact, it's the opposite. And by the way, this was true in the account of Gideon, if you read that passage carefully. A lot of times we're afraid to make a hard decision. We struggle to trust God because things aren't clear or trust him around corners, as I remember one of my former pastors saying it. So instead we ask for a sign. But God promises to care for us in every situation, even when things aren't clear, like we'd like them to be. And his promises in his word are sufficient all the time. So we can trust him even as we make hard decisions. So that's how not to pray. How should we pray? Well, that's the exact question Jesus answers for his disciples in Matthew 6, a passage we all know very well. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, is what Jesus says in reply. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. So three things from this passage that should inform how we think about prayer in relation to guidance and decision making specifically. So first, a biblically informed prayer life will have as its reference God as father, the one who is fortress and refuge, a shield and protector, the one who made the universe is our father. So when it comes to praying in regards to decision making and guidance, you can know our perfect loving father will give you as his child everything that is good. What a comforting promise. Second, a biblically informed prayer life will place God's ultimate purposes in this world over and above our own desires. So he says, your kingdom come, your will be done. So in praying for God's ultimate purposes before our own, we recognize the absolute priority God's work takes over our own. And that places us in a better position to respond to trials as well, or difficult circumstances, to respond to that with patience, with trust and joy rather than frustration or fear or anger. And third, our prayer should recognize a daily dependence on God, daily dependence. Jesus says, give us this day our daily bread. Clearly alluding to the manna that came down from heaven in Exodus chapter 16, where God instructs the Israelites to only gather what they needed for that day, right? Otherwise the manna would rot. So what God intended to teach them was to come to him daily for all that they would need. So feel the spiritual sigh of relief that comes when you're facing a big decision. when you can rest in God's promise to care for you that today and every day, one day at a time. Finally, a great practice is to pick passages in the Bible that talk about your decision. So for example, again, if it's a work decision, you could look at a passage like Colossians 3 about slaves and masters and pray through that as you're working through the decision. Ask God to conform your desires to what you see in scripture. So that's the word and prayer. Next, point five, decision-making tool number three, godly counsel. So Proverbs 69 reads, the mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. And the second part of that verse, the Lord directs his steps, is a good summary of what we covered in that first point. We thought about what is God's will and his sovereign will over all things. But the first part of the verse, the mind of man plans his way, refers to thinking through these, how we use things like these decision-making tools that we're covering today. So we plan our ways and we use things like God's word and prayer and godly counsel. So here, too, there are wrong ways or bad ways to seek counsel. So first, you could be a selective counsel seeker who doesn't seek the counsel of anyone who might disagree with you. Maybe you view counsel as a check-in-the-box activity rather than something you really need. So we only talk with people who who see things the exact same way that you do. Proverbs 24, 26, though, says an honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. So find people who are more intent on giving you honest answers rather than just telling you what you want to hear. Also, number two, we can place too much faith in counsel. So if you ask Pastor Jeff a question on your way out of church and he gives you a 30-second answer, should you take that as solid gold and sort of build a big life decision just around that 30-second interchange? After all, he's our pastor, right? Well, I think Jeff would agree that that's not necessarily a good approach. And maybe 30 minutes with a good friend who really knows you well might be substantially better than a 30-second interaction with him after church. Or you could also even blame the decision that you're making on the counsel you proceed. So you might say, I talked things over with my pastor. I think it's best I break off our dating relationship. So don't throw your pastor or anyone else you got counsel from under the bus like that, just because they gave you their thoughts on the situation. Own your own decisions. So those are some bad ways to seek counsel, but what about some good ways to seek counsel? This is obviously a wise thing to do. I didn't write down how many Proverbs actually talk about how wise it is to seek counsel, but there's a lot. So just three of them briefly. Proverbs 12, 15 says, the way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. 15, 22 says, plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors, they succeed. in 1920 says listen to advice and accept instruction and in the end you will be wise. So here's some counsel on seeking counsel. First, who should you talk to? One of the biggest sort of things to think about when you're pursuing counsel. So here's just some categories of counselors who will be good for you. First is a person who's godly and wise. Someone who's walked with Christ a long time and has a long track record of faithfulness. Note, I said godly and wise, and the two don't always necessarily overlap. You're looking for someone who's a good decision maker, who has a track record of making decisions they'll be happy with when they stand before the Lord in the last day. And second is someone who knows the scriptures well, which should be a big overlap with that first and second category. But there are some wise and godly people who just aren't as adept at matching your situation with a specific chapter and verse in the Bible. So someone who knows their Bible well is going to be able to help you see what biblical principles might apply as you consider your situation. Like that example we thought about earlier, a gay marriage announcement lunch. Like how do you think, where do you go to in the word to think about something like that? And third is someone who knows you. So who knows you well enough that they don't need to rely on what you say to give advice? Incidentally, as great as biblical counselors and pastors are, this is one of their big limitations. The information they get about a situation is just from you, which means despite your best efforts, it's intensely biased. And their advice is only as good as the information that you have. And fourth is someone who knows your situation. So if you're considering a job transition, ideally, you could talk to someone who knows the job you're considering, or has even maybe made that same job switch that you're now thinking through. Those people are often better providing information than advice, but even so, they're helpful. Now ideally, all these people would be wrapped up in one amazing package, but often you're not gonna find that. So you probably want to talk to a few people in each category, especially if it's a really big decision. So seeking counsel often involves talking with quite a few people. And number two there, know your advisors first. So it's a shame when you realize there's no overlap between category three, people who know you, right, and the other categories we just thought about first. So don't let that happen to you. Make sure you're building relationships with wise, godly people over many years so that they can get to know you really well. That's good for you, it's good for them, and it's really good when you have a big decision to make. Can you name who those people are for you? And third, always be completely honest and transparent. Again, this seems obvious, but how often we don't do this? Why? Because it's hard, right? So talking honestly about what direction we're leaning in, not just painting a one-sided picture and hoping they'll agree with you, it is difficult. But talk about temptations you know you face. Talk about idols in your heart you know that you're pulled to. Talk about where you're getting the information you're basing your decision on. Talk about ways you've even sinned maybe that might affect your decision. And be specific. This is one of the hardest parts. Not just, I'm thinking of marrying this person. You should know we struggled a bit with boundaries, but being more specific like, Think of marrying this person, but it's important you know we fell into sin two weeks ago and had sex. What benefit is there for you to hide your sin? So those are the three main tools. Before we look at circumstances, feelings, and desires, one brief additional word about what goes wrong when instead of relying on God, we assume that God normally guides us in mystical or sensational ways. First, if you do this, you're taking what's clearly abnormal in scripture and assuming it's normal. God's normal guidance is through the wisdom he's given us, fed by his word, sanctified by prayer, and informed by counsel. In contrast, mysticism, a mystical view of God, makes him seem tricky and sly instead of loving and kind. So what good parent would make it hard for their kid to know what to do? And how much less so with our perfect father, God? Jim Neuheiser at IBCD said this. He said, some Christians try to pursue God's will in a way which resembles paganism. We sinfully want a level of knowledge, certainty, and control over our decisions beyond what God offers us. And we don't want to take responsibility for our decisions and their consequences." End quote. So what about circumstances as a decision-making tool? Looking at point six there. Does God use circumstances? So first let's think about metaphorical doors being opened or closed, and whether that's God's normal way of guiding us. Now, this is language we see in the Bible. If you look at Corinthians and Colossians, Paul talks about open doors for ministry a few times. And in Jesus' letter to the church in Philadelphia in Revelation 3, we also see that phrase. But I don't think a faithful interpretation of any of these texts will land us on a meaning anywhere close to how the average American Christian would use that language typically today. So we can also easily think of examples in scripture as well as modern life where, quote, open doors should not be pursued, like Jonah having an open door to take the next ship to Tarshish, but actually he was in direct disobedience to God, right? Or you could make the opposite mistake too. You could say, I'd planned to propose to Mary, but it rained both times I wanted to ask. I felt like God might be closing the door on our relationship. I think that'd be a smart way to make that decision. So if we take a mystical approach like this, assuming a larger significance on an event or a pattern of events, it quickly becomes nonsensical and unbiblical. The bottom line is if God opens the door for you to do something that you know is good and necessary, be thankful for the opportunity. But other than that, don't assume that the relative ease or difficulty of a new situation is God's way of telling you to do one thing or the other. So next, probably stating the obvious here at CFPC since we have lots of good teaching on this, but remember again, bad circumstances don't mean you've missed God's will. In other words, if things don't turn out like you hoped, that doesn't mean you've made a bad decision. So when Jesus went to the cross, the ultimate example, was that a bad decision? Clearly not. Did Paul make a bad decision to go to Rome, right, before he was martyred? Where on earth do we get this idea that following God should be daisies and roses? It's not in the Bible. Similarly, if you accept an impossible circumstance, that's not a sign of weak faith. For example, if you put your grandmother in hospice, it doesn't mean you don't have faith that God can still heal her. So in contrast, a wise way to look at our circumstances in our life is simply to ask, where has God placed me? And then ask, where am I positioned to serve others? So perhaps you need to simply take a moment and look down at your feet. Your feet are currently resting within the circle of God's will or his calling on your life. including important roles like mother, child, employee, students, single man, et cetera. So don't be distracted by thoughts of the future that you can't clearly discern, so distracted by thoughts of the future that you can't clearly discern how God's called you to serve with passion and joy where he has you right now. I would argue we're doing well when we see circumstances as the good acts of a sovereign God, like we already talked about. God's going to accomplish all his good purposes for this world, every last one of them. and no bad decision of yours, or anyone else's for that matter, is going to stop him. This is absolutely wonderful news, not only for life in general, eternal life, but even when it comes to making decisions. It means we can fully trust God's good and sovereign plan. You can't mess it up. So last point, point number seven there, what about feelings and desires as decision-making tools? So one of the most challenging aspects of decision-making is what to do with our feelings. What about those hunches, those subjective senses that God wants us to do something? Well, in general, thinking about our emotions, I think they can just as easily be a headwind as a tailwind, one or the other. But I think a good introduction to this topic is a little article that Mark Dever wrote a few years ago. And it talks about the danger of being a slave to what he called the bondage of quote-unquote guidance. And he said this, I'm gonna read two paragraphs. Quote, the way many Christians practice seeking God's will before they make a decision amounts to spiritual and emotional bondage. Christ has died to give us liberty and freedom. And he cites several passages for that. We can only know the truth about God's will by what his spirit reveals to us. He has revealed God's mind authoritatively in his word. We should give ourselves to study what he has revealed. Personal reading, meditation, sermons, friends, and books are all available to help us better understand God's revealed will. A subjective sense of leading, when we've asked for it, as in James 1.5, we ask for wisdom. And when God freely gives, that subjective sense is wonderful. The desire for such a subjective sense of leading, however, is too often in contemporary evangelical piety, binding our brothers and sisters in Christ, paralyzing them, from enjoying the good choices that God may provide, and causing them to wait wrongly before acting. Beware of the bondage of quote-unquote guidance, end quote. So to be direct, I think the answer to that first question on your handout, how do you know if an interprompting is from the Spirit, is you don't. And the second question, should you wait to act until you have inner peace, is no. And the third point, I think, is the overall principle. Your subjective senses can be wrong. Scripture is never wrong. So Christians get into trouble all the time when we sense God's leading us to something and then believe that impression is God's absolute, unmistakable direction for us. So one biblical counterpoint, by the way, to the inner peace language, and you could probably find a lot more if you looked harder, but if you look at how the apostle Paul arrived in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 2, 3, he says, I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling. Now that doesn't sound to me like Paul had a sense of inner peace about going to Corinth. Nor do I think he used that as a guide to which opportunities he pursued or not. So following Jesus can and often does lead us to places where we don't have peace, at least not the American version of it, or at least not in this life. Related, I think, how many times have you heard someone say to you, God told me to do something, whatever the thing was? What they meant by that was probably not literally I heard an audible voice or Jesus appeared to me in a vision and gave me clear instruction, but it's probably something more like I had a feeling during my quiet time that God was leading me this or that way. Well, again, feelings can be good. They're not all bad, but they're not reliable. So I would argue it'd be helpful for all of us to entirely get rid of this God told me language. Sometimes Christian leaders as well, right, they talk this way, they talk about leadings, hunches, and senses, as if they have this special inner conversation with God that allows them to have a supernatural foresight. Again, almost like a Christian version of horoscopes or crystal balls. How did you know to plant a church in that city? Well, God told me to, and so I obeyed. Now that may sound good, it may sound really pious, but I just don't think it's accurate or helpful. So finally, related to our feelings are our desires. And when you think about it, our feelings tell us what we desire. Now, on the one hand, our desires can reveal where our hearts are attached to something other than God, which is idolatry. So think of James 4, where our desires come from spiritual adultery, when we want something more than we want God. So learn to read your heart through the lens of your desires and confess that as sin and correct for it in the decisions you make. Pardon me, on the other hand, maturity in Christ doesn't necessarily mean ignoring your feelings either. Psalm 37, four means something. It says, delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. I think the most important meaning of this verse is our desires actually change as we delight ourselves in the Lord, but also remember that in God's kindness, he often gives us a lot of latitude regarding what to do in life. And often being happy in him can simply involve doing what we want. So should you marry Godly Man Joe or Godly Man Tim? Well, assuming you've gone to the Word, prayer, and sought counsel, it's probably as simple as, who do you want to marry? Now, you might be surprised to consider that big decisions basically come down to what you want to do, but I think this is where poor concepts of guidance can get in our way. Again, marriage is a great example, especially since it's probably the biggest decision any of us might make in our life. So if you've done your homework, he's a mature Christian, you love being in the same church, You seem to communicate well together, you love being with him. You might still say, but how do I know he's the capital O1 that God has for me? Well, 1 Corinthians 7 says, you can marry anyone you wish so long as you marry the Lord. So like so much of the Christian life, we have so much freedom. Finally, if you're hesitant by nature, you might need to learn to make decisions even when you're uncomfortable or in Christian use, not at peace, right? But conversely, if you're rash by nature, you might need to learn to more carefully subject your desires to some of these tools we've been talking about, the word, prayer, counsel from others, before you act on them. And then, again, lastly, just closing out the time, thinking about our desires, the more we want what Jesus wants in our life, the more trustworthy our desires will be. So as we conclude, I've tried to give a very broad overview of this topic, tried to cover a lot of ground very quickly, but there are a lot of additional resources if you'd like to think more about this. And on the back of your handout, I put three books you could read and three audio resources to listen to, including two from my very own pastor, one including one sermon he just preached this spring. So I have a copy of one of the books here with me, and if you want to borrow it or keep it, just see me afterwards. It's called Just Do Something by Kevin Young. I've read it, recommend it. It's short and faithful. He also happens to be very funny. So to conclude, though, and summarize what we've talked about today, starting with our decision-making tools, again, first, we always go to God's word. And we have to understand God's word in context. We have to meditate on it and seek to apply it in our specific situations. Second, we use prayer. We call daily upon God, our Father, to do his will and use us to glorify him in all that we do. And we ask all things in accordance with what he's revealed in his word. And finally, we use counsel to help us consider the various choices we may have, and we trust that as we plan wisely, God will guide sovereignly. So as you do this, remember, never assume a strong feeling or desire is necessarily God's leading, or that you should act only where you, quote, feel peace. Instead, have the humility to recognize your feelings and desires can be wrong, and be skeptical of them. Pray for all of us that God would orient our desires to his desires. But also don't forget God gives us great freedom within the boundaries of his word to do what we want in many situations. So God's sovereignty is the bedrock of our trust for all things, but including in decision making, it gives us much rest and peace. God's sovereign over circumstances, over the past and the future. He's sovereign over our decisions and even our very hearts. So we care about the decisions we make, not because we think a bad decision will somehow remove us from God's goodwill or thwart his purposes somehow, but because we want to be responsible. We want to be responsible because that's what it looks like to be a faithful steward, and faithfulness brings glory to him. So when you have a hard decision to make, do your best to make it well in a way that pleases God, then sit back and relax in the unwavering, unstoppable, uncompromising power of your good and sovereign God to work out all things according to the counsel of his will. And that is restful and wise decision making. So let's close in prayer. God, this is a lot to think about. And I know many different decisions that we are facing now or will face or have faced in our life. We do want to glorify you in all those decisions. We also want to focus most clearly on what's most important, what you have clearly revealed in your word. including all the commands, all the principles to live our lives. If I want to live lives of wisdom, help us to do that and help us to just think biblically and well with the help of others about how to make good small and big decisions in our lives. And we pray this in Jesus name for his sake. Amen.