Decision Making and the Will of God

I'd like you to look at Romans chapter 1 will do and I'll show it to you in just a moment but I'm going to share with you about an area that when I was in Campus Crusade in college we would have Christmas conferences with a couple of thousand college students and they would have breakout sessions of small groups and the most attended small groups were in the area of whenever you did anything on evolution college students wanted to hear about it whenever you did anything on love sex and marriage college students want to know about it whenever you did anything on how to know God's will for your life we wanted to know about it and we would go to that small group but the other one that would always pack out was decision making and the will of God what happens when you have to make not right or wrong decisions because we know that but when you have to make right or left decisions should I go for my masters or should I go ahead and get a job should I go for a doctorate should I in this degree field should I get a teaching certificate what's your degree field history can you eat your books then you better get a you know should I marry this person a Christian woman I love her she's all the things that but is it God's will should we move from here to another place because there's a step up in the company but our Christian family is here my parents are here what should we do obviously not I just give you a guidance right there but is life a labyrinth I mean a bunch of dis up is it when you have to make a right or a left decision and there's no word so to speak from God are you held culpable for that decision that you have no way of knowing and if you make a wrong decision like a labyrinth have you thrown off all decisions after this what happens if one person marries the person they shouldn't marry what about the guy that was supposed to marry the person they do marry that they should have you have just calls the entire universe morally to break down some saying so is life a labyrinth that you have to guess is it the woman or the tiger coming out of this door which is it well this is a message and whenever I would do this at a Campus Crusade conference I always or any young person comes you are guaranteed of a bunch of people it's just called decision-making and the will of God let me begin with this just talking theoretically when you talk about how do you know God's will I always say now that is a diamond with a different facet which facet he was speaking of there is a de creative will of God or a sovereign will and it's simply the things that happen in time and in space all things work together for good he works all things after the counsel of his will and so the sovereign will of God if it occurred it may not be pleasing it may not be good but in the ultimate out working of God's decree there's not a sparrow that falls to the ground outside of his knowledge not a hair that comes from your head and so God is always in charge and so you don't make choices on the sovereign will of God it is simply you choose to trust it or not because it's happening and so what God has done he has not left out any one thing he has not on our left done any one thing you don't add to it you don't take away Ecclesiastes says it's a perfect unit it may not be the best of all possible worlds but it's the best of all possible worlds on the way to the best of all possible rejoice how often always this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus trusting and so that's the sovereign will of God that I am NOT at the mercy of life things don't happen to me and I say God I'm hurting and he says what happened you're kidding there's no oops in your Bible all right there's no my bad in your Bible God is sovereign what was the worst event of all time the crucifixion and killing of the incarnation of God what was the greatest event of all time the Incarnation killing of the very Son of God so that is the sovereignty of God number two there is what's called the revealed will of God and this is the Bible it is his moral wills in black and white I don't have to pray about it should I marry this non-christian no do I need to pray about it no need to pray but God has told you be not unequally yoked should I you know I'm tired of my mate should I go get me another I can help you right there no you know God has told us that you don't do it okay granted you got a you know a mate that's not throwing hammers at you or something like that you know you don't do that so should I steal should I lie you don't do that so and this is God's revealed will it is the issue of right and wrong this you don't have to trust it you obey it simply you trust and you obey it as you do your panel on your airplane that it won't lie to you you don't have to go by your emotions and by your vertigo you go with what the panel says this is where I am in relationship to the land and everything else around me this is where I am this is my my angle in the air this is my level I can trust it and so in the will of God this is the one that will get you in trouble is when you make a very like Samson you don't take a Canaanite to be your wife and Kanan went up to Timna and saw a woman and said to her parents get this Philistine for me she looks good to me and the father said is there not a woman among our people that you cannot marry that's the Word of God and the counsel of a parent and Samson responded with the brilliant get her for me she looks good nothing's changed all right and so incidentally did he get corrected there's nothing like eyes that wander like getting them poked out with a red-hot poker if your feet wander we'll just tie you to a beam and not let you escape and if you've got arrogant pride we will have all the Philistines laugh at you but you are shorn so that can fix you and so that's what gets you in trouble is wandering outside the revealed will of God the secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him be obedient but then there is the non moral will of God should I get my masters or should I go to work this beautiful woman this handsome young man that I love and he's kind and he's gentle and he's all these things should I marry him should I take this job or that job should I move to wherever the house is 1,100 feet bigger but it's going to cost me this much more I have it I'm able to do it should I do it should I move to this place when I've got my mother and father back here and someday I'm left to take care of them what should I do right or left should I go to SMU should I go to rice should I are you with me what should I do on these and this is what the quandary is what am I responsible to God for if life isn't a labyrinth of decisions that I have to make the right decision on do I go the other way and is it is God a deistic deity you know what I mean by that deism is a belief where God is the absentee landlord and he doesn't care he's not involved in your life anymore he's got better things to do so should I be a deist and do what I want to do and know that God doesn't care can God still direct me in decisions that I have to make so as far as decision making and the will of God how should I see it and what's the apparatus if I can know it by which I can know it we all have to make these decisions at times well I hate lists but I'm going to give you nine things all right you just go down the list and make note about decision-making number one we don't have to discover a revealed will and a non revealed area there is a will of God but I'm not responsible to get a word from the outside I don't have to hear a voice if I'm going to find the revealed will of God in my choice between TCU and SMU between a masters and a job right now how will I know it what apparatus do I have what organ do I have in me that can tune in to what I can't normally know then what method do I use and what's more in the method that I use that are and me how do I know it's trustworthy you got a feeling of what you need to do your feelings are always right it may be pizza you had last night that you're having some kind of feeling and so how do you know it's true what's the what's the way that we find the will of God be honest how many of you have done this should I move or should I take a job here I just hit Jeremiah 21st be the man who brought the news to my father saying a baby boy has been born to you crisis just scary what do you do in this case do another one the word came from the refugees the city has fallen and has been taken I better get out of Denton thank you Jesus be honest don't laugh at me you've done it hadn't yet sure you have or do I do any motion I feel this way the Bible says those who are led by the Spirit are children of God the leading of the Spirit is speaking about morality not knowledge the Spirit leads me and to love kindness and righteousness when I go against it there is a smiting of my conscience but it's spirit doesn't leave me in the sense of tcu or smu yes God now we'd like that but it doesn't work that way is there a voice do I hear a voice I hear a lot of the guys on TV you know talk about God spoke to me I'll be real honest with you I'm 63 been a Christian since I was 21 I've never heard an audible voice I can God do that sure he can even bless the flip if he wants to but what's the trick on the flip just keep flipping until you finally get the one you want what's the old joke about the guy wondered what was God's will and said Judas went there for and hung himself and flipped it again and said what you do do quickly so can I have a voice speak to me or maybe someone comes up and just says something hey you better move that truck move did you say move that's what I've been praying about or maybe you use the Bible like a receiving unit and you take a verse out of context and make it say what you wanted to say so there's a lot of methods of the ever use the old fleece deal if the light changes I will buy that Dodge Charger with a Hemi I've had two of them now we use all kind of methods can God speak and God use someone in my life can God give me a certain yes it can but you don't have to find it not necessarily we are told in the Bible to be wise we're not told to be mystic but we're told to be wise as a matter of fact whenever the book of Deuteronomy Book of Leviticus forbid you of using divination sorcery soothsaying one that summons up familiar spirits you know what those all have to do with not morality but guidance the pagan would always matter of fact in the Book of Ezekiel it talks about those that consult the liver they would take an animal and kill it open up the liver cut it in half and look for the spots and it would tell you like tea leaves like tarot cards like that's how they would use it and so there's always something in man astrology that we want some kind of guidance man isn't concerned historically with what's only but he is concerned about what is prosperous you dig that's the nature of man and God said I'm going to give you my revealed will and holiness now as far as right and left issues don't do this and try to use the hoot of an owl to guide you and try to use the spots on the liver to guide you or trying to summon up a dead guy in a seance that'll guide you of trying to talk to a spirit we're not going to do that you're going to be wise but I'm not going to let you be mystic because it's dangerous amen when you start listening to stuff we're not equipped the metaphysical is like a space you'd better be tethered to the mothership because once you cut the tether you have no means of navigation and you will be sucked into the black hole so stay tethered God doesn't ask you to be mystic over whether it's tasty you are SMU he tells you to be holy to be wise and then to trust you amen so don't worry you're not responsible to find revealed answers in unrevealed areas again can God do it if he is pleased yes but that's something that he initiates not you how do you know if he initiates it you will be blind for three days by the glory that appears to you there'll be no doubt that it's God number two men biblically are never guilty for right and left decisions David said I want to build the temple Samuel said God is with you and all that you do go for it did David build the temple God said no Solomon will do it did David apologize he didn't it's okay Paul as I'll show you in a minute in Romans 1 he said for often I have planned to come to you and have been prevented thus far did Paul apologize because God wouldn't let him go now Paul in acts 14 tried to go to two places and the Lord wouldn't let him he didn't apologize he just went farther he went to Troas and there he had a revelation from God come over to Macedonia Paul didn't apologize he just went and so we're not culpable nor do we have to wait for what we think is a revealed decision and that brings us to number three we are given freedom to act it's part of being in the image of God God has intellect we have a finite intellect God has emotion we have a sullied emotion from the fall but an emotion still God obviously has a sense of right and wrong we have a conscience but God also is free to choose and he makes man in His image are we sovereign be careful are we sovereign we're not but do we have a sense of freedom yes we do all operating within the sovereignty of God and so we are free to act it's part of being human it's part of the privilege of being in the image of God it pleases him to develop a child you don't give him every answer and make every choice for him Christian parents amen you do early on when they're little because you let them choose it would be the end of civilization as we know it okay but after you give them instruction and guidance and your presence to help them they have to make decisions it's part of their deepening as part of their maturity Adam cultivate the gardens to do it multiply and subdue the earth bring forth fruit how just do it I'll walk with you in the cool of the day just do it first Corinthians seven be married to whomever you wish only in the Lord are they believers are they walking with God Miriam how do I know it's a little God Mary all right just Miriam if if all things are in place don't worry about it name the animals and whatever he named them that it was so to make a child strong you give him guidance early on and then you let him choose sometimes does he have to choose wrong to develop him God lets us choose do we want him to seek our counsel yeah seek our help yes but nonetheless the child has to grow up and so God lets us choose that's the way he makes a glorifying strong person that seeks his guidance seeks his Providence number four before you make a choice you make sure that it's not violating something that it really is a right or left decision and then you listen to your heart doesn't that sound unspiritual but it's true you listen to your heart what is your longing Paul said often I've longed to come to you why Paul because they're Christians in a key place that need grounding Paul says I want to go there that's a good longing Nehemiah building the wall around Israel or Jerusalem he said I told no one what God had put upon my heart to do I want to do this God has burdened me to do this William Carey the Englishman that began the modern missions movement of going out of your country as the world back in the 17 1800 s got smaller and we started realizing about India and China and Japan and the new world in all of these places and this cobbler William Carey the shoemaker couldn't get China and India off his heart David Livingstone couldn't get Africa off his art CT stud couldn't get China off of his heart he was burdened Ct stud graduated from Cambridge and had great inheritance and he gave it up because he had to he was burdened for the gospel that was his heart so I was offered a job when I was a Phil student/teacher such a phenomenal teacher was I that they offered me a job as a coach and a teacher and I said his name was max goldsmith dear fellow just passed away the last few months he said we'd like to offer you this job and I was standing in the hall said nope can't do it he said do you know what you're going to do I said nope but I know I know what I have to do I don't know how but I had gotten the taste of the ministry and this was not for everybody but it's where God wanted me and I knew that's what I had to do I had to go for the big money all right yeah hey I supposed to a teacher where you're rolling in the dough and so you listen to your heart when I went to Dallas seminary you know why I went because I had to I got converted 1972 it was 1977 I had let a grad of Christ named Bob Peters he was a 3.9 pre-med I was a 1.9 visit and I taught him all that I knew but after a while Bob knew as much or more than I did then he could learn it quicker and he and I were out jogging one day over that overpass that goes over Bonnie Brae out to the airport and I can show you the spot where I was jogging with him and it just hit me I'm an idiot I don't know anything because I had never really been discipled by anybody I just kind of went on my own and there was a lot of stuff that I just didn't know and it just struck me I need to learn Dallas seminary and I drove the next stage racing I went down there and I went in I said I need to go to this here seminary how do you do it it was a load of dough it cost $39 a semester are you paying change and they gave me the things to fill out I went out on the curb I didn't pray about it I said God I'm going because I can't imagine you want me to stay illiterate and so I said what do I fill out what do I need you need a reference form send it to my mother I'm going we don't know if we want to let you in because you want to do the MA BS and we want to do the th him I said I'm already in ministry I just want to learn Bible and I got in was it should I had an offer from First Baptist Dallas a church in Abilene there was one of the biggest Methodist College works this is when I had to leave the church I was that or this place meeting at the optimist gym called Denton Bible and I got with Mel Sumrall back there who was rolling the dough at $600 a month and he and I so do I go to when the biggest Protestant churches in Western civilization or one of the largest Methodist College churches in Texas or do I go to the church meeting to the dance hall where you had to take the urinals and put them back on the bathroom because the karate club had kicked him off the Methodists didn't line up with me theologically the First Baptist could get anyone a fifty thousand guys these guys when I met with Mel we met it at Denny's you back caramel you remember that all right and our evangelism discipleship sending guys on me and Mel we went just like this I said that's it here's my heart see and I don't think I'm anything especially I guess way God deals with a lot of us so you listen to your heart okay David I live in a house of cedar God lives in a house of what is it skins the tabernacle that ain't right Samuel I'm going to build God house God said thank you know you're a good guy but you're not the best guy you get the stuff all together I'll let him build it you don't apologize best counsel ever got when I was a young guy in Campus Crusade said God never steers a parked car you just go and let God lead you God's people never have a problem with guidance what they have a problem with is inertia initial inertia getting off the dime that's the problem go make disciples go where just go I'll lead you the secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him and so listen to your heart your burden what does your passion say number five as you listen to your passion ask other sane older people the the was it say the gray head is found in the way of righteousness because the gray head has been beat up so many times and they've learned you can't do this of an abundance of counselors there's victory if you feel like doing it ask old wiser men and women I'm married Teresa I was dating her pretty sharp girl for four years and a couple of wise old fellows said be careful that girl doesn't have your ambitions we've been dating for years I got converted I had and she was a Baptist girl that got converted longer than I did she was out of the will of God if she would have been taking me all right but I got burden to do this stuff she wasn't where I was but we were tight and a couple of old guys Mel Ned Wilson our Pan Am pilot a guy named Jim Italia you better be careful she's a great girl for somebody else but she doesn't have the longing you had so I waited Campus Crusade touch football girl named Teresa Newman ran across the middle sprained her anchor Franco fell at my feet the Williger it's no problem but I knew this girl's going where I'm going it was my heart so God will direct you just listen to your heart number oh yeah I'm not on abundance of counselors yeah I'm behind an abundance of counselors kid calls me last week graduate of my program discipled him gonna go to seminary accepted at Dallas seminary ready to go he calls me I got an offer to stay up where I am and to teach guys and a homeless unit for a couple of years should I put it off Dallas seminary and work with these guys now I said do you want a career of teaching homeless guys he said no I'm not calling that area what do you want to do I want to Pastor you got to get your THM to do that in Dallas seminary you got to get your ticket that's the way it is know if God called you to do it go to Dallas seminary and I said look you're a talented kid a sharp kid a friendly kid everybody's going to want you on their program go with your heart God wants you to do this do it am i brilliant or what I help get the gifts and guidance just cause I've been there before Mel am i brilliant timings everything mell dirty old man a girl comes into my office a while back I want to go I'm passionate to do this kind of ministry I want to do it and I want to do it for the rest of my life professionally in churches and I'd like to go to seminary great idea now where you're women now that you've decided none quite yet have you worked in this particular group that we have dealing with this subject just start and I said seminary may be the answer for you not yet if you're going to do an 8 and 9 you got to be faithful in a five and six you got to earn the right you go be the girl everybody's talking about in this area you be the girl that everybody is saying this girl really stepped in for me then we'll go legalize you and let you do it as a career but you got to show the giftedness right here that's not that brilliant it's just somebody's been there a guy calls me a buddy of mine from seminary he just got his THM and he's got a call from the particular pair of church group to work on as a state director should I do it what's your gift theology teaching you know what this job description is organization and raising money is that what you like to do organize breakfast to bring in other guys to teach and to get the money to fund it and to be behind the scenes or do you want to be a guy that teaches that's my gift teaching let somebody else do this you're going to get frustrated then you're going to get fired you do this am i brilliant now I'm just old okay right now all right I knew he was there number six oh here's another one you got time you got time listen to this a guy calls me this happens I got this girl and man we're tight and we're looking to get married great where's she from Highland Park really where are you from Lincoln Park that's good now sit down what her daddy do for a living he was a trial lawyer your daddy's a welder he lives in 6000 square feet all right this where you live over by the culvert okay can she live your life because this is the job you want to do you're gonna make between 30 and about 80 maybe that's fine is that okay with her and my brilliant I'm brilliant he never been there I've been there I've worked with guys that had a kind of a social mist match and that's okay as long as both eyes are open going in should they get married maybe but they better scope that out I need to have a conversation with her see am i brilliant no I'm just gray headed and I've been there I've seen it I could tell you stories number six don't be hasty check your motive why do you want to do this if you have to make a decision don't he that is hasty with his feet heirs number seven you have to be in God's moral light being in the way the Lord led me Samuel to David the Lord is with you in all that you do go ahead walk before me God said Abraham and I will establish my covenant you can't know the things that you can't know when you're not faithful to the things you ought to be faithful to the secret of the Lord Charles read to you Psalm 25 is for those who fear Him I have never had a real problem and I know a great many of you never had a problem with divine guidance if I'm in the word confessing my sin and seeking to be obedient with my wife with relationships with all of life then God is going to lead me even if and there will be Providence even if he stops me God will always guide me guidance biblically is not a real problem the problem is moral obedience and so when I see a guy or a girl that they love the Lord they walk in his word they're faithful to him and they have to make a decision let's look at them TCU or rice which is it which do you like most rice is in Houston I hate mosquitoes go to TCU then I love this girl she's committed to what I'm committed to she's sweet and kind all this kind of stuff is it the will of God marry her marry her just show up at the church with a tie I'll take care of it all right Mary er don't you you can't find a voice outside of you guiding you go ahead and marry her and trust God should I get my masters or go into this teaching field now where's your heart are you good at it are you tired of Education for a while it to take the job take the job is there a professor that you just love right now you're not sure that you can get him later on yeah get the master's either way you're not going to get punished can God still guide you sure he can guide you you just go number eight pray for divine providence the steps of a manner ordained by God commit your ways to the Lord he will direct your paths we tried seven times to get property for Denton Bible to meet on seven times it failed one time a church on campus was going to sell us their building that we could have paid for and it was a copious building you could have seen it 150 people in it and at the time we were about 140 and we were going to buy this building and it sounded good to us they got ready to vote the church did they were going to move other place should they sell the building to us didn't Bible Church right there on campus or should they sell it to a fraternity all right so they were going to make this decision and we knew it was going to go with us they got ready to vote and just before they voted the head deacons wife fell over did right there in the meeting which always puts an inhibition to your meeting and the postponement came back a couple of weeks later and decided for some reason not to sell it at all so then out of nowhere we kept praying about it land on 380 open that had not have been listed on real estate deals and we were able to get it and all of a sudden a guy came out of the blue and said I'll give you $25,000 right now and then this mutt getting pay off interest-free and it worked out perfect so we just went and let God lead us pray for Providence and then ninth Lee once you have prayed about it you've checked your motive you've gotten wise men around you then act and do what you want and thank God for it and don't worry about it and let God guide you be married to whom you want even are only in the Lord just go oh y'all with me just here recently a couple came to me they had a parent died inheritance going to be broken up two kids split it you to you the parent that last one that died wanted this particular gentleman to have something special there was a special place that he liked on the property I'm going to give it to you you know what the old saying is where there's a will there's a relative well here came the other sibling alright and there was collision he came to me I can just go ahead and sell the stuff split it down the middle and everybody be happy no lawyers fees no ulcers no headaches but he said it's going to stick in my craw because mama wanted me to have that for a special reason so Swami Tommy what do I do I said now it's not you can't make a bad decision here you're it's you're in a win-win you can either go with I'm going to stand up for what mama want to do and honor her now you got to be willing to lose a sibling or you can just blow it off and say let's just let it ride and keep everything in here's what you do either way can be okay there's some times that you have law to prevent injustice so is this I said you think about it for the next 20 years as you look in the mirror is this going to eat you up that your mama wanted this and you said no after she was dead is that going to bother you or is it going to bother you not having this sibling around you wouldn't bother me but you make the call or do you feel like you need to keep peace but will it will let's cause you a problem that you didn't carry out a mother's will which way is it he said how do I know I said go take a drive go to Crum take a pilgrimage and just take a drive out there and you just think and you think 10 years you know do I have the land or do I just go with a lack of headaches and make the decision you can't make a wrong one there's not right or wrong here you just make the call and before you leave let's hold hands and pray and let's ask God to burden you and let's ask God to do some providential things that maybe can give you guidance can God ever do that yeah let's just pray that God would give you guidance by Providence and then let's make the call and make it with confidence should I marry this girl deleverage she love you you theologically spiritually socially do you all have a1 nests merrier marry her he that finds a wife finds a good thing and receives blessing from the Lord merrier is it the will of God may I say in all biblical honesty who cares do what God has given you that privilege as a son go marry her are you with me the secret of the Lord is for those who fear him guidance is not a problem in the body it's too simplistic the problem is worldliness and disobedience pray with me Heavenly Father I thank you that you give us this freedom I thank you that you have promised to be there with us and our decisions and thank you that we don't have to be the Sorcerer's Apprentice that we don't have to get emanations and vibrations and transfigurations and all of these different voices from beyond that we have to trust that we can simply walk in the light of your word and have the delight of your letting us live our lives knowing that you will guide us and now a very complex thing becomes a very simplistic thing we thank you that unlike the bails you do not ask us to be sorcerers or astrologers you don't ask us to consult the liver you don't ask us to take the tarot cards you don't ask us to look to the planets you don't call us to call up familiar spirits you don't ask us to use divination or sooth sing and thus try to be something that we're not you don't ask us to get in Satan's backyard to figure out God's best that we simply walk in the light of your word take wise counsel submit it to you and deepen and grow and become wise in life thank you and I pray Lord if there are some here that have to make the decision on the biggest decision that God hath commanded men everywhere to repent let them make that decision to obey you and to be sprinkled with the blood of Christ and thus to have the pleasure now of being in the very body of Christ and your headship over them for the rest of their lives surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever amen

Channel: Denton Bible Media Ministry

Views: 47,309

Rating: 4.8390093 out of 5

Keywords: Denton Bible Church, Tommy Nelson, Sermon, Song of Solomon, Church, Pastor, Denton, Bible, Denton Bible Media, Media Ministry, 1627, 08/10/2014, Psalm 25: 12-15

Id: YgFEK86Kfck

Length: 47min 2sec (2822 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 13 2014