Decision Making

1. Decision Making And the Will of God

2. Ways We Currently Make Decisions • Feelings “Led by the Spirit” • Peace • Open and Closed Doors • Setting Out a Fleece • Confirmations

3. Feelings • No passage I know of in Scripture tells us to get God’s guidance from our feelings • Feelings can be • Misleading, controlling or dangerous • A lot of times what is good and we know we should do we do not feel like doing

4. Remember • Supernatural direction is not common • 70 instances in the book of Acts where a disciple made an important decision apart from supernatural direction… based on wisdom • vs. 14 times when there was (over 30 years of time) (5 are visions, 3 times are an angel, 4 times the Spirit speaks (literally) , 1 is prophecy, 1 is voice of Jesus)

5. Peace • Philippians 4:6-7 • 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

6. Peace • Problems with Peace • In decisions emotional distress is normal • Sometimes doing the right thing is unsettling • Sometimes you may have a peace about doing something wrong (Mormons, dating unbeliever) • We will have a peace every time we think we have made a good decision (regardless if it actually is)

7. Open and Closed Doors 1 Cor 16:5-9 • 5 After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you — for I will be going through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

8. Paul Did Not Go Through All Doors??? 2 Cor 2:12-13 12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.

9. Paul Did Not Go Through All Doors??? Acts 16:25-30 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!" 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

10. What Do We Make of This? • God opened a door for Paul? • Paul did not go through it… • So, Paul sinned, did not obey God • Or…

11. What Do We Make of This? • Paul understood “open doors” to be opportunities from the Lord and not commands

12. Gideon’s Fleece Judg 6:1-6 • 6 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.

13. Gideon’s Fleece • 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

14. Gideon’s Fleece Judg 6:12-22 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." 13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." 14 The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" 15 "But Lord, a" Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

15. Gideon’s Fleece 16 The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together." 17 Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you." And the Lord said, "I will wait until you return." 19 Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah b of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

16. Gideon’s Fleece 20 The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so. 21 With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!"

17. Gideon’s Fleece Judg 6:36-40 36 Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— 37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew — a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

18. Gideon’s Fleece Judg 7:13-14 13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed." 14 His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."

19. Gideon’s Fleece • What is important and characteristic about what Gideon asked God to do? • What kind of “sign” was it?

20. Confirmations • Give examples that you have heard • Sometimes it boarders on superstition • Is it from God or from Satan?

21. Confirmations • CAN God do/use any of these things we are studying? • “Confirmation” is only mentioned 4 times in regard to decision making • Matthew 18:15-16, 2 Cor. 13:1-2, 1 Tim. 5:19-20, Hebrews 10:28 • All of them are referencing back to 2 OT verses

22. Confirmations Deut 19:15 15 One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Deut 17:6 On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. What are these verses talking about?

23. So What is God’s Will?? • Is God’s will always accomplished?

24. So What is God’s Will?? • Is God’s will always accomplished?

25. So What is God’s Will?? • Different types of Will • Sovereign Will • Moral/Permissible Will • Individual/Specific Will • HOW MANY CAN WE FIND IN THE BIBLE?

26. Which Kind of Will is It? 2 Peter 3:9 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. NKJV

27. Which Kind of Will is It? • Dan 4:34-35 • His dominion is an eternal dominion; • his kingdom endures from generation to generation. • 35 All the peoples of the earth • are regarded as nothing. • He does as he pleases • with the powers of heaven • and the peoples of the earth. • No one can hold back his hand • or say to him: "What have you done?" • NIV

28. Which Kind of Will is It? Eph 5:17-18 • Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. • 1 Thess 4:3-7 • 3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body a in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. • 1 Thess 5:16-18 • 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

29. Which Kind of Will is It? Matt 16:27 • 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.

30. Understanding the Wills • Sovereign • Hidden, secret, understand in hindsight or revealed in Scripture • Moral/Permissible • Can be resisted • Clear in Scripture • Individual/Specific- Cannot find in Bible?

31. Moral/Permissible Will Is? • Saved (2 Peter 3:9) • Spirit-filled (Eph. 5:19-20) • Sanctified (1 Thes. 4:3-7) • Submissive (1 Peter 2:3-15, Gov.)

32. Conclusion • The Bible does not say to wait for “confirmations” before acting • God’s will for us is that we become HOLY, live doing what is right • We want more specific direction but we have not obeyed what he has already given us! • The Lord is more concerned with our holiness than happiness

33. How do we make Biblical decisions in our every day life? • God does not decide for me… but like a good father he teaches me how to make good decisions • This does not mean don’t pray (will cover next week), or God is not involved

34. Wisdom Model

35. What is God’s Moral Will • The things in Scripture that are commanded or prohibited • A picture of TOTAL OBEDIENCE • Not only actions but also motives and intentions

36. Moral Will • 1 Tim. 4:13 “Until I come, give attention to public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.” • 2 Tim. 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.”

37. Moral Will • Ps. 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” • Ps. 119:11 “Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against thee.” • Avoid all sin (Ex. 20)

38. Example of Using Moral Will • God should I marry this person??? • What does God’s word say are the rules about marriage? • Must be a Christian (2 Cor. 6:14) • Member of opposite sex (Rom. 1, Matt. 19:4-6) • Must not already be married (Gen. 2:24) • Can remarry if properly divorced or widowed (1 Cor. 7)

39. Decisions According to Moral Will • God should I… • take this job? • go to UCLA to make my parents mad because they like USC? • hang out with my school friends Friday night? • should I play football this next year in school?

40. Wisdom Model

41. Wisdom • Right use of knowledge • Where do we get knowledge? • We see all the alternatives and all the consequences so we don’t do something foolish

42. Wisdom • Wisdom helps us make good decisions • Prov. 2:9 “Then you will discern righteousness, justice, and equity and every good course.” • Eph. 5:15 “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”

43. Wisdom • Marriage Example: • Marrying a nag is not a sin (moral will) it’s just stupid • Prov. 21:9 “It is better to live in a corner of a roof, than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” • Prov. 27:15 “A constant dripping on a day of steady rain and a contentious woman are alike.”

44. Wisdom • Don’t marry for beauty and ignore character • Prov. 11:22 “As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.” • Message says, “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful face on an empty head.”

45. Wisdom • Husband’s should lead the household (Eph. 5:22-33) • Is he a leader? • Do you respect him? • Can you follow him?

46. Wisdom • Should I go to the party Friday night? • Should I play another year of sports? • Others…

47. What if we lack Knowledge or Wisdom? • We can get these from • The Bible • Experience • Other people (advice, conversation, teaching)

48. Wisdom Model

49. Personal Desires • Marriage 1 Cor. 7:40 “In my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is.” • 2 Cor. 9:7 “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

50. How Then Shall We Pray… James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.