Discerning God's Will for Action

Here is the outline of a presentation I gave February 20 to a leadership development group of pastors in Western New York.
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Discernment: To Go or Stay

1. Two Personalities/Biases I've seen:

• Wait, don't act until the Lord tells you what to do. 
• Move forward and the Lord will stop you if you go in the wrong direction.

Scriptures to support both:

• "Wait on the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage. Wait, I say, on the Lord." Ps 27:14
• "You will hear a voice behind you when you turn to the right or the left" (Isa 30:21)

One instance when we are probably hearing God is when we are impressed in a different direction than our natural tendencies.

2. I shared my process in coming to Houghton.

• I had an impression of a change coming. It was both a push and a pull.
• Outside factors included an empty nest, a sense that I was not as aligned with the direction of my situation as I used to be.
• Inside was a sense that I either needed to return to teaching or move into more advanced leadership.
• Doors opened.
• There were a striking number of benefits to walking through the door.
• I had an unusual peace about it.

3. There is not one answer for every situation.

• Sometimes we have to wait because there is nothing we can do but pray. (Of course we should always be praying. We should always sit with a choice in silence before the Lord.)
• Sometimes God wants us to wait on him when we could act but it is not his will.
• Sometimes God makes it clear what we are to do and when we are to do it.
• Sometimes we need to step out in faith without knowing for sure where we are going.

4. Impressions by Martin Wells Knapp

• Scripture - "Impressions from above are always in harmony with the teachings of the Word."
• conscience - Does the impression cohere with our core Christian values (love God, love neighbor)? (I have modified Knapp here)
• providence - "If a leading is of God, the way will always open for it."
• reason - God's leading usually makes sense.

5. An impression can begin with an outside push or a pull.

• Your situation can get rough (a push).
• Your situation can change in a way that requires choices.
• A door can open and a new possibility present itself (a pull).
• There's a time to stick it out. There is a time to shake the dust off your feet.
• There can also be a time when you are ready to continue, but your influence is spent. You may want to stay but it would benefit the situation for someone else to take over.
• There's a time to step out in faith. There's a time to wait for a door to open.

6. An impression can begin with something inside.

• A "holy discontent" (but beware a personality always looking for greener grass)
• A person can have a sense of release or a sense of ongoing burden.
• God often gives us choices, gives us a say in what to choose. There isn't always just one will of God.
• God interacts with our choices. He sometimes "changes his mind about judgment" (Jonah). He gives Hezekiah an extra 15 years. Sometimes he turns toward the negative (Saul, destruction of Jerusalem). 

7. Making decisions

• An impression - peace? discontent? excitement? a possible word from the Lord?
• What does Scripture and my conscience say? 
• What doors are open and closed?
• What are the pros and cons (reason)? Does it make sense?
• What do others say, whose wisdom I recognize? Don't ignore the prophets you don't like!
• Listen to the voice behind you.

8. A prayer
Lord, grant me the peace to wait on you when I cannot or should not act…
Lord, grant me the courage to act when it is time, even if I am uncertain of the direction…
Lord, grant me the wisdom to know the difference!

Impressions from God (SOAR)

We were thinking in a class today about discerning God's will, especially in terms of how to way an impression you have, whether it is from God or not. I looked up an old book by Martin Wells Knapp called Impressions that he wrote in 1892 (Knapp was one of the founders of one of the parent bodies of The Wesleyan Church).

Knapp gave four principles, which put slightly differently are: 1) Is it Scriptural? 2) Does it fit with conscience? 3) Is it providential? and 4) Is it reasonable?  The so called Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a little different, although with some similarity: 1) Scripture, 2) tradition, 3) reason, and 4) experience.

I thought I would modify the list a little (since conscience is largely a function of culture). Not really happy with the acronym, but I'll leave it at this for now:

Scripture - Does the impression fit with the Scriptures as they are generally understood by Christians?

Opportunity - Has God opened the door for the impression to be possible? Has God's providence
          prepared the way?

Advice - What do wise, godly souls say about it? What does the counsel of others say?

Reasonable - Does the impression make sense? What does common sense tell you?

Sermon Starters: Acts 21:3-14

1. The setting of this passage

• Paul is on his way to Jerusalem at the end of the third missionary journey. 
• He has a group of representatives with him carrying an offering to the church of Jerusalem, an offering he has been working on for years. He may even see the gift as a fulfillment of prophecy (not to mention a peace offering with HQ, a place that doesn't exactly have him on their guest speaker list)
• Everywhere he stops, people in tune with the Holy Spirit are telling him he is headed for BIG trouble. (Jaws music in the background... Danger, Danger, Will Robinson... There may be trouble, ahead)
• At Ephesus, he tells them he has a good feeling he'll never see them again.
• The quite bizarre Agabus takes his belt, ties it around his own hands and feet, and no doubt in a creepy Igor voice says, "The man who owns this belt will be bound in Jerusalem."
• Seemingly conflicting messages from the Holy Spirit: 1) DANGER, DANGER and 2) Move on to the next port until you get to Jerusalem.

2. People pleasers usually end up ticking everyone off.

• You please one person today and in the process displease another. Then when you try to please the second person tomorrow, you tick off the first person. Those who try to please everyone end up with everyone upset at them (Erasmus is a good historical example).

3. At some point you have to make the best choices and decisions you can.

• You are not perfect. Everyone is a package, with strengths and weaknesses. You have to accept that you are not omniscient. You may not make the right decision every time. Deal with it.
• There are nevertheless decisions that you have to make. Maybe you are a parent, a job you don't have to have any qualifications to have. Maybe you have a position of leadership or authority.  
• As human beings, we are created in the image of God. That means our well being is also something God charges us with. Most people don't need the reminder to take care of themselves--most people are selfish. But some do. Some people have a charge from God to consider their own joy.

4. So we move on to Jerusalem, despite the warnings.

• We pray.
• We consult others.
• We check ourselves, to make sure we are not just being selfish or ambitious or fleshly.
• And we go on to Jerusalem, remembering the ultimate outcome is in God's hands.