You will remember the theme of our series
during these fall months, “If You Want to Walk on Water, You Have to Get
Out of the Boat.” The basis for our study is the event found in Matthew
14:22-33. There we see Jesus walking on the water to His disciples in the
early morning hours. The disciples see Him – they are afraid but Peter
says, “Lord if it is you tell me to come to you on the water.”
Jesus says, “Come,” and Peter gets out of the boat and walks on
water toward Jesus.
We have discovered how the story is one that
teaches us the need to recognize Christ’s authority and His power and His
strength and His majesty and trust Him to do in us and through us what we
cannot do on our own. We are to trust God, we are to depend on Him.
But the question arises how do we know when
it is God’s voice calling us to do something and not our own inner voice?
We have this challenge in prayer all the time – discerning between the
voice of God and our own voice. How can we know when God speaks to us?
A couple of weeks ago I shared with you the
story of Angus Buchan, a South African farmer who stepped out in faith
again and again. He tells his life story to date in a book entitled,
“Faith like Potatoes.” The title of the book comes for the idea that we
are called to have an ordinary faith – like potatoes - in an extraordinary
God. In this book Angus tells of a time in 1997 when God clearly told him
to plant potatoes. This may not seem like anything to us – but it was a
big deal, because all the farmers were predicting a very dry summer –
drought conditions - and potatoes need a lot of water to grow – they are
after all 90% water themselves. The agricultural union advised him
against it, his neighbour farmer friends told him not to do it – he had no
experience, no irrigation, it would bankrupt him, they said.
But he said, “No, God wants me to plant
potatoes to demonstrate that God can be trusted to provide and - God has
clearly told me to plant 10 hectares of potatoes. And 10 hectares it will
be.”
So he went ahead and did it. Sometimes it
would rain, and his hopes would rise, but then the rain would stop. The
devil would come to him and accuse him, “You’ve got yourself in a real
mess now! Where is the money going to come from this year?”
But Angus trusted God and he ended up with a
bumper crop of potatoes – a miracle – and on top of that because he was
the among only a few farmers to plant potatoes in a drought year he had no
trouble selling his miracle potatoes at a good price.
On top of that the whole experience opened
door after door of opportunity in which he was able to tell people that
God can be trusted.
And further – Angus’ own faith was
strengthened and he went on to trust God in greater steps of building an
orphanage, proclaiming the gospel and feeding the hungry.
On the other hand we have someone like Jim
and Tammy Faye Bakker who said that they were told by God to build a large
Disney like theme park for Christians called Heritage U.S.A. It was a
fantastic Christian theme park on situated on 2,300 acres of land it
boasted a water park, beautiful shops, hotels camp grounds, a large
worship center in the shape of a barn, etc. (I kind of like that!) At its
height 6,000,000 people would visit it a year. But then it was discovered
that the Bakkers were selling more memberships than they had hotel rooms,
the IRS got involved and they owed a ton of money in back taxes, and on
top of that Jim Bakker was caught in the act of adultery. Today Heritage
U.S.A. is a ruins the bricks are falling off the hotel, the worship barn
is delapitated, and it’s basically a ghost town.
More recently we could also mention Bruce
Wilkinson who wrote that enormously popular book the "The Prayer of
Jabez" the profits from that book and spin
off products were enormous. So Wilkinson took his money and came up with
a grand plan – which he said was God given - to save the poor and orphaned
of Africa by building a giant theme park/orphanage that would
house 10,000 orphaned children and employ them as safari guides and rodeo
cowboys. He pushed the plans on the king and the traditional leaders of
Swaziland and when they ultimately rejected the idea, he moved back to
America declaring that his mission in Africa was completed.
So, God may not be calling you to something
as large as planting a field of potatoes, building an orphanage or
providing good quality family entertainment to the world. He may not be
calling you to something as extravagant as that – it may be something as
simple as teaching Sunday School, talking to your neighbour about your
faith, or setting priorities in your life, work and home. Or how are we
to know that our church’s new strategy – a multigenerational church that
reaches out to a new generation – how are we to know that that comes from
God?
How are we to know? How do we know that it
is God’s voice that is calling us to get out of our boats of comfort and
the usual? Certainly the Bible demonstrates that this ability to discern
God’s voice is crucial.
It was a real problem for the people of the
Old Testament. In Jeremiah’s day they had a bunch of prophets that kept
telling them that everything was okay. “Peace, peace” they would say –
“you will not see the sword or suffer famine – we will experience only
lasting peace.” (See Jeremiah 14:13). But all the while the enemies are
at the gates and here is the lone prophet, Jeremiah saying – no – no, “They
are lying. Those prophets will indeed suffer from the sword and we will
suffer a severe famine.” (Jeremiah 14:15-16)
So this ability to discern God’s voice is
vital for us.
Scripture makes God’s will plain to us. Now
I’m not talking about what Scripture makes plain. I mean, the question –
should I talk to my neighbor about my faith - is a no-brainer. Of course
we should. Scripture is clear that we are to live our faith and speak our
faith. (see Matthew 5:13-16; 28:19,20)
The issue in that case is not, “Is God
speaking to me?” The issue is, “Will I obey what God has already made
plain?”
The question of forgiveness. We should not
be asking, “Does God want me to forgive the one who wronged me?” Read
your Bibles – of course He does. (See Colossians 3:13)
I wonder if we would simply obey God more in
the areas of life that He has already made plain (I don’t have any
scientific evidence for this percentage and you could argue with me about
this) but I would suggest that 98% of life’s decisions can be discerned by
simply reading God’s Word and obeying what God has already made plain for
us in Scripture.
Paul writes to Timothy saying, “All
Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction
and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16)
God’s word is a gift in which we can hear
God’s voice plainly for at least 98% of lives decisions.
And not only has God has given us His Word
to direct us, but He has given us brains. God’s word says that we are to
“love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength and with all your mind and love your
neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)
Do you know that God gave us the capacity,
the ability to solve most of our problems by thinking through them? And
sometimes, instead of using our brains to think through situations we go
to God in prayer and we ask God to alter nature. He has to stop the wind
and the waves just to answer we lazy people. So instead of putting on a
hat, an overcoat and using an umbrella we say, “Lord stop the rain.”
We pray, “O God, give me a good parking
space near the at the door at the church.” And God says, “Go ten minutes
earlier and you’ll get one.” We have to use this.
I recently read a book entitled Take the
Risk by Dr. Ben Carson. Ben Carson is the director of pediatric
neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. He gained that
title and position when he was 33 years old. He is no intellectual
lightweight! He is a man of faith, integrity and is admired and respected
– for his ability as a surgeon, and for his faith. His job as a
neurosurgeon is filled with risks and in his book he talks about four
questions that help him determine what risks to take. He calls them a Best
Worst Analysis. They are simple – ask yourself when faced with a large
decision that involves risk:
-
what is
the best thing that can happen if I do this?
-
what is
the worst thing that can happen if I do this?
-
what is
the best thing that can happen if I don't do this?
-
what is
the worst thing that can happen if I don't do this?
In the closing chapter of his book he
essentially says, “God has given us brains, we need to use them.”
For me I think this youth strategy is a
no-brainer – why didn’t we think of it before? Why were we asking the
question, what is our mission in Markham? Who do you want us to reach,
God?
And God says, “How many kids are coming to
your church every Wednesday for pizza lunch?” (This past week we had 450
kids!)
And God says, “Who is right across the road
from you?” “The high school.”
And God says, “You got enough clues?”
So two amazing gifts God has given to us as
we seek to move forward.
But still, there remains that 2% of life
situations when God’s voice is not crystal clear. God doesn’t spell out
every life situation for us in Scripture and there are times when God’s
desires for us are not logical. It was against all logic that Angus
Buchan planted those potatoes. It was against all logic that George
Whitefield a preacher in the 1800s went and preached in the open fields.
Well, maybe not the first time – it may have been logical the first time –
but when he preached in the open fields he would be pelted with rocks and
stones and apples, and clods of dirt and dead cats. But he kept doing it
against all logic.
So when God’s desires for us are not clear
in Scripture and the step we feel He wants us to take is not logical what
are we to do? Well, lets look at Acts 13:1-5. For the church in Antioch
it was made plain to them that they should set apart Saul and Barnabas for
the work to which God had called them. It was very specific.
How did they know that it was God’s voice?
How do we know? The first answer is simple: Place God in the centre of
our lives and take self out of the equation.
Note verse 2 of our text, “While the
church in Antioch was worshiping the Lord and fasting the Holy Spirit said…”
It was while the church was actively glorifying God in the act of worship
and self-denial that the Holy Spirit reveals God’s will to them. There is
a conscious effort on the part of the church to submit themselves to God
and seek his guidance. And so it must be with us.
Often when we are wrestling with the
questions, “Is this God’s voice that is speaking to me or my own? What
does God want me to do? Does he really want me to teach Sunday School? Is
he really calling me to reach out to this person?” the root of our
conflict is our own ego and selfishness. We are sometimes more concerned
about our reputations and what other people will think than we are about
bringing glory to God.
When you are sincerely desiring to discern
God’s direction for you, look for the path that will bring the most glory
to God – that is the path he wants you take. If the voice leads you to a
place to an action that glorifies God’s name and not your own, then that’s
the voice to listen to.
Here’s the next precept in our text. It is
when we are in prayer that we hear God’s voice and learn God’s voice. When
trying to discern God’s direction in our lives we sometimes look for a
pillar of cloud or a burning bush. We look for the spectacular. I don’t
think that’s wise to seek such phenomenon. Scripture shows that angelic
visitations, a guiding star, a fiery bush were given when they weren’t
asked for. They were given at the discretion of God’s divine wisdom. But
listen carefully, God leads and directs most often when we are on our
knees in prayer.
The church in Antioch is in an attitude of
prayer – worshipping, and fasting when the Holy Spirit reveals God’s will
for them.
Listen, this is key. It is when we are in
God’s presence that he will give us his perspective and guidance. It is
when we are in prayer that the Spirit will guide us to the appropriate
passages of Scripture and get His message through to us. This means that
we have to change our thinking about prayer. If you’ve heard it said that
prayer is simply talking to God – that’s good, it’s true – but prayer is
not only talking to God it is also listening to God. That’s
why during our prayer retreat next week we’ll be spending some time
talking and listening to God.
The question persists – how do we know if it
is God’s voice we are hearing and not our own? Jesus teaches us that it
is a matter of training. In John 10 Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd
and we are His sheep and He says, “the sheep listen to his voice. He
calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out
all his own; he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because
they know his voice.” (John 10:3,4)
I was thinking, I pick up the telephone and
call the Woods family and I have to tell you that I don’t know if I’m
talking to Colleen, Katie, Amy, Andrea or Autumn. I can’t differentiate
their voices because I don’t call there often enough. But I’m sure
Colleen or Bob knows which one is which – they are used to their voices,
their intonation, their expressions, their phrasings and phrases.
And so with us and Jesus’ voice. The more
we listen to Jesus, the more we read His words and get to know His voice
the more apt we are to recognize it when He speaks to us in our prayer
lives.
As a kid I knew my father’s whistle. I knew
its pitch and depth, and tone and phrasing. And because I knew my
father’s whistle, I could ignore all other whistles and I could respond to
his whistle. That came with time, that came with being with Dad, that
came from listening to his whistle and becoming accustomed to it.
Are you listening to God’s voice? Are you
reading His Word and listening to His voice? It is only as we listen
carefully to His voice in Scripture that we will be able to discern His
voice when He speaks to our spirits.
Here is the third principle – God uses two
agents to express and confirm His voice in our lives: The Holy Spirit and
the Church.
The Holy Spirit was present at the worship
service in Antioch. He was a very real presence in that church and He
expressed God’s will to the people there. And so it is with us. Jesus
said, “When the Holy Spirit comes he will guide you into all truth.”
(John 16:13)
And in Ephesians 5:15-18 we see a very clear
link between knowing God’s will and being filled with the Spirit. We are
encouraged to know, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise
but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are
evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will
is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be
filled with the Spirit.” What the Lord’s will is …. be filled with
the Spirit.
It is clear that being filled with the
Spirit enables us to know God’s will. But God also uses the church to
express and confirm His will. There is a very clear partnership in our
text. Verse 3 says, “They (that is the church) place their
hands on them and sent them off.” Verse 4 reads, “The two of them,
sent on their way by the Holy Spirit went down to Selecta.” Do you
see the partnership? The Holy Spirit initiates the call and spurs the
church to act – and they act as His agents.
So practically speaking what does this
mean? It means that when we are seeking God’s will in our lives we need
to be in fellowship with other Christians through whom the Holy Spirit
speaks. That’s the genius of small groups, Sunday School classes, Bible
study groups, prayer groups. It gives each one of us the opportunity to
share and hear what God has to say to us through His church. God loves
the church, and it is through His people that He speaks to us.
It also means that we in the church need to
take this partnership seriously. We need to constantly be filled with the
Holy Spirit but no only that, but be willing to give voice to what the
Holy Spirit is telling us to say or do.
And speaking practically for our young
people we need people filled with the Spirit to draw alongside our young
people and help them to discern what God’s will is for their lives. I
believe the church has lost a whole bunch of preachers, teachers, servers,
and missionaries to the world because the church has failed to draw
alongside young people and with dependence upon prayer and the Holy Spirit
be willing to identify ministry gifts in our young people. And then as I
have learned again recently we need to be willing to allow the young
people to use those gifts.
When we are trying to discern God’s voice,
it is often made known to us, confirmed in us, through the Holy Spirit
and the church.
The fourth principle here is that if there
is any doubt about God’s direction and voice – then wait. There is no
sign of doubt in the church in Acts 13. They received a clear direction
from the Holy Spirit but notice verse 3 – “After they received this
very clear direction they still prayed and fasted before they acted.”
Both are actions expressing dependence upon God.
The point is, if the church in Antioch
prayed and fasted after receiving a clear direction how much more should
those who are in doubt about God’s direction wait upon God. Someone has
said that when you are seeking guidance there three words that are
important. The first is “wait.” The second is “wait” and the third is
“wait”.
Don’t allow anyone or any circumstance to
pressure you into action when you’re not sure. Oswald Sanders has said,
“We need to trust that although God is never in a hurry, he is never
late. His timing is perfect.”1
God wants us to follow His voice, He wants
us to do His will. He is not mean-spirited saying, “Do my will, but try
to find it.” He makes it plain in His Word. He has given us brains to
use. He has given us prayer, the church, the Holy Spirit all to confirm
and affirm His will in our lives.
What is it that God is calling you to do?
Are you hesitating because it is not clear? Then read your Bible. Think
it through. Go to Him in prayer, trust the Holy Spirit and the church.
God uses them all to speak to you.
May we be a people who
are able to say with confidence – God has spoken and so we will act.
