Turning your Bibles to Judges
6, please. I thought we might talk briefly
about seeking the Lord's will before a key decision in our
lives. Just how are we as Christians,
and furthermore Christians who believe in the sovereignty of
God, supposed to treat getting the Lord's guidance on an important
decision we have to make? Knowing that really afterwards,
after it's all said and done, the Lord had his will anyway.
So why should we care so much about that decision ahead of
time? Well, because we're not fatalists. We're Christians and
we know that God is intimately involved in our lives and we
are supposed to care about decisions we make. So that's why decisions
do matter on the front side of those decisions. How does a believer
in the sovereignty of God approach seeking God's will ahead of time?
You know, we are told in the Bible to ask, seek, and knock
in Matthew 7, 7 through 11. Ask and ye shall find, seek,
and so forth. So these are things that pertain
to the future. We're to ask and to seek and
to knock for things that are going to happen ahead of time.
Matthew 26, 39 shows our Lord Jesus praying fervently in the
Garden of Gethsemane. And we know that He cared a lot
at that time for what was coming on him in the next few hours. And he prayed fervently. And
we know that he prayed all night at times during his ministry. And prayer has a lot more to
do than just seeking the future. It's got a lot of thanksgiving
in it. It's got a lot of praise and
worship. but there must have been some aspects of what the
Lord Jesus was praying about that had to do with the future.
Let's look at Gideon. Should we these days employ Gideon's
fleece tactics as Christians? When you look at the Bible on
the story of Gideon, it's fascinating. And then you've also got, let
me mention before we go to Judges 6, In Acts 1.26, the disciples
drew lots to choose Joseph or Matthias for the 12th disciple
once Judas had hung himself. When they chose lots, we don't
know exactly how that was done, but I would equate it to maybe
modern day dice or something. Somehow there was a system where
they threw out sticks or they threw out something on the ground
and it came out a certain way. that was gonna be Matthias and
it came out another way, that was gonna be Joseph. So they
drew lots back then and you have other examples in the Bible of
them doing that. Are we supposed to do such a thing today? You
know, some people play games. I would call this kind of a thing
more of a chance, a chance sign. whereas in a minute we'll read
about Gideon's fleece. That wasn't so much a chance
sign, that was a real miraculous sign. But chance signs could
be, you're driving down the road and you say, Lord, if you want
me to do this, make the light turn green before I get there.
Have you ever done anything like that? That's more of a You're
throwing lots, you're drawing lots. You don't know that that's
the Lord's answer because it's going to turn green or it's going
to turn red. Why don't you ask him to turn it purple if you're
supposed to do something? Then that would be a miraculous
sign. But we play games with these
things and we shouldn't. Alright, let's read about Gideon's
fleece real quick. Judges 6. First of all, I want
you to see in verses 11 through 18 that God had already told
him what to do. In Judges 6, 11-18, there came an angel of
the Lord and sat under an oak, which was an ophra, that pertained
unto Joash the Abrazeite, and his son Gideon, thrust wheat
by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel
of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is
with thee, thou mighty man of valor. And Gideon said unto him,
O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen
us? See, the Midianites were in control
then. And where be all his miracles, which our fathers told us of,
saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the
Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
He's really complaining here. And the Lord looked upon him,
this is the Lord, the angel of the Lord is the Lord in a visible
appearance, looked upon him and said, go in this thy might and
thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have
not I sent thee? So this was a vision. There's
no doubt about what God wants him to do. And he said unto him,
O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is
poor in Manasseh, and I am the least of my father's house. And
the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou
shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto him,
If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign
that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee,
until I come unto thee and bring forth my present. and set it
before thee. And he said, I will tarry until
thou come." What he did was he brought a sacrifice, he set it
on the rock, and the Lord consumed it with fire, just like that.
So the Lord came to Gideon, told him what he wanted him to do.
He wanted him to lead Israel and beat the Midianites. There's
no doubt about it. This was a vision, this was a
real thing. And Gideon has the audacity first to say, okay,
will you kind of prove this to me? that you really are doing
this, so he said, I'll go get a sacrifice. He put it on the
rock and he set fire down from heaven and licked it up. Well
then, in verses 36 through 40, I guess Gideon's having more
doubts or something. And Gideon said unto God, if
thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, behold,
I will put a fleece of wool in the floor. This is of the threshing
floor. And if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon
all the earth beside it, then shall I know that thou wilt save
Israel by my hand, as thou hast said. And it was so, for he rose
up early on the morrow and thrust the fleece together and wringed
the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. Gideon said unto
God, he's really got some nerve. Let not thine anger be hot against
me, and I will speak but this once. Let me prove, I pray thee,
but this once with the fleece. Let it now be dry only upon the
fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did
so that night, for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there
was dew on all the ground. Well, I don't know exactly how
to take that. I think Gideon was kind of pushing
it. But God did show him what he asked him to show him. But
you notice he did it both ways. That's a real miraculous sign. That's nothing that we do these
days because the time of those kinds of miraculous signs are
over with for now until the Lord comes back. That option is out
of our hands and really we shouldn't be doing those chance type testing
or signs either. So what are we supposed to do?
By the way, Moses also sought signs and he got them. Remember
he was very reticent to lead the people of Israel out and
so he asked for signs and God said throw the rod down It became
a snake. Pick it up by its tail, which
you're never supposed to do. And it became a rod again. Then
he said, put your hand into your bosom inside your tunic there. It became leprous. Pull it out.
It became whole again. And then he said, take some water.
Pour it on the ground. It became blood. So those were
some miraculous signs that God was indeed sending Moses for
something future to go rescue the people. What do we have for the different
ways that God guides his people in the Bible for future things?
We have, first of all, direct speech. He directly spoke to
a lot of our forefathers face to face. Now, whether it was
through the angel of the Lord or a, you know, the Lord in his
holiness has never talked to anyone that would just obliterate
us. But through the angel of the
Lord, these type of visions and real things. He spoke to people
in the Bible. He spoke to Moses. He spoke to
Mary about the coming of the Lord Jesus. He spoke face-to-face
with all kinds of people. Well, we can rule that out these
days. That's not going to be the answer
we get to some future decision. He worked through miraculous
signs. We just saw a few of those. But
remember that in Matthew 12, 38 and 39, Jesus said, an evil
and adulterous generation seeks for silence. So he's saying there,
don't be doing that. That's not what you should be
doing. So that rules that out. Visions,
which are really the Lord face to face, We have examples of
that in Cornelius. In Acts 10 he saw a vision and
the angel said to Cornelius, your prayer has been answered
or been heard. So evidently Cornelius had been
praying that either fuller salvation would come to him or he would
know the truth better and so the Lord said to him, you know,
send for this man, Peter, to come to you and speak to you
the gospel. So there was a vision to Cornelius. And then, of course, we have
Paul, and Paul experienced visions also. Remember, he had the vision
on the ship, and the Lord came to him in the night and said,
don't you fear, I'm not going to let this ship go down. I'm
going to save you and the crew, but just do what I say. And then
Paul had other visions. What I'd like to do is follow
briefly some of Paul's understanding of what he should do in his life
for the future, the decisions he had to make, through a few
examples there as maybe a little more germane to why we should
be treating this in our lives. Let's turn to Paul is decision
in Acts 16. Let's go to Acts 16. There is also the matter of providential
hindrance when we're seeking the Lord's will on something.
And we'll see that here in Acts 16 verses 6 through 7. Now when
they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and
were forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia, after
they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia,
but the Spirit suffered them not. I don't know how this happened,
whether they wanted to get some form of transportation and couldn't
get it, how the spirit hindered them. Maybe he just put it strongly
into their hearts that they were not to do this, but somehow the
spirit of God providentially hindered Paul from going into
Asia. I looked at a map on his journey
here, and what Paul was doing is he was taking a circular route
counterclockwise through the southern part of Asia Minor,
and then he had gotten to that point where he could either go
over the water to Greece or Macedonia, or he could kind of backtrack
and go back up into Bithynia, which was Asia. And that's what
he at first wanted to do, and this is when the Lord providentially
hindered him from doing that. So don't know the means by which
he providentially hindered him, but the spirit said to him, no,
don't go that way. And then when you see what he
ended up doing, he went over to Macedonia and around Greece
and Philippi and all those great stories we have with Philippian
jailer and Lydia and and all of this stuff, and then he comes
back around to Corinth, and finally he does end up in Ephesus, which
is Asia, but he never gets up into that more northern part
of Asia. Evidently the Lord did not want
him to go there. Obviously he didn't. So that's
how he guided Paul in where he should go. Now look at verses,
so that's the negative part of it, that he told him no. What's
the positive part? in verses 8 through 10 now of
Acts 16. And they, passing by Mysia, came
down to Troas, and a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood
a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia
and help us. Macedonia is the old word for
Greece. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored
to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called
us for to preach the gospel unto them." So we're not going to have visions
today, I assume, but this is how Paul was led in this instance. So what I'd like to present to
you at the last now is how we do get guidance from the Lord.
And that is. Through prayer and through as
a result. Our own provenance, yes, but
our own sanctified desires that he works into us and I'll kind
of build a case for that in Philippians 212 and 13. It says. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye
have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you, both to
will and to do of his good pleasure. So when we as Christians are
in tune with the Lord, he will work in us to will and to do
of his good pleasure. So our will becomes his will,
and we all know that that's what prayer is. Prayer is just talking
to the Lord enough that our desires become his desires, and we get
over all our selfishness, and we talk through all that, and
we get to his real will, and then that's what happens. So
that's what prayer is. So now back to Paul. We'll take you through what his
desires were, in Acts 19.21. This is concerning
his last trip to Jerusalem. 19.21 says, After these things were
ended, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia
and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there,
I must also see Rome. This is the first inkling we
have that God's working into Paul some desire here for the
future, and he wants to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome. Maybe
he doesn't know completely why he wants to do those things,
but that's what he wants to do. Well, let's follow this through
a few verses. Acts 20 now, verses 22 and 23. And now behold, I go bound in
the Spirit. There's that Spirit working in
him again. The Spirit has bound him to go
to Jerusalem. Unto Jerusalem, not knowing the
things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Spirit witnesses
in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide. Alright,
so he's getting the idea that he's going to Jerusalem and that
it's not going to be all Rosie there. It's going to be some
bonds and affliction. In Acts 21 verse 4, these are through different cities
he's going through. And finding disciples, we tarried there seven
days, who said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not
go up to Jerusalem. Now I had a little problem with
this one. I don't know that I know the answer. The Spirit is not
going to tell him two things. We already saw the Spirit was
working in him to go to Jerusalem, and now it says that they said
to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go to Jerusalem.
Well, you've got to read on, I think, to get the whole story.
Verses 10 through 14. And as we tarried there many
days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet named Agabus.
And when he was coming to us, he took Paul's girdle and bound
his own hands and feet and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, So
shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owns this girdle
and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. When we
heard these things, both we and they of that place besought him
not to go to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, what mean
ye to weep and to break my heart? For I am ready not to be bound
only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, the will of
the Lord be done." Well, I guess the disciples themselves, who
were in the Spirit, they were getting this message that he
was going to suffer some hardship in Jerusalem, so they just stopped
short and said, don't go. And really, the Lord wanted him
to go. And they finally came to the
point, through what Paul said to them, that they said, the
will of the Lord be done. So that was interesting. So.
In Acts 23 11. And the night following, the
Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou
has testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also
in Rome. So he's going to get the other
part of his desire, and that is that he's going to go to Rome
too. Remember last time when I shared
something with you. I pointed out in Acts 26.32 that
Agrippus said unto Festus, after Paul had presented his case to
him, this man might have been set at liberty if he had not
appealed unto Caesar. So we know from that that God
was using all these things for his purpose. got mad, remember,
and appealed unto Caesar and said, you can't treat me this
way. I'm a Roman citizen. And he got all these audiences
with these government officials. And finally, Agrippa said, after
he'd heard Paul's case, he'd said, you know, if this guy hadn't
said he wanted to see Caesar, which we've got to do now, we'd
let him go right now. Well, that was all in God's providence
that he was to go to Rome also to preach the gospel. Then, finally,
as far as this string of occurrences, Acts 27, 23, and 24. For there stood by me this night
the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear
not, Paul. Thou must be brought before Caesar.
And, lo, God hath given thee all of them that sail with thee.
So what does this whole string of things teach us in Acts? It
teaches us, I believe, that when we are seeking the Lord's will
on some important decision or matter in our life that we've
just got to pray. We've got to come to a closeness
with the Lord that our will is His will and that He will work
these things through our own desires. I don't think we should
ask for signs or fleece or anything like that, but just through and
study of his word, I think that's the modern day way of finding
God's will for us. So some verses just to wrap up. In Matthew 7, verses 7 through
11, we've already seen that he's said to ask and seek and knock. In John 5.30, let's read a few
of these. John 5.30. These give the different aspects of prayer that we need
to be cognizant of. Acts 5.30 says, I can't, this
is Jesus talking, I can't of mine own self do nothing. As
I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not mine
own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me. So
the Lord Jesus is the perfect example of someone who totally
sought the Father's will. How many times when we have a
decision to make are we really objective about it? Most of the
time we have our own outcome we want to happen, mostly to
our own selfish desires. So that's the way we start praying. Hopefully the Lord gets us beyond
that, but we're very seldom objective in our own prayers and desires
for what's going to happen. But the Lord Jesus was completely
objective to get the Father's will. In Philippians 2.21, to
see the other side of this, It says, for all seek their own,
not the things which are Jesus Christ's. So that's us. Most of us are seeking our own
desires and not the desire of God. So one of our goals in prayer
should be to not seek our own will, but the will of the Father.
Then there is the fact that we've got to ask believing. Matthew
21, 22. Let's turn there. And all things whatsoever ye
shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. We can't drum
up that faith or that belief. We know that. We know that true
faith is a gift from God. So when we finally come to the
point of understanding the Lord's will in this matter, then we'll
have the faith to believe that because he'll give us that. And
it'll all be just to his glory because we are believing that
something's going to happen that hasn't happened yet, and it'll
be to his glory when it happens. The same thing is said essentially
in Mark 11, 24. Then concerning the sanctified
desires, our sanctified desires, 1 John 3.20, says, let's see here, 320 to 22. But you have an unction from
the Holy One and you know all things. I have not written unto
you because you know not the truth, but because you know it,
and the no lies of the truth. No, that's the wrong one. I'm
sorry, that's 220. 320, which is where you're at.
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart
and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn
us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we
ask, we receive of Him because we keep His commandments and
do those things that are pleasing in His sight. It's not saying
we have to be perfect. We can't be perfect. But it's
saying that we need to have our major sins confessed, our knowing
sins confessed, and be right with the Lord. And then when
we ask, our desires are going to be His desires and we're going
to get what we ask. In 1 John 5 verse 14, and this
is the confidence that we have in Him that if we ask anything
according to His will, He heareth us. And if we know that He hears
us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that
we desired of Him. There it is. Asking for something
that's not happened yet. We can do this, even believing
in the sovereignty of God. We're supposed to do this. We're
supposed to ask for things in the future, and not ask selfishly,
but ask according to his will so that he can be glorified.
In Luke 18, one through eight, we have the story of the persistent
widow. Remember how she kept asking
for something of the judge again and again, and bugged him to
death, and finally he gave it to her? That's an example of
persistence in prayer. Then in Romans 8, verses 26 and
27, we have the Spirit leading us in prayer. It says we don't
know how to pray, but the Spirit will lead us. In Philippians
4, 6 through 8, it says we're supposed to pray instead of worry.
Let's read that one. Philippians 4, 6 through 8. All
of this comes together. When you put all these passages
together, you get what a right kind of prayer should be. And
it's got faith in it, it's got really wanting God's will, not
our own, it's got the confession of sin, and then it's got not
worrying. Philippians 4, 6 through 8 is,
be careful for nothing, that means anxious, but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, Let your requests
be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which passes all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus. A wonderful passage. So with Thanksgiving, we're supposed
to give thanks when we're doing all this. And then in 1 Thessalonians
5.17, it says to pray without ceasing. So if something's of
concern to us, we should just keep it before the Lord. Pray
without ceasing. So in conclusion, I don't believe
from a study of the word on this, that we're supposed to seek visions
or do a Gideon's Fleece or do any traffic light meals. I think
we're supposed to really just ask the Lord in prayer what he
wants us to do and then be open to that and to believe that he'll
show us the right decisions to make, the right things, forks
in the road. They're genuinely forks before
we go through them. We can always look back and see
that it was the Lord's will, but in front of the fork, it's
tough on us sometimes to make decisions, so we need to probably
do it this way. Objective prayer. God will work
through our sanctified desires. Not our selfish desires, but
our sanctified desires as we try to stay close to him. And
keeping in mind that he may use some providential hindrance to
stop us if we really got the right attitude, from doing the
wrong things. So finally, just to leave you
with a verse, I think one of the best verses in this whole
subject is Philippians 2, 12 and 13. For it is God who works
in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure.