This series is meant to give people practical advice and relevant examples to help them find God's will for their lives and then do it.

Part One: Facing the Fear of Knowing God's Will.   Using the story of Gideon, from the book of Judges, Remy looks at four fears that we have regarding our inability to either hear God's voice or do his will.  Then he follows this with four helpful observations from the Gideon story.

Part Two: Finding God's Will Without a Fleece.  This message contrasts divination with making decision with wisdom and understanding.  It gives you a thorough overview of how you can trust that the idea you have is actually from God.

Learning to Hear God’s VoiceParts 1 & 2by Remy Diederichcopyright 2006, all rights reserved

If there is one thing that seems to strike fear in the heart of every serious follower of Jesus, it’s the fear of missing God’s will for their life, or more specifically, not being able to hear God’s voice.

To help us learn how to hear God’s voice, we’re going to look at the story of Gideon in the Old Testament. I like this story because it directly addresses four fears that we have about finding God’s will. I’m going to talk about those fears and then make four observations as well.

The first fear is this…

Fear #1: God doesn’t want to speak to me.This is the most basic insecurity that we have about our relationship with God. We don’t think God wants to speak to us because, either we have a low view of God – we don’t think he cares about us. Or, we have a low view of ourselves- we don’t think we are good enough for God to waste his time on us.

Let’s look at Gideon’s story. The story starts by telling about a difficult situation the Israelites got themselves into.

Again the Israelites did what was evil in the LORD's sight. So the LORD handed them over to the Midianites for seven years.  The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites fled to the mountains, where they made hiding places for themselves in caves and dens. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel,  camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, oxen, and donkeys.  These enemy hordes, coming with their cattle and tents as thick as locusts, arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare.  So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Judges 6:1-6

The writer of this story describes the Israelites situation as extreme. The Midianites were so cruel they had to live in caves. They destroyed their crops. They had nothing to eat. The camels were too numerous to count. The land was stripped bare. The Israelites were reduced to starvation. In other words…the writer is telling us that things couldn’t possibly get any worse.

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My guess is that the Israelites doubted that God would answer their prayer. They assumed that they had sinned too much that they didn’t deserve God speaking to them. But God did speak. It says…

When they cried out to the LORD because of Midian,  the LORD sent a prophet to the Israelites… [saying] 'I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me! Judges 6:7-10

You see, the problem wasn’t with God not wanting to speak to them. The problem was with the Israelites not listening to God. God always wants to speak to you if you will only listen.

So write that down and remember it the next time you wonder if God will speak to you. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. It doesn’t matter how bad you’ve been. God wants to speak to you. The Bible says…

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners [not perfect people] in his ways.  He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. Psalm 25:8,9

Fear #2: I won’t be able to hear from God, even if he does speak.The thought here is that God is speaking to you but it’s almost like he’s going out of his way to make it difficult. It’s like he is speaking in code. And the only way you can break the code is if you are super spiritual.

But I don’t see that here in the story. In fact, it’s just the opposite. God goes out of his way to make sure that Gideon hears him. First, he sends a prophet and then an angel shows up to talk to him face to fac. The Bible says…

Then the angel of the LORD came and sat beneath the oak tree at Ophrah… Judges 6:11

God sends an angel to have an extended, one-on-one conversation with Gideon. And if you look closely, this is more than an angel. This is God himself (and whenever we see God showing up in the flesh we are actually seeing Jesus). You see, you have to remember that God is personal. He’s not an unfeeling machine that spits out cold instructions. God is a person. He’s relational. And he wants to be in relationship with you.

That means that he wants to communicate with you and he’ll do whatever he needs to do to help you to hear his voice. He’s not interested in playing games. This isn’t 20 Questions or Pictionary or Hide and Go-Seek. God’s intention, as a loving father, is to speak to his children in order to reveal his will just like any loving parent would do.

Fear #3: I’ll never be able to do what God says.This is where you know God has spoken. You’ve heard his voice, but you are convinced that you are incapable of doing God’s will. I think a lot of people never even bother to hear God’s voice because they’ve already decided in advance that God’s will for their life is too hard. I know that’s how Gideon felt. Listen to what it says…

Gideon son of Joash had been threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites.  The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, "Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!"

Let me back up here and paint the picture for you. The Midianites have been terrorizing the Israelites, right? In fact, it sounds like it was their sport. Instead of hunting animals on the weekend, they hunt Israelites and the Israelites were running scared.

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Gideon is hiding out in a winepress just to keep from being discovered. When the angel says that God is with him, Gideon’s immediate response is this (read it with a cynical attitude)…

"Sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn't they say, 'The LORD brought us up out of Egypt'? But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites."

Gideon is totally defeated. He’s so defeated that even in the presence of God, himself, he’s whining about being abandoned. Then God reveals his will to Gideon.

Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go with the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!" Judges 6:14

But what does Gideon do? Does he say, “Great. I finally know God’s will for my life. Now I can be fulfilled.” No. Listen (read as a whine)…

"But Lord," Gideon replied, "how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!" Judges 6:15

In other words, he’s saying…I’m from the smallest, least prestigious tribe in Israel and I’m the youngest person in my family. I can’t do your will. It will never happen.

But God isn’t fazed by his negative protest. He says…"I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man." Judges 6:16

Gideon was like a lot of us. He automatically assumed that whatever God called him to do, he couldn’t do because it was too hard. But you need to see two things. First, you need to see your life through the eyes of God. When God looks at you, he doesn’t see all your deficiencies, like you do. He doesn’t see your weaknesses or what you can’t do. God always sees you in the light of his power, not your weakness.

I think one of the reasons we miss God’s will for our lives is that we are so often negative and self-defeating. We don’t hear God speak to us because we can’t imagine God doing anything good or exciting or challenging in our lives. So, even though God is speaking to us, we don’t hear it, because it doesn’t register with us. What God is saying isn’t even in our realm of reality.

When Gideon looked in the mirror he saw a scared rabbit. But when God looked at Gideon, he saw a valiant warrior (mighty hero). So, when you ask God to reveal his will to you, you need to see what God sees. You need to look at yourself through the eyes of faith and not the eyes of doubt.

The second thing you need to see here is that when God tells you what to do, he goes with you. God didn’t send Gideon on a mission and say,

“Good luck. I wish you the best. When you get back be sure to call me and we’ll do lunch!

No, God was committed to being with him the whole time. He said it twice in just a few verses (which is the Bible’s way of showing something’s important). And so Gideon didn’t have to

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worry about his weaknesses because God was with him to provide what Gideon lacked. And God will be with you to do the same.

The Bible says ….For God is working in you, giving you , not only the desire to obey him but the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13

Fear #4: I can’t be sure that I’ve really heard from God.When it comes to hearing God’s voice, even the most mature followers have doubts. It’s only natural. God is invisible. He’s not sending sky writers over our houses to write out messages for us. But here’s the good news…God understands our concern and so he’ll do whatever we need to make his will obvious to us.

With Gideon, God actually confirmed his calling four times. Gideon asked for three signs1 and God offered one on his own. Gideon asked for the first sign after God told him to lead the Israelites into battle against the Midianites. It says…

Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.”

That’s a fair request. Gideon wanted to make sure that he wasn’t hallucinating or that this wasn’t some evil magician. So Gideon brought an offering to the angel of meat and bread and this is what happened.…

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. Judges 6:21

That’s pretty impressive! I’d see that as a sign from God.

The second sign came after God told Gideon that he would beat the Midianites. Gideon wanted to make sure this was true so he asked for a sign. He said (paraphrase)…

God, if this idea is really from you, then I’m going to lay a fleece on the ground tonight. And if you are really telling me that I will win the battle against the Midianites, then may the fleece be wet in the morning from dew, but the ground dry.

That’s what happened.

The third sign happens the next night when Gideon reverses the prayer and asks that the ground be wet but the fleece dry. God obliges again.

I really like the fourth sign because it shows how God will go out of his way to give us what we need to encourage us. It’s the night before the battle and God seems to be concerned for Gideon so he tells him…

If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah  and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. Judges 7:10,11

1 My point in talking about signs here is only to note that God will do whatever it takes to make his will clear. I’m not affirming the need for signs. Christians have used Gideon’s request for signs to justify all kinds of strange behavior that borders on divination.

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I love that…if you are afraid. God is giving him the benefit of the doubt. Of course he was afraid! God knew it and so he provided Gideon with one last shot of encouragement. Eager to get some assurance, Gideon goes down to the enemies camp in the middle of the night and where he hears them talking about a dream that one of them had where Gideon won the battle. When Gideon heard the dream he stopped doubting…

When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands." Judges 7:15

So, God gave him what he needed to be convinced that he had heard from God and he’ll do the same for you.

Okay, those are the four fears that we have and I hope you see that they are groundless. God wants to speak to us and will do everything he can to help us both hear God and obey him. Now, in the second half here, let me make four observations about hearing from God.

Observation #1- God’s peace exists in spite of opposition.After God told Gideon that he wanted him to fight the Midianites, it says…

And Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and named it "The LORD Is Peace." The altar remains in Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer to this day. Judges 6:24

I find this response amazing. Gideon starts out clearly not at peace. First he’s whining, then he’s worried. But after God lays this incredible challenge on him, he’s at peace. How can that be?

In the New Testament, the Bible says that God offers a peace that passes understanding.And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

This is a peace that really doesn’t make sense in light of the tough situation that you are in.

But a lot of people have told me that they think they’ve heard from God because they feel a peace. But from my perspective it’s not a peace that passes understanding- or is beyond comprehension. It’s a peace that makes sense because they are really avoiding God’s will, not obeying it.

Here’s an example. One time a friend of mind told me that he was going to move to another city because he thought he could be really successful in business if he did (that is, make millions). I told him it was a bad move because he was young in his faith and making money shouldn’t be his highest priority. I’m not usually so directive with someone – I respect the fact that everyone needs to hear from God themselves – but I really felt he was making a bad decision and so I challenged him about it for a couple of hours. But he finally said that it didn’t matter what I said because he had a peace about it.

Well, I hated hearing that because once someone plays that card, (“I have a peace”) the discussion is over - logic goes out the window. They’ve “got a peace” and that somehow absolves them of being logical. You can’t reason with them any more because they are basically saying, my mind is made up. Don’t confuse me with the facts. My peace justifies my decision.

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My friend moved away, never made his millions, and said it was a terrible decision. He admitted that he knew it wasn’t God. He just wanted to get rich. And he said that the “peace” he felt was just him feeling good about making money.

You see, God gives us a peace that passes understanding and the reason he does that is to encourage us to do the hard thing. It’s not a peace that comes by running away from conflict or the challenge of God’s will. So be careful when you say, “I just have a peace about it.” You need to ask yourself, “Where’s my peace coming from? Is it coming from God, to encourage me to do a hard thing? Or is it simply coming from my desire to escape a hard situation?”

Observation #2: The first step to doing God’s will is to radically put him first.God’s will was for Gideon to fight the Midianites. But there was something he needed to do before he fulfilled God’s will for his life. He needed to tear down the altars that his dad had built to worship other gods in the center of the city.

That same night the Lord said to him, "Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.  Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering."  So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. Judges 6:25-27

If Gideon didn’t tear down the false altars, his leading the army would be meaningless. He had to put God first in Israel. What good is it to obey God’s will in one area of your life while you are openly disobeying God in another?

Now, can you imagine tearing down a religious altar that your dad put up ? Can you imagine the heat you’d take from all of your relatives? The accusations that would fly your way? How can you disrespect your father like that? You should be grateful. Do you think your religion is better than his?

Some of you have heard things like that – not because you cut down a false idol but simply because you changed churches. Right? I get a kick out of verse 28…I appreciate the honesty…

But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

Yeah, I think I’d do the same thing! Gideon may have been afraid, but he obeyed God and God honored him for it. It goes on to say…

Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them. Judges 7:34,35

I have to believe that there was a cause and effect with Gideon cutting down the altars and the Spirit comning upon him. There’s something empowering about putting God first in your life. It removes a lot of self-doubt and gives you the confidence you need to obey God’s call. The Bible says…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:6,7

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Observation #3- God’s will always honor Him.Now, God did an interesting thing here. God tells Gideon to reduce his army from 32,000 men.

The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.  But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."  So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink."  Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.  The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands.'" Judges 7:2-7

Three hundred men. That’s less than 1% of what he started with. I bet Gideon would have liked to have known this when he signed on for this deal! Why did he do this? It said, “In order that Israel may not boast… that her own strength saved her.”

Now, get this. God’s will was for Gideon to fight for the Midianites, but even more important than doing God’s will was that God be honored. You see, this story isn’t about Gideon. It’s about God. That’s true for you too. God’s will for your life isn’t about you. It’s not about you knowing what to do next in life, or about you becoming successful or happy or comfortable. We often lose perspective in our search for God’s will. God’s will for your life is about God being honored through you. Don’t forget this. This is a crucial distinction and a distinction that many people lose sight of.

So remember – when you are trying to decide the right thing to do – your decision should honor God first. If it doesn’t honor God, it’s not God’s will. Gideon wouldn’t have honored God by running away and finding a “peace”. And he wouldn’t have honored God by fighting the Midianites with the full army. Gideon honored God by doing what God asked him to do. And that’s how you and I honor God too.

Observation #4: The more you know God, the less directive he is.Now, there’s a transition here that’s surprising. When Gideon is first called, God’s direction was very obvious. He sends a prophet. He sends an angel. He gives Gideon four signs. But the more Gideon walks with God, the less obvious God’s direction is. You see, once Gideon put God first, he sensed the Spirit of God in him, and then he stopped asking for confirmation and simply started taking action, confident that God is with him.

My point here is that God’s will is more often obvious when you are a young follower of Jesus than an older one. I look back on some of the decisions I made as a young follower and I’m amazed that I did it so quickly. I’d never move that fast today. But I think God made it more obvious because I was so young in the Lord.

It’s like a parent and their child. When the child is young, the parent needs to be very directive because everything is so new. The child needs a lot of help in knowing right from wrong, good from bad. The parent really does the thinking for the child. But as the child matures, the parent

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purposefully lets their child come to their own conclusions because the parent wants their child to learn how to think and reason on their own.

The parent only intervenes if the child makes a bad decision. And I think God does the same thing with us. God wants us to learn how to make good decisions based on our knowledge of him and past experiences. Listen to how Gideon’s story ends…

Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.  "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. Judges 7:16,17

Gideon isn’t stopping and asking God for direction or signs any more. He’s acting with wisdom and confidence. The 300 men surrounded the Midianites, blew the trumpets and broke the jars, exposing the torches. The Midianites woke up in shock and started killing each other in their confusion. So Gideon routed the Midianites.

Gideon won the battle but his success isn’t my point. My point is that he was so in tune with God that he didn’t have to check in with God every minute. He just did what came naturally based on his experience and knowledge of God. That’s what the Bible calls wisdom. Proverbs says…

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established. Proverbs 24:3

Well, I hope these things help. My guess is that some of us need to hear that God wants to speak to you and you can hear his voice. Some of us need to hear that God’s peace doesn’t come by avoiding hard things. And some of us need to hear that we have to put God first and honor him if we really want to do his will.

Next week, I’m going to give you a series of questions to ask yourself to help you discern between your thoughts and thoughts that God may be giving you. My working title is “How to Hear from God without a Fleece”.

Learning to Hear God’s Voice (Part 2)By Remy DiederichCopyright 2006, all rights reserved

There’s a TV show on that’s called “House”. Have you seen it? It’s about a very egotistical doctor that has a knack for going against the system in order to dramatically save lives. It’s kind of the medical version of “24”.

This week’s episode involved a faith healer who heard from God. House, who’s an atheist, spoke critically of the faith healer and one of his colleagues’s defended the man saying, "there's nothing wrong with him- he's just religious." House responded "No- you talk to God, you're religious- God talks to you, you're psychotic".

You see, in our culture, most people believe in God but they are uncomfortable thinking that God actually wants to speak to them. I use that word “speak” loosely because what I am really talking

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about is communication. I’m not saying that God literally speaks with words but we have thoughts or impressions that we perceive to be from God.

Today I want to look specifically at how God speaks to us in times of decision. We all face defining moments in our lives where we need all the help we can get making decisions. Whether it’s a high school graduate considering whether or not to go to college or which college is best, to a couple deciding whether to get married or even divorced, to a business person wondering if they should risk their money to start a new business to someone asking God to show them the ministry He has for them. One bad decision can live with you for years, if not for a lifetime. So, how do we hear God’s voice in times of decision?

In a couple of weeks our LEAD team is going to meet for a retreat to discuss, and hopefully decide on, if we should stay here at the CineMagic and add a third service or if we should move to the Mall on Sundays. The LEAD Team is what some churches call a church council or governing board.

I want you to imagine that we all show up at the retreat and I ask everyone to tell me what they sense God is saying about our future…

Mark Svendsen says that he was driving by the CineMagic the other day when he saw a rainbow over it and he thought that meant that we should stay here. I say, “That’s interesting, Mark (rolling my eyes!). Amy, how about you?”

Then Amy Burns says when she went to the China Buffet after church her fortune cookie said that new things would be coming into her life so she thought maybe the new thing was the Mall. A little nervous, I turn to Mike Glapa. Mike chimes in and says that he heard that there was a prophet holding meetings down in Madison and maybe we should drive down there and see if he has a word from God for us.

Before I can get a word out of my mouth Jayne Rechtzigel says that she was playing Bible Roulette – that’s where you open the Bible at random and point to a verse – and after the 50th time, her finger landed on where Jesus said that he’s looking for new wineskins to hold the wine of the Spirit and that meant to her that we were supposed to move to the Mall because the Mall was the new wine skin for us.

So I look at Don Prochnow. He’s a pretty reasonable guy. I’m hoping he has a little more clariy. But Don jumps in and says that he rented the movie Field of Dreams the other night and when Kevin Costner heard the voice that said “If you build it, they will come” he thought that God was using the movie to tell him that we shouldn’t worry about a move, just build a building. Then Julie Smith got all excited because she rented the same movie on the same night and she thought for sure that must mean we should build.

Finally, Jim Walker, in his understated way, said that when he was in the CineMagic last Sunday he just felt “a peace” and so he thought God was telling him that we should stay there.

Now, I’ve just described my leadership nightmare. If this ever actually happened I’d run screaming from the building! I know this sounds crazy but those are the kinds of things that some people use to decide God’s will for their lives. Pretty scary, huh?

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You wouldn’t sleep nights if you thought your church leadership team was actually making decisions this way. You expect us to hear from God but my guess is you expect us to hear from God in more pragmatic ways – like getting lots of feedback from everyone and weighing the cost and benefits.

I want to be careful to allow for God to speak to us in these personal ways, whether that’s through a rainbow or a prophecy or some other subjective way, but I think all those things should act as either an inspiration for a new idea or a confirmation of an old idea that you’ve been considering and doing your research on. In other words, those subjective thoughts and feelings should be icing on the cake of your decision making and not take the place of objective reasoning and sound judgment.

So be careful. Looking for supernatural signs comes dangerously close to what the Bible calls divination…(click for link)

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft. Deuteronomy 18:10

Divination is what people do when they try to predict the future with supernatural help. Maybe you’ve heard of tribal people cutting open an animal’s kidney to help them discern the future with the help of spirits.

The reason God hates divination is because it bypasses a relationship with him. If you can learn the future by reading your horoscope or talking to a psychic or using a Magic Eight ball then you don’t need to talk to God. But God wants you to talk to him and he wants to talk to you. One of the greatest mistakes we make in seeking God’s will is that we seek his will and not him. What good is it to know God’s will but not God? God wants to be in relationship with you and he’ll use your situation to draw you closer to him.

Another reason that God hates divination is that it bypasses your mind. If your fate is in the stars, then you don’t need to think, you just need a good astrologer. You just need an Ouija board to guide you through life.

Gordon Smith, in his book, Listening to God in Time of Choice, says…“God expects to lead thinking people.” p. 72

The Bible says…Wise people think before they act; fools don't and even brag about it! Proverbs 13:16

Wise people think, but fools look for excuses not to think, even spiritual excuses. We’ve probably all heard people do some stupid thing and then brag how “The Lord said I should do it.” In reality they just didn’t take the time or the trouble to think and then blamed the result on God.

I like the balance that I see in the book of Acts. When they were looking for people to serve the church they looked for people who were… full of the Spirit and wisdom… Acts 6:3, which means that they were looking not only for people who were sensitive to the Spirit’s leading but people who could make good decisions based on wise choices, not just signs from God.

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Well, I hope you get my point. God wants to speak to us. He may occasionally use unusual means to communicate with us but his primary means is through our mind. It all starts with a thought. An idea. Something percolates to the top of our mental pile and we go, Hmmmm… I wonder if that’s a God thought or if that’s my own thought. Then comes the hard part. You have to do the work of deciding if God is speaking and exactly what that is.

In general, if you want make a wise decision I think you need to scrutinize three things:o Scrutinize your ideao Scrutinize the various options for your ideao Scrutinize your self

Scrutinize Your IdeaTo scrutinize your idea, you need to get some outside input, so seek wise counsel.

First, read the Bible. Is there a command, a principle, or a precedent to follow? For example, a friend of mine wanted me to co-sign on a loan for a car. But I knew that the Bible tells us that only fools do that so I said no, I can’t. There are other things not so obvious, like, where do you turn in the Bible for which college to attend? No where, of course. But I think the Bible does promote learning and understanding. So that is a general guide.

At first the Bible seems overwhelming, but like anything, the more you do it, the more comfortable you are getting around. Keep reading it and in time you’ll be surprised how much wisdom you’ve gained. But in the early days when you don’t know that much…

Talk to a proven pastor or counselor or leader in the church . Now, notice that I said proven. Sadly, people have trusted people in authority positions just because they had a title, only to be burned. So, be careful who you ask. If it sounds strange, talk to more people.

Talk to those who know you best (family and friends). Even if your family or friends aren’t spiritually minded, God will use them to point things out, so listen with an open mind and don’t get defensive. But beyond those you know you…

Talk to experts or people who have done what you are considering. There are few ideas that are totally unique. Odds are, someone’s done your idea before. You just need to find them. When I opened a store on Main Street in Menomonie ten years ago, I wish I would have done more interviews with business owners. They could have saved me a lot of time and money but I was too eager to get my store open. And again, listen to their advice whether they are Christians or not. Being a Christian doesn’t make someone’s experience valid or invalid.

Talk to those in authority over you. I’m thinking of children at home or maybe your boss. These people have unique insight into your life.

Do your research. Get on line and read your heart out. We’ve got more information at our fingertips with the internet than most researchers did twenty years ago. We really don’t have an excuse to be ignorant on most subjects if we are only willing to read.

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Scrutinize Your OptionsThe next category is to scrutinize your options. I have here to weigh the pro’s and con’s. Let’s say you are considering buying a house. That’s the idea that you are considering. But do you want to build from scratch or buy a mobile home or buy an existing home? Those are all options. But what does God want you to do? Some times, I don’t think he cares which you choose as long as all the options are good. It’s like praying over which shirt to put on in the morning. As long as they are modest, God doesn’t care. Just pick one!

So here are some things to consider when you consider the pro’s and con’s.

Give the greatest weight to those things that support your mission and values. I’ll use the house buying example again. There are lots of things that we look for in a house, but one of the traps we often get into is buying more features than we can afford. We like to think that we’ll just cut expenses elsewhere but what often happens is we end up working more to make ends meet, which puts stress on the marriage and children, which can often lead to divorce. So, it’s important to factor in family unity when you are weighing pro’s and con’s. The nicer house might have a long lists of things you like, but the less expensive house, with the shorter list, might win because it will make for a healthier family.

Does your idea take advantage of others? Manipulate them? Cause them to compromise their faith or morals? Will it cause them to lose money or face? If your idea requires compromising someone else in any way, it’s not from God.

Is this only possible in a “best case” scenario or is it realistic? Have you ever done something that you knew would work only if everything fell into place perfectly but you did it anyway? What happened? In most cases, something went wrong and you regretted your decision. So learn from that mistake. Factor in a certain level of failure before you make the leap.

Is there any evidence of God working in your idea? When I’m trying to decide what ministries we promote at church, I look for where God is already working. I don’t mind people trying to start ministries, but if no one responds or people respond but no one wants to lead, then we need to shut it down. If God wants something to happen, he’ll provide the people and the leaders to run it.

In the same way, there are some things in your life that God is already blessing. You barely have to pray about it because you know he’s wanting it to happen.

Have others done it with success? Sometimes business people hit on an idea that no one else is doing and they think they are a genius about to make millions. But I’ve found that what’s often the case is that I came up with an old idea that’s been tried by others and it failed. So before you think you have a great idea, ask around to see if it’s been done before.

Can you try it out before you make a commitment? And the answer for marriage is “no”! Whenever possible and whenever it’s moral (unlike marriage), I like to try before I buy. That’s one of the reasons we took our Easter service to the Mall. We thought we could make a more reasoned choice by experiencing it first. We have a lot more knowledge of the pluses and minuses of the move because we did that.

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Does this option create a trajectory of purpose or is it one more random act of confusion? That is, do I change on a whim or am I inclined to “stay the course”. Some people are all over the map when it comes to making life decisions. Their life has no sense of purpose or direction. And worse yet, they will blame it on God, like God is leading them in circles. But at some point you have to stop blaming it on God and admit that you probably have a character defect or an emotional dysfunction that is causing you to make bad decisions.

In general, God wants us to set a course of direction and stay with it. Each life decision should build on previous decisions. So look for a flow of thought and direction that keeps moving you in the same direction (unless, of course, you realize that you had made a poor decision in the past).

Scrutinize YourselfNow, let’s look at the third area; scrutinizing yourself. I put here, assess the factors that influence your hearing God. The Bible says that…The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9

Because of this we have to be willing to scrutinize our lives like a dentist scrutinizes your teeth. Have you ever noticed how obsessive dentists are? They get in there with that little mirror and pick at every part of your teeth to see if there is any weakness or sign of a cavity. And even that’s not good enough. Then they take x-rays and scrutinize them. Why do they do that? Because they are convinced that teeth decay and the sooner they catch it the quicker they can treat it.

In the same way we need to scrutinize our motives when it comes to making decisions. Why? Because our heart is deceitful. We lie to ourselves about why we want what we want and so before we make any decision we need to ask ourselves what’s impacting my decision? So here is a list of things that impact how we hear God.

My View of God (Theology). How you view God will make a huge impact on your decision making. For example, do you think God is forgiving or condemning? You might know he’s forgiving intellectually but in your heart you might feel like God will never let good things happen to you because of past mistakes you’ve made. If you really believe that, it will affect what you think you can do in the future.

Or, what do you think God’s role for men and women is? If you hold to a certain kind of theology, women have limited options when it comes to serving in the church. That’s going to affect both men and women as they (them men!) make decisions about running the church.

Then there’s the question of calling. Is the highest form of service to God in full time ministry? Do you have to be a pastor or a missionary to really serve God? Some people think that. ( Not me.) But how you view that will determine the choices you make. I’ve known many people who went into the ministry, not because they were called, but because they thought it was the only option for someone that was “sold-out” for God.

Or how about this idea…does God have a perfect will for your life? Some people think that God has a Plan A for them and their job is to find it. But if they miss plan A, they really messed up.

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For example, I think a lot of people think like this when it comes to marriage. They have a bad marriage so they think that they missed God’s plan A. They are convinced that their marriage will never be good because their perfect mate is out there some place waiting for them.

Now, I want you to think about the error of that kind of thinking. If just one of us married the wrong person, it would cause the whole system to break down. If I married Sally instead of Lisa, that means that Lisa would end up marrying the wrong guy. And if she married the wrong guy, then the woman who was supposed to marry him would marry the wrong guy. And on and on it would go. So ever married couple on earth would be out of God’s will! Crazy, huh? God’s plan isn’t for you to marry a specific person. God’s plan is for you to love the person you married. That’s Plan A!

So challenge your view of God to see if it’s right. Consider the logic of your view before you commit your life to a decision based on it. Paul told us to…

Test everything. Hold on to the good.  Avoid every kind of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:21,21

My past experiences. Everyone looks at life through the grid of their past experiences. If you have been successful, you will tend to get excited about new ideas and expect success. So you need to be careful that you aren’t overconfident and get into situations that you aren’t meant to be in. The Bible says that God gave the apostle Paul a thorn in his flesh to remind him of his weakness and keep him humble. Personally, I err on the side of over confidence. I’ve gotten into some trouble thinking I could do things that I really wasn’t equipped to do.

On the other hand, if you’ve failed in the past, you will tend to fear new opportunities. So you need to be careful that you aren’t rejecting an opportunity that God is bringing your way. Last week when we looked at the story of Gideon God called Gideon a Mighty Hero. God was trying to recast Gideon’s view of himself from being a loser to someone who could succeed. So don’t let your past dictate your future.

My assumptions about what is viable. When I was in Nicaragua a few years back I saw a man who wheeled his cart to the top of a big hill every day to sell his fruit and then went back down the hill every night. I remember thinking that if an American moved to Nicaragua, they’d never consider doing what he did. It was too much work for too little pay. But yet, that was an acceptable lifestyle for that man.

We all live with certain expectations about how our life should look, especially from an economic standpoint. Whenever you hear yourself say, “I could never do that” - be careful. Don’t be so quick to exclude an option from your life. What if that’s what God wanted you to do? You just eliminated that option from your life.

For example, when I was in New Orleans I told my team that I’d never come down to New Orleans in the summer. It was too hot. But then I thought about that statement and told myself, “Why not? Don’t they need help in the summer? Aren’t they going to be there in the hot weather this summer? Should we just abandon them during the summer months? Are you not willing to suffer a little to help relieve them from their suffering?” That really challenged me about my selfish assumptions.

My family and friend’s opinion. I mentioned this last week. We often hear God’s voice through the filter of our family and friends. Sadly, we care more about what they think than what God

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thinks – we’ll only obey God as long as no one knows what we’re doing. Family and friends have a great ability to tap into our fears and lay on the guilt trip. So, it’s really important that you develop healthy emotional boundaries so that you are only taking responsibility for yourself and not everyone in your family. When you get to heaven, God’s not going to ask your parents to give an account for you. And he’s not going to ask you to give an account for them. You both have to answer for yourselves.

The Culture. I think a lot of decisions are made because our culture tells us a decision has to be made. For example, when a high school student graduates, they often feel like they have to go to college. Or once they get to college they feel like they have to decide on a major. Who says so? The culture, not God. Yet these poor students are under all kinds of pressure to decide, needlessly.

Often times people will tell me that they are stressing out, trying to decide between two options. I’ll often observe that there are other options or they can simply not decide. Who’s telling them that they only have two decisions and they have to decide now? That often gives them permission to back away from the pressure and rethink the decision.

My health. You need to be careful making decisions when you are tired or depressed or sick. It’s like going grocery shopping when you are hungry. Your ability to choose well is overwhelmed by how you feel at the moment. God seems to be telling you to buy all kinds of things when you are hungry and he seems to be telling you to not take any risks when you feel sick.

My limitations and strengths (real or imagined). We all have limitations and strengths. It’s important to be aware of these when it comes to decision making because you don’t want to be too quick to decide what you can and can’t do. I want to invite Brandee Farrell to come up here for a minute to talk about how her limitations have kept her from doing God’s will.

Brandee has stuttered for most of her life. In my interview she talked about how this has caused her to hold back from many social and relational situations. But recently God has given her a peace about her stuttering and the courage to take steps that she’d never consider in the past. Brandee has always looked to be cured of stuttering. But she’s realizing that God wants to cure her fears first. (Note; her full testimony, given at Fresh Encounter on 4/30/06 is at the end of this teaching.)

My motives (pure or impure). Finally, there are all kinds of attitudes that we bring into every decision and it’s important for us to discern our true heart condition so we know if we are making a good decision or not.

Are we… Greedy or giving?Vengeful or Forgiving?Impatient or at peace?Controlling or able to let go?Proud or humble?Fearful or confident?

It’s so important that we are in touch with what’s driving us. Gordon Smith said…

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Loathe even the possibility that a decision could be made on the basis of questionable motives. Each of us is capable of rationalizing – justifying our actions, persuading ourselves that our intentions are honorable. We must, then, be resolved to clarify our motives. P. 64

There are two questions I like to ask myself to determine my motives…Am I open to input and advice?

Am I willing to walk away/ let the idea go?

If my motives stink, my answer to both of these questions is “no”. But there is one person who can help us with our motives. God. Listen to what the book of Hebrews tells us…

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  Hebrew 4:12,13

People often apply this verse to the Bible. But I think it goes beyond the Bible to any time that God wants to reveal our heart attitudes. God is able to separate between our motives, if they are good or bad. You’ll get into some situation and suddenly God will expose the attitude of your heart, good or bad.

And this is what makes this whole process spiritual. You might look at my outline and say, “Remy, this are just good tips on decision-making. This has nothing to do with God.” But I disagree. There is good decision-making. But beyond that, there is the question of motives and only God can reveal our motives to us. You see, once your motives are pure, then you can pretty much do what you want. That’ what the Bible means when it says, “To the pure, all things are pure.” (Titus 1:15) (as long, of course, as it is biblical and moral!).

Well, I hope these questions helped you. Maybe I just made things complicated! Maybe you are going to pray for a rainbow or something easy like that. But I hope you’ll learn to hear God’s voice by asking some of these hard questions. And I hope the life that results will honor God.

Prayer: Father, I pray that our hearts will long to do your will. Help us not to take shortcuts and try to divine the future. Might we draw close to you, so close that we can hear you whisper which way you’d have us to go. Amen.

Brandee Farrell’s testimony

As I shared this morning in church, I have a limitation that affects me in doing God’s will and that is stuttering. I have stuttered for much of my life and have acquired many fears and anxieties. These fears and anxieties have led me to filter out what God is leading me to do. If I feel God prompting me to introduce myself to someone, my response is often times “no” because of the fear of what they might think of me if I stutter. If I’m in a group setting and feel led to pray, often times there is so much anxiety inside me that I can’t even open my mouth, so I just say “no” to God. This “filtering out” is an automatic

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thing that just “kicks” in whenever I feel God leading me. I feel guilty when I say, “No” to God, but the anxiety and fears are so strong, they win. 

Many people have described me as someone with a quiet and gentle spirit. The truth is that in a speaking situation, whatever it may be, my spirit is anything but quiet…it is more like in turmoil. Whenever I’m in a group setting, an abundant amount of anxiety sets in when I feel prompted to share something. My heart starts pounding hard and fast and some times I feel myself start to shake. Part of that anxiety stems from not wanting to “ruin” the moment of the sharing going on, because everyone to me is so fluent with their thoughts and speech. The other part of it is a lack of confidence in even knowing how to participate appropriately. Because speaking has been so difficult for me for most of my life, I have found it easy to listen to people. It is a very safe thing for me to do and it doesn’t make me vulnerable to any uncomfortable looks or remarks. In listening for so much of my life, I feel like I’m entering a strange new world when I begin participating in discussions or conversations. Thoughts like, am I entering at the right time? Was that an appropriate thing to say? Did they understand what I truly said with my stuttered words? What if I start stuttering when I share and the group gets tired of hearing me stutter and they just sigh when they see me next time? 

For the past year and a half, I have been a part of the Thursday morning Mom’s group led by Christine Ruth. In January we began a study called Breaking Free by Beth Moore and it was then that I verbally made a personal goal with the Mom’s that I wanted to participate more within the group instead of just sitting back and listening. I asked Christine to keep me accountable and she did that each week. Setting that goal was good for me, as I did participate more but I noticed that the fear and anxiety that kept me from sharing in the first place was just as strong as ever. Even though I had been with this group of women for a year and a half, I still had extreme anxiety inside. 

When I set that personal goal in January, I had no idea how God would set me completely free in this area. Through many ministries such as a Hearts At Home Mom’s conference, Theophostic Prayer Ministry, and the Breaking Free study in Mom’s group, God had been preparing me for freedom. This particular freedom occurred at the Fresh Encounter in February. I had come that night excited to see what God would do in the lives of people who would come, but I was not expecting that I would be one who’s life would be touched, healed and freed. 

While Jayne Rechtzigel led the group in mediation of the verse we had been given, I was anticipating what could come next: an opportunity to share what God was saying to us about the verse or to read the verse to the group. I started to get nervous and my heart began to pound, but this time when I felt God leading me to read the verse out loud, I couldn’t ignore Him anymore. In my mind I could hear Him saying, “Read the verse Brandee. Read the verse. Read it.” After a couple of people had shared, I opened my mouth and 1 Peter 4:10-11 came out as steady and clear as they could. 1 Peter 4:10-11 says, “Everyone should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”). When I finished reading the verse that February night, tears started to stream down my face in release to the fear and anxiety that had been let go. I was just beginning to experience the freedom that only God can give. 

Before I left Fresh Encounter that night, I shared with Jayne what had happened and asked her to pray for me. She thanked God for what He was doing and asked Him to use what He had just done for His Glory. I

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then prayed and while I was praying, the words, “Thank you for my voice, even though it’s a stuttering voice” came out, along with a flood of tears. For so long I had been embarrassed and tried to hide the fact that I stuttered. Tears continued to fall freely as I cried out to God, repented, and realized the freedom I had just been given. I could sense it in my spirit that I was free! 

Since that Sunday night, my life has been different. I experienced the freedom God had given me, immediately at Mom’s group the next Thursday. I freely shared what was on my heart, cried, and when I felt led to pray, I did! All without an ounce of fear or anxiety! The next Friday I went to the Captivating book study eager and feeling relaxed. I remember distinctly noticing that I stayed relaxed the whole night! That in itself was incredible! Throughout that night I asked a couple of questions, cried when I shared a burden that was on my heart, and I closed the group in prayer. The next morning I told Jonathan, my husband, “Guess what I did last night? I shared what was on my heart, asked questions, cried, and prayed at the Captivating study!” That experience gave me a tremendous amount of freedom! The weeks following continued to show me that this freedom God gave me wasn’t just temporary. I continued to share in Mom’s Group and the Captivating study freely, and I also started to experience further freedom. God led me to an opportunity just a few weeks ago where I led up a time of prayer with a group of women at a going away party. I was thrilled to be called by God to do this! In the past I would have turned away from God’s leading because of the fear that lingered inside of me. This time I said, “Yes!” to God and then saw how He blessed others because of my obedience to Him. 

As God freed me from the anxiety and fear I had in group settings, I have been experiencing a true understanding of what Jesus did for me on the Cross. This past Easter was the first time I really understood the meaning of it. I was filled with joy as we sang about the freedom that Jesus gives us because of His death and resurrection! While I had head knowledge of this before, I now have a deeper heart knowledge and understanding. 

It is my desire that God will be given the glory for the freedom that I now experience! It has been difficult to stand up here and be transparent, however, I am grateful to have this opportunity to share how God has been so evident in my life. Thank you! 

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