Does God still speak?

This is interesting. Adrian Warnock is interviewing Dr. Wayne Grudem, and their conversation turns to the topic of whether or not God speaks directly to individuals. Just listen and consider, in light of what the Scriptures reveal.

Wayne Grudem on whether God's revelation has really stopped or not from Adrian Warnock on Vimeo.

HT: Adrian Warnock

Great, fatherly advice

By far the best advice I have received this year came from a dead man. I found it in the words of the late Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) to his daughter, Elizabeth, in a letter he wrote to her in 1948. In answer to her questions about how she could know whether or not it was the will of God for her to be an overseas missionary, Dr. Lloyd-Jones had this to say:

The one vital, all-important thing is to know the will of God. It is not as easy as it sometimes sounds. I was for over two years in a state of uncertainty and indecision before leaving medicine for the pulpit. But in the end it was made absolutely and perfectly clear and mainly by means of things which God did.

These are the rules which I would advise you to observe:

1. Never speak to anyone about it. Don’t tell people what you are feeling and discuss it and ask for advice. That always leads to still more uncertainty and confusion. Make an absolute rule of this at all costs. Say nothing until you are absolutely certain, because we are all subject to self suggestion.

2. Do not even think about it and discuss the pros and cons with yourself. Once more this leads to auto suggestion and confusion.

3. In meetings, etc. do not start with the thought in your mind, “I wonder whether this is going to throw light on my question or help in any way?”

4. In other words, you must not try to anticipate God’s leading. Believing as I do that God does “call” very definitely, and in a distinct and definite doctrine of a call, and a vocation is distinct from “the need is the call” idea, I believe that Good will always make His will and His way plain and clear. With reverence, therefore, I say leave it to God entirely as regards purpose, time and all else.

All you have to do is to tell God that you are content to do His will whatever it may be and, more, that you will rejoice to do His will. Surrender yourself, your life, your future entirely to Him and leave it at that… You must not go on asking God to show you His way. Leave it to Him and refuse to consider it until He makes it impossible for you not to do so.

Also remember…that “to be” comes before “to do”. That is where we all fail. Our business is to make ourselves such instruments as shall be fit and meet for the Master’s use. He always tells such people how and where and when He wants to use them. You prepare yourself and He will then show you what He wants you to do.

[Iain H. Murray, David Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith 1939-1981 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1990), pp. 177-178.]

Over the past few months, I’ve grown to believe that Dr. Lloyd Jones may have been on to something when he said, “Don’t tell people what you are feeling and discuss it and ask for advice”. Sometimes, unfortunately, talking to fellow humans can be a waste of time, because they just can’t understand. Sometimes, only God truly understands. Loneliness is one means by which God can teach us to be totally dependent upon Him. Connected with Dr. Lloyd-Jones’ excellent counsel that “to be” comes before “to do”, I learn that my main business is to spend much time alone with God in prayer, depending upon God’s Spirit as I submit myself to the word of God.

Seeking direction from God

Judging from the number of books, booklets, pamphlets and articles I’ve read or heard of over the years, it seems just about every Christian, at one time or another, wants to know the answer to this question: “What is God’s will for my life?” What the questioner is seeking is direction in making life’s many choices. The difficulty, of course, comes when the choices before us are not specifically addressed in Scripture. What college should I attend? What career path should I follow? Who should I marry? Sometimes we find ourselves absolutely stuck, unable to move, so uncertain are we as to what our next move should be. Of course, the major problem is, short of God speaking to us with an audible voice, it is usually extremely difficult to be sure when you have a definite answer from God.

Consider the following verse of Scripture. I think, perhaps, this verse holds the key to our dilemma of discovering God’s will for our lives:

“Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose” (Psalm 25:12).

Maybe the problem of discovering God’s will is actually the problem of an inadequate view of God. Perhaps, when we obtain a clear vision of God as the One who is to be feared, then we will see clearly the way He would have us to go.

“Woe to me...”

This morning I was looking at the table of contents of Dr. Al Mohler’s book, He Is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2008), with the thought of possibly reading it while I’m at home on Winter Break.

Pastor James MacDonald’s comments on the flyleaf stung me:

“I preach because nothing else can satisfy the urgency and passion that God has ignited in my heart for His truth and His people. The same should be true for you. If you can go sell cars or shuffle stocks instead of being a pastor and preacher of God’s Word, then go do that.”

I agree with the sentiment Pastor MacDonald expresses. Yet, I’m not a pastor and the opportunities to preach are rare.

After all these years, it sometimes seems like a dream or fantasy. But, it wasn’t a dream and I didn’t imagine it. Over nineteen-and-a-half years ago, God called me to preach His Word and shepherd His people. I didn’t choose this; the burden was laid on me. After all these years, I still feel that burden.

And, like MacDonald implies, nothing else has satisfied me. Nothing. That’s why his comment stung. For what does one do when all the doors have closed? “If you can go sell cars or shuffle stocks instead of being a pastor and preacher of God’s Word, then go do that.” I agree. And yet, I wish it were that simple.

The fact is I also have a responsibility, before God, to provide for the family God has given to me. 1 Timothy 5:8 is clear: “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10 is equally clear: “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

So, I work…doing something else besides being a pastor and preacher of God’s Word. In 1 Corinthians 9:16, I find where the apostle Paul wrote, “Necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” I think I understand what Paul meant.

And, it hurts so much.

Discerning the personal will of God (Part 3)

Some of you may think I had forgotten about this series I started some time ago (As a matter of fact, I did forget for a short while!). Today, I want to finally conclude this reflection on discerning God’s personal will for our lives.

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When it comes to seeking guidance from God as to His will for my life, personally, I have learned to take comfort and find security in the fact that I am where I am right now by God’s providence—that is, according to His sovereign purpose and will.

I’ve related some of my life story and testimony before. One of the reasons I consider myself “a debtor to mercy” is because my life doesn’t fit the statistics. I’m Black (or, if you prefer, African-American), born in the early 60s to an unwed teenager mother. With such a beginning, statistics would indicate that the likelihood of my growing up to finish college and graduate school, get and stay married to one woman for 17 years (and counting), and be a father to two (apparently) well-adjusted boys, is slim. That is, according to the statistics. But statistics don’t factor in God! “By the grace of God I am what I am.”

What is true of me is true of everyone: All of us are where we are in life on purpose—according to God’s sovereign will and purpose. That should be a comfort to believers, because it means we are not at the mercy of sinful men and women or chance. On the other hand, the knowledge of God’s providence should produce fear in unbelievers, because they are in the hands of One who is “a consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24; Isaiah 33:14 and Hebrews 12:29), who is able to “destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

Either way, we’re in God’s hands, in God’s appointed place at His appointed time.

In my previous post on this topic of seeking guidance from God or discerning His will for our lives, I also mentioned that God has already revealed Himself through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He has given His people a word of revelation: the Scriptures, which are the word of God. If we want to know God, we must know Jesus. We must be “born again”. If we want to know God’s will, we must read the Bible. Everything you or I need to know, as far as God’s will is concerned, is written for us in the Book.

There is one other thing that comes to mind, however. It is the matter of open and closed “doors”. Sometimes, God guides us by opening up opportunities before us or by closing the door in our face, effectively blocking our path.

We see this concept of the “open door” spoken of, most often, in connection with the ministry of the apostle Paul:

“And when they [Paul and Barnabas] arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles”(Acts 14:27).

“But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me…” (1 Corinthians 16:8-9a).

“When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there” (2 Corinthians 2:12-13a).

“At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak” (Colossians 4:3-4).

The open door was God’s indication to Paul and the other believers that the opportunity that lay beyond that “door” was God’s will for Paul. Similarly, sometimes God opens doors or opportunities before us as an indication that “this is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). Please note, however, that these open doors or opportunities must be in harmony with God’s written word. Judge all things by Scripture. It is never God’s will for us to pursue opportunities to sin.

If God opens doors of opportunity to do His will, it follows that He can also close doors, as an indication that “this is not the way, don’t go there.” Acts 16:6-7 contains perfect examples of what I mean:

“And they [Paul, Silas and Timothy] went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.”

How did the Holy Spirit make His disapproval known to Paul and his companions? I don’t know! The Scriptures do not say. But, one way or another, Luke was able to write that the Holy Spirit “did not allow them” to go the way they had planned. In some way, God had blocked their path and closed the door.

Are some of your plans being frustrated? Have you been rejected again and again for some opportunity you’ve sought? Perhaps, God has closed the door. Maybe you’ve “been forbidden by the Holy Spirit” to go that route. This is not an absolute certainty, but this is a possibility that you should consider as you pray and seek God for direction. Sometimes our disappointments are just God closing the door, blocking the path, telling us to go another way.

It seems to me that the best way to discern God’s open and closed doors is in hindsight. Prior to my accepting the public school teaching job I was recently offered, I had applied to and was passed over by seven other high school districts. I was disappointed, to say the least, and keenly felt the rejection. But, lo and behold, after all those disappointments, God created a job opening I never expected. I applied to fill that vacancy and, soon, was called in for an interview. I was interviewed and offered the job the very next day! In hindsight, I see that God had closed the doors on those other school districts because. He had another opportunity in mind. When the time was right, God opened the door to the opportunity I was eventually offered.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

One way God makes our paths “straight” is by opening and closing doors. Sometimes our frustrations and disappointments are but God’s way of directing us into His will for our lives. But, child of God, wherever you’re at in your journey, know that you are in God’s hands.

(Part 1)

(Part 2)

Discerning the personal will of God (Part 2)

I want to pick up where I left off yesterday. I ended by saying, “I’m not searching for God’s will. I know I am exactly where God wants me to be. And, you are exactly where God wants you to be.” Someone could possibly misunderstand or misinterpret what I’ve written, so I’d like to elaborate and, hopefully, clarify what I mean.

Am I affirming that if, for example, you are living in a habitual pattern of sin, or caught in some kind of scandal or, like a person I read about in the newspaper this morning, are a cross-dresser who wishes to change his or her gender, you are exactly where God wants you to be?

No, you are not where God “wants” you to be, in terms of pleasing God and bringing Him pleasure. In fact, in relation to God’s revealed will in Scripture, you are, indeed, “out” of God’s will. Sin is not right and God doesn’t condone it. However, in terms of seeking God’s direction, or His personal will for our lives, I don’t think we can escape the reality that we are where we are by God’s providence—that is, according to His sovereign purpose and will. Our lives may be out of our control, but none of us is ever out of God’s control. Everything, visible and invisible—every being, every creature, every molecule, atom and particle in the universe—is under God’s absolute and sovereign authority.

Too many people treat the will of God for their lives as if it is some hidden and mysterious secret that we need to discover before we can get on with the business of living. I don’t think this is a wise or biblical way to view the will of God. There are two important points we should always keep in mind: First, we need to know and remember that God has already revealed Himself through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. If we want to know God, we must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, we should never forget that God has also given His people a word of revelation. It’s called Scripture—the Bible—the word of God. If we want to know God’s will, we must read the Bible. The Bible is God’s word to us. Everything you or I need to know about God and the right way to live is already written down for us in the Scriptures.

But, what about God’s specific and individual will for us as it concerns career or marriage or ministry or any number of choices we must make in life? Again, I think the starting point must be Scripture. Does Scripture command or forbid any choice we’re considering? If there is a command in Scripture concerning how we should live, we’re obliged to obey. On the other hand, if the choice we’re considering is forbidden by Scripture, we are not free to pursue that choice. What about a desire or impression that we that we feel led to pursue? Again, it seems to me, if that desire is not sinful or will not incline us to sin, we are free to pursue it.

But, what about a desire to pursue a specific position of service within the church? Maybe we feel called to serve in some specific way. Certainly, it is always good to serve, so sin would not be the issue. Here, the issue becomes one of qualifications. The question we should ask ourselves is, are we qualified, according to Scripture, to hold this desired position of service within the church? A classic passage in this regard would be 1 Timothy 3:1-13:

1The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer [i.e., elder, bishop or pastor], he desires a noble task. 2Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

8Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

When it comes to the desire to pursue an office within the church, the issue becomes one of qualifications. “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” The desire is good, but the desire is not enough: “Therefore an overseer must be…” Ability is not enough, either. For the office of overseer, with the exception of the directive that the aspirant should be “able to teach”, Paul’s list is not primarily about the ability to do the job. Godly character is the major qualification for office, not ability.

Above all, when it comes to discerning God’s particular will for our lives, our choices must be objectively informed and guided by Scripture.

(To be continued…)

(Part 1)

Discerning the personal will of God

Yesterday I was offered (and I accepted) the position of choral music teacher at a nearby public high school! My family and I are rejoicing because I have been searching for a “permanent” job since January of last year—17 months! The offer of this teaching job also marks a personal milestone for me. Even though I’ve been a state certified teacher for 22 years, and worked over 17 of the past 21 years in the field of public education, it’s been over 18 years since I’ve actually held the position of “teacher”. I’ve been a “substitute” teacher, a “permanent substitute” teacher, a “teaching assistant”, even a “paraprofessional”, but I’ve not held the position of full-fledged “teacher” since 1989. Needless to say, when I completed graduate school 21 years ago, this is not how I envisioned my “career” in education unfolding.

In the past week, I’ve also been reminded of my “call” to ministry. Chances are, had my family and I not left our former mainline Black denomination 9 years ago, I most likely would have been the pastor of a church by now. The fulltime pastorate was the goal I set out in pursuit of some 18 years ago, when I first discerned that God was “calling” me to preach the gospel. To date, I have yet to reach that goal. Ironically, although I’m not a pastor, and have not been in an official pastoral role in 9 years, in many ways, I’ve served in a kind of unofficial pastoral role in each church of which we’ve been a part since leaving the denomination that ordained me. Even when I didn’t tell anyone about my ministerial background, I’d have people ask me if I was a student at the nearby seminary. It’s like they just assumed I must be a preacher. Occasionally, I will have people, out of the blue, ask me questions about the Bible. Well, thank God, He still provides opportunities for me to teach or preach His word, but the form my ministry has taken is not what I imagined it would be 18 years ago.

Which bring to mind this whole topic of discerning the personal will of God. Many believers want to know, like Saul on the road to Damascus, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6 KJV). We’re willing (or, at least, we claim to be willing) to do whatever the Lord says do, if He would only make His intentions clear to us. Some might even worry that they’ve somehow missed God’s will for their lives, and they set out in a frantic search to “find” the will of God.

May I tell you something? It is impossible to “miss” God’s will. If God is in control, then it is impossible to be “outside” of His will. Nothing happens to us that God has not permitted. If God doesn’t allow it, it won’t happen. Like the idea of someone dying “before their time”: If someone could die before their time, it would mean that, somehow, that person’s death took God by surprise. He had a time in mind for them to die, but they went and died “before their time”, without God’s permission. Nonsense! They died right on time—at God’s appointed time for them to die. In the same way, none of us can get “out” of God’s will, as if God is powerless to do anything with us. Instead of wasting time trying to “find” God’s “lost” will, our time would be far better spent being obedient to the will that God has already revealed to us in His written word. Our lives will be used by God and will be effective in His hands if we make it our business to be faithful.

So, does God have a specific plan for our lives? I believe He does but, it seems to me, our life path is rarely laid out for us in clear fashion. God doesn’t let us in on the details of our lives. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Therefore, we must trust God. He knows the way. Let’s face it: If God did show us the specifics of the path ahead, we’d never follow Him! We would be frightened off by all the trials, temptations, disappointments and failures that await us. God doesn’t tell us (most of us, at least) what’s going to happen in the future. So, we trust God, knowing that He knows the future, and knowing that His plan for our future is good, even if it does include trials, temptations, disappointments and failures.

That’s certainly what I’ve found. Even though I could wish that 21 years ago I had secured a teaching job like the one I was just offered, the fact of the matter is, 21 years ago I would have failed miserably. I’m a far better teacher today, knowing what I now know, having experienced what I have experienced, than I would have been 21 years ago. And, much of what I know today has been because of the failures and disappointments of yesterday. I would venture to say I’m a far better minister of the gospel today because of my “off-road” experiences of the past 9 years. And the process is not done! I’m still learning, still growing, still maturing. Disappointments and pain, in the hands of God, are worth it, in terms of what is gained in character.

So, I trust God. The increased responsibilities will present even more challenges that I know God will use to continue forming my character in Christlikeness (and I may have far less time available to blog). As far as the ministry of the word, I’ll continue to pursue whatever door God opens.

However, I’m not searching for God’s will. I know I am exactly where God wants me to be. And, you are exactly where God wants you to be. Trust Him. He is using your circumstances to shape you into the image of His Son.

(To be continued...)