Sermon preached by Dr. John A. Huffman, Jr.
July 22, 2007
Copyright © 2007, John A. Huffman, Jr.
All rights reserved.

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. (James 1:5)

His eyes penetrated mine. With deep intensity, he asked, "How can I know the will of God for my life? I want to know it, but I've never seen any letters written in the sky. I've never heard any inner voice. What's wrong with me? Can I really know the will of God?"

No question comes to me more frequently than this. Many of you have raised it as a topic you want me to address with more frequency. I first spoke on it here at St. Andrew's in 1978, again in 1993 and in 1999. It is time to once again address this theme, as it is the most frequent question I as a pastor am asked.

Sometimes we pastors confuse you when we use phrases like "God told me this." The person who has never had any direct dramatic communication from God wonders what's wrong. Why is God not talking to them in a similar fashion to the way He's apparently talking to their pastor?

Let me share with you a secret. I've never seen God's handwriting in the sky. I have never heard that deep, Lloyd Ogilvie-textured voice telling me what to do. So don't feel alone. We are in this together!

Again comes a series of questions. Can I really know the will of God? Can I know who to marry? Can I know what job to accept? Should I sell my home and move into an apartment? How should I raise my children? Should I move to another part of the country? Should I remain in this troubled marriage? Is God interested in these matters? Can I really know the will of God?

The answer is an emphatic YES! You can really know the will of God.

David, deep in trouble, trying to figure out what had gone wrong in his life, cried out to God. He begged God to make haste to answer him. He yearned to know the will of God. His prayer was the same as yours but slightly different words. He cried out, "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path" (Psalm 143:10).

James shares with us these words, "If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind" (James 1:5-6).

In Psalm 121:1, the psalmist raises a rhetorical question. ". . . From where will my help come?" He answers his own question by emphatically declaring, "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." He goes on to talk about how God will not let His foot be moved, that God does not slumber, that God keeps Israel. God takes care of His people. "The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore" (Psalm 121:7-8).

Passage after passage in the Bible declare God's interest in you, His guidance for you, and His care for you. Yes, you can really know the will of God. You can live with the confidence that you can be in the center of His special care.

These affirmations are based on certain presuppositions.

Presupposition One: There is a God who is a personal God ,who is interested in you and is able to give you personal direction.

This presupposition believes that God has revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ. This God is still with us through His Holy Spirit. If you reject presupposition one, there is no need to go on with our discussion. Our time would be better spent probing the very epistemological presuppositions for the existence of a personal God who has the capacity to reveal himself to humankind.

Presupposition Two: You are a person who has repented of sin and put your personal trust in Jesus Christ.

This presupposition understands that you want the guidance of this God. You are praying for it. And you are willing to obey God's instructions when they come. If you do not accept presupposition two, we need to talk more specifically about your own relationship with the Lord. We need to talk about what it is to come to a personal saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Presupposition Three: You really want to know the will of God--on God's terms, not just on your own terms.

If you really want your will, not God's, we could better spend our time probing the implications of discipleship, whether or not you are prepared to be a follower of the Lord, or whether you simply want cosmic goodies showered upon you from the sky, a genie to jump forth at your command.

These presuppositions are basic to knowing the will of God. Today's message is not for what we could call "fringe benefit" Christians. I have seen so many persons who associate themselves with churches because of the fringe benefits which are offered. They want a healthy religious influence on their children. They want to associate with good people. They want inspiration to help them get through another week. They like to be seen with religious people. However, they are not converted by the power of God. They have not been born again.

These people are living off the fringe benefits which come from being associated with the people of God. Perhaps it's a bit crude to put it this way, but these are persons who are "ripping off" Jesus without letting Him transform their personal lives.

Today's message applies to you only if you acknowledge your need of the Lord, trust Him as your Savior and want to live a life of obedience. This is the starting point for knowing the will of God.

The Christian who seeks the will of God confronts various situations. There are many different labels that can be given to these situations. But for the sake of discussion, let's divide them into three categories.

What I am getting at here is that those of us who sincerely desire to be in the center of God's will can be. There are different ways of assuring ourselves that we are doing what He would have us do. These ways are dependent upon the types of circumstances, the types of situations we are facing. For the sake of labeling, let's call these three types of situations: Clear-cut; Neutral; and Dilemma.

Some of your life decisions are quite clear-cut.

On these matters, you and I don't have to go to great lengths to figure out whether or not we are doing what God wills us to do. The Bible is clear. God has revealed himself in Scripture. In this special revelation of himself, He has told you and me what we should and shouldn't do. This seems quite arbitrary, does it not, in a day of contextual ethics in which some people say that we are free to do whatever we want to do? As a Christian, you have a Guidebook. This Guidebook is specific on certain matters. The clear-cut situations are those circumstances in life to which the Bible speaks clearly and tells you what you should do and what you should not do. Even the notion "should" is offensive to some who don't like any kind of external arbitrary authority.

We live in an environment that discourages the notion of any external control. That may be good psycho-dynamically in terms of husband-wife and adult child-parent relations. However, no society can function without some kind of authority, as imperfect as it may be. And the sovereignty of God, the Creator over the creation, is a basic bedrock foundational principle of life to those who want to live the most creative way, to be all that we were designed to be. You need not fret , introspectively wondering what is God's will in a particular matter if God has revealed His will in the Bible. This implies that you are reading the Bible to know God's will on these clear-cut matters. You need to read the directions, if you're going to seek the will of God. Confront these clear-cut situations and simply follow God's will. Quit spinning your wheels trying to get His will to come out differently than what His Word says.

I've often thought wouldn't it be interesting how different our lives would be if we used our Bible as often as we use our cell phone.

One of our members sent me this bit of doggerel titled "CELL PHONE vs. BIBLE."

"I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go. . .hmm. . .where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

Makes you stop and think, 'Where are my priorities?'

And no dropped calls!"

There are two guidelines on these clear-cut matters that can be of great help.

Guideline One: Never seek God's leading on an act or attitude which is forbidden in the Bible. Never ask Him if it's right or wrong to do something He has clearly said is wrong.

Some years ago, a couple came to me for premarital counseling. It came out that they were having premarital sexual relations. I asked them, "Do you love Jesus Christ?" They said, "Yes, we love Jesus." I asked, "Do you take the Bible seriously?" They emphatically declared, "Yes, the Bible is the Word of God. In fact, we go to a Christian Bible college." I then naively asked, "Well, how do you happen to be having premarital sex?" Without blinking, they responded, "We've prayed about it. We asked God if it was His will, and He told us it was alright for us."

The Bible has something to say about this attitude. It describes the ways in which we twist that which is wrong into being right. One of the saddest days in the life of the people of Israel was when it was said, "Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes."

The Bible also says, "There is a way that seems right unto a person, but the end thereof is the end of death." This couple had gotten into some real problems in their personal relationship, because they had asked God's will on something that was specifically forbidden in the Bible. Fornication has no place in the life of the believer. Extramarital sex has no place in the life of the believer. Lying and cheating have no place in the life of the believer. God specifies all this for one's own personal welfare and for the health of the society. You can know the will of God on clear-cut matters, if you don't ask His will to change something He has already made very clear. In short, if the Bible says don't, don't!

Guideline Two: Never seek God's leading on an act or an attitude commanded in the Bible.

There are clear-cut situations in which the Bible gets specific. It is direct in its particular guidance for those who take the time to consult it. Don't waste your time trying to figure out what God's will is in those matters that He has revealed so clearly.

Some of us Christians try to get out of witnessing. We say, "I'm not an evangelist." That's the biggest cop-out of the contemporary church. The Bible says that every believer is to share his/her faith. It doesn't say that everybody has to get up and give great testimonies in public. Not everyone has the gifts of Billy Graham for mass communication. The reality is that you are called to be a witness. The Scripture tells you, in your actions and in your words, to share what Christ has done for you. You don't have to ask God whether or not He wants you to witness. He has commanded all believers to go into all the world and share the Gospel with every person.

For example, tithing is a specific instruction of the Bible. You and I are called to put first things first. God has given us one hundred percent of what we have. Ten percent before taxes, the first fruits, are to be given back to Him to carry on His mission here on earth. That is His economy. That's the way God provides to see His work move forward. Some of us are able to go beyond the tithe. This is not a legalistic principle. This is to be done joyfully, enthusiastically, trusting God to enable us to live creatively on the ninety percent or less which is left.

You and I are also to address justice, righteousness, mercy and peace. We are not to be content to let life go on in a way in which human beings are dehumanized. We are to be proactive, realizing that one person cannot make all the reform necessary in this world. But if all of us who are disciples of Jesus Christ would become active in our sphere of instituting peacemaking, this world would be a much better place. In short, if the Bible says do, do!

Now we know that not all situations we face in life are clear-cut. There are those neutral situations on which the Bible doesn't really speak out specifically.

It doesn't tell you what kind of a car to buy. The Bible doesn't tell you what route to take back to work. The Bible doesn't tell you what airline to fly or what flight to take. Perhaps you're saying, "What in the world are you driving at now? Isn't this getting a bit silly?" Yes, I think it is. There is a danger of being "too spiritual." I know some Christians who have gone overboard in their quest for the will of God. They are people who are aware that the car one purchases or the route one takes to work or the flight one takes all can have enormous implications for one's future. They would push on to the point that, if the Christian is to live as God would have him or her live, he must consult God constantly on every little detail. I believe the Bible disagrees with this approach. The biblical way of life is a healthy, robust, energetic, dynamic, assertive lifestyle. It is one that concentrates on finding God's will in essential matters and trusts God to take care of the incidentals.

A.W. Tozer, the noted pastor and writer who has written one of the finest messages on finding the will of God, used an illustration likening God to a shepherd. A shepherd is constantly concerned for his sheep. The shepherd watches over them lovingly and tenderly. At times, he gives dramatic leadership and saves the sheep from plunging over the cliff or drowning in a swift stream. The sheep look to the shepherd for leadership, but the shepherd does not expect the sheep to consult him on every blade of grass they eat. They need not be uptight every moment. The shepherd is loving. He watches over the sheep, anticipating their needs and giving them freedom within general limits to grow in a healthy and well-developed manner. When you come into the neutral situation, go right ahead and do the obvious. Don't try to second-guess God. He loves you. He is concerned for you. He wants your life to be a dynamic life, not caught up in petty, introspective, analytical matters that rob the joy and vitality from your existence.

Now we come to those dilemma situations in which the Bible gives no clear-cut word.

The situation is too large to view it as just a neutral, average, everyday situation. You are offered distinct choices. A great deal is at stake on what decision you make. You are in a dilemma, wondering what you should do. It may be a career decision. It may be the choice of a life partner. It may be whether or not you should move to another city. Such decisions have a way of compounding.

Anne and I have gone through these dilemma situations. None was as difficult as the decision as to whether or not we should leave the ministry we were having at the First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to move to Newport Beach to pastor St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Now, looking back on that decision some thirty years later, it is so much easier to see what God had in store. Yet, there are those moments, when the pressures of this ministry settle in, that I can go back and rethink the scenario and wonder what it would have been if we had stayed there. I remember how we wrestled with this, confronting the opportunity to come here with all the exciting and new possibilities or to continue on in the security of that ministry. Each of the options had their commendable aspects. The Bible had nothing clear-cut to say. It was too important a matter on which to jump on the first whim of impulse. Our life as a couple, the future of our daughters, the well-being of these two churches, the personal lives of our staff colleagues, all would be drastically effected by whatever decision we would make.

These are the tough decisions, aren't they? Can I really know the will of God in the dilemma situations?

Let's take a closer look and see what God's Word has to say about these circumstances. Today's text hits the nail on the head. It says that we can know God's will in the dilemma situations when the options seem equal.

Our text analyzes our situation. It points out that, in these dilemma situations, we are lacking something. Our lack is wisdom, the insight, the knowledge, the ability to know what God would have us do. James writes, "If any of you is lacking in wisdom. . .," which could be paraphrased to say, "If any of you are not sure of what to do"(James 1:5). This is a straightforward admission in the Bible that there are times in the life of the believer when we are stymied. We are not certain what God would have us do. We are facing a lack. So often, a major deficiency in our lives as Christians is the lack of wisdom. It is not our fault. It is a fact of life. Wisdom is one of the greatest commodities in the world. That's why Solomon asked for it.

Wisdom is different from knowledge. Wisdom is different from scientific data, from textbook information, from technology. Wisdom is a sense of the ultimate right, the ultimate direction, the ultimate guidance that is best for you. You and I know some very smart people who have no wisdom. Some brilliant people with PhDs are stupid when it comes to wisdom. Those of you who know me know what a high priority I put on formal education. Please don't accuse me of anti-intellectualism because of what I'm now saying. The reality is that you do not have to have a high IQ to have wisdom. You need not have a lot of formal education to have wisdom. The starting point of having wisdom is your acknowledgment that you lack it. That's what we lack when we come into the dilemma situations.

So what does James tell us about meeting this lack?

How do we supply this great deficiency? Does James say, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him sit down and think?" No! "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him take a course at the university?" No! "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him go to a textbook and let him find the answer?" No! If you want to learn theology, you have to study. If you want a mastery of science, you have to apply yourself to that discipline. It would be of no use to pray to God to make you a good physicist, doctor or lawyer, unless you also took the necessary means to become one.

James understood the difference between knowledge and divine wisdom. James was aware that there is an intellectual quest for knowledge, but the person of great knowledge is not necessarily the person of divine wisdom. He is saying that, if you want wisdom, get down on your knees and ask God for it. The primary source of this wisdom is the Holy Spirit of God, which dwells in our lives as Christians. Wisdom comes from sincere prayer backed by corresponding conduct. Wisdom comes from asking God what His will is in a particular situation. What James actually writes is this. "If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you" (James 1:5).

You have got to ask God. In the process, you have to cancel out your own hidden agenda. So many times we come to God with a hidden agenda. We come to Him and say, "Now, God, I want wisdom as to how I'm going to make an increase of twenty-five thousand dollars in my salary. God hasn't got a chance. You have already told him what you want, and it is something that may not be His will. We are privileged to come to Him with our petitions. There's nothing wrong with asking for help in a particular problem. What I'm getting at is that, if you are indecisive and you don't know what is best, you can stack the cards against God by limiting His options. All He can say is yes or no or wait. That's not what we're talking about. We're coming to God with genuine openness, which says, "I need wisdom. I don't know what the answer is. I really want your will, O God!" James moves on to give the promise to the person who has admitted his or her lack of wisdom and has asked God for it. The Bible guarantees that wisdom will be supplied. What an enormous promise. Take it at face value!

What is a person to do next? You and I are to act with the confidence that God is working out that which is best. Sometimes the answer does not come immediately. There may be a waiting period when the alternatives still look about the same. Then there comes that time in which the balance seems to tip slightly in a particular direction, and there is that assurance that this is what God would have us do.

Do you catch the rhythm of this? Face the fact that you need wisdom. Ask God for it. Claim the promise that He will give it to you. And then wait upon Him with the awareness that it may take quite awhile to come. There may be circumstances in your life which have to be worked out before the answer can come. Daily ask Him for wisdom. Ask Him for just enough wisdom to get through a day at a time. He'll give it to you. Enough days at a time strung together will ultimately bring the answer to your dilemma. I speak as an expert on this topic. I have gone a full year at a time on one issue, eighteen months on another, and even ten years on another. Finding God's will has never been a quick, easy process for me. But it is a promise of God, if we're willing to wait on Him. I urge you to seek His wisdom, wait upon Him, and you will be amazed, at sometime when you least expect it, the balance scales will be tipped, and you will find God's will on that matter so important to you.

Just how does God give us His wisdom? He does it through at least six guide lights.

I'm reminded of a boat trip my father, another friend and I made from Chicago to Louisiana in 1960. We had an eighteen-foot speedboat. In five and a half days, we traveled over thirteen hundred miles down the Illinois River, the Missouri River and the mighty Mississippi River. On several nights, darkness settled in on us while we were still on the river. The Mississippi snakes its way, sometimes looping as much as three hundred degrees in a backward circular motion. In the pitch black of the night, how easy it is to wreck your boat against the shoreline or get hung up on a sandbar or, even worse, run into a freight barge. The only guarantee one has of staying in the center of the channel, which is kept clear by the Army Corps of Engineers, is to follow the guide lights. If you keep your eye on the light and move in that direction until you see the next light, you can navigate the treacherous shoals as we did one evening for an hour and a half. Then the way to get into the harbor is to follow the harbor lights, making sure that they line up--one, two, three, four in a line. When you do that, there is safety at the other end. Neglect those lights, and you are jeopardizing your safety.

God gives us at least six guide lights to help us pilot our lives into the harbor. The channel is narrow, pitch black. We can wreck our lives, if we pilot by the seat of our pants. We can get into the harbor safely, if we line up these channel lights.

Channel Light One is: The Bible.

As we have already seen, the Bible does give explicit guidance in specific situations. In many of our daily dilemmas, it does not give exact directions. But in all situations, it at least gives implicit guidance in principle. You see how God has dealt with people in the past. You find the principles on how to live. You are given a general knowledge of what kind of person God wants you to be. The more you study the Scriptures, the more your natural, instinctual reaction is to be God's person and live His way. Just as two people who have been faithfully married for fifty years have grown to know each other and understand each other and think increasingly alike, so will you begin to think as God thinks in your general understanding, which will more quickly lead you to a specific knowledge of His will.

Channel Light Two is: Prayer.

Pray to God, in highly personal terms, your needs. He urges you to "in everything, with prayer and supplication, make your requests known unto him." Jesus urges you to talk to God, as you would to the most loving parent, being specific about your needs.

Channel Light Three is: Outward circumstances.

If you have an IQ if one hundred, and you are making straight C minuses in high school, it becomes quite evident that it is not God's will for you to go to Harvard University. I'm overstating an illustration to make a point. Be sensitive to the principle. God works through your circumstances.

I happen to test poorly in mathematics. God would have to work a miracle in my life if it ever were to be His will that I should be a physicist or an engineer. God wants to maximize your gifts. It's no accident that you are where you are and have the abilities that you have.

George Behr, of our congregation, works in the area of the development of lay ministry. With excitement, he sent me an email describing the Discovery Experience that we offer here at St. Andrew's, helping you discover your spiritual gifts. He tells how he gives some clues about God's will for your life. He says he tries to make the point by making the following two statements where he has the audience fill in the blank. "If God gave you wings, He probably would expect you to __________." In a similar manner, "If God gave you the spiritual gift of leadership, God probably expects you to __________." And he notes, "The converse of this is the question, 'Am I doing God's will in my life?' A part of the answer to this question is another question. 'Am I using the spiritual gifts that God has given me?'" If you aren't, you're clearly out of the will of God. Take seriously the external circumstances of your life. We have the privilege of reflecting on them. A career change may be in order. Just make certain, if you shift from business to medicine, that you have the scientific aptitude. There is no sense in pushing yourself into something that others could do much better, when you have unique, God-given talents where you are.

If you are married, it's God's will for you to be faithful to those marriage vows. If there are problems in the marriage, it is God's will for you to acknowledge those problems for what they are, not ignore them, and to deal creatively with them.

God is a master at reality testing. He wants you to know the truth, and the truth will set you free. He doesn't want you to be blinded to reality.

Channel Light Four is: The counsel of godly friends.

What do your trusted colleagues say? Scripture tells us that "in the multitude of counselors, there is wisdom." There are people who love you, who are willing to listen to you, who can reflect back to you some discoveries you are making about yourself of which you are totally unaware. Be careful of other people who always know the will of God for your life. Seek out those who are willing to enable you who really have your best interests in mind and want to help you maximize your gifts to the glory of Jesus Christ. A loving pastor, a sensitive father and mother, a good friend can provide counsel that is priceless.

Channel Light Five is: The motivation of love.

Is what I am doing something that is designed to be of encouragement and help to others? Or am I doing this selfishly for myself in wanting that which would be hurtful and painful to others? It is amazing how many of the dilemma situation are cleared up simply by asking that question. I mention it fifth in order because, unless we look to see what the Bible has to say, open our hearts in prayer, observe the outward circumstances, and consult godly counsel, we can deceive ourselves into thinking that an action is loving that is not loving. How many persons have thrown in the towel in a marriage, driven by their hormones, not by what would be loving for their partner, their children, their friends, their God and even themselves? Tragically, too late they discover the heartbreak they have created for all these, themselves includes, because they so quickly bought into the "I have the right to be happy" mentality in total disregard as to how their action would affect the people closest to them.

Channel Light Six is: Do what you want to do.

Don't minimize your feelings. When the Scriptures are unclear and your prayers don't seem to be answered, when your outward circumstances are unclear, your friends refuse to give you final counsel, and you know that what you are about to do is the loving thing to do, then go ahead and do it. That's right. Do what you want to do! God has a way of guiding through your feelings, if you have given consideration to these previous five guide lights. God is not in the business of making you unhappy. He wants your best. Often His best is what you want--when your wants have been brought into conformity with the general teaching of His Word.

So you come to a deadline. You are still uncertain. You have to make a decision. Simply act in whatever way your inner feelings are leaning at that point and trust God to bless the earnestness of your quest for His will. Once you have acted, don't second-guess it. You can't go back. And what seems to be a mistake, if all six of these guide lights have been brought into line to the best of your ability, will, in the long run, prove to be God's best for you. Satan will whisper in your ear, "Now are you sure all this is God's will?" Answer him back with the promise of God's Word that God did promise you wisdom! Stake your life on the promises of God's Word.

A footnote in conclusion. As much as I have sketched a blueprint for finding the will of God, remember that most of us want to put our trust in a blueprint instead of putting our trust in the architect. You won't always have a clear set of plans. But you can live daily in the confidence that the Architect of your life is interested in you. He is your Friend, and He is worthy of your personal trust. Take Him at His word. Believe Him. That's the life of faith.

Although I've made some mistakes in my life, and I've experienced some pain, and I have been let down by some people I have trusted, I can testify to the fact that God has never let me down. I am a veteran of sixty-seven years of living. Sixty-two of those years I have been a born-again Christian. There have been long periods of indecision on some of the more crisis decisions. However, God has never failed to follow through on His promise of giving wisdom when I asked it of Him, following these guide lights and trusting myself to the very Architect of my life, the Lord Jesus Christ. This can also be your testimony!