Decisions! Decisions! Decisions!
Leaders are required to make decisions that could potentially cause their church to get off the course that God intended. Every decision must be saturated in prayer and stand firmly on the truth of God’s Word. In John 16:13, Jesus tells His disciples, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” Your faith will be challenged as you choose to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. You must consent to not only His presence but also submit to the actions He desires to take in your ministry. You are thankful He is there, and you want Him in the driver’s seat.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into truth, but don’t be upset when you are not sure what He is doing in your life. God has a plan. You will not always know what He is up to, but you know that you can trust Him. Don’t becomeunsettledwhen your questions go unanswered. Read Hebrews 11 and know that, without faith, it is impossible to please Him. Resist the urge to ask Him to give you more than you need if that will cause you to trust Him less. The Lord desires us to trust Him daily, to cry out to Him for direction daily and to take up our crosses, denying self, daily.
How then do you make good and godly decisions, knowing that one wrong decision has the potential for a critical impact on your life, family and church? Your sinful decisions can even visit and impact generations after you. The world says consult counselors such as financial advisors, career guidance counselors and business coaching. All of these can be tremendously beneficial, but there is more to good decision-making than weighing all the evidence, comparing the pros and cons and taking the logical course of action. If all else fails, you could flip a coin and accept the 50-50 chance of being wrong.
Henry Blackaby says it well: “God doesn’t want us to do what we think is best, He wants us to do what He knows is best!” Remember, the Holy Spirit guides into “all the truth.” The primary reference here is to the writers of the New Testament. Jesus told the disciples in John 14:26, “The Holy Spirit… will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” Jesus was referring to the four gospels and that they would be reminded of everything He had spent over three years teaching them. In John 15:26-27, Jesus said, “He will testify about me and you also will testify.” The fulfillment of this truth is found in the Book of Acts.
John 16:12 continued, “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.” Jesus said more truth was coming and let them know that this New Testament truth could be trusted. The Holy Spirit would also continue to guide into all the truth they were not quite ready for yet — the Epistles. Then He even told them that the Holy Spirit would guide them in how everything would come to a conclusion. John 16:13 says, “He will also declare to you what is to come” which is speaking of the Revelation. Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit who inspired the Old Testament would also inspire the New Testament.
What a comforting declaration Jesus gave the disciples. They would soon have the complete canon of Scripture and Jesus was confirming its reliability. Only the Holy Spirit, since He is God, knows all that God knows, and thus is equallyqualified to reveal divine truth to man.
Because He is the Spirit of Truth, the Bible is inerrant, God-breathed: “All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness” (II Tim. 3:16). Yes, the Holy Spirit was coming to comfort, guide and be our constant helper but He was coming primarily so that Scripture, all truth, could guide us.
This demands a complete admittance of your total dependence upon God by immersing yourself in His Word. When you fill your mind with Scripture, before long, you will find yourself thinking, acting and being directed by biblical principles. Out of your commitment to God’s Word you are able to make good, godly decisions. You are also committed to prayer. Jeremiah 33:3 has been referred to as God’s phone number: “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” Make sure you are asking Him to guide you daily in every decision and not only when you are facing problems.
This prayer principle is not only for the church and church leaders. There is not a dividing line between sacred and secular because God is not restrained by manmade artificial boundaries. Prayer will keep you focused on the one absolutely consistent factor in life — God. He is immutable, therefore God is unchanging over time and unable to be changed. God’s Word is settled in Heaven forever. The Holy Spirit is the one who enables us to not be upset when we are unsure what He is doing. He is the one who empowers us to not be unsettled when our questions go unanswered. The Holy Spirit will aid us in trusting Him completely.
How tragic it is to face a major decision that desperately calls for God’s wisdom, but you have grown unfamiliar with His voice. You have become disoriented to what is right and what is wrong because you have not been communicating with Him daily and consistently. Maybe you just wish you had more time to pray. Daniel had enormous government responsibilities, yet his habit was to have three dedicated times of prayer every day. Daniel had political enemies who desired to have him removed out of his position and even executed. How did Daniel face these attacks and this danger? He prayed, as was His custom.
God faithfully guided and protected him. Daniel had complete confidence in his rich relationship with God. You say you have complete faith in God, but you do not have a rich, deep daily walk with Him? Daniel’s confidence came out of not only who God is, but out of Daniel experiencing Him daily. Daniel was talking to God regularly and he knew, whatever happened, God was with him. He came out of a seemingly hopeless situation victorious. I am not sure this is what happened, but I can just see Daniel being lowered into the lion’s den and saying, “Leo, go over there and sit down and shut up!”
640
Larry Barker
Director of Church Planting and Church Health Larry Barker submits a weekly column titled, Healthy Church Solutions, designed to strengthen and encourage the local church.
Other posts by
Larry Barker
Contact author