Author: Scott Chafee

Scott serves on staff at King’s Grant Baptist Church in Virginia Beach.

Sermon-Based Small Groups

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I’ve been thinking about how we can get more people involved in smaller communities without loading down already busy families. I also sense there are only so many truth units that a person can absorb each week… Sunday School, the pastoral message, Wednesday night meeting, any devotional book someone may be reading, and perhaps a Christian living book from your local Lifeway store.

All that spiritual activity is likely pretty optimistic on MY part, but the reality is, a Sunday class and the Sunday sermon may be all that people are taking in each week (or twice a month, or once a month). So, what do you think about designing groups that meet during the week, NOT for additional truth units, but to focus on application and clarification of something already heard last Sunday… like the pastor’s message? I thought of a few questions on the topic:

1. How can sermon-based groups be used for God’s glory, for the good of the local church, and for the good of the community?

Anything that brings glory to God is used by God to glorify Himself, and any time He is glorified the local church is better for it. Anytime the local church is known as being focused on bringing glory to God, the community is enhanced.

I like that! These groups can help our church to be “a city on a hill,” (Matthew 5:14) and a light shining brightly for Christ on the street or cul-de-sac where believers live. They can function as a mission of our church which they represent, in the community where God has placed them for his own glory.

2. How can sermon-based groups “remember” their leaders (Hebrews 13:7) rather than forget what their leaders spoke?

One of the most positive aspects of sermon-based groups or Bible studies is that group members are reminded of the main points of the sermon. Imagine how God will be glorified in the lives of the participants! These groups would study the passage more fully and strive for clarification, questions and application. After reviewing the main points of the sermon, group members should then process what they heard in the sermon then make commitments to live out what was preached.

3. How can I lift up the name of Jesus above all names and respect my pastor?

Humankind will instinctively worship that which they can seen and touch, so there is potential for the pastor to become the focus of attention rather than Jesus. In order to overcome this, small group leaders should be trained to elevate the words found in the Bible above the teaching, clichés and phrases spoken by the pastor in the sermon. Then, consistently during the Bible study time, leaders should point people to Jesus and his word rather than focusing on the teaching pastor and his words.

4. How can people move beyond the after-service surface-level comments like  “Great sermon” to significant conversations?

A very short answer ought to do it… GREAT discussion questions that are placed in the right order. When this happens a transformational conversation will be experienced. Our need is to develop capable of creating these kinds of experiences. This is where most sermon-based groups fall very, very short.

5. What are some upsides of sermon-based small group studies?

  • The pastor is happy with the small group pastor knowing he or she is working in tandem to establish the principles and practices that were unearthed during the sermon.
  • Small group members are reminded of the main points of the sermon which helps establish the truths that were taught.
  • Sermon based Bible studies make more time to discuss application. Since the principles and practices that would normally be unveiled as group members discussed the passage are already established, (since the pastor took care of this when preaching) the group can climb immediately into discussing how these principles and practices are to be lived out.

While God’s Word is sufficient, we must caution that group discussion and attempting to determine what God is saying is vital as group members learn how to interpret Scripture without an official “teacher.” Many people may never learn to think on their own or use their Bibles or interpret Scripture apart from someone telling them what it means.

The Downside of Sermon-Based Groups:

I am a proponent of any small group experience that lifts the name of Jesus above all other names, creates a safe place for everyone involved, and produces an environment where unbelievers feel as though they are equals on a spiritual journey so they attend consistently.

I recently spent some time reading about the sermon-based small group experience, and not everything is positive. These are some concerns I discovered.

1. Elevating the pastors words while inadvertently diminishing God’s Word: When utilizing biblically based, well-done discussion guides, the conversation must be strategically turned toward what the Bible is saying. When discussing the weekend sermon, the conversation can be built around what the pastor said. The primary voice in the Bible study wouldn’t be God and his Word, but the pastor and his words. Instead of hearing phrases like, “The Bible says,” or “Jesus told us,” or “God’s Word instructs us,” small group members hear phrases like, “The pastor told us,”or “If the pastor was here he’d probably say,” or “I’ll check with the pastor and see what he meant.” The pastor’s voice may inadvertently become known as the ultimate truth source rather than the Bible being the only source of all truth.

2. Senior pastor worship: Sermon based small group experiences can easily lead to high levels of senior pastor worship. My research on this topic has indicated that the senior pastor’s name is brought up (and he is held in awe) at least six times during each group gathering. Jesus’ name and his personality are discussed much less than the pastor’s personality and the senior pastor’s name. In some pastor-driven high-power church, Jesus is subconsciously established as the senior pastor’s sidekick, the secondary personality in church life. Before long, many believers speak more of their pastor and his great sermons than their Savior and his redeeming power.

3. Those farthest from Christ won’t attend a small group – Those who are far, far from Christ are not going to attend church services which means they’ll never feel comfortable in a sermon based small group experience. The truth is, people who are far from Christ are NOT going to come to a group to discuss a sermon they haven’t heard. To expect a “not yet” follower of Christ (who didn’t hear the weekend sermon and never will because they are not going to attend a weekend worship service) to come weekly to a sermon based small group experience is like asking someone to come to a book club for a weekly meeting to discuss a book they refuse to read. They aren’t going to attend.

One way to combat this last observation is to invite unchurched friends for the fellowship and discussion on a certain topic (the sermon topic, for instance). Even though someone did not hear the message, in the conversation, the group can highlight the main points of the message as the evening progresses, and then the Bible is STILL the primary source of guidance and the one who missed church is not disadvantaged.

The Body of Christ

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God has chosen to speak also through his people, the gathered body of Christ. A problem of the evangelical church is that we have emphasized the priesthood of the believer so much that we have lost our corporate identity as the church. Christians think that can stand alone before God and are not accountable to the church (other believers). Remember that Jesus died for the church (Matthew 16:18). Check out how the church is described in the New Testament:

  1. Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27)
  2. Jesus is the head (Ephesians 4:15)
  3. Every believer is placed in the body as the Spirit chooses (1 Corinthians 12:18)
  4. The Spirit manifests, or works through each person in the body as he chooses for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7)
  5. The body is fitted together by the Father.
  6. The members are enabled and equipped to function where the Father has placed them in the body (Ephesians 4:13)

God has made us mutually interdependent. Paul was constantly requesting the believers to become vitally involved with his life and ministry. The effectiveness of Paul’s ministry rested on THEM (Colossians 4:3, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2, Ephesians 6:19).

The point is that apart from the body of Christ, you cannot fully know God’s will for your relationship to the body. God can and does speak through the church. There are many needs in the church, and the need itself does not constitute a call to meet that need, but the need however is NOT to be ignored.

There are no lone ranger Christians, we are connected to one another in bond of love, salvation and mission. The individual believer is not the church; the church is the body of Christ gathered. Every member is to listen to what the other members are saying, because others will help me to understand God’s will.

Spiritual Markers in Your Life

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Sometimes the circumstance is a decision-making situation, not so much between good and bad, but between good and best. I hope that we all will be able to pray this to God:

Lord, whatever I know to be your will, I will do it. Regardless of the cost and regardless of the adjustment, as best I know in my heart, I commit myself to follow your will ahead of time. Lord, no matter what that looks like, I will do it.

That is a tremendous prayer of submission. If you DON’T pray this way, you can never say, “Thy will be done” because you are really saying “Thy will be done as long as it doesn’t conflict with my will.” DO NOT proceed until you can honestly say, “Lord whatever you want, I will do it.”

Physical Markers and Spiritual Encounters:

Physical markers were often set up as a reminder of someone’s experience with God. At the crossing of the Jordan River, tribes set up a pile of stones as a reminder of what God had done for the people, and the fathers would pass these stories down to their children (Joshua 4:2-3, 6-7).

There are a number of people in the Old Testament worth studying when it comes to an encounter with God:

  1. Noah (Genesis 6-8)
  2. Abram (Genesis 12:1-8, 13:1-18)
  3. Isaac (Genesis 26:17-25)
  4. Jacob (Genesis 28:10-22, 35:1-7)
  5. Moses (Exodus 17:8-16, 24:1-11)
  6. Joshua (Joshua 3:5-4:9)
  7. Gideon (Judges 6:11-24)
  8. Samuel (1 Samuel 7:1-13)

I chose to look at Gideon since I attended a Gideon pastor appreciation lunch just this week. The Lord came to Gideon while he was working and called hm to a difficult task. He knew he was not up to the task of delivering God’s people from their enemies, but since he had this encounter with God, he set up a memorial and called it, “God is Peace” since he saw God and did not die.

Fathers passed on these stories of God’s activity to teach their children about God’s faithfulness and deeds. Every act builds upon the previous act, like a pile of stones. The stories are told and retold, then adding what God had done specifically for them. They rehearsed the stories to future generations would have a context of how God dealt with his people.  Each new step involved a person, and that person added his experiences to the story.

As we develop a spiritual inventory of stories, they are events that help us to recognize God’s movement in the past to help us prepare for God moving in the present and future. A spiritual marker identifies a time of transition, decision, or direction when I clearly know that God has guided me.

Personal Spiritual Markers:

God has been working in you since your birth, and we should recognize the events that have brought us to where we are now.

  1. G’Anne – In high school, I was interested in a girl who went to church and decided to go to church to be with her. I accepted Christ a year later.
  2. Scotty – I had decided to NOT go to college until my friend brought up the subject (after graduation) and said we could room together and get involved in the Baptist Student Union. I was accepted into college and met my wife at the BSU, and discovered my calling in life was into full-time Christian service.
  3. Bob – He was the campus minister who saw more in me than I saw in myself, and encouraged my to seek ways to grow spiritually, be obedient to God on campus, develop leadership skills and to consider seminary and Christian service.
  4. Kim – At college I met the love of my life and best friend. We have shared life and love for over 30 years. We embrace shared values, salvation in Christ, and commitment to him and each other. God has also called her into her own ministry, not just to be a pastor’s wife.
  5. Stephen – The birth of my son was the first time that God became a real person to me. It had been twelve years since I accepted the Lord; I finished college, then seminary, and then Kim and I were at our first church after seminary. Stephen came a month early and needed to be in the neonatal ICU, so with Kim in one hospital and Stephen in another, I was at a traffic light at about 9:00 one night, just leaving Kim, and on my way to see Stephen, on my way home when I cried out to God. I complained about the meaning of all this, what’s the point of the nine months, the anticipation, the preparation, the excitement, only to have my boy so near death. It was at that time that I heard the still small voice of God reassuring me that I was not alone. He said to me, “It’s going to be OK, I know what it’s like to lose a son.” I knew that no matter what happened to Stephen, Kim and I would still trust and follow God. We were not experiencing anything that God did not know about or experienced himself. I named that place (like the Old Testament saints did) “God is my Peace” and “God is my Comfort” because it was that night I learned so much about the love that God has for me and my family. He loves Stephen more than I could ever love him!
  6. Allan – He was the pastor of our first church out of seminary, who was evangelistic and mission-minded. He left for the mission field and planted the seed of missions in our hearts.
  7. Don and Mickey – This couple challenged us to work in the area of home missions at the oceanfront, and to evaluate all that the world and the church had taught us and hold it up to the light of God’s Word. This was a very treasured time of ministry and relationships that laid a solid foundation for life-long ministry and walking with God.
  8. Zambia – It was in Zambia that I sensed the most satisfaction of being in God’s will, denying self and following God. The Great Commission was being realized in my life. The friends I made along the way are lasting and cherished relationships. I realized that I did not take the gospel to the Zambian people, but rather God was already at work there and I adjusted my life to join him in that work.
  9. Lemstone – As we left the mission field for a couple of reasons but our experience back home was difficult (I write about that a bit more in a previous post). God was silent. I could not find full-time employment in the ministry and felt abandoned by God and our denomination. The owners and employees of Lemstone Christian bookstore at the Galleria Mall (south of Birmingham) were praying for my family, and my employment, knowing that it meant I would leave the store. When I had the opportunity to interview in Richmond with the IMB’s Office of Mission Personnel, they called the employees off the floor and went to the stockroom and we prayed. They prayed earnestly for God to move in this situation. This was more than a workplace, it was the community of faith getting together to BE the church. To this day it was one of the most supportive work environments of which I have ever been a part.

I suppose that is enough storytelling for now, but the point is we should constantly watch for how God is moving, and notice the spiritual markers that outline and define our journey. All along the way I sensed that these were never decisions between good and bad, but between good and best. I was called to serve God and follow his lead whether I was on the field or serving in a church. He has called me to faithfulness to his will, purposes and his ways.

Hearing the Truth

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We really cannot know the truth of our circumstances until we have heard from God. Moses demanded that Pharaoh let God’s people go, but caused the Hebrews to experience greater hardship. What might we have done in Moses position?

  1. Gotten mad at Israel and returned to tending sheep.
  2. Gotten mad at God and told him to get someone else.
  3. Decided that I must have misunderstood God’s will.
  4. Go back to God and ask to see what is happening from God’s perspective.

Moses blamed God and accused him of failing to do what he promised. He was so discouraged that he was ready to quit (Exodus 6:12). Let’s work on responding with the last statement.

The most difficult thing for anyone to do is to deny yourself and take up the will of God and follow him. We need to be God-centered, rather than self-centered. Look back at your day and you will notice how radically self-centered we are. It takes a lot of effort to see your life from God’s perspective.

Hearing the Truth:

The Truth is a person (John 14:6) so let’s work at hearing the truth from the Truth.

  1. Disciples in the Storm (Luke 8:22-25) They thought they were going to die in the storm. Was that the truth? No, the Truth was asleep in the back of the boat. The truth in this circumstance is that Jesus would stand up and calm the storm.
  2. The Widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17) She likely thought that God doesn’t care, her son has died. Was that the truth? No, Jesus showed that he cares and has power, and raised her son. The people were filled with awe and praised God.
  3. Feeding the 5000 (John 6:1-15) They thought that we cannot feed all these people. Was that the truth? No, Jesus was testing the disciples because they were not God-centered. The people were fed and they praised God claiming a prophet has come to them.
  4. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) They were to reach the whole world, on their own? Was that the truth? No, Jesus wanted them to be filled with the Holy Spirit, for him to work through them to reach the world. Trust me and see what happens. He will not give us a task without the ability to accomplish it.

Never determine the truth of a situation by looking at the circumstances. We cannot know the truth of a circumstance until we have heard from God.

God’s View of Circumstances

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Job is the classic example of bad circumstances and wondering what God is up to. His life was a mess, family died, health and wealth were gone and Job knew knowing from God’s perspective (Job 1:2-6, 2:1-7).

Job’s friends thought they knew God’s perspective and said Job needed to confess his sin. Had we not read the first two chapters of Job, we would conclude that God was being mean and cruel.

Have you ever been through an experience of confusing circumstances and in your prayers accused God of things that you know are not really true? My stories where the birth of my son (in the NICU for a week) and my leaving the mission field (in my previous post).

It is at these times that we question God’s love and wisdom. We tell God that he has deceived us, following him in what we thought was his will, only to experience his silence. The first thing we must do is to ask God to help us see things from his perspective.  We must look back at our circumstances with the heart of God.

Here are things to keep in mind:

  1. Settle in your own mind that God will never demonstrate anything but absolute love, the cross is that evidence.
  2. Don’t try to understand what God is like from the MIDDLE of the circumstances.
  3. Ask God to show you the situation from HIS perspective.
  4. Wait on the Holy Spirit and use the Bible to help you understand your circumstances.
  5. Adjust your life to God and what you SEE him doing in your circumstances.
  6. Do all he tells you to do.
  7. Experience God working in and through you to accomplish his purposes.

Jesus watched the circumstances to know where the Father wanted to involve him in his work. So, to understand your circumstances, God’s perspective is vital.

The Silence of God

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In prayer, we often experience deafening silence. We pray faithfully and the prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling. So what is going on?

My prayer for a successful men’s ministry has always been followed by watching to see what God could be up to. As I pray and plan, I desire for God to make himself and his will plain to me. The event comes and goes with moderate numbers. I hope to encourage men to become involved with something greater than themselves, that which will help them to become better husbands and fathers. I’m not a complicated guy, so changing the hearts of men MUST be a part of what God would want, and would actually bless. But the Men of Steel has never taken off with growth and numbers. So, THIS WEEK, I am coming to the point where I must surrender and say that God may not want me moving in that direction.

Unanswered Prayer:

If prayers go unanswered, the standard line is that there must be some unconfessed sin in our lives. That is exactly what Job’s friends claimed as he was going through so much suffering.

But there is another reason for God’s silence. It could be that God is about to bring into our lives a greater revelation of himself than we could have ever known. This what we find in John 11:4-5, 21, 32, 40.

Jesus could have come to see Lazarus, Mary and Martha as soon as he heard of the illness, but he waited, for a reason. The people were going to see a greater glory of God, more than just a healing from sickness, but a resurrection from the dead. God will let you know what he is doing in your life WHEN and IF you need to know it. In John 11, Jesus’ delay and silence was not rejection, but he was going to disclose himself far more than they had ever known.

We can respond to God’s silence in one of two ways:

  1. We may go into depression, guilt and self-condemnation.
  2. We may have an expectation that God is going to do something far greater than we could have asked or imagined (Ephesians 3:20).

I remember a time of deafening silence from God. Kim and I just left the mission field and were on leave of absence from the IMB (meaning no support). We sold many personal items to raise money for air tickets back to the states. We stayed at my parents’ home in Birmingham since they had room for my family of four. I looked for a source of income which eventually came in the form of working at a Lemstone Christian bookstore. It was minimum wage, working with several college students and a couple retired people, but it was something to supplement our savings that was being depleted month by month. (By the way, the people at Lemstone were one of the best supportive communities of faith of which I had ever been a part… which is another story).

All the while I was seeking meaningful employment to stay in the ministry and provide for my family. God was silent. There was no prospect for full-time employment on my horizon. I exhausted my list of friends in the ministry, referrals and recommendations. I had a fairly good resume and did not even get to the interview stage in the job hunting process. I was feeling forsaken by God and forsaken by my denomination. God was silent. I was broken.

About the time that our savings was nearly gone and I was debating whether to get my own business license (for roofing and painting) I received information from the IMB home office in Richmond about an opening as a missionary consultant. It was a personnel position, and with my background in and love for missions, my counseling degrees and experience, and my desire to stay active and faithful in Christian ministry. God’s timing was the best. I learned a great lesson through this experience: God did not meet my need when I wanted it met. When all my sources of security and stability where gone, I needed HIM alone. That event is where God’s name became “God is my Provider” because he provided what I needed when I needed it the most.

Stay strong, wait patiently, watch for what God is doing and when he moves, be ready to respond in childlike faith and obedience.

God, if I ever give you a request and you have more to give than I am asking, cancel my request and give me what YOU want. I trust that YOU will let me know what I need to know and when I need to know it. Help me examine my life to confess and eliminate sin and prepare me for deeper understanding of yourself.

What Happens During Prayer?

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It is a reality that we often do not know how to pray, or what to pray for, and the Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26), but it is also true that we usually pray for far less than the Lord desires for us (Ephesians 3:20-21). It is the Holy Spirit who knows what God is doing or wants to do in your life (1 Corinthians 2:10-12).

In prayer, we go before God and seek clarification in what we sense to be God’s will. We are not to simply run ahead and ask God to bless what we want to do for him. We must seek where he is working and decide to join him in that work.

Spiritual Concentration:

In prayer, the greatest need we have is for spiritual concentration. Then we are to anticipate the activity of God in answering our prayer. Most of the time we pray and then forget about what we just prayed; we get distracted and are not concentrating on seeking God’s answer. We must immediately begin to watch and anticipate how God will answer.

How often have you prayed for something and not received it or receive something different? I have a friend Tony, whose father had cancer. We prayed as a church for healing and then one day I received a call that he was at death’s door at the hospital. The family had been called in. At some point I asked him about his prayer life and faith, having so fervently prayed for his father’s healing. His response was inspiring to me. He said, “He IS healed, no more suffering and no more pain. The cancer is gone.”

So, what are you praying for right now and God is not granting? For me, I have been a fan of men’s ministry. I know the statistics and the value of men leading their families in faith and integrity, that accountability and involvement in a small group community is vital to being successful husbands and fathers. That is what the Men of Steel is all about. I have prayed over and over for God to bless what I want to do and only THIS WEEK have realized that men’s ministry is what I want to do. I have valued the relationships of several men who have participated but God has not blessed these efforts with growth or numbers.

So it is a time of seeking God, to discover if this is what HE wants me to do. When he is silent, it does not mean that he is not present or working.

A Summary of the Week

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There has been a lot of teaching in the Experiencing God workbook this week, so for today, I’m just going to review the summary statements:

God Speaks in Different Ways (Hebrews 1:1-3):

  1. If I don’t know when God is speaking, I am in trouble at the heart of my Christianity.
  2. God speaks to his people, he desires to reveal himself, his purposes and his ways.
  3. THAT he spoke to his people is more important than HOW he spoke.
  4. When God spoke in the Bible, it was unique to that individual.
  5. When God spoke in the Bible, the person was sure it was God speaking.
  6. When God spoke in the Bible, the person knew what God had said.
  7. When God spoke in the Bible, THAT was the encounter with God (it did not lead to an encounter with God).
  8. If I don’t have clear instructions from God in a matter, I will pray and wait. I will not bypass the relationship with God by moving out in my own strength.

God Speaks Through the Holy Spirit:

  1. An encounter with the Holy Spirit is an encounter with God.
  2. I understand spiritual truth because the Holy Spirit is working in my life.
  3. When I read the Bible, the Word of God, the Author himself is present to instruct me.
  4. Truth is never discovered, it is always revealed.

God Reveals Spiritual Truth:

  1. God revelation is designed to bring me back into fellowship with him.
  2. God reveals himself to increase me faith.
  3. God reveals his purposes so I will do his work.
  4. God reveals his ways so I can accomplish his purposes.

 God Speaks Through the Bible:

  1. God speaks uniquely to individuals and can do it any way he chooses.
  2. When God speaks, his people hear and understand his voice.
  3. I cannot understand spiritual truth unless God reveals it to me.
  4. God is more interested in what I become than what I can do.
  5. The process of hearing God through the Bible (use Proverbs 22:7 as an example):
    1. The Spirit prompts me…
    2. So I read God’s Word.
    3. The Spirit reveals a truth.
    4. I adjust my life to that truth of God.
    5. I then obey God.
    6. God works through me to accomplish his purposes.
  6. Confession is agreeing with the truth that the Spirit has revealed to me.
  7. Here is a guide to responding to the truth God reveals:
    1. Write down the verse.
    2. Meditate over the verse.
    3. Study the verse, immersing yourself in what is written and revealed.
    4. Identify adjustments I need to make in my personal life, family, church or work.
    5. Write a prayer response to God.
    6. Watch to see how God may use this truth about himself and my life.
  8. Understanding spiritual truth does not lead me to an encounter with God, it IS the encounter with God.

God Speaks Through Prayer:

  1. When the God of the universe tells me something, I need to write that down.
  2. Truth is a person.
  3. Prayer is two-way communication with God.
  4. Prayer is a relationship, not a religious activity. Prayer develops that relationship, we spend time with people we love.
  5. Prayer is designed to adjust me to God, not to adjust God to me.
  6. Oswald Chambers said that prayer doesn’t change things. Prayer changes me and then I change things.
  7. I need to make sure that my only desire is the will of God, and not my own will.
  8. The process of God speaking through prayer:
    1. God initiates a desire to pray.
    2. The Spirit uses God’s Word to reveal truth.
    3. In the Spirit I pray in agreement with God’s will.
    4. I adjust my life to the truth revealed.
    5. I look and listen for confirmation from from the Bible, circumstance, and the church.
    6. I adjust my life and obey.
    7. God works in me and through me to accomplish his purposes.
    8. I then experience God just as the Spirit revealed during prayer.

God Does Not Go Against His Word:

Blackaby mentions it is never God’s will to go against his reveal truth. Could it ever be God’s will to deceive in order to support a higher value of life? We know lying is wrong (Exodus 20:16, Proverbs 14:25, Psalm 58:3, 62:4, Isaiah 59:4, John 8:44), so we cannot say it is ever God’s will that I tell a lie, yet we read…

  1. Biblical examples:
    1. 1 Kings 22:21-23 mentions a lying spirit from God.
    2. 2 Samuel 15:33-36 mentions a planned deception: 33 But David told him, “If you go with me, you will only be a burden. 34 Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ‘I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father’s adviser in the past.’ Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice. 35 Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there. Tell them about the plans being made in the king’s palace, 36 and they will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what is going on.”
  2. Practical example:
    1. Suppose someone with a gun breaks into your house and asks if your wife and kids are in the house.
    2. You know that they are hidden in the back of the closet but you say “NO” in order to protect them.
    3. I know this is extreme, but does the situation warrant a choice of values whereby we sacrifice a lesser value (truth) to uphold a higher value (life)?

How God Has Spoken

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The only way for us to know God clearly is for God to speak to us, by revealing himself. Keep in mind that HOW God speaks is less important than the fact THAT God speaks. In the past he has spoken is various ways (Hebrews 1:1)…

  1. Angels (Genesis 16)
  2. Visions (Genesis 15)
  3. Dreams (Genesis 28:10-19)
  4. Use of the Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:30)
  5. Symbolic actions (Jeremiah 18:1-10)
  6. Gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:12)
  7. Miraculous signs and wonders (Exodus 8:20-25)

Important factors to remember about God speaking:

  1. When God speaks, it was usually unique to that person: Moses had a burning bush, so we are not to look for our OWN burning bush experience.
  2. When God spoke, the person was sure God was speaking: Moses had no excuse to not know who it was speaking to him from the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).
  3. When God spoke, the person knew what God said: Moses knew exactly what God said and wanted him to do… or Moses would not have come up with all those excuses.
  4. When God spoke, THAT was the encounter with God: he is not just revealing new information, he is inviting you into an encounter with him.

Open and Closed Doors:

Many people want to do God’s will and say something like, “Stop me if I’m wrong and bless me if I’m right” or “I’m proceeding in this direction and will continue through open doors until the doors are closed.” Henry Blackaby says this pattern is found nowhere in Scripture.

He says that in following open doors, we are allowing experience to guide us; or a tradition, or a method or a formula. The key is then a relationship with God to know him, his purposes and his ways. I understand what he’s saying but I found an example of just the opposite.

Paul is doing the work that God had called him to do, preach to the Word of God to the nations, to people who needed to hear about salvation through Jesus Christ. Then we come to this passage in Acts 16:6-8.

6 Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. 7 Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. 8 So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.

It sound a lot like they were traveling through open doors until those doors began to close. Are we to believe that God did not want the gospel to go to Asia? There will be billions of lost people in that direction. Hindsight would tell us that it was not God’s timing for Paul to go then. I’m sure Paul was confused until he received the night vision, the Macedonian Call is the very next passage (Acts 16:9-10).

9 That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 10 So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.

My point is that Paul used this method of open and closed doors, before he had this direct revelation from God!

Open Doors and Delays:

Here’s a question: “Does God allow us to choose between two ‘right choices’ and the outcome does not really matter?” For Paul the choices were Asia or Europe? Both areas are full of lost people in need of the gospel. He chose a direction and the door gets closed. So, here I find a different case, in Isaiah 30:20-21.

20 Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. 21 Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.

Did you catch that? God will confirm to you the “right path” only AFTER you make the decision, whether we go to the right or the left seems immaterial. Blackaby mentions delays… that we should wait on God until we hear a clear word from him. We often pray that way; to know the right path BEFORE we have to make the decision. We say, “God show me the way.” In the Isaiah passage, it sounds as if there are some decisions that will honor God no matter which direction we go. Delaying is not encouraged here, since we don’t hear God’s word of confirmation until we have stepped out in faith.

The Meaning of Isaiah 30:20-21

Perhaps Isaiah is speaking of a future time when God will be so close, like seeing him face to face, and we are so in tune with his Spirit, that we constantly make the right choices. In context the adversity and suffering is the captivity; God reminding them that although they were defeated by the Assyrians, God has not abandoned them. He is near and will guide them. When you know his voice and follow in obedience, he will confirm your good decisions.

The word teachers or a teacher could mean the prophets to come, but since the word is singular, perhaps it means one divine teacher who is to come. God himself would teach his people. His presence will be visible and active, everyone will know the direction to go.

The words, “Walk in it” contrasts with “turn aside” in Isaiah 30:11. The people had been living in such a way that they were oblivious to their spiritual teachers (Isaiah 30:20); now they would be taught by the Spirit of the living God. After their period of judgment because of disobedience, God is to open Israel’s eyes to the soundness of the message of His prophets (Isaiah 29:24). When they hear “a word behind you,” the teachers will be near and the pupils sensitive to the Lord and his prophets, in strong contrast to the callousness they had been demonstrating (Isaiah 29:10-11).