Why Listen for Guidance from God? Sermon Outline I. Introduction a. It is much easier to make our own choices than to listen for guidance from God. Listening for guidance often takes longer, requires more work, and worst of all – we are not in control of the process. Why then would anyone consciously choose to turn decisions over to God for guidance?
II. 1 Samuel 23 and 27 provide a Biblical contrast between making decisions on one’s own and seeking guidance from God. a. In 1 Samuel 23 David discovers the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and wonders whether he and his band of fighting men should go and try to save them. In this case David inquires of the Lord and the Lord tells him to go. The problem is that David’s men raise concerns, namely that this is a really dumb idea. So David goes back and asks God the same question again and the Lord tells him to go. When David gets to Keilah, the people he saved decide they are going to turn him over to Saul! Now he has to go back to God and ask God for guidance so that he can escape from Saul. David’s process took a lot of prayer and going back to God. b. In 1 Samuel 27, it says that David simply “thought to himself” about the best way to escape from Saul – move into Philistine territory! There is no praying, no going back to God for clarification. When David gets into Philistine territory what he thought would happen happened – Saul stopped looking for him. c. Why then would anyone choose to seek guidance from God?
III. Reason #1: God Encourages Us To Seek His Guidance a. Negative Examples: 1.
1 Chronicles 10:13-14: This passage is King Saul’s epitaph. Sadly, of all that Saul did, the actions that defined his reign were his disobedience and refusal to seek guidance from God.
2.
Also, 2 Kings 1:3, Jer 10:21, Zeph 1:6
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b. Positive Examples: 1.
Isaiah 8:19: “Someone may say to you, ‘Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.’ But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?” (NLT)
2.
Matthew 7:7-11: In this passage, God encourages his people to ask him for everything that we need using the analogy of children asking their earthly father for things. Because Jesus uses the analogy of bread and fish, it is easy to come away from this passage thinking that all he has in mind here is asking God for things like food. But one of the main things that children ask their earthly parents for is advice and guidance. The scope of this verse is that if we are willing to ask our earthly parents for advice and guidance in life how much more should we ask our heavenly Father? (See also James 1:5.)
c. The first reason why we ask God for guidance is because God wants us to come to him for advice. d. Consider using an example of a child asking a father or mother for advice on choosing a college, career, house, spouse, etc. and the joy that brings to parents.
IV. Reason #2: God is a Better Decision Maker a. In God Told Me (p 48-60), there are five reasons why God is a better decision maker. Consider highlighting the following two: 1.
God knows what we cannot know. In Joshua 9 the leaders of Israel are deceived by the Gibeonites into making a treaty with them. Joshua and his leaders do all the due diligence anyone could expect – they examine the evidence and determine that the Gibeonites are not their neighbors, but have come from a far away land. The problem is that they were being deceived. Joshua 9:14 gives a postmortem on the whole event: “The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.”
2.
God will guide us to future joy. We think we know what future will be best for us, but as any lottery winner or person who has become famous can tell you, the things we think will make us happy and fulfilled rarely do. But God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Many examples can be shared of people who have been guided by God down a harder path – a different major at university, a difficult adoption process, changing jobs – who at the end of the road say, “I wouldn’t have chosen this on my own, but it is the best thing that ever happened to me.”
V. Conclusion a. Turn back to story of David. In 1 Samuel 27 David chose the easier route of making the decision. Initially, that decision worked out fine. But a problem arose -- living in Philistine territory meant he was safe from Saul, but now David was in danger of raids from the Philistines. In 1 Samuel 30 we see how David’s seemingly wise human decision backfires. All of his wives and children, as well as those of his men, were captured by the Philistines. David’s men were so upset that they wanted to stone him. But David learned his lesson. Immediately, he summoned the priest and sought guidance from God. b. It is easier to make decisions without seeking guidance from God. However, it is better to make decisions by seeking God’s guidance even if the process is longer and requires more dependence on God. All rights reserved. © by Jim Samra. A limited license is granted for pastors and teachers to use in the course of sermon preparation and in church campaigns.