Guidance 4
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Making Big Decisions audio (5MB)
We’ve all had to do it in the past and we’ll all have to do it again. Every one of us, no matter how old we are or how clever we are will have to make a big decision sooner or later. Most of us will have to make several big decisions in our life. Some have already made some of these.
Let me give you some examples: Should I marry? If so, who should I marry?
Should we have a child? Or another child?
Should I join this Church or that one?
Which profession should I go into? Which job should I apply for/accept?
Should I consider full-time Christian Ministry? If so should it be in a local church or a missions organisation?
How much should I give to God’s work? How should I divide it up?
These are all decisions that people have to make at one point or another in their life. But how do you make sure you mak
Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done
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- Written by: Adam Cetrangolo
God's Sovereignty & Decision Making audio (5MB)
Down the street from my house, someone has taped a hand-made sign to a pole … a little piece of secular wisdom that I walk past most mornings and inevitably read on my way to the train station. It reads:
LIFE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT, TO BE WONDERFUL
And though it is a little random and worldly … there is some truth to it. Jesus often chastises his listeners when they think that blessing and prosperity go together or that sickness and sin go together. Certainly on particular occasions sickness is connected to sin. But Jesus is clear in teaching that we cannot automatically make that assumption, in fact we should assume the opposite. He tells his disciples in Luke 13 that the Galileans killed by Pilate were not greater sinners than those who were spared. And in this sense the little adage masking-taped to the pole in Blackburn Road rings true: life isn’t always perfect (by our own definition of perfection: success, happiness, no aches or pains, etc.) but on another level LIFE IS WONDERFUL – because LIFE AND ALL OUR PROVISIONS ARE GOD-GIVEN … GOD IS AT WORK. Even as we encounter suffering, the reality of disease, death, conflict, violence in our world, we know that God’s PLAN is bigger than all of that. And the glory that awaits will make the problems of today pale by comparison. So in light of this:
WHAT SORT OF DECISIONS – MORAL AND NON-MORAL – ARE WE TO MAKE?
1. GOD'S SOVEREIGN WILL
This passage that we have just heard read by Sam/Richard from the book of James [4.13-16] is not about business or money or planning. It is addressed to believers like us. And it is addressed to believers like us, who in very tangible ways, need to make plans and need to make money to survive. We are called to be good stewards. James doesn’t call them ‘rich,’ he doesn’t call them ‘greedy’ … the text doesn’t say that their business-practice was ‘corrupt’ or ‘unethical’ … he berates them because they are believers who act like non-believers. They make plans without factoring in God’s PLAN.
I Talk Back to the Devil: Enter Lion Country
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- Written by: Garrett Edwards
audio (6MB)
I don’t know if you’ve ever had someone you thought you would absolutely love to be like, someone you looked up to so much, that It would be everything to be like them. I did, his name was Alistair, well, still is. I was in high school, year 11 and I was so confused about who I wanted to be. I’d been walking away from God, while remaining a Church goer. I don’t know if you can relate to that, but it left me utterly confused.
The fun life promised by my friends at high school was losing its shine, but I still wasn’t sure I wanted to embrace Christianity, this faith that promised fulfilment. But then I met Alistair, he had just moved down from Townsville in Queensland with the other members of his rock band, you guys see where this is going, right! Well he moved down and came to church one night, I met him and couldn’t believe that a guy as cool as he was, who had his own band, would come to church on Sunday night.
How Does the Holy Spirit Guide?
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- Written by: Heather Cetrangelo
I wonder whether you can think back to when you were in your late teens (this will be more recent for some of us than others)?
What dreams did you have for your life? How did you picture your future? What sort of things did you hope to do? And have you done them? Have things worked out the way you’d hoped at all?
Have any of you seen a televisions series called 7-Up? It’s a documentary that tracks the lives of about ten people in seven year intervals. It’s fascinating to watch this snap-shot of people aging and to see how each major life-decision affects the rest.
Actually, it’s a little bit depressing. Because in every case, the people interviewed say that life has been a lot harder than they thought it would be when they were in their teens. And the study shows that there are two major life decisions in particular, that seem to limit, the potential for other opportunities: and those are marriage and children.
There’s a song that says ‘love changes everything’, and it’s true. The decision to love someone profoundly affects how we go about making other decisions about study, travel, work and how we spend our time and money.
When I was a teenager my dream for my life was to be a highly successful, highly paid barrister. I wanted to travel, to be financially independent, and to never get married.
You could say that that hasn’t exactly worked out the way I planned … and the reason for that is because at a young age I formed a relationship with Jesus and I gave my life to him … and then that meant that the Holy Spirit came into my life … and his love for me changed everything (and later he brought Adam into my life). This meant that I had to start listening to what the Holy Spirit had to say about my life choices. In other words, it wasn’t just about me anymore.
Guidance 1
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
God Will Guide You audio (3MB)
I recently bought one of these new smart phones. It's great. It does everything, except make the coffee. One of the best “apps” on it is the navwoman. You type in your destination and a very clever woman tells you exactly how to get there. “Turn right in 300 metres.” “At the roundabout take the second exit.” And she’s very forgiving. If you miss a turn she calmly says “Recalculating.” I mention this because this is how some Christians expect God to guide them. At each decision point he’ll tell them which way to go. If they make a mistake or ignore his prompting he’ll simply forgive them and recalculate their path.
Well, there’s some truth to that perhaps. God’s sovereignty does override our sinfulness. You can see that in the history of Israel and of the Church. God certainly promises in various places to guide us. Jesus promises his disciples that when he goes he’ll send them another counsellor to be with them, the Holy Spirit who'll guide them into all truth.
But does that mean that God will tell you which way to go at every decision making point? Does God have a wonderful plan for your life that you need to find if you're to be happy?
