Discerning God’s Will

The Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel, leader/facilitator

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Discerning God’s Will

The Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel, leader/facilitator

Intro to the Day

A.   Welcome

B.   Purpose for coming together: 

      1.   You are needing some new direction and want to do some planning

      2.   Before doing that, it is good to seek God’s guidance & counsel

      3.   So today we will ask:

            a.   Where is God leading us in our ministry?

            b.   What is God’s will for us as a church?

C.  This process is called discernment = seeking to know God’s will

      As part of that process:

      1.   We will WORSHIP

            a.   At the very start, we will Invite God’s presence into our midst

            b.   We will place ourselves in the Spirit

      2.   We will LEARN

            a.   To discover what discernment means

            b.   How discernment has worked in the lives of other Christians

      3.   We will engage in BIBLE STUDY:

            a.   To learn more about discerning

            b.   To root ourselves and our understanding about: 

                        God’s will, God’s call

      4.   We will PRAY

            a.   Not only in worship, but at various points throughout the day

            b.   Not only by speaking, but by being quiet

      5.   Most important:  We will LISTEN

            a.   God WILL come to us today

            b.   God will be part of our worship, learning, bible study, prayer, conversation

            c.   If you would know God’s will, listen for it

            d.   You may find it in:

                        A hymn,  a bible verse,  an insight learned,  your conversation with others,

                        a prayer,  the quiet of your contemplation – your being with God

            e.   But you have to listen for it

            f.    Jesus said after many of his teachings and parables:

                        “Let anyone with ears to hear, listen!”  (Mk.4.9, 23)

            g.   He also said, “Pay attention to what you hear.”  (Mk.4.24)

            h.   When interrupted by his mother and brothers wanting to see him, Jesus said:  “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”  (Lk.8.21)

            i.    Listening will be your most important task today

6.      Finally, after worshiping, learning, studying, praying and listening hard all day,

            a.   We will discuss what you heard

            b.   We will apply what we heard to the planning before us

            c.   We will see where the Spirit is leading

QUESTIONS

Worship

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Discerning God’s Will

The Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel, leader/facilitator

Worship

L = Leader      C = Congregation

Silence to prepare for worship.

Stand

CALL TO WORSHIP

L    O Lord, open my lips:

C   And my mouth shall declare your praise.

L    Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;

C   As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.  Amen

HYMN # 249 LBW    “God Himself Is Present”

Sit

PSALM 100

L    Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.

C  Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing.

L    Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his;

C   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

L    Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise.

C   Give thanks to him, bless his name.

L    For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever,

C   and his faithfulness to all generations.

Silence for reflection

PRAYER

L    Let us pray.  God our Father, you have created us as your people, and you sustain us with your hand.  Help us always to give you thanks, for you alone are worthy of thanksgiving and praise and honor, now and forever.

C   Amen

PSALM 119:33-41

L    Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes,

C   and I will observe it to the end.

L    Give me understanding, that I may keep your law

C   and observe it with my whole heart.

L    Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.

C   Turn my heart to your decrees, and not to selfish gain.

L    Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways.

C   Confirm to your servant your promise, which is for those who fear you.

L    Turn away the disgrace that I dread, for your ordinances are good.

C   See, I have longed for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life.

L    Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD,

C   your salvation according to your promise.

Silence for reflection.

PRAYER:

L    Let us pray.  Lord, you are just and your commandments are eternal.  Teach us to love you with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves, for the sake of Jesus our Lord.

C   Amen

LESSON:  Mark 4:2-9, 14-23

      Jesus began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:  "Listen! A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil.  And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away.  Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.  Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."  And he said, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!"

      And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.  And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy.  But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.  And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word,  but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing.  And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

      He said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.  Let anyone with ears to hear listen!"

Silence for reflection.

Stand

HYMN #475 LBW        “Come, Gracious Spirit, Heavenly Dove”

CLOSING PRAYER & BENEDICTION

L    The Lord be with you

C   And also with you.

L    Let us pray:

C   Come, Holy Spirit.  Visit our hearts and our minds as we seek guidance and knowledge of the Father's will.  Fill us with Christ's love.  Inspire us with insight for ministry.  Unite us in faith and hope until God's dreams become our dreams for our life together.  Bless us in this holy time of discerning.  Come, Holy Spirit.  Amen

L    The Lord almighty order our days and our deeds in his  +  peace.

C   Amen

________________

Discerning God’s Will

The Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel, leader/facilitator

Discernment: The Basics

I.    DEFINITIONS

      A.   In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray:  “Your kingdom come, you will be done.”

            1.   The Christian life could be characterized as “doing God’s will.”

            2.   But how do we know what God’s will is?

            3.   Discovering God’s will is done through discernment

            4.   Discernment comes from listening to God

      B.   Discernment is not just a spiritual word

            1.   Basic:  Distinguishing one thing from another

            2.   For Christians = Is it God we hear and follow or some other voice?

      C.     Discernment is more than getting all the best information and engaging in debate

            1.   It might include research, but it is more than research

            2.   It might include debate and discussion, but it is more than these

            3.   It might include information sharing, forums, conversation, but it is still more

            4.   It might include business meetings and Roberts Rules of Order, but still more

      D.   Discernment distinguishes God’s voice from all these other “voices”

            1.   Discernment is a yearning for God

            2.   What is found in that yearning is God yearning for us

      E.   God’s yearning for us is where call is found

            1.   = Our call into relationship with him

PSALM 139:1-16

1  O LORD, you have searched me and known me.  2  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.  3  You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.  4  Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.  5  You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.  6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.  7  Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?  8  If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.  9  If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,  10  even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.  11  If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,"  12  even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.  13  For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.  15  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  16  Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.

1 CORINTHIANS 1.1-3

1  Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,  2  To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:  3  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

            2.   = Our call to follow God’s path of love and righteousness in Christ

1 PETER 1.15-16

15  Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct;  16  for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

1 PETER 2.21

21  For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.

JOHN 5:30 – And who does Jesus follow?

30  I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

      F.  The goal in discernment is not just making the right decision

            1.   It is being in right relationship with God

            2    Within this relationship of mutual yearning/loving, we seek to do as Jesus did:

                  a.   Seek to do God’s will

                  b.   To pray in love:  “your kingdom come, your will be done.”

      G.   Therefore discernment operates in context of commitment = the sign of relationship

            1.   The commitment that we have to God

            2.   The commitment that God has toward us

            3.   When we discern God’s will, we are committed to act upon it

                  a.   In faith in the living and loving God

                  b.   In trust that the Omniscient God knows what is best for us

                  c.   In hope and knowledge that what lies ahead, God will bless richly

                  d.   “Spiritual discernment makes operational our faith that an ever present Guide . . . is present to lead us in the way of truth and love as individuals and congregations.”  [Stephen Bryant, quoted in Discerning God's Will Together, p.21]

      H.    A truth we already know:  God’s will is the best thing that can happen to us

            1.   We know this from scripture

            2.   We know this from our experience of the Christian life

      I.   Another truth:  God meets us at the pivotal points in our lives

            1.   Individually AND corporately

            2.   We do not make our decisions alone

            3.   The question more often becomes:  Will we invite God into the conversation?

            4.   Inviting God into the conversation is our goal today

      J.   Danny Morris and Charles Olsen, Discerning God’s Will Together:

            1.   “Discernment creates the capacity to see.  To discern is to see through to the essence of a matter.  Discernment distinguishes the real from the phony,  the true from the false,  the good from the evil,  and the path toward God from the path away from God.  Spiritual discernment sees reality from God’s perspective.  It is sight from the outside in;  discernment penetrates the inner nature of things.  It is also sight from the inside out by people who know intuitively.”  [p.18]

            2.   Other definitions [p.21]:

                  a.   To find the authentic and valuable, recognizing the counterfeit

                              “like biting a coin to see if it is gold”

                  b.      “To see to the heart of the matter with spiritual eyes;  from God’s vantage point, to see beneath the surface of events, through illusions within human systems,  and beyond the immediate and transient.”

II.    BIBLICAL MODELS OF DISCERNING

      A.   Solomon was one of the first to ask for discernment

1 KINGS 3:5-14

5  At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I should give you."  6  And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today.  7  And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.  8  And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted.  9  Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?"

                  1.   Basic to definition of discernment – distinguishing between good and evil

      10  It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.  11  God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,  12  I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.  13  I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you.  14  If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life."

                  2.   Note the blessing that comes with the request for discernment

                  3.   Note also the proviso in v.14:  “IF you will walk in my ways….”

      B.   We see Elijah trying to distinguish the true voice of God on Mt. Horeb

1 KINGS 19:9-13

9  At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  10  He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."  11  He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake;  12  and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.  13  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

                  1.   Why did Elijah wrap his face in the mantle? = prayer shawl

                  2.   Many things/many voices come to us

                        a.   God’s voice may not be in the major, the dramatic

                        b.   God’s voice may be in the simple, even the silent

      C.  Seeing as God sees was what the prophet Samuel learned in discernment

1 SAMUEL 16:1-7

1  The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons."  2  Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.'  3  Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you."  4  Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?"  5  He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.  6  When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the LORD."  7  But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."

            1.   You know the rest of the story – all sons passed except David, the youngest

            2.   Point: 

                  a.   We have to see with more than our eyes

                  b.   We have to see with more than this world’s standards

                  c.   We have to see as God sees when decisions are before us

            3.   As God was there to help Samuel see, so God is here to help us see

      D.  Discerning is present in the New Testament in the very first church in Jerusalem:

ACTS 11:1-18 – When new things came up

1  Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.  2  So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him,  3  saying, "Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?"  4  Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying,  5  "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me.  6  As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.  7  I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.'  8  But I replied, 'By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'  9  But a second time the voice answered from heaven, 'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.'  10  This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.  11  At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were.  12  The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house.  13  He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter;  14  he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.'  15  And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning.  16  And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'  17  If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"  18  When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."

            1.   The first Christians were Jewish Christians

                  a.   Kept Jewish law, circumcision and dietary practices

                  b.   But God was leading the Church toward the Gentiles

            2.   Here we see the church in assembly clearly engaged in discernment - note the process:

                  a.   The issue is defined (v.1) - a path has opened - is God leading here or is it from some other origin (human/evil)?

                  b.   Information is gathered: 

                                Peter's vision (= a godly sign, v.5-10)

                                Peter's experience of the Spirit coming down upon the Gentiles "as upon us" (v.11-15)

                                Six others also witness and therefore corroborate Peter's witness (v.12)

                  c.   The evidence is tested against guiding principles:  Jesus’ words = scripture (v.16)

                  d.   Reading the signs = interpretation/drawing conclusions "who was I that I could hinder God?" – v.17

                  e.   Letting go = critics of v.2 are silenced in v.18 - old ways/ideas/agendas are left behind - a new path is clearly obvious

                  f.    Commitment to walk that new path – v.18 = “they praised God”

            3.   Notice that the decision was not based on just one piece of evidence

                  a.  God will usually point to a new direction in more than one way - here four ways (vision, exp., witness, scripture)

                  b.  Each piece of evidence is tested against the others and against God's Word and action

                  c.  Do they all add up to the same conclusion?  If yes, then it is God leading

            4.   This and decision not to demand circumcision of Gentiles put into a letter:

ACTS 15.22-29

22  Then the apostles and the elders, with the consent of the whole church, decided to choose men from among their members and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers,  23  with the following letter: "The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the believers of Gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.  24 Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds,  25  we have decided unanimously to choose representatives and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,  26  who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.  27  We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth.  28  For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials:  29  that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."

      E.   Many references in NT letters to discernment as what the Church does:

            Rom.12.2:  “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds, that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

            Eph.1:18:  “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.

            1 Cor.2.12-13:  “We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.  And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.”

      F.   The NT church understood that not every voice was God’s voice:

            a.   They understood the power of false prophets

            b.   They understood the power of our own egos to lure us down wrong paths

1 THESSALONIANS 5.16-24

16  Rejoice always,  17  pray without ceasing,  18  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  19  Do not quench the Spirit.  20  Do not despise the words of prophets,  21  but test everything; hold fast to what is good;  22  abstain from every form of evil.  23  May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  24  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

1 JOHN 4:1-8

1  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world.  2  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,  3  and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world.  4  Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  5  They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them.  6  We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.  7  Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  8  Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:9-14 - the test of foundation

9 For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building.  10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it.  11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.  12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw--  13 the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done.  14 If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward.
 

From the above we can derive:

III.   SOME BASIC ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT

      A.   God is self-disclosing and wishes his will to be known

                  The whole of scripture attests to this fact

      B.   God discloses his will within our relationship with him

            1.   Individually and corporately

            2.   Because this relationship has value to us, we listen – we seek God’s will

      C.  God’s will can be known because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit

            1.   Given at our baptisms

            2.   As promised by Christ:

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”  John 16.13

      D.  God’s will is the ultimate value in our knowledge and experience

            1.   Morris & Olsen:  “God’s will is obviously a higher value than the other values that motivate us:  efficiency, expediency, unity at any cost, ego, politics, economics, charity, or concern about what other people think.”  [Discerning God's Will Together, p.39]

            2.   The question then becomes: 

                        Can we be open to God’s will AGAINST all these that might motivate us?

      E.   The faith community is the proper context for discerning God’s will

            1.   The Church is the dwelling place of the Spirit – nearly 200 refs in NT letters

            2.   We are utterly dependent upon that Spirit for:

                  a.   Our faith

                  b.   Our life together

                  b.   Our unity in Christ

                  c.   Our guidance and our future

            3.   The Church is where the Word of God is also – preached, taught, lived

            4.   For decisions, we all bring different things:

                        Gifts, intuition, understanding, theology, feelings, information,

                        history (personal and corporate), options, insight, creativeness

            5.   Here also we pray for and help one another continually

            6.   When we share these in light of his Word,  God communicates with us

            7.   God leads through the group, because the group is God’s holy people

      F.   The faith community continues discerning until God’s will is known

            1.   The process may be long or short

            2.   But a common sense of God’s leading is the goal

            3.   = Reaching a place whereby the Church sees their relationship with God:

                  a.   Blessed

                  b.   Fulfilled

                  c.   Enriched by a new calling

                  d.   Guided in that new calling

Morris & Olsen:  “The process of discernment invites us into the heart and life of the triune God.  Decision making can no longer be defined as doing what we think is best;  it should be a search for the mind and will of God within a community of people with whom God has chosen to dwell.”  [Discerning, pp.63-64]

      G.  The process of discerning God’s will is ongoing, not just a 1-time event

QUESTIONS 

Next Hour:  The How of Discernment & Bible Study

Break

________________

Discerning God’s Will

The Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel, leader/facilitator

Discernment: The How

Open with silence and prayer.

IV.  THE HOW OF DISCERNMENT

      A.   Many different practices over history

            1.   Different stages, steps defined

            2.   May or may not begin with the framing of a particular decision to be made

            3.   Goal of all is the same:  knowing God’s will

      B.   Eight stages or steps derived from Acts 11 - not necessarily in this order

            1.   Define the issue

                  a.  A new path has opened - a decision needs to be made - a new direction is needed

                  b.  Is God leading or is it from some other origin?

                  c.  Defining shapes the boundaries for discussion/discernment - this will be discussed, this won't

            2.   Let Go

                  a.   = Leaving our egos and agendas behind

                  b.   = Being open to God’s will

                  c.   = Being committed to following God’s will

                  d.   This step asks:

                        Are we truly ready to follow wherever God leads?

                        Are we willing to let something die to allow God to start something new?

                        What will we lay aside to be open to new gifts of grace/ministry?

                  e.   Letting go can only occur with trust and faith in God

            3.   Stay rooted in God's Word and action among us

                  a.   = Guiding principles

                  b.   How does scripture inform us? = God's Word to us

                  c.   How does our mission and our history inform us? = God's Action among us

                  d.   Engage in Bible study as a group and as individuals as part of the process

            4.   Gather information

                  a.   This is the listening stage:

                  b.   Listening to the voices of all in the discerning community

                  c.   Listening to the voices of those who might be affected by a decision

                  d.   Listening for the promptings of the Spirit of God within these voices

                  e.   This stage can include:

                              research, reading, conducting forums, interviewing people, etc.

                  f.   This stage should definitely include frequent prayer, silence, perhaps guided meditation

                            = listening to God

                            = being open to visions/dreams/leading from God

           5.   Derive options from information gathered

                  a.   What options seem available?

                  b.   Are these the only ones?  = Be open to creative surprises

                  c.   Are the options the best that they can be?  Improve as necessary

                  d.   Always check options to see if they fit with the guiding principles

            6.   Read the signs

                  a.   = Sorting through the options in response to God’s leading = interpretation

                  b.   Which seem from God?  Which seem from human ego?  Which from evil?

                  c.   What fruits might be expected from each path?

                  d.   What are pros and cons for each path?  How do they weigh out?

                  e.   Are there s