Faith to Start

We started this series on discovering God’s divine direction for our lives by first asking the right questions, Who before Do, and Why before What.  Who we are, and what motivates us in life, is where we start when we want to discover God’s divine direction.  It is more important to become the right person than to worry about moving in the right direction, because the more we become the right person, the more we become like Jesus, simply do the right things, and walk in the way God has for us. 

We then learned how to find the wisdom we need to make good decisions.  We gain wisdom as we walk with those who are wise, as we ask God for wisdom, and as we decide, as we make decisions, and then learn from them the direction we need to go.  Even wrong decisions can help move us in the right direction, if we are willing to learn from them.

Last week we learned that there is a process God uses to help us move in a divine direction, a process that starts with The Spirit’s Prompting, moves to Certain Uncertainty, Predictable Resistance, and then to Uncommon Confidence, which allows us to then step out in faith once more when the Spirit Prompts us.  This process repeats over and over, and as it does we grow in wisdom, we grow in faith, and we become more and more the people God wants us to be.  So we need to trust and lean into this process. 

Today, we end at the beginning.  Each week we have looked at obstacles to decision-making, but the biggest obstacle to making a decision, what stops us almost all the time is this - starting.  It is the start that stops us.  It is getting off the couch that stops us from running a 5 K.  It is not joining that new group that stops us from growing in faith.  It is not setting aside money to save or give that keeps us from getting out of debt.  It is not starting a conversation with our spouse or child that keeps our family from healing, and relationships from improving.  We can never finish something that we don’t start, we can never grow if we refuse to begin, and so today we are going to talk about having faith to start. 

What often makes starting so difficult, is that when we have to start something, we have to let something else go.  We have to give up the status quo, what we are familiar with, and what we are comfortable with.  To take the first step toward our destiny, we have to step away from our security and start something new.  Our future can never be different, our lives can never be better, unless we are willing to step out of the status quo, and start something new. At every age and stage of life, there are opportunities for us to change our destiny and embrace God’s divine direction.  Every day we have opportunities to deepen our faith, to become more of the person we want to be, and more of the person we see in Jesus. 

Today God is calling us to make that start.  I don’t know what new beginning God is asking from you, it might be to start healing a friendship, or strengthening relationships at home.  God might be asking you to step out at work, or step up in your children’s lives.  Maybe God is asking you to step back on spending and get out of debt, or step across the divide to meet a need you see in our community or country.  I don’t know what the specific situation is for you, but I know God is calling all of us to start something new, something that will move us in a divine direction. 

If you were here last week, the area where most of us need to consider starting to move, is where the Spirit of God is prompting us.  What is it that burdens your heart?  What is the issue that we can’t let go of, that we can’t get out of our mind?  What passion for our lives, or our families, or our community have we not been able to set aside?  Where do we see no one else involved so that we start thinking, maybe I need to be the one to step into the gap?  It is often these burdens that lead us to God’s divine direction. 

I’ve shared before that as a pastor in Altoona, I showed up one Sunday morning to find that the kids in our neighborhood, kids who didn’t know God, or his love, had written their names on the doorpost of the church.  The white chalk showed up really well on the red paint, so to avoid any critical talk, I just cleaned off the names, but as I did I was burdened by these kids.  I began to feel the burden God had for these kids, in fact, I heard God say, Andy they are writing their names on the church, but I want their names written in the book of life.  That burden laid on my heart, and it was the Spirit prompting me to work with others who shared that same burden, to open our doors, and get to know these children, to learn to love them, and to share with them the love and grace of God. 

What divine burden has God laid on your heart?  It might be for your family, for your own faith, for your finances, for your future, for the church, for the lost, and lonely, and hurting in our community, those in greatest need around the world, those displaced from flooding, but what is the burden God has laid on your heart?  That is the place to start, and the first step in starting isn’t to do anything to solve that problem.  The first step is to PRAY.

Around 586 BC, the nation of Israel was defeated by the Babylonians.  The city of Jerusalem was destroyed, including the Temple, the walls of the city, and most of the homes and businesses of the people.  The majority of the people who lived in Israel were carried off to live in Babylon.  The city laid in ruins for 70 years.  Once the Persians defeated Babylon, the king of Persia allowed some of the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem and to begin to rebuild the Temple, but the process was slow. 

70 years later, around 445 BC, or 140 years after the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, a Jewish man living in Persia named Nehemiah, heard from his brothers what it was like in Jerusalem, his homeland.  He heard how the walls of the city still laid in ruins, how the gates of the city were still burned out and empty, and how because there was no protection, the people could not live in and restore the city.  The conditions in Nehemiah’s homeland burdened him.  This is what Nehemiah said,  one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They replied, “The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.”  When I heard these words I sat down and wept
   
Nehemiah was burdened by what he heard.  His heart broke for his people, his homeland, his faith, and his God.  Nehemiah was so moved that he wept, he wept for days, and this divine burden led to a divine direction, and the first thing that Nehemiah did wasn’t to find a builder so he could contract out the work of rebuilding the walls, and he didn’t organize a mission trip to get things started, the first thing he did was – PRAY.   When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

There are 4 basic parts to Nehemiah’s prayer that are important for us to pray when we feel a divine burden, or when we feel like the Spirit of God is prompting us to move in a new direction.
 
#1. We ask God to hear us.  Nehemiah prayed, Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night.  We simply ask God to turn his ear, and his heart, and his eyes, to us so we can share our burden with him.  If we want to make sure our burden is truly God’s burden, we need to ask God to look upon us, and listen to us, and move in us to give clarity and further direction to our lives. 

#2. We ask God to forgive us.  Nehemiah prayed, I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself, and my father’s house, have committed against you.  We may have contributed to the problem or the situation that we see, and so we need to take responsibility and confess our sin before we ask God to use us to solve the problem.  If we see the problem of injustice, we may want to confess the ways we horde too much of the power, authority, resources of the world.  If we want to help with world hunger, it might be important for us to confess the ways we waste food.  If we want to heal relationships, we might need to confess how our words and attitudes have broken those relationships to begin with.  Humility is important.  It reminds us that we have to change ourselves if we want to change the future. 

#3. We ask God to remember who God is and the promise that God has made.  Nehemiah prayed, Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses.  Now we don't say this to remind God who He is, or what he has promised, God doesn’t need to be reminded.  We ask because it shows God that we have faith in who He is and the promises He has made.  God had promised that he would gather his people together, even if there were exiled, if they would return to him.  So Nehemiah reminds God of this, to encourage himself and the people to place their trust in god.  When we ask God to remember his promises, it is because we are remembering them, and claiming them, and showing God that we have trust in them as we move forward. 

#4. We ask God for success.  Nehemiah prayed, Give your servant success today by granting him favor.  We ask God to give us favor as we seek to do his will.  This doesn’t mean we ask God to make everything easy. We heard last week that moving in a divine direction is often hard.  WE face uncertainty and resistance.  So we don’t ask for ease, we ask for God’s favor so we can be faithful.  We ask God for the faith to start, so we can begin to move in the direction God wants for us. 

So the first step in starting anything is not to move forward, but down, down to our knees, or down into our hearts to pray.  After we pray, then we can – START.  And here is the key to anything we start, start small.  Every big thing started with a small first step. 
• Apple started in a garage. 
• Hewlett-Packard started in a garage. 
• Disney started in a garage. 
They all started with a small first step.  All big things start with a small first step.  So the key isn’t to start big but to start small.  It is ok to think big, but we need to start small. 

Nehemiah was thinking big, but started small.  He had a vision for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, it was the burden of his heart, but he didn’t start by taking completed plans for the walls to the king for his approval.  Nehemiah just took a small step of faith and showed up before the king with the burden of his heart plain to see.  While maybe it was a small step, it was still a risky one. 

Nehemiah was a cup bearer, which meant it was his job to taste the wine to make sure it wasn’t poisoned.  Now before you think that sounds like a good job, he wasn’t tasting the wine to make sure it was good, he was tasting it to make sure it wasn’t poison.  One bad day at work for him, would be his last day of work.  As the cup bearer, Nehemiah wasn’t to go before the king with his own problems showing, or an agenda of his own, he was just to taste the wine, and serve the king.  But Nehemiah took a small step one day and showed up looking sad, and God honored that by having the king ask Nehemiah what the problem was, which led to Nehemiah being able to share the burden of his heart with the king.  The first small step was rewarded by God and led to another opportunity. 

When we take that first small step, God will rejoice.  When we step out for the first time, God celebrates, and gives us the chance to take another step.  If you are a parent, do you remember the first step taken by your children? Chances are you celebrated and cheered that first step, and then encouraged them to take another step.  We don't scold our children when the fail or fall and we don't demand they do better, .  This is exactly what God does when we are willing to take the first step in a divine direction.  God rejoices.  God celebrates.  God rejoiced when Nehemiah took the first step, so moved in the heart of the king to give Nehemiah another opportunity.  God honored Nehemiah’s step.  When we take that first step, when we start, God celebrates that step and God honors it by giving us more opportunities to move forward. 

When the people of Israel first returned to Jerusalem and began to rebuild the Temple, they had to start by simply placing one stone upon another.  At that time God said, do not despise the small beginnings because the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.  So when we take that first small step – God rejoices.  Whatever the first step is that we take, God rejoices.  We might not get far, we might fall, and have to start all over again, but God rejoices because we are moving in a divine direction. 
As we take that first step, it is important to remember that we don’t have to have the faith to finish the project, we just have to have the faith to start.  We don’t have to have all the answers, or even a clear vision of where we are going, we just have to have the faith to start.  When I saw the names of kids on the church door, I didn’t know what we needed to do.  I didn’t have a good vision of what God wanted to happen, I just knew we had to open the door.  So one afternoon when the kids showed up again, we opened the door.  We took one step.  Then we took another step, we started to talk to them.  Then we listened to them, then we invited them in, then we talked and listened some more, then we invited them to hang out afterschool, then we served them dinner, then we asked them to stay for activities like a bible school, and step by step, a faith based afterschool program formed that still reaches out to kids whose names God wants in the book of life.

We just have to have the faith to start, to take that first step.  Once we do that, here is the big key to success, this is the key to moving in a divine direction, this is important, profound even - Take Another Step.  Nehemiah just kept taking another step.  He talked to the king.  He asked the king if he could go to Jerusalem to see the situation for himself.  When the king said yes, he asked for letters of protection, and then he asked for resources to start rebuilding the walls.  Then Nehemiah packed for the trip, and one day he sat down on a donkey and started the 750 mile trip that would have taken him weeks to make. 

When Nehemiah arrived, he had to take another step.  He had to gather people together to begin the work; he had to face opposition from those who didn’t want the wall built (remember, when we move in God’s divine direction we face obstacles and resistance, and Nehemiah did.)  Nehemiah kept taking another step, and then 52 days later they had the entire wall of Jerusalem completed, with gates hung at every opening.  Building the wall in 52 days was seen as a miracle, but it happened because of hard work and perseverance.  It happened because Nehemiah prayed, started and then took another step.

There are times when God might ask us to do the impossible, or what seems like something impossible, and we will never do it if we never take the first step, but if we take that step, and then another – the sky is the limit.  St. Francis of Assisi said, Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.  Start with one small step, then take another step, and then another, and then another, and then in time we will be moving in God’s divine direction. 

God is asking all of us today to move in a divine direction.  God is prompting us, laying a burden or passion on our heart, calling us in a new direction, and encouraging us to pray, then start.  Pray, then start.  Pray then start, and then, keep going. 
 
Next Steps
Faith to Start

1. What one thing have you failed to finish, because you failed to start?  What one thing have you been thinking of starting, but have yet to take the first step?

2. Read the story of Nehemiah.  Nehemiah 1:1-7:3. 
In this story, identify the process outlined last week:
• The Spirit’s Prompting
• Certain Uncertainty
• Predictable Resistance
• Uncommon Confidence

3. What burden has God placed on your heart? 
• What is one thing that God is asking you to start? 
• Who might share this burden with you? 

4. Pray, following the prayer of Nehemiah.
• God, hear me
• God, forgive me
• God, remember who you are, and your promises
• God, give me success

5. Think BIG but start SMALL. 
• What is the first step you need to take? 

6. What is your next step?

Prayer for moving in God’s Divine Direction:
God, give me the courage to dream big but to start small.  Grant me the faith to start, even when I have no clear view of how I will finish.  Give me the persistence to be faithful with the little things, as I trust you with the big things, so that together we can finish the race.  AMEN

Trust the Process

Most of us want to make good decisions in life.  Most of us want our lives to reflect the life and plans God has for us.  Most of us also struggle to figure out that Divine Direction.  Making decisions that we feel are truly in line with God’s will is not easy, in fact, making decisions period is not easy.  We mentioned 2 weeks ago how Decision Fatigue is a problem for us.  Because we have so many good options in front of us today, at times it is hard to make any decision at all.  We also struggle to make decisions because we don’t want to make the wrong decision because we fear that wrong decision will derail our lives.  All around us we see people that we assume are living perfect lives, at least they are better than ours, and so we begin to think that perfection is attainable if we will just make the right decisions, and move in the right direction.  This is called The Illusion of Perfection and this also makes it hard for us to make any decision at all.

Studies have also identified another problem that the emerging generation has when it comes to making decisions, the problem is that they have spent their childhood not having to make any decisions.  We have raised and continue to raise children that are Over-programmed and Over-scheduled, so they have not had to make a lot of decisions; they simply do what they are told.  We make play-dates for our kids where they are told where and when and who they will play with.  When I was growing up, my parents just said, “Go outside and play.”  I wasn’t told who to play with, where to go, or what to do, I had to figure that out on my own.

So I would go see if any my friends were available, and then we had to figure out what to do.  We had to look at all our options, and make some decisions.  Now I was really blessed to grow up along the beach in CT, so we had lots of choices, especially in the summer.  We could play games like Torpedo, or Kick the Can, but we could also go swimming, take out our raft, go crabbing off the dock, or fishing off the rocks.  We created our own games, usually based on TV shows, like Lost in Space and Hogan’s Heroes.  We could feed the ducks, build sand castles, create forts on the beach, or on our neighbor’s upstairs balcony, or we could visit the older woman who lived down the street who always gave us chocolate covered peanuts.  (We did that a lot!)

But, here’s the thing; we had to decide.  We had to make the decisions, work out the plans, and follow through with them - good or bad.  Today we don’t and sometimes can’t just send our kids out to play, so we scheduled them for sports, and music, and dance, and yes, play.  When we program their lives, they don’t have to make decisions, which means they are not learning how to make decisions, so making decisions as they get older becomes a challenge.

The emerging generation also struggles with decision making when it comes to their careers.  Please understand, this is not an attack on any one generation, it is information from studies that help us all understand why we have such a difficult time making decisions.  My parent’s generation grew up in the days after the depression, and that generation was told to get an education, if you could, and get a job, and they did.  Many people stayed in that job for 50+ years and whether they liked the job or not, they would not have thought of changing jobs or careers.  My generation comes along and we are told to get an education, and chose a career that we will enjoy.  We do, but we begin to get dissatisfied with work, so we often shift careers in order to explore new pathways in life.

What the emerging generation has been told, and what they have embraced, is to first and foremost do what they love to do, then make a difference in the world, and also make a lot of money.  They have also been told that they can have it all.  Since very few opportunities allow us to really do all three, people fear making any decision because they don’t want to compromise, and they don’t want to make the wrong decision and settle for less.  This goes back to that Illusion of Perfection, there are very, very few jobs where you do what you love, make a lasting difference in the world, and make a lot of money, but many people are holding out… while living in their parents basement.

Decision making is hard, but we are looking at how to make good decisions that we can trust are in line with God’s will, and today I want to share with you a process for decision making that can truly lead us in a Divine Direction.  The process comes from the life of the Apostle Paul, and can be found in Acts 20.  Paul is in Ephesus, a city that he loves, and working with people that he loves.  Together they have done amazing work in Ephesus, and Paul is happy where he is, but Paul is sharing with the church leaders the decision he has made to move.  Acts 20:22-24

Paul shares here four steps in the decision making process when it comes to following God’s divine direction.  The first step is The Spirit’s Prompting.  While Paul loved where he was and would have stayed there to keep doing good work, he was compelled by the Spirit to go somewhere else.  Another translation said that Paul, as a captive to the spirit, was going to go to Jerusalem.  Captive implies being held against our will, but Paul was willingly held captive by the spirit.  The Greek word here implies being bound, or wrapped up by the spirit, and led in the direction the spirit wants us to go.  While we might be happy where we are, we feel a sudden, compelling feeling that God has something else for us.

When my Grandmother had a stroke, I suddenly felt compelled to do something more with my life.  I liked my job, I had good friends, an apartment that I really liked and was dirt cheap, and things were going well, but I could not get away from the sense that God wanted something more for me, and that God wanted something more from me.  At the same time, the movie Dead Poets Society was released and the spirit of God used this scene to compel me to make a decision.  Dead Poets Society

My Grandmother was the one who had been so active, strong, vital and invincible, but in a blink of an eye, her life changed through a stroke.  She was the one calling out to me, Seize the Day.  God was compelling me to move in a new direction, to make something extraordinary of my life, and I made a decision to move in a new direction, a road that led me into ministry.

In ministry, there have been profound moments of the Spirit of God compelling me to make a decision.  After a conversation with the leader of a UMC in Altoona that was dying, I was compelled to immediately write a letter to that congregation inviting them to join us.  That moment led to a church merger that gave new life, and a new spirit, to what God was doing in us and in the city.

11 years ago I got a phone call asking me to consider moving to a new church, the problem was that like Paul, I loved where I was.  I loved my life and ministry in Lewisburg.  I loved the people, the ministry, the outreach, my friends, my home, and I didn’t want to leave, but unlike any other time in my life, I felt the Spirit prompting me to move in a new direction.  With great pain and difficulty, I moved – and have never regretted the decision because it was God’s will that was compelling me to move.

It is not always life changing decisions that God compels us to make, sometimes the decisions God wants us to make are smaller.  We feel prompted to reach out to a neighbor, call an old friend, or help out in the community.  Maybe you are feeling prompted today to gather your friends or coworkers together to assemble a flood bucket, or step out in faith to donate money to purchase one.  Maybe you are feeling compelled by God to go on a mission trip and take some time to actually serve those in need.  Or maybe it is to serve right here and walk in the Crop Walk to help feed those who are hungry around the world.

The steps don’t have to be huge, they just have to be faithful to what God is prompting us to do, how the spirit of God is calling us to move.  As we consider making this decision, we need to understand that the second step in the process is Certain Uncertainty.  Acts 20:22.  Paul did not know what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem, all he knew was that God wanted him to go.  While we want all the details ironed out in life, God doesn’t always give us the details ahead of time, which is a good thing, because if we knew all that was going to happen, we might not make the decision to go.
When I started college at MSU, if I had known how hard those first few months would have been, I probably wouldn’t have gone, but I went, and I had to make many difficult decisions, but looking back, I would not have traded that experience for anything in the world.  While there is always uncertainty that we face, there is something we can be certain of: God will be with us!

God will not only go with us, God will instruct us and guide us, this is what we heard last week in Psalm 32:8.  God wants to guide us, God wants to give us counsel and direction, we just need to trust God to do that, and move forward.  God’s direction and counsel, however, does not reveal to us the entire plan, sometimes it just shows us the next step.  Psalm 119:105 says, God’s word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  God doesn’t light up the entire journey, and shine a spotlight into the future, sometimes God simply shines enough light to help us take the next step.

It’s kind of like following Cairns in the fog on the top of a mountain. 

We simple walk as far as we can see, and trust that God will lead us to where we need to be.  What this tells us is that the only real plan we need to move forward is to be faithful with what God asks of us today.  We may not have the plans for the next 5 years of our life, but we don’t have to have that, we just need to be faithful in living today.  While uncertainty is certain, we have enough certainty in God to take the next step.

Which leads us to Predictable Resistance.  As we move forward with God’s plans, there will be resistance.  Acts 20:23.  Paul knew that hardships were facing him.  Paul knew that prison was waiting for him, there was going to be resistance, but he moved forward in faith.  Doing anything significant in life comes with resistance, the problem we have is that too often we see resistance as God telling us to stop because God is not in this.  Too often we buy into the idea that if we are in God’s will, and moving in God’s direction, then everything will be easy.  Tell that to Moses.  He led the people out of Egypt, God was giving them the victory over Egypt and then what happened?  They hit the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army was approaching fast.  This was not going as planned, but Moses didn’t give up; he faithfully took the next step, lifted his staff and watched the Red Sea part.

Then there was Joshua who led the people into the Promised Land, the first thing they came up against was the fortified city of Jericho.  This was not going as planned, the land was not just there for the taking, but instead of giving up, or turning back, the people were faithful to God, marched around the city 7 times and watched the walls come down.  Then there was Jesus.  He was the perfect Son of God, doing the perfect will of God, and he met resistance at every step, eventually being crucified for doing God’s will.  We have to get away from this idea that if we are in God’s will, everything will work out the way we want it to, many times when we are doing God’s will we are going to meet resistance and we need to be ready for it.

Then the last step in this process of making faithful decisions and moving in God’s divine direction is to claim an Uncommon Confidence.  Acts 20:24.  Paul had confidence that what was taking place in his life was from God.  This was God’s plan, God’s course for his life, and Paul was so confident of this that he was going to see it through to the end.  For Paul, this confidence came after years of walking with Jesus.  With each step of faith, and finding God trustworthy all along the way, Paul had an uncommon confidence in Jesus that allowed him to follow the Spirit’s prompting.

So do you see the process here, and how it feeds back into itself?  We feel prompted by the Spirit, and while we know there is some uncertainty ahead, we move forward and face any resistance.  As we find God trustworthy it gives us an uncommon confidence to move forward, so when the Spirit prompts us to keep going, we keep going.  And as we trust this process, we find that the decisions we make are the ones God wants for us.  All along the way we gain more confidence to make faithful decisions and all of this moves us in a Divine Direction.

Where are you feeling the Spirit’s prompting today?  What uncertainty are you struggling with?  What resistance or fear are you experiencing?  But more importantly, where do you see God walking with you, calling you to go deeper, and calling you to take the next step?  God’s divine direction is a process and we need to trust this process in order to truly walk in God’s will.



Next Steps
Trust the Process
1. Create time and space in your life, and the life of your family, to go outside and play.
• Share your experience with others.

2.  When have you felt prompted by God to do something?
• Did you do it?  How did it turn out?
• Did you ignore it?  Why?

3. Name one thing you feel God prompting you to do now?
• Share this situation with one person this week.

4. Read Acts 20:22-24.
• Did Paul have all the details he needed for this change?
• How do you feel when you don’t have all the details you want, but still have to make a decision?

5. How can God’s word be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path this week?
• What is the next decision you need God to help you make?
• How can God’s word help?

6. When have you faced resistance to a decision you made?
• Did that make you feel like you were doing God’s will or going against God’s will?
• How can the stories of Moses, Joshua, and Jesus help you keep going in the face of resistance?

7. Identify how God is present in your life today.
• How can this knowledge give you confidence to take the next step in your life and faith?

8.  What step, in the process that has been outlined, is the most difficult for you to embrace: The Spirit’s Prompting, Uncertainty, Resistance, or Confidence in God?
• Ask God to help you overcome your fears so you can trust the process.

Wisdom to Discern

Last week we began a sermon series exploring how God provides us with Divine Direction.  It is important for us to make the best decisions we can because the decisions we make today shape the people we will become tomorrow.  Decision making is hard.  We might think it would get easier as we get older because we have so many decisions to make, but it doesn’t.  For several reasons, making good decisions is getting harder and harder. 

Last week we learned about Decision Fatigue.  This is the reality that there are just more choices we have today than we had just 10 years ago.  All these good choices often keep us from making any choice at all.  Another challenge to making decisions is called The Illusion of Perfection.  Social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, give us a snapshot into other people’s lives, and since most people share all their beautiful moments, we begin to think that perfection is out there.  When we see people who have perfect weddings, perfect marriages, perfect children, pets, clothes, jobs, cars, vacations, and even meals we begin to think that this kind of perfection is attainable, if we would just make the right decisions.  But if we make the wrong decision, everything ends in disaster.  So many times people make no decision at all.

Where people often struggle with this Illusion of Perfection, is in marriage.  We often hear the romantic idea that there is the perfect person out there for each one of us.  If we marry that right person, everything will be great, but if we marry the wrong person, it will end in disaster.  Many people today simply don’t marry anyone for fear of marrying the wrong person. 

The illusion of perfection is not being overwhelmed by all the good choices, but living in fear of making the wrong choice.  So just like with decision fatigue, we make no choice at all.  What is tragic about all of this is that the perfection we think is attainable is really just an illusion.  No one’s life is perfect, but our lives can be really good, and meaningful, and filled with faith, and love, and peace if we will take risks, make decisions, and move forward. 

So how can we learn to make good decisions and be confident that we are moving in a truly divine direction?  Last week we laid a foundation for making divine decisions on these two principles: WHO before DO, and WHY before WHAT.  WHO we are, and what motivates us in life, or the WHY in our lives, are more important than what we do in any given situation.  God is always more interested in our character, and motivations (our heart), than in our specific actions.  So the first step in receiving God’s divine direction is for us to start in the right place, and we do that by first asking WHO before DO and WHY before WHAT. 

Today we are going to consider this principle:  God doesn’t always show us what to do, he gives us the wisdom to discern.  While we might prefer God sending us a postcard in the mail, giving us specific direction on what to do, God usually doesn’t work that way.  God loves us, and God created us to be his children, so God is more interested in a relationship where God can share his heart and mind with us than in giving us detailed direction.  God would much rather give us wisdom to use in different situations than giving us commandments to follow.  The person in the Bible who is most often connected to this idea of wisdom is Solomon.

Solomon was one of the sons of King David, and after David died, Solomon became king.  Solomon loved God very much, and when he became king, God said to him, I will give you anything that you want.  Instead of asking for wealth, power, long life, victory in battle, or anything else that would elevate him in this world, Solomon asked for wisdom.  1 Kings 3:9. 

So God gave Solomon wisdom, and much of that wisdom is recorded in the book of Proverbs.  Proverbs is not only a book of wise sayings, it also tells us to get wisdom.  Proverbs 4 says in two different places, get wisdom, and get insight.  If we are told to get these things, then there must be a way for us to do that.  There must be some kind of plan or pathway that will help us get wisdom, and there is.  We get wisdom by taking these three steps:  Walk, Ask, Decide.

WALK – Proverbs 13:20
The author Craig Groeschel said that he grew up hearing this saying, Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future?  The people that we hang around with often set us on a path in life; our friends do have a big say in our future.  Others have said that it is impossible to live the right way, and make the right decisions, if we are running with the wrong crowd.  While we need to reach out and be kind and gracious to all the people, we need to be very cautious about who we allow into the inner circle of our lives, because those will be the people who will keep us moving in the right direction or lead us in the wrong direction. 

This is one of the reasons we encourage people to be part of a small group in the life of the church.  It’s not that everyone in a small group is perfect, or even wise, but they are people who want to grow in faith, and wisdom.  If we want to learn how to make decisions that are in line with the will of God, then we need to surround ourselves with people who are striving for the same thing.  If we want our lives to look a certain way as we get older, then we need to find people who are living those lives now, and ask them to walk with us, or allow us to walk with them, so they can show us how to live. 

When I first became a pastor, I realized that I had no idea how to actually be a pastor.  I quickly found myself in situations that were difficult and awkward, so I looked for pastors who were doing a good job, and I asked them for help.  I asked one to be my unofficial mentor, and through the years he taught me a great deal about faith, and leadership. 

Another pastor I turned to for help when I was asked to leave a parishioner’s front porch because he was upset with me.  I showed up at John’s office unannounced, and poured out my heart and frustration.  That day, and many other days, John gave me advice, and counsel, and encouragement.  I owe a lot to these two people.  I wouldn’t be the pastor I am today without the support of those who allowed me to walk with them. 

I want to encourage you to look around and find people who are living the kind of life you want to be living.  Maybe their marriage is what you want yours to be like, maybe you see how their family interacts and you want that kind of life for your family, maybe it’s in how they work in business or how the express their faith – but look around and find the people who inspire you, and simply ask them to be part of your life.  In our world and culture, this might sound a little weird, but don’t be afraid to ask, think about what an honor it would be for you to be asked by someone else to be a mentor.  Don’t be afraid to ask.

And that is our second step - ASK – James 1:5
God loves us.  God created us to be in a relationship where he could share with us his life and his heart, but also his mind and his will, so if we ask God for wisdom – God will give us wisdom. 

A had a friend who was very strong in his faith.  He always seemed to know what God wanted him to do, and he always seemed to have a lot of peace.  He was sought after by many people for his wisdom and I got to spend some time with him during a very uncertain time in my life.  I asked him once if he thought God still spoke to people today, because I really needed God to speak to me.  I needed some divine direction.  He told me, yes, I believe God still speaks.  So I asked him how I could get God to speak to me, and his answer was simple.  He said, Ask him. 

So I did.  Diligently, daily, consistently, I asked God to speak to me and give me direction.  I wanted to hear God’s voice, and know God’s will, and while it took several months for that to happen, God did speak to me, and gave me a very clear direction for my life.  It sounds too simple, but the truth is that if we want wisdom, we need to ask for it. 

Jesus tells us that if we ask God for good things, God will give them to us.  Luke 11:11-13.  So if we sincerely ask God for wisdom, God will give us wisdom.  In fact, God delights in giving us wisdom.  Psalm 32:8.  This is who God wants to be, and this is what God wants to do, and God can do this if we will ask. 

So we need to ask, but we also need to be prepared when we ask because we may not get that wisdom the day we ask.  Jesus said many times that we need to persist in prayer.  The direction I needed in my life didn’t come for months, but God did provide. We not only need to be persistent and wait, but we also have to put ourselves in a place where we can hear God’s wisdom when it comes.  If we ask God to speak, and share his will and plan for us, but then never read God’s word, spend time with God in prayer, or learn about God as we walk with others, then God can’t share that wisdom with us.  So we can ask God, but we have then be willing to take the time to listen and learn so God can teach us, and give us the direction we need.

So we need to WALK with the wise, ASK for wisdom and then finally there comes a time when we have to DECIDE.  While last week I said that we need to focus on WHO before DO, at some point we have to DO.  At some point we need to make a decision and do something.  A friend of mine in college had a saying that I have never forgotten, and I found to be true many times in my life.  It is easier for God to steer a moving car than a parked car. 
Actually, God can’t steer a parked car because it is not moving.  For God to steer us or guide us, we have to make some decisions and get moving. 

You would think that if there was anyone who knew the perfect will of God it would be the Apostle Paul, but he didn’t.  He was just like us in wondering about, praying for, and seeking God’s guidance, and one of the ways he found that divine direction was to simply start moving.  He made some choices and then allowed God to lead him.  1 Thessalonians 3:1.  Notice what it says here, we thought it best.  We weren’t sure, we didn’t know if this was God’s perfect will and plan, we trusted that it was, and we moved forward. 

Here is another great example: 1 Corinthians 16:5-10.  Did you hear all the uncertainty in Paul’s plans?  He wasn’t sure of every detail moving forward but that did not stop him from moving forward.  Many times God provides direction as we make decisions, and if we make the wrong decision, actually, let me rephrase that, WHEN we make the wrong decision, it’s ok because every mistake we make is an opportunity for us to learn, and grow, and gain wisdom to help us in the future. 

We learn God’s divine direction for our lives when we get wisdom and gain understanding, and this is something we can do when we WALK with the wise, ASK for wisdom, and then finally DECIDE. 
 
Next Steps
Wisdom to Discern

1. List the top three places you turn for help when you have a difficult decision to make.  When have these sources been helpful?  When have they not given you what you wanted?

2. The Illusion of Perfection leads us to believe that if we just make the right decision, our life will be perfect. 
• How can this keep you from making a decision? 
• Where have you struggled to make a decision for fear of making the wrong one?

3. We get wisdom when we WALK with the wise. 
• Read Proverbs 13:20
• What one area of your life do you want to grow in wisdom?  (Personal Finances, Relationships, Business, Faith, Humility, Service…)
• Find someone who is already excelling in this area and walk with them.  Ask them to be your mentor.   

4. We get wisdom when we ASK God for it. 
• Read James 1:5
• Pray each day and ask God to give you wisdom. 
• Listen for God’s response and intentionally put yourself in a place where you can learn from God. 

5. We get wisdom when we DECIDE to act.
• Read 1 Thessalonians 3:1-3.
• Think about a decision you face, what one step can you take this week to move yourself forward? 
• Act.

Power to Become

Divine Direction
I am trusting that none of you made a life decision about marriage the way this guy was trying to.  If you did, we need to talk.  But how many of you have made a decision using one of those methods.  Maybe you flipped a coin about which of two good options to choose.  Hopefully no one ever asked the magic 8 ball a question and took the answer seriously, but I do know people who have opened the Bible and pointed to a passage and then tried to use that verse to guide their lives.

While I never did that, well, I never did it seriously, I did open the phone book once, to the section on churches, and I closed my eyes and pointed to a church, and then I said that was the church God wanted me to attend.  The problem was that my finger landed on a church that was not a Christian Church, but I was convinced that was where God wanted me to go.  All my friends tried to talk me out of it, but I went, and while the experience was interesting, I did not get much out of my time there, except this great story.

Decision making is hard.  It seems like it should get easier as we go through life because we get a lot of experience making decisions.  Let’s face it, we make lots of decisions in life.  Should I go out for football, or basketball, or band, or all three?  What classes should I take to get ready for college?  Should I go to college?  What college should I go to?  What will be my major?  What do I want to do when I grow up?  Many of us are still asking that question.

Should I date?  Who should I date?  I think I love her, should we get married?  Should we have children?  Should we push our children in football, basketball, or band?  Should we buy a house or keep renting?  Should we buy a new car?  Which car?  Should I stay in my job or find a new job?  Should I retire?  What will I do when I retire?

Decision making never gets any easier, in fact in some ways it gets getting harder because there are simply more choices for us today.  When I graduated from High School there were basically only three options.  You went to college, you went into the military, or you got a job.  That was it.  Today high school students still have those three choices, but they can also take a gap year, and either enter into a program that will allow them to explore all kinds of options, and take classes at the same time, or travel.  They could actually start their own business, become a YouTube Star, or a gamer, or maybe start a small Internet company like, I don’t know, Facebook.  Today there are simply more choices, so decision making is harder.  This struggle actually has a name; they call it, decision fatigue.  Decision fatigue is when a person has a difficult time making a decision because many good options are available.

The decisions we make are important because who we will be tomorrow is the result of the decisions we make today.  We know this is true because who we are today is the result of all the decisions we made yesterday.  Some of the decisions have been good, and some not so good, but all of them have shaped who we are.  So decision making is important, and there are times we all look for some divine direction.  Am I doing what God wants me to do?  Is this the direction God has for my life?  Is this the decision I need to make in this situation to be faithful?

The question I am asked most often is, how do I know what God wants me to do?  I have asked that question myself, a lot, so over the next few weeks, we are going to try and build a foundation on which we can stand in order to answer this question.  While the divine direction we may want is usually connected to the details of a situation, do I take this job, do I marry this person, what we are going to learn and put into place is this,
how do I become the right person to make the right decisions.

Here is our first principle:
God cares more about WHO we are than what we DO.
Now, if you were here last week, you might take issue with me because I said that the secret to contentment is not in what we have, but in what we do.  And now I’m saying that WHO is more important than DO.  Yes, that is all true.  What we do is more important than what we have, and who we are is more important than what we do.  Too often we get mired down in all the daily decisions we have to make, and then we get stressed out over the big decisions we face.  We start thinking that every decision is, do or die, make or break.  We start thinking that everything will fall apart if we don’t do the right thing, but God wants us to focus on first is WHO we are.  If we get the WHO right, the DO will follow.  If we get the WHO right, then what we need to DO will be clear. If we become the right person, we will do the right things.

So, who are we?  We are God’s children, created in God’s image.  As children of God, we were created to live a specific way, a way that God laid out for us in his word, and the way God showed us in the life of Jesus.  It says in 1 Thessalonians 4:3; It is God’s will for you to be holy.  So God wants us to be holy, but this doesn’t mean perfect, it means different, it means being set apart.

Being holy means we follow a different set of values from the world around us, and we set priorities according to God’s will, and word, and according to what we see in Jesus.  Being holy means growing into the likeness of Jesus.  Jesus didn’t give his followers a set of rules to follow, he wasn’t about doing specific things; he was about growing in character, he was concerned about WHO people became.  Were people growing in love?  Were people forgiving, and humble? The only thing Jesus asked people to do was to follow.  Follow me was the consistent call of Jesus, and it was going to be in following Jesus, that people would then know what to DO.

So the first principle is WHO before DO.  Who does God want me to become?  This is so much more important than asking what God wants me to do.  If we would spend more time answering this question, the rest would begin to fall into place.  And notice it says “become”, because we never fully arrive.  We grow in holiness as we follow Jesus; this implies a process, a journey, or a lifestyle that we enter into.  It is a pathway that we walk throughout our lives.

So we ask WHO before DO, and our second principle is that we ask WHY before WHAT. What is our motivation in life?  Why do we want to do things?  Jesus was always more concerned about the heart than the action.  If you remember the dangerous prayer we just studied, it was all about searching our heart.  Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. This prayer asks God to help us come to terms with the WHY, the motivations of our heart, and then we ask God to lead us in the what, and how, and when.

Motivation, the WHY, is important.  It says in Proverbs 16:2, All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but the motives are weighed by the Lord.   God is more concerned about our motives because, if we have the right motives, we will end up in the right place.  That doesn’t mean we will always make the right choices, and it doesn’t mean everything will work out according to our plan, but we will always be in the right place – because the place we will be is in a right relationship with God.  And that needs to be the primary motive our lives, to be in a right relationship with God.

Colossians 3:17, Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  What I love about this verse is that it doesn’t necessarily tell us to stop what we are doing, or start doing new things, we just have to do everything for the right reasons, for the glory of God.  We don’t quit our jobs, end our relationships, get off the team, or drop out of school, we just start doing it all for God, and trust that God will give is the divine direction we need for our future.  If our motives are right, and we are doing things for God, then the countless daily decisions we make every day will lead us to where God wants us to be.

Knowing what God wanted me to do with my life has always been a challenge for me.  I really didn’t know what God wanted me to do in high school and college, and there was a year I even dropped out of college because I had no sense of God’s divine direction.  In time, God made it clear to me that I needed to go back to college, so I did, and I resigned myself to simply going to school for the Lord.  That was my focus.  I kept my major, and I took classes to finish my degree.  I was a student making my way forward, but I was now a student for the Lord.

I was focusing on WHO before DO and WHY before WHAT.  I still struggled with direction and decisions.  I graduated with no job and an uncertain future, but there was a sense of peace God gave me and the peace I experience in that season of my life laid a foundation for my future.  Before we can start looking at the specific decisions we have in front of us today, we need to focus on WHO we are and WHY we do what we do.

Think about some of the most influential people in your life, those people who have made the greatest impact on you.  What many of these people have in common is that it wasn’t what they did that really mattered, or made the difference, it was who they were.  My Grandmother was one of the most influential people in my life, and she never worked a day in her life.  Now, what I mean by that is that she never had a full time job or a career, but who she was, made all the difference.  She was kind, generous, and smart.  She loved life and nature, she poured herself into her grandchildren, and she had a dream and vision for my life before I did.  This was actually her dream and vision for me – being a pastor.  The impact she made in my life came from WHO she was and WHY she lived the way she did.  She lived the way she did because she loved us.  Love was what motivated her in so many situations and it was that love that made the difference.

I said last week that we don’t get to the end of our lives and want to be surrounded by all our stuff, and most of us aren’t going to be thinking about our jobs, promotions, or awards either, we are going to want to be surrounded by those we love.  At the end of his life, Jesus was focused on those he loved, his family.  Jesus looked down from the cross and saw his mother Mary and his good friend, John.  He cared so much for these two people that he asked them to take care of each other, to love one another.  That’s who Jesus was.  He was always wanting those around him to become a family and love each other.  Jesus wanted people to be connected to others and serve others as grow in faith and love.  Know WHO you are and WHY you do what you do and then God can provide His divine direction. 

To build a foundation from which we can see and trust God’s divine direction, we need to focus on
WHO before DO
WHY before WHAT
Becoming the right person will help us do the right thing.  Being driven by the right motivation will lead us to the right places.  So, if we want to know God’s will for our lives, if we want divine direction, it all starts here.  WHO before DO.  WHY before WHAT


 
Next Steps
Divine Direction – The Power to Become

1. What decision are you wrestling with today?

2. God is more concerned about WHO than DO.
• Read 1 Thessalonians 4:3.
• What does it mean for you to become holy?
• How can this remain your focus throughout the week?

3. God is more concerned about WHY than WHAT.
• Read Proverbs 16:2 and Colossians 3:17.
• What motives can you uncover in the decision you identified in Question 1?
• What would it look like for you, to do the same things, but to do them in the name of the Lord?  What might change?

4. Identify an influential and inspirational person in your life.
• Was it their character (WHO) and motives (WHY) that inspired you, or the actions and activity?
• How can you learn from these people what it means to focus on the WHO and the WHY?
• How can they specifically help you focus on WHO God wants you to be?

5. At some point we have to DO something.  Don’t focus on the specific details of what to do, focus on the core values of becoming WHO God wants us to be.  These core values are:
• Connect to God and one another.
• Serve Christ and the community.
• Grow deeper in faith.
What one thing can you do in each area to become more of WHO God wants you to be?

More stuff isn't the answer

The grass is always greener on the other side, means that we all struggle with wanting more.  No matter how much we have, there is someone who has more, and if we could have what they have, then we would be happy.  The problem we have discovered with this way of thinking is that having more does not satisfy.  Having a lot of stuff, always getting new stuff, and more stuff, doesn’t satisfy, it often just leads to wanting more.  Stuff can’t buy happiness and more stuff can’t buy happiness.  I’m not sure we really believe this, however, because this is often how we live.  We literally buy into the idea that something more, or new, will improve our lives. 

Studies show that we see over 5,000 ads every day. and those ads tell us one thing – our lives will be better if we have more.  Our lives will be better if we have what is new.  Seeing all that advertising shapes our minds, it makes us want more, and we begin to believe we need more in order to be happy, or complete, and the truth is that we all love new things.  Apple puts out a new iPhone every year or so because they know we always want something new.  People trade in cars every couple years because they want that new car smell.  Social media adds to our desire for more and new because it shows us how great other people’s lives are since they got new clothes, started that new diet, or tried that new recipe, and suddenly we have to have what’s new.  And now that items can be shipped free, and in two days, we can experience the thrill of getting something new all the time.  Who doesn’t love to see the Amazon box at their door!

We say money can’t buy us happiness, and that more stuff, and new stuff, won’t satisfy, but do we really believe it?  10% of all households now rent a storage unit to hold the stuff that doesn’t fit in their attics, basements, and garages, and 25% of people who have a two car garage can only get one car in because they have too much stuff stored on the other side.  We say it is not the stuff that makes us happy.  We say it is not having more that brings contentment, and satisfaction, but do we believe it?  Do we live as if this is true? 

Have you had to downsize your life recently?  Downsizing can be hard because we don’t want to throw anything away.  Everything has meaning, and we think that everything has value, and if you watch Antique Roadshow very often, then you begin to think every item you have is going to make you a millionaire, and then you really will be happy.  So we hang on to all we have, and we accumulate more, all in a vain effort to feel happy, content and secure.  But it never works, as long as we are looking at the things of this world to be satisfied, there will never be enough. 

HAVE is never satisfied.  Having more, having what is new, having what others have, will never be enough.  Have will never satisfy, so what does.  What does satisfy us?  What brings contentment in life when all around us we see greener grass? 

The Apostle Paul was sitting in prison when he said, I have learned to be content with whatever I have.  I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.   (Philippians 4:11-13)

So Paul learned the secret of being content, and it had nothing to do with what he had.  There were times in Paul’s life when he had it all.  He had status, respect, and power, and with all of that came wealth, but then he accepted Christ as his savior, and lost all the status, respect, and power he previously had.  He lost his position, and wealth, and went back to working as a tent maker.  When Paul travelled to share the good news of Jesus, he often took with him very little, living off the kindness of those who were willing to take him in.  So Paul knows what it is like to have little, and he knows what it’s like to have plenty, but the secret he says isn’t in what we have.  Did you notice that?  The secret, Paul says, of being content is this, I can DO all things through Christ who gives me strength. 

Contentment isn’t found in what we have but in what we do. 
HAVE just won’t do – we have to DO. 

But please hear this, we aren’t talking about doing things to earn God’s favor and blessing.  Many people grew up in a church hearing that God would only love them if they would do all the right things, and stop doing the wrong things.  This kind of doing is not what we are talking about.  The do we are talking about is living the way God calls us to live, knowing that when we follow God’s call, and live God’s life for us, we will be content.  We may not have it all, but we won’t need it because we will have all we need, and all we want in Christ.  It is when we start living this kind of life that truly, the Lord is my Shepherd and I shall not want.

So what is it that we should be doing?  The specifics in our lives are different, but the basics are the same.  There are three things we need to do in order to be content, and the first thing we heard from Paul.  I can do all things through Christ.  We have to be connected to God through Christ.  What ultimately brings peace and contentment is our connection to God.  It is knowing we are God’s children, created in love for a purpose, and responding to God’s love that brings us peace. 

Finding ways to connect to God is the first thing we need to do to live a life of contentment.  We can connect with God through worship, God’s word, God’s world, personal prayer, and devotion, but we need to find ways to do it.  God is reaching out to us all the time, what will we do to make that connection?  How will we connect with God?

Connecting with God is important, but then we need to find healthy ways to connect with others.  God created us for relationship.  God did not make us independent, but interdependent, and we need to find healthy, faithful, satisfying ways to be connected to one another.  Relationships are what brings satisfaction to our lives, it’s what brings meaning.  Most people, on their death bed, don’t want to be surrounded by their stuff, but by their family, and friends, because it is relationships that bring us happiness, and peace.

The second thing we need to do in order to find contentment is to serve.  We tend to think that being served is where we find happiness, and peace, but Jesus shows us that true peace is found not by being served but by serving.  Serving God and others brings more joy and peace than any item you can buy from Amazon.  Serving fills us with a sense of meaning and purpose that nothing else can.  Serving fills us with joy.  Serving fills us to overflowing, so service is more important than stuff when it comes to being happy and content. 

The third thing we need to do in order to be truly happy and at peace is to grow, particularly we need to grow in faith.  The legendary football coach Lou Hotlz once said, In this world you're either growing or you're dying, so get in motion and grow.  This is true.  If we aren’t growing, if we aren’t pushing ourselves to learn more, experience more, serve more, and love more, then we are not just standing still, we are slowly declining.  We need to grow.

One of the most exciting times in my life was my sophomore year of college, and one of the reasons I loved that season of my life so much was because I was growing in my faith exponentially.  I was in a Bible Study for the first time, God’s word was literally coming alive to me.  Jesus was no longer a person in history, he was a person speaking to me.  The direction I craved for my life was found in the words I was reading, and studying, and trying to live out in my life, and I simply couldn’t get enough. 

The summer after my sophomore year of college is when I went to serve God in Yellowstone, and once again it was a season of growth.  I grew as a person as I experienced so many new things, and I grew as a Christian as I learned to trust God, and share God through our Sunday morning ministry.  That entire year of my life, I experienced a deep sense of peace, and contentment because I was growing.  Growing in our faith brings peace, it brings incredible joy, and it brings satisfaction to our lives. 

Over the next few weeks there are many new opportunities for you to grow in your faith.  While we always have Sunday School classes and Bible studies you are welcome to join, we have some new groups and classes starting over the next few weeks so this is a great time to think about taking a step and growing in faith. 

Connect, Serve, Grow.  These three words might look familiar to you, at least I hope they do.  These are the core values we hold here at Faith Church.  These are not just cute words we chose to define ourselves, these are the things God calls us to do.  We are to connect, serve, and grow – not to be loved by God, God already loves us completely, unconditionally, and eternally.  These are things we do through Christ so that we can be content no matter what we have. 

This is confirmed for us in Hebrews 10:22-25.  The author here has also learned the secret to contentment.  It is to draw near to God and to meet together.  It is to connect to God and one another.  It is to do good deeds – not in order to be loved by God but because we are loved by God.  So we serve Christ and the community.  And we spur one another on, we encourage one another.  We grow in our faith.  This is the life God calls us to. 

Paul shares with us the secret of being content and it has nothing to do with how much stuff we have, it has everything to do with what we do.  And what we do is this:
Connect to God and one another.  
Serve Christ and the Community.  
Grow deeper in faith.  

Stuff is not the answer.  More stuff is not the answer.  New stuff is not the answer.  The answer is found in how we live, and what we do. 
Next Steps
More stuff isn’t the answer!
1.  In what ways do you struggle with always wanting something more, or something new?

2. What stuff is the most tempting for you?  What stuff is the most longed for among your friends and family?
• Looks, opportunity, car, home, education, faith, fun, relationships, talent…
• How does getting this stuff make you feel? 
• How long does that feeling last? 

HAVE is never satisfied.  We need to DO.
Three things we can do to find contentment and peace.

1. Connect with God and one another.
• Where and how do you experience God? 
• In what ways does worship help you feel connected to God and the people of God? 

2.  Serve Christ and the Community. 
• What past service has made you feel whole and alive? 
• Where is God calling you to serve in the life of the church? 
• Where is God calling you to serve in our community? 
• Step out and do one act of service this week.

3.  Grow deeper in faith.
• When did you experience the most personal growth in your faith? 
• What made that time so special and vital? 
• If you are not already part of a class, study or small group, join one of the new classes starting this month.  Go to www.bellefontefaith.com/adults/small-groups/ for more information.