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How Paganism Discerns the Will of God.
h1
How Paganism Discerns the Will of God
Modern American Christianity has been convinced that if you are to find or operate in the will of God, it must be done without logical rational thought.
It must be done without using the mind.
Christians must not only not walk by sight, but they must also not walk with thought.
But is this what the Bible teaches?
What does the Bible say about using our minds and finding the will of God.
How does thinking relate to the decisions that we make and the issue of walking in God’s will?
thinking as it relates to the decisions that we make.
And, this issue of walking in God’s will
In Bruce Waltke’s book “Finding the Will of God?: A Pagan Notion?” he tells a story:
“Margaret is a successful career woman with a desire to please God.
She worked her way up to a supervisor’s position in the accounting division at First National Bank and married rather late in life.
Now in her late 30’s, she is struggling with the importance of her job.
She would like to do something significant for Christ but feels that her job prevents her from making any changes.
Margaret’s church recently held a missionary conference in which the speaker challenged Christians to become involved in world evangelism and encouraged everyone to justify why they are not ‘serving the Lord overseas’.
Those words stay with Margaret as she ponders spending the next 25 years at her desk doing the same old accounting tasks.
“Margaret is a successful career woman with a desire to please God.
She worked her way up to a supervisor’s position in the accounting division at First National Bank and married rather late in life.
Now in her late 30s, she is struggling with the importance of her job.
She would like to do something significant for Christ but feels that her job prevents her from making any changes.
Margaret’s church recently held a missionary conference in which the speaker challenged Christians to become involved in world evangelism and encouraged everyone to justify why they are not ‘serving the Lord overseas’.
Those words stay with Margaret as she ponders spending the next 25 years at her desk doing the same old accounting tasks.
The next day she reads in the paper about a hurricane devastating the Marshall Islands.
The accompanying photograph of two children crying over the death of her parents vividly captures the destruction and depravation and Margaret prays for those poor souls left to fend for themselves.
That very afternoon a co-worker making plans for his vacation leaves a brochure on the Marshall Islands and Margaret decides to pray that the Lord would make His will clear to her.
That night her husband comes home complaining that the best lawyer in his office, a young man named Marshall, has just been transferred to their East Coast office.
‘Honey,’ Margaret says to her husband, ‘I’ve been thinking about what the speaker said in church yesterday and the funniest set of circumstances occurred.
Do you think God could be calling us to be missionaries in the Marshall Islands?’”
The next day she reads in the paper about a hurricane devastating the Marshall Islands.
The accompanying photograph of two children crying over the death of their parents vividly captures the destruction and depravation and Margaret prays for those poor souls left to fend for themselves.
That very afternoon a co-worker making plans for his vacation leaves a brochure on the Marshall Islands and Margaret decides to pray that the Lord would make His will clear to her.
That night her husband comes home complaining that the best lawyer in his office, a young man named Marshall, has just been transferred to their East Coast office.
‘Honey,’ Margaret says to her husband, ‘I’ve been thinking about what the speaker said in church yesterday and the funniest set of circumstances occurred.
Do you think God could be calling us to be missionaries in the Marshall Islands?’”
I am sure that this is a fictional story, but in my years of going to church I have heard many stories just like this one.
Do you know what would happen if Margaret and her husband became missionaries to the Marshal Islands?
From time to time they would come back and go to churches to get funding where they would tell their story.
And everyone would stand up and applaud and praise God for revealing his will through those circumstances.
I know, I have been one of them standing up and applauding.
But here is the thing.
That is paganism and not Christianity.
Its reading tea leaves, Its looking at the stars trying to discern their story.
Its horoscopes.
Its divination.
Margaret and her husband did not discern the will of God.
Not according to the Bible.
But it is the common approach to following God's will in the Modern American church.
It is difficult to find Biblical thinking on the issue of finding God's will.
The majority of instances that we are exposed to are pagan and not Christian.
Paganism has so infected the church that many look at this story and have no theological problem with it.
I know, because I was there too once.
Paganism has so infected the church that many look at this story and have no theological problem with it.
I know, because I was there too once.
Methods Paganism uses to discern the Divine Will
So what is the difference between how pagans and Christians discern the will of God.
Before we look at how the Bible says to discern the will of God, lets look at how paganism does it.
The way Paganism tells you to get in touch with the divine will is you do this: You have to transcend your humanness, your human limitations, you have to empty your mind to access the divine will.
That's paganism.
You have to transcend your humanness, your human limitations, you have to empty your mind to access the divine will.
That's paganism.
How does paganism do this?
Fortune Telling
Fortune Telling
I will have someone tell me what the will of the divine is.
I will have someone else that is in touch with the divine or has the knowledge tell me what the divine will is.
Meditation
Meditation
Transcendental Mediation is a method pagans use.
It is he idea that you have to empty your mind, because an empty mind is the only way to get into touch with the divine.
And by emptying your mind you are able to to cast off all this humanness and get in touch with the divine will.
Pharmaceuticals (Drugs)
pharmaceuticals
Drugs is another method.
The Indians used peyote, and in the 60's and 70’s it was LSD.
You take a drug which alters your mind, alters your consciousness and therefore you transcend the human and physical and tap into the divine for guidance and direction.
The reading of signs
Looking for the reading of signs
The reading of signs, reading tea leaves, the entrails of animals, looking at that stars.
It's like the divine will is dropping breadcrumbs to let you know where to go.
Romans 12:2
What does the Bible say about discerning the will of God? How does the Christian discern the will of God?
Say the word “Mind” together
Say the word “Mind” together
Say the word “Mind” together
The irony of finding the will of God is that paganism tells you that you need to get away from being human.
You need to get away from using your mind.
You need to empty your mind.
Alter your mind.
Turn it off.
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