How do I know God's will? I've got this hard decision, I'm praying, asking God, show me your will, show me your will, give me guidance, show me what to do, and I still don't know what to do. How do you know for sure what God's will is for a hard decision or God's will for your life in general? How do you seek God's will? When what if you seek God's will and you pray and you ask him to guide you and you think you know, he's like, okay, this is what God told me to do. I think I should do this. And so you choose this option and then you get it wrong. Turns out that wasn't the best path. Now you realize this is a better path. If you choose wrong, does that mean you're out of God's will forever? You're off track forever? temporarily out of God's will and you can get back into it? And is it possible to do something righteous, something the Bible says is good, but still miss God's will? Is that possible? In today's sermon clip, we're going to look at a time when Jesus made a decision and then changed his mind. did the exact opposite. Then after the clip, stick around to the end because we're going to talk about whether plan A was God's will in that situation, or plan B, or both, and what this can teach you, what Jesus' decision-making in Mark 6 can teach you that could revolutionize your whole way of looking at seeking guidance from God. Let's take a look at the clip. In the midst of all this chaos, Jesus calls an audible, he says, okay, we're out of here, we're closed, we're taking a break, we're taking a day off. They leave that place, they jump in a boat, and they push off into the water, into the Sea of Galilee, and off they go. Verse 32, they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But even when they're doing that, even while they're boarding the boat and getting the boat ready, people at the marina there recognize them. Verse 33, many who saw them leaving recognize them. How'd that happen? Well, remember, they just finished this tour. The 12 had just canvassed the whole area there, all those villages, doing miracles and preaching. So everybody knows them now. If the crowds were out of control when one man was going around doing miracles and preaching, can you imagine now 13 men going around and doing miracles? But they leave anyway, they get on the boat, they wave goodbye, and off they go. Now, the last time they did that, the people were so excited for their return, they waited anxiously. And when they returned, the people were there on the beach, right? Now the hysteria is cranked up even more. They don't even wait. Verse 33, many who saw them leaving, recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. So this solitary place where Jesus has taken his disciples, these people run there and get there before they land the boat. So, the boat lands at what's supposed to be this deserted place, a solitary haven, and a massive crowd on the beach. First thing they see, this big, needy, teeming, clamoring mob of people. Verse 34, when Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He said, Sorry folks, we're closed. Check back on Monday. No, that's not what He said, right? Instead, he sees this crowd and he turns to his disciples and says, sorry guys, change of plans. Verse 34, when Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Here we are, right back to work. He canceled the day off, just like that. This much needed day off that they needed. He just canceled that day off and he's back to work. because he saw this crowd and he had this reaction. Now it's interesting his reaction to the crowd. Most of us are irritated by crowds, right? You see a crowd and it's like long lines, big messes, just lots of chaos and everything and we don't like crowds and Most of us don't like needy people, right? This is a needy crowd. Do you know anybody who's in your life who's really needy? When you think of somebody who's real needy, what do you think of? I mean, you just see someone like that. Most of us, when we see someone like that, we're just like, eh, I think I'll go this way, you know? I think, oh, that's just gonna be taxing, that's gonna be a lot of work. We don't wanna do that because you just think they're gonna just suck you dry and use up all your resources. That's what this crowd was like. Jesus is tired. He's exhausted. The twelve are tired. They're exhausted. They need a day off. They see a needy crowd. And a lot of people assume Jesus must have seen that crowd and thought, ahhh! How do I get away from these people? There they are again. Well, I guess I'll minister to them. That's not what it says. It's not what it says. In fact, in Luke 9-11, in Luke's account of this, he says Jesus welcomed them. He welcomed the crowd. That word, welcome, refers to a warm, enthusiastic welcoming, receiving someone into your presence with a feeling of joy and gladness that they're there. Jesus was happy that they were there. He welcomed them. Jesus was not irritated by crowds because he loved each one of the people in the crowd. Jesus loved crowds because he loved individuals. And when he saw needy people, his first thought wasn't, oh, what is this going to cost me? His first thought was, what can I do for them? How can I serve them? And so he cancels his day off to minister to these people. Before they got into the boat, Jesus used wisdom. He assessed the situation and he made a good decision. Time for a day off. Time for some rest. That was a good decision. It was pleasing to God. Then he landed and he saw that crowd. He changed his mind. Jesus Christ changed his mind, canceled the day off, and that was also a good decision and pleasing to God. Something to be said for a little flexibility in ministry, isn't there? Sometimes you seek God's guidance, you pray about it, you ask advice, you think it through, you search the Scriptures. And you're confident. God is leading me in this direction. This is the way the Lord is leading me. He wants me to do this. But then some time passes, you get some more information, you get some more perspective, and you realize, you know what? It's time to change course. Plan B. If you're the type that's just inflexible, you can never change. Once you've decided, you can never alter your plans. You need to think about this. Think about the fact that Jesus Christ, who had flawless wisdom, perfect wisdom, and always did the will of God, Jesus Christ changed course and reverted to plan B. And if that's the case of a man with perfect wisdom, what should that say to us who have very limited, fallible wisdom? We need to be flexible. We need to be ready to change. We're going to see next week that Jesus goes on to do a miracle here that ends up being the most important miracle that Jesus ever performed in his earthly life, outside of his own resurrection. So that means the greatest miracle Jesus ever did happened during Plan B! Okay, so which one was God's will? Plan A or Plan B? John 8 29, Jesus said, I always do what pleases the one who sent me. Jesus always did the Father's will, which means Jesus was in God's will when he decided to take the day off, and he was in God's will when he changed his mind and did the exact opposite, reverted to plan B. So often when people ask God, show me your will, what they really mean is, God, just tell me what to do. So tell me which of these options is going to have the best outcome. That's what they want to know. They're trying to use God the same way people in the world use a horoscope or a crystal ball or a palm reader or something like that. I can't see the future. I don't know which option is going to have the best result. So I just want some inside information from something that can see into the future or someone. And so just tell me what to do. Here's the thing. The reason we have so much anxiety about decision-making is because we don't know outcomes, but what we forget is outcomes are not your job. That's God's job. That's God's responsibility. That's for Him to worry about. Your job is to simply make a decision in a godly way. That's all you have to do. Make a good decision in a godly way. God does not hold you responsible for picking the option that's going to have the best outcome. He only holds you responsible for the way in which you make your decision, your motives, your desires, your use of biblical wisdom. That's what he holds you responsible for. It's all you have to do. Make the decision in a way that pleases God and let him worry about the outcome. I had a guy at church, I asked him how I could pray for him. He says, oh, I'm wrestling, it's a really hard decision, I'm trying to choose this or this, and I don't know what to choose and everything, and so pray for me. I said, okay, I'll pray for you. I prayed for him all week, I came back the next week and I asked him, okay, I wanted to find out if God had answered my prayers. So I asked him about it, but I didn't ask him what he chose. I didn't say, hey, did God tell you, should you go option A or option B? All I asked him was, How did you do in the decision-making process? Did you make the decision in a way that pleased God with your motives and the way that you went about it? And I didn't ask about the outcome because that's not what I was praying for. All we have to do is make decisions in a way that pleases God. Do you realize how freeing that is? Choose whatever you want. As long as it's within the boundaries of holiness and righteousness, and it's not sinful, then it's pleasing to God. You can do anything you want. God wants you to be creative. You say, well, how do I know if it's going to be the best possible choice? I want to choose not just good, I want the absolute best. You'll never know what's the absolute best. Only God knows the absolute best, and Do you think God even really wants that in every situation, or does God just simply delight in His children being righteous? See, people think that they're really spiritual when they get to the point where they're so in tune with the Holy Spirit that He tells them every single thing to do. Walk down this street right now, okay, take a right, go talk to that person, say these words, and they say, man, if you can do that, if you have that kind of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, you're super spiritual. No, that's not how God wants us to live. If that's what God wanted, he could have just created a whole race of robots and they would have done exactly what he told them to do. What God wants from us is righteousness and holiness. He's pleased when we're creative in coming up with righteous things. Just pick a unique godly path that fits your personality and God is pleased. You know, if you have, imagine you have three kids and you tell your kids, okay, you got some free time, go out and do something, do something good. And so one of the kids, what you wouldn't want is for your kids to come to you and say, okay, mom, just tell me exactly what to do every minute, what to say, what to do, where to go. No, just go out, find something good to do. Now, suppose they go out, one kid shares the gospel with a neighbor, and the second kid stays home and cleans his sister's room just out of love, and the third one just hangs out with you in the kitchen and you just have this great conversation. Are you going to scold two of those kids because they chose something good, but they didn't choose the absolute best option of the three? No. You're going to be pleased with all three because they all three found something good that they could do that expressed their own personality, their creative in figuring out something good to do. That's what God wants from us. He made us creative beings. I mean, just look around you. Look at the creation. Do you think this God likes variety? He loves variety, and he made a variety of people with a variety of different personality types and different gifts, and he wants you to use yours and be creative and just find something good to do. You know, if you look at the creation, you'd say, what's better, an oak tree or a bush? Well, an oak tree's better, I would say. It's magnificent. A bush is kind of ordinary. So if that's the case, why didn't God make every plant an oak tree? Well, that wouldn't have been as good as the variety He created, right? So don't worry about finding the best possible of everything, just find something good to do, and if it's righteous, you're free to do it, and God's pleased. Just be creative, you be you, within the bounds of holiness, and God will be pleased with you, and He will bless your life. Thank you for listening. If you found today's episode edifying, why not share it with a friend? A simple post on social media can change a person's day. This season, the Food for Your Soul podcast features excerpts from our sermon series on the Gospel of Mark. Over 130 expository sermons covering every verse. You can find those and hundreds of other sermons for free download on drichardferguson.com. Until next time, rejoice in the Lord always and set your mind on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.