Discern, Not Decide

Numbers 14:8-11 (NIV)
⁸ If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. ⁹ Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them." ¹⁰ But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. ¹¹ The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?

Last Sunday Pastor Karl Dyrli preached a challenging message from Number 13 & 14 on the difference between discerning the will of God and making a decision.

. He says on his blog, "In Numbers 13 and 14 we find the dramatic events at the edge of the promised land.  God told Moses to send 12 Israelite leaders into the new territory, a land that He was going to deliver to them.  When the 12 came back, ten had reasoned arguments why they should not advance into Canaan, while two claimed they should.  This is a prime example in which the majority doesn't, or shouldn't, rule.  Ten decided what they thought should be done.  Two correctly discerned the will of the Lord.

For all of God's people, our lives, our churches, our every choice is to be one of discerning His direction, not of deciding what we think should be done."


I encourage you to check out Karl's blog on the New Testament Baptist Church web site.  There you can listen to a podcast of Karl's message.  His message is timely for our church in this transition time as we consider who God has in mind for our next pastor.


You can also see what we might be up to at New Testament Baptist Church by going to http://nt-bc.org.  This web site is being constructed by the students of New Testament Christian School in Norton, MA.