It's such a defining
statement…I'm sure it’s the statement God most wants to say
about each one of us. How about it??... Could God say that
about me…could he say it about you?
It's one of the great
questions on the mind of every Christian. How do I know what
God wants me to do? How do I find God's will for my life?
I. Finding God's Will for our lives
Let me ask you two direct
questions:
1)
If you did know exactly what
God wanted you to do in this life, would you do it?
2) Are you doing right
now, everything, you already know God has asked of you?
1000 years after David… God
repeats the wording again, this time before the fact.
*It's not a boy, this time,
it's a middle-aged man
*It's a man who believes
that he has a corner on the will of God, not only for his life
but also for the lives of everybody around him.
His name is Saul and he is
so sure, of himself, that he is willing to have others
persecuted and killed to support what he believes to be God's
will
After a meeting with the
resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus he gets this message
from God
*You are not in line with my
will…You are directly contradicting my will
*In your misguided zeal…you
are not just persecuting my children… you are persecuting me!
Three days… blind and
without food, in Damascus, got him ready to receive an
important message from God:
Acts 22:14 "Then he said:
'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know His
will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from
his mouth. (NIV)
Two examples:
One became willing to do
God's will at an early age and was used by God to affect the
world
Another had his wings
clipped by God at a later age…submitted to God's will and was
used by God to affect the world.
Either way…the formula is
clear:
Submission to God's will
---------------------------à
Usable by God!
Every Biblical example
supports this formula…
*Wouldn't it be a great
thing if this formula were still in effect?
*Don't you wish you had the
same opportunity that David and Paul had?
*Wouldn't it be something if
God was as ready to show his will to/ through your life as he
was these two men?
II. Focusing on God's Will for our lives
Let me show you five
passages in the New Testament that give us God's thoughts on
this subject in a nutshell.
If there ever was a time
that each of us should be asking God what he specifically
wants from our lives it is right now. The familiar world as we
know it is in upheaval.
For the last 25 years our
world economy has been fairly stable, and growing, even
through horrific times like 9-11…. but when we see all the
safety brakes come off all at the same time and we see
lawmakers flailing wildly, trying to find any solution that
will work, we had better take note.
When somebody as revered as
Alan Greenspan goes before a congressional subcommittee and
says: my economic worldview was flawed; the wheels have come
off everything I ever believed about our nation's finances, it
makes everyone's eyes pop.
When I was a young man I
heard pastors warn that there might come a day when our
religious freedoms, in this great and free country, might be
curtailed.. and I listened with half-interest always thinking
that it would never really happen in my lifetime.
Now I find myself 48 hours
away from an "Amendment 2" vote; the failing of which could/
has already proven in three out of fifty states that it has
the potential to… open Pandoras box to limiting churches
rights to stand firmly on and teach loudly the truths of God's
Word as the only infallible rule for life and living.
If you are not taking
life seriously its time you start!
If you believe, somewhere
inside of you, that this life is preparation for an eternal
life to come…
If you believe that your few
short decades on this world are to prepare you to spend an
eternity with God in heaven. If you believe this earth is a
fallen place, and that there is an evil one who is working
overtime to capture the souls of mankind.
If you understand that the
world view of many who share this planet with you is not in
line with the truths of God's Word and that these people are
not committing their lives to helping you in your quest to
serve God.
If you understand that
serving God and following the truth of his Word will, at times
be in opposition to what is going on in society around
you…Living in God's truth may not make you popular… you may
not be in agreement with the majority…. You may have to
strongly disagree with them…and yes, according to scripture
and history it could mean persecution.
If that's all true then we
are way, way, way beyond questions like:
1) What would I like to
change about myself to make me a better person?
2) What can I do to be
happier?
Our focus should be: What is
God's will for my life?
1) What is His direction?
Where should my focus be?
2) What is my role to be in
bringing this world face to face with Jesus?
3) Which activities would
God like me to stop?
4) Which activities would
God like me to start?
Personalize it-
God, What would you have me to
do?
Ultimate would be for you to
get to the place where God says;
He was willing to do all
that I asked him to do.
She was willing to do all
that I asked her to do.
________________________________________________________________
III. Ingredients for Knowing
God's will
A) Scripture #1:
Willingness for Transformation
Romans 12:2 Don’t copy the
behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you
into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will
learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing
and perfect. (NLT)
Apparently, in order for you
to have a clear picture of what God wants for your life… you
must be willing to submit your past, present, and future to
his reshaping
1) If we continue in the
behavior and customs of this world
2) If we continue with a
un-transformed, un-renewed mind
3) Our "God's will tester"
will be disabled
It's a waste of time to
search for God's will for our future is we are not walking in
God's light from our present and past!
"I don't know what God wants
for my life"..
"Have you submitted to his
will" No….
Then the blinders stay in
place!!
It's a waste of time to
search for God's will for our future if we are not walking in
God's light from our present and past!
All of us, like Paul, find
our way to our own Road to Damascus…God always does it with
the purpose to get us on to Damascus where our eyes will be
opened to His will for usYou
B) Scripture #2: Jesus is
teaching in the temple courts in Jerusalem. The Jews listening
are struggling to know whether the new and different things
Jesus is teaching are truth from God for their lives…
Jesus response is very interesting.
You want to know whether I'm telling you God's truth for your
life?...You must have one essential ingredient to get it
right…
A desire to know God's will
à A willingness to act on that
desire…
John 7:17 If anyone chooses to do
God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from
God or whether I speak on my own. (NIV)
Are you asking God to show let you
see his direction…His will for your life?
If you had to take a piece of paper
and start to list what you think God's top ten priorities for
you life might be…What might be God's top ten list for you as
you finish 08 and move into 09?
Are there any in the top three or
four that you, pretty well, know; but you simply have not
done? You are probably not going to get a picture of eight or
nine if you are ignoring three or four.
Apparently God's next ten things in
our life list is not supposed to be a secret. The key to
finding them is the first seven words of John 7:
John 7:17 If anyone chooses to do
God's will
C) Scripture # 3: Paul's prayer to
the Colossian church
Colossians 1:9 For this reason, since
the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for
you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of
his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (NIV)
Colossians 1:9 … We ask God to give
you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual
wisdom and understanding. (NLT)
This is a serious enough request that
it is a repetitive prayer- "not stopped praying"
Is it directed to any specific person
in the church?... No… from the Elders to the young'uns…
How much of the knowledge of God's
will is Paul praying for?
He's asking God to (fill you) , cram
(net); fill level (bowl)
Through the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit; Paul is praying not just for the Colossians… but for
all people…. including you…..
That you will be
crammed full with the knowledge of his
will
….and given all spiritual
wisdom and understanding
Paul wasn't playing around here…he
knew the Christians in Colosse would be facing tough times,
economic distress, persecution… he wanted them ready…
4) Scripture # 4
…same book other end
Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, a member of
your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you
his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God
to make you strong and
perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will
of God. (NLT)
NIV - mature and fully assured
NKJV perfect and complete (cram full)
in all the will of God
___________________________________________________________________
5) Scripture # 5;
The writer of the book of Hebrews, after a long section on
perseverance in the face of persecution…the writer finishes
with this closing statement…
Hebrews 10:35-36 So do not
throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the
great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is
what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s
will. Then you will receive all that he
has promised. (NLT
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