Knowing Your Place In God's Will

“Knowing Your Place in the Will of God”

Rev. Sean D. Lester

August 17, 2003

Hebrews 9:15-28

Introduction:

A. “Are you in the will of God,” someone may ask you. It is a hard question to answer. How do you know what God’s will is for your life? You know that God wants you to be saved, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and to behave yourself. But, beyond that, many are left to wonder, “What’s next?”

B. Unfortunately, people get confused about the nature of God’s will. Such confusion can lead to a state of spiritual frozenness. For instance, if you are wondering what God wants you to do at every moment, you will become frustrated. God never met people in the morning each day and handed them a honey-do list for the day. Because of this, there are people who fear making a wrong step that they choose to do nothing until they “hear clearly from God,” or so they say. (Romance is spontaneous, compare to marriage.)

C. People miss the good things that the life lived in Christ offers because they await the voice of God before choosing a career, meeting their life’s mate, or entering some ministry. They miss out because they don’t know God’s will for their life.

D. God does have a will for your life, and He isn’t keeping it a secret from you. Do you want to know what it is? This passage that I have read tells us about God’s will for your lives. If you will understand it, then you will be able to live according to God’s will. I have organized my thoughts around the word “WILL.”

Written Covenant. In this case, God’s will is written out, like a last will and testament. The word “testament” means “contract, covenant, or agreement.” But this covenant is not a negotiated agreement between two parties, but a one-sided covenant where one party is declaring how his assets are to be dispersed upon death. So when we speak of God’ will, we aren’t necessarily speaking of His specified goal for your life, but whether you are in His actual will.

A. The will of God declares who are the heirs of his possessions. In my grandfather’s will, there is a list of names of those who are entitled to a portion of his estate. In some cases, all or part of the estate is not given to a specific person or organization, but to anyone who meets certain qualifications. Andrew Carnegie, for instance, left part of his estate for the building of public libraries. The specific cities were not mentioned, but rather, the qualifications of the places who could receive funds for this purpose are listed. For this to work, someone must be appointed to decide who qualifies to be an heir of the estate.

B. In the case of God’s will, Jesus Christ is appointed to be the executor of God’s will, and it makes perfect sense. He knows exactly what the Father desires because He has perfect unity with Him. Jesus Christ executed the fulfillment of the Old Law when He sacrificed himself. Therefore, Jesus decides who gets written into God’s will. The Bible tells us that the Lord is keeping a record of who fulfills the standard for becoming an heir in the Book of Life. On the day of judgment, the books will be opened and all who are found to be written in the Book of Life will be ushered forever into the presence of God.

C. The will also lists the assets that are to be distributed. In God’s will, eternal life is the gift, and the privilege of being with God is a new heaven and new earth is to be granted.

D. What are the qualifications for becoming an heir in God’s will? Faith in Jesus Christ. God grants you life which is temporary so that you may decide whether you wish to keep it for eternity. Those who love Jesus Christ, who have faith in Him so that they conform their temporary lives according to His teachings prove that they want to keep life for eternity. God honors people who believe on Christ and sends them his Holy Spirit to empower them to do the work of building up His kingdom. Anyone who believes in Jesus, becomes an heir of eternal life and are written into the will of God.

Transition: However, a will is only good after the one making it dies, but we know that God will never die. So how does God’s will ever go into effect?

In Effect After Your Death.

A. This can be a bit confusing because we think of death as the cessation of living. We think of death as unconscious, inactive, inanimate. However, the Bible does not define death in this way. The Scriptures define death as separation. Spiritual death is the separation of one’s spirit from God. Natural death is the separation of the soul from the body. Your body gives out, but you remain aware of your surroundings.