Note: This is written based on a message that I preached way back in 2001 so a little background here might help. I was wrestling with whether God wanted me to be a preacher or not. I prayed a while then asked my pastor for an opportunity to speak as part of a Youth Sunday service. He agreed to let me speak. I prayed and prayed for God’s guidance and wrote two closings to this message depending on how it went. I prayed for God to use me and give me peace while I preached if that was what He wanted me to do. And He did. Here is that first message...
Knowing and doing God’s Will
Luke 2:42-49
42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?
Now, I’m not a great preacher but I’d like to speak to you about knowing and doing God’s will. On this subject I believe that if we look to God’s word we can see that there are five categories of people.
First category - Knowing and Doing
The first group is those who know and do God’s will. Jesus is the greatest example of this category. As we just read, Jesus knew God the Father’s will and He did it. From His birth, to His death, His every thought and deed was to do God’s will. Yes that was God in the flesh so now let’s look at a regular guy like us. Let’s look at Paul. This guy must have looked like the Anti-Christ to early Christians. He killed Christians. But on the road to Damascus, God stopped him.
Acts 9:4-6
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
And he did it for the rest of his life. Despite personal suffering he did it. Paul knew the secret and shares it in Philippians 1:21 where he wrote "to live is Christ, and to die is gain". I live only to serve Him; I will rest and reap the rewards when I am dead!
John 15:14 says, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." That is our reward; we get to be friends with the King and not just any king but the King of Kings.
There is a businessman in Texas who places signs outside his building much like a church might. One day it simply said "Yes, Lord." This is the key to life and to surrender - it is how we are to be.
"Yes Lord, I’ll be happy where I’m at."
"Yes Lord, I’ll trust you."
"Yes Lord, I can do that."
Jesus gave his all for me. How can I give anything less?
Second category - Knowing and Half-doing
The people in this category know what to do but they only halfway do it.
One way in which they only half do it is by delaying. Sadly, the favorite book of the bible for many Christians is the Book of Hesitations. You know the one where it says, "Sit, wait, rest then sit some more."
Luke 9:59-62
59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Here we see men told by God in the flesh, "Come on let’s go". One says to Jesus "Not yet I have to bury my dad first". The other says "OK but let me go say bye to everyone first." (I have heard that a Jewish burial ritual with the anointing with perfume and all could take as much as a year?) Jesus says, "Looking back is no way to plow a straight line." How many times have the parents among us asked kids to clean their room? "In a minute, mom... let me watch the rest of this show." Does that please you? Do you think it pleases God? Some things can wait - the harvest of souls isn’t one of them. Delayed obedience is short-term disobedience.
Other people in this category may try to alter the will of God like we see with Moses in Numbers.
Numbers 20:7-8,11
7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
In verses 7 and 8, God told him what to do - speak to the rock. Then look at verse 11. When he saw the people he got mad and STRUCK the rock. Because of this he did not get to enter the Promised Land. This little act of partial disobedience kept him from receiving God’s promise.
Questioning God’s will is another way some people only halfway do His will. There’s a list called "The Redneck Dictionary of Medical Terms". On it are items like Artery: the study of paintings, Vein: conceited, Varicose: nearby, Dilate: to live long, Bacteria: back door of a cafeteria, and Node: was aware of. I like it and think it’s rather funny but too often that list is like us; sometimes we use our own made-up definitions rather than God’s. Saul was commanded to execute the wrath of God on the Amalekites. Look at 1 Samuel 15:2-3.
1 Samuel 15:2-3
2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
He disobeyed. Now read verses 8-9.
1 Samuel 15:8-9
8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
He didn’t do as he was told and if you keep reading you’ll see Samuel, God’s spokesperson, came to him and asked, "If you did as God told why do I hear those cows mooing?" Saul said, "Well I thought it would be good to sacrifice them at the temple?" Now read verse 22.
1 Samuel 15:22-23
22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
To obey is BETTER than sacrifice. Continuing with verse 23 we see because of this God removed him from the throne of Israel. If God says, "jump"; you ask, "how high?" Don’t try to pole vault. God wants us to listen and obey. We are not supposed to question; just do. The end of a Frank Sinatra song says "...I did it my way" Ordinarily, having that kind of self determination and individuality is good but when it comes to the tasks God gives it’s His way everyday all the way.
Obedience doesn’t procrastinate, alter, or question
Third category - Not knowing but Doing anyway
Other people may not know God’s will but try to do it anyway. For an example of this let’s look at a chapter out of David’s life recorded in 2 Samuel 7:1-3,5-6.
2 Samuel 7:1-3,5-6
1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.
5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
David wanted to build a permanent place to worship God. In verses 1-3, he told Nathan and Nathan thought it was a good idea but neither of them asked God so finally God spoke. And in verses 5-6 we see that God had someone else in mind for that job - David’s son, Solomon. We must know what he wants us to do before we do it. That is why we are to "wait upon the Lord" & "study to show thyself approved". We are not to hesitate but to learn his will.
Look at the Israelites during Isaiah’s life. Read Isaiah 58:1-4 and skip down to verses 13 and 14.
Isaiah 58:1-4,13-14
1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
They went through motions of religion but God paid no attention. They didn’t really know God’s will they were playing church like so many of us. Isaiah condemned them for this. Religious activity is no substitute for an obedient heart.
Fourth category - Knowing and Not doing
The fourth group consists of people that know God’s will but deliberately do not do it. Jonah is a well-known example of knowing what God’s will is and simply refusing to be obedient.
Jonah 1:2-3
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Verse 2 is God’s will revealed and verse 3 is God’s will rejected. Jonah ran from God’s will. Jonah paid a price for it. First he was thrown overboard and then swallowed by a whale. He had plenty of time to think. Ignoring God has its consequences.
James 4:17 - Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin
If your mom says "Clean your room" and you don’t. You’re not technically "doing wrong" because you’re not "doing" anything. But you knew what was right and didn’t do it. That’s the same thing.
So now comes the question, what is God’s will? If you’re lost it’s simply this: come to know Him as your personal Lord and Savior. If you’re a Christian then this month’s teen Sunday School focus says it all in four steps:
• Worship - worship Him because he is worthy to be praised
• Prepare - prepare for His return
• Serve - serve Him. do all in His name
• Pray - fellowship with Him
Luke 12:43-44,47
43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
He will only ask us to do what we can handle. He will reward us for it and punish us if we don’t
Now back to James. Looking at James 1:22, it says, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." How many of you know about baseball? If there’s a runner on 1st the play is at second right? Yes. As a little league coach you would tell your kids this right? Yes and probably all coaches do but do they always do it? No. Why? Because they are hearers and not doers. Just like the little league coach, God tells us what to do but like the little leaguers sometimes we don’t.
Fifth category - Not knowing and not doing
This last group is the lost that have never heard. Sadly, there are some who will never hear the Word of God - even in America. This is the Devil’s best case. "Ignorance is bliss!" Now not a single one of us are in this category because I told you a few minutes ago, the preacher has told you, God’s word has told you. The fact is WE ALL KNOW!
Then there are also little children in this group. These are the ones under the age of accountability. This is the only safe group to be in except those in God’s will (the knowers and doers). These children don’t know and don’t do because they don’t yet understand but one day they will. I appreciate seeing parents that will bring their children before the church and dedicate them to God.
Closing
Let’s look at the Words of Jesus found in the Gospels. Jesus’ 1st recorded words were found in Luke 2:49. "Don’t you know I must be about my Father’s business." In the Garden Luke 22:42 says he cried "This is too much Dad if there’s any other way take this cup from me. But I’ll do what you want me to do." On the cross, John 19:30 states he proclaimed, "It is finished. Dad, I did it." What about you? When your life ends can you say, "God I know I did what you wanted me to do. IT IS FINISHED!" Like Paul, will you be able to say, "I have run the race and fought the good fight." There’s an old Led Zeppelin song that contains a smidgen of truth. It says "there are two paths you can go by but in the long run there’s time to change the road you’re on." There are 2 paths; there’s God’s will and not God’s will. But we’re not promised tomorrow. The next few minutes is the only long run you may have. Will you change your mind? Will you surrender to Him?
Think on this illustration of crossing the road. Imagine you and Jesus standing on the side of Bullsboro Drive in rush hour. Jesus looks then yells "Come on" and runs to the other side. You have choices; you can:
- Go with him and be OK,
- Go in a minute when it might not be clear,
- Run but stop in the middle of a lane (you will get hit), or
- Never go across at all (sure there’s no danger but what will you miss? Well Lowe’s might have a tool clearance sale and you’ll never know why the chicken went!)
Like I said at the beginning, I’m no great preacher but knowing and doing His will in my own life means preaching & teaching whenever & wherever there’s an opportunity. It is better to be an unknown preacher than a famous bench warmer. Babe Ruth once said "I knew an old minister once- How I envy him- I am listed as a famous home-runner, yet beside that obscure minister, who was so good and wise, I never got to first base."
I invite you to pray to Jesus right now and yield to his will. There’s a song called "Footprints of Jesus". It’s not a normal invitational song but that’s what He wants for us - to follow in His steps. "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He leadeth me..." (Psalm 23) Will you let him lead you? Come on surrender to His will; do business till He comes. (Luke 19:13)
