UNDERSTANDING GOD’S WILL
BACKGROUND
Though John’s writings are typically referred to as letters, or epistles, they lack many characteristics of other letters found in the Bible. (Paul, for example) John does not designate certain recipients, nor does he express any personal greetings. It’s likely that John was living in Ephesus at the time he wrote 1 John, and as is commonly done in the New Testament writings we find a writer addressing certain problems or heresies within the church. The lack of specific recipients in this letter suggests that John likely wished for his writing to be passed around throughout the entire area of his ministry.
1 John 5:14-15
‘And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.’
Perhaps the most important part of this verse comes in the first sentence: ‘If we ask anything according to His will…’
John writes this after writing some pretty deep theological stuff including the testing of false prophets, hypocrisy, eternity, so on and so on. He sums this up by saying that we must seek God’s will from the start. God’s will, and the seeking of God’s will, is the underpinning of the Christian life.
How do we come to a better understanding of God’s will? First, we start by determining what the Bible tells us about the subject.
1. Determining God’s will
“If we ask anything according to His will, he hears us…”
Another Bible translation says, “If we ask God anything that agrees with what he wants…”
How do we know what God wants? I believe this is a question with a two-fold answer.
1. God’s will for everyone
2. God’s will for us as individuals
A. God’s will for everyone is to establish a relationship with Him
In order to establish a relationship with God we must have holiness. In the Old Testament this meant dozens of laws, commandments, and rituals. In Exodus 20, we find the Israelites having been freed through God’s
intervention, and they have now arrived in the Desert of Sinai. At this point God gives them:
The Ten Commandments, Laws for living, Laws about violence toward one another, Property laws, Laws about Marriage and Relationships, laws about fairness, Laws for the Sabbath and requirements for the three annual feasts. This is a laundry list of requirements. In essence, God says to them: ‘If you are going to have a relationship with me, which is what I want, you have to be pure. You have to live right.’ But he also makes them a promise:
Exodus 23: 27-28
I will send my terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among who you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets ahead of you, that they may drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you.
This is an incredible promise from God. He is saying here are the rules-you follow them and we will have a relationship. I will be for you. I will be your God.
As we all know, the Israelites didn’t fair too well in keeping God’s laws (just as we would today). So fast forward to the New Testament, where the requirements, or at least the method of achieving God’s requirements, has changed, but the fact remains: God’s will, as it pertains to every single person in this room and on this earth, is to have a relationship with Him.
John 1: 12
‘But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,’
John 10:28
‘And I give eternal life to them, and they shall never parish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.’
John 14:2
‘In my father’s house are many dwelling places, if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.’
God’s will is to establish a relationship with us. Rather, for us to establish a relationship with Him. For us, today, this means an acceptance and belief in Jesus Christ.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.’
B. God’s will for us as individuals
It would be silly for me, or anyone else, to try and tell you God’s will for your life. This is a personal, intimate thing between a person and God. What we can be sure of, however, is that God’s will for you as an individual does exist.
Psalm 16:7
‘I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.’
Psalm 25:4-5
‘Make me know Thy ways, O Lord;
Teach me Thy paths.
Lead me in Thy truth and teach me,
For thou art the God of my salvation;
Determining God’s will for our lives requires faith, obedience, prayer, and focus. Even then, there is no message in the sky or writing on the wall. God does not send a letter with detailed instructions of what decisions we should make, or what direction we should go, though we certainly wish he would. God’s will is felt, in your spirit, and I’m not sure there is a better feeling.
2. ‘Settling’ for God’s will
Once we determine that 1) God has a will for us, and 2) it’s better than anything we could imagine, the work is just beginning. Now comes the challenge of ‘settling’ for God’s will. I say ‘settling’ because though our mind tells us God knows best, our will is led by our heart, and the heart can play tricks.
Hannibal the great was a Carthaginian military commander around the year 200 B.C. He is thought of as one of the great military leaders of all time, alongside Alexander the Great, Napoleon, and others. There is a story that says as a boy Hannibal begged his father to take him to a war overseas. Hannibal’s father took him to a sacrificial chamber with a roaring fire in the middle, and he held his child over the fire and made him swear that he would never be a friend to Rome. The story says that Hannibal responded, “I swear as soon as age will permit…I will use fire and steel to arrest the destiny of Rome.”
Hannibal did as promised, battling Rome for most of his adult life, and winning many battles. In the battle of Zama, Rome finally conquered Carthage, with Hannibal losing 20,000 troops and 15,000 more were wounded. This was the last battle for Carthage for rule of the Mediterranean, and this loss was the beginning of the end for Hannibal. He lost he respect of his troops, his countrymen, and ended up in exile. When Rome demanded Carthage hand Hannibal over to them for imprisonment, he poisoned himself. His recorded last words were:
“Let us relieve the Romans from the anxiety they have so long experienced, since they think it tries their patience to wait for an old man to die.”
There is nothing wrong with dedicating one’s entire life to a certain thing, but it must be the right thing. I can’t think of anything scarier than dedicating an entire life on this planet, only to find out that it was not God’s will. It brings no happiness, no satisfaction.
We must control our own will if we are to understand and accept God’s will. Our wants and desires don’t always match up with God’s. We can want something so bad, yearn for it so much, and then when it becomes ours it does not bring us the happiness we expected.
Mother Teresa once said, “More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.”
Proverbs 3:5
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
3. REAP THE BENEFITS OF GOD’S WILL
A. Guidance
John 16:13
‘But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth;’
When we seek God’s will, and find it, we know that God will guide us through life’s challenges.
B. Protection
Hebrews 13:6
‘So that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, What shall man do to me?”
God protects us from the people and things that would seek to remove our focus on His will.
C. Happiness
I believe that one of the biggest mistakes we make as people is believing that we know what will bring us happiness.
A married person who believes that being free, unattached, and without responsibility will bring them happiness. Wrong. God’s will is for that person to be there for their children and spouse. To honor God by honoring their family. That will bring happiness.
A man who thinks the next raise or promotion, or that new car or house will bring happiness. Wrong. God’s will is for us to be stewards of what we have already been given. This brings happiness.
CONCLUSION
The benefits, and the happiness, that comes from being in God’s will cannot be measured. Going back to the very first part of the sermon, I said that God’s will for each of us is to establish a relationship with Him. This is the starting point. None of the things I have said today mean anything until you have a relationship with God. The way to do that is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
