Finding God¡¦s Will For Your Life
(Rom 12:2 NIV) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
OPEN: This morning my message title is ¡§Finding God¡¦s Will For Your Life¡¨ All of us have to make choices every day. When making these decisions we say ¡§will I do this?¡¨, or ¡§will I do that?¡¨, or ¡§will I do the other?¡¨
Some decisions aren¡¦t all that important, LIKE ¡V ¡§where will I eat after church today, Luby¡¦s or Furr¡¦s?
Black Eyed Pea or Angelina¡¦s?
To your stomach and taste buds it might be an important decision, but in the grand scheme of things it isn¡¦t really all that important!
But there are other decisions that are much more important that WILL matter over time!
QUESTIONS LIKE:
ć WHOM SHOULD I MARRY?
ć SHOULD I QUIT THIS COMPANY AND TAKE THE OTHER OFFER?
ć DOES GOD WANT US TO START A FAMILY NOW, OR SHOULD WE WAIT?
ć WHAT COLLEGE SHOULD I GO TO?
ć WHAT DEGREE SHOULD I PURSUE?
THE DECISIONS WE MAKE FOR THESE AND MANY, MANY OTHER QUESTIONS WILL MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN OUR LIVES.
THAT IS WHY WE CAN¡¦T LEAVE THOSE DECISIONS TO CHANCE, OR GUESS WORK OR HOW WE FEEL AT THE MOMENT!
AS A PASTOR I HAVE NOTICED THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR SOME SORT OFA SIGN FROM GOD WHEN TRYING TO DETERMINE GOD¡¦S WILL FOR OUR LIVES!
IR REMINDED ME OF WHAT I HEARD RECENTLY ABOUT SIGNS. SOMEONE HAS ACTUALLY MADE IT A HOBBY TO COLLECT THE SAYINGS FROM DIFFERENT SIGNS. I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT ENJOY SOME OF THEM THIS MORNING:
(THESE ARE ACTUAL SIGNS)
One gas station that also had a restaurant actually had this on their changeable sign, ¡§Eat here and get gas¡¨
At a dry cleaners, ¡§Leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time¡¨
In Nebraska, ¡§When this sign is under water, this road is impassable"
Outside a resale shop, ¡§We exchange ANYTHING, bicycles, washing machines. Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain¡¨
Here¡¦s one if you¡¦re looking for a pet, ¡§Dog for sale, eats anything and is fond of children¡¨
AND FINALLY, THIS ONE FOR A FUNERAL PARLOR: ¡§ASK ABOUT OUR LAYAWAY PLAN¡¨
The best way to understand God¡¦s will for our lives is not through some ¡§sign¡¨. God shows us his will for our lives in two major ways.
# 1 ¡V His Revealed Will, and
# 2 ¡V His Unrevealed Will
¡§When we ask God for his will most of us are asking him about his unrevealed will¡¨
But before we can really understand his unrevealed will, we need to focus on his revealed will. Let¡¦s look at his¡K
# 1 ¡V His Revealed Will
a. His revealed will is the Bible.
Psalm 119:105 says ¡§Your word (the Bible) is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path¡¨
2 Tim. 3:16, 17 says ¡§All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
253 times in the Bible God says ¡§thou shalt not¡¨
In modern day language that means ¡§don¡¦t go there girlfriend¡¨
1250 times God says ¡§thou shalt¡¨, which means ¡§do this¡¨!
There are all sorts of questions we can find the answers to in God¡¦s word. Questions like:
ƒá What is God¡¦s plan for me for eternity?
(2 Pet 3:9 NIV) not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
ć Some would say does God want me to divorce my wife?
(Mat 19:6 NIV) ¡§Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
ƒá When someone asks ¡§how involved should I get with someone of the opposite sex? How far is too far?
(1 Cor 6:18 NIV) Flee from sexual immorality.
(Eph 5:3 NIV) ¡§¡K there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity¡Kbecause these are improper for God’s people.¡¨
The answer to all of these and many more questions can be found in this book called the Bible.
¡§But many people already try their best to live by the Bible, yet they still have questions about God¡¦s will.¡¨ (pause)
what this is called is the unrevealed will of God. Let¡¦s look at the UNREVEALED WILL OF GOD¡K
# 2 ¡V The UNREVELED Will Of God.
¡§The unrevealed will of God usually deals with areas of specifics in our lives that cannot be found directly in scripture.¡¨ (elaborate)
I want to talk to you about three ways to determine the unrevealed will of God in your life.
# 1 ¡V Prayer
Throughout the Bible we see great men and women that, when they didn¡¦t know what to do¡Kthey prayed about it!
Why? Because Proverbs 16:3 says, ¡§Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed¡¨
Prayer is simply committing things to the Lord!
Psalms 20:4 says ¡§May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed¡¨
The second way to determine God¡¦s unrevealed will is¡K
# 2 Rely Upon The Holy Spirit
When Jesus was leaving the earth he said he wouldn¡¦t leave us alone but he would send the Holy Spirit. In light of the decisions all of us have to make, listen to hat the Bible says about the Holy Spirit¡K
(John 16:13 NIV) ¡§¡Kwhen he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.¡¨
(Rom 8:26, 27 NIV) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
ILLUSTRATION: I remember when Kim and I were trying to make a decision about coming to The Colony¡K
The third way I believe the Lord¡¦s unrevealed will is shown to us is through¡K
# 3 CONFIRMATION
There are three questions we need to ask ourselves regarding confirmation¡K
# 1 ¡V Does what I want to do line up with God¡¦s word?
# 2 ¡V Does what I want to do line up with God¡¦s Spirit and my spirit?
# 3 ¡V What are the people I trust saying I should do?
The Bible says this in Proverbs 15:22,
¡§Plains fail for a lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed¡¨
