“How to Know God’s will”
Introduction:
A man wanted to know the will of God for his life, so took out his Bible, let the pages fall open, closed his eyes and put his finger down on a spot. Looking down at the verse under his finger he found that it said, “Judas went out and hanged himself.”
Slightly frustrated he followed the procedure again. This time the verse at the end of his fingertip instructed, “Go and do likewise.”
Now alarmed he repeated the same steps once more. Anxiously, he peered down at the text under his finger which read, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
We all want to know what God’s will is for us in our lives. So many times I have struggled when making decisions on what God’s will is. I want to make the right decisions, but so many times it is hard to determine what it right for us to do. Perhaps you are dealing with the same questions. Every Christian at some time asks the question “what is God’s will in this situation?”
It seems that people expect God to reveal His will in a very special way. The truth is God has revealed His will to us. We can know what he wants us to do in most situations. I believe that within God’s Word is either a command or a principle that will show us His will for every situation.
So often we want to base our decisions on what we think God wants on how we feel. The world tells us if it feels good it must be right. We incorporate that idea into our decision making. Whenever we make a decision, however we should consider God’s will. We should ask ourselves several questions
1) What does the Bible tell us?
2) What would Jesus do?
3) Could we take Jesus with us?
I hope that we all are truly seeking to find God’s will in our lives and incorporate it in every decision we make. Sometimes it is hard to determine what God’s will is and sometimes it is not. It is not hard to determine what God’s will is if you are debating on whether to go to the bar and drink one night? It can be hard though to determine God’s will in other situations though where the scripture is not so clear. God’s will can be made evident to us. I think that Paul makes it clear how we can learn and determine God’s will for our lives. He seems to not give us some mystical things we can do, but most of learning God’s will is bettering our relationship with Him. The better you know him the easier it will be to determine His will.
As you get to know friends and as you grow in relationships you can determine easier how a person will react to certain situations. You what your wife’s will is after you have built a relationship with her. Therefore if we want to know God’s will we must start and build a relationship with God.
I heard a story of a man who was baptized one Sunday morning, at the close of the service after the baptism, the preacher asked him to close in prayer. The man began to pray, saying “thank you God for Jesus”, then there was a pause and silence filled the air for about 30 seconds. Then he closed “I guess when I get to know you better I will know what to say to you”. Learning God’s will depends on our stance with Him.
Text: Romans 12:1-2
I. Offer Yourself to God
Paul tells the Romans first of all that to know God’s will they first must offer themselves to God as a living sacrifice. The readers immediately would have been drawn to thinking about the animal sacrifices that took place in the temple. Surely God is not asking us to go and jump onto an altar as a sacrifice. We are to be a living sacrifice. This basically means that our whole lives should be surrendered to God. I believe that there are several ways that we can offer ourselves to God and show our devotion to Him.
a. Bible Study
Bible Study is of the most important aspects of our Christian lives. It is the way in which he communicates to us. If we want to learn His will we must study His word where His will is revealed. We must be like the apostles who devoted themselves to the Apostle’s Teaching. We must do as Psalms tells us to write his word on our heart. If you want to know God’s will for your life, you must go to his word to see what it says. There is no better place to go. Many times I will read God’s Word looking for God’s will and it happens that when I am doing that I find just what I need, I get the answer I need. The times I struggle the most in finding God’s will is when I am not in God’s Word. We must offer ourselves to God by frequently studying God’s Word. The more and more we learn His Word the clearer we will know what God wants in our lives.
b. Prayer
Not only did the apostle’s devote themselves to the study of God’s Word, they also devoted themselves to prayer. So many times I hear of people looking for God’s will without prayer. Prayer is the way in which we communicate to God. It is through prayer that we lift our burdens off of us and give them to God.
Philippians 4:6
We must bring everything before the Lord and he will make clear to us what he wants us to do. We cannot go about our daily life; we cannot know God’s will if we are not talking to God. We must offer ourselves to God through prayer
c. Fellowship
Another thing that Acts tells us the Apostle’s were devoted to was fellowship. They did this because fellowship helped them in their relationship with God. I believe fellowship is essential to determining God’s will because sometimes I think God uses other people to communicate His will to us. Have you ever been talking to someone who says just what you need to hear? God works through people to help his people! If we are deprived from fellowship we may miss the opportunity to hear what God has to say to us. This fellowship includes coming to Church as frequent as possible. There is no better place to be then where the saints are gathered. If we miss church we may be missing out on much more than just a service, we may miss God’s direction for our lives. We must also fellowship throughout the rest of the week. Scripture tells us that wherever two or three are gathered in my name there I will be. Fellowship is so important to our daily lives and our walk with the Lord. Remember as iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another. If we neglect fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters besides the Lord’s Day we will have trouble growing and may miss hearing what God or godly people have to say to us. We must offer ourselves to God by devoting ourselves to fellowshipping with one another.
II. Do not Conform to the World
Paul was very strong in his telling the Romans not to conform to the world. This is another thing that we must do if we want to be able to see God’s will in our lives. So many times I think Christians live a double life, and then expect God to provide for them in every way and to make His will known. When one conforms to the world God’s will becomes distorted. We cannot determine God’s will if we are not living for Him, and even more if we are living in the world.
a. The World says anything Goes
How can we determine God’s will living in the world, when the world tells us that anything goes. One can see clearly the world’s view on life and morals by watching television. Television shows today mock God, laugh at those with moral, make adultery and fornication a funny situation, and make sexual innuendos every time you turn around. It seems that many people seek God’s will or an answer to their decisions through the television. The world will tell you that anything goes, and it does not matter what your decisions are, but God makes clear that there is a right and wrong and it does matter what decisions you make. Do not be conformed to the world.
b. The World mocks God
Most likely to most people the thought of even caring what God things is humorous, but we in everything must seek God. The world will mock us, the world will laugh at decisions and stances you take on certain issues, but we must hold our ground. Jesus makes it clear that Christians will be mocked when he says if they did not accept me they will not accept you either. He warned His disciples numerous times of the mockers and persecutors of the faith. Why would you want to participate in the things of the World, when they are the very people who mock God and godly people.
c. The World is not Guided by the Spirit
It is clear in the scriptures that there is a big difference in decision making by those who are guided by the spirit and those guided by the flesh. Those guided by the Spirit seek to please the spirit and those guided by the flesh seek to please the flesh. The world is guided by the flesh. If we are living in the world we are living and living like people who are living contrary to the spirit of God. Sure people of the world can make good decisions, but they cannot include God in their decisions because they do not understand God. Do not be conformed to the world
Therefore, if we leave behind the world and the things of the world we can clearly see what God wants us to do. Do not seek advice from pagans, but from those guided by the Spirit. Do not be conformed to the world then you will be able to see what God’s will is for your life. Paul says not to be conformed to the world so that we can clearly see God’s will and not have a distorted worldly view.
One of m professors said, many of us are like fish swimming in muddy water. We have swan so long in the mud we do not know what clear water is like. We cannot even tell right from wrong. Do not be conformed to the worl.
III. Be Transformed
Paul also makes it clear that in order to know God’s will we must be transformed. What does transformed mean? It simply means to change. We may have to make some changes in our life in order to see God’s will
a. Perhaps by Repenting
If there is sin in our life that is continuous, perhaps we need to repent in order to better see what God wants from us. We cannot expect to know what God wants us to do if we are living in sin. Sometimes we simply need to humble ourselves and repent and turn away from our sin. Repentance is a change for the better. It is not simply asking forgiveness, it is changing. Maybe you need to repent of sin. We all have sin that we need to repent and turn from; we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I encourage us all tonight to repent from any sins that we have. Sin separates us from God and hinders us from knowing Him better. Let us remove the sin that is on our life so that we can clearer see what He wants us to do. Let us throw of the sin that so easily entangles us and run the race with perseverance.
Titus 2:11-12
God’s Word makes it clear how we are to live, and if we are doing contrary we need to repent and turn away and be transformed.
b. Perhaps by Obeying
Perhaps you are seeking God’s will and cannot determine it. A question that you need to ask yourself is, do I have the Spirit of Christ? Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to all those who are immersed in water. One cannot appropriately make decisions if they lack they Holy Spirit. Perhaps then, you must obey the gospel and be baptized for forgiveness of sins and gift of the Holy Spirit in order to see God’s Will. A non-Christian cannot truly know what God wants or expects. Perhaps by obeying you can be transformed
c. Perhaps by Continuing
If you still cannot determine God’s will and are a Christian and have repented, then you simply need to continue to be faithful to the Lord. Continue to Study God’s Word. Continue to pray diligently. Continue to fellowship with one another. Fight the good fight, finish the course and in that time you will be able to see God’s will.
We must in all things seek to do what God would have us to do.
