July 31, 2005
Dakota Community Church
Understanding God’s Will
Week One: Common Misconceptions
Introduction:
Friday night we went as a family to see “Kingdom of Heaven” and several times the will of God was a major theme.
- When the magistrate wanted to flee on the fastest horses.
- When they sailed for Jerusalem.
- When they decided to force war with the Muslims.
Not once when they declared "It is the will of God" was it really the will of God.
We need to know the will of God and - we can know it.
Romans 12: 2
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.
There is one will of God.
We need to know it in order to pray effectively.
When we pray sketchy, “If it be thy will” prayers we are double minded.
James 1: 6-8
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
The “If” indicates doubt.
In order to exercise faith, in order to know peace, in order to know the confidence required for an abundant life we need to know the will of God.
Since knowing God’s will is so vital, why is it so often missed?
Misconceptions about finding God’s will:
1. Circumstantial evidence determines God’s will.
- If it happens it must be God’s will.
- God allowed it to happen.
That is just not good theology.
2Peter 3: 9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
God’s will is that everyone comes to repentance and is saved.
Free will means that God’s will does not always get done.
Numbers 14: 26-33
And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.
God’s will was for the people He supernaturally delivered from slavery in Egypt to enter the promised land - they did not.
1Kings 11: 1-3
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
Matthew 14: 28-31
"Lord, if it’s you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
"Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
All of these illustrate the ability of man using free will to make something other than God’s will happen.
When we allow circumstance to dictate the will of God we make God seem to outside observers to be insane.
Want to miss the will of God completely? Let the circumstances guide you.
2. Playing Bible roulette determines Gods will.
This is what I call the easy seek solution.
Rather than taking the time to search the scriptures or listen in prayer we take the Bible flip it randomly open and stab the page with our finger.
On some level we know it is not right but we want the quick and easy magic answer.
Eileen is sitting in her living room frustrated with Randy’s insensitivity and so she asks the Lord, Father how should I deal with this guy?
Flip, Stab:
Judges 4: 21
She picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
Joel is standing in front of the mirror flipping his hair around and he says, “ Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way, will I ever be free of the sin of pride?”
Flip, Stab:
Leviticus 13: 40
"When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean. If he has lost his hair from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean.
You cannot randomly take scripture out of context to determine the will of God.
You are just going to keep going until you get one that backs up what you want to do anyway.
That sounds funny until you realize that people use these methods to determine the will of God.
3. Putting out a fleece determines God’s will.
Judges 6:36-40
Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised- look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.
Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.
Acts 1: 23-26
So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
That is the last time you will see that happen in the bible. Who knows what happened next?
Now we have the Holy Spirit. Now we have relationship.
Well you may say,"God’s ways are not our ways."
1Corinthians 2: 9
However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"
Yes see we can’t really know what God is doing. – READ THE NEXT VERSE!
1Corinthians 2: 10
- But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
1Corinthians 2: 16
"For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
Don’t put out a fleece, get on your knees! Listen to the One who is in you.
4. Prophetic words determine God’s will.
A prophetic word is only valid if it confirms what you have already received.
Sooner or later you will run into a Christian who has a word for you that is bunk. “The Lord told me you are supposed to give me your car.” “Marry me.” etc.
Don’t even take the word of an angel. The Mormon cult could have been stopped cold.
Galatians 1: 8-9
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Pastors can help, you can gain insight, words can encourage and help; but the will of God is not determined by them.
Next week I’ll tell you how it is determined.
PowerPoint available on request - dcormie@mts.net
