(Section 1) - Discovering His Will For Your Life Series

DISCOVERING HIS WILL FOR YOUR LIFE

(Section 1 –His Will)

I. A PLANNED LIFE

“Go to God Himself, and ask for the calling of God; for as certainly as He has a plan or

calling for you, He will somehow guide you into it.” Horace Bushnell

A. Every Life Is A Plan of God

1. Does God have an ideal and detailed will and plan for every life? Is this a valid concept, or is it only a view that has been read into Scriptures wrongly. If there is such a plan, it is of paramount importance that we get to know it. If it is only a myth, the sooner it is laid to rest the better. pg 10

a. One Extreme --- There is no detailed will and plan for a person’s life.

b. Another Extreme --- God has a meticulous, complete detailed plan.

Does God plan which socks you will wear each day?

Does God dictate what you will for desert when eating out?

c. A reasonable ground in between --- God has a will and a plan.

2. Divine guidance concerns people who have been endowed with the awesome

power of free choice. Every day we have to make decisions and choices, some

of which will affect our whole future. We are not automatons controlled by a

heavenly computer! pg 10 - 11

3. Some thoughts about the will of God moving from the most general to the more

specific:

a. God’s will first includes that not one should perish, but that every one should come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ.

II Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count

slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

b. God’s will would then be concerned with our manner of life ---how we conduct ourselves. I Thes 4:3 “This is the will of God even your sanctification.” This will should be consistent with all, perhaps clarified by opportunity and knowledge.

c. God’s will would then become more specific and personal for each person. Of utmost importance would be our God ordained ministry. (If our manner of life is inconsistent, we cannot fulfill our ministry.)

d. Very specifics might include: Choices like marriage, dwelling location on this planet, occupation/vocation/profession.

How specific God might be on these topics can be difficult to discern

and open to debate. (If we make these choices out of the will of God, our ministry may be hindered, perhaps limited if not destroyed.)

3. The circumstances surrounding our lives are not accidental but are devised by an

all-wise and loving Father, who knows how best we can glorify Him and yet at

the same time achieve our own highest good. When this becomes a conviction, believed and accepted, then every part of life becomes significant, and life itself becomes one long voyage of discovery of God and of our own true selves. pg 11

4. As we seek God's plan for our lives, it is by no means uncommon to meet many

obstacles in our way. These obstructions are not necessarily an indication that we

are out of His will, but are put in place to develop our faith and strengthen our

character. pg 13

a. How many quit when an obstacle blocks their path?

b. How far would Apostle Paul have gone if he quit due to obstacles?

B. The Element of Mystery pg 15

1. There are secret things that belong to God alone, and we will have to wait until

eternity dawns for their explanation. Deut 29:29 Acts 1:7 Romans 11:33

Deut. 29:29 “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Acts 1:7 “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”

Romans 11:33 “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”

2. We think in limited terms. God does not. Isa. 55:8-9

(v. 8) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.“

(v. 9) “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

3. We may not now understand. John 13:7 Hebrews 11:8

John 13:7 “Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.”

I KNEW NOT WHY

God bade me go when I would stay

(“Twas cool within the wood);