Finding the direction and purpose that God has for your life.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.
Matthew 12:48-50 Jesus asked, "Who is My mother? Who are My brothers?" 49 Then He pointed to His disciples and said, "Look, these are My mother and brothers. 50 Anyone who does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother!"
Most of us acknowledge that God has a plan for the life of every believer but with all of the different possible directions that you could go in life you may think to yourself, how can I possibly know which way God wants me to go?
There are a lot of blog post, books and sermons about this topic yet we don't seem to know what it is most of the time. It is as if God has made it really hard to know what he wants, his will seems to be hidden from us, but if he is really interested in me doing his will then why would he make it so difficult?
Some of us expect God to throw his will in our face and make it really obvious through a dramatic experience or worse yet we fear that he will speak to us through a tragic event. We don't ask because we are scared of how he will answer, and not only that but he may answer by telling us to do something we don't even like to do.
Jesus told us that the people that have the closest relationship with him, the people that are his mother, sisters and brothers are the people that do his will. That should be great incentive to be in the center of his will.
John MacArthur tells us in his book, "Found: God's Will," that God will make his will clear to his people if they are living for him.
Five things that you must be in order to know the will of God.
BE SAVED
| Romans 8:7-8 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. |
God loves everybody in the world so much that he had a plan that would keep them from his wrath. He made all of us and wants to be involved in our life in a greater way than we can be without his Son. (John 3:16, Acts 17:26-28)
Jesus sheep know his voice and after he gathers them together he walks ahead of them so that they can know where they should go. (John 10:4)
BE SPIRIT FILLED
| Ephesians 5:17-18 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. 2 Peter 1:3 By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him. |
It sounds harsh but Paul says that if you do not understand what God's will is then you are foolish. If you think about it it would be crazy to life your life without understanding what you were created for. God didn't create anything without purpose and if you decide that you don't care what that purpose is then your life will be a waste.
The spirit filled life: Living each moment as if you were in the presence of Jesus. With the same power as if Jesus was standing next to you. - John MacArthurBeing spirit filled and allowing him to be in charge is a basic of God’s will, it is the source of power and the good news is that you already have him in you. Isn't it crazy to ask God for what you already have? (Acts 1:8, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 6:19)
BE SANCTIFIED
| 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 God's will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 4 Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor-- 5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and His ways. 6 Never harm or cheat a Christian brother in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you. |
✔ Sanctification - You shouldn't expect God to answer your prayers asking to know his will if you are living in sin.
✔ Control your body - Sexual sin is obvious but what about gluttony? What about your tongue?
✔ Subdue your passions - Christianity picks you up from the gutter it lifts you up so stay up! Don’t let sin drag you back down.
✔ Treat others fairly - Don’t harm anyone, don't cheat, and don’t use people sexually or in business or any other way.
BE SUBMISSIVE
| 1 Peter 2:12-15 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world. 13 For the Lord's sake, respect all human authority--whether the king as head of state, 14 or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. 15 It is God's will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. |
God's will for all of us is to be salt and light and as such we should be the best citizens of our community and the best employees where we work. You know that a follower of Jesus is usually in the spotlight and the world is looking for an opportunity to point out our flaws.
BE SUFFERING
| Romans 8:23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us. |
Living a Godly life will bring suffering, despite what Joel Osteen tells you, God isn't interested in making you comfortable and fulfilling all of your dreams. The Bible never shows God's people living a life of ease for very long.
If God's people would have refused to face trials and suffering then the gospel would have never gone beyond the Holy Land. One of the problems of evangelism today is that we are not bold enough to push through to the presentation of the gospel, we are okay with people knowing that we go to church but we don't go all the way in presenting the gospel because we don't want to offend anyone.
| Be Yourself |
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| Romans 12:1-2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. |
The Bible says that God will give you the desire of your heart but that isn't a blank check that any person that claims to be a Christian can cash. We like to ignore the fact that God gives generously to the people that delight in him. As Paul says in Romans it is the people that have become a living and holy sacrifice, the people that God has transformed, those are the people that are going to know God's good and pleasing and perfect will. (Psalm 37:4)
If you are the right you, then you can follow your desires and you will fulfill his will, you will be able to make the right choices without hesitation.
This blog is completely not for profit and as such I do not receive any compensation for a favorable review of John MacArthur's book.
