God's Will In All Seasons

Sometimes it seems that we as Christians would be happy and content seeking God's will by casting lots or placing a fleece outside. But just as we learned earlier in this series knowing God's will and doing God's are two different things. In Judges 6 we see the angel of the Lord telling Gideon he is a "mighty man of valor" and that "The Lord is with him". God tells Gideon he will use him to deliver Israel, but he still doubts. Even after God miraculously wets the fleece but leaves the surrounding ground dry he says "Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece."

Now before I make Gideon out to be this spiritual loser, let me acknowledge I've done the same stuff. All of us have! God says to us clearly through his word.........and yet we say, but Lord if this be your will......... We ask for a sign, an open or closed door. Certainty of his will is not a guarantee of obedience to his will. Signs don't lead to obedience.

Romans 12:2 speaks of being transformed by the renewing of our minds. As God's word becomes more and more a part of our lives it will set our minds in the proper state, renew them to where they ought to be. Too many of us think we have to check our brains at the door in order to live a life of faith and walk in His will. But God says he wants to change our mind, He wants us to have the mind of Christ. As we gain knowledge of His word, His thoughts become our thoughts. His ways become our ways. We are able to make decisions in accordance with His word and His will.

Living in God's will also involves living in constant communion with the Holy Spirit. In John 16 Jesus tells his disciples several important issues:

He is going away

The Holy Spirit will come

He has more to teach tell them, but they won't be able to bear it

The Holy Spirit will teach them all things.

Living a life filled by, controlled by, and walking in the Holy Spirit is what God has planned and desired for us. He (Holy Spirit) will guide us and direct us in all things. He will instruct and teach us all things. He will provide a peace that we are living God's will. He is critical to our "spiritual" life. Without Him we don't have a "spiritual" life.

Next week we will look at grey areas. Are there grey areas in your life? I bet there are......

Let's see what God has to say about them and how the Holy Spirit can help eliminate them in us.

Read Romans 14:1-23

Does God care about grey areas? Why or why not?

How does the Holy Spirit turn issues of conscience into issues of conviction?

Read Galatians 5:16-23, Romans 12:6 and 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

How does God use the Holy Spirit to accomplish His will in us?

What would your life look like if you were fully living according to the spirit?

Rick

GOD'S WILL FOR EVERY DAY

Searching God’s will on BING drew 257,000,000 results. Contrary to what most would think, it appears there are a lot of folks interested in God's will. God has made it clear what His will is for our everyday lives.

Scripture is intended to communicate God’s desires, will, and plan for the world. And because of this, reading, knowing, studying, and applying God's word is central to discovering God's will for our everyday life.

2 Timothy 3:16-18 points out why we should look to scripture as our primary source for discovering God’s will.

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Scripture will:

Teach us when we lack knowledge
Rebuke and correct when necessary
Train us to become more Christ like in our day to day lives
Prepare us for every good work

If God’s word is the ultimate source of truth for our lives, why don’t we look there? Think about the last time you were seeking God’s guidance on a matter. What did you do?

Sometimes we depend on others rather than seek God ourselves. It is much easier to let others do the work for us, rather than search the bible for ourselves. If we aren’t careful we can become more committed to our favorite writers than to the author of our faith.

"looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" Hebrews 12:2

Books, friends, and pastors are all helpful; we don’t seek God’s will in a vacuum. But if you search without consulting His Word, you’ll never find what you are looking for.

Pastor Rick

The nature of God's will

GOD'S WILL IS MORE ABOUT US ANSWERING HIS QUESTIONS THAN HIM ANSWERING OURS.

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in North Africa was not an easy convert to Christianity. His road to Christ was not a short, direct, or easy path. He understood from his mother's raising that to undertake Christianity was to give yourself fully to it, and frankly he loved the world too much.

Eventually, God won out and after coming to Christ became a tremendous theological contributor to Western Christianity. In the Confessions, he chronicled his journey to Jesus and the path that proceeded from his conversion. It was said his worst fears had come true - he had to give himself fully to the will of God if he was to have any relationship with Him at all. His journey reminds us that though "MANY OF US MIGHT ASK TO KNOW GOD'S WILL, VERY FEW OF US ARE READY TO FULLY EMBRACE IT."

"There is a joy which is not given to the ungodly, but to those who love Thee for Thine own sake, whose joy Thou Thyself art. And this is the happy life, to rejoice to Thee, of Thee, for Thee, that is it, and there is no other." Augustine

Isaiah 6:1-8 gives us a pattern and Isaiah is a great role model when we consider God's will for our lives. Isaiah was an eye witness to the throne room of God and the scene he observed rivals anything we can even imagine. He saw God high and lifted up on His throne, and there were heavenly creatures flying around God covering their eyes and proclaiming "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts." At their voices the foundations of the temple shook.

Isaiah immediately confessed his sin, and one of the heavenly creatures grabbed a hot coal and flew straight toward him. He placed the hot coal on Isaiah's mouth and told him his guilt had been taken away and his sin atoned for. Then Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord saying "Who shall I send? And who will go for us?"

God clearly communicated his will through these two questions. You know exactly what God wants. The God who has forgiven you, cleansed you, and removed your guilt has shown you His will. Would you respond as Isaiah did?

He responded with faith. No excuses. No looking back. He knew God's will and was willing to act on it in faith. Notice God didn't tell Isaiah where to go, or what his role would be, or what to say or do once he got there.

Instead of questions, Isaiah responded in faith - "Here am I. Send me."

Once we understand the nature of God's will and that God's desire is for us to respond to Him in faith instead of absolute certainty, we will find ourselves desiring a relationship with God that is lived out through our "intentional" spiritual disciplines.

Then the adventure of discovering and applying God's will for our lives begins.

Pastor Rick