Knowing God’s Will
~ Pastor H Biakson
Bible Verse: Romans 12:1-2; Acts 9:5-6
One famous preacher has said that the first most important question in our lives is ‘Who is Lord?’, and the second most important question must be, ‘What does He want to do in our lives?’. We should know our God intimately and what He wants us to do. God created us purposefully, to do one very important thing in our life, which we are capable of. We should know our God not only outwardly like having a general knowledge, but we should know Him personally, and be close to Him. Our greatest desire ought to be to know His will, our greatest delight will be to do His will and our greatest danger is to refuse His will.
Many people thought that God’s will is not for us because they believed in the following myths:
- Map myth - God will give you a road map: God never gives anybody a full roadmap, even Abraham. God’s will is a relationship with Him. The most important thing here is to be in His presence. He doesn’t give us our needs in advance, but from time to time, like we said in the Lord’s prayer that, “Give us this day our daily bread”.
- Misery myth - If I do the will of God, it is going to be painful: Some believed that God’s will must be always hard to follow or difficult. But God wants you to be more than what you desire, because God is a loving God and He wants for you the best. He showed us that he wants the best for us when He gave His son for us.
- Missionary myth - God’s will is just for a certain class of people, He doesn’t call the ordinary: God wants each one of us personally and He has personal will and plan for you.
- Miracle myth - You must have something dramatic in order to know the will of God: We should be clear from the story of Eliza that he had search God in all miracles but he didn’t find Him. God talks to us in an ordinary, still small voice. God might have a message for you through what you experienced today, we can just be sensitive and attentive.
- Missed it myth - I missed it. I’m too old now, it’s too late: We can never be too old, the will of God will always be with you in every stage of life, even when you are at your lowest. [Joel 2:25]
- Mystery myth - God’s will is something that is hidden, and you don’t know it, you have to find it if you can: His will can be known, it is not a mystery. God will tell us if we ask Him and if we are ready to follow His will. There are conditions, we will see to it more in the later part of the sermon.
Three main types of God’s will
His Sovereign will - Things God do for us, no matter what good deeds or wrongs we are doing. [Galatians 4:4-5; Ecclesiastes 11: 9,12; Revelation 20:11-15] God had plans which are from eternity, like our salvation. While God has a sovereign will for us, He also have permissive will too, but we will be judged on judgement day as we can see from Ecclesiastes 11. God uses men to complete His sovereign will. God involves us in His plan.
His Moral will - God have right and wrong which is “Thou shalt and shalt not”. The world says there is not absolute right or wrong. According to a Greek philosopher Trasymacus, ‘might is right’. Some says, ‘Morals are mores, what community says is right’. Protagoras says ‘Man is the measure’,
Aristotle says, ‘Right is moderation’ and according to the Epicureans, ‘right is what brings pleasure(hedonism)’ But this is not in accordance to God’s moral will, His will is theocratic and He himself. We will try to follow what is written crystal clear in the bible, have an intimate relationship with God, and do what He says are right and avoid what He says are wrong. We can know the will of God through our relationship with Him, our relationship with parents and our relationship with others. He will show His ways even for our life partners.
His Personal will - God has a personal will for us. He loves and cares for each of us, individually. [Matthew 6:9-34; Jeremiah 29:11] God’s plan for each of us is to prosper, not harm us, but to give us hope and a future. He has specific plan for your career, occupation, ministry, spouse, etc.
Ways to know or discern God’s Will
Knowing God personally - Knowing God’s will starts with knowing God personally. [Acts 9:5] If there is someone who haven’t known Him personally, let us invite Him personally and our hearts and know Him as our friend. We can ask Him to reveal himself more through the bible. Without knowing Jesus personally, we cannot know what He want us to do in our lives, because He is the only way, truth and life. Let us have a personal relationship with God.
Walking with Him (Worship) - [Romans 12] Those who surrender their will and their body to God, are the ones who worship Him, and that is how we should be worshipping. Not just going to church for several hours on a Sunday. We should ask what God wants us to do, even in our everyday lives, even for the small decisions that we are about to make. Walking with Him means: seeking His guidance, be willing to do His command, be open to what He is about to say, surrender and obedience. God’s will is practical and we are guided by His miracles [Acts 9:3-7], word of God [Psalm 119:5; 2Timothy 3:16], people of God [Acts 9:10; Proverbs 24:6], spirit and wisdom of God [Acts 9:20-22] and His
providence [Acts 9:23-25].
May we know what God had planned in our lives and spend our whole lives the way God wants us to be and we will make our Father proud of us.
