Rev. Ron Sumners
September 26, 1993
Suppose for a moment that the Lord Jesus Christ were to grant you the answer to one question, any question you wanted to ask. What would that question be? My guess is that it would probably relate in some way to knowing God's will for your life. After all, to a committed Christian this is really the only thing that counts. · Our peace and satisfaction depend on knowing that God is guiding us. And the absence of that certainty leaves us fearful and restless.
But we have a problem because we are confused about what the will of God is in the first place. And unless we are clear about that, we really cannot make much progress. Most people speak of God's will as something you have or don't have. "Have you discovered God's Will for your life?", we ask each other. What we really mean is, "Have you discovered God's blueprint for your life?" The fact is, God seldom reveals an entire blueprint. So, if you are looking for a blueprint in its entirety, you are likely to be disappointed . What God does most frequently reveal is the next step of His Will for our lives. But that just leads us into the fuller question of what exactly God's will is.
It is important to understand, at the outset, that God has a plan and a purpose for your life. This is one of the sensational aspects of being a Christian - to know that your life can be tied into God's plan and purpose. Paul writes, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2:10) David, in Psalm 37:23 says, "The steps of a good man are from the Lord, and He established him in whose ways He delights." And in Acts 13:2 we read, "While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."'
God not only has a plan for us, but He has promised to reveal it to us. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own sight. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths." There are two aspects to God's Will. The first is that aspect of His will and His plan that has already been revealed in His Word, and it applies to every Christian. The second aspect involves those decisions in which God has given no specific instructions.
Has it ever struck you that the vast majority of the Will of God for your life has already been revealed in the Bible? There are many positive commands. For instance, we are commanded by Jesus to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. We know that it is the will of God, from Romans 8:29, that we are to conform to the image of Christ. Read the book of James. It is full of the ethical demands that God requires of us. They are a part of His will for your life.
Scripture also contains many negative commands. God tells us unmistakably in II Corinthians 6:14 that we are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. This means, among other things, that a Christian should not marry a non-Christian . Are any of you praying for guidance about whether you should marry a non-Christian? You already have your answer! It is foolish to ·seek guidance on what God has already forbidden. Neither do we need to pray for God's guidance in areas where He has already said, YES. "Should I share the Gospel with my neighbor?" is not a valid prayer. It should be, "Lord give me the courage to share with my neighbor. I know that the going is already your will."
God does not really have a great deal of preference whether you wear a green shirt or a blue shirt. He does not pout if' we don't ask Him whether we should order steak or chicken at the restaurant. In many areas of our lives, God invites us to use our God-given mentality. When we are pleased, God is pleased. If you decide to wear the peach colored dress today and you think you look great in it, be assured; God thinks you look great too!
But on the other hand, there are areas in our lives and times when we must seek special guidance. These are the areas of life where there is no specific statement telling you what to do. No verse in the Bible will tell you the specific person you are to marry or the job you need to take. You will not find that kind of specific direction. But God has promised us special guidance in these areas.
By recognizing the two aspects of God's Will: what is already specifically revealed in Scripture and what is not, we get away from the static concept of the blueprint. The will of God is not like a magic package dropped down from heaven, a package that we must grope after in desperation and hope sometime in the future to discover and embrace. The will of God is far more like a scroll that unrolls every day.
In other words, God has a will for you and me today, tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. Now, it may well be that a decision that we make this week or next week will commit us for three months, or two years, or for the rest of our lives. But the fact still remains that the will of God is something to be discerned and to be lived out each day of our lives. Our CALL is not basically to follow a magic blueprint but rather to follow Jesus Christ. When we realize this, we might be surprised to know that we have been living in God's will for years already, yet all the time groping for the magic blueprint!
After we understand something of the aspects of God's will, we need to look at some prerequisites for knowing the will of God in the unspecified areas of our lives. One prerequisite is to be a child of God. One day some people asked Jesus directly, "What must we do to be doing the works of God?" And Jesus answered specifically and clearly, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." (John 6:29) We must first come to Jesus in a commitment of faith to Him as savior and Lord. Then we are God's children and can be guided by Him as our Father. The Lord said in John 10:3, "He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out."
The second prerequisite is to obey the will of God that is already plain in the Scripture. What is the point of God guiding us in areas in which we have no specific direction when we are apparently unconcerned about the areas where He has been specific? Mark Twain once wryly observed, "It is not the parts of the Bible that I do not understand that bother me, it's the parts that I do understand."
Perhaps that is the problem for some of us now. We need to obey in areas where God has given us specific instruction. We know, for example, that we ought to be meeting with the Lord every day in prayer. It is God's will for you, are you faithful? What are the areas of the will of God that you already understand. To what extent are you acting on that understanding? Have you proven worthy of anything else?
The third prerequisite, and I think the most crucial, is to be willing to accept the will of God in the unspecified areas of our lives before knowing what it is. In other words, we must accept God's will in advance! For most of us that is where the real problem lies. If we are really honest we would have to admit that our attitude is, "Lord show me what your will is so I can decide whether it fits what I have in mind." In essence we are saying, "Just lift the curtain a minute and let me see so I can decide whether I want to do it or not.
If it's Palm Beach or Honolulu, I'll consider it. If we stop to analyze this attitude, we would be shocked, for what we are doing is insulting God. We are saying, "I think I know better than you, God, what will make me happy. I don't trust you . If I let you run my life, you're going to short change me." Have you ever felt that way?
Nothing could be further from the truth. Such notions are a slur on the character of God. So many of us see God as a kind of celestial scrooge who peers over the balcony of heaven trying to find someone who is enjoying life. And when he spots a happy person, he yells, "Now cut that out!" That concept of God should make us shutter, because it is blasphemous!
We need to have the tremendous truth of Romans 8:23 deeply planted in our hearts: "He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with Him?" If you can get hold of that one verse, memorize it, meditate on it and allow it to get hold of you, you will solve 90% of the problem, because you will realize the God who loved us enough to die for us when we did not care that much for Him, is not about to short-change us in life when we give our lives over to Him.
Let's put it in human terms. I have a daughter and son. 'If Katie or Sam said to me, "Dad, I love you," do you think I will respond by saying, "Just, what I've wanted to hear; bread and water for a week. I've been waiting for you to tell me you love me so I could make you miserable." How ridiculous, I might be suspicious of their motives, but I would respond positively to their words.
Do you think that God is any less loving than a human father? God's love far transcends any love that we can express. Luke 11:13 says, "If you then, who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
When we come to God and say, "I love you, and I'm prepared to do your will, whatever it may be," we can be sure that God is not going to make us miserable. Rather, He rejoices and fits our lives into His pattern for us; in that place where He knows we will fit. The one who is our creator, who made us, who knows us better than we will ever know ourselves, is the one we are talking to. He knows infinitely better than we what is best for our lives. God's will for our life is not some loathsome burden. It is the greatest thing in all of life to get hold of. There is no greater joy or satisfaction than to be in the center of God's will and know it! Where are you?
In the light of the character of God and considering the experience of people who have known Him, I dislike the phrase we have heard all our lives: Surrendering to the Will of God. To me, it implies God has a gun to our back marching us off to the concentration camp of Christian Service. It's saying, "There's no way out. I've run as long as I can. I give up. I surrender. I don't want to serve you God, but I guess I have no choice!"
I prefer the term, Affirming the Will of God. If we had any spiritual sense at all, every one of us would affirm God's Will with confidence and Joy and deep satisfaction. We would all say, YES!, to God.
This third prerequisite is crucial. It involves eliminating any holdout areas in our life, a relationship, an ambition, a qualification, saying, "Lord, as I see it, this is the decision I need to make. I'm trusting that you won't let me make a crucial mistake."
If we do that, we can act joyfully, knowing that God is guiding us. We don't have to spend the next twenty-four years second-guessing ourselves as to whether or not we are in the Will of God. God does not play the game of mousetrap with us. He does not say, "Ha, ha, you thought you were right, but you weren't. Return to GO. Better luck next time." Your decisions about God's Will for your life will come from your head as well as your heart as you walk daily with the Holy Spirit's guidance!
Third, we must not think of God's Will as something that will be wild and bizarre. Many people are afraid of using their intellect in determining God's Will. But we must realize that God is not the author of confusion. When the Scriptures say, "Do not rely on your own understanding," it does not mean to kiss your own brain good-bye. Rather, the Holy Spirit illuminates us and then guides our enlightened reason. There was a man named Jim Jones who took almost 1000 people to Guyana to build a religious utopia. They went because they felt it was God's will. It was so wild and bizarre that they all believed that Daddy Jim was following God's dictate. If those people had a proper understanding of God's Will and used their God-given mentality, there would have been no need for Powers Booth to win an Emmy Award portraying Jim Jones.
Fourth, we must guard very carefully against the temptation to decide what we' are going to do for God and then informing Him. This mistake is really critical. There is a vast difference between, "Lord, I'm going to be a Preacher, or Missionary or whatever for You," and asking, "Lord, what would You have me do?" It sounds very spiritual to say, "I'm going to be a Pastor and convert the multitudes," or even, "I'm going to be a businessman for the Lord and give my money to support the church." But the Lord has not asked you to decide. He has invited you to be a recruit and say, "Here I am. Where do you want me?"
Fifth, we must guard against the temptation to take Bible verses out of context to get God's will for our lives. Some people treat the Bible like a book of magic. On rare occasions, God will cause a particular verse to catch our attention and be the Stackpole of our life. But this is the exception rather than the rule. The basic principle is to know what all of Scripture says and to receive our instruction from God with the entire Biblical message and mandate in mind. When this is violated, God gets the blame for all kinds of things that are merely human superstition and stupidity.
Sixth, we must avoid the mistake of thinking that we are in the Will of God if we have no problems or stress. Frequently, just when we take a step of faith and obedience, the bottom drops out of everything. You know, you vowed to the Lord that you would start tithing and found out the next day that your car has to have a new engine.
In Mark 4, the disciples, at the Lord's specific command, had gotten into a boat to head across the Sea of Galilee. After they were obedient to Jesus and began to cross the lake, a storm broke and they thought they were going to lose their lives. But Jesus said, "Don't be faithless, but believe."
In Mark 5, Jairus came to Jesus. "My daughter is sick, will you come heal her?", he pleaded. The Lord said, "Yes," and Jairus spirit soared. But on the way Jesus was detained with a woman who touched the hem of His garment. Do you remember her? Jairus, who had done what was right, had gotten the answer from the Lord, had followed His will and obeyed, must have been crushed with bitter despair when his servants came and said, "You daughter has died." But the Lord's words, to him, come to us as well in similar circumstances: "Do not fear, only believe." The test of whether you are in the Will of God is not how rosy your circumstances are, but whether you are obeying Him!
Finally, we should avoid the mistake of thinking that if we ever knowingly and deliberately disobeyed the Lord, we are forever thrown on the ash heap; can never do the Lord's Will and are doomed to second best. God has a wonderful way of reconstructing a shattered life. He takes us where we are when we come to Him in confession and repentance and uses us fully again. Our disobedience did not take Him by surprise and His Grace is sufficient to forgive.
When you are feeling bad and know you have sinned and blown it, remember Peter. He denied Jesus. But our Lord took him, restored him and made him a great Apostle who helped change the world. It was Peter who preached, boldly on the Day of Pentecost and 3000 people were converted . He had blown it but, God gave him a second chance! He'll do the same for you.
What is God's Will for you? Realize, first, that God's Will in most areas is already fully revealed.
Be sure you are familiar with it in the Word of God. In those areas where He has not been specific, be assured God will guide you as you are obedient in your daily walk with Him. Then you will know God's Will for today and tomorrow for all of your life.
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