Knowing God's will

1. Knowing God's will – 24th February 2017
“Whoeverdoes God’swill ismy brother and sister andmother” (Mark 3:35).
It isimportantto knowGod’swill.JesussaidthatHistrue relations are those whoknow anddo the
Father’swill.We canlearnfroman incidentstatedinMark 3 where motherandbrothershadcome to
meetHim.Whentheywere standingoutside,theysentsomeone intoinformHimthatHismotherand
brotherswere outside lookingforyou.Jesusreplied: “Whoaremy mother andmy brothers?” he
asked.34
Thenhe lookedat those seated in a circle aroundhimand said, “Here are my mother and my
brothers! 35
Whoeverdoes God’swill ismy brother and sister andmother.” (Mark3:33-35).
In the parable of the two sons,we can learnwhere Jesusrebukesthe chief priestsandeldersforfailing
to do the will of the Father;specifically,they“didnotrepentandbelieve” aswe can learnfrom
Matthew 21:32, “ForJohn came to you to showyou the way of righteousness,andyoudid not believe
him,but the tax collectors andthe prostitutesdid.And even after you saw this,you didnot repent and
believe him.” The leadingJewsatthe time didnotbelievethatitwas Godswill atwork throughJesus
Christ.
As Christiansourfaithin JesusisthroughoursteadfastbeliefthatHe came to earthto teachus to ‘do
God’swill’ – He brought humanitythe GoodNewsof salvation… eventodie forusso thatwe are saved
frometernal damnation.We canlearnthat Jesusalwaysprayed tothe fatherseekingGod’s will.Even
whenHe knewthat He was to undergo somuch pain,sufferingand the crucifixion,He adheredto God’s
will. We can learnwhere Jesussaid aboutHisdeath:“Butaboutthatday or hour noone knows, not
even the angelsin heaven,nor the Son, but onlythe Father”(Matthew24:36).But we can learnthatat
Gethsemane Jesus prayedtothe fatherandleftthe decisiontodoHiswill aswe can learnfrom
Matthew 26: 39,“Goinga littlefarther, he fell withhis face to the ground andprayed, “MyFather, ifit
is possible,maythiscup be taken fromme. Yet not asI will,butas you will.” The prioritywasnotthe
absolute painthatHe wasto undergo,butfulfillingGod’swill!
FulfillingGod’swill isthe priorityforall Christians. Atitsmostbasic,the will of Godis for usto have faith
inJesusChristas one’ssaviour, repentof oursinand seeksalvation.If we have nottakenthatfirststep,
thenwe have not yetacceptedGod’swill. We are thensimply‘name sake Christians.’Once we receive
Christby faith,we are made God’s children aswe learnfrom John1:12, “Yet to all who didreceive him,
to those who believedin hisname, he gave the right to become childrenof God.” God’sdesire isto
leadusin the correct path…althoughwe mightfinditverynarrow anda difficultpath,itis His way.We
can learnwhenthe Psalmistsays: “Teachme to do your will,for youare my God;may your goodSpirit
lead me on level ground.”(Psalm143:10).
Althoughwe maynotclearlyunderstand God’swill, because of Hislove forusHe wantsto reveal it.In
fact, He has alreadygivenusmany,manydirections throughHisWord in the Bible. Foran example we
are to “give thanksinall circumstances;forthisisGod’s will foryou” We can learnthisbyreading 1
Thessalonians5:15-18, “Makesure that nobodypays back wrongfor wrong, butalwaysstrive to do
what is goodfor each other and foreveryone else. 16
Rejoicealways, 17
pray continually, 18
givethanks
in all circumstances;for thisis God’swill for youin ChristJesus.” Gods will forus isfor us to do good
works:“Forit is God’swill that by doinggoodyou shouldsilencethe ignoranttalk of foolishpeople. (1
Peter 2:15). In additionwe mustalsolearnthat: “ It isGod’swill that you shouldbe sanctified:thatyou
shouldavoidsexual immorality;”(1Thessalonians4:3).

2. As Christianswe needtoknowthat God’swill isknowable andprovable. We canlearnthisfrom Romans
12:2, “Do not conformany longerto the pattern of thisworld, butbe transformedby the renewing of
your mind.Then you will be able to test andapprove whatGod’swill is—Hisgood,pleasingand
perfect will.” Thispassage givesusan importantsequence:the childof God will ALWAYSREFUSE to be
conformedtothe sinful waysof the worldandinstead willingly allowshimselftobe transformedbythe
Spirit.As our mindisrenewed accordingtothe thingsof God, then he or she will beginto know God’s
perfectwill.
In our dayto day livingwe are calledtodo manythingssuchas for one’schildren,home,community
and workplace.AsChristianswe needtolearnthat we seekGod’swill onthese keyareasforHis
direction.We shouldmake sure whatwe are consideringis notsomethingthe Bible forbids.For
example,the Bible forbidsstealing;sinceGodhasclearlyspokenonthe issue,we know itis notHis will
for usto be a bankrobbers…Of course some thingsare so obviouslywrongthat we don’tevenneedto
pray aboutit. What we shouldbearinmindisto make sure what we are consideringwill glorifyGodand
helpusand othersgrowspiritually.
KnowingGod’swill issometimesdifficultbecause itrequirespatience.It’snatural towanttoknowall of
God’swill at once,butthat’snot howHe usuallyworks.He revealstousa stepat a time—eachmove a
stepof faith—andallowsustocontinue totrust Him…inincreasingmeasure.Butwe canread of a
warningas statedin James 4:17, “Ifanyone, then, knowsthe good they oughtto do and doesn’tdo it,
it is sinfor them.”
In knowingGod'swill forus,often,we wantGodto give us specifics—where towork,where tolive,
whomto marry, whatcar to buy,etc. God allowsusto make choices,and,if we are yieldedtoHim,
throughabsolute faith, He haswaysof preventingwrongchoices.We canget a clearunderstanding
fromwhat happenedtoPaul in Acts 16:6–7, “Paul andhis companionstraveledthroughoutthe region
of PhrygiaandGalatia,havingbeenkept by the Holy Spiritfrom preachingthe word in the province of
Asia.7
Whenthey came to the border of Mysia,they tried to enter Bithynia,but the Spirit ofJesus
wouldnot allowthem to…”.
As we walkwiththe Lord,obeyingHisWordand relyingonHisSpirit,we findthatwe are giventhe mind
of Christ. Whenwe have a close relationshipwithGodwe getto know Him, and that helps usto know
His will.We findGod’sguidance readilyavailable. We canlearnfrom Proverbs 11:5, “The righteousness
of the blamelessmakes their pathsstraight, but the wicked are brought down by their own
wickedness.”
If we are walkingcloselywiththe LordandtrulydesiringHiswill forourlives,Godwill place Hisdesires
inour hearts. The keyiswantingGod’swill,notourown…ornot evenpartyou andpart Him. We have to
seekHiswill inabsolute faithforHisprovision.We canlearnwhenthe Psalmistsays: “Delightyourselfin
the LORD and He will giveyou the desires of your heart” (Psalm37:4).