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God. A very practical subject. Wouldn't you agree that when
it comes to the will of God, this is something we need to
know and understand in terms of how to implement in our life?
Day after day after day, every day in fact, we're faced with
decisions, whether great or small. Oftentimes we're perplexed when
it comes to knowing, God what do you want in my life when it
comes to? Where should I go to school?
What should be my major? What should be my career? What
path or direction do you want me to take in life? What job
should I take after school or even apart from the question
of school perhaps? Where should I live? What local
church should I belong to? Do you want me to be involved
in ministry in some way through the local church? And who should
be my mate in life? And many sorts of questions like
that. Whether it's major decisions or minor decisions, the fact
is that God has a will for your life, and it may be known. In fact, right here in Romans
12, it says in verses 1 and 2, I beseech you therefore brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable
service, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind. To what end? That, in order that
you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will
of God. Verse 2 makes it very clear that
God has a will for each of our lives. And it's also clear from
this verse that if He has a will for our life and He wants us
to do it, that therefore it can be known. It's not a mystery. It's not like God is playing
a game of hide-and-go-seek with us, you know, and saying, haha,
oh you're getting closer, I think I'm gonna run and hide again,
because I just want to keep my will from you, haha. No, the
will of God is not a game to God. It's something very precious,
very important, that is good, and acceptable, and perfect. God's will is good. Do you believe
that? You know, if you don't believe
that, you may be prone to miss the will of God. As you basically
say, in essence, to God, I don't want to do your will, because
I think my will is better. That's a very dangerous perspective
to have in life. You see, the only way to know
and to do the will of God is to be willing to do it without
reservation, and that's why I like verse 1 as it precedes verse
2, because if you're not willing to yield yourself to the Lord
in light of His mercies and all that He's done for you, in His
amazing, infinite, matchless, marvelous grace, willing to yield yourself as
a living sacrifice, then there's no way you're going to want the
will of God in your life. You see, a lot of people think
the will of God is like this, that God has this contract, basically,
all written up for your life. It's, you know, 25 pages long,
and you read through it, and, you know, it's got your name
at the top, the title, The will of God for Tom Stegall's life,
and you know, you get to the very end of the contract, you
flip through it, and it's kind of like all those things that
you either download or don't download on your computer. You
know, you can select I accept this or I don't accept this after
you've not read through the contract. You know what I'm talking about?
When it comes to the will of God for your life, some people
imagine that God has this long list of things that he wants
for you to do, and you read in it, and you find out, oh, I've
got to live there? You want me to marry who? Well,
in my case, that's not a bad thing. You want me to take what job?
Huh? No way. Crumple it. I do not accept. I am not signing
at the bottom of that contract my name that I agree to that.
Now that's not how the will of God is for our life. When it
comes to the unrevealed will of God that's not explicitly
stated in the Word of God, Rather, the will of God is more like
this, that God puts your name at the top, says the will of
God for Tom Stiegel, and then he puts a little space at the
bottom, sign here, and the whole page is blank. And he says, would
you be willing to do my will, and sign at the bottom, yield
yourself to me, trust me with your life, And then, after you're
willing to do that, I'm going to reveal all kinds of things
to you on a practical day-by-day basis as you walk by faith. That's
what I want for your life. Because I'm looking for a posture
more than anything else, and dependence upon me, and seeking
my wisdom day-by-day in life rather than leaning on your own
wisdom. So the will of God is good. It can be known. God has
a will for your life. But the question is, are you
willing to do His will? That is the main issue. Now,
when it comes to the will of God, as I mentioned, there are
specific things in the Bible that are already declared to
be the will of God. We'll mention just six of them,
and you've heard this before if you've been coming to church
here for any time. You should know these things almost like
the back of your hand. First of all, in order to do
the will of God, a person has to be saved. They have to be
in a position or a relationship where they can relate to God,
where they're not separated from God, but they've been reconciled
to God through Jesus Christ. In 1 Timothy 2, verses 3 through
6, it says, For this is good and acceptable in the sight of
God our Savior, who desires, and that word desires could be
translated, who wills. who desires all men to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth. You know, you never
have to question whether God wants anyone in your life, within
your view, your neighbor, your relatives, your co-workers, whoever
it may be, you never have to question whether God wants them
to be saved. He does, and He sent His Son
to die for them. to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ
was fully God and fully man, so that he could represent God
to man and also man to God. What a perfect mediator. There
is no other adequate mediator. Mary can't do that. Some priest
or pope or pastor can't do that. only Christ can do that. Because
he gave himself a ransom for all. There's only one, namely
God incarnate, who could possibly pay for the sins of the entire
world and accomplish that work so that all would have their
sins paid for and all could be forgiven. And that's the good
news of the gospel. that God, being holy, infinitely
holy, saw us as sinners and separated from Him in our lost condition,
and all mankind is in that condition, but He also, being a God of love,
doesn't want anyone to perish, so as the extreme pinnacle of
His love, the greatest expression of His love, He sent His Son,
Jesus Christ, His beloved and only precious Son, Jesus Christ,
to become a man, without sin, so that He could take upon Himself
our sin and die on the cross, so that that barrier between
a holy God and sinful man could be removed. And He rose from
the dead to conquer not only sin, but its wages, namely death,
and to be able to provide eternal life as one who conquered death
and sin, who can impart life to those who trust in Him. who
will receive eternal life, not as a reward for the supposedly
good things they've done that could never pay off the debt
of sin, but for those instead who trust in Jesus Christ and
Him alone, and His work that He accomplished on their behalf.
To such who trust in Him alone, He gives eternal life, and they
shall never perish, the Bible says. Why will they never perish? because it doesn't matter whether
you're good or bad after you trust in Christ when it comes
to your eternal destiny, namely heaven or hell, you didn't deserve
to escape hell and go to heaven because you were good in the
first place. The fact is, the Bible says, there's none righteous,
no not one. And the only thing that satisfied
the just demands of the Holy God was the finished work of
Jesus Christ, not our good works. And nothing can change the finished
work of Christ. That's why you can know from
day to day, with absolute certainty, that you have eternal life, because
it doesn't depend on your performance, your walk, but rather the work
of Jesus Christ. That it's paid in full, your
sin debt. And the Word of God declares
it, and if you believe it, you have assurance, and that settles
the matter. And as I said, His Son rose from
the dead, and He now stands as a living Savior for you. He intercedes
for you day by day, and you shall never perish. All of that speaks
of the grace of our God. Eternal life is a free gift,
not to those who deserve it, because none do, but rather to
those who recognize they don't deserve it, and who recognize
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, Sin had left a crimson
stain. He washed it white as snow. That is the good news. And if
you believe that message, you put your trust in Christ alone,
then and only then are you capable of having a walk with the Lord
from day to day in which you are able to do the will of God.
And then the rest of this message applies to you. I trust that
has been true of you. A person must be saved. But secondly,
the moment they are saved, they're indwelt by the Spirit of God.
But at any moment, we can grieve the Spirit of God if we're not
walking by faith and we're walking in sin. And you can't be grieving
the Spirit of God and filled with the Spirit of God at the
same time. Only one who is walking by faith and yielded dependence
upon the Lord, willing to do the will of God, is one who is
Spirit-filled, empowered and enabled by the Spirit of God
to accomplish the will of God. It says in Ephesians 5, verses
15 through 18, see then that you walk circumspectly, not as
fools. By the way, can Christians walk
that way? Absolutely. but as wise, redeeming the time,
because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise,
but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be
drunk with wine, by the way, that would not be the will of
God, that's the implication following verse 17, in which is dissipation,
means a wasted life, but be filled with the Spirit. What is the
will of God for you as a believer? A spirit-filled life. And we
know that takes place moment by moment as we walk with the
Lord. At any given moment, we may not be spirit-filled. But
God wants us to be consistently true of us in our walk with Him.
And as we are saved and spirit-filled, we will be progressively set
apart from sin and the world and its influence upon our life,
as Romans 12, 1 and 2 said. And that's what sanctification
means. God wants us to be set apart unto Him. From sin, remember
we were called out of the world, called out of darkness unto light
and to His Son and to His plan for our life. That's the sanctified
life. And by the way, the church is
the ecclesia, the New Testament says. And that word literally
means the called out assembly. What have you been called out
of? And friends, if you've been called out of something, namely
the world and sin, why go back to it? That is not the will of
God for our life. Fourthly, the will of God is
explicitly declared to be submission to God-ordained authority in
our lives, whether it be government, whether it be family authority
with dad as the head of the home, whether it be a local church,
whether it be on the job, There are spheres of authority which
we will never be totally out from underneath. The will of
God is to be submissive to authority. By the way, as you're seeking
the will of God, and you're wondering, well, God, I want your will to
be done in my life. Yes, I'm saved, and yes, I'm
spirit-filled, and yes, I'm living a sanctified life. Well, then
why aren't you submitting to that boss, who's so difficult
to deal with? Well, I don't like that aspect
of the will of God. Are you really willing to do
His will? Now there's some aspects of the
revealed will of God that we don't really like. This is where
it starts, dear saints. Don't move on to the unknown,
undeclared, unrevealed, non-specific aspects of the will of God, like
who to marry, on what date, and so forth, until these things
are true in your life. This is where it all starts.
Fifthly, The Word of God explicitly declares that the will of God
for us is that we suffer for Christ. Oh, there's another one
we don't really like. Why move on again to the undeclared,
unrevealed will of God and seek it if this is not something we're
willing to accept day by day as well? This is the will of
God for us. In fact, it was the will of God
for His own Son. and we who bear his name, who
are identified with him positionally in the heavenlies, why would
it be any different for us to not identify with him in terms
of suffering here on the earth, if we're followers of him? It's
been given to you on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe
on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Philippians 1.29 says,
the will of God is also explicitly declared to be the expression
of thanks, saying thanks. Saying thanks, being thankful
for all things. You know, you can gauge where
you're at spiritually in your life if there's a lot of complaining.
Grumblers and complainers are not doing the will of God. The will of God is that we be
thankful people. And those of us who understand
the grace of God, and what He has done for us, not because
we deserve it, but in fact we deserve the very opposite, we
deserve His judgment. We don't deserve all these blessings
He's given us. We ought to be the most thankful and expressive
of that thanks people on the face of the earth. So these are
the things that are explicitly revealed in the Bible to be the
known will of God. But what about when it comes
to the unknown or unrevealed will of God? Like who to marry? On what date? You know, back
in 1996, I didn't find any verse in the Bible that said, you know,
Obadiah 114. Tom Stiegel, thou shalt marry
Debbie Hanson on June 14th, 1997. This is the will of God for you.
I didn't see that in there. It's not in the Bible. And you're
not going to find those kinds of statements in the Bible. But
the Word of God is still clear in terms of the direction that
it can give us if we're willing to follow the Word of God. Remember
Romans 12, 2 said that we should be transformed by the renewing
of our minds. How do we renew our minds? By
the Word of God. But sometimes Christians can
be kind of goofy, and supposedly seek the will of God in ways
that are not biblical at all. And so I want to begin this morning,
after that introduction and review, by explaining some ways in which
we are not to seek the will of God. First of all, we're not
to seek the will of God through signs, as though you need a sign from
God before you're going to do His will. Remember, Jesus said
to his generation, an evil and an adulterous generation seeks
after a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign
of the prophet Jonah, which was the sign of Christ's resurrection
after three days in the grave. Remember the story of Gideon's
fleece in the book of Judges. In fact, the phrase Gideon's
Fleece has almost become proverbial with testing the will of God
and seeking a sign before we're willing to do the will of God.
Remember him? He said, oh, if you've really called me to do
this, God, and God had just told him what he wanted him to do,
if you really want me to do this, then I'm going to put out a fleece,
and in the morning, when the dew covers the earth, if the
fleece is dry and the ground around it is wet, then I'll know
it's your will for me to do the thing you just told me to do.
God says, all right, I'm more willing that you do my will than
you're willing to do it, Gideon. So I'm going to accommodate your
foolishness and your test for me. So all right, I'm going to
grant the sign, but that's not really what I want in your life.
And so don't put out fleeces and say, in essence, God, before
I do your will, I need a sign from you. In fact, when we think
that way, it shows that there's a lack of faith. When we must
first see and then believe, doesn't that say that we're walking by
sight rather than faith? Hebrews 11.1 says, Faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Remember that. Faith is putting
your trust in the revealed and declared Word of God and not
in your circumstances. In fact, that leads us to point
number 2. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 2. We're going to start looking at several
passages now on these principles. 2 Corinthians 2. We're not to seek the will of
God through signs nor through mysterious circumstances. I heard
the story about a man years ago who was seeking God's will for
his life, thinking of being a missionary maybe in the Philippines and
so lo and behold he was on a trip to Washington DC and wouldn't
you know that his car stalled and broke down right in front
of the Philippine Embassy of all places. Oh! Wow, it's a sign. So I have to go be a missionary
now to the Philippines because God parked my car right here. Or I heard about a woman who
wanted to go on a vacation somewhere. And she was praying about it.
She happened to see in the travel brochure that, oh, we're going
to be taking a Boeing 747 to our destination. And she hadn't
looked at the clock for hours, but later that day, after looking
at the brochure several hours later, she happened to glance
up at the clock It said 747. So mysteriously she took that
as confirmation that that is what God wanted her to do, to
get on that Boeing 747. Now there's a lot of circumstances
in life that we can't explain, but we don't walk by faith and
circumstances, otherwise we just have this sort of sanctified
superstition through life. And frankly, our flesh can justify
anything if we really want to do something like go on a 747
to some vacation spot. That is not how we seek the will
of God. Now it's true that God has to work out circumstances
and open doors, that's what Colossians 4.3 says, and that's what 2 Corinthians
2, 12 and 13 says. But just because there's an open
door doesn't mean necessarily that God's going to keep that
door open and He wants you to go through it. In fact, in 2
Corinthians 2 here, let's look at verses 12 and 13. Paul says, furthermore, when
I came to Troas to preach Christ's Gospel, and a door was opened
to me by the Lord, the Lord opened it, to preach that Gospel there, I had no rest in my spirit, because
I did not find Titus my brother, but taking my leave of them,
I departed from Macedonia. Now was it the will of God for
Paul to go to Troas initially? Yes, to preach the Gospel. But
it wasn't his will for him to stay there, so he departed. That open door did not remain
open. The Lord shut the door there.
By the way, just because some circumstances may seem unfavorable,
doesn't mean something is not the will of God for you to proceed.
Otherwise would Paul have gone around preaching the gospel like
he did, knowing that opposition awaited him? There are people
lined up ready to stone him from city to city? Or the life of
Job, for example, as you look at him and what he went through
in terms of his trial. Now it was the will of God that
he endured the sufferings and the afflictions that he did.
It wasn't His will to escape those things. So just because
there may be unfavorable circumstances doesn't mean it is not God's
will. Here's another way in which we
are not to seek the will of God. Through dreams, visions, and
voices. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 13. Deuteronomy 13. We should not think as believers
that God, your word was sufficient for me when it came to trusting
in Christ and being saved from hell to heaven and changing my
eternal destiny, but your word is not sufficient thereafter
as I walk through the next 60 years of my life here on earth.
I need the Bible Plus in terms of mapping out my life. So maybe that dream will help. Maybe a voice will help. No,
the Bible is sufficient. 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17 says,
"...all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction, and righteousness,
that a man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every
good work." Note that last phrase, "...thoroughly equipped for every
good work." So if the Bible can equip you for every good work,
what good works are left to be equipped for by dreams, visions,
voices, mysterious circumstances, all these other things outside
the Bible? Human tradition, church tradition, etc. etc. That is
a great passage, by the way, when it's in terms of the doctrine
of the sufficiency of scripture, sola scriptura. But right here
in Deuteronomy we have another passage underscoring this truth
as well. And I had you turn to Deuteronomy
13 because the verses we want to see are found in verses 1
through 4. But really the verse that precedes
that, that ends the previous chapter, really ties in well
to chapter 13, verse 1. So let's begin reading in chapter
12, verse 32. It says, Whatever I command you,
be careful to observe it, that you shall not add to it nor take
away from it." By the way, when it comes to the Word of God,
is that your mentality that says, God, I just want your will to
be done. I don't want to turn to the right hand or to the left.
Let your Word guide me. And if I'm not following the
Word of God, then I'm off on a wrong path. I don't care if
I'm one foot off the path. But let your Word guide me, that
I may observe to do what is written herein. And when we have that
posture, we won't fall prey to dreams, visions, voices, and
false prophets. That's why chapter 13 goes on.
If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he
gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes
to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, let us go after
other gods which you have not known, and let us serve them,
it doesn't even matter if that thing comes to pass. Even if
his prediction is true, he's still a false prophet in terms
of the message that he's giving you. Verse 3, you shall not listen
to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for
the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep
his commandments and obey his voice. You shall serve him and
hold fast to him. What is the measure of our love
for God? It's whether or not we are willing
to do His will. Didn't Jesus say, if you love
Me, keep My commandments? You know, we can claim all mystically
that we love the Lord, I have such great feeling for the Lord,
but I'm totally disobeying various areas in the Word of God. That
happens among believers. but that is something we are
to avoid. You see, it's not that the will of God has not already
come to man through the Word of God, that we need more of
the Word of God and that the Word of God is being revealed
to us even today. No, the fact is the Word has
already come to us, it's already been revealed, we are to go back
to it and listen to what God wants us to do. So we are not to seek the will
of God through a vision or a voice, but through a verse. Fourthly,
we're not to seek the will of God through our feelings. Turn
to Jeremiah chapter 10. Now feelings can be tricky, can't
they? By the way, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding,
which we'll talk about towards the end of the message this morning,
is not the same thing as a feeling. We'll get to that later. The
feelings can be tricky because they're subjective. And frankly,
they're often wrong. And that's why they ought to
be the caboose in our life, not the driving engine. In Jeremiah,
it says in chapter 10, I'll get there in just a minute.
In verse 23, it says, O Lord, I know the way of man is not
in himself, it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. Do you see that? If the way of
God's will is not found within us, then we shouldn't seek it
within ourselves, based on how we feel, or our own human opinion. we should seek it through the
will, the word of God. In fact, we're told in Jeremiah
17, if you would turn there, in verse 5, cursed is the man who
trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs
from the Lord. And spiritually, he shall dry
up, the passage says. But, verse 7, blessed is the
man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is. He will
be prosperous, verse 8 says. Look at verse 9. It says, the
heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Do you trust
your own heart? I sure hope you don't. You know,
the world tells you today over and over again, oh, just believe
in yourself. Go by your feelings. God is saying,
don't you dare go by your feelings. The heart is deceitful. Feelings
come and feelings go and feelings are deceiving. Our only warrant
is the Word of God. That is worth believing. So who
are you following? I like what George Mueller said
years ago. He said, I do not leave the results
to feeling or simple impression. If I do so, I make myself liable
to great delusions. By the way, this was a man who
walked by faith, and look what the Lord did through him centuries
ago. Here's another way that we are
not to seek the will of God, and that is through what I would
call Bible divination. This says, well, yeah, we should
use the Bible, but sort of in a spiritual Rabbit's foot kind of way. Taking verses out of context. I heard of a man years ago who
was a deacon in his church and he wanted to
become a pastor, but no church would hire him. So he thought
the solution would be to purchase a D.D. degree, put those letters
after his name. doctor of divinity, and to seek
this from a mail-order degree mill. And he wondered if this
might be the will of God for him, and one day he was reading
in his King James Version Bible, 1 Timothy 3.13, which says in
that version, For they that have used the office of a deacon well
purchase to themselves a good degree and great boldness in
the faith. And he says, that seals it right
there. That's the will of God. So Mr. Deacon became Doctor of
Divinity. He still didn't get a church
to pastor. I remember hearing years ago
of a missionary who said, When asked, how do you know it
was the will of God for you to go to such and such a country?
Well, I heard that there's a lot of hills in that country and
one day I was reading the Psalms and it mentioned hills in this
particular Psalms. To the hills you shall look or
something. That settles it right there. Is that how we're to use
the Bible? That's what I would call Bible
divination. You know, you would get about
the same effect as if you took this Bible and put it right in
front of this fan over here and just let it keep blowing the
pages and then pull it away and then look down and see what the
first verse is. Or put it by a window and let
the wind blow the pages and then pull it away and land on a verse. Judas went out and hanged himself.
Go and do likewise. What you do, do quickly. The
Bible says all of that. Different passages. Obviously
that is not the will of God for us. Now this can be tricky. The Bible has to be taken in
context. Even promises in the Bible have
to be taken in context. Here's a great one that I love
in the Old Testament from Jeremiah chapter 29. It says, for I know
the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts
of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Doesn't that sound nice? That's a great promise to claim
if you understand the context of it. What is the context? As
you read it, you'll find out that in chapter 29, God is promising
Israel, which is in captivity in Babylon, that one day they're
going to be brought back from captivity as a nation, and he
will give them a future and a hope, because things look pretty bleak
nationally for them. Now, can you claim that promise
as a church-age believer living in northern Minnesota in the
21st century? I think you can if you understand
the principle behind it, that just as God treated his national
chosen people Israel that way, he also deals with us that way
in Christ, but it's not apples to apples. And so there are a
lot of passages in the Old Testament that you have to be very careful
not to carry over that context and force it onto the church-age
believer. We have to rightly divide the
word of truth, 2 Timothy 2.15 tells us, lest we practice so-called
Bible divination. So those are ways not to seek
the undeclared, unrevealed will of God. But how are we to seek
the declared revealed will of God? Well, first of all, always
pursue the revealed will of God first. This is where the bulk
of the issue lies. Because remember, when it comes
to God's will, it's not so much a matter of God wanting His will
to be done in your life, that's a given. What isn't given is
whether or not you're willing to do His will. Again, I like
what Muller said years ago. I seek to get my heart into such
a state that it has no will of its own in a given manner. That's
kind of the mentality of Jesus Christ. Remember in the garden
when he said, not my will be done, Father, but your will be
done. As the cup of God's wrath is
being passed to him to drink it. Muller goes on. When we're ready to do the Lord's
will, whatever it may be, nine-tenths of the difficulties are already
overcome. Isn't that true? If you've wrestled
with the will of God in your life, you know, it's not so matter
of wrestling with, gee, what does the Bible really say, but
whether or not you're going to do what the Bible says. Kind
of like what Mark Twain said years ago, even though he was
an unbeliever. He said, the problem I have with
the Bible is not the parts I don't understand. It's the parts I
do understand that were evidently convicted for him. When it comes to knowing and
doing the will of God in your life, always start with what's
already been clearly revealed in the Word of God. And secondly
then, search the scriptures for any principles that apply. Non-specifics, but a general
principle nonetheless that applies to your situation. Does the Bible
have much to say in the area of marriage? It certainly does. The job? It certainly does. Your local church? How to function
within it? It certainly does in various
areas of life. But you know, we often bypass
this step, don't we? And we go right to the prayer
stage, you know? We're seeking the will of God,
and then we say, oh, but I'm praying about it. Well, what
are you praying about? Have you looked in Scripture
yet? Have you searched God's Word to see first what He has
to say? Well, no, I'm just praying about
it. Well, how do you think you're going to get your answer? What
are you deciding upon? if you haven't first searched
the counsels of God? Well, I'm just praying about
it. In other words, I'm stalling to make it look spiritual so
that eventually I can justify my decision, because I already
decided what I'm going to do a week ago, but I've got to make
it look good for other people. I'm going to pray about it. I'm going to tell everyone. I'm
praying about it. You ever done that? I'm just
using that as a personal example of my own life. Of course we've
done that. We've all done that. Just own
up to it. That is not how we... God wants
His will to be known. We are to search the scriptures
for principles that may apply. And this is absolutely essential
as a step in order to orient our thinking to the will of God
so that we can know what to intelligently pray for and whether or not we're
willing to accept that will of God. What about, like, in the
area of marriage, let's say. Let's just use that as a great
example. That's a big one in many people's lives. It's a major
decision in life. Who's going to be your Messiah
in life? Who's going to be your Master? Who will you follow,
Jesus Christ, in your life? What is your mission in life?
Who's going to be your mate in life? That's a major, major decision. The Bible doesn't state, in terms
of names, who you are to marry. But sometimes people get goofy
again, and they think it does, or they spiritualize it somehow
and think, well, God spoke to me. Guy said once, well, the
Lord told me that I'm to marry Susie. And then you asked Susie
later, did God tell you you're to marry John over here? Well,
no. Well, why would God speak to
John, then, not to Susie? Wouldn't he inform Susie of that,
too, you think? No. God operates through principles
when it comes to who specifically to marry. And are there certain
criteria or guidelines in the scriptures as to who to marry
if you're a believer in Jesus Christ? Absolutely. You start
with number one, are they even saved? Have their destiny been
changed from hell to heaven because they're born again and they're
indwelt by the Spirit of God and they have the capacity now
for a relationship with God and for God to guide and direct them
from day to day. It says in 1 Corinthians 7 verse
39 that we are to marry only in the Lord. And in 2 Corinthians
6.14 we are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. By the way, marriage is a yoke.
For life, you're bound together. For better, for worse. you start
with whether that person is saved. Secondly, is that person doctrinally
sound? Amos 3.3 says, can two walk together
lest they be agreed? How are you going to walk together
in life and seek the will of God if one of you doesn't even
have the doctrinal understanding to make these kinds of decisions?
Doctrine is key. In fact, where are you going
to attend a local church? You may decide to get married
because you're both believers, but, you know, she wants a church
over here that has great music and programs and things, and
he wants a church over here that's solid on the Word of God, regardless
of all the extras. And so he chooses that, and even
though they're bound together, they've already got a split. Doctrine's key. So first of all,
what is a person's destiny? Is it heaven? Secondly, what
is that person's doctrine? Are you looking at that if you're
considering marriage? Thirdly, what is that person's
desire? Do they want the will of God? Are they following the
word of God? That will come out over time.
In fact, the fourth D is direction. What is the general direction
of that person's life? You know, you just don't say,
well, are you saved? Yeah. Did you read the Bible
Church doctrine statement? Yeah. you have a desire to serve
God in your life? Yeah. We just met yesterday,
but boy, she's perfect. How do you know she's really
going to walk with the Lord? Well, she told me all these things. Well, why don't you wait and
find out. Give it time. You may prove What is that good
and acceptable and perfect will of God? Destiny, doctrine, desire,
direction. What is that person's spiritual
priorities? Do they have a pattern of maturity?
All these things are very important. So search the scriptures for
principles such as those. Thirdly, weigh your spiritual
priorities as you seek the perfect will of God. Seek your spiritual priorities.
as you seek the perfect will of God. Turn to 1 Corinthians
chapter 10 next to see this point. The context here deals with the
use of spiritual liberties in the area of food, diet, and so
forth. But it still gives clarification
regarding direction and the will of God in our life. As believers, our number one
priority ought to be to glorify God and to seek His will. Matthew
6.33 says, And you have before you, day to day,
almost innumerable choices to make. Some are not inherently
wrong, but they may not be the best decision to make in life. It may be a good decision, But are you settling for what's
good? Or do you want what's great inside of God? Well, it may be
better than these other options. Well, is it the best option as
far as God is concerned? Well, God might permit it, sure. But is that His perfect will?
Are you seeking a merely adequate choice or an excellent choice,
dear believer, as God evaluates what is good and acceptable and
excellent? In 1 Corinthians 10, let's begin
reading in verse 23. It says, all things are lawful
for me. Paul was speaking in terms of food he could eat. He
could eat anything if he could give thanks to God for it. But,
not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me,
but not all things edify. There's a great principle right
there to consider when it comes to the will of God. Is your decision
permissible before God? If the answer is no, stop right
there. In terms of a spiritual flow chart, if you will. If the
answer is yes, that's not the end of the matter. It may be
permissible, but is it profitable for others? And if the answer
is no, then stop right there. You know that question, well,
I'm getting a job offer over in Timbuktu. You know, they want
me to work 80 hours a week, but the pay is great, and I could
really provide well for my family, financially. But spiritually? Really? 80 hours a week? How's
that going to work? Well, it might be permissible,
but is it going to be profitable? See, that's a different question.
Verse 24. Let no one seek his own, his
own interests that is, or his own will, but each one the other's
well-being. Are you seeking to use your liberties
for others' sake? Verse 25. Eat whatever is sold
in the meat market, asking no question for conscience' sake,
For the earth is the Lord's in all its fullness. If any of those
who do not believe, unbelievers, invite you to dinner and you
desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no questions
for conscience' sake. But if anyone says to you, this
was offered to idols, then do not eat for the sake of the one
who told you and for conscience' sake. For the earth is the Lord's
in all its fullness. Conscience, I say, not your own,
but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged
by another man's conscience?" In other words, you need to ask
the question, if this is permissible, will it cause someone else to
stumble? And if the answer is yes, it
will cause someone else to stumble, then don't do it. In fact, Paul
says, if meat that's been sacrificed through idols, if I partake of
that, and that causes someone else to stumble, I will never
eat meat again, he says. I'll go vegan. I added that part. But you get the point. Will this
decision or activity enslave or control me? Will this be a
weight that hinders me, that I need to set aside, as Hebrews
12, 1 tells us? These are the kinds of questions
you need to ask. Verse 30, But if I partake with thanks, why
am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks? Therefore,
whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God. Ask yourself another question
in this situation. Will this decision glorify God? Or am I just seeking to do my
own will? And if the answer is, well, I'm not sure if this really
glorifies God, I kind of have some doubts. Not there yet. Well,
in that case, don't do it. In fact, as a general rule of
thumb, when in doubt, go without. Because if you walk by doubts,
you're not walking by faith, dear believer. That's why Romans
14, another passage on the use of liberties, concludes by saying
this, verses 22 and 23. Do you have faith? Have it to
yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn
himself in what he approves or allows by way of these liberties. But he who doubts is condemned,
self-condemned, if he eats. Because he does not eat from
faith, for whatever is not from faith is sin. That's strong language. Did you hear that? Whatever is
not of faith is sin. So if you're not walking by faith,
but you just plow ahead and do that, make that decision, that's
not just spiritually neutral. God says that's sin. We are to
walk by faith and not by sight. Are these decisions seeking to
minister to others, profitable for others, permissible? Will
they cause someone else to stumble or build them up? Does this glorify
God, which is really the bottom line in all this? Verses 32 and
33 go on to say, give no offense either to the Jews or to the
Greeks or to the Church of God Just as I also please all men
in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of
many, that they may be saved." Another question you should ask
yourself is, will this enhance my testimony for Jesus Christ? Or will this jeopardize my testimony
for the Lord? And as you honestly evaluate
and answer those questions, it'll bring out where your heart's
really at in terms of your seeking of God's will. And it'll show
whether you're just seeking to serve yourself or God and others. Remember, when it comes to the
area of liberties in particular, Galatians 5.13 says, For you,
brethren, have been called to liberty. Only don't use your
liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve
one another. Now when it comes to knowing
and doing the unrevealed will of God, we've seen that we are
to always pursue the revealed will of God first, search the
scriptures for any principles that apply, weigh your spiritual
priorities as you seek the perfect will of God, and then ponder
The scriptural and practical counsel of mature spiritual believers,
and by spiritual I mean those who are walking by the spirit. Thinking of Galatians 6, 1 and
other passages like that. Turn with me to Proverbs chapter
12 for this next point. Is there a place to seek the
counsel of others? Absolutely. In fact, for those of us who
believe that God can individually lead and guide us right through
His Word, are we really so self-deceived
as to think that Gee, the Lord might have led and shown someone
else His will as well, that they might have some advice to help
me, because He's leading all of us as believers. Someone else may have grown in
the Lord more in this area than I have, or I've got a weakness
in this area that I could really use some help with. Again, it
brings out who we're really depending and trusting on and what we're
seeking. In Proverbs 12 it says in verse 15, that the way of
the fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel
is wise. Anyone can go around and say,
well I think this is right, and they're a fool. If the word of
God doesn't back it up. But those who are wise seek counsel,
and by the way, what kind of counsel are we to seek? I love
what Psalm 119 verse 24 says that where the psalmist writes, your
testimonies are my counsel. So my advice to you is in seeking
counsel from others, and turn with me to Proverbs 24 to see
this next point. In seeking counsel from others,
make sure that it is biblical counsel. Where you walk away
from other people's advice and what they share with you, well,
do you have a verse to support what you're recommending? Has
God used his word with you in this area that you're recommending
that I should follow? And what passages has God used
with you that you can now share with me to specifically guide
me in this decision? Remember, God doesn't lead through
a voice or a vision, but through a verse. In Proverbs 24, notice
what it says in verse 3, 3-6. It says, Through wisdom a house
is built, and by understanding it is established. By knowledge
the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
By the way, what kind of knowledge or wisdom is he talking about?
Wisdom that comes from the word of God? That's how we know what
path to take in life. Verse 5, a wise man is strong,
yes a man of knowledge increases strength, for by wise counsel
you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors
there is safety. In a multitude of counselors
there is safety. Now why is it beneficial for
us to seek the counsel of others? Because let's face it, other
people can be more objective than we are, in usually almost
every situation. You can ask an outside third
party, unless they have their own interests, but you can seek
and ask God, now is this person, do they have an agenda for my
life that's really going to benefit them? Is this for their sake
they're saying this? Or do they just want the will of God done
in my life? Are they impartial? Are they scriptural in what they're
saying? In fact, I would recommend that you seek out counselors
that are willing to tell you the hard truth, even if it hurts.
Don't go to someone who you know is already going to agree with
you. That is our human tendency, isn't it? Oh, I found three people
to agree with my decision. That justifies it. Did you get
any contrary opinions? That's why in Proverbs 27, It
says in verses 5 and 6, open rebuke is better than love carefully
concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a
friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Are those
the kind of counselors that you're seeking out? Those who are going
to tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,
so help you God. Pick the right counselors. When
it comes to determining God's unrevealed will, fifthly, there
is a place to regularly pray about your decision with a yielded,
submissive spirit. Pray about your decision. In
James 1, verse 5, it says, If any man lacks wisdom, and do
we all? Yes. If any man lacks wisdom,
let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and does
not upbraid or correct. It's a promise from God. He will
generously give us His wisdom, but we have to ask. But so often,
is it not true that we ask, but we ask amiss, because we want
to consume it upon our own lusts, our own desires? Remember that
when it comes to prayer, the purpose of prayer is not to convince
God to do what He's reluctant to do in terms of your will,
you know, to get God to bend his arm or bend his ear somehow,
that he's just tired of hearing from you. Fine, that's really
what you want, I'll do it for you, even though it's not good
for you. That's not the purpose of prayer.
The purpose of prayer is to seek the will of God so that God would
change our desires to conform to His. that's where the real
laboring and wrestling and warfare comes in when it comes to prayer. I mean, who's changing who when
it comes to prayer? Well, I prayed about it again.
Again, sometimes when people tell me, well, I think this is
God's will for my life. I prayed about it. I've got peace
about it. I say, oh, good. Well, what verse
of scripture did he use to confirm that? he uses his word. Proverbs 28
verse 9 says this, he who turns away his ear from hearing God's
law, i.e. the word of God, even his prayer
shall be an abomination. Wow, that's strong. God says,
you know what? I'm tired of you asking me for
things when you're not even willing to do what I told you to do.
It's kind of like your kid, you know, who says, can I do this,
can I do that, can I go here, Joey's going there, and Sally's
going there, and this event's going on, can we do this, can
we do that? Well, did you clean your own? Well, they're leaving
in 10 minutes! Well, did you clean your own?
You know, I've been telling you that for a week. Did you clean
your own? Well, well... No. You see, if we're not willing
to do what God's already revealed in His Word, why should He give
us something extra? You know, the answer to your
prayer is, in that case, going to be, no. That's an answer to
prayer. In faithfulness, he answered
your prayer. Now, it is true that sometimes he may just concede
and give you what you really want and not stand in the way
of opposing what you will, because he can see that you're so hell-bent
on getting what you want that he's going to say, fine, nothing
I say or do is going to matter until you just get what you want,
have at it. but there will be consequences.
That's why Psalm 106 says of the wilderness generation of
Israelites, verse 13, they soon forgot his works, they did not
wait for his counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness
and tested God in the desert, and he gave them their request,
but sent leanness into their soul. Boy, that's a scary verse,
huh? God forbid that we should insist
on getting our will done so much that God just says, fine, have
at it. And we have leanness of soul.
There's no joy. There's no contentment. There's
no peace. That leads me to the sixth point.
When it comes to seeking the unrevealed will of God, we are
to trust in the unfailing promises of God. The unfailing promises
of God. Has God promised you something
when your whole life seems to be uncertain and you don't know
which way to turn? What is the one thing that is
certain and unchanging? It's the Word of God and His
promises to you. And these promises are put in
the Word of God for you to claim and stand upon by faith. And
a great promise this time of year for graduates is Proverbs
3, 5, and 6, which you should know, like the back of your hand,
be able to recite in your sleep practically, dear believer. Trust
in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge
Him, and here's the promise, He shall direct your paths. Say,
well, I'm not sure if he will direct my path. He says it right
here that he will. Do you believe him? Will you
let him? By leaning not on your own understanding,
but trusting in him, he promises to do that. And as he promises
to do that, he will provide his peace to confirm that decision. Now maybe you've gone through
these things in your mind, and maybe it hasn't been sequential,
one through six, or anything like that. By the way, don't
think of this as some kind of checklist. Boy, I've done one through five,
and I'm not sure about five and six, so I must be out of the
will of God. No, it's not quite that way.
These are principles to apply. Generally, there's an order here,
but this is not something legalistic. But trusting in the unfailing
promises of God, if this is all part of this way of thinking
that you've been walking by, then you can be sure that He
will direct your steps. That's why I like what Psalm
37, verse 23 promises. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord, and He delights in His way. And you can trust
God not only for the steps and the starts that you take, but
even for the stops. In fact, I've prayed this prayer
many times in my Christian life and God has been faithful to
answer it. Lord, this seems to be the case that you want me
to do this. I'm going to choose this and step out in faith because
I don't see any red lights here. I don't see any yellow lights.
But if I'm still wrong, I want you to close the door. So the
steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, but also the stops
of a good man are ordered by the Lord, too. He can stop things
when it's not the will of God and redirect you in life. And
you've got to trust Him for that. Lastly, we come to the seventh
point, that if all these things have been true up to this point,
you say, well, it's people falling together. Pieces are in place.
I don't see any yellow lights or red lights for that matter.
Then proceed with your decision and let the peace of God rule
in your heart. Turn to Colossians 3 and we'll
close here this morning. Colossians 3 speaks of the peace
of God ruling in our hearts. I like what one reformer from
many years ago said when it comes to the will of God. He said,
you know, the essence of it is this. Love God, and do as you
please. Is it really that simple? Well,
it's not quite that simple, but you see his point. You see, if
you love God, or you're responding to His love for you with a reciprocal
love for Him, wanting to do His will, then do as you please,
because you know what? Your will will be His will. And sometimes I've come to the
point in my Christian life where I've thought through these things
and it comes the time to just pick one option that appears
to be the best, knowing, well, you know what? I might still
be wrong, but I'm going to trust God to redirect me. But I'm not
going to fret over it. I'm going to step out in faith,
trust the Lord here, and let Him guide and direct my steps.
And you know what? I have peace when that's the
case. Peace in my heart. Colossians
3 says in verse 15, And let the peace of God rule
in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body,
and be thankful. Now what is the peace of God?
It's not a feeling per se, but it is a sense that you're
in harmony with God. that this is right. And the Spirit
of God does give us that sense. In fact, peace is not called
a feeling in the Bible, but it's called a fruit of the Holy Spirit
in Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23. It's an assurance or a confidence
from the Spirit of God that you're in the will of God. It's a It's
the opposite of being convicted that what you're doing is wrong.
It's the conviction that what you're doing is right in His
sight. Good, acceptable, perfect will
of God in His sight. This is how the peace of God
rules in our hearts. But we don't start here. We start
with the Word of God and walking by faith. When we're abiding
in fellowship with our Savior, doing the declared, revealed
will of God in the Word of God, I'm certain that God will make
known to us and make clear to us His unrevealed will as well. Because remember, He wants you
to do His will more than you want to do it. We have that assurance. And I actually believe that it's
harder to miss the will of God than it is to supposedly find
it. Let's pray. Our Father, we just
pray this morning and thank you for many passages in your Word
that give us direction and tell us about your character. Thank
you that you have, as a loving and gracious God, taken us into
your own bosom, so to speak, to draw us near to yourself,
that you would want a relationship with us, an intimate relationship,
that you would want to make known and declare to us what your will
is. Thank you for so much of what you've already revealed
in your word, as far as what your will is. May we simply be
willing to do it, Father. Pray that you would, in your
spirit, just overcome any hardness in our hearts or minds this morning,
as believers. That we would not resist your
will, but we would be soft and tender-hearted towards you, yielded
As we recognize, by faith, that Your will is always best for
us. For it is good, acceptable, and perfect. Thank You, Father,
that You loved us, You gave Your Son to die for us, and the Spirit
of God can direct us through Your Word. We pray and we ask
these things now, Father. We commit this message and these
truths now in our life as You would apply them. We pray and
commit this to you now. And ask these things in our Savior's
name.
How To Discern God's Unrevealed Will In Your Life
Series Miscellaneous
Pastor Stegall provides some practical, biblical truths regarding the process of determining God's unrevealed will for the believer in Christ.
| Sermon ID | 626161010235 |
| Duration | 1:09:26 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Language | English |
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