How To Find The Will Of God
Ps 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Ps 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
Mt 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Two prerequisites
Do you really want to know?
What will you do with it when you do know?
The first step to knowing God's will - read the Bible!
His Word reveals His will. You will find invaluable direction right there in the pages.
You will never find His will apart from His Word.
The most obvious -
1Th 5:16 Rejoice evermore.
Don't worry. Be happy!
1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
Always stay in communication with God. Stay tuned in.
1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Stop grumbling and start counting your blessings.
1Th 5:19 Quench not the Spirit.
Allow the Spirit to work in your life.
1Th 5:20 Despise not prophesyings.
Be open to the working of the gifts of the Spirit.
1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Test the spirits. Be cautious in what you accept as truth. Gauge everything according to God's Word.
1Th 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Don't even give the appearance of sin. Stay far away from it.
Get saved - accept Jesus
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
This is by far the most important factor in accomplishing God's will. Without salvation, you're not even on the right track.
Receive the Holy Spirit
Joh 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Ac 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Ac 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Spirit is God's empowerment for the Christian life. You cannot live the Christian life without it.
Zec 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
Go to church
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
The old argument, "I can be a Christian without going to church," doesn't hold up next to scripture.
Pay your tithes
Le 27:30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.
Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Study the Bible
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Jos 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Ps 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
God's Word is the foundation of all truth and Christian experience. There are always those who rely on 'spiritual experience' and 'the moving of the Spirit', but the Spirit never moves out of synch with the Word of God.
The Bible is our guide for all truth. The Assemblies of God official statement is, "The Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice."
Love wife/submit to husband
Eph 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
The first place our faith should be evident is in our homes. That is your first ministry and mission. If it doesn't work there, it won't work elsewhere. We must line our homes up with the instruction of scripture.
1Pe 3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
1Pe 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
Notice the scripture speaks to both husband and wife.
Love one another (church)
Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
This phrase is repeated 13 times in the New Testament. It appears to be the test, or proof, of Christianity.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Love your neighbor
Mt 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Repeated 5 times.
Pr 14:21 He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
Who is your neighbor? Who do you have to love?
Lu 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Ro 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Jesus said the whole hangs of the love issue - love God and love your neighbor.
Love your enemies
Mt 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mt 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mt 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mt 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Mt 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Perfect means complete or mature. Strife shows our immaturity like nothing else. We need to grow up and learn to overlook and tolerate one another. (And by tolerance, I do not mean what the world views as tolerance, which is wholesale acceptance of others views. What we need is to allow for differences among others while still standing on the truth that we know.)
The real test of love is not how much you love your friends. That's the easy part. It's love toward your enemies that shows your true character.
Obey laws and authorities
1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
1Ti 2:2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
It is God's will that we learn to respect authority!
Heb 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Tit 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
Col 3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
Col 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
Tonight
, I want you to come prepared to share some other verses that reveal God's plain will for us. There are many more clear cut indicators in scripture of what we should be doing. Think about it today and come tonight prepared to share.Also, we will have prayer for one another and for those in authority and leadership over us.
Now
, how are you doing in following God's will? Are you obeying the obvious commands of God's Word? Are you in right standing with Him today? Are you saved?