Finding, Following and Fulfilling God’s Will for Your Life Part 5

Finding, Following and Fulfilling God’s Will for Your Life Part 5

Joke: It was the first day of school and the teacher was trying to get some information from every student about their family. The Teacher asked a child, “What is your fathers occupation?”

“He’s a magician” said little Johnny. “How interesting. What is his favorite trick?” The teacher asked. “He saws people in half.”

“Wow. Now my next question. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“One half brother and two half sisters!”

 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord…” Psalm 37:23

You are that “good man” because you are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

But this does not mean God is ordering your steps like a robot.

God’s will is like a large parking lot.

Pic of parking lot

We are given great freedom to choose many things for ourselves. Like a parking lot, if the space is open you have freedom to choose to park yourself there. If it is already taken you can’t have that space. If a person is already married, then you can’t have her/him. The parking space is taken.

However, look at this scripture:

“The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor food to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge; but time and chance happen to them all.” Ecclesiastes 9:11

“Happen” = qarah – to meet without a pre-arrangment. A right happening caused by the Lord’s timing to get you in the right place at the right time.

This has happened to you more times than you or I realize. Whenever you were witnessed to, when you heard the gospel and responded in faith, or God putting you in contact with a person you need to meet or help or receive help from.

You usually do not recognize this until later. You don’t see the whole plan of God and how He is working things together for your good. Like a rainbow we only see a part of it.

Pic of full circle rainbow

This is why it is important to keep a thankful attitude to God. Even giving thanks to God by faith when interruptions happen. We only see part of God’s plans.

If you want to see this in action, then read Genesis 24 tonight before going to bed. It is a great illustration of how the Father, the Son and the HS work together for the church.

Abraham represents God the Father.

Isaac represents Jesus the Son.

Unnamed servant represents Holy Spirit.

Rebekah represents the church.

Ill. Paraphrase Gen. 24 and read verse 10-15.

 “Just so happened” = qarah

Your divine appointment may come just giving a card invitation to your church to someone. Giving a gospel tract or meeting a new person.

Every step of the journey is the journey!

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105

We find the will of God from the Word of God.

Ill. If you have to pray to find out if it is God’s will for you to invite a stranger to church then you haven’t read the Word. You already know a lot of God’s will and what is not His will.

-        You will grow in understanding the will of the Lord by spending time in the Word.

See that you walk carefully, not as fools but as wise men, making the most of the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is.  Eph. 5:17

Sometimes God cannot reveal to us what His will is because our hearts are not ready to believe Him. Jesus said,

I have many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now.  John 16:12

          God wants you to know His will but He wants you to go through a narrow gate and most people don’t want to do that.

Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that YOU MAY PROVE WHAT IS GOOD AND PERFECT WILL OF GOD.      Romans 12:2

-        This world has values, priorities that are not in agreement with God.

Love not this world, neither the things in this world. For if any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  I John 2:15

-        You will not find fulfillment for your life in the world or things of the world. You were created for God’s pleasure! Your design is made for relationship with God. Anything short of that is emptiness.

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He shall give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37

-        One of the ways God leads us is by the desires of our heart. But before we can trust our desires, we need to make sure we are really delighting in Him. If God is not our first love, then we can’t depend upon being led by the desires of our heart.

The carnal mind is enmity against God.  Romans 8:6

People who do not pursue a relationship with God after they are born again cannot trust their desires. But put God first in our life and delight in Him and He will put desires in you that He wants for your life.

Ill. The desires God has placed deep inside you – He wants you to know them. Many people have a dream, desire to do certain things but they are not sure it from God, because they don’t trust their own desires. They think the desire is just coming from their daydreams and so they dismiss it. The only way you will find out is to deal with your heart and put God’s will first even if you don’t know what it is for you.

-        The more you will seek to love God the more His desires will increase in your heart.

-        If you are bored – then you have not found God’s will for your life.

-        Our lives are here to make a difference where we live.

Ill. No one on their death bed says, “O I wish I had a nicer car, or more diamonds. The regrets people have at the end of their lives involve relationships. I wish I had made a bigger impact on people.

One of the ways to find God’s will is to put Him first, delight yourself in Him and then follow the desire of your heart. This is how God will lead you most of the time.

He may modify that desire over time as you move.

Ill. If you had no restrictions with money not being an issue. Forget about past failures, forget about what relatives are saying. What would you want to do?

          Sometimes people still don’t know. But everyone has desires inside them. Everyone has a dream of their life somehow making a difference in this world. We were meant to know the joy of feeling our life is making a difference.

This may require taking some risks. Sometimes it is really not much of a risk.

Ill. When Peter got out of the boat to walk on water the boat he was in was already full of water. There was very little difference being in the boat or out of it.

Sometimes there are more serious risks and you need to move slowly – just start doing something that is towards a desire in your heart. Actions follow faith.

The next things to know about God’s will is

Timing and preparation

God’s will for your life involves His timing.

God’s will for your life involves preparation. More about this later.

A prayer: Lord, I ask You to help me to recognize the desires You have placed in my heart. Help me make an application with the truth I have heard tonight. Thank You for the awesome things You have in store for all of us.  In Jesus’ name.