Sermon Series: Jesus-Everything We Need 

What is God's Will? 

Philippians 3:15 

CBC July 20, 2003

In a nutshell: With God's Word and His Spirit, we have all the tools we need to become good decision makers, and will have little problem knowing God's will in every situation we encounter.

I. Introduction

A. Truckee Psychic

Last weekend, as many of you know, I participated in a large motorcycle rally in Truckee and the Lake Tahoe area. While we were there, a large custom car show was also going on at one of the local parks. So, on Saturday afternoon, several of us took the opportunity to tour the car show and look at the vendor booths. I even met a couple of guys from here in Bishop who were showing their cars and trucks at the event.

Well, as we were walking and looking at the vendor booths and cars, one of the vendor's booths really grabbed my attention-it was the booth of a psychic. This man sat in his little tent, and advertised that he would tell you your future, help you make decisions, and give you advice and counsel based on the stars and the spirits. And there was a line of people that whole afternoon, waiting their turn to talk to this guy about their lives and decisions.

B. Psychics

The Psychic industry today, is huge. Ads on late night TV tell you that all you have to do is dial a number and a real live psychic will give you answers to life's most difficult questions, for just $3.95 per minute, automatically billed to your credit card.

Illustration: Most of you have seen those commercials on late night television, or have heard celebrities promoting psychic networks. When we lived in Palm Springs, I remember seeing an advertisement that guaranteed that all of the psychics on a specific network were "certified." Certified!!!! Imagine that! I'm curious, what organization certifies psychics?

C. Supernatural Guidance

But the fact remains that a lot of people today believe in psychic powers, because a lot of people today have questions for which they have no answers. And based on what I saw in Truckee, and based on the number of psychic businesses in existence in the United States today-even that exist here in Bishop-you have to conclude that people believe there are "right" answers to many of the questions they have, and those right answers are beyond their understanding. So, they try to tap in into some sort of a "higher power". And as a result, there are a lot of charlatans getting rich.

But I want to be very careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water on this issue, because when it comes to making right decisions, the Bible clearly teaches that God does give guidance to His people. If you have your Bibles, I'd like you to turn to a verse in the book of Philippians today…

Philippians 3:15 15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

Notice that the apostle Paul tells us that God will make it clear to us what His opinions and His views are. In other words, He will lead us to make right decisions.

But what exactly does it mean to let God lead you? -Does God have a specific will for every decision in our lives? -How does God guide us to make decisions that are the best decisions?

Think about it, everyone of us make decisions. -What school should I attend for college or graduate work? -How do I know what job to take or what profession to enter? -How do I pick the right person to marry? -How do I choose the right neighborhood to live in? -How do I choose the right house to buy or car to drive? Does God really care about these things? And if He does, does He somehow lead us to make the right decision? And if He does lead us to make the right decision, how does He do it?

D. A Variety of paths

Let's face it, people take a variety of paths to help them make the "right" decisions. -Some people trust their personal wisdom or experience, and do want they want to do. -Others consult horoscopes, Ouijia boards, palm-readers, crystal balls, astrologers, spiritists, séances, parapsychologists, and mediums.

But are those wise paths to go down in order to find answers to important questions. The apostle James tells us that there are two paths that lead to two different kinds of wisdom. One he describes as heavenly wisdom, and he describes it this way…

James 3:17 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

The other kind of wisdom doesn't come from heaven, and he describes that wisdom like this…

James 3:15 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, and demonic." (NAS)

One wisdom is heavenly, the other is not. One wisdom is from God, the other is demonic. That says that if a person is looking to anything other than God to help him or her make their decisions, then that person is in real danger of receiving demonic direction rather than godly direction. We have to be careful who we listen to.

So, how can you and I be sure that the guidance we're receiving is from God?

II. God Desires To Reveal His Will To You

Well, something we know for sure from the Bible, is that God does have a will for your life and mine. In fact the Bible talks about four basic categories of God's will. They are: God's Sovereign Will, God's Saving Will, God's Moral Will, and God's Individual Will. Let me explain what I mean by each of these...

A. God's Sovereign Will

First of all, when we say God's sovereign will, we are talking about the fact that God has a pre-determined plan for everything that happens in the universe. This is God's perfect plan that He is working out behind the scenes of history. It started before the earth was formed and continues to the far reaches of eternity. God's sovereign will is His own doing, and human beings, nature, or circumstances cannot disrupt it or change it. In fact, we human beings can't even grasp it with our finite understanding. It is way, way, way, beyond us. But in God's sovereign will, everything fits together perfectly. As my wife's cousin is fond of saying, "There are no surprises to God."

Wars, earthquakes, elections, recalls, kings, dictators, laws that are passed and laws that are not passed, countries that exist then don't exist, and every other circumstance and incident in the history of the world…from one end of it to the other…are all part of an overall plan that we can't fathom, and only God knows. That's sovereignty…and we can't expect God to put together anything less, otherwise He wouldn't be much of a God, would He? That's why King David wrote…

Psalms 24:1 1 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;

B. God's Saving Will

A second category of God's will is what I call God's Saving Will. Jesus speaks of this will when He says…

John 6:40 40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

God's Saving will is that anyone who responds in faith by believing that Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead are all that's necessary to take care of his or her sin problem, will receive forgiveness from those sins and dwell with God for eternity, in heaven.

God's Saving will is accomplished whenever a person says something like this to God, "Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner in need of salvation. Please forgive my sins and come into my life as my Savior. Lead me in my daily decisions so I can turn from any sin and obey You completely. Thank You for hearing my prayer and saving my soul."

God's Saving will is at the heart of why you and I are still living on this earth! You've heard me say it before, but it bears repeating…There are only two things that you and I, as Christians, can do here on earth that we can't do in heaven. One is to sin, and the other is to tell people who don't know Jesus, about how to have a relationship with Him. Which of those two things do you think is the reason God has left us here?

You and I experience God's Saving will when we're intentionally involved in being a link in the chain of events that brings another person to faith in Jesus Christ. Like Henry Blackaby said in his book, Experiencing God, (front of worship folders) "When God accomplishes His will in His ways through us, people will come to know God."

C. God's Moral Will

A third category of God's will is what I call God's moral will By that I mean the specific commands that are given in the Bible that teach people how they ought to believe and live so they might have the fullest and most abundant life possible. These are the basic principles by which we must live our lives. King David wrote a prayer about God's Moral Will in Psalm 86. The key verse there is…

Ps 86:11 1 Teach me your ways, O LORD, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, that I may honor you. (NLT)

D. God's Individual Will

Then the fourth category of God's Will is what I call God's Individual Will. By that I mean the specific, ideal, detailed, perfect plan that God has for each situation, in every individual's life.

There are a lot of examples of God's Individual Will in the Bible. He demonstrated this will in the life of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, Peter, Paul, and many others. But something we must keep in mind is that this category of God's will was always the exception-and never the rule.

Now, God hasn't changed since Bible times. He still gives special guidance or revelation to His followers…, but only in some situations. The reason it's only in some situations, is because God's Sovereign Will, His Saving Will, and His Moral Will cover just about every single situation we will ever face in our lives. It's only on those rare occasions that He gives a special revelation about what His will is for our lives.

Friends, this is really important for us to understand. We can't go around looking for some subjective process of special revelation that we interpret as God's will! God's will can't be reduced to our feelings at a certain time in our lives. Because that opens the door for deception from demonic influences to enter into our lives.

So, how do we know if God is showing us His will through some sort of special revelation? The answer lies in having a balanced, biblical approach to God's guidance.

III. Two Essentials: Word and Spirit

And a balanced, biblical approach always includes two essential things…God's Word and God's Spirit.

A. God's Word

First of all, the Word of God is given to us as an objective revelation of God's will. It protects us from hearing the wrong voice of wisdom. I've seen and heard about a lot of people who do some really strange things and then blame the results on God.

Illustration: Early in my ministry, I was pursued by a Senior Pastor and a church in Tennessee to come on staff as their Christian Education pastor. But when I visited the church and met with the leadership, I couldn't get confirmation that God wanted me there. In fact, in my devotional reading on the airplane, the morning I was flying back from the interview, I read Psalm 37, and one verse really stayed in my mind…

Psalms 37:3 3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

I took that to mean that God wanted me to stay where I was, and not move my family to Tennessee. But when I told the Senior Pastor that, he got angry at me and told me that God had told him that I was the man for the job. And I told him that God wasn't giving me that same message. So, I turned the job offer down. And I'm glad I did. Because a good friend of mine wound up taking that position, and found that the Senior pastor was so demanding and arrogant, that he resigned after just one year on the staff of that church. He later told me, "Tom, you were so wise not to go there."

Reading and knowing the Word of God, turns our spiritual headlights on. When we know God's Word, we'll be able to see the right answers to most of the decisions and questions in our lives, very clearly. That's why the Psalm writer wrote…

Psalms 119:105 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Friends, if we want God's will for our lives…if we want His guidance in making the decisions of our life good decisions, then we have to build our lives on the Word of God. And that means simply, we must read it, study it, and meditate upon it.

Illustration: In one of His parables, Jesus talked about the importance of God's Word in our lives. In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus tells the story of two men who built identical houses. The only difference between the two was their foundations. One was built on a rock, and the other was built on the sand. When the storms came (as they always do in our lives) the house that was built on the sand was completely destroyed by the storm. But the house that was built on the rock wasn't harmed at all. It stood firm. Jesus said that the rock foundation that saved that house was listening to and obeying the Word of God.

So, if you're trying to understand what the will of God is concerning a decision you have to make, ask yourself this question-Is it consistent with what God says in His Word? If the course of action that you're considering doesn't line up with the Word of God, let me tell you friend, it is not the will of God.

B. God's Spirit

The second part of a balanced Biblical approach to knowing God's will for your life has to do with His Spirit. The Holy Spirit also has a role to play in God's guidance. Jesus said in…

John 16:13 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

From what Jesus said here, we know that one of the jobs that the Holy Spirit has, is to guide us into the truth. God's Spirit will never lead any of us to do something that is contrary to what is taught in the Bible. What God's Spirit does do is help us apply the Words of the Bible to our lives and to give us insight into what the written Word means in our particular circumstance.

God's Spirit leads us to the truth that's found in God's Word, and helps us apply those truths to the situations and decisions that we're facing. That's His job, and He's very good at it.

IV. Practical Advice for Making Decisions

So, I hope you're seeing that determining God's will isn't some great mystical enterprise. In fact most of God's will for our lives can be found in understanding His Sovereign Will, His Saving Will and His Moral Will. And by being students of God's Word, the Holy Spirit won't leave us hanging when we have questions that go beyond those things. He'll show us what we need to do by applying God's Word to our individual situations..

But as we close, I want to touch on a few other practical ideas regarding the will of God.

A. Four pieces of advice

First of all, beware of circumstances. Sometimes God uses circumstances to help us discover His will. But sometimes He doesn't. You can't count on circumstances alone. -The Bible will not always fall open to the right passage. -You may put out a fleece and find that it is only gets partially wet. -If you toss a coin, it might just as easily come up heads as tails. Be careful. What you see is not always what you get.

Illustration: Jonah was told by God to preach the gospel to the people of Nineveh. That was something he didn't want to hear. So he ran from God. As he was making his getaway, he went down to the boat dock. And as circumstances would have it, there was as ship waiting to sail, and they had room for him. I can just hear him say, "Ah! Here's a ship that will get me out of here. God must not really want me to go to Nineveh. Because if He did, he wouldn't have provided this boat."

Be careful relying on just circumstances. Satan is called the great Deceiver, and he can fool us by arranging things to look like the providence of God. As it turned out in Jonah's case, God used an alternate means of transportation to take Jonah to Nineveh, so he could do the will of God. Don't trust in circumstances alone.

B. Study the Bible

Second, don't be satisfied with simply reading the Bible-study it! A casual understanding of the Bible is not enough to know God's will. We need to be like the Berean Christians in the book of Acts…

Acts 17:11 11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

The Bible says a lot of things, and frankly, you can make it say almost anything you want it to say if you don't have a thorough understanding of its teachings. So search the Scriptures to understand what God is wanting to communicate.

C. Get godly counsel.

A third piece of advice is to get godly counsel. Notice, I said "godly" counsel. Don't just consult anyone. Make sure the person or persons you consult have a solid, stable relationship with God. Otherwise, you'll just get the opinions of another person. Someone else's opinion may be no better than your own. Ask a godly person or persons to pray for you and with you. Many times, their wisdom will save you from a poor decision. God will use people to speak wisdom to you. This is a very important safeguard.

Proverbs 15:22 22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

D. Don't confuse feelings with facts.

The final piece of advice is don't confuse feelings with facts.

Illustration: When an airplane pilot is in a storm, he or she is taught that they are not to trust their feelings-rather they're to trust their instrument panel. That's because feelings and instincts can be wrong if that pilot is experiencing vertigo.

Well, just like a pilot can get so jostled around that he or she loses their sense of up and down, you and I can get so jostled around by our circumstances that we lose our sense of right and wrong. But we have a very reliable instrument panel-it is objective, factual and always true-it's the Bible. Rely on that, not your feelings, to guide you.

V. Conclusion

A. Wrap-up

Friends, I can guarantee you that God wants to show you His will. For the most part, it's found in understanding what His sovereign will is, what His saving will is, and what His moral will is. You find out those things and even more by being serious about understanding His Word and being open to His Spirit's guidance.

Because, with His Word and His Spirit, we have all the tools we need to become good decision makers, and we'll have little problem knowing God's will in every situation we encounter.

B. INVITATION

Finally, let me say one more thing about God's Saving Will. Every one of us is headed to a final destruction at the end of this life, unless we have a fool-proof plan for dealing with our sin problem. Everyone of us has this problem, because everyone of us has sinned and therefore have been made unholy. And since unholiness cannot exist with holiness (which is a characteristic of God), our unholiness will keep us from the wonder of heaven when we die.

But God's will is that no one should perish because of their sin. So He provided the fool-proof plan. The plan is wrapped up in His Son Jesus, who came to earth, lived a perfect life, and took the punishment that we deserved for our sin, when He died on the cross. And when He rose from the dead, proving He was God, He showed that He had the power to make an exchange…His righteousness that He earned, in exchange for our unrighteousness that we earned.

Entering into a relationship with Jesus where He is the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life changes your destination for eternity. And Jesus holds out that gift of eternal life in heaven with Him, out to you, free of charge this morning. All you have to do to make it yours, is to ask for it, using similar words to these…

"Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner in need of salvation. Please forgive my sins and come into my life as my Savior. Lead me in my daily decisions so I can turn from any sin and obey You completely. Thank You for hearing my prayer and saving my soul."