"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us."
Ephesians 3:20

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Cor. 3:17 FINDING GOD'S WILL "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1,2) A living and holy sacrifice speaks of what we do and our mind speaks about what we think. To live for God and to know His will, we must set our minds on the things of God, not the things of the world. And we must act according to His purposes and not ours. Romans 15:1-3 talks about the practicality of denying ourselves. Many times when people deny themselves they become depressed or lose hope. But this verse (Romans 15:4) says that the Scriptures will encourage us and through perseverance we will maintain our hope. It is not a perseverance of denial but a perseverance in serving others. Our hope is renewed as we serve. If we sow righteousness we will reap righteousness. If we help others we can count on God to help us. In Proverbs it states that if we lend to a poor man it is giving to the Lord. And He will repay us. So we can have hope that as we give to others in service to God, He will meet our needs. Love was the motivation for God to give His Son to us. "For God so loved the world that He gave . . ." (Jn. 3:16) How can we love others? "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (Jn. 15:13) This is a big request! How do we get this love for others so that we can deny ourselves to love others? "and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Rom. 5:5) Ask God to fill you with His gift of love. One might say, "Can't I have things for myself and serve God also?". Look at John 12:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." This is what a living and holy sacrifice means. A sacrifice means that we die. But we are living, so a living sacrifice means that we live for the things of Jesus through the power of Jesus. As we love God and obey Him the love of God flows through us to others. Breaking the cycle of needing to please ourselves comes from prayer, meditating on the Scriptures and the obedience of faith with patience. God is like the potter that molds us according to His desires. When we submit to Him and become the clay, His will for our lives will become sure. (Jer. 18:1-6) "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:10) God loves us with an all inclusive love. He really loves us more than we love ourselves. He can see our whole life and asks us to do things in relationship to His total knowledge. We only know the past and the present, not the future. Are we willing to allow God to mold us as He wants? "... faith works through love." (Gal. 5:6) The Holy Spirit plays an important role in making the will of God known to us. He will teach us all things, and bring to our remembrance whatever Jesus has said to us. (Jn. 14:26) He will guide us into all truth, and will disclose to us what is to come. (Jn. 16:13) The promptings of the Spirit come as we move in faith to God's word. It is easier to steer a ship that is moving. A ship is steered by the water that passes by the rudder in the back of the boat. If the boat is not moving there is no water flowing past the rudder and it is impossible to steer. It is the same in the spirit. If we are not moving believing that God is leading us we may not listen or hear when He speaks. "And your ears will hear a word behind you, 'this is the way., walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right or to the left." (Isa. 30:21) God reveals through the Spirit what He has prepared for us. (1 Cor. 2:9-12) If we seem to be directed in a way contrary to Scripture what should we do? Ps. 119:9,11,32,105 show that we are to follow the leading of the Word. As we start to walk in faith we will be able to take bigger and bigger steps of faith. One of the ways God leads us is by what our heart is moved to love. "... faith works through love." (Gal. 5:6) If we are led by love we should « act on it. If we are led by our hearts desire we should go to God in prayer to get a stronger sense of God's love. If we are led by condemnation or conviction of the Holy Spirit we should repent and trust that the blood of Jesus has cleansed us from all sin. Afterwards we should move by faith in the love of the Spirit. God is motivated by love and compassion. (Matt. 9:35-38; Matt. 14:14; Matt. 15:32; Matt. 20:34; Mk 1:41; Mk. 6:34; Lk. 7:11-15; Lk. 10: 33,34; Jn. 3:16) If we don't have love, we shouldn't say, 'I don't have to do anything because I don' t have love'. What we should do is seek God to purify our hearts that love may flow. (1 Pt. 1:22,23) Then we can act in faith as God's Spirit leads us. Love is the key to the Christian life. Without love we become ineffective spiritually. (1 Cor. 13:1-8) Giving to others of our money, resources and time proves*we have love. "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer-and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." (1 Jn. 3:14-18) Counsel is an important aspect in gaining God's will. Faith can sometimes bring a false sense of pride. If we think that we can live the Christian life without the help of others we may be in trouble. God is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6, Rom. 12 :3; 1 Pt. 5:5) Romans 12:4-8 lists different gifts. We obviously can't excel in all of these so counsel from an expert is wise. (Ps. 1:1-3; Prov. 1:5; 11:14; 12:15; 19:20; 20:18; 27:9) We need to distinguish between good and bad counsel. (1 Kings 13:1-32; Acts 17:11; 1 Pt. 5:5; Jn. 11:49-53) Peace can be a indication that God is leading us in a certain direction. When we have peace in our hearts, we must ask ourselves the question, "Where is this peace coming from?" Consider the life of Jonah. Jonah was a prophet of God, and must of been used by God before. This time Jonah had no peace when God told him to do something. God's will does not always bring peace if our heart is not prepared to follow. The sword is a type of the word of God. John 16:33 shows that God's word brings peace. In Matthew 10:34 Jesus said that He did not come to bring peace on the earth but a sword. Jesus knew that His words would not be accepted by all. His words would bring violent disagreement. Those who accept Jesus words will have peace in their hearts, but also would have persecution as well. Be of good cheer, Jesus has overcome the world. (Acts 14:22; Phil. 1:29; 2 Tim. 3:12) Keys to knowing God's Will. Dedicate yourself to serve God. Renew your mind in the word of God. Listen to the prompting of the Spirit. Take a step and God will direct you. God will lead you by love. The counsel of the Scriptures will give you a general plan. God's peace comes to those who live and abide in Him, and His word. God uses the counsel of others to direct you. Don't forget the little things of the Bible. If we do the little things God will give us bigger things. It is important to be faithful to God and then He will give us more responsibility when He sees that we are able. "For whoever has, to him shall more be given ..." (Matt. 13:12) Here is a simple answer to this question. Pray and go daily. By this I mean, pray for God's direction. Then go. At the end of the day or the next day prayerfully evaluate what you did both good and not so good. Ask for wisdom to do it better. Then pray and go again. Water From The Rock Bible Study - - -Scott McCrae Home | Back to Top

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