How am I supposed to know the will of God?

[SoulGrind]

I can not tell you how many people have asked me, "How am I supposed to know the will of God?"

My first answer has typically began with "Pray and read your Bible." - This of course assumes I am talking to a fellow believer or someone who is earnestly seeking.

But I too have struggled with this answer as it's not a very strong argument. It's over simplified and leaves one wanting and maybe even mystified - as if God is some mystical, intangible being and we need to reach a state of zen to know the will of God. This couldn't be further from the truth.

This is not to say that alone time between you and God should be over simplified, but that it's not as direct an answer as I had hoped for.

However, the scales over my eyes were lifted this Sunday past when the pastor of the church I attend quoted 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8. I have read and studied 1st and 2nd Thessalonians in the past and honestly, I am not sure how I missed this. But I've got it now...

So I am here to share this with everyone who has every asked the question, "How am I supposed to know the will of God?"

THE BIBLE ACTUALLY ANSWERS THIS QUESTION DIRECTLY

"IT IS GOD'S WILL that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit." - 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 (NIV)

As we can see, this particular passage of scripture sums up the will of God quite nicely.

Let's break it down.

1.) We are to be sanctified.

2.) We are to avoid sexual immorality.

3.) We are not to wrong our "brother."

4.) We are to live a holy life.

SANCTIFICATION

So what does it mean to be "sanctified?" It means to be good, legitimate, or righteous through the salvation of Jesus Christ. This means we have recognized our sins and shortcomings and that we need and rely [solely] upon God and to be a defender and promoter of our [Christian] faith.

SEXUALLY IMMORAL

We are to avoid sexual immorality. This is fairly self-explanatory. But for those who need a little more definition, I shall quote the following:

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." - 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV)

There are plenty more passages of scripture that expand upon this, but this is probably the best summary regarding this matter.

WRONG OUR BROTHER

The aforementioned passage of 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 stated that we are not to "wrong our brother or to take advantage of him" through sexual immorality. In other words, it's really a re-statement of the following:

"You shall not commit adultery." - Exodus 20:14 (NIV)

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." - Exodus 20:17 (NIV)

In turn, Christ also stated the following:

"'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" - Mark 12:31 (NIV)

And to go even further, Jesus had this to say about adultery:

"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matthew 5:28 (NIV)

This in turn is in direct correlation of the following:

"You shall not steal." - Exodus 20:15 (NIV)

In other words, lustful behavior and adultery is the same as stealing - in a manner, you are stealing another person's spouse.

It all boils down to the "golden rule:"

"Do to others as you would have them do to you." - Luke 6:31 (NIV)

LIVE A HOLY LIFE

One of the best ways to summarize this is again by quoting Jesus Christ through the following passage of scripture:

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'" - Luke 10:27 (NIV)

If this is your mantra, you will of course make an effort to read your Bible for you shall seek to know your maker and you shall pray for you shall desire interaction with your maker and you will of course obey the commandments laid out in the Word of God (the Bible) for you shall "fear" your maker just as a child "fears" their parents and wishes them to be proud of them.

IN SUMMARY

This my friends is the will of God for our lives.

This does not replace our occupations, or our "titles" (i.e. "husband", "wife", "mother", "father" etc.). Instead, this only augments and adds to the responsibilities of our lives. But this responsibility is not a burden as some responsibilities are known to be; rather, it is a joy as there is freedom in knowing that having Christ as our eternal savior, we are free from the threat of eternal suffering.

Faith in Jesus Christ will not get you a new car, the pretty girl, or all the money in the world. Faith in Jesus Christ won't prevent illness, physical pain and/or suffering. Faith in Jesus Christ won't protect you from the persecution of non-believers. Faith in Jesus Christ is not the magical, genii in the lamp type of cure-all some people try to make it out to be.

Quite the contrary.

However, faith in Jesus Christ WILL save your eternal soul and will provide you with opportunities to lead others to Christ so that their eternal soul might be saved as well.

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? "- Mark 8:36 (NIV)

[abbershay]

It all sounds so good yet there is one major thing missing. Being led by the HOLY SPIRIT.

[SoulGrind]

It all sounds so good yet there is one major thing missing. Being led by the HOLY SPIRIT.

Indeed - This does play the pre-dominant role in the entire process. I however was trying to shed some light more on the direct answer given by scripture.

Additionally, while I did not mention the Holy Spirit by name, this portion of my original post implies that the Holy Spirit is involved...

SANCTIFICATION

So what does it mean to be "sanctified?" It means to be good, legitimate, or righteous through the salvation of Jesus Christ. This means we have recognized our sins and shortcomings and that we need and rely [solely] upon God and to be a defender and promoter of our [Christian] faith.

I am also a firm believer that even if we don't always "hear" the Holy Spirit speaking to us, we need only refer to God's Word to be reminded of the baseline requirements.

It's kind of like people who say, "We need to pray for God to open doors for us."

I would rather pray, "God, open my eyes so I may see the doors that you have already opened."

So from a purely baseline position, we need not wait on the Holy Spirit to give us the will of God - it's right there in the Bible in black and white. However, we do need the Holy Spirit to guide us on our journey so that we will continue to obey and identify the will of God.

Again, it's the difference between praying for God to open doors vs asking God to open our eyes to see the doors He's already opened.

It's about stepping out in faith. I don't need to ask God to open doors. I just need help finding the open doorways sometimes. I'm ready to go. I just need God to point me in the right direction. This is where I rely upon the Holy Spirit.

[SoulGrind]

Another way of looking at it is like this...

Let's examine The Great Commission...

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28:16-20

Do we sit back and say, "You know - I really need to pray about this. I'm not sure what I am supposed to do here."

WAITAMINUTE...

This is a command... those are action verbs... GO... MAKE... BAPTIZE... TEACH...

We are already told what to do. We have been given our assignment.

This is a door that is now open. In order to obey, you must step through.

Always be ready to give an answer...

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." - 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

We need to learn the right questions to ask of the Holy Spirit.

We don't need to ask, "God, what's you will?" or "God, should I tell someone about You today?"

NO!

We need to ask, "God, use me to fulfill your will today. Let me see those doors that you have opened for me and give me opportunities so that I may share my faith."

Stop asking God about things you already know. Start asking God to use you. You already know you are the tool. Just ask to be used for the will of God.

[Guest jimnhutch]

I would also add Eph. 5-17. "so then, do not be foolish but seek to understand the will of God."

The only way we understand the will of God is to be in His word. His word to us is His will for our lives. He has gone to extraordinary efforts to make sure we can have His word. II Timothy 3:16. "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in rightousness."

Also, I thes. 5:17+18. Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus

[SoulGrind]

I would also add Eph. 5-17. "so then, do not be foolish but seek to understand the will of God."

The only way we understand the will of God is to be in His word. His word to us is His will for our lives. He has gone to extraordinary efforts to make sure we can have His word. II Timothy 3:16. "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in rightousness."

Also, I thes. 5:17+18. Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus

Amen - this is EXACTLY what I am saying.

[SoulGrind]

By the way, I'm not saying we should "lean on our own understanding."

That would be folly.

This is where prayerful consideration, Bible reading and meditation and asking God for the Holy Spirit to come upon us is extremely necessary and beneficial.

Fellowship with other believers is also necessary as well is going to church/Sunday School. - This is our "training ground" so we may be better prepared to fulfill the great commission and to carry out the will of God.

The more we pray, the more we read God's Word, the more we fellowship, and the more we place our faith in God the more we begin to "hear" the Holy Spirit.

For me, it's all about being open to being led. It can be difficult at times. There have been times I let my own personal agenda get in the way. A door was opened for me and I acknowledged it and yet, I did nothing. I knew the will of God. All I needed to do was to step through the bloomin' door. Instead, I chose my own path and that door was then closed to me. Later, I felt anguish over it. I had sinned against God. I disobeyed His command and I failed my master. I need to repent and ask God to give me strength, to endure, to resist temptation, and to continue allowing me to see those open doors and to reopen doors I missed and to help me have the courage to step through. And I believe God answers those kind of prayers.

I'm not saying God doesn't answer prayers for doors to be opened - yes, we should pray that God will continue to open doors for us. But if we're being prayful and relying upon God to begin with, I think the point is mute and it's really about follow-through.

But that's me at this point in my life and in my walk with the Lord. I'm not perfect. I do not know all. I have never made such claims. I fall short every day. Some days more than others. Everyday I need God. Everyday I see my own mortality and my own sinful ways as God reveals them to me. I also try to keep Jesus in front of me on the horizon as my leader and I try, through prayer and Bible study to walk in His footsteps as best as humanly possible.

I know I am to do the will of God and I know what I am supposed to do. For me, it's just matter of asking God to teach me how to do it and to help me overcome my own fears and to ask God to help me line up my will with God's will.

To quote Brother's Keeper - "I pray that He does surgery on my life and yours. Transplant His heart of love - replace this evil core "

[desi2007]

very nicely done.

[south]

Hi there,

Here's a preaching I've listened to many times about God's will. I hope you find it helpful.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary..._Do_We_Know_It/

Blessings...South

[georgedrw81]

Faith in Jesus Christ will not get you a new car, the pretty girl, or all the money in the world. Faith in Jesus Christ won't prevent illness, physical pain and/or suffering. Faith in Jesus Christ won't protect you from the persecution of non-believers. Faith in Jesus Christ is not the magical, genii in the lamp type of cure-all some people try to make it out to be.

To me Jesus did give to me all those things and i thank Him every day.

Blessings