Discovering God’s Will
DISCOVERING GOD’S WILL
Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the
great commandment in the Law?”
And he said to him,
“You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment.
And a second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments
depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus answered the question; “How do I know God’s Will?” by laying the essential foundation in listing what many call, “The Two Great Commandments.” Finding and understanding God’s Will rests on this strong foundation. His Will for each of us will always reflect our understanding of and obedience to these commands. We must love God with absolutely everything He has made us to be. Then we must also love other people, both near and far, even as we love ourself. That is, we put God first, then other people next—honoring and serving them every day we live. This is the true beginning to understanding God’s Will.
We must begin our plan for knowing and following God’s Will with these two essential first steps:
1. LOVE GOD with every bit of me.
2. LOVE OTHER PEOPLE in every thing I choose to think, say, and do.
In order to tackle these two supreme challenges, we must take our third step:
3. STUDY GOD’S WORD.
Proverbs 4:20-22
My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
When we daily study God’s Word He guides us along His Way, He teaches us the truth we need, He inspires and empowers us, and He corrects us. God’s Word is filled with encouragement, warning, advice, inspiration, and correction. We need to feed on God’s Word every single day—not by hurrying through a few verses—sort of like grabbing a pop-tart on the way out the door to face the challenges of another day. Rather, we need to take time to eat a hearty, a balanced breakfast that gives us strength and energy. That is, we need to engage with the Bible—reading, reflecting, writing, and then praying about challenges the Holy Spirit brings before our heart and mind as we study. We need to rise from our daily Bible Study strengthened for the challenges coming our way throughout the remainder of the day.
4. PRAY CONTINUALLY.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always,
pray without ceasing,
give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus for you.
To know God’s Will we need to share with God our heart, our soul, and our mind—trusting Him to take the fullness of all that we are, and to work in and around us to achieve His glory and our best good. We naturally breathe every minute of the day. This is necessary for our physical life. We need to recognize that a sense of having a readiness to pray throughout the day is just as necessary for our spiritual life. We need a moment-by-moment awareness of the Presence of God all around us so that we in our hearts and minds invoke His Presence through all types of prayers. We rejoice before Him over His good gifts and opportunities to do the good He brings our way. We do pray without ceasing—we share joys that arise as we give Him thanks. We turn to Him immediately when we need strength or wisdom in the midst of the challenges that come our way. And we are quick to give Him thanks as He blesses us all day long. Surely this is what Jesus, by His own example, has taught us to do.
5. FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHER BELIEVERS.
Romans 12:10
Love one another with brotherly affection.
Outdo one another in showing honor.
God grows His people through KOINONIA or Christian fellowship—and as he grows them —He reveals Himself through the camaraderie and teamwork He develops within a faith family. Standing in a circle of brothers and sisters sharing our very lives together united by God’s Redemptive Love, becomes a powerful witness to the world. Jesus spoke clearly in John 13:34-35; (“A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another.) reminding us as His disciples how important our godly love for each other is in sharing our witness with the world. The world watches and responds in wonder when we truly live out in our lives together such godly love.
6. MAKE DISCIPLES.
Matthew 28:19-20
“Go therefore and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
You know, God never said “Sit down and make disciples.” He clearly said “Go.” He sends us, so we go in obedience to His command. We are to make disciples in all nations. We cannot neglect our own home communities; but neither can we neglect those nations far from us, both in distance and in culture. He not only sends us, though; He goes ahead of us and with us. He is always by our sides. He enables us with Holy Spirit power to fulfill His Great Commission ‘lest the whole earth should be lost. So, here is the sum of it all. God knows the world needs Him. So, He sends us into the world to declare the Gospel Good News. God has, indeed, come among us in the Person of Jesus to call us into the whole world, to present it to all the people of the world, and to make disciples of Jesus among them who will in turn answer and obey the same call.
7.FOLLOW GOD’S PLAN
Isaiah 55:8-9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God has the ONLY plan for transforming each of our lives into eternal pilgrimages faithfully following Him along His pathway which will lead us Home where we shall worship, serve and adore Him forever. This is His Will for us. We discover His Will as we LOVE and SERVE Him; as we LOVE and SERVE people around us; as we STUDY GOD’S WORD; as we PRAY WITHOUT CEASING; as we experience KOINONIA LOVE/FELLOWSHIP with other believers; as we MAKE DISCIPLES here, there and everywhere; and as we purposefully FOLLOW GOD’S WAY in all that we do. This is how we KNOW GOD’S WILL. This is how we DO GOD’S WILL.
