A “Maze”
…is usually high “walled” whether that be bushes, hay rolls, or a wall, that blocks your ability to look over it to see a clear path, where you are going, and how to exit the maze. It has an entrance and usually is into a series of pathways going in different directions and to try and get to the goal which is the exit at some part of the maze. Usually the maze can be a high row of hedges or otherwise, so you can’t see where you are going, you just come to various options and choose to follow and at times you might run into a dead end and have to try and renegotiate your way back and the whole thing is very very confusing and meant to be so. It’s like a giant puzzle, trying to figure your way from entrance to exit except it’s not a simple follow one path and you will arrive at the exit. Many, many paths are before you and end in different places. Sound confusing? It is! We often treat God’s will like this, “MAZE Guidance.” That somehow God wants to make it hard and difficult for us to know and figure out.
When my children were younger we had several big trees at the back of the property and one occasion we were playing”hide and seek.”I hid at the back of the garden behind a big tree and I could see the children run around both sides of the house and the back several times trying to find me. And not able to! Eventually, they would walk and it became quite discouraging as they could not find me, though I could see them! We often treat God’s will as though He is playing “hide and seek,” with us. It seems cruel, disheartening. You want to know His will and He keeps hiding it and has you in the “MAZE Guidance” tour trying to figure it out, and in the end it becomes too hard, too difficult, and frustrating! And then someone comes forth and they have a “word from the LORD,” they know what you are supposed to do and usually based on what they “feel, think,” and they become prominent in the community because they can tell you what God wants for you…{though have you ever seen, they often have trouble knowing what HE wants for them… they are good at telling others His “will.”}
TWO TYPES OF “THE WILL OF GOD;”
A.- DECREED/ SOVEREIGN WILL;
“The Scripture refers to Two Types of God’s will. There is His Sovereign Will and His Will of Command. His SOVEREIGN WILL is what He has DECREED and Nothing or no one can alter it, For example,:” “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”-. Jesus had His preference, but we see His priority is HIS Father’s will and this will happen at The Cross. “Truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place.” – {Acts 4:27-28 }
” This Man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. “- {Acts 2:23}
So the “will of God” was that Jesus die. This was his plan, his decree. There was no changing it, and Jesus bowed and said, “Here’s my request, but you do what is best to do.” Acts 4:27-28}.That’s the Sovereign will of God. God’s Decreed will. His plan being done and no one or nothing able to thwart it! “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will” (Proverbs 21:1). ” The LORD Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen… For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”-{Isaiah 14:24,27} “…for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,” 11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.“-{Isaiah 46:9-11}. He is in absolute control!
B. – THE WILL OF COMMAND;
Then there is the “Will of Command,” which is what God commands us as revealed in His Word. We can obey or disobey it! For example, “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” -{1 John 2:17}. Some do His will, some don’t!
TWO TYPES OF – THE “WILL OF GOD” revealed in His Word. One we can call His Will Of Decree (or His Sovereign will) and the other we can call God’s will of command. His will of Decrees, what He determines to happen will come to pass! His will of command can either be obeyed or disobeyed.
It is this “Will Of Command” that we want to focus on and often think of when it comes to “the will of God,” for us.
So how can we know for certain what God’s will is for us?
The First thing to Realize is that God wants us to Know His Will!
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. “-{Deut 29:29}. THERE are secrets that Belong to God alone, things He has not revealed because they are not necessary for us to know. Some people try and spend their time and energy…figuring out the “secret things” of God as somehow it makes them more “spiritual,” but neglect what God wants them to know as this verse says, as revealed in His Word!
WE Go to where He reveals His Will to us- His Word!
We start at His Word. We see He desires for us to know His will. He is not playing “hide and seek,” with us. He has not placed us into a “Maze” and set us off to try and figure out His will by a set of pathways and one of them will end up with His REVEALED Will for us! But think how often we live like this. ‘Hide and seek guidance,” “Maze guidance” to try and figure out somehow “the will of God” for us!
So we begin with God Desires us to Know HIS REVEALED WILL. We thank Him we can know His Will because HE HAS REVEALED His Will in His Word!
Practically we can Know His will, by just chasing the terms “Will of God” or “God’s will” in the Scripture. Below are a few verses that reveal His will for us. note the phrases “will of God,” “God’s will.” AND WHEN YOU READ THESE PHRASES you can be assured this is GOD’S Will! How do you know? It says, “This is the will of God!”
Some verses to reveal the Will of God;
A. God wants you to KNOW His Will;
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”-{ Rom 12:2}. God wants us to have our mind renewed constantly so we can discern and see things, situations, life from His perspective and in doing so free up our thinking to be aligned with his. This is through His Word and enlightened by the Holy Spirit! As we give ourselves to Him and bask in his Word allowing it to change us we will more and more prove what is the good and acceptable, well pleasing will of God being lived out by us and through us.
B. God wants you to UNDERSTAND His Will;
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, ….”-{ Eph 5:15-20}
C. God wants you to BE DOMINATED by His Will;
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, “{ Col 1;9} The word, “filled,” means to be dominated, controlled. The word is used of the woman who broke the bottle of perfume in Jesus presence and the room was “filled,” with the aroma. The room was dominated with the scent! V 10-14 shows 4 participles of the worthy life living to please Him are manifested in…
- we bear fruit in every good work
- we grow in knowledge of God
- we are strengthened with all power by His glorious might so that we can have great endurance and patience
- we are joyfully thankful to the Father for qualifying us to share in the inheritance-
D. God wants you to DO His Will;
“…doing the will of God from your heart.“-{Ephesians 6:6}
So from the Scriptures we see God wants you to KNOW, UNDERSTAND, BE DOMINATED AND DO HIS WILL! Not conforming when we want people to think well of us or for show but it is a heart issue and we are to do His will from the heart!
Consider some Aspects of what HE Wants you to Know Regarding His Revealed Will In His Word;
1. – The WILL of God you be SAVED;
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ “-{Matt 7;21-23}
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”-{2 Peter 3:9}
“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”-{1 Timothy 2:3-5}
2. – The WILL of God you be SPIRIT CONTROLLED.
“…understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…”-{ Eph 5:15-20}. The contrast between being under the influence of alcohol versus the influence, control of the Holy Spirit, which is manifest in submission to the Spirit, Speech that is different, Song in the heart to the Lord, Saying Thanks continually, and it goes on to speak of Submission in relationships.
3. – The WILL of God to be SEXUALLY PURE;
” this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;”-{1 Thess 4:3-5}.”Sanctification” refers to been set a part, holy and in this case it is sexual purity and knowing how to control one’s own body. “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits a immorality are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.”-{1 Cor 6:18} Samson never tamed or mastered his lust and in the end it mastered him and led to destruction! David committed adultery and had the woman’s husband set up to be killed, but the root of the problem when he was confronted was “Why have you despised the Word of The Lord…” His root problem was to have a light attitude towards the Word of God and it goes on to say that He despised the LORD as he despised the Word of God! When we have a light attitude towards the Lord, His Word, it makes it easier for us to sin and justify ourselves in doing so. But regards would the LORD have me or you live sexually pure. the answer is clear as he says “THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD…that you abstain from sexual… not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles WHO DO NOT KNOW GOD!” It’s the will of God we don’t behave as the people “who do no t know God!”
Paul goes on to give his reasons why, “…Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”-{1 Cor 6:19-20}
Sexual Purity is the will of God and it Glorifies God!
4. – The WILL of God to be Saying THANKS Continually
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.“-{1 Thess 5:18}
5. – The WILL of God you SHARE and DO GOOD;
“For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.”-{1 Peter 2:15}
6. – The WILL of GOD Can at Times include SUFFERING
“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” -{1 Peter 4:19}
There is a suffering we can bring on ourselves for doing wrong, sinning but in this passage there is a “suffering according to God’s will.” And while encountering such suffering He tells us to commit, the word means “entrust” like depositing some valuables into the safe keeping of another or like a bank transaction. Be ready to suffer! Its something God may call you to. And don’t be surprised that is as a result of you doing right and good… It can happen in the home, ” A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” -{Matthew 10:36}. It can come in the form of persecution and name calling. ” Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”- {Matthew 5:16} Though the phrase”will of God” is not used in this verse it is implied,” Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”-{2 Timothy 3:12}. If we are following the LORD Jesus then there will be opposition…”These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. “-{John 16;33}. “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”-{1 Peter 3:17}
7. – The WILL of God you SUBMIT To Authority
“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”-{1 Peter 2:13-15}
For you as for all followers of the LORD Jesus, from His Word you can know…
The WILL of God – Saved
The WILL of God – Spirit Controlled
The WILL of God – Sexually Pure
The WILL of God – Saying Thanks
The WILL of God – Sharing By Doing Good
The WILL of God – Suffering
The WILL of God – Submitting to serve others
“Therefore I urge you, 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, SO THAT that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”-{Romans 12:1-2}
“For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”-{Mark 3:17}
“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” -{1 Peter 4:19}
“And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.“- {Rom 8:27}.