Sermon for Sunday February 4th, 2007

How to Know the Will of God by Greg Laurie

Romans 12:1-12:2

Does God still speak to man today? Is He interested in what happens to us as individuals?

Does He indeed have a master plan for our lives?

If so, how do I discover it?
How do I hear His voice?
How do I know the will of God?

We all need guidance in life concerning the great questions of life; Who should I marry?

Should I make a certain move?

How does God want me to Serve Him with my life? These are all important questions and the answer to the first question is YES!

God does indeed speak to us today.

We as Christians are not "victims of chance" hoping our "luck" will be good or not run out.

As God led men and women in Scripture, He wants to LEAD US.
I wish I could give you an easy "1-2-3" method I had learned on knowing the will of God in every situation.

But in my walk with Jesus Christ of some 36 years I have found that the will of God happened more as I took steps of faith trying the best of my ability to live by the principles of Scripture into practice.

There have been those times when He has clearly spoken to me in a rather tangible way but most of the time it has been a "journey of faith."

Scripture reminds us that "The just shall live BY FAITH.” I very rarely say “God told me to DO this or SAY that.”

Instead I read Scripture and pray for guidance and make decisions. That’s because God’s will is not an ITINERARY but an ATTITUDE.

Yet clearly God does indeed guide, He DOES SPEAK, and we will briefly examine some of these principles of guidance.

God does not play hide-and-seek.

He wants to lead you even more then you want to be led. God is more concerned about keeping us in His will than we are to be kept in it!

I have found that there are concrete, practical steps that I can take to cause God’s will to be more easily known to me.

God’s way becomes plain when we start WALKING IN IT.

Just as God said of Abraham, "Shall I HIDE from Abraham the thing I am about to do?”

He WANTS to reveal His purposes to us: For Abraham was called “friend of God” and we have that privilege too.

John 15:15 ”I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

Friends share Secrets with Friends. They Confide in them. “The Secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.”

Let’s now look at some steps we can take to "Prepare the ground" to Hear the Voice of God and Know His Will.

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

V.1” I beseech you THEREFORE. . . “
Whenever there is a “Therefore” find out what it’s there for!

Paul is saying," therefore” or “In light of what has been said in the previous 11 chapters of Romans.

The truth of Romans 12:1-2 is the sum of 11 chapters of teaching.

It is not an arbitrary thought pulled out of the air.
V.1 ”I beseech you THEREFORE: That though we are hopelessly condemned by our sin God in His mercy has forgiven, justified and adopted us.”

Not only that but there is no condemnation and under no circumstances will I ever be separated from the love of God.

"To whom much is given, much is required"

In light of all of this here is what you should do- V.1 “I beseech you to PRESENT YOURSELVES TO GOD . . .”

Dedication to God is the natural response of the Christian who realizes all that God has done for him.

The Psalmist demonstrated the proper response when he wrote, "What shall I give unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?"

It is not "What shall I give that I may OBTAIN those benefits," but rather "What shall I give because I have RECEIVED those benefits?"

So, here we find that duty follows doctrine; responsibility follows revelation and practice follows principle.

In other words what WE BELIEVE helps to determine how WE BEHAVE. It’s not enough for us to understand intellectually the great truths and doctrines that Paul has laid out for us here in Romans. We must translate our Learning into Living.

V.1 “I BESEECH you. . .”
Literally, ”I urge you, plead with you, even BEG YOU..”

This is not an order or a command but a PLEA from the heart of God!

Have you Done this?
Are you Doing This?

God is pleading with you to dedicate ourselves to Him.
One of the reasons we are not willing to give of our time, resources is because we have NOT YET PRESENTED OURSELVES TO GOD. Before we can give of our time, gifts and resources to the Lord we must first give OF OURSELVES.

All the rest will be the natural overflow.

The Churches of Macedonia were poor and experiencing great trials. Nevertheless they joyfully and generously gave to provide for the NEEDS of others, even beyond what they could afford.

2Cor.8:5 "This they did. . . first GIVING THEMSELVES to the Lord."

Their financial giving (which is always a test of true commitment) was strong. Scripture reminds us "where your treasure there will your heart be also.”

A person who is dedicated to God will evidence it in every area of his life including his finances.

If a person does not give in this area or in service it is a indication of a deeper problem: A lack of total dedication to God.

Though it is possible to give financially and not necessarily be dedicated to God it is not possible to be dedicated to God and not give financially.
The point is ALL GIVING in our life be it money, time or service to the Lord is the overflow of first GIVING OF OURSELVES to Him.

V.1 “PRESENT”
The verb "present" in this verse means "present once and for all". It commands a definite commitment of one’s life to the Lord, just as a BRIDE AND GROOM in their wedding ceremony commit themselves one to another.

It’s a once and for all commitment that effects the future.

Present bodies: [Entire being:] spirit, soul, body: your personality, talents, gifts, strengths, weaknesses.

The Message translation puts it this way “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”

This “living sacrifice” we are to offer to he Lord who died for us is the willingness to surrender to Him our hopes, plans and everything that is precious to us.”

(Abraham with Isaac) This is your reasonable Service. ”Logical service" Considering all God has given you, it’s only logical you offer your life back to Him for His glory.
It is exactly what we do when we PRESENT A GIFT to someone. It is not forced by compulsion. It is Voluntary.

It so much better to give a gift to someone out of desire than duty. (We have all done that, especially at Christmas)

I have never understood a person coming to a birthday party w/o at GIFT!

God desires the same. Don’t do Him in any favors.

The truth of the matter is you are only Availing to God that which is ALREADY His possession.

I Cor.6:20 "Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you? You are not your own, you’ve been bought with a price, therefore glorify God with your body."

That fact is God is asking nicely for something that really belongs to Him.

We will all YIELD OURSELVES to something or someone. It’s just a Question of WHO OR WHAT. Paul mentioned earlier in Romans (Rom 6:12-13), “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning.
Instead, Give yourselves Completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.”

So the Choice is up to you. You can yield to sin and pay the price and live a miserable life or you can yield to God the gifts, time and future He has graciously given you and live life to its fullest.

It’s the smart thing to do! It’s been said, "If you don’t surrender to Christ, you surrender to Chaos."

V.1 holy, acceptable to God.
God doesn’t want your leftovers, He wants your Best!

Commentator Roy Laurin wrote, "Let us then recognize this, the unspeakable opportunity which is ours. Let us make glad the heart of God and offer Him that which is without blemish and that which is well-pleasing. Let us not wait to give God our age but our youth, not our poverty but our wealth; not our sickness but our health; not our days but our years; not our blindness but our sight. And in doing this, we will find our way to unspeakably happiness"

Notice the order; living sacrifice first… THEN the will of God.
We tend to want to know His will 1st than we will decide if we want to give ourselves to it. Like someone saying, “Can you do me a favor,” we respond, “what’s that?”

That’s because we want to find out WHAT IT IS before we do it.

Loan them a buck? No problem.
Help them PAINT THEIR HOUSE? No WAY!
So God says “will you do my will?
We say “what’s that?”
But in essence God says, “Give me your life and I will show you my will”

It is when we learn this lesson we are ready for an exciting life of God continually unfolding his will for us!

V.1“Present your bodies a living sacrifice.” The language here is of an offering, something we DO WILLINGLY.

God wants our heart felt gift of our life, time, and resources, not out of duty but out of love! If you don’t want to do this you don’t have to.

On the other hand you miss out on all the benefits of complete surrender to Jesus Christ including His revealed will in your life, "The condition of a enlightened mind is a surrendered heart."

Condition #2 for knowing the will of God.
“How to know the Will of God”
#2 “Don’t be conformed to this world”
This world system is spiritually bankrupt and hostile to God. What is "THE WORLD” or “Age?” everything in this existing order of things outside the Kingdom of God. John tells us, "We know we are of God and the whole world order lies in the wicked one"

Galatians 1:4 "Our Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us out of this PRESENT EVIL AGE.”

One Greek scholar defined The WORLD or EVIL AGE it as, "That floating mass of opinions, thoughts, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, and aspirations at any time current in the world which constitute a most real and effective power, being the moral, or immoral atmosphere which at every moment of our lives we inhale, again inevitably to exhale."

Make no mistake about it: THIS WORLD (being Satan’s ally) is deadly and its pull is strong!

The three enemies every Christian faces are the world, the flesh and the Devil.

1John 2:15-17 “Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world. And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.”

“Don’t be conformed to this World”

The Greek verb "Conform" refers to the act of assuming an outward appearance that does not accurately reflect what IS WITHIN.

In other words Paul is saying "Don’t masquerade as if you belong to the world; that would be patterning yourself inconsistently with who you really are!"

(Like weekend Harley Riders who are really doctors, lawyers, etc)

They look hard core, but it’s really an illusion. Or as the Phillip’s "Don’t let the world squeeze you into it’s mold.”

The Greg Translation “Don’t be a ‘Wannabe!”

You are Child of God, don’t HIDE IT, be PROUD of it!

In this day where it is acceptable to openly mock and deride Christians, it is a real temptation to not STAND UP for what we believe.

2Tim. 2:12 “If we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown him, He will also disown us.” We as believers should "Not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ"

Mark 8:38 "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels."

Paul said “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ”

So much of this world’s thinking can cloud our reason as to the will of God.

For instance: If you are having problems in YOUR MARRIAGE or you See Someone you find more attractive you say "I’ll just get a divorce." And worse than that some will even say "The Lord led me. . . "

That is being “worldly” and not thinking Biblically.
V.2 “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. . . “

We must be transformed from this world’s warped and selfish way of thinking and be transformed or lit. "Transfigured."

Our minds will be transformed as we spend time in fellowship with God and His people. When we saturate our lives and thoughts with the Word of God, then (and only then) we will know God’s will for our lives.
Rejecting Conformity to this world system and its self-indulgent ways and instead being conformed into the image of Jesus will cause me to know His purpose for me!

Someone once asked a concert violinist in New York’s Carnegie hall how she became so skilled. She said that it was by "PLANNED NEGLECT” She planned to neglect everything that was not related to her goal.

V.2”The GOOD and acceptable and perfect will of God.

It is described as the "good will of God" First of all we need to realize God’s will for us IS GOOD!

Ps. 34:8 "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him."

Ps.84:11 “No GOOD THING will He withhold from those who walk uprightly”

Many of us have a warped concept of God as being some kind of “celestial party-pooper,” who is just waiting for you to surrender your will to His so He can make you miserable!

Nothing could be further from the Truth! This is illustrated by the Prodigal Son! (His Father wanted to “Throw a party!”) God’s will is not only good; it also IS PERFECT.

No plan of ours can improve on the plan of God we only see bits and pieces; He sees the whole.

I am an ARTIST. Sometimes I will be working on maybe a drawing, and a person will critique my work before it is completed.

In the same way, we will be breathing over God’s shoulder. God will essentially say “It’s not done yet, so will just WAIT until I’m done?” God is still completing the work He has begun in you. So don’t be Impatient.

Don’t feel it’s over with just because you are not where you want to be yet. We see only the beginning. God sees “the expected end” and it’s GOOD!

Eccl 3:11 “God has made everything Beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

Don’t’ be afraid to completely surrender to the will of God for your lives. Don’t be afraid to say "not my will but thine be done. . ." Never be afraid to commit an unknown future to a known God.

I may not know “What the future holds” but I know who “holds the future”

So, how does God Speak?
#1 First and foremost, He speaks through the WORD OF GOD.

"The Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

And needless to say, He will never lead us contrary to the written Word. It is our litmus test, our bedrock, our absolute. The Bible is the clear revelation that we measure all other so called “revelations” by.

It is the rock of stability that we measure our fickle human emotions by. The way we know something is true or right is by comparing it to what Scripture teaches.

Those in Berea "searched (scrutinized) the scriptures to see if these things were true."

Everything you need to know about God is found in the pages of Scripture:
2 Tim 3:16 “ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.”
So from this we know that God would never lead us contrary to what Scripture plainly teaches. This seems obvious (and it is) but it is amazing how many seem to miss this.

They are busy seeking some “mystical” word from God when He has already plainly spoken to them in the pages of Scripture. It would be like wanting to hear from someone desperately that you deeply loved. Then one day you looked in your mailbox and found a letter from them (or an Email from them on your Computer). Instead of opening it you simply continued to whine about how this person never communicates with you.

Open the letter!

In the same way we must open the book! Jesus said, “Behold, I have come; In the volume of the book it is written of Me; to do Your will, O God.” (Heb 10:7)

This does not mean you hold your Bible up to the wind, “speak to me, ’O God!” We need to read the Bible in context, getting the “whole counsel of God.” For there is always the danger of misinterpreting the Word or taking it out of its proper context.

This is what the Devil did with Jesus during the temptation in the wilderness." Luke 4:9 –11 ”The devil led Him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: ’He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’"

The Devil left out something.

He is quoting from Psalm 91:11-12 ”For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

Jesus brought it back into context saying “It is written, ‘You shall not tempt. . .’”

Remember this. Scripture will never, ever contradict itself. That means that if you find some text and build an entire case on it yet it doesn’t coincide with the rest of Scripture it is wrong.

#2 God speaks to us through CIRCUMSTANCES.
Where we ask God to "Confirm His word" to us. GIDEON did this. God had told Him that He was to lead the people into battle. Gideon asked the Lord to CONFIRM IT. Gideon said, "Lord, if you have told me to do this I am putting a fleece on the ground in the morning. If there is dew on the fleece but the ground is dry I will then know this was you speaking to me.”

It happened just as he asked.
Then Gideon reversed it asking that it be dry on the ground but Wet on the fleece.

This is not the best way to determine God’s will but it does make a point. If the Lord is in it He WILL CONFIRM IT.

Jonah was certainly spoken to by God through THE WHALE!

Paul was stopped by shipwreck and sickness As a part of this God speaks to us THROUGH PEOPLE.

[There are] Countless stories in the Bible of speaking to people through people.

#3 Lastly there is that work in YOUR HEART.

It may be a "spiritual stirring.” You sense something is happening. Most importantly you will have the PEACE OF GOD.

Col. 3:15 "Let the Peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

Or literally, "Let the peace of God as AN UMPIRE settle with all finality all matters that arise in your hearts."

I might add there is also the issue of GOD’S TIMING. Moses for instance had the right idea, his TIMING WAS A BIT OFF!
Again, Solomon told us, “He makes all things beautiful in HIS TIME.”

If the request is wrong, God says, "No."
If the timing is wrong, God says, "Slow."
If you are wrong, God says, "Grow."

But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, "Go!"