HOW TO KNOW GOD'S WILL - PART 2

How to Know God’s Will

Everybody naturally wants to live well, but what does that look like? And how do we get there? If we choose “Door #1,” how do we know “Door #2” wouldn’t have been the better choice?

Life is full of choices. Without knowing the future, it is often difficult to know what the best decision is. What if we make a mistake?

God wants us to live well. Thankfully, He knows the future. He knows the best way for us to experience abundant life in Christ – and He wants us to know it too!

God doesn’t hide His will or make it difficult to find. It is readily available to those who want to know and follow Him.

The best life to live is the one lived according to God’s plan for us, but how do we know what that plan is? What if I have the best intentions but still miss the mark on following God’s plan for me? Thankfully, God does not leave us alone to try and figure out how to live life. Nor does He simply leave it in our hands to hope we get it right in finding His specific plan for us. We can know God’s will, and as we seek to follow Him, He graciously provides avenues for us to know and follow His will.

Seeking God. Spiritual transformation occurs as we get to know God more deeply and experience His work more fully. Central to that is the ability to discern what He desires to do in us and through us. As we seek Him, He gives us the guidance we need to live in conformity to His will.

This is the second and final part of this 6-lesson series! 

So, START READING THE 2ND HALF OF THE SERIES...

WEEK 4: GOD’S WILL and THE CHURCH

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES: 1 Corinthians 2:6-8; 9-11; 12-16

INTRODUCTION

I once spoke with a Christian businessman whose job ended dismally. After only working a few months he resigned in frustration. Exasperated, he complained, “I prayed and asked God to show me if I should take that job, but I never heard anything. So, I took it.”

I asked, “What did your wife think about you taking that job?”

“She was against it from the beginning,” he said.

“Did you have friends praying with you about this decision?” I asked.

“I had some friends from church pray with me about it. Several of them raised concerns, but none of them had led a company that size. My teenage son said he hoped I didn’t take that job. But he’s a teenager. What does he know about corporate business?”

“So,” I said, “you asked God to guide you and then you ignored everything He said through the believers He placed around you!”

One of the great gifts God has given us is His church. God uses our fellow believers to help us grow in Christ—and to know His will.

MAIN POINT: God often reveals His plans for us through His church.

READ 1 Corinthians 12:1-3

1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

One of the primary ways God speaks is through people. We can be so set on what we want, or be so confused by our circumstances that we don’t recognize God’s guidance. In those cases, He may use someone else to help us see His will.

This is not to say that just anybody else can speak for God. Just because someone says, “I know what God wants you to do,” doesn’t mean that person really knows. An acknowledgment of the lordship of Christ must be present—both in the person’s words and life. Even then, we want to see that his or her words line up with other ways God is speaking to us, especially through His Word.

The Corinthian Christians to whom Paul was writing used to worship idols. Even though these idols were mute, they led the people astray. How could speechless idols mislead people? Because people fashion idols to satisfy their own desires. When your god can’t talk, you tend to hear exactly what you want!

In contrast, the Holy Spirit is a real person who actively guides people. He doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear, but He always tells us what we need to hear. If we tune in our spiritual senses, we can receive His unerring, loving guidance.

The Holy Spirit’s first role is to convince us that Jesus is Lord and Savior. We will never come to that belief apart from the Spirit’s work. Conversely, anyone who is led by the Spirit cannot blaspheme or reject Christ. Once the Holy Spirit enters a person’s life, there is no evidence in Scripture that you can make Him leave! We can grieve Him with our sin (Eph. 4:30) and we can stifle His work (1 Thess. 5:19), but He is here to stay! Therefore, when a person professes to be a Christian but then later renounces Christ, it is evidence that he never truly had the Spirit residing within him in the first place.

God speaks—He speaks through His Word, He speaks to our hearts by His Holy Spirit, and He speaks to us through those who acknowledge and live out the truth that “Jesus is Lord” (v. 3).

READ 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

God has an infinite capacity to relate to people. Each individual’s walk with God is unique. Yet it is the same Holy Spirit who works in every person’s life. The Spirit doesn’t change, yet He fashions relationships with individuals that suit their personality and particular assignments. In the Old Testament, the Spirit came upon people to equip them for a divine assignment. The Holy Spirit equipped Samson with great strength to achieve victory against the Philistines. The Spirit equipped David to lead as a king. The Spirit equipped prophets to prophesy. Because people had different assignments, God prepared them uniquely.

In the New Testament, God placed His people in the church. Today, that universal church is seen in countless local churches all across the globe. Each local church is a part of the body of Christ with individual members, and each member has an assignment. The various parts of our own bodies are quite distinct, but they depend on and support each other. In the body of Christ, the Holy Spirit equips each of us for the part we play in His body. The gifts are not for our own individual use; they are for the building up of the body.

 

When God wants to reveal His will to you, He may use other parts of the body to alert you to what He wants to do. The other believer is different from you, but the Holy Spirit in you is the same Holy Spirit in him or her.

The same Holy Spirit who indwells you inhabits other believers. Never underestimate what the Holy Spirit can communicate to you through someone else! Learn to hone your spiritual senses so you can detect when the Spirit is offering you guidance through a fellow believer.

The Holy Spirit will never tell you something through another Christian that contradicts what the Spirit is personally telling you or communicating through His Word. Many a young lady has faced the confusing dilemma in which a young suitor claimed God wanted the two of them to marry, even though the Holy Spirit had never informed the woman herself!

The Holy Spirit might confirm what a believer is telling you, and He might alert you to be cautious about what someone is saying. Pray for discernment and learn to heed the promptings of the Spirit.

READ 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

When you become a Christian, you do not merely receive a spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit; you receive the Spirit Himself. The Spirit can express Himself any way He chooses, yet He typically works by equipping you for the assignment God has granted you.

The Holy Spirit equips me and He equips you, yet the way He equips us can be incredibly different. We need the diversity of the gifts, because it is through that diversity—each one of us carrying out our unique ministry and service—that the body grows and Christ is glorified.

Paul proceeded to list some spiritual gifts, but this is not an exhaustive list. Over the years, people have attempted to group the gifts in various ways, but perhaps the simplest way is to put them in four broad categories:1

• Gifts that support. Gifts such as helping and managing guide the work of the church and help get it done (1 Cor. 12:28).
• Gifts that share. Gifts such as showing mercy and hospitality are tangible ways of communicating God’s love to others (Rom. 12:8; 1 Pet. 4:9).
• Gifts that speak. Gifts such as teaching and prophecy ground the church in God’s Word (Rom. 12:8).
• Gifts that supplement. Gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, and faith support the other gifts.

The wonderful thing about the list of gifts is their variety. And as God gives individuals more than one gift, the combination and use of those gifts together adds more ways we can serve Christ and His church.

How we choose to categorize the gifts is not important. Paul never categorized the gifts, nor did he create one exhaustive list of all the spiritual gifts. Paul focused on the purpose of the gifts:

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7).

My wife Lisa and I are polar opposites on every personality test we have ever taken. I am a “thinker” and she is a “feeler.” As a result, we approach life entirely differently, yet we’ve learned that, by working together, we are able to do far more good for others than if we worked alone. So, it is with the church.

 

LIVE IT OUT

Are you spiritually attentive to hearing God’s voice as others speak? Consider the following applications.

• Reflect. Take time to think about what God may have been saying to you recently though other people. Thank God for the believers He has placed around you to walk alongside you.
• Pray. Keep a prayer list of other people’s needs and decisions. Pray regularly and specifically that they would see what God desires and obediently follow God’s plan.
• Serve. Use the gift(s) God has given you to serve His body. You don’t have to know what your gift is in order to serve; give your time and experience to an area where your heart is drawn and your gift will manifest itself.

One of the most profound ways God speaks to His people is through other believers. Don’t be like the Christian business man who ignored God speaking through others. Instead, stay alert to all the ways God is guiding you—including through His people.

WEEK 5: GOD’S WILL and MY CIRCUMSTANCES

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES: 1 Corinthians 2:6-8; 9-11; 12-16

INTRODUCTION

When I was a college student, I took time one day to read Isaiah 53. I was inspired by Christ’s willingness to be a suffering servant. In response, I prayed, “Lord, if there is a task no one else is willing to take, You can give it to me.”

As I surrendered my life to God’s service, the phone rang. I thought, I hope that’s not for me! I was having such a special time with God, I didn’t want it to end! Sure enough, it was for me. It was someone in our college group with significant social issues. He was lonely and would call single adults in our church every evening.

“Tell him I can’t come to the phone” I told my roommate. Then I resumed my prayer: “God, if You have any difficult task that others are unwilling to undertake, You can give it to me!”

It was two weeks later before I realized God had answered my prayer even before I had said “Amen!” I just hadn’t made the connection. Circumstances are not always just circumstances! We must learn to see God at work.

MAIN POINT: God works on your behalf—even in seemingly 

random circumstances.

READ Romans 8:26-27

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Life routinely presents us with confusing circumstances.

• The doctor finds something unusual during routine lab work.
• We are offered a promotion, but it requires more travel.
• We are asked to serve as a leader in our church, but our schedule is already too full.
• We obey what we sense God wants us to do, but we are beset with criticism and opposition.

We can feel overwhelmed by our circumstances because we don’t know how things will turn out in the future. If we knew how the future would unfold, we could make decisions with confidence. But because we don’t know, we must live by faith, trusting in the one Person who does know the future and who loves us with an infinite love.

The Lord once convicted me about my prayer life. Daily I would pray for my family, friends, and church. For example, I would pray for my three children and ask God to do what I thought was best for them. One day I read Ephesians 3:20a: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” It dawned on me that what I was asking for my family might be far beneath what God wanted to do for them.

I resolved that I did not want to pray my best thinking for my family; I wanted to pray God’s best. There is a world of difference between these two! But the only way I could pray God’s best for my family and for others was if I knew what God’s best was. And for that I would have to learn what was on God’s heart and mind.

But what do we do if we don’t know what God wants? In this passage, the apostle Paul explained, “we do not know what we ought to pray for,” but the Holy Spirit does. We are not alone! When we pray and seek God, His Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. We have no one better to pray with us than the One who perfectly knows the mind and will of God!

The Holy Spirit knows the heart and mind of God. He understands how God intends to work in our lives. He knows how God will even use our circumstances for our good and God’s glory. The Holy Spirit is never caught by surprise or bewildered by our circumstances like we often are. He will guide us as we pray for God’s will.

READ Romans 8:28-30

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Christians often become confused by life’s circumstances. This occurs because we expect the wrong things from life and from God. If we assume that God’s goal is to make us happy, we will be confused when we encounter unpleasant experiences. If we assume God wants us to be prosperous and healthy, we will be bewildered when we lose our job or contract a disease. However, if we understand God’s priorities for our life, then His actions will make perfect sense to us.

Paul did not say all circumstances are good. He declared that God works all circumstances together so that good results from them. When you love God and are walking in step with Him, He can bring good out of every circumstance in your life.

But what is the “good” that God produces? It’s seen in the next verse: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” The greatest good God can do for you is to make you like Jesus.

• You might lose your job and yet learn to pray like Jesus as a result.
• You might suffer the pain of a prodigal child, yet as a result, develop such a love for parents of prodigals that you launch a ministry to them in your church.
• You might contract an illness that restricts your activity, yet it makes you more humble and patient as a result.

Your outward circumstances might appear to be worse, but your character grows in Christlikeness. One way your circumstances are tied to God’s will is for you to be more like Christ—and He will use your circumstances to make you more like Him.

Of course, this does not mean that you shouldn’t pray for God to resolve those circumstances. Pray for a new job. Pray for healing. But as you pray, let God use those circumstances to make you act and think more like Christ.

Difficult circumstances may catch us by surprise, but they never find God unprepared. God can take the most horrendous situation and bring good out of it. The key is always to make us more like Christ. The reality is we tend to grow more when the road is hard than when it is easy. So, we ought not be surprised when God makes use of those hard roads in our lives!

READ Romans 8:31-32

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

One of the most sublime thoughts in the English language is this: God is for us! That one truth will take us an eternity to meditate on! That should encourage us and give us boldness as we face life’s challenges.

I once met a lovely Christian couple who spent years in a loveless marriage. They tried to make it work, but they finally lost all hope, divorced, and went their separate ways. They even found different churches to attend.

One fall, both of their churches launched an Experiencing God class, and the couple registered to take it in their respective churches. Soon after the classes began, both the husband and wife felt terribly convicted by how selfish and unloving they had been in the marriage. They both learned that God had been prepared to walk with them through the difficulties of their marriage but they had never invited Him to do so. They arranged to meet for lunch and apologized to the other. They eventually remarried—only this time they were determined to let Christ have the central role in their relationship. Now that they understood Christ was for them, they knew nothing could tear them asunder. When I met them, they had been remarried for four years and they were clearly the most joyful-looking couple in the entire auditorium!

The pages of Scripture overflow with the truth that God loves us. Yet when we face difficult circumstances, we often act as if God does not care about us. The apostle Paul declared that God had demonstrated once and for all at the cross that there was nothing He would not do for us so we could walk with Him and experience abundant life. When humanity was hopelessly enslaved to sin, God did not spare His own Son, but freely gave Him so we might have life.

When it comes to the role our circumstances play in God’s will, everything God does in our lives is driven by His love. So when God allows difficult circumstances in our lives, we must view them through the lens of Calvary where God gave His precious Son for us.

LIVE IT OUT

God works in your life—even through those seemingly random moments and circumstances. How will you live out that truth this week? Choose one of the following applications.

• Thank. If you’re going through a difficult situation, thank God for walking with you. Thank Him for His unfailing love. Ask God to show you what He wants to do in your life through these circumstances.
• Review. Make a list of key events or moments in your life. Review the circumstances that led to those events and see how God was at work. Consider how God used those moments to bring you closer to Him.
• Share. Open up with your group about a situation in your life that is confusing. Ask for feedback on how God might be using that circumstance to accomplish His purposes.

Remember, circumstances are not always just circumstances! We must learn to see God at work in our lives even when things don’t seem to be going right.

WEEK 6: GOD’S WILL and THE GLORY OF GOD

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES: John 11:1-4; 38-43; 44-45

INTRODUCTION

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so when it comes to art, our opinions can be quite diverse as to what makes good art. Some works of art can leave many of us scratching our heads. What was the artist thinking? Others can look at that same piece of art and think it’s brilliant.

Some art is almost universally recognized as great art: for example, Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper or Michelangelo’s David. When people observe these works in person, they do not marvel at the quality of the canvas or the wonderful piece of marble. They marvel at the person who created it. A phenomenal work of art leads us to glory in its creator.

We are God’s creation, and we were created for His glory. Unfortunately, we don’t reflect God’s glory as we should. In our sinful state, we too often seek our own glory. But if we want to bring glory to our Creator, where do we begin? When we live as He created us to live—when we follow His plan for our lives—our lives bring glory to God. And we experience our greatest joy.

MAIN POINT: We bring glory to God when we obey His will.

READ John 11:1-4

1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

When Jesus received word that His friend Lazarus was ill, one might assume Jesus would have hurried to Bethany to heal him. Instead, Jesus waited two days before starting His journey. It may well be that Lazarus died shortly after the messenger was dispatched. It took one day for the messenger to make the journey to Jesus, and then Jesus waited two days before making the one-day journey to Bethlehem. When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days. 

Jesus noted the significance of Lazarus’ sickness was not that he would die, but that his suffering would glorify God. Jesus recognized that the key issue was not Lazarus’s death, but God’s glory. Our lives, as well as our deaths, ought to bring glory to God. 

Mary and Martha knew Jesus loved Lazarus. They believed Jesus could heal him. But now they would learn something greater about Jesus. Not only could He heal the sick, but He could raise the dead! Jesus would take His friends to an even deeper place in their walk with Him. The sisters were looking for healing, but Jesus focused on glory. 

When we face a difficult situation or a health concern, our greatest worry is usually not tied to God’s glory. We want immediate comfort and relief; we want the difficulty to go away now. That’s what Mary and Martha wanted. When Jesus finally arrived, Martha said, “Lord . . . if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21).  

Mary and Martha probably assumed they knew what was best in their situation, and we do that too. We tend to think that if God loves us, He will make us comfortable. But we will have an eternity in heaven to be comfortable! For the moment we are facing a challenge, though we can certainly trust that God will be at work.

God might not work on our timetable, but He does work—and He will work in a way that brings Him glory.

READ John 11:38-43

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

Mary and Martha likely wondered why God had placed them in their current situation. Jesus’ actions must have bewildered them. They knew Jesus loved them but they could not understand why a loving God would allow a loyal follower to suffer and die. Lazarus was Jesus’ good friend, yet he had apparently contracted a sudden illness and died abruptly. It made no sense to them.

The Jewish people had a belief that a deceased person’s soul lingered near the corpse for three days. On the fourth day the soul finally departed. Therefore, mourners retained a slight hope for recovery until the fourth day, when all hope was lost. Lazarus had been dead four days when Jesus arrived, and his situation was deemed impossible.

When it comes to timing, God is never in a hurry; we are—and no situation is impossible with Him! Upon Jesus’ arrival, He commanded the stone to be removed from the entrance to the tomb. His request seemed impractical. Martha, ever the pragmatist, reminded Jesus of the unpleasant odors that would assault them. But Jesus challenged her that in order to see the glory of God, she had to believe.

Could it be that we do not see God’s glory more often because we fail to believe? When we do things the way we always have, we rarely experience anything new. Martha already knew Jesus could heal sick people. What she was about to learn was Jesus could also raise dead people. Jesus was asking Martha to go against her instincts and tradition and trust God for something that appeared impossible. By trusting Him when all seemed impossible, she would see the glory of God.

Jesus uttered a prayer; His petition was confident and thankful. Jesus knew His Father always heard Him when He prayed. Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”

Why did Jesus shout? Did raising His voice grant Jesus’ command more power? No. It may have been because Jesus wanted everyone within hearing distance to witness the incredible miracle. Jesus was not praying timidly. He was boldly putting His work on display for everyone to witness.

Think for a moment about the needs in your life: perhaps you’re dealing with a broken relationship, a wayward child, or a financial need. Look at the problems in our nation today: crime, violence, loss, drug addiction, broken homes, and pornography. The remedy for these problems may seem as daunting as raising a dead man, but nothing is beyond God’s ability to heal and remedy. Jesus’ conversation with Martha reminds us to trust Him and we will see the glory of God at work.

READ John 11:44-45

44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

Surely Mary, Martha, and Lazarus had eagerly told their neighbors about Jesus. Some may have believed while others remained skeptical. Then Lazarus died. People may have wondered how the great Healer could allow one of His best friends to die prematurely. People may have speculated how things might have been different had the famous miracle worker come earlier. 

Jesus had finally arrived, but many of Mary and Martha’s friends and mourners shared the view that Jesus was too late to do any good. When Jesus insisted that the stone be rolled away from Lazarus’s tomb, a crowd was already present and they likely expressed either curiosity or confused anticipation. Moments later, Jesus’ commanding voice rang out, “Lazarus, come out!” (v. 43). This was the greatest miracle these townspeople had ever seen, and it came on the heels of Mary and Martha’s greatest suffering. 

It may be that the greatest glory Martha and Martha ever brought to their beloved Lord was when they trusted Him in the midst of their greatest pain. Sometimes it is the same for us. We can bring great honor to Christ as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. If we assume that our purpose in life is to be happy and healthy, then our difficult circumstances will confuse us when they inevitably come. But if we desire above all else to glorify our Savior, then we will seize every opportunity to glorify Christ. 

Mary and Martha certainly glorified God for this miracle of receiving Lazarus back from the dead, but it didn’t stop there. Others saw and believed. Christ was exalted as the Messiah. Instead of letting our problems define us, when we let God work through them for His glory, others notice. When we live our lives according to God’s will, we honor Him. We draw people to Christ, which brings Him even greater honor. 

LIVE IT OUT

How will you deliberately live your life so it brings maximum glory to God? Choose one of the following applications.

• Trust. Make an intentional effort to trust God to work in the middle of whatever difficulty you are facing. Pray for His will to be done and for His glory to be seen.
•  Adjust. Think about an area of your life in which you have not been obedient and, consequently, not honored God as you should. Confess that and ask God to show you the adjustments you need to make so you can glorify Him in that area.
• Encourage. Walk alongside someone who is going through a difficulty. Be the presence of Christ to that person. Encourage him or her to see where God is at work, to trust Him, and to let His honor shine through.

God reveals His glory in many ways all around us, not least of which is through the lives of Christ-followers. To an even greater extent than works of art display their creator’s glory, we are God’s masterpieces. Let’s spend more time drawing people’s attention to our wonderful Creator!

Hope to see everyone this Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan

Teacher's Notes:

HOW TO KNOW GOD’S WILL

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 7:21

First of all, our greatest obstacle to knowing God’s Will is Our Will. God will reveal what we need to know as we surrender to Him. At its most basic, the will of God is for us to repent of our sin and trust in Christ. We must seek to align our will with God’s Will.

Secondly, God gives us knowledge of His Will through the Bible and God’s Word can be fully trusted to reveal His Will. Obedience to God’s Word leads us to right living. God gives us direction through His Word.

In the third lesson we read that on our own, we can’t understand God’s wisdom or comprehend His Will. We need help and God provides that help through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reveals the mind of God and we must depend on the Holy Spirit in order to distinguish God’s Will from our human thinking. The Holy Spirit will guide us in knowing God’s Will.

WEEK 4: GOD’S WILL and THE CHURCH Who is the Church? 

When you give your life to Jesus Christ, you become a part of His church. He is the head, and we are His body. While each of us has a direct connection and relationship to God, He uses His church to help us grow in that relationship. Other believers teach, encourage, and minister to us. It should come as no surprise, then, that God uses other believers to help us know and follow His will.

INTRODUCTION: I once spoke with a Christian businessman whose job ended dismally. After only working a few months he resigned in frustration. Exasperated, he complained, “I prayed and asked God to show me if I should take that job, but I never heard anything. So, I took it.”

I asked, “What did your wife think about you taking that job?” “She was against it from the beginning,” he said.

“Did you have friends praying with you about this decision?” I asked. 

“I had some friends from church pray with me about it. Several of them raised concerns, but none of them had led a company that size. My teenage son said he hoped I didn’t take that job. But he’s a teenager. What does he know about corporate business?”

“So,” I said, “you asked God to guide you and then you ignored everything He said through the believers He placed around you!”

One of the primary ways God speaks and tells us His will, is through people. So many times, we miss this or don’t recognize that God is speaking to us because we are either so set on what we want, or we are just to confused by our circumstances. But it’s in those circumstances that God may use someone else to help us see His will.

When has God spoken to you through another believer?

READ 1 Corinthians 12:1-3

1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

I. The Holy Spirit works and speaks through those who acknowledge the lordship of Christ.

• This is not to say that just anybody else can speak for God. Just because someone says, “I know what God wants you to do,” doesn’t mean that person really knows. An acknowledgment of the lordship of Christ must be present—both in the person’s words and life. Even then, we want to see that his or her words line up with other ways God is speaking to us, especially through His Word.

How could a person be led astray by a mute idol?

• Because people fashion idols to satisfy their own desires. When your god can’t talk, you tend to hear exactly what you want!
• In contrast, the Holy Spirit is a real person who actively guides people. He doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear, but He always tells us what we need to hear. If we tune in our spiritual senses, we can receive His unerring, loving guidance.
• God speaks—He speaks through His Word, He speaks to our hearts by His Holy Spirit, and He speaks to us through other believers - those who acknowledge and live out the truth that “Jesus is Lord” (v. 3).

READ 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 

II. The same God works through each of us in the church.

What is Paul’s point here? And what does this have to do with knowing God’s will?

• Each individual’s walk with God is unique. Yet it is the same Holy Spirit who works in every person’s life. The Spirit doesn’t change, yet He fashions relationships with individuals that suit their personality and particular assignments.
• When God wants to reveal His will to you, He may use other parts of the body to alert you to what He wants to do. The other believer is different from you, but the Holy Spirit in you is the same Holy Spirit in him or her. The same Holy Spirit who indwells you inhabits other believers. Never underestimate what the Holy Spirit can communicate to you through someone else!

Here is another OT example of God speaking His will through another believer:

2 Chronicles 20:12-17

12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord. 14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. 15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

One of the most profound ways God speaks to His people is through other believers.

MAIN POINT: God often reveals His plans for us through His church.

WEEK 5: GOD’S WILL and MY CIRCUMSTANCES

We’ve all had those “random” encounters that we look back on and realize how life-changing they were. Were we just “in the right place at the right time,” or was it God’s way of leading us to follow His plan? In his Letter to the Romans, Paul provides insight into how we are to view our circumstances in light of knowing and following God’s will.

READ Romans 8:26-27

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

I. Whatever our circumstances, the Holy Spirit intercedes and helps us pray as we seek His will.

• We can feel so overwhelmed by our circumstances because we don’t know how things will turn out in the future.
• What’s that saying, “I don’t know what the future holds but I know Who holds the future.” We must live by faith, trusting in the one Person who does know the future and who loves us with an infinite love.
• The Holy Spirit helps us during times of weakness.

But what do we do if we don’t know what God wants?

• In this passage, Paul says, “we do not know what we ought to pray for,” but the Holy Spirit does. We are not alone! When we pray and seek God, His Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. We have no one better to pray with us than the One who perfectly knows the mind and will of God!
• The Holy Spirit knows the heart and mind of God. He understands how God intends to work in our lives. He knows how God will even use our circumstances for our good and God’s glory. He will guide us as we pray for God’s will.

  

READ Romans 8:28-30

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

II. God will use our circumstances to accomplish His will and make us more like Christ.

Christians often become confused by life’s circumstances. This occurs because we expect the wrong things from life and from God.

• If we assume that God’s goal is to make us happy, we will be confused when we encounter unpleasant experiences.
• If we assume God wants us to be prosperous and healthy, we will be bewildered when we lose our job or come down with a grave illness.

However, if we understand God’s priorities for our life, then His actions will make perfect sense to us.

Paul did not say all circumstances are good. He declared that God works all circumstances together so that good results from them.

So, what is the “good” that God produces?

It’s seen in the next verse: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” The greatest good God can do for you is to make you like Jesus.

• You might lose your job and yet learn to pray like Jesus as a result.
• You might suffer the pain of a prodigal child, yet as a result, develop such a love for parents of prodigals that you launch a ministry to them in your church.
• You might contract an illness that restricts your activity, yet it makes you humble and patient as a result.

Your outward circumstances might appear to be worse, but your character grows in Christlikeness. One way your circumstances are tied to God’s will is for you to be more like Christ—and He will use your circumstances to make you more like Him.

What are some lasting truths from Romans 8:29-30?

• Believers can live in confidence that God is always working for their good, even in difficult circumstances.

READ Romans 8:31-32

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

III. We can trust God to work for our benefit.

One of the most sublime thoughts in the English language is this: God is for us! That one truth will take us an eternity to meditate on! That should encourage us and give us boldness as we face life’s challenges. The pages of Scripture overflow with the truth that God loves us.

Remember, circumstances are not always just circumstances! We must learn to see God at work in our lives even when things don’t seem to be going right.

MAIN POINT: God works on your behalf—even in seemingly random circumstances.

His will is that we become more like Christ.

WEEK 6: GOD’S WILL and THE GLORY OF GOD

John 11:1-4,38-45

Different world religions offer wrong perceptions of how God works in the world. Some see His acts as capricious and seemingly done on a whim. Others view God as distant and uncaring. But the Bible reveals the true nature of God: the all-powerful God who acts in holiness and love on a personal level. Jesus also showed us at the death of Lazarus that God always works for His glory.

 

READ John 11:1-4

1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

I. God might not work on our timetable, but He does work for His glory.

• When we face a difficult situation or a health concern, our greatest worry is usually not tied to God’s glory. We want immediate comfort and relief; we want the difficulty to go away now. That’s what Mary and Martha wanted. When Jesus finally arrived, Martha said, “Lord . . . if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21).
• Mary and Martha probably assumed they knew what was best in their situation, and we do that too. We tend to think that if God loves us, He will make us comfortable. But we will have an eternity in heaven to be comfortable! For the moment we are facing a challenge, though we can certainly trust that God will be at work.

  

READ John 11:38-43

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

II. To see God’s glory, we must obey Him, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense.

• Mary and Martha likely wondered why God had placed them in their current situation. Jesus’ actions must have bewildered them. They knew Jesus loved them but they could not understand why a loving God would allow a loyal follower to suffer and die. Lazarus was Jesus’ good friend, yet he had apparently contracted a sudden illness and died abruptly. It made no sense to them.
• Think for a moment about the needs in your life: perhaps you’re dealing with a broken relationship, a wayward child, or a financial need. Look at the problems in our nation today: crime, violence, loss, drug addiction, broken homes, and pornography. The remedy for these problems may seem as daunting as raising a dead man, but nothing is beyond God’s ability to heal and remedy. Jesus’ conversation with Martha reminds us to trust Him and we will see the glory of God at work.

What are some lasting truths from John 11:38-43?

• The Lord identifies with us when we hurt and shares our grief.
• The Lord is grieved by the unbelief of those who reject Him.
• We confirm our belief in Jesus by obeying His word.
• Obeying the Lord will allow us to behold His glory.
• The Lord Jesus desires that all people believe in Him as the One sent by God.

READ John 11:44-45

44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

III. When God demonstrates His glory, people are drawn to Christ—which further glorifies God.

• This was the greatest miracle these townspeople had ever seen, and it came on the heels of Mary and Martha’s greatest suffering.
• When we live our lives according to God’s will, we honor Him. We draw people to Christ, which brings Him even greater honor.
• As powerful as we think death to be, Jesus is even more powerful
• Jesus calls us to come to Him and be set free from that which binds us.
• We worship Jesus and praise Him not just for what He does but for who He is.

 Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. Even as we attempt to explain His delay in responding to the information that Lazarus was quite ill, the fact remains that Jesus was willing to return to Judea at great personal risk. He was willing to lay down His life for His friend, which in itself is a foretelling of what Jesus would soon do. He would lay down His life so that all who believe in Him as Son of God, Savior, and Lord could be saved. A few days after raising Lazarus, Jesus prayed in anticipation of His own death what some call His “High Priestly Prayer.” “Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee…. I have glorified thee on earth: I have finished the work which thou hast given me to do” (John 17:1,4). Jesus had lived to glorify the Father, so in His death He desired the same. He obeyed the Father in life and death. In all Jesus did we see the glory of God manifested (John 1:14). “Now in the raising of Lazarus, we will have the most spectacular manifestation of this glory. God is the one who brings life to the dead out of his love for those in such need. This is the heart of the Gospel. God’s glory is thus seen in this victory over death.”

MAIN POINT: We bring glory to God when we obey His will.