Sermon Series

• All sermons

Speaker: Rev. Shine Thomas
Posted on: 2010-10-10
Series: The Will of God

Introduction

Have you ever wondered for directions in your life as to which course to take? How to lead my life? Where to settle down in life? Should I do this or that? Well I also had times when I battled with all such questions. As life went by I understood the concept that God has a specific will for every day of my life.

This morning I am going to continue my series on ‘The will of God.’ Last Sunday we saw the 5-S principle to know the general will of God - Saved, Sanctified, Spirit Filled, Submissive, Serve, and Suffer.

This morning we are going to see how to know the specific will of God in our lives. We are also going to see how God reacts if we deviate from His will.

As much as God has a general will for us to know, to love, and to serve Him; God has a specific path for each and every one of us to take in our lives.

Psalm 139:16 All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Even before we were born the path of our lives were written in God’s book. The man who walks in the path of God is the one who walks in the specific will of God.

The Bible gives us many personalities who walked in God’s will. Apostle Paul is one such man who had a great success in the Kingdom of God. Let us look a bit into Paul’s life and see what exactly it is to be in the will of God.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.

This statement seems very positive, it looks as though Apostle Paul had a pretty successful life and everything was going well in his life.

2 Corinthians 11:23-27 I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

This statement seems a bit negative, isn’t it? It looks as though he suffered a lot in his life.

Now listen, in the midst of both suffering and joy Apostle Paul was found walking in the will of God. Today some of you maybe going through suffering, some may be going through a great time in your life. A successful man suffers in the will of God and becomes victorious again in the will of God. The key is to be in God’s will all the time.

Let us look at a specific instance in Paul’s life and see how God guided him specifically. Acts 16:6-10

Brief Background: Paul took "Three Missionary Journeys". This passage speaks of events happening during his Second Missionary Journey accompanied by Silas.

Acts 16:6-8 6Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

1. God closes some doors to lead us in his specific will.

If you see here God is literally closing doors and stopping their way, not once but twice. Apostle Paul would have thought, “Oh! Lord I am here to preach the gospel but why is that you are closing all doors?” You see God closed his door but God did not open a new door immediately. By now they have traveled 600 miles without any direction but only their ways are blocked by God.

Illustration: I finished a course called Tool & Die Making as a young man. This trade has a lot of openings in Singapore and Australia, and I had dreamt of settling in one of these countries. I was working in HMT Watch Factory, Bangalore and I attended and cleared an interview for a Singapore company. They asked me to quit my job, submit my passport, and be ready anytime to go to Singapore. I was overjoyed. I quit my job, said goodbye to all my friends and church and I am waiting for my visa and ticket. After waiting for almost 2 month they said they will not be able to take me to Singapore. I was broken. I questioned God and became very upset. All my dreams were shattered.

Have you ever had such experiences in life where great opportunities were turned down and you do not know why? Now I understand why, God closes doors to lead us in his specific will. Do not worry if your doors are closed, do not worry if people are blocking your path.

Romans 8:28 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.

2. God has a specific will for you even when you do not know where you are heading

Acts 16:9-10 9During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

In this particular context God’s specific will for Paul was for him and Silas to go to Macedonia and preach the gospel. God had a specific will for Paul which he was unaware until this time. God has a specific will for you regarding every aspect of your life. It may be hidden from you now but continue to trust him, God will reveal it to you.

3. God’s specific will is not always easily discerned.

Acts 16:6-9 6Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."

It is obvious that the will of God for Paul and Silas was to travel to Macedonia. However, God’s plan was not clear to them when they left their home in Antioch. There is no evidence that Paul & Silas had received a direction from God to depart on this Third Missionary Journey. Now, notice this with me: They have started the journey but they do not have any clear direction from the Lord. See what Paul and Silas did: With the lack of a "specific direction" from the Lord, they acted upon His "general direction". They general will of God was to preach and teach the gospel.

Let’s see the background:

Acts 15:35-41 35But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord. 36Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing." 37Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Here they do not have a direction from the Lord. With nothing much to do Paul felt like visiting the churches with Barnabas which is in line with the general call of God (to lead others to salvation, to equip, etc). The will of God was not clear to them. God’s will is not always very clear. The will of God is not a simple direction from point A to B. Therefore when we lack a clear direction from God continue to work on the general will of God. Continue to do what God gifted you to do. It is possible for a person to be in the divine will of God without even knowing it. Today maybe you are suffering in life; maybe you are pursuing something in life. You may not have clarity on your destination. You cannot see the end of the tunnel. Keep doing what you are good at doing with the fear of God, it will lead you and lead you to the specific will of God.

John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ in River Jordan. John saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Jesus. Jesus said about John the Baptist that among those born of women there has not risen any one greater than him. Some time later the same John was in the prison for preaching the gospel. In the prison, John the Baptist began to evaluate his life "Have I spent my life in vain?" "Is this Jesus, indeed the Messiah?" “Am I in the will of God?” We know Jesus was of course the Messiah and John at that point was in the perfect will of God even though he was not aware of it.

Coming back to Paul and Silas; "Did they begin their missionary journey by a specific mandate of God?" No. Were Paul and Silas in the specific will of God? Absolutely yes! They were in his perfect will! You see, with the absence of a specific direction from God, they operated on God’s General Will to preach and teach about God. They never sat in a corner waiting for God to speak to them. They never went after prophets to know God’s will at this juncture. Once you are in the general will of God, use your talents for God, God will slowly reveal to you the specifics of your life.

I have heard people telling me pastor I am waiting for God to speak to me. What are you doing now brother? Nothing pastor. Are you using your talents and gifts? No pastor. It is time we take initiatives.

Look at the example of Paul and Silas. It was God’s ultimate will that they go to Macedonia. But there were initiatives to be taken on the part of Paul. When they lacked a specific direction they operated on God’s general will. You see God who knows everything was faithful to stop them from taking any wrong path but the initiative was definitely on Paul’s side.

There are times when one hears clearly from the Lord. At such times there is no doubt regarding His Will. There are also those times we know that we must "wait upon the Lord" for guidance. When you wait for the Lord operate on his general will and use your gifts and talents, do not be stagnant, take initiative.

Illustration: Walking in the will of God is like a baby learning to walk. As a baby did we give up when we first tried to walk? No, our parents helped us to walk. We would fall, we would hurt ourselves but again our parents gave us a supporting hand every time we fell. It is the same with God; we have to take initiative like a baby to be in the general will of God and as we proceed, God will lead us into his specific will.

Truly speaking the key to be in God’s will is a heart which truly wants to be in God’s will. If pray to be in God’s will, we will truly be in His will. I have never seen someone who is genuinely desirous of being in God’s get too far away from it.

4. God makes allowances for our imperfections.

Some of you make have a question pastor what to do if I have wronged intentionally and now I repent of it? You may be asking me pastor I do not know if what I have done is right, I do not know if the path I have taken is the perfect will of God. It maybe with regard to your faith, marriage, ministry etc, you are feeling bad about it. You would have done something wrong and wondering if you really are in His will.

God tolerates certain things
Sometimes God tolerates certain things in our life. This is called as God’s grace. However one has to bear the consequences of intentionally going away from God.

It was not God’s plan to have kings for the Israelites, God was their king. Yet the Israelites asked for a king. God tolerated it, God allowed it. Through the line of one such King David was Jesus born. This shows God also worked through their desire of having a king which was not God’s plan. But they had to bear the consequences of their actions.

Some of you may be feeling bad about the wrongs you have already done. Maybe you are feeling guilty not knowing if you are truly in his will. Understand God is gracious and God tolerates certain things. Today, if you truly have a desire to walk in his ways, if you can truly repent God will still guide you into his specific will and use you.

Conclusion

A rocket that goes up into space has a guidance system. Even though the rocket is made perfect there are chances that on route the rocket can deviate from its path. The guidance system corrects the path of the rocket and leads it to its destination. Sometimes we may deviate from God’s plan but I thank God for his guidance in our life.

God has a will for every one sitting in this church this morning because he invested his life for you. God has a specific plan for your life. If you truly pray to be in his will he will reveal his will to you. Amen.