Understanding God's Will, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. I like the Bible, so to speak, turn the will of God, that you 70 times from Genesis to Revelation. Joseph 7020 of the times Jesus is speaking about the will, normally with the idea that is not my Paul speaks of the will of God. 29 Peter speaks of it. Seven. John speaks of it four times in the entire Old Testament is only two references in the whole test joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is again he shows us how God's word meets our work is this is the will of God is a topic every single believer references, but it's also a topic that believers understand the least.

It's become one of the most widely used religious class chaise and you probably even said on multiple occasions yourself. It's all part of God's will. He said sadly everyday Christians reference the will of God in ways that are incorrect, hurtful, and entirely un-biblical. Many of us seek personal wealth and justify extraordinary selfish decisions as part of our belief that it's God's will that make us rich. Many of us who are sick and poor believe our poverty, and affliction is God's will, we nonchalantly attach God's will to every major change in our lives that needs any justification the will of God is often trivialized reduced on and applied to silly subject matter such as if a particular political candidate wins. It's God's will. If it's a Christian quarterback who wins the Super Bowl, then that must be God's will. The will of God is overuse misapplied in regular use to over spiritualize many of the simple matters of life. The will of God is also used to rationalize why tragic events of occurred, our response to disease human suffering massive loss of life is usually company with the justification that it's all part of God's will. Why do we do this we do this because we actually don't know what the will of God is when people don't know what the will of God is or what it means. The easiest thing to do is just to clear everything to be God's will.

We see this in various ways and phrases may be you view some of them yourselves if it's God's will, then it will happen nothing you can do can ever stop God's will. I guess it wasn't God's will. Everything happens for a reason God always prevails God's will will always prevail is impossible to be outside of God's will, and if it's God's will. You can't do anything to mess it up. And if it's God's will would always succeed.

Other statements that he read or sometimes true half the time. Not really. And a lot of them has no truth in it whatsoever. See Farah setting the will of God is a mystery just a mystery to us. We don't understand the at all that most people that they had me involved in our lives want to know what the will of God is, and it's almost always something like this is the will of God that I take that job is a will of God to remove that city is a God's will that I marry this person and we find ourselves.

That is going on.

Sort of befuddled with this whole idea of God's will. In fact, I believe that Christians use this whole statement of God's will to try to compensate for the choices and the decisions that they make every day in life, you might not realize this but probably do we make more decisions. As people now than any group of people that have ever lived in our country. Columbia researcher Sheena Iyengar. She said that she found that the average American makes about 70 decisions every day for the average that would be a 25,550 decisions every year and if you live to be 70 that be 1,788,550 decisions we make in our lifetime. Albert Camus, the French existentialist said life is the sum of all of our choices so if you put these hundred and 1,788,500 choices together. You know, I joined up with you.

That's what happens in our lives.

Princeton philosopher Walter Kaufmann says that Americans suffer from this side of phobia we fear making decisions and the creates anxiety. That's one of the reasons he says in his article that Americans want to see psychics they want psychics to help them make decisions. Americans go and see people to read tea leaves, Americans love us other horoscope and astrology, all designed to help us figure out to make decisions for Christians. It's a little bit different, but it's especially difficult because Christians have decided that what I want to do to make decisions as I want to try to hit the target. The exact target of God's will.

That's what I wanted to know if it's God's will and I want to hit that target.

So it sort of works like this the premises for each and every one of our decision.

God has a single perfect will. Every decision we make. The purpose then becomes discover God's individual will and then make the decisions in accordance with what is individual will is the process is utilizing inner impressions or outward signs that the Holy Spirit must be using to communicate God's perfect will you in the moment and the proof is in Mrs. I hear this often is inner peace that will be the proof now. I for a lot of us, and we don't have inner peace, and we still struggle because were not sure what God's perfect will.

Ways but that idea of inner peace is not so reliable. I've actually known as someone who was married and Christian and Deb had a girlfriend, and it was God's will because a total piece of total piece with this see that is a very difficult thing to ascribe to God's will. So I like the Bible to so to speak for itself. Here, if you look at the term the will of God.

It's it you 70 times in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

It shows up 70×20 of the times Jesus is speaking about the will of God. Normally, with the idea that he succumbed not to do my will but the will of him who sent me. Paul speaks of the will of God. 29 times.

Peter speaks of it seven times. John speaks of it four times and in the entire Old Testament. There's only two references to the will of God in the whole Testament so I want to look at what the Bible says about the will of God, and serve to help us think our way through this. As you know, last week I started a series put on your thinking cap and we dealt with the unfathomable God, and we find out that God is unfathomable. He tells us he doesn't think like us, he doesn't act like us the way he thinks and acts is infinitely higher than the way we think and act and so when we ask God when we go through difficult circumstances. Tell me the why, what are you doing where are you God doesn't answer you never answered Job, he would not answer why that was not an answer.

Job, God, God basically says look, but I want you to do when you're no circumstances this trust me and that was the whole message of the book of Joe so this week were going to do with the will of God and the first place. I want to look is Ephesians chapter 5 Ephesians chapter 5 in verse 15 through verse 17 of want to tell you. First of all why it's important you know God's will. If you don't know God's will.

The Bible says your full so it's a pretty important thing to try to understand what is the will of God. And so in Ephesians 5. Paul writing this epistle to the church of Ephesus. In verse 15. He starts out and he says therefore be careful how you walk walk is a metaphor for live anytime you see about your walk especially the New Testament is talking about. Be careful how you live. He said you going to have a choice here.

He said not as unwise men but wise men, he said, look, if you're going to live you should live under the idea following wisdom rather than not following wisdom and being unwise. Then he says in verse 16. Make the most of your time. That's X on the Rosso is the word and it means redeem your time, not just make the most of it.

Redeem your time in a sense of being wise, but then he says this he said make the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. So there's a choice you can either understand what the will. The Lord is, or even before it. I'm afraid when it comes to something like the will of God and off a lot of Christians are very very foolish in how we understand the will of God and what we see it to be tongue with me now to just a few pages to your right to Colossians chapter 1 Colossians 1 and verse nine. Again, the apostle Paul missed time. He says sort of the same thing but in a different way.

Paul says, for this reason also since the day we heard of it. We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask Paul is telling the church at Colossae there something I pray for you every day every day and praying for this for you.

He said I don't cease to pray for you and to ask what that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding why would pray you would know what the will of God is, what would the result of that be verse 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

So you have a better life.

That party said is what I want to tell you because what you're going to find is the will of God is all about your relationship with God. That's always what the will of God is talking about and we have a tendency to talk about in very different terms and one more passage and that's Romans chapter 12 Romans 12 in verses one and two. Now Romans 12 as I've told you in the past is the application of section of the book from here to the end of the book in the first eight chapters, the apostle Paul tells you everything God is done for you and what the grace of God is he tells you how the spirit of God works in your life. He tells you how you should relate now to sin after believer that in 910 11 it's a parenthetical section about the nation Israel.

But now in 12 verse one he picks it back up to the main idea and the first eight chapters he tells you what God is done for you. That's the grace of God. Now he wants you to say we know what you need to do what you need to do for yourself, and here's what he says. 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.

In light of everything that God is done for me.

My first response to God is this you have my life I do anything anywhere at any cost for you. I'll make myself a living sacrifice you'd I'll give my life to you because you gave your life for me that's the first thing he says. Then notice what he says next in that second verse. Do not be conformed to this world. In other words, you can't keep me in the person you've always been. That's not what being born-again is a Christian are being indwelt by the Spirit of God means for some of us it's sad but that's the way we end up acting we don't change.

I think were just happy we have fire insurance and were going to go to heaven when we die and I'll be fine, but I'm not changing anything he says don't be conformed to this world but be transformed. Metamorphosis is the word it just like I'm just like Caterpillar becomes a butterfly same work metamorphosis, he said, but be transformed how by the renewing of your mind I'm good have to think different examiner have to think think different. The old Bill had his own way of looking at the world.

I got that from my friends.

I got that from culture. I got that my parents, but now I'm in have to renew my mind because I have to hear what God says so I have to renew my mind. What is the truth of the word of God. What does God say may have to start thinking differently now notice whenever that happens, he said, so that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good and acceptable and perfect. He said that's what the wind up happening so each time here that the word of God is the will of God is used. It's all designed to how you and I live.

This is the will of God for us.

It's called is more will do.

How do we live, how should we do this. This is clearly declared as the will of God. Now the question is but doesn't God have a bigger will yes he has a declarative will or decreed of will.

This is a big time will in other words, the Abraham a covenant God made an unconditional covenant with Abraham okay is that God's decreed will yes so I'm gonna bless you, and it's no conditions on it can last forever.

I'm going to do this.

She God makes statements just like that he does us over and over again and what you going to see is this way that this decreed of will is always present.

You heard me say this in the past many times and the worst thing that can happen to you. Can Avenue why God's decreed will see God told me once in born-again and his family will never leave you nor forsake me. God told me on a map of my body are present with the Lord God told to God told me this is God's decreed will.

He said it. Nothing can change that. Using nothing's going to change at all out.

Another thing I've said in the past is that the you and I are futures are very very bright, vector perfect you. So how do you know that and I say I read the end of the book we went.

That's what it says that's God's decreed will you see every knee will bow, every tongue confess it will go to a place with no more sorrow no more tears. How do I know God's agreed well. He will that you see. But the idea of this decreed of. Well, it has a certain parameter and then our individual wills also have their own responsibility. I want to illustrate this by you going to the book of acts chapter 2 with me. The book of acts chapter 2 and verse 22. Acts 222 this is Peter speaking right in the birth of the church, but he blends these two together perfectly. What's what he says men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know okay the start about Jesus and how great Jesus was when he was on earth. Then he says this man. No watch delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, so according to this verse. Why was Jesus turned over delivered over to be crucified. Why God decreed. You see, I say often when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Mary had a Little Lamb. In other words, he was only born to die and he did. You see, that's what John the Baptist said, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world how is going to go to the cross you see is that part of God's decreed will yes that was it right from the beginning on the system. He said that's my decreed will but watch. He then says the predetermined plan and form foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put them to death who killed Jesus godless men evil men to be in her own will decide to kill him. Yes, but notice is a decreed of will and there's an individual will hear is on verse 24 and suspect God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death since it was impossible for him to be held in its power the death and burial and resurrection of Christ is our hope, because Christ was raised to a newness of life. So can you and I be raised to the newness of life.

All our hope is on this. It all works out in the very very were away, but I wanted to see how this works and works in such an easy way there things of God decrees, but doesn't mean want you and I are less responsible when we often do when we talk about the will of God is terrible, horrible things happen and then we say that God did that God now if you read in the book of James. James says that God says I cannot even tempt someone to sin.

Now I'm not can I not sin, but I can even tempt someone to sin. That's not God Jesse enemy, Satan, and the temptations like he did with Christ in Matthew four there's there's temptation. It comes but that's not from God. You see, and we end up getting kinda mixed up in this small child is accosted and kidnapped and then murdered and left in a ditch somewhere in music.that was God did that at the will of God can do that God sovereign over that now talk about somebody next week. But God didn't do that. See evil did that man did that sin did that God does not usurp you see he does not usurp our will. So secondly, God has a permissive will, under his decreed of will. He also has a permissive will, so Memphis wagon illustrates like this is it God's will for you not to sin or how many you think God wants you to sin, all constantly. It's God's will write how many times he told us don't do that okay so it's God's will that we don't sin do you wait a minute, is God's will. You can stop God's will see how this works.

He has a permissive will, he allows that now he sovereign over and will talk like that again next time. But the idea behind it is that's the way this works me illustrate. Go with me to second Peter chapter 3, second Peter chapter 3 of the first seven verses is Peter is doing with trying to encourage believers and he says look, I know you guys are getting mocked and reason are getting mocked as the early church just like the church today leaves the Lord's coming back. They believe the Lord's coming back and I believe that's part of God's decreed will Lord's coming back, but the people in which they were witnessing lap Adam and mocked him, they said of the Lord's coming back. Where is he said he's coming back when I was to him by the way of sending and have the day you could ever friend to tell you the same thing you say's coming back. He hasn't been back for a long time. While this verse will help you notice what he says in verse eight he said do not this one fact escape your notice. Beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day.

Okay, so how long is the Lord waited so far two days, two days somebody such a hurry. He sees the Lord is eternal.

We should not 2000 years is not back yet not two days the Lord then he says this. The Lord is not slow about his promise, he's not slow to fulfill his decreed of will is not slow about. He said, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you wisely patient with men next verse, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come. The rising waiting. He wants mankind from the same path you broke your heart.

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