Peter continued our "Godly Living Unwrapped" series, looking at God's Will.
Peter's slides for this preach can be viewed here (in PDF format).
The big questions of life
What is God's will for your life?
What does he want me to do?
Should I stay or should I go?
Who should I marry?
Do I really have to continue doing this job?
God, what do you want me to do?
Romans 12:2
How do I know what that is?
Google searches
Tests
Key is that it's conditional.
Change the way you think.
How is it God's will that..... I'm in pain, that I'm poor, that I am so lonely, that my loved one is dead.....
Well it's not.
These things happen as a result of the fall.
God grieves over the effect of the fall on us.
He grieves over our pain
He grieves over our sin.
It's not how he made the garden of Eden to be, or how heaven will be.
But we look at life through a prism of what is happening to us and those around us, and then describe what God is like as a result of that, rather than starting with truth and reinterpreting the world.
Hence we need to renew our minds….
Jeremiah 29:11
So how do we get to know those plans I hear you ask.
Paul in acts, god says go there, do this.
So why not us the same?
Acts of the Apostles 23:10-13
Would it have been easier if he had obeyed God and gone straight to Rome?
The onward journey involved shipwrecks and trials.
If we wonder why life is hard, it may also involve decisions we made that were not what God would have chosen for us? They may have been before we knew Jesus even.
Why are we asking the question?
Are we dissatisfied?
Are we restless?
Is God stirring us to do something different?
Who is waiting for God to answer a prayer or desire?
Good news…..
Psalm 37:4
Key is - delight!
When we become more like God, then we will know his will
like a child knows what their mother/father will say.
But perhaps also God will give us patience with unrealised desires.
Think differently.
So is this the right question?
Hebrews 3:7-8
Are we listening for his voice?
Is there stuff that's getting in the way of hearing his voice?
Sin.
Distractions
Just not making time to listen.
Do we actually stop and listen?
Do we stop, and then talk incessantly at God, and wonder why He's not saying anything?
Isaiah 30:21
So do I need to try harder?
No. We don’t need to make ourselves new, we simply need to believe what He says about us.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Romans 8:38-39
But coming to God is not like consulting a fortune teller.
If I knew the next step I'd be planning for it, and my eye would be off what God's plan for my life is now. And that means I'd be missing out.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Questions
What is God's will for your life? What is He speaking to you about?
What are you waiting for Him to speak about?
What are you struggling with at present with regards to where life is going?