#QTNA How Can I Know the Will of God for My Life

Ps 143:8-10

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust;

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You.

9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; in You I take shelter.  

10 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God;

Your Spirit is good.  Lead me in the land of uprightness.

Notice 3 things in David’s prayer:  To know (8), to do (10)

And to not get off track because of the work of the enemy (9)

Jeremiah – Jer 1:4-5

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Jeremiah is one of the very few individuals who received a clear, direct word at the beginning of his ministry, clarifying God’s will, plan and purpose for his life. 

We think that we would walk in God’s Will if He just gave us a clear, direct word

Even with clarity, Jeremiah still had reservations, insecurities & excuses

In Truth…

We, too, would be full of reservations, resistance, excuses and insecurities 

How many times has the Spirit of God nudged us to do small things and we resisted?  Until we learn to respond to the small directives…

Why do you think you would respond to a direct word telling the full weight of His will?

Abraham – Gen 12:1.  The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.”

Most of us come to know God’s Will like Abraham – through “progressive revelation”

God only told him to ‘follow’ 

Abraham didn’t have clarity on where he was going

2^nd, Abraham did not begin to receive clarity on God’s will for his life until he was mature 

His understanding of God’s Will was through activity

Most of us won’t move until God tells us exactly where we are going

Gideon – Judg 6:11-16

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."

13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

14 The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"

15 "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

16 The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."

Gideon was living in disappointment and bitterness,

not even seeking to know God’s will,

Circumstances thrust Gideon into doing the will of God. 

‘Life’ had caused Gideon to disconnect from the purposes of God,

So God used ‘life’ to compel him into purpose.

David – 1 Sam 17:34-37

David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."

No one close to David recognized his destiny – he was completely overlooked

David, the shepherd, was left in the field to attend the sheep

His assignment of shepherding was actually key to David moving into God’s will

Shepherding introduced him to, & prepared him for God’s will

To lead God’s people – called “sheep” throughout the whole of scripture 

How did David come to the place of shepherding?

Sometimes we will discover God’s will simply by being obedient to authorities, i.e., parents, pastors, bosses, coaches, mentors, etc.

Notice something about these next 4 people:

Discover who God made you and how God made you

Instead of looking up, look inward to know His Will

• What can I do?
• What’s easy for me to retain & explain?
• Where do I feel “inspired” or “passionate” in my doing?
• Where are my circles of appreciation?

Moses – Ex 2:11-12

One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

Moses was raised as an Egyptian prince,

But he had a passion inside of him for his Hebrew brothers

His passion was unguided

So it lead to him committing murder & having to run for his life

God tempered his passion over a 40 year period

Then returned him to fulfill his passion of delivering the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery

Some of us need to look inward instead of upward

Identify your passion – what excites you, angers you, moves you, keeps you up at night

Bezalel – Ex 31:1-5

Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts —  4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.

His talents, gifts and creativity revealed God’s will for his life. 

Too often we think that God’s will only be fulfilled in ‘church work,’ or ‘spiritual work’

It was in going to work that Bezaleel was doing God’s will. 

God filled him with the spirit to perform his ‘secular’ job at a the highest level

“God’s Will was in his skill.”

Joseph – Joseph was a dreamer, which gave him a preview of “what could be”

His dreams revealed his DNA

Peter – God used Peter’s personality to fulfill His will 

Paul gives us the key to the Process

Rom 12:2.  Be not 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.

Prove:  Try, prove, to recognize as genuine after examination

The key to “proving” His will is to be in motion 

Acts 16:6-10

Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding (proving) that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Knowing God’s Will is a process:

• Direct Word
• Activity – Progressive Revelation
• Circumstances
• Connecting to your Skill, Gifts, Creativity
• Fulfilling Your Assignments
• Passion
• Following Your Dreams
• Personality

 Identify yourself – which process do you connect with

Then begin to Prove His Will