God’s Plan
God wants to reveal His plan even more than we want to know it
Verses:
- 1 Thes 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Thes 4:3-7 For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality […] For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness. Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
- 1 Peter 3:17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if God wills it, than for doing evil.
Known
- Explicitly said in the Old Testament that God will bring about his devine plan according to his will: instructions and the Messiah
- 1 Thes calls us to be holy even if it comes at the cost us everything
Unknown
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God’s sovereign plan and future for you
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Knowing this means knowing that you’re walking in step with God’s plan for you
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The #1 way to learn more about God’s unkown will - his plan for you - is to focus on adhering to his known will; sepcifical the moral instructions and obedeince
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Without first being obedient in the things God has already called us to, gaining clarity on the “gray areas” is nearly impossible
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Rom 12:2
Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God - what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.
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Living a life apart from the world’s way lends to further clarity in how God wants you to live
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Chosing not to is like being sent to the store by a parent or loved one with a list. The list should take about an hour to get but you’re gone for two hours so they call you just to find out that you’d gotten 3 of the 10 items on the list and that you were just wandering around wondering if they wanted this or that, though you have clear list in front of you
Important
What are some areas where you know God’s will and choose not to follow it? How do you think this might cloud your judgement in areas where you seek clarity from God?
Some of the biggies to tell if you’re in God’s will:
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Are you saved?
- 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because He does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance
- God doesn’t want to lose anyone. He wants all to be inside of His will
- Part of God’s will is simply that He know you and you know Him
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Are you lazy?
- Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
- God calls us to do everything unto him. If you live a life marked by laziness or taking advantage of those around you, consider this something you should work on in order to better know God and, therefore, better know His will for your life
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Romantic life
- You should no be marry someone that is not a Christian (2 Cor 6:14) Do not become partners with those who do not believe, for what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
- Sexual purity (anything layed out in Lev 18): 1 Thes 4:3-4
For this is God’s will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality. That each of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor
- Sex outside of marriage - if you can’t keep known God’s will while not married, how do you expect clarity in his unknown will together
- Homosexuality
- Beastiality
- Incest
- Sex with your wife while menstruating
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Involved in a local church
- Heb 13:17 Obey (remember) your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.
- Heb 10:24-25 And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to Love and good works not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near
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Sharing the gospel
- 2 Tim 4:5 You, however, be self-controlled in all things, endure hardship, do an evangelist’s work, fulfill your ministry
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Give forgiveness to others and seek forgiveness from others
Important
How do we discern God’s will?
GPS, God’s Positioning System:
- G - Go to God’s word (Prov 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight.
- Don’t trust your heart or mind, trust God
- Proverbs 28:26 The one who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but the one who walks in wisdom will escape
- Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Go to God’s word in all things. Maybe forgo a pay increase so you can say with your family (1 Tim 5:8). Or maybe you leave a relationship because they are not helping you fan the flame of God’s gifts (2 Tim 1:6)
- P - Pray
- James 1:5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.
- S - Seek wise counsel
- Proverbs 15:22 Plans fail when there is no counsel, but with abundant advisers they are established
Four Questions to ask
- Does this build my faith? I Corinthians 10:23 “Everything is lawful,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is lawful,” but not everything builds others up
- Does this hurt my witness? 1 Cor 8:13, 1 Cor 10:24
- For this reason, if food causes my brother or sister to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause one of them to sin
- Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person
- Does this prevent me from sharing my faith? 1 Cor 10:33 Just as I also try to please everyone in all things. I do not seek my own benefit, but the benefit of many, so that they may be saved.
- What most honors God? 1 Cor 10:31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God
Conclusion
God’s will isn’t exactly a point in time and space that if you miss it it’s gone forever. It’s like when you miss a turn on your GPS and it reroutes you. The aim is to land in the right section of the football stadium, not find your perfect seat. You could spend your whole life wondering if you have the right seat or not but you’re in the completely wrong section. Focus on getting the section right and the seat will often work itself out in the unknown parts of God’s will