Sunday May 16, 1993

	Psalm 32:8  
	KJV - I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. 
	NIV - I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go: I will counsel you and watch over you.

	For the past several months in our youth meetings, we have been considering the matter of God's will. It is a matter that is of great concern to these young people, some of whom are going on to college and it should be of tremendous importance to each and every one of us as we walk daily on this earth. We have been seeking after the Lord to make known in our lives what it is that He would have and to make us willing to accept and to find joy in His will. As an outline for our discussion in seeking after Him, we have been delving into scriptures with the assistance of a Bible Study supplement put out by Scripture Press, called Youth Illustrated. It has helped to highlight many of the verse dealing with the will of God and to keep our focus on His Word in all our considerations.
	Many times, the things which we tend to approach as the simple, elementary truths of God and the very basic elements of Christianity, need to be enlarged by the Holy Spirit to encompass our entire beings. Such is the case with the Will of God. When we consider the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ lived His entire life doing only that which pleased the Father, we have our witness as to the truth of how we are to live unto God. By the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in complete accordance with the Word of God, we are called to be the servants of the Most High God desiring His will for our lives.
	The words of this truth may be easy for us to pronounce and to agree to in the ideal, and the reality of this truth is the very course of our lives. We can easily say that we want God's will in our lives, but then we tend to quickly qualify it with the addition "if I knew what it was" or, "as long as it does not interfere with my plans for the future." What we need to realize is that there is no other course that a child of God should desire in his or her life. We have accepted Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior and have committed ourselves unto the glorification of our God on this earth. This fact holds true because of the very nature of what the will of God was, is and always will be!
	Over the course of the next weeks, Lord willing, let us together seek after a deeper knowledge of the working of God's Will in us as the members of His church. May this not be an abstract study into the doctrinal aspects of an ideal, but rather a very practical searching after God for what His desire is to bring forth in us as His church, as His Body, as His people, called unto Himself in the love of Christ. 	As a starting point in our discussion, we need to consider what the Will of God is and what it isn't. In talking with both the young and the more mature Christians, it becomes evident that there is a lack of understanding of what God desires to be known as His will. Some people say that they are searching for the will of God as if it is something that has been lost and must now be found. His will was never lost! Rather, we who were separated from God by our sinful natures were the lost ones. When we accepted Christ, we were found once more unto God and fully receivers of all that He desires in our lives. Being in Christ means that the will of God is fully operational in our lives and operating to the desire of God as He directs and leads through the Holy Spirit in complete accordance with His Word. He desires that we seek to do His will, and that we ask for His will to be accomplished in our lives, so He is not willing that it be hidden away, unable to be understood. 
	This is one aspect which clearly needs to be realized in our lives. God desires that we know His will, and He has made every stipulation so that we are enabled to know it. He gave His Son, to bring spiritual life that, as He is accepted in the heart of believers, spiritual reality could be seen and enjoyed in His fullness. He sent the Holy Spirit, by whom the Will of God livingly indwells our beings, to guide us into all truth. He gave us His very Word, in the life of Christ, through the scripture which serves to reveal Christ and Christ in greater depth and vitality through the working of the Holy Spirit. It is His promise to us, who are in Christ, that He will reveal, day by day, and moment by moment what is the best that He has lavished upon us.
	There are several other ideas that Christians espouse about the will of God which need to be set aside. Sometimes, it is a benefit to approach a subject of this importance from a vantage point of what it is not. Even in preparation, I had to take some of my concepts and allow the Lord to set them aside in order to open my eyes as to what God has truly set before us. I will honestly state, that there were several of these misconceptions that I have saddled on the will of God, and am heartened to know that they are not a part of God's plan and purpose in me or in any of us in this room. Please keep this in mind as we continue our considerations of this vital matter. If, at any point, we touch upon something that causes a questioning in our hearts, take it to the Lord in the openness that He can make known what is right and what is not right concerning His will. We may describe some of the feelings of those in this room, mine included, but don't get hurt or angry over it. Rather, take it to the Lord and allow Him to work in each of us to His Glory in all of us.
	Initially, the will of God is NOT to be seen as a mystical experience. His will is not revealed as we settle into a some state of relaxation, with our eyes closed, letting our feelings flow freely and expecting Him to reveal Himself in those feelings. Neither is it based on the instinctive aspects of feelings alone. Too often, we have a tendency to make decisions and judgments based simply on the emotional feelings that are part of our natural make-up. We do things because we feel like it, and then label it with the falsehood that God lead us to do it. How often have we had to issue new statements of what God wants from our lives as our feelings and moods shift, like the sands of the desert?
	God is constant and unchangeable. His will for our lives, as well, is constant and unchangeable. Our emotions and feelings need  to be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit, rather than being given control over us. The world operates on the principle of feelings. We, however, operate in the principle of Christ and our minds need to be brought into conformity with this reality, not given reign to dictate our belief of God's will for us. Rom. 12:2, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
	Also, in Rom. 8:5-8, For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 
	Feelings alone, apart from the scripture and the Holy Spirit, are unreliable, faltering, inconsistent, and untenable in terms of being a guide for our actions and our understanding of the will of God. They are simply the manifestations of the limited urges and desires of the flesh and are less than the best that God has provided for our lives. His provision of Christ far supersedes the emotional upheaval that a reliance on emotional experience produces.
	The second misconception held by some Christians is that the Will of God is a long-term programmed life. They feel that God has laid out a very specific and orderly plan of behavior for their lives and any misstep will mean that they can never experience the full joy of knowing "God's perfect will". They labor under the idea that God will, at some point, give them a plan that shows His directions for the next 5, 10, 15 or more years of their lives. 
	The truth, however, is that God's plan for us is from eternity unto eternity. It has been fully revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, and can only be lived as we depend upon Him, day by day. We cannot plan the future on earth. Only God knows what that holds for us. We cannot follow a long-term directive to be at a place that God would have for us in the next years, next months, even next days. We can only walk, each moment, as we are directed by Him and permit Him to guide our steps. Our reliance needs to be on Him, and not on some plan for the future. Again, refer to our passage this evening: I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. And then, in Psalms 34:8, O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. Our trust must be in Him, and not is some programmed life that we try to envision. Allow Him the freedom to guide and to lead each and every step of our lives, and then we will experience the will of God in all His blessing.
	A third area of misunderstanding which is widespread is that in some way, God's will is an impersonal edict handed down by a ruler who cares little about the personal lives of His subjects. These self-deluded Christians feel that to follow the will of God will mean only misery and hardship, poverty and pain. It is something they dread, because they see no enjoyment in it because they feel that it always seems to contradict the things that they want to do. It is something that needs to be done, but not with joy, kind of like needing to go to the dentist. Necessary, but painful.
	The greatest difficulty with this misconception rests in the fact that these Christians have a false concept of who God is. They see Him as a great overseer, watching from heaven, just waiting for us to make a mistake so that He can zap us with a lightening bolt, and that He doesn't care who He zaps as long as everyone follows His edict. The Big Policeman in the sky, as He has erroneously been called. This is a lie that has been propagated by our self-life which is at enmity with God. Because self-doesn't get its pitiful way, it tells us that God is an ogre who will punish us if we don't do exactly what He says we should do. 
	What is necessary for us to realize is that God is our loving Heavenly Father who cares to the utmost for each and every one of us. He is so much concerned for us on an intimate basis that He has given His only begotten Son to bring us individually and corporately into a personal relationship with Himself. Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? and in James 1:17+18 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of His own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures. 
	This is not the picture of a God who is wanting to punish those who are out of line with His edicts. This is the true picture of our loving God who desires only the best for His creation. And keep in mind the fact that we are His creation. He is the omnipotent God who formed us out of His desire for fellowship with Himself. His eternal purpose in the creation was to make a people with whom He would share Himself, the essence and being of love. We have been created to that purpose, that God could lavish Himself upon us, and that is what He has done through the giving of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior. There is nothing more personal and glorious that we could experience than the fulfilled will of God living in us. 
	The fourth aspect of delusion about the Will of God is that it is subject to some kind of magic formula that will make it work in our lives. It has been packaged and sold as things like "10 Easy Steps to Find God's Will for Your Life", kind of like those magazine diet programs. These people look at the Will of God in terms of the correct words spoken at the correct time that will produce the desired effects to make the Will of God operational in their lives. It is put together like a recipe with the end product being that which the Lord would have for their lives. Rather than a relationship, God's will becomes a thing to be memorized and used whenever the need arises. 
	God's will is a living relationship in our hearts, not a step-by-step program. He desires us to know and to love Him as He knows and loves each and every one of us. He guides us in personal ways that are perfect for each one of our lives. What is effective in one life, by the working of the Holy Spirit may not be what another individual would need in order to know and to love God. He wants us to spend time in His presence, seeking to know Him, delighting in His presence and learning from Him about His perspective, His priorities, and His desires for us. This does not take place as we practice a step-by-step formula, it takes place as we allow ourselves to be encompassed in the living relationship of being one in Christ. Psalms 37:4-7 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday, rest in the Lord, and wait for him:... 
	Our lives are to be filled with the Lord, focussed on Him, rejoicing in Him, trusting in Him. As in any lasting relationship, that takes time. There are no formulas or programs or any such nonsense that can effectively serve to establish this wonderful relationship of knowing our God. There is only our Lord in Whom we find rest and guidance and teaching and love. It is as this daily, moment by moment trust in Him develops, that the will of God is fulfilled in our lives. Try to fit God into the confines of a program and we lose the joy of the intimacy of God. Yes, the laws of God's creation will always be operative, such as what you sow you reap, but the joy of knowing God will be lost, and with that loss goes the blessing of knowing God's eternal joy in our lives.
	The last misconception that we will deal with this evening is the idea that the knowledge of the Will of God comes only after intense and extreme struggles on our part. These Christians labor under the idea that to really know God's will requires the utmost sacrifices on our part. It is seen as a reward for diligent efforts to walk the path of righteousness on our own, with but the occasional assistance of God as we are overwhelmed with the sin that besets us. These are Christians who are never sure of their walk, always doubting the steps that they are taking, worrying about whether the decisions made were the correct ones, and never being able to enjoy their salvation due to the needless worries about their daily activities. They seem to believe that the more intensely they express their own fear of failure, the quicker God will relieve them of their uncertainty, and let them know what their next step should be. 
	The simple fact is that we do not have to struggle to know the will of God nor be fearful that we will miss it in some manner, if we truly desire to know it. God wants us to know His will more intensely than we could ever struggle to know it. He has made every provision for us to know His will, because He gave us His will in the life of Jesus Christ, our Lord. All of scriptures point to Christ. The Holy Spirit serves to open those scriptures in life in us to the purpose of making Christ more and more known in our beings. Everything that God does serves to glorify Christ in our lives, and in the lives of His church. This is a mystery to the world, but no longer to us. God has made known His divine purpose in Christ Jesus, and as we livingly know more and more of Christ, we livingly know, in more and more fullness, the will of God actively in our lives.
	One of the pitfalls of many Christians is that they are not willing to be quiet long enough for the Lord to reveal Himself in us. We have this tendency to want to do something in order to discover the will of God. That is why we frustrate over the swift decisions that we make, or go for a step-by-step plan which promises success. Many of us do not have the patience required for a relationship to develop between ourselves and God. Rather, we run here and there and look for this idea and that idea, when all we truly need is to seek His kingdom first, in obedience to His Word, and allow Him to make Himself known more and more in our lives. Matt. 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself...
	 I know the struggles that I put myself through as a teenager, when I was going this way and that way in an effort to find out what the Lord wanted of me. Really, I think I was looking more for an affirmation of the things that I wanted for myself, and I never found it. It wasn't until one Wednesday night, at a meeting at Bob and Peggy's house, I was simmering in my frustration, stewing over the things that had and had not yet  happened, when I saw the little plaque of scripture on the wall. Rather than all the concentration that I was giving to myself and to my desires, and all the running that I was doing for the Lord, that night I realized the will of God. Psalms 46:10 Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us,; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Be still and know that I am God. How many of us take the time from our struggles to be still before the Lord? Time to pray unto Him, to take scriptures before Him for His willingness to bring forth newness of life in us? Take time to get to know Him as our Lord, as our Savior, as our Father, as our Friend? Be still and know that I am God. What words of quietness to open our beings to His will. To know Him. That is what He desires. That is what will be the ultimate glory of God, when all creatures above and below know Him as the God of Love who supplied every requirement to share of Himself with those who would respond to His heart. The folly of the careless will be evidenced in their self-deception, and the fact that they did not want to know God.
	Well, as we can see these are some of the ways that God's will has been inaccurately portrayed as self-will tries to delude us from the joy of God's will. We are put into a relationship with God, in Christ Jesus, whereby all that is part of self must go in order that the fullness of Christ in us may blossom forth to His glory. In the coming weeks, Lord willing, we will spend some more time in the area of God's will operating within us, revealing Christ. There are many truths and realities which are part of our willingness to know Christ as our life. And, you see, that is the true issue that we face. It isn't so much in trying to discern God's will for us, but rather our willingness to be obedient to what He has desired as the best for our lives.
The true issue is whether we will obey as Christ reveals the manner in which we are to walk?
	I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.