The following message is a brief excerpt of a sermon by Pastor John Roughton at Spirit of Faith Church.
What is the will of God?
The Will of God is His desires and design for your life. It is His plan and purposes for you. It is what pleases Him. The Greek word translated will here comes from a word that means a decision. God’s will means He has already decided what He wants to do.
The Apostle Paul prayed for the Christians in Colossians that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (Colossians 1: 9)
He would not pray this prayer if it was not God’s will. It’s God’s will that you know His will.
God wants you to be literally filled to the full, cramped jammed full of the knowledge of His will that there’s none left. The Greek word knowledge here means complete and full knowledge. It also means precise and accurate knowledge.
The Amplified Bible says with a deep and clear knowledge of His will. God wants you to know exactly His plan for your life.
This is one prayer you can pray repeatedly. Why don’t you pray this way every day, “Lord, fill me with the knowledge of your will.”
Not only that, you can also pray this for someone else. Wives can pray for their husbands and vice-versa. Parents can pray this way for your children, employers for their employees, teachers for their students. I used to think I had to call everybody’s name in the church but then I found out like Paul I can pray for my entire church and I do it all the time.
If you were filled with the knowledge of His will that means every time you pray God would hear it. And if He hears it, you’ve got the answer. This should interest you because it’s better than the hit and miss way of praying. Know His will first and then pray.
Colossians 1: 10
so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing in everything.
How can you live a life pleasing to God if you don’t know His will?
v.11: strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might.
God will give you the strength to do His will. He will never ask you to do something and not furnish the ability to do it. If God shows you some area in your life that’s not in His will that means He’s also offering you the ability to make the change. When the Holy Spirit does that to you, don’t be discouraged or feel condemned.
However, God will not provide you supernatural strengthen to do something that’s not His will. If you are so worn out and on the verge of a nervous breakdown then you are not in God’s will.
There’s some waiting involved in God’s will. God may show you some things that will happen many years later in order to give you hope and keep you steady.
Here’s the other word: Longsuffering
Being in God’s will is not a rose garden. Sometimes there’s opposition and pain. If you are in God’s will some people will like you and some will hate your guts. If the devil likes your preaching, you have a problem.
But the verse also says with joy.
You can be out of God’s will and suffer for it and then you may get into God’s will and may still suffer. How can I know the difference? Joy! You can have persecution and all kinds of hardships but in your heart you know this is God’s plan and that the storm won’t last forever. In fact, in the hard places God’s presence is even more real to you.
If you lose your joy, that’s a really good sign that you are not in God’s will. You should have a joy indicator in your heart. Joy is not pleasure. You can be comfortable on the flesh and still be miserable in your heart.
God has a specific and unique plan for you. This would be God’s guidance given to you at this particular time in your life. God maybe telling you to do something now but a year from now it may not matter. With God, time means nothing but timing is everything.
God’s specific will is revealed by the Holy Spirit. God did not make a mistake when He created you. Discover God’s plan for your life because His plan for you is already blessed.
What is the will of God?
The Will of God is His desires and design for your life. It is His plan and purposes for you. It is what pleases Him. The Greek word translated will here comes from a word that means a decision. God’s will means He has already decided what He wants to do.
The Apostle Paul prayed for the Christians in Colossians that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (Colossians 1: 9)
He would not pray this prayer if it was not God’s will. It’s God’s will that you know His will.
God wants you to be literally filled to the full, cramped jammed full of the knowledge of His will that there’s none left. The Greek word knowledge here means complete and full knowledge. It also means precise and accurate knowledge.
The Amplified Bible says with a deep and clear knowledge of His will. God wants you to know exactly His plan for your life.
This is one prayer you can pray repeatedly. Why don’t you pray this way every day, “Lord, fill me with the knowledge of your will.”
Not only that, you can also pray this for someone else. Wives can pray for their husbands and vice-versa. Parents can pray this way for your children, employers for their employees, teachers for their students. I used to think I had to call everybody’s name in the church but then I found out like Paul I can pray for my entire church and I do it all the time.
If you were filled with the knowledge of His will that means every time you pray God would hear it. And if He hears it, you’ve got the answer. This should interest you because it’s better than the hit and miss way of praying. Know His will first and then pray.
Colossians 1: 10
so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing in everything.
How can you live a life pleasing to God if you don’t know His will?
v.11: strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might.
God will give you the strength to do His will. He will never ask you to do something and not furnish the ability to do it. If God shows you some area in your life that’s not in His will that means He’s also offering you the ability to make the change. When the Holy Spirit does that to you, don’t be discouraged or feel condemned.
However, God will not provide you supernatural strengthen to do something that’s not His will. If you are so worn out and on the verge of a nervous breakdown then you are not in God’s will.
There’s some waiting involved in God’s will. God may show you some things that will happen many years later in order to give you hope and keep you steady.
Here’s the other word: Longsuffering
Being in God’s will is not a rose garden. Sometimes there’s opposition and pain. If you are in God’s will some people will like you and some will hate your guts. If the devil likes your preaching, you have a problem.
But the verse also says with joy.
You can be out of God’s will and suffer for it and then you may get into God’s will and may still suffer. How can I know the difference? Joy! You can have persecution and all kinds of hardships but in your heart you know this is God’s plan and that the storm won’t last forever. In fact, in the hard places God’s presence is even more real to you.
If you lose your joy, that’s a really good sign that you are not in God’s will. You should have a joy indicator in your heart. Joy is not pleasure. You can be comfortable on the flesh and still be miserable in your heart.
God has a specific and unique plan for you. This would be God’s guidance given to you at this particular time in your life. God maybe telling you to do something now but a year from now it may not matter. With God, time means nothing but timing is everything.
God’s specific will is revealed by the Holy Spirit. God did not make a mistake when He created you. Discover God’s plan for your life because His plan for you is already blessed.
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