Class 100 at Scottsdale Bible Church - the painting to the left is, "The Annunciation" by Leonardo da Vinci painted somewhere around 1475.
The painting depicts the scene in Luke 1:26-38 where the angel Gabriel tells Mary of God's will for her life:
"In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the
angel left her."
Understanding God's will can present a challenge for us in the 21st century. It is extremely unlikely that we will have Gabriel come down from heaven and declare God's will for our lives as He did for Mary.
So what are we to do?
The whole topic of God's will can go into mind bending and confusing places that frankly, in my humble opinion, is one of those areas where I believe that we will not clearly understand God's mind. His mind is infinite and ours is finite. You can't put infinite into finite. Therefore, some things are going to be a mystery. That's all there is too it. I don't really like it either, but I am working to grapple with it.
The topic of God's will can lead to a discussion of our free will as human beings. It can also stir heated debate as to why God allows and/or created evil.
Those topics are for another day. In this post I am going to explore how we, as believers in Jesus Christ, can find God's will in our personal lives.
Here is what I learned from my Class 100 and other sources:
Does God even care or have a will for my life?
Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Paul makes it pretty clear. God does not want us to be like those who live according to the flesh. Instead we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind (spending time in prayer, the Bible and in fellowship with other believers) so that we can begin to understand the mind of God. Then...we will be able to find God's good, pleasing and perfect will.
To top this off, and perhaps a little scary, is that when our life is done here on earth we are to appear before Christ and account for our actions:
2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."
I don't know about you but my mind tends to gravitate to all the bad things I have done in my life. I then see myself experiencing shame and therefore fear about this day. I can certainly hear some of the "hell-fire and brimstone" preachers that I have heard over the years seeking to scare people into the Kingdom of God.
On the other hand we are told that some of us will get into heaven by the hairs of our chiny,chin, chin:
1 Corinthians 3:10-15, "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."
So...I guess the question that begs to be answered is do we want to just make it into the Kingdom of God or hear Him say, ... 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' (Matthew 25;21)
I deeply desire to hear "well done", therefore I must set to work building on the foundation with materials that will stand the test of fire. This involves finding His will for my life.
It seems that God has a Moral (revealed) Will and a Sovereign (Hidden) Will for us. The moral will is one that each of us should heed and follow and will help us to find His will for our lives.
God's Moral (revealed) Will
- God's moral will is for us to learn what the will of God is:
- Psalm 143:10, "Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground"
- God's moral will is for all people to come to know him:
- 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow about His promises, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."
- God's moral will is for each one of us to reach the lost:
- Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to obey all that I commanded you"
- God's moral will is to set ourselves apart for His use, abstaining from sexual immorality:
- 1 Thesssalonians 4:3, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality."
- God's moral law is that we do good in order to have a good reputation:
- 1 Peter 2:13-15, "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men."
- God's moral will is the we rejoice, pray and give thanks:
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
- God's moral will is that we should encounter suffering:
- 1 Peter 4:19, "Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right."
- God's moral will is that we plan with him in mind:
- James 4:13-15, "Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."
- God's moral will is that we walk according to the Holy Spirit:
- Ephesians 5:17-18, "So then, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit."
- God's moral will in summary:
- 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether, then, ou eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
God's Soveriegn (hidden) Will
As I stated earlier, some things are just not going to be understood by our finite minds. Here is Deuteronomy 29:29:
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law."
Philosophers over the years have tried to explain the mysteries of life, but frankly for some things, there just are no answers. We see in a mirror dimly! To think otherwise is arrogance.
What is God's Will for my life?
Proverbs 3: 5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean o your own understanding. In all ways acknowledge Him an He will make your paths straight."
Matthew 22:36-39, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to them, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Well...as you can see. No clear easy answer or formula. Bottom line? We need to trust (faith) and obey.
Now...let's go build something out of gold on the foundation laid by Jesus Christ.
