How to Seek God’s Will for Me
Zephyr United Methodist Church
Early First United Methodist Church
June 19, 2005
Rev. Eddie E. Smart
Romans 12:1-8 (NRSV)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect.” How do we discern what is the will of God?
The folks at Bixby FUMC remind us in their web-site that there are three pre-conditions to discerning the will of God–three things that must be true if we are to know God’s desire for our lives.
1) We must have a relationship of open communication with God.
How can we hear God’s voice if we have not established a communications link? Unless we pick up the telephone and dial the number, we cannot talk to someone who is some distances away. Well I guess we could yell, but that only works for relatively short distances. We have to make the connection. Do we make that connection on a regular basis? Are we already talking with God?
2) We must have a desire to know the will of God. Do we really want to know what God has in mind for us? Are we satisfied with living our lives as we plan, never giving a thought to what God might want? We must have a deep desire to know the will of God if we expect to discern that will.
3) We must have a commitment to doing the will of God. Knowing God’s will for our life and then ignoring it is no better than not knowing at all. If we know God’s will for us are we willing to do what is required to pursue God’s design and desire? It may require a sacrifice. It may require giving up something we think is important. It may require a commitment of time and energy that we don’t think we have. Are we committed to doing that will we discover?
Jane Vennard in her article in this month’s Alive Now suggests another prerequisite to discerning God’s will for our lives. She says we must be humble. She is talking about a humility that comes from recognizing that compared to God we are like an insignificant speck. In comparison to God’s wisdom, compassion, power, knowledge and love we are nothing. She writes, “Humility is necessay for discernment because to be humble in heart means that we will recognize the limits of our own knowledge and turn to God for guidance.”
How do we know? How do we hear God’s voice among all the voice competing for our attention? The first place to go seeking God’s voice is in scripture. In the scriptures we find God’s clear vision for us.
We sometimes say, “Woe is me, I have no idea what God desires of me.” In scripture we find time and again what I would call God’s obvious will for us. It is impossible to miss!
God says, He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37 (NRSV) , Deut. 6:5
God tells us clearly, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39 (NRSV), Lev. 19:18 These may not be easy to do, but there is no trouble in understanding them. Are we committed to doing this will of God?
Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” That’s God’s will!
Moses brought down from the mountain 10 commandments that are God’s will. One we especially lift up this day, “Honor your father and mother.”
In Matthew 28 we are told to go and make disciples. God’s will.
Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce. Proverbs 3:9 (NRSV)
Or how about Proverbs 3:5-6 (NRSV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him... God’s desire for you and me.
It is God's will that you should be sanctified 1 Thes. 4:3 (NIV) What does it mean to be sanctified? To grow in our knowledge and love of God!
How about let your light shine so God may be glorified? Matt. 5
The scriptures are full of God’s obvious will for us. The scriptures also provide direction went it comes to God’s specific or circumstantial will for us. That is what would God have me do in a particular circumstance or specific area of my life. For example, a job that prevents me from loving others as Christ has loved me would most likely not be in God’s will for me or anyone who is serious about doing God’s will.
Prayer is certainly a means of discerning God’s will. We ask God to reveal that will and then we listen very, very closely. We open our eyes to see what God might reveal through them. You have heard the expression, “God has given us one mouth and two ears so we can listen twice as much as we speak.” Listening for God’s voice is a most important part of praying.
The confirmation students can tell you that Christian community is an important part of hearing God’s voice. Participation in a small group is vital to our faith journey. It is in the small group that you are able to become closely related to one another, sharing your deepest thoughts, desires and concerns. Members of your small group can often see more clearly than you how God is working in your life. What is your small group? How often do you meet? How close have you become to one another?
The scripture passage from Romans offers one of several lists of what we call the gifts of the spirit. These are gifts that are given to us by the Holy Spirit which are evidence of the Spirit working in our lives. All believers in Jesus Christ have at least one gift that comes from the Holy Spirit.
Many people, both those who do and don’t profess Jesus as Lord, have one or more talents. It may be a musical talent. It may be the ability to do math and science easily. It may be athletic in nature.
God does not give us talents and gifts through the Holy Spirit and not expect us to use them to accomplish God’s desire for us. Do you have the spiritual gift of teaching? If so the question is not “Is God calling me to teach.” The question is “Where is God calling me to teach?”
Sometimes we listen hard for the still small voice of God, and it just does not seem to come. I have experienced that. Often it is a case of our trying to get ahead of God’s timing. When the time is right, we know God’s desire. The most dramatic example from my experience is related to pastoral ministry. We struggled for a couple of years to hear that clear voice. When it came, it would take another year to do all that was needed before serving a church. When that time came, Cheryl graduated from high school. Looking back it seems that it was not God’s plan for Cheryl to join the Methodist itinerant system (live in several parsonages).
Sometimes there is silence because we ask dumb questions like, “God is it your desire that I eat these donuts.” How often do we know the answer, but don’t like what we know.
Sometimes there is silence because the will of God is so obvious. We just need to open our eyes, ears, or hearts.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes, “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask, that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will... Colossians 1:9
Paul would not pray for the knowledge of God’s will if it were not something we can know.
For all of us, the words that come through the prophet Isaiah are true.
“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Is. 30:21