'The Will of God'
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Last week, we talked about following Christ in obedience. The benchmark of such is full surrender to all that God is asking you be and do.
D. A. Carsons once said, “What, then, is the essential characteristic of the true believer, the genuine disciple of Jesus Christ? …His chief characteristic is obedience. The Father’s will is not simply admired, discussed, praised, debated; it is done!"
Praise Him today… that by His grace He invites us to come to Him. God doesn’t want part-time relationship or partial obedience, He wants our absolute surrender to His Lordship over our life. He wants all of you!
Matthew 7:21 states that, "Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father."
An encounter with God is an invitation to join Him in what He is doing.
We cannot keep doing things our way and accomplish God’s purposes! In following Him, we must change our life to His purposes, His will and ways.
The ultimate, non-negotiable call of faith is surrender (see Romans 12:1-2).
What a change would come into our lives if today we reached that place where we find and know God’s will, and with a full resolve and by the help of the Holy Spirit, we surrender our will and be committed to His!
Whilst writing, I thought of the lady that Jesus met at the well in John 4.
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life” (John 4:14).
There is not a single person reading this today who could say, “I don’t need Jesus.” And yet, we are so much like this Samaritan woman. We come to the well of this world, thinking we need what’s at the bottom of the well, when in truth we need the one who is sitting right in front of us at the top of the well. And if we have Him, an ‘artesian spring’, what else in life do we need?
Jesus says in verse 10, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you… living water.” Really? The thing is, we ought to know the reality of this!
Jesus spoke of the difference between the ever-recurring thirst for natural water, and the quenching of all thirst by the water (a gift) that He gives with its promise of eternal life.
The Samaritan woman considers herself religious, but Jesus invites her beyond religion to relationship with One who is spirit and truth, not bound by geography, genealogy, not bound by baggage, past or present.
Today, it’s God’s desire for us to live in perfect relationship with Him and live in accord with His will for our life.
It was the will of God for Jesus to go through Samaria (v4) and it was the will of God to transform the lady (v39). Knowing this, are we prepared to embrace God’s will and respond with that radical kind of obedience?
Like the lady at the well, the presence of God will always expose the specific need in our life that is keeping us from a deeper encounter with Him.
Sometimes, it is not just what we do but what we will change about ourselves that is the evidence of that encounter. We are to live transformed, counter-cultural lives that draw attention to God not us!
As followers of Jesus, radical obedience and courageous faith trusts and follows Him at any cost. Christlikeness is the key to knowing His will.
John Stott said, “God wants his people to become like Christ. Christ-likeness is the will of God for the people of God.”
God’s will for us is that our hearts align with His. Your own dreams and desires should never come before God and His plans for your life. Just ask, are they in harmony with God’s will and His place of supremacy in my life?
Interestingly, in the passage we’re looking at, Jesus says in John 4:34, “my nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.” Can we truly and honestly say the same today?
You see, we can know and ought to discern the will of God: “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives” (Col 1:9 ).
Christianity is transformational, becoming more like Jesus as you follow Him and seek to do His will. What a purpose and prospect for our life in following Christ!
Those who walk in this way do not walk aimlessly.
Do you know what Lord Byron, the 18th century poet wrote on his 33rd birthday?: “Through life’s dull road, so dim and dirty, I have dragged to three and thirty. What have these years left to me? Nothing – except thirty-three. Unfulfilled. Unsatisfied. Unable to quench the incessant thirst for 'more'.” There are many who lack such purpose in their lives.
Psychologists have said that the problems faced today come from feelings of emptiness, loneliness, isolation and aimlessness. Ultimately, these are spiritual issues! We should be asking, “What is God’s will for my life?”
God never calls us primarily to fulfil a task, rather, He calls us to Himself. Before doing something for God I must be in a relationship with God.
As a Christian, the whole subject of God’s will is significant in pleasing Him.
J.I. Packer puts it this way: "A holy person’s motivating aim, passion, desire, longing, aspiration, goal, and drive is to please God, both by what one does and what one avoids doing."
Until you acknowledge and accept Him as King, and are willing to fully surrender to Him, the Kingdom of Christ does not reign in your heart.
Romans 12:1-2 talks about presenting ourselves to God as a sacrifice, an act of submission and consecration. We must give up the right to have our own way, and surrender unconditionally to God’s will and purpose.
We must resolve in advance that once we know His will, we will do it. Note what peace is experienced when you do so!
God’s will is always true and real. It can be refused, but remember, it’s always right! The Bible says, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).
John MacArthur said, "The place of security is not the place of favourable circumstances but the place of obedience to God’s will."
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