How to Know the Will of God

When you read John chapter 6, Jesus has just encountered some opposition. 

He has just told them that He is the Bread of Life, and they wanted some of this Bread of Life.  

They didn't understand what it meant. 

Jesus said to them,   

John 6:38-39 (NLT)  For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.

 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.  

For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

Jesus was on a mission to do God's will in His life. 

John 4:34 (NLT)  Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.

John 5:30 (NLT)I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.

John 9:31(NLT) We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will.

I've always had a will of my own. 

I always wanted to live in the same place like many of you have done. 

But when Jesus Christ saved me,  my life is not my own.  

I don't belong to myself. I belong to Him.  

So the question is how can I know the will of God?

1. This passage in John 6:38 teaches us that you can know the will of God. 

God is not trying to hide His will for you from you. 

Warren Wiersbe says "the will of God is an expression of the love of God." 

Paul teaches in... 

Romans 12:2 (NLT) "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

God's will is knowable and provable. 

1. Knowing the will of God requires you to read all the word of God. 

If the Lord lives in you, the Holy Spirit begins to work on you as you read it. 

Just take one step of obedience at a time. One decision after the other.  

Pray over each decision as you make them.

As you prayerfully read God's word, you can perceive God revealing His specific will for you in your spirit. 

Your life is not your own.  

Are you unwilling to do this part?  To prayerfully read God's word. 

If you want to know the will of God, you have to have a habit of systematically  reading all of the word of God and not piece mill.  

You'll be shocked how God will speak to you in passages that you think don't have great value.

2. Next, knowing the will of God requires having a personal relationship with God.  

The reason that Jesus knew the will of God is that from eternity past.  Jesus and His Father were in relationship with one another.  

Knowing the will of God is not a formula. It is a relationship.  

3. Knowing the will of God requires you walking in the Spirit of God.  

Many people want to know God's will for their spouse and not for their money.  

They want to know God's will for their career and not for their location.

Warren Wiersbe says, "You must yield your person and every area of your life if you are going to know the will of God."  

All of me and all of my life must be yielded to God.  

I believe that God's will is knowable.  

To be quiet frank, it's not knowing God's will that's the most difficult, but obeying God's will that's known which is the most difficult.

What do you want to know more than anything else in your life?  

Isn't it if you're in the will of God?  

Sometimes the will of God is crystal clear, and sometimes it is more difficult to discern. 

The will of God is knowable and provable. 

You will find joy when you obey the will of God.  

Here's what you need to understand about the will of God. 

God speaks to you through His word. 

God speaks to you in circumstances. 

God speaks to you in your own heart.  

God leads us by giving you an inner assurance of peace.  

God will lead you into His will by using other people.  

God leads with wise, trustworthy, and mature Christians. 

The joy comes when the will of God aligns with the word of God, the circumstances of God, and the validation from the mature believers in God.  

When you get filled with God's peace, it is the peace of God that surpasses all understanding which guards your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

  

You'll find Joy when you obey the will of God. 

We miss the will of God when we are so absorbed by our own will. 

The wrong people influence us wrongly.  

We miss the will of God when we are ignorant of the word of God.

When we doubt.  

When busyness creeps in.  

Fear takes over, and there is a known sin.

Let's go back to John 6:38 to take our first step. 

And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 

It is God's will for you that you be saved.  

You can go to heaven if you want to.  

God wants to forgive you.  More than you want Him to.  

Ask Him to forgive your past, and invite Him as Lord into your future.  

It is God's will for you to be saved today! 

It is the Lord that draws you to himself. 

Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Obey the will of God and be saved. 

Notes taken from Darryl Craft, future Pastor of Whitesburg Baptist Church