A Deep Dive on the Will of God
Colossians 1:3, 9–10
I want you to imagine, first of all, that you are face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s suppose that you had an opportunity to ask Jesus Christ one question. What would you ask Him? You have an opportunity to say, “Lord Jesus, there’s something I want to know. Would you please tell me?” I have an idea; I know what you would ask. I believe you would ask Him the same thing the Apostle Paul asked him, when the Apostle Paul met him face to face. And, what the Apostle Paul said to him was, “Lord, what would You have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul asked the Lord Jesus, that day, on the road to Damascus, the two greatest questions that could ever be asked: number one, “Who art thou, Lord?” (Acts 9:5); number two, “What would You have me to do?”
And, he spent the rest of his life discovering the answer to those two questions—just who Jesus is, and what Jesus wants him to do. “What would You have me to do, Lord?” Not, “Lord, what do You want others to do?” Not, “Lord, what do others want me to do?” But, “Lord, what would You have me to do?” Now, when you pray for your loved ones, what do you pray for them? Do you pray for them that they’ll be healthy, wealthy, successful? Or, do you pray for them that they’ll know the will of God for their lives?
Notice how Paul felt about the church at Colossae—verse 3: “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you” (Colossians 1:3). Paul prayed for this church. Wouldn’t you like to know what he prayed for them?
—verse 9: “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will” (Colossians 1:9). That’s primarily the way you’re going to find God’s will: by wisdom and spiritual understanding.
Now, Paul says, in verse 10, “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing” (Colossians 1:10). You cannot walk worthy of the Lord, until you know the will of the Lord. A worthy walk is a walk in His will, and that’s what pleases God. Nothing outside of His will pleases Him. And, if you please God, it doesn’t matter who you displease. And, if you displease God, it doesn’t matter whom you please. And, the way to please God is to walk in His will, a worthy walk. And then, that will make you fruitful. “Being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10).
There are three kinds of the will of God:
I. His Sovereign Will
That’s where God rules overall. And, God’s sovereign will is always done. God allows sin. God allows rebellion. But, God is sovereignly working to make the kingdoms of this world the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15). And, Jesus shall reign. That’s His sovereign will. Many times, we don’t understand His sovereign will. “Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?” (Romans 11:34) Paul asks. Let me give you a great verse:
“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God” (Deuteronomy 29:29). There are some things you’ll never know. Never make the mistake of saying, “Oh, if I were God, I would have done this. If I were God, I would have done that.” You’re not big enough, wise enough, or smart enough. “Who hath known the mind of the Lord?” (Romans 11:34). His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8).
That is, there are some things God doesn’t reveal; that’s His sovereign will. Or, we could call it, here, His secret will—His sovereign, secret will.
II. His Standard Will
There are certain things that are always right, and certain things that are always wrong: the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes—all of these things. It’s always wrong to steal, and to lie, and to cheat. And, it’s always right to tell the truth, and to do these certain things that are commanded in the Bible. That’s just God's standard will. Now, folks, it’s never right to do wrong. And, it’s never wrong to do right.
III. His Special Will
You see, God doesn’t deal with people in masses. God deals with people as individuals. He has as many plans as He has people. He has as many methods as He has men. And, you are not an accident; you are an incident. You are special in the plan of God and the mind of God. And, God has a very special way for you. And, listen—If you had been the only person who ever lived on this Earth, Jesus Christ would have died for you alone. You’re very, very special to God. And, God has a plan for your life. I believe it was God’s sovereign will that I be saved. And, I believe that God chose me in him before the foundation of the world. I don’t understand that, but I bless God for it. That’s His sovereign will. But, I believe it was God’s standard will that I only marry a Christian, since I was saved, and God wanted me not to marry an unbeliever. But, I believe it was God’s special will that I marry Kimberly. See?
How does a guy from NM find a girl in PA, before online dating? It was at Bible college in FL, as God sovereignly sent each of us there. And with much prayer and a good amount of begging, I convinced her!
A. Mistakes Made About the Will of God
1. People Think the Will of God is Like a Roadmap
That God just gives it to you, and there it is: Here’s where you’re going to start, and there’s where you’re going to finish, and here’s the way you’re going to go. Thank God it is not a roadmap; it is a relationship.
I’m glad that God doesn’t show you the future ahead of time. When God led the children of Israel through the wilderness, He didn’t give them a map; He gave them Himself: a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire to lead them. They didn’t have to worry about where they were going. They just had to make certain that they saw the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. Today, you don’t have to know the future; you just have to know Jesus. You have to know that there’s nothing between your soul and the Savior.
2. People Think that God is a Celestial Killjoy
Well, the Bible says, “The LORD thy God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). “Every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from above, from the Father of lights, in whom there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning” (James 1:17). God’s will is good, perfect, and acceptable (Romans 12:2). Don’t be afraid of the will of God.
The will of God is not something that you have to do. It’s something that you get to do.
3. People Think that God Only Has a Will for Certain People
His will is for the plumber, as well as the preacher; for the secretary, as well as the missionary. Everybody is important to God. “The very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30).
4. People Think that God Reveals His Will in a Cataclysmic Experience
Elijah got perplexed and frustrated, and got out of the will of God, and got upset, a little bit. And so, God had to take him to a vacation retreat up in the mountains. And, God spoke to him there. In 1 Kings chapter 19, beginning in verse 11, here’s what happened: God said to Elijah, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11– 12). And, God was in that still, small voice. Don’t think that, if God speaks to you, it’s going to be something radical and dramatic, and that you have to be an earthquaker. You can just be a Quaker. You can just let God speak. Don’t make the mistake of looking for something radical, something dramatic.
5. People Think that the Will of God is Only for Young People
No matter your age, you must seek the will of God fresh, every day. I don’t care how old you are. And, if you miss the will of God as a youth, you can still get in on it. And, one of the great promises of the Word of God is Joel chapter 2, verse 25, where God says, “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten” (Joel 2:25). Isn’t that a wonderful promise?
6. People Think God Hides His Will from Us
That, somehow, it’s like an Easter egg hunt, that we must, somehow, try desperately to discover His will.
a. Guidance is Promised
You get your heart right—the will of God will find you. You don’t have to find it. I mean, God reveals His will to those who want to know.
Psalm chapter 32 and verse 8 says: “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go” (Psalm 32:8). God’s not hiding His will from you.
b. Guidance is Provisional
What I mean is this: God will show you His will, provided you do certain things, provided you have certain attitudes, so God can speak to you.
Here’s four of them.
John chapter 7 and verse 17 says: “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:17).
Sometimes, we say we’re willing, but our minds are already made up.
I heard about a man who was a vagrant. He would just go here or there—just a happy hobo, just walking around. Somebody said, “Well, what plan do you have? Where do you travel?” He said, “I just go wherever I want to go.” And, they said, “Suppose you’re walking and there’s a fork in the road.” He said, “How do you decide whether to go to the right, or how do you decide to go to the left?” “Oh,” he said, “it doesn’t make any difference to me.” He said, “I just have a stick, and I just throw it up. Whichever way it lands, that’s the way I go.” He said, “Sometimes, I have to throw it up as many as six times to make it land the right way.”
Now, sometimes, we are like that. “Oh, isn’t it wonderful? I’ve found the will of God for my life,” which is really just your own subconscious trying to force your will upon God.
Psalm 25, verse 9: “The meek will he guide” (Psalm 25:9)
It actually means, “teachable.”
In the olden days, when a horse would be trained and broken, they would say the horse had been meeked, or the horse had been made meek. That is, he would respond to the reins.
Are you teachable? Some people are not teachable. Some people are mentally arguing, rather than listening. That’s the reason they don’t learn.
A boy drops out of school when he’s little. He says, “They can’t teach me anything.” He’s probably right, because he’s made up his mind they can’t teach him anything.
Romans chapter 8 and verse 14, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God” (Romans 8:14).
Now, what is the Spirit of God? The Spirit of God is that still, small voice. The Holy Spirit never shouts, and He never shoves.
Now, how are you going to hear that voice? You’re going to have to listen to the Lord. Do you have a quiet time? Do you have a time when you get away, and shut the door from all of the noise of the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, so you can hear that still, small voice? Do you listen to God? Or, do you just come to God with a shopping list, and say, “God, I need this…I need this…I need this…I need this…I need this…” Rather than saying, “Speak, Lord, Your servant hears,” you say, “Listen, Lord, Your servant’s talking.”
Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
…and then, you will know what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1–2).
Question: If God were to offer you a contract, today, and say, “Will you sign this contract at the bottom, committing yourself to do my will,” would you sign it? You say, “Well, wait a minute; I… You never sign a contract without reading it first.” Would you sign His without reading it first? If not, you’ll not know God’s will. You say, “Show me Your will, Lord, and I’ll do it.” God says, “No, you just present yourself a living sacrifice, completely.” You say,
Those are provisions: willingness, meekness, openness, yieldedness—The reason that many of us do not know the will of God is we do not put ourselves in a place to receive the will of God for our lives.
c. Guidance is Very Practical
I want to tell you six ways, now—very practical ways—that you can know the will of God for your life.
Psalm 119, verse 105: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).
The door to the room of opportunity often swings on the hinges of opposition. Paul said, “A great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9). And, in my own life, I’ve seen God guide me by opening doors and closing doors, and opening doors and closing doors.
Romans 8, verse 14: “For as many as are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). Now, the Holy Spirit is that still, small voice that speaks to you mystically. Galatians chapter 5, verse 18: “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18). The Holy Spirit guides.
The Holy Spirit will never tell you anything contrary to the Word of God. But, the Holy Spirit may tell you some things that are not specifically mentioned in the Word of God, and may not make sense to you, logically or emotionally.
God will lead you through counselors.
“By wise counsel thou shalt make thy war:”—if you’re getting ready to go to war, you’d better get some counselors to talk to you—“and in a multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 24:6). Now, talk to human counselors, but make certain—number one—that they’re mature, and that they’re spiritual, and—number three—that you remember that the Holy Spirit is the Supreme Counselor.
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15).
Six Character Qualities to Have, If You Want the Wisdom of God:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
It’s a feeling of awe before Almighty God.
“With the lowly is wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2). You strut and swagger—you’ll not know God’s will.
Proverbs 9:9: “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.”
“I love them that find me…”—wisdom is speaking—“I love them that find me; and those that seek me early shall find me” (Proverbs 8:17).
“He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly” (Proverbs 2:7).
If you have sin in your heart and in your life, it blinds you. Do you know what confession is? It’s the windshield wipers that clear the windshield so you can see the road ahead. You see, that’s what God does. When you confess, it just takes all that cloudiness, that blurriness out, that sin that dulls your mind.
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith” (James 1:5–6).
It’s hard to steer a ship that’s not moving. The way to understand the part of the Bible you don’t understand is to obey the part you do understand. “To him that hath shall be given. To him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath” (Matthew 25:59).