In the 'Big Picture', God has a plan that shows his will for all of mankind. He sent Jesus Christ in accordance with many prophesies throughout the Old Testament. Christ taught how to live in accordance with God's will through obedience to God's law of love. Then Christ was crucified as the ultimate fulfillment of the promise of a Savior for mankind, which was all part of God's will. When we're called and come to an understanding of this major will of God for man and repent and are baptized, have hands laid on us and receive God's Spirit, we are making a covenant with God that we will seek his will for the rest of our lives. But we still have a personal will that is not fully yielded to God. Every day we make decisions. God has given us the ability to exercise free will in how we live our lives.

Deuteronomy 30:19

"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life that both you and your descendants may live;"

We have free choice, but God wants us to choose life instead of choosing the ways that are against Him, that go against his will. He has not left us without guidance, but sometimes our will is not in accordance with God's will. Our will often rises up in opposition to God's will. Most of the world's population does not concern themselves with what God would want them to do. Even those who say they are Christians often want to follow their own human will and reasoning in making decisions. You see that in the media sometimes when you see what people who say they are Christians support nowadays. It's just astounding… so contrary to what God has revealed in his Word. It's the way our society seems to be going. I was just reading some of Mr. Mann's newspaper on the way up here and to say you believe in Jesus Christ is becoming not politically correct… that was in one of the articles. Even those of us who have been baptized and have God's Spirit struggle with making decisions that match up with the will of God.

How can we be consistent in following God's will rather than our own? Today we will look at a few ways that we can know God's will for our lives. I've entitled this "The Will of God vs. the Will of Man".

1) WE'VE GOT TO FOLLOW CHRIST'S EXAMPLE TO FIND GOD'S WILL.

Christ was here; He was yielded totally to doing the will of the Father. John 4:31-34 "In the meantime his disciples urged him, saying, 'Rabbi, eat.'" Verse 32 "But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."" He had a relationship with the Father that we as humans cannot fully grasp. Verse 33 "Therefore the disciples said to one another, 'Has anyone brought him anything to eat?'" Verse 34 "Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent Me, and to finish his work.'" He lived, breathed and ate God's will; that's what his total focus was during his time. Are we always in that attitude?

John 6:38-40 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."
Verse 39 "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up at the last day."

Verse 40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him
may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

That is God's plan, His will there in just a few verses. Christ understood His part in God's plan… to be a sacrifice for the sins of mankind so that all who would believe and obey could have eternal life. We, too must make decisions based upon whether what we do pleases God or goes against God's instruction to us. In following God's will, Christ had to go through some very, very hard times.

I'm getting up in years, and I had a large print Bible. I went to a prison last week and while checking out, I laid it up on a box in there and walked off and left it. I'm struggling a little bit to see this smaller print today.

Matt. 26:39 "He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass
from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.""

As a flesh and blood human being, He didn't want to have to go through that pain and that suffering.

Matt. 26:42 "Again, a second time He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me
unless I drink it, Your will be done.""

Christ knew He had to go through the terrible pain and humiliation of being beaten and then hung up on the stake until He died in order to do his part in God's plan. His human side wanted to avoid the pain, but He yielded to God's plan. How yielded are we when making decisions in our lives, especially if it's something that's going to hurt, really be painful for us to go through? One of the Psalms talks about the scorn and the scoffers. Many times when people are called into the church, they get a lot of criticism from family members and friends. Usually, eventually they come around to accepting it. But it is difficult at times to always follow God's will. Sometimes circumstances force us to go through unpleasant painful experiences. Do we use them for spiritual growth and strive to understand God's will in the matter or do we complain, get depressed and try to find our own way around.

James 5:10-11 "My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience."
Verse 11 "Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen
the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful."

Job went through trials that we hope we never have to go through: loss of his entire family, boils, loss of all of his possessions; but he had to go through that. God had a plan for him… to show who He really was to Job, even though Job is described as a very righteous man. The Old Testament prophets went through great trials in fulfilling God's will, in which they suffered greatly and had to be patient. They were ridiculed. They were made fun of. They were threatened with death. They had all types of trials. Job who was a righteous man, suffered greatly, but learned perseverance and was rewarded in the end. We have the example of Moses.

Heb. 11:24-26 "By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,"
Verse 25 "choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,"
Verse 26 "esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward."

He had the opportunity to be adopted into the royal family, to have all those blessings, to have all that education but he saw God's people. He saw that God needed him and was calling him in the burning bush to go back and lead those people out. He had to make a hard choice there, but he made the right choice. The example of Moses' life shows that sometimes there are difficult situations in our lives that ultimately lead to a good outcome. Can we endure through those trying times? It was years and years and years of trial in the case of Moses.

Paul wrote to the Romans:

Romans 8:18 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which
shall be revealed in us."

Any suffering that we experience when following God's will cannot compare to the glory and reward that we will receive… to actually be in God's Kingdom. We just can't fully grasp or begin to understand the blessing of being in that Kingdom. It is such a great promise!

2 Cor. 4:17-18 "For our light affliction which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,"
Verse 18 "while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Our momentary affliction, which we now see and experience cannot compare to what, is currently unseen. We must always realize that all situations are temporary but God's ultimate reward is forever.

2) TO KNOW GOD'S WILL, LET HIM SPEAK TO YOU THROUGH HIS WORD.

Psa. 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path."

God's Word reveals God's will. I believe David wrote this psalm. David knew God's word was the best guide he could follow. Do we read and study scripture to find God's will? Many times our will doesn't match up with what God's word tells us. When we go to God's word to light our path, we have to ask Him to help us understand and to apply what his word is telling us. "Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown" had a comment on this verse: "Not only does the word of God inform us of his will, but as a light on a path in darkness. It shows us how to follow the right and avoid the wrong way." Years ago I went on a youth camp out up in Wyoming and we stayed in tents and the toilet area was quite a ways away from the camping area, so if you had to go to the restroom in the middle of the night, you had to take your flashlight to find your way. One night I was going there and there was a skunk right in my path. You definitely don't want to run across that guy without knowing he's there.

Prov. 1:29-32

"Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord"
Verse 30 "They would have none of my counsel and despised every rebuke."
Verse 31 "Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies."
Verse 32 "For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them;"

If we can follow that light, follow that right path; we can avoid bringing unnecessary suffering and trouble by seeking to obey what we learn in God's word.

2 Tim. 3:15-17

"And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith
which is in Christ Jesus."
Verse 16 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,"
Verse 17 "that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

3) WE CAN BE GUIDED INTO GOD'S WILL BY HIS HOLY SPIRIT.

We can receive much from studying and following scripture, following what we learn there… salvation, faith in Christ, the doctrines, the reproof and correction and instruction in how to live in righteousness. This is a book with great value in it for finding God's will. Also, those who have been baptized and had hands laid on them have God's Spirit to guide them into God's will.

Phil. 2:12-13

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;"
Verse 13 "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."

As we deal with decision-making, we must be aware of God's Spirit working in our minds to guide us into the right decisions. While studying God's word and meditating on it, be conscious of what God is trying to tell us. This along with fasting can guide us into the right decisions. Some decisions are very major and they do require a lot of study and prayer and fasting to decide what is the right way to go. Be yielded to God's will.

Prov. 16:9

"A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps."

If we are yielded to God's will, He will direct our steps into the right way day by day. We must first be drawing near to God so that our thoughts will be guided by God's Spirit. In many instances, in Scripture, God spoke directly or through an angel to guide the righteous, but today we seldom hear of this direct guidance. I have not had dreams or visions or voices directing me how to go. But in Scripture, we read how back in earlier times God did speak to and guide his people that way. Instead of that kind of guidance, we have to listen for that guidance in our inner prompting in our thoughts as we're making decisions. Also, is God opening doors or closing doors? Sometimes that makes it very apparent which way we should go. What's opening up, what's closing? One example of that is Paul being guided in Acts 16.

Acts 16:6-10

"Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to
preach the word in Asia."
Verse 7 "After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them."
Verse 8 "So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas."
Verse 9 "And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.'"
Here is one of those appearances in the night to Paul.
Verse 10 "Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us
to preach the gospel to them."

Paul had God's will revealed to him and doors were being closed to go to all these other cities.

Acts 18:20-21

"When they asked him (Paul) to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent,"
Verse 21 "but took leave of them, saying, "I must, by all means, keep this coming Feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again
to you, God willing." And he sailed from Ephesus."

We see here that God can change our paths. We can make plans like 'we're going to be at the Feast in Branson' or somewhere else; our path could change between now and then. Things can come up and God may reveal that we need to go somewhere else. Paul was always changing in accordance with what he saw God wanted him to do.

4) ANOTHER WAY WE CAN BE GUIDED INTO GOD'S WILL IS THROUGH THE COUNSEL OF WISE, QUALIFIED, TRUSTWORTHY PEOPLE.

Prov. 11:14

" Where there is no counsel, the people fail;
But in the multitude of counselors, there is safety."

Sometimes you need to get the thoughts of more than one person.

Prov. 24:6

"For by wise counsel, you will wage your own war,
And in the multitude of counselors, there is safety."

Both of these verses speak of getting guidance from a multitude of counselors. I was thinking back to when I was in high school; I wasn't very brilliant. I was in a small school and the superintendent, I guess, saw some potential in me and he would try to get me to take more math and science. I wanted to take Vo-Ag and Shop and I ignored his advice. I didn't even think I was going to college at that point. Two years later, it looked like I needed to go to college and I tried to take some math and science in college, but I didn't have those courses from high school. I ignored wise counsel and I paid with a lot of difficulty when I went on to college. We always need to be seeking that counsel.

We see in 1 Chron. 13 where David consulted with the leaders of the land: 1 Chron. 13:1-4 "Then David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader." Verse 2 "And David said to all the assembly of Israel, "If it seems good to you, and if it is of the Lord our God, let us send out to our brethren everywhere who are left in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common-lands, that they may gather together to us;"" Verse 3 ""and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul."" Verse 4 "Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in all the eyes of all the people." It was, also what God wanted them to do. David had consulted with all the leaders of the land to come to that decision. We've got to be careful who we turn to for advice. Have they exhibited wisdom in how they've lived their lives? Are they impartial? Many times close friends and family may have their own interests at stake rather than helping a person come to what is God's will. Sometimes with young people, God is calling them to maybe move across the country to do something else and the parents don't really want that even though it is for the best. Sometimes you have to have a balance in who you are getting advice from.

James 3:13-17 "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom." Verse 14 "But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth." Verse 15 "This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic." Verse 16 "For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there." Verse 17 "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy."

Don't get advice from someone who is envious or boasts a lot. We see here the qualifications of someone who can give good counsel. Our ministry is a good source for counsel; ministers have been trained on how to apply the scriptures to various situations. Those who have been around counseling people for a number of years know how to apply the scriptures to almost every situation that can come up. There's probably not much 'new under the sun' that they haven't heard about or had to deal with, so they are a very good source. Thus, we should turn to them for wise counsel when we are making a major decision.

5) AS HE LEADS US INTO HIS WILL, HE WILL GIVE US AN INNER ASSURANCE OF PEACE.

Are we at peace with our decision once we've made it? Once we've studied God's word, prayed, fasted, meditated, sought wise counsel and made a decision God can give us a sense of peace about our decision.

Col. 3:15

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful."

This talks about us having this peace of God. In all that we do, we are to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. If we finally reach a decision, we should be at peace with the decision if we have diligently sought God's will. After seeking to find God's will, we sometimes don't have an absolute understanding of God's will. Sometimes there's no clear-cut option that becomes apparent to us; any of several actions could be acceptable when compared to God's word. Maybe our multitude of counselors could give differing advice… but at some point, action is necessary. We have to place faith in God and take the best action when all is taken into account.

Heb. 11:8

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance.
And he went out, not knowing where he was going."

Abraham stepped out on faith. It was shown to him that he needed to pack up and move--he had a lot to pack up--and he did it, just with a promise that there was going to be a reward by being obedient to that calling.

We've looked at steps we can take to bring our will into agreement with God's will: Daily prayer and Bible study; fasting and meditation; along with wise counsel are all essential tools for changing from a carnal viewpoint to a godly viewpoint. May we always remember to use these tools as we face each day and decisions that must be made, some minor and some very important.