To Be Open To Discern God’s Will And Ways

4 Ways God Speaks to Us

There is an old story preachers tell about a man trapped on the top of his house during a flood or hurricane or tsunami (insert your own natural disaster). The water is swiftly rising. As this man sits on his roof, fearful of being swept away by the current, he cries out to God, “God please deliver me.”

A few moments later, a farmer friend arrives with his boat. “Hey, friend, want a ride to safety?” he asks.

“No,” replies the man on top of his house. “God is going to deliver me.”

An hour later, the water is up to the gutters. A voluntary rescue person comes by on his yellow raft. “Hey, let’s get you off of there—and on to safety,” he yells.

But the man on top of his house refuses to go. “God is going to deliver me.”

Another hour passes and now the water is halfway up the roof. Roof Man is now on top of his chimney, nervously looking down at certain death and destruction.

Fortunately, a Red Cross volunteer swings by in a canoe and offers to ride Roof Man to safety. But Roof Man refuses. “No, God is going to deliver me.”

A couple of hours pass by and the water sweeps over the top of Roof Man’s house. He is carried away by the current and drowns. When he gets to Heaven, he meets Jesus and says, “I though you were going to deliver me.”

We’ve all heard this story and every time we hear it, we laugh, right? But quite often this is the story of our attempts to discern God’s will.

I can’t tell you how many college students who tell me, “I just want to do God’s will.”

This is good. I wish more young people would surrender themselves to God’s plan for their lives.

But quite often those well-meaning college students or teenagers or even young married folks act as if God’s will is some sort of vague, hazy thing. It's a vapor that can’t be grasped. It’s almost as if they want God’s Will, but don’t every think they’ll have a shot at actually finding it.

It really doesn’t have to be this way. Here are two truths that should change the way we think about God’s will.

(1) It is Satan who wants us to be confused, directionless, and ineffective.

(2) It is God who has a preordained plan for us, who has given us specific steps, and who wants to see our lives matter.

So, knowing those truths, how do we wrap our arms around that seemingly mysterious thing called, “God’s will?” Here are four concrete ways in which God speaks to us:

1. God speaks through circumstances

It's funny, Christians routinely blast atheists and atheism, but we often act as if there is no God. We complain about the uncontrollable events in our lives as if we’re just here by chance, left to sort life out on our own.

But life isn’t dog-eat-dog. God is in charge of this world. God is in charge of our little world. And the events that He allows—getting fired from a job, meeting a future mate, getting rebuked by a pastor or Christian leader, the family we were born into, the town in which we live, the skill sets, talents, and gifts we possess—are all part of God’s divine blueprint for our success.

None of this happens by chance. God is not up in Heaven pounding his fist against his head saying, “Whoops, I really messed up with Dan.” No, God didn’t mess up. God didn’t make a mistake. God isn’t ever caught by surprise.

Yes, what happens to you–that’s your control–is God’s will for your life.

2. God speaks through opportunities

Remember the guy with the boat? God presented to him opportunities and he refused them. A long time ago, I had a friend who constantly agonized over every decision, every opportunity and wondered, “Is this God’s will?”

Meanwhile, God presented him opportunity after opportunity. He wanted to get married, but no girl was good enough. Oh, but he didn’t say that. He said really good spiritual things , “It’s not God’s will.” Oh yeah? Did you talk to anybody about it? Did you pray about it? Did you ever consider that this could be an opportunity to explore?

And on and on it went with this guy. A dozen ministry and job opportunities were presented, but he never pursued any of them. He hemmed, hawed, quoted a lot of scripture verses, but never made a move.

Ten years later, I had lunch with him. And even though he has held down a job and even gotten married (finally found Ms. Right), he is still in that pondering, hemming and hawing stage. I fear that at the end of his life he’ll be Roof Man and God will say, “I brought along this opportunity and that opportunity and you refused to take them.”

God works through open doors and opportunities. It’s that simple. These are not just “lucky” occurrences. If you want to do God’s will, do as one of my Bible College professors used to say, “Go. Do something and God will direct you.”

3. God speaks through spiritual counselors and mentors

This is where most of us slip up. We live a lone-ranger Christianity and refuse to listen to wise spiritual counselors. I believe that God’s plan for the Christian in this age is through the local church. Every believer should not only be a part of a local church, but should voluntarily put himself under the accountability of that church.

Now, for young people, this is a tough swallow. Why should I let any pastor or anybody control my life? But the truth is this…the Bible talks over and over about the value of wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to make good decisions, spiritual decisions, and God-honoring decisions.

But young people don’t have a lot of wisdom. That’s why we need to sit at the feet of pastors, trusted lay-leaders, parents, mentors, etc. Every major decision I have ever made in my life I have done with the approval and consent of my pastor. Why? I trust my pastor. He’s a man whom God has sovereignly put into my life to help guide me.

You too have spiritual mentors in your life. If you don’t, find some in your church. Seek their wisdom. Seek their accountability. Seek their unbiased opinion.

A wise person will take such advice as God speaking to them. That is God’s will.

4. God's will is revealed in God's Word

How basic, but how true. The fact of the matter is this: 99 percent of what God wants to you to do in your life is spelled out in His Word. And here’s a news flash for you. God is not going to mysteriously lead you to do something that contradicts His Word.

Ask yourself these questions:

How much of God’s revealed Word are you following now?
Are you faithfully seeking Him on a daily basis through Bible study and prayer?
Are you active in ministry at a Bible-believing church?
Are you sharing your faith?
Are you doing your best to live apart from sin?
Are you faithful to your spouse?
Are you seeking satisfaction in Christ instead of the world?

These are just a few of many areas where the Bible touches our lives, where God’s Word is revealed to us in simple, concrete, direct language. And you and I can’t escape it.

Quite often, Christians try to blend their own sinful lifestyles with the teachings of scripture and then they wonder why they can’t ever seem to discover “God’s will for their lives.” But, unconfessed sin keeps you from closeness to God.

It’s not that God expects us to be perfect. But are you honestly living for him, seeking him, and doing your best to obey his commandments?

If so, guess what, pinch yourself, you’re in God’s will.

Источник: //www.cbn.com/family/youth/darling_godswill.aspx

Learn to Discern the True Way From False Ways, and Welcome Jesus

Hello brothers and sisters of Spiritual Q&A:

In the last few years, the pastors and elders often told us, “Now all sorts of disasters have occurred and the prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically been fulfilled. This shows that now is the end of the last days and the critical time for the return of the Lord.

However, all manner of heresies and false ways will appear to deceive us as well, so we should watch and pray and adhere to the name and the way of the Lord.

If someone is preaching that the Lord has returned, we should refuse to listen to, read, or get in touch with it, lest we be deceived and thus be abandoned by the Lord.

” But some believers in God said, “If we do not listen to, read, or contact it for fear of being deceived—giving up eating for fear of choking, can we welcome the Lord?” So I want to ask a question: Is it right that we close our door and wait alone for fear of being deceived? What are your opinions on this question?

Yours Sincerely,

Guangming

Hello Brother Guangming:

This question you’ve brought up is crucial, because it is connected to whether or not we can welcome the Lord. In fact, it is also the confusion of many brothers and sisters in the Lord. Now let’s have a fellowship about this question.

Things That Come From God Make Us Firm and Courageous; Fear Comes From Satan

It is a fact that all manner of heresies and false ways will appear when the Lord comes again in the last days. At such a critical time, for fear of being deceived, we refuse to listen to and read anything related to the Lord’s return, or contact anyone who preaches the Lord’s return.

In this way, although we won’t be deceived by false ways, we could easily miss the chance to welcome the true God at the same time. This is Satan’s plot. We believers in the Lord all know that God is almighty and that everything in the world is in God’s hands. Jehovah God said: “And lest your heart faint, and you fear for the rumor that shall be heard in the land” (Jeremiah 51:46).

2 Timothy 1:7 also says: “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” From these verses, we can see that what God gives us are strength and courage, rather than timidity and fear. Fear doesn’t come from God but from Satan. The God we believe in is the only true God, and He is the greatest among everything.

If we dare not listen to the message about God’s return because all manner of heresies and false ways will appear in the last days to deceive people, aren’t we being fooled by Satan? Haven’t we fallen into Satan’s tricks?

Faith Comes by Hearing, So Only by Seeking and Investigating Can We Welcome the Lord

The Bible said: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). So we must hear the way first before believing in it. Only through hearing the way can we judge whether or not it is the true way and the work of the true God.

Thinking back to the time when the Lord Jesus did His work, the Pharisees widely slandered and condemned the Lord Jesus. They said that the Lord Jesus was not the Messiah and that He broke the laws to heal people and work on the Sabbath, and even blasphemed Him, saying that He cast out demons with the help of the demon king, etc.

Not only did they deny that the work of the Lord Jesus is the true way, but they misled the Jewish commoners and prevented them from seeking and investigating the true way.

But some people, such as Peter, Matthew, Mark, John, the Samaritan woman, and so on, didn’t believe the rumors of the Pharisees, nor did they allow the fear of being deceived prevent them from hearing the gospel of the Lord. Instead, they desired to hear the Lord Jesus’ sermons, and followed and listened to the Lord Jesus wherever He was preaching.

It was because they had a seeking and yearning heart that they recognized that the Lord Jesus’ words are the voice of God and saw the appearance of Messiah. At last they went out from the law, and accepted the work of the Lord Jesus, thus gaining the salvation and blessings of God. Was all of this not because of their going out to hear sermons?

It is mentioned many times in Revelation: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2-3). The Lord Jesus also said: “Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). The Lord Jesus told us that God would speak again when He returned in the last days.

Are they not betraying the words of the Lord Jesus? If we listen to the pastors and elders, how can we welcome the Lord’s return?

It Is Key to Learn How to Distinguish the True Way From False Ways

Now we know that if we want to welcome the Lord’s return, we need to actively seek instead of passively defending. In addition, the most critical aspect is that we must grasp the principles of distinguishing the true way and the false way. Only in this way will we never be deceived.

So how should we discern between them? Let’s take a look at God’s words and see what He says about this: “And so, in distinguishing whether or not it is the true way, above all you must look at whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit, after which you must look at whether or not there is the truth in this way.

This truth is the life disposition of normal humanity, which is to say, that which was required of man when God created him in the beginning, namely, all of normal humanity (including human sense, insight, wisdom, and the basic knowledge of being man).

That is, you need to look at whether or not this way takes man into a life of normal humanity, whether or not the truth that is spoken of is required according to the reality of normal humanity, whether or not this truth is practical and real, and whether or not it is most timely.

…There is one other principle, which is whether or not man has an increasing knowledge of God, whether or not experiencing such work and truth can inspire a love of God in him, and bring him ever closer to God. In this can be measured whether or not it is the true way.

Most fundamental is whether this way is realistic rather than supernatural, and whether or not it is able to provide the life of man. If it conforms to these principles, the conclusion can be drawn that this way is the true way.”

From this passage, we can see that if it is the true way, there must be the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the key to distinguishing the true way from false ways. Since it is the true way, it is surely the work of God Himself, and it must be upheld by the Holy Spirit.

For example, when the Lord Jesus was working in the Age of Grace, He was subjected to the frenzied persecution and condemnation of the Roman government and the Jewish religion. However, nobody could hinder God’s work from advancing: The gospel of the Lord Jesus was increasingly prosperous. This was achieved by the work and the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Because the true way is the work and the word of God in a new age, and is definitely upheld by the Holy Spirit, people who have accepted the true way can enjoy the work of the Holy Spirit, and their faith and love toward God become greater and greater.

If it is not the true way, it won’t be accompanied by the work of the Holy Spirit or upheld by the Holy Spirit, and its followers won’t have true faith or love toward God. We often say: That which stems from God must prosper and that which stems from man must be defeated. Thus, we can discern whether it is the true way according to whether there is the work of the Holy Spirit or not.

In addition, if it is the true way, there must be the expression of the truth. This is because only God is the truth, the way and the life, and only He can give us mankind life and supply us corrupt mankind according to our actual need.

For example, when the Lord Jesus came, He ended the Age of Law and initiated the Age of Grace.

He brought people grace in abundance and bestowed upon them many truths: One can be forgiven of his sins by confessing and repenting; those who are humble, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and who are persecuted in the name of righteousness are blessed and can enter into the heavenly kingdom; one should be tolerant and forgiving of others and love his enemies; one should bear the cross; one should worship God with heart and honesty, etc. These truths are what people of that time didn’t understand, what people needed in life, and the path to practice in the new age. That’s to say, if it is the true way, it can bring people new paths of practice; if it can’t bring people new paths of practice but repeats the previous work and word of God, it is not the true way; maybe it is the old way or the false way, or maybe it is the work of the evil spirit and Satan that imitate God’s past work to deceive people.

What’s more, in weighing whether or not it is the true way, we must look at whether it can enable us to have more and more knowledge of God and whether it can arouse our love for God. As is known to all, when God comes to do His own work, He certainly expresses His disposition and all that He has and is.

After experiencing the work of God, people will naturally gain true knowledge of God. For example, in the Age of Law, God decreed laws to guide man’s life on earth.

Through experiencing the work of the Lord Jesus, people realized that not only is God’s disposition majesty and curse, but also love and compassion. They also saw that not only is God a Spirit but He can also become flesh and humble Himself to be a man. He can talk with people face to face and He is full of love and tolerance….

All the work the Lord Jesus did brought people a new knowledge of God and aroused more love for God within them. Therefore, if it is the true way, it can bring man more knowledge of God and His disposition.

If we grasp these principles of distinguishing the true way and the false way, we’ll not fear being deceived.

The Lord Jesus said: “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6).

The Lord reminded us that if we want to welcome His return, we first need to actively seek and investigate, and need to grasp the principles of distinguishing between the true way and the false way and pay attention to listening for God’s voice to see if it contains God’s utterance. Only by doing so can we be the wise virgins.

If for fear of being deceived we still hold on to our conceptions and do not listen, read, or get in touch—giving up eating for fear of choking, we’ll never be able to welcome the return of the Lord.

Brother Guangming, I hope this fellowship will be useful to you. If you have any other problems, please write to communicate with us!

Yours sincerely,

Spiritual Q&A

Spiritual Q&ADiscern the True Way From False Ways

Contact Us! Any suggestions for our website, or any problems in your belief or life? Feel free to contact us. Chat live with us! Connect with us on Messenger

Источник: //www.rainbowtoken.com/discern-true-way-from-false-ways-welcome-Jesus.html