Matthew 16:1-3 NKJV Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. (2) He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; (3) and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
Ephesians 5:15-17 AMPC Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), (16) Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. (17) Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.
Colossians 1:9-10 AMPC For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and make [special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things– (10) That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition].
Romans 12:1-2 NKJV I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The word “perfect” in verse 2 should be translated “complete”.
If there is a “complete” will of God, then there must be an “incomplete” or partial will of God.
If we are living in the partial will of God, then we will only experience a portion of God’s highest and best and not all of it.
So, it would serve us well to determine what the complete will of God is for our lives.
Colossians 4:12 CEV Your own Epaphras, who serves Christ Jesus, sends his greetings. He always prays hard that you may fully know what the Lord wants you to do and that you may do it completely.
How do I find the perfect (complete) will of God for my life?
- The Word of God is the will of God.
If you are ignorant of the Word of God, then you will be ignorant of the will of God and the ways of God.
Once you know the will of God, don’t allow anything to cause you to question it. Don’t let people talk you out of it!
Keith Moore – “Find out what God has already said to you in His Word, and if He wants to say something else to you, He will.”
You need a foundation of the Word of God is to properly discern what you are hearing or perceiving.
John 10:4-5 NKJV And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. (5) Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
The way that you can know the voice of the Shepherd is to spend time in His Word and learn His voice.
Put the Word first place and final authority in your life!
Even in the specifics of life, it can always be traced back to the Word of God.
- Ask or inquire of the Lord.
Acts 13:22 NKJV And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID THE SON OF JESSE, A MAN AFTER MY OWN HEART, WHO WILL DO ALL MY WILL.’
David inquired of the Lord and purposed in his heart to do all the will of God.
The greatest enemy of the will of God is YOUR WILL!
- Delight to do the will of God.
A key to determining the perfect will of God for your life, is to want to do His will.
John 7:17 NKJV If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.
John 7:17 TPT If you want to test my teachings and discover where I received them, first be passionate to do God’s will, and then you will be able to discern if my teachings are from the heart of God or from my own opinions.
It does good for us to pray to receive knowledge of the will of God for our lives but not if you are not willing to do it.
Some of us are like the rich young man.
Luke 18:18-23 NKJV Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (19) So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. (20) You know the commandments: ‘DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,’ ‘DO NOT MURDER,’ ‘DO NOT STEAL,’ ‘DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,’ ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER.’ ” (21) And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” (22) So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (23) But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.
The Lord redirects the young man: (v. 19 – This section illustrates the case of a man who would not receive the kingdom of God as a little child. One day a certain ruler came to the Lord Jesus, addressing Him as Good Teacher, and asking what he must do in order to inherit eternal life. The Savior first of all questioned him on the use of the title good Teacher. Jesus reminded him that only God is good. Our Lord was not denying that He was God, but He was trying to lead the ruler to confess that fact. If He was good, then He must be God, since only God is essentially good.)
The young man was excited until he found out what the will of God was for his life. He thought he wanted to know but he wasn’t ready in his heart.
Do you really want to know?
A lot of people don’t really want to know what the will of God is for their life because it might mess up their life.
That is fear and mistrust.
On the other hand,
Abraham was willing to surrender his dream, his life, his future, and his legacy to the will of God because he trusted the promise of God which stated that out of Isaac a great nation would come.
That is not where it began though. It started with God revealing to Abram that He wanted him to leave is father’s house and go to a place that God would show him.
What did it take for him to get the next part? He was willing to go and obeyed and God showed him more.
Abraham trusted and obeyed God.
It takes trust to believe that God would never hurt me.
- Pursue the wisdom of God’s way.
Ephesians 5:15-17 NKJV See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, (16) redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (17) Therefore do not be unwise (foolish), but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Unwise – GREEK – mindless, stupid, ignorant, egotistic, rash
Understand – GREEK – to put together, the assembling of individual facts into an organized whole.
You cannot separate the will of God from the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God is the will of God.
The only way to redeem the time, is to pursue the wisdom of God.
When you say “yes” to the will of God, you are saying “yes” to the wisdom of God. You are acknowledging that God is smarter than you.
Colossians 1:9-10 NKJV For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (10) that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Wisdom (GREEK) – skill, tact, expertise in any art. Skill in the affairs of life, practical wisdom, wise management as shown in forming the best plans and selecting the best means.
Understanding (GREEK) – comprehension, the ability to understand concepts and see relationships between them.
It pleases God for us to walk out the will of God in wisdom and understanding.
Sample results of yielding to the wisdom of God:
Matthew 7:24-27 NKJV “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: (25) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (26) “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: (27) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Building your life on the rock is doing what He told you.
Building your life on the sand is not doing what He told you.
Building your life on the rock is the one that endured the storm of life.
A defining characteristic of wisdom of God is that it looks ahead and perceives the outcome.
Deuteronomy 32:29 NKJV Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!
Psalms 90:12 NKJV So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalms 90:12 NIV Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
The only way to avoid wasting precious time is to do things God’s way! That is wisdom!
Ecclesiastes 10:10 NKJV (10) If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success.
Ecclesiastes 10:10 ERV But wisdom will make any job easier. It is very hard to cut with a dull knife. But if you sharpen the knife, the job is easier.
Ecclesiastes 10:10 GNB If your ax is dull and you don’t sharpen it, you have to work harder to use it. It is smarter to plan ahead.
Ecclesiastes 10:10 GW If an ax is blunt and the edge isn’t sharpened, then one has to use more strength. But wisdom prepares the way for success.