How to Know God's Will - Serve
Paul – Proved the Will of God
The key to “proving” His will is to be in motion
Jeremiah – Direct Word
Abraham – Progressive Revelation
Moses – Passion
Joseph – Dreams
Gideon – Circumstances
Peter – Profession & Personality
Bezalel – Skill
David – Assignment
God’s will is not going to go against your personality & nature
God works inside ‘Your Purpose Frame’
Ps 139:13-16
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.
Instead of looking up, look inward at your frame & substance
1. What do you dream about?
2. What can I do? (skill & practical applications)
3. Where you have wisdom, creativity, focus & solutions
4. What’s easy for me to retain & explain?
5. Where do I feel “inspired” or “passionate” in my doing?
6. Where are my circles of appreciation?
Prayer:
Ps 143:8-10
Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You.
9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; in You I take shelter.
10 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God;
Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
It’s not “Tell me” – it’s “cause me to walk” & “Teach me to do”
That’s daily action & daily growth
That makes me look closer at these people who did His will
There is One Common Attribute of different people with different purposes
Serving
Paul – Not just in motion, proving His will…
Served an unserved group of people
Jeremiah – 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
A gift from God – to people
What God gives you is to make other people’s lives better
Then, your life gets better
Abraham – Genesis 12:1–3
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country,
from your family and from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you
And make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.
3 …And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Moses – A Passion to Set People Free
Joseph – Genesis 50:20
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good,
in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
Gideon – Judges 6:14
Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and
you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”
Peter – Jesus mentored Peter
Matthew 20:28
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.
John 13:14
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
Peter, in turn, passes on what he learned:
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another,
as good stewards of God’s varied grace – 1 Peter 4:10
What God gives you is to make other people’s lives better
Knowing God’s will is all about finding out where you are to serve in life
Bezalel – Exodus 31:3–4
Filled with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence,
with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs.
His work was a service to the house of God
David – Started out serving his father at home
Do you know how David came to kill lions & bears?
He was serving in the household of his father
Do you know how David came to encounter Goliath?
He was obeying his father – taking lunch to his brothers
Greatness only comes by serving
The greatest among you will be your servant. – Matt 23:11
Your path to knowing God’s will begins with serving
Serving is also your path to greatness
Right here (your church home) is a good place to start serving
Serving at the pleasure of your spiritual father