Word of Life Korea SYME Discipleship Topics



Week 18: WILL OF GOD

What is the Will of God?

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

PowerPoint Presentation
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OTHER DISCIPLESHIP TOPICS

01. Assurance of Salvation
02. Quiet Time
03. Prayer
04. The Church
05. Temptation
06. Evangelism
07. Scripture Memory
08. Godliness/Christlikeness
09. Old Testament Survey
10. Bible Study
11. Follow Up
12. The Tongue
13. Theology 1
14. Money
15. Christian Family
16. World Missions
17. Personal Testimony
18. Will of God
      What is the Will of God?
      Gideon's Fleece Game
      Making Wise Decisions
      Obeying the Will of God
19. Self Image
20. Christian Growth
21. Spiritual Gifts
22. Theology 2
23. Baptism & Lord's Supper
24. Cults
25. New Testament Survey
26. Lordship of Christ
27. Forgiveness
28. Theology 3
29. Spiritual Warfare
30. Servanthood
31. Discipleship
32. Faithfulness

OTHER BIBLE MESSAGES
Every Easter many American mothers buy extra eggs for the children to color and decorate. Once the eggs are prepared they are then hidden from the kids in various places in and around the house. The kids then go on this annual Easter Egg Hunt trying to find the eggs. After the easy-to-find eggs are found, help is sometimes needed. The child may ask, "Well, am I close?" If the parent says, "You're very warm," that means the child is close. If the parent says, "You're hot," that means the child is very very close to an egg. But if the parent says, "You are cool," that means that the child is not very close and should look someplace else. In the end the one who finds the most eggs wins.

To many believers God's will is like an Easter egg hunt. He has hidden His will (the eggs) from them. One egg is labeled "occupation." Another is marked "life partner." A third is "location." As believers try to find God's will for their lives, He is standing by, watching and helping with an occasional hint of "You're getting warmer" to let us know that we are in the general area of what He wants us to do. How do we know if our decisions are right? How do we know what God's will is for our lives? Let's look at what the Bible says about the will of God.

1. THE DEFINITION OF "WILL OF GOD"
God does not want us to be in the dark about the will of God. His will is not a secret or hidden. He wants us to "understand what the will of the Lord is" (Ephesians 5:17), and to "be filled with the knowledge of His will" (Colossians 1:9). God wants us to know His will.

The word "will" is translated in the Hebrew Scriptures with the words avah (which means "to consent"), chaphets (which means "to take delight in"), tseva (an Aramaic word which means "to desire") and ratson (which means "to be pleased with"). The Greeks used terms like boulomai (which means "to want") and eudokeo (which also means "to take delight in").

Basically, the phrase "will of God" means the desires of God; those things that please God; those things that God wants. If someone says "I'll do whatever the director wills," he is saying that he will do whatever the director desires, or would be pleased with or wants. We find the will of God in the word of God.

2. WHAT THE WORD OF GOD SAYS ABOUT THE WILL OF GOD
In the old days of the Jews, God told His people what He wanted through angels, dreams, visions and even verbally. But in the New Testament God spoke through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). Today we can know everything we need to know about this life and the will of God in the word of God. It gives "us all things pertaining to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).

So since the way for us to find out the will of God is in the word of God, let's do a little project. Look up the following verses and list as many things as you can that God likes; that pleases Him; that He desires; that He wants ... that He wills.

A. Salvation. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 : "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

B. Righteousness and Peace-Making. Romans 14:17-19 : "For the kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ and approved by men. So then we pursue the things that make for peace and the building up of one another."

C. Sexual Purity. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 : "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God ... For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness."

D. Submission and Obedience to Authority. Ephesians 6:5-7 : "Be obedient to those who are your masters ... doing the will of God from the heart ... as to the Lord, and not to men," 1 Peter 2:13-15 : "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors ... For such is the will of God."

E. Rejoicing, Praying, Thanksgiving. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:


1 Thessalonians
5:16-18		 "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

The Bible is full of verses like these. As you can see, God has spelled out in black and white what His will is for us. Psalms 40:8 says "I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is written within my heart."

3. GOD'S WILL IS MORE ABOUT WHO YOU ARE THAN WHAT YOU DO. When most people think about the will of God they think about the three big choices in life. 1. Who will I live my life for? - my life's purpose? 2. Who will I live my life with? - my life's partner? And 3. What will I spend my life doing? - my life's job? If you go back through these verses you will see that the will of God has more to do with who you are than what you do. If you are a Christian, if you're a peace-maker, if you're sexually pure, if you're submissive to authority, if you're thankful than you are doing what God wants, what He likes and you are in His will.

But God could tell you who to marry, where to live and what to do. If you did that but if you were angry or selfish or unthankful than you are not pleasing to God, you are not in His will. The will of God has more to do with what kind of person you are than where you go and what you do. If you want to be in the will of God you need to BE what God wants you to BE. Be Christlike. Be godly.
by Steve Nicholes

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