A few days ago I wrote about a desire to understand God's Will and shared the first part of a two part sermon on God's Will. Today I watched part two of the sermon and thought that it would be helpful to understand what God's will does say for your life. This sermon was written especially for single or engaged people and has questions for you and your partner to answer, but is still applicable if you are married. To recap part one of sermon: your feelings are not a reliable source of knowing God's will, the advice you receive is not a reliable source of knowing God's will, the culture is not a reliable source of knowing God's will, and your circumstances are not a reliable source of knowing God's will. It isn't that these four things are necessarily bad, but that they don't actually indicate God's will. In my own life I have relied on my feelings to attune me to what God's will was for my life and I acted upon my feelings, the actions seemed rational and part of God's will, but occasionally the outcome was actually contrary to God's will (as recorded in the Bible). This doesn't just happen to me, and God can work our mistakes together for our good, but if we want to live the will of God then we need to know God's word.
Part two of Understanding the Will of God lists 8 examples of God's word showing God's will for our lives. So what does God's word actually say about God's will?
1) It is God's will that you love Him above all else. This is seen in Matthew 22:36-38 and Luke 14:26-27. Jesus said the greatest commandment God gave us was to love Him with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our minds. Remember that the Old Testament frequently refers to God as a jealous God and that He desires us to be His and His alone. This means that our hearts can't be tied up to other gods or material possessions. Our love for God should be so great that the love we have in comparison for other people seems like hate. Do you love God above all else? Does the person you're dating love God above all else?
2) It is God's will that you love people. This is seen in Matthew 22:37-40, Ephesians 5:1-2, Colossians 3:12-14, John 13:35, and 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. Jesus says this commandment is equally as important as the commandment to love God above all else. You can't claim to love God if you hate your brother because God is love. Your love for one another will prove that you are disciples of Jesus. This love extends to our enemies, our neighbors, our family, and our friends. We aren't allowed to choose who we love, we are to love everyone. Loving another person means that we meet their needs the same as we would meet our own. If they are hungry then we feed them, if they are thirsty then we give them something to drink, and if they are cold then we clothe them. Do you care about people? Does the person you're dating care about people?
3) It is God's will that you become like Jesus. This is seen in Romans 8:29. Our goal should be that our lives would constantly become more like Jesus, with the understanding that we will never be able to completely become like Jesus. In order to become more like Jesus you have to know the life Jesus led. Is your life being transformed into the image of Jesus? Do you see Jesus in the person you're dating?
4) It's God's will that you live a pure and disciplined lifestyle. This is seen in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, Titus 2:11-13, and 1 Peter 1:13-16. Our lives are meant to be holy, they should be set apart from the lives of the unbelievers, and be a life that gives unbelievers a reason to know Jesus. This is a controversial point in modern culture, but I challenge you to think about it this way: if every person in the world lived a pure and disciplined lifestyle there would not be sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, or babies born out of wedlock. Babies are a blessing, but babies born in a dysfunctional family (this is the case for most babies born out of wedlock) are born into the world with adult problems and their life begins with struggle. All people don't follow this point and there is a lot of heartache because of it, but God can work it all together for the good of those who love Him so don't give up. Do you work hard to live a holy life? Is the person you're dating able to control him or herself? Is he or she living a holy life?
5) It's God's will that you live with an attitude of gratitude. This is seen in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Romans 8:28, and Philippians 4:4-5. We are called to have grateful hearts, to focus on what we have rather than what we don't, and to be joyful in all circumstances. This doesn't mean we are joyful for our circumstances, but that we are able to be joyful in all circumstances. You might not be joyful for your cancer, but you should be joyful while you have cancer. Joy is not the result of circumstances, but a constant presence in the love of God, which exists in all circumstances. I know it is difficult to be thankful always, but I have found that if you end each day thanking God for 3 things that happened in your day, you are more likely to have a grateful attitude. Are you a thankful person? Does the person you're dating have an attitude of gratitude?
6) It's God's will that you honor Him with your wealth. This is seen in Proverbs 3:9, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, and 2 Corinthians 8:1-5. God does not need our money, everything is already His, but giving Him the first part of our wealth is giving Him honor and thanking Him for His blessings. I imagine when your bills are due or you really want to buy something that you are pretty thankful for your wealth so remember to thank God because He has blessed you with that money. Do you honor the Lord with part of your wealth? Does the person you're dating honor the Lord with a part of his or her wealth?
7) It's God's will that you obey His word. This is seen in John 10:24-27, John 14:23-24, John 17:6-8, 1 John 2:3-6, 1 John 5:3, James 1:22, John 7:17, and 2 Corinthians 13:5. If God didn't want us to obey His word then He wouldn't have had it written down for us. There would be no point of a written record of His commands if we weren't expected to follow them. Do you have a desire to obey God's word? Does the person you're dating have a desire to obey God's word?
8) It's God's will that you do not marry an unbeliever. This is seen in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15. Obeying this aspect of God's will prevents heartache in the future, especially if children will be involved. 11 years ago I began dating a young man, who initially said he was a believer, but after we started dating said he wasn't. Honestly, I could have walked away right then and forgot all about him, my pastor even encouraged me to do this, but I didn't. Now that isn't to say that I accepted his unbelief, but rather I took it as an opportunity to introduce him to God. Over the 3-4 years of our relationship I demonstrated God's love for him and each morning I would call him to read him a devotional. I didn't accept no as an answer and for his part he was receptive to listening. I gave him my Bible and let God work in his heart. At the end of our relationship he finally accepted Jesus into his heart and is still a believer to this day. I don't regret dating him, but I would be lying if I said him being an unbeliever wasn't challenging. I mention this because I don't think anyone should give up on someone who is receptive to hearing the word of God, but there isn't a guarantee that they will believe so hold off on marrying that person and save yourself some unnecessary heartache. Are you dating someone who isn't a follower of Jesus?
I challenge everyone to think over these 8 points and to answer the questions at the end of each point. This will give you understanding of how well you really follow God's will and give you an idea of areas that you struggle in.
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