Discerning the Will of God - Part 7

References:

(1) Although God’s plans and directions for each believer are not found in Scripture per se, the general foundational parameters/essential guidelines are there, and if we operate within those boundaries we can be confident we are operating in concert with what pleases Him.

(2) God has His sovereign will and His revealed will.

(3) Deut. 29:29 tells us that the “secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words” of His law.

(4) To this point we have discussed 8 parameters. God’s will is that you be saved, Spirit-filled, SANCTIFIED and GROW to MATURITY, develop Godly CHARACTER, be SUBMISSIVE to those in authority over us, endure SUFFERING because we are doing what is right, be thankful, and engaged in worship, fellowship, service to the Lord, and to join Him in ministry.

(5) The 9th parameter: God’s will is that “the just shall live by faith.”

(6) Positively, faith is TURNING TOWARD something or someone for the sake of reliance on that something or someone. In the dimension of salvation it is a turning TOWARD God. The apostle Paul gives an example of this when he tells King Agrippa of his encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 26:19-20).

(7) I believe it was the theologians of the Reformation, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, et al, who defined faith as knowledge, assent, and trust in the Lord.

(8) To trust is to believe in the reliability, truth, and ability of something or someone. When it comes to trusting God, that means believing in His reliability, the truth of His Word, and His ability to produce what He promised.

(9) To trust is to believe in the reliability, truth, and ability of something or someone. When it comes to trusting God, that means believing in His reliability, the truth of His Word, and His ability to produce what He promised.

(10) Faith is NOT FOOLISHNESS, exemplified by the man who started across thin ice on a pond, saying, “I just believe! I have faith this ice will hold me up.”

(11) Turning toward God is a POSITIVE aspect of FAITH; REPENTANCE is the NEGATIVE aspect of faith. Repentance is TURNING AWAY FROM something or someone. The biblical terms of repentance suggest a change of mind, of judgment, of purpose, of direction, of conduct. Repentance denotes properly a change for the BETTER, a change of MIND that is DURABLE and PRODUCTIVE OF GOOD CONDUCT.

(12) The 10th parameter: God’s will is that you must be OBEDIENT to His commands and purposes.

(13) Obedience can be defined as “submissive compliance to the commands of one in authority.”

(14) We understand the SPIRIT of obedience is as important as the ACT of obedience. We all know about the child having been told to sit down, responds “I may be sitting down on the OUTSIDE, but I am standing up on the INSIDE.” That child does not have the spirit of obedience.

This is episode 155.