This sermon was preached at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Cherry Log, Georgia on Sunday, June 24, 2012 by Pastor Paul Mims.

A bishop of a century ago pronounced from his pulpit and in the periodical he edited that heavier-than-air flight was both impossible and contrary to the will of God. Oh, the irony that Bishop Wright had two sons, Orville and Wilbur! Wright was wrong. Sure of himself, but wrong. (Robert P. Dugan, Jr., Winning the New Civil War, Page 38.)
A pastor lived close to a man who raised horses. One day he was sitting on his porch thinking about the unpredictability of life. He reasoned that at any moment a person’s life could change.

As he was in deep thought, his neighbor passed by leading his horse. The pastor called out, “What are you going to do with that horse?” The man answered, “I’m going into town to sell it.” The pastor said, “You ought to say that you are going to sell it if it is the Lord’s will.” The man said, “This is my horse and I raised it specifically to be sold. I’ve even got a buyer for it. The Lord’s will won’t change anything.”

Later that day the neighbor passed by the pastor’s house again. He was covered in dirt, his clothes were ripped to pieces, and he was sore from one end to another. The astonished pastor asked him what happened.

The man said, “Well, I talked to you so long that I was late for my appointment with my buyer. To get there on time I took a short cut across a corn field owned by a cross old buzzard. Well, he saw me tramping through his field and started shooting at my horse. The horse panicked and fell on top of me and kicked me in the eye. Trying to get out from under the horse, I tore my clothes all to pieces. As I ran from that old man and his gun, I ran smack dab into a barbed wire fence. That is what happened to me.”

The pastor then asked, “Where are you going now?” The man answered, “I am going home…if it is the Lord’s will.”

Some of us have learned the importance of the Lord’s will the hard way. But there is a special blessedness in being in the center of God’s will for our lives. The all important question is “How can I know God’s will?”

It is not unusual for a student to finish college and still not have a direction for a career. Some people choose a marriage partner and then find out how hard it is to live without consulting God. It is easy to make a financial decision that will affect your life for years to come without seeking God’s guidance and then discover how much better it would have been to have chosen another course. So the Christian who wants to do God’s will must consult him about the directions that are taken in life.

God’s will is not something that is hidden from us causing us to go on a great search. It is something that is developed in us when we give God his rightful place in our lives.

I. TO KNOW GOD’S WILL WE MUST CONSULT GOD ABOUT OUR DECISIONS.
(Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto you own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.) vv.5-6.

These were some of the first verses that I learned as a young Christian. My church taught me that God had a plan for my life and that he would reveal it to me if I would consult him. As a teenager I began to pray, “Lord, show me your will for my life.” Soon there was born in me a conviction that was so strong that it was unmistakable. Then I read Isaiah 30:21 which said, “Your ears will hear a word behind you saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’” The course was charted.

“But,” you say, “You are a minister. Of course God would guide you. My career is a secular one. Is God interested in what I do?” Of course, God is just as interested in each individual and has a plan for each one. He can call to any profession that is within his will. He expects you to fulfill his divinely designed purpose for your life.

Life’s big choices are (1) To become a Christian and place our lives under his Lordship; (2) To choose our life’s mate following God’s leadership to the right person; (3) To fulfill our purpose in our career that God has chosen for us.

You see, God’s will is all inclusive. It involves the totality of life including both the big and little decisions and all of the minutiae that go into building a life. God is interested in them all and will direct in even the smallest detail if we will consult him.

II. TO KNOW GOD’S WILL IS A DAILY EXPERIENCE. (Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.) vv. 7-8.

God’s will is cumulative. If you are living in the center of his will today and seeking his continual guidance for your life, he will naturally lead you on into his will tomorrow. God has given us a will with which to choose his will.

“Teach me to do your will for you are my God; may your Spirit lead me on level ground.” (Psalm 143:10) “Grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” (Psalm 51:12)

Jesus said, “I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38) “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39) “When you pray say,…Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.) Luke 11:2.

Paul said, “I will return again to you, if God wills.” (Acts 18:21) “Be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2).

The will of God is not always known quickly. Sometimes it is verified only in hindsight. But a person whose desire is to know God’s will is a believer who will be protected by the Holy Spirit from getting out of God’s will.

When I was in High School, I got a job at Ramsey’s Grocery store in Quitman, Georgia for $.50 an hour and he gradually increased me to $.75 an hour. I would work after school on Fridays and all day on Saturdays up until about 10 o’clock. On my supper half hour, I would walk around to Mr. Bush’s book store. He carried many of the great Christian classics in paperback form for $.35. Often I would buy a book to read the next week because I was so hungry to learn about the great adventure of the Christian life. I would sit at my desk in my room and devour the rich truths that were unfolding before me. I learned a procedure for discerning God’s will that has been with me through the years. We have used it numerous times. It has five steps.

First, make sure that your will is surrendered to God. This means that you have to get to the point where you are really willing to do whatever God shows you. This sounds easy, but it is not. Our attitude cannot be “God show me your will and I will consider it.”

Second, make sure that your motives are pure. Ask yourself, “Why am I considering this course of action?” “Why do I want it?” “Why do I not want it?”

Third, gather all the information you can about the decision. We need to know everything that it is humanly possible to know about the decision that we have to make. The Holy Spirit can work better with an informed mind to show the pros and cons of the situation.

Fourth, pray much about the situation. It has to be bathed in prayer. “Lord, what do you want me to do?” “Lord, show me your perfect will.” In doing so a conviction will build in your heart and mind about the way you should go.

Fifth, wait until three things come into focus. Your inner conviction, a confirming scripture, and the outward circumstances. Usually, God will give you a scripture that applies to the situation which you have to be careful not to take out of context. Often, but not always the outward circumstances will make it possible to proceed on the course that the Lord shows you. When the circumstances are not right, but you have been led to see that you must proceed anyway, God will make a way for you through it. When these three things line up – you have your answer.

Most of this sermon has been about personal decisions that we all have to make. But there is another dimension of God’s will that we have to come to know and accept. That is about what happens in the lives of our family and loved ones in terms of health, life, and death. This is perhaps where we have the most difficulty in accepting God’s will for sometimes it seems so unjust. But we must remember that God is able to make all things work together for good in our lives.

Tomorrow morning I’ll open up your heart” the surgeon said to the 8 year-old-boy.

“You’ll find Jesus there,” the boy said.

The surgeon continued, “I’ll open your heart and check the damage.”

“You’ll find Jesus there,” the boy said.

“When I see the damage, I will suture you back up and then think about the next step,” said the surgeon.

“You will find Jesus in my heart because my Sunday school teacher told me so. She said it says so in the Bible. Besides that, our Sunday School songs say He lives there,” said the boy.

The surgery took place the next day. After the surgery the surgeon began to make notes of what he found. In his mind there was no hope and no cure. The little boy would die within a matter of months.

The thought began to get to the doctor and all of a sudden the doctor shouted to God, “Why did you do this to the boy? Why can’t he live a normal life?”

God spoke to the surgeon’s heart and said, “The boy is a part of my flock and will always be a part of my flock. When he is with me there will be no more suffering and pain. He will have comfort and peace. One day his parents as well as you will join him and my flock will continue to grow.”

The next day the surgeon went to the boy’s room and sat down with the parents beside the bed.

In a moment or two, the boy opened his eyes and asked very quietly, “What did you find in my heart?”

With tears in his eyes, the surgeon said, “I found Jesus there.”
(author unknown)

This is how the Lord gives us peace when his will is shrouded in mystery.

PRAISE BE TO HIS NAME!