A lot of us seem to have a problem knowing what the Lord REALLY wants us to do..
It IS the Lord's will that we know. In fact, the Word of God says 'NOT' to know, is unwise..
i) "be not unwise but knowing what the will of the Lord is.."..
ii) "Epaphras, one of you, always labouring fervently for you in prayer, that you would stand complete in ALL the will of God.."
iii) "..that you may prove what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.."
Jesus said.. I came not to do My will but the will of Him that sent Me"
OLD TESTAMENT:
Waiting on the Lord: This is an Old Testament practice. Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit was only upon the Prophet, the Priest and the King. So if you wanted to know the will of God in a matter, you had to find out a Prophet of God and ask him what the will of God was in a certain matter. Also, the word 'wait' means 'to entwine (join) yourself with'.. not 'hang around until something happens' ~ There are a lot of examples of this .. BUT there is no scripture on seeking the will of God in this manner in the new covenant. I know many have done this and got results but there is a more excellent way.. The New Testament NEW TESTAMENT:
The New Testament example of this is found in the Book of Acts. The believers were now born of and filled with the Holy Spirit and could freely come into the Lord's presence, because of the Blood of Jesus Christ and seek Him for themselves. "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said.." Notice what the believers were doing.. They were 'ministering to' the Lord.. Not praying, or waiting.. but now as 'kings and priests unto God' They were spending time with Him.. The result of this, was that the Holy Spirit said "Separate unto Me Barnabas and Saul for the work, I have called them to do" They (Barnabas and Saul) received clear direction about the will of God for their lives.. We have a clear example to follow here in obtaining the will of God in our lives. Let's use it! MY EXPERIENCES:
During the past 25 years, there have been times when I REALLY needed to know the will of God.
Starting out in ministry, I had a bit of a dilemma.. I had no money! There was 3 things I could do.
1) I could go and get a job
2) I could go to the goldfields and look for some gold. (I was ok at prospecting and had done it before)
3) I could go down South and preach the Gospel.. I was down the front of the church during the day praying about what to do. I was doing the usual walking backwards and forwards like a caged lion and asking the Lord what to do.. Nothing! If God was even on the planet, I didn't know about it! (being honest here.. ok) I gave up after an hour or so and went up into the Sound room to record some cassettes from the morning service. As I did, this is what happened! Suddenly, large gold letters, about 4 inches high appeared to my right hand side and passed in front of me, disappearing to my left. I immediately knew that they were scriptures from the Word of God. They were.. "You have an anointing from the Holy One and know all things"
"The Lord give you understanding in all things"
"The anointing you have received, teaches you of all things and is truth.."
"All things that the Father has is Mine, when He is come He will take of Mine and reveal it to you" Then in all capitals and about 6 inches high, came the words "ALL THINGS" and with them came the understanding.. The Bible states that "out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established" Here was 4 scriptures.. all from the New Testament. I immediately went back down the front of the church and started to pray again. THIS time, I prayed in FAITH! You see, before I was praying in unbelief! I said "What do I do Lord?" ~ Yet the Word of God said "You have an anointing from the Holy One and know all things" Well, to be honest, I didn't know all things, let alone where to go.. BUT I took God at His Word.. He said I did, so I believed Him, despite what my mind was telling me.. (You see the Bible says.. "God Who gives life to the dead and calls those things that are not, as though they were..") When He spoke to Abraham about having a son, He said. "I HAVE (Past tense..not, I am going to) made thee a father of many nations" Well, he was about 90 years old and Sarah's time for having children had LONG gone.. BUT He believed what God had said.. and the son came along. Another example is God speaking to Joshua about taking the promised land. "See! I have (past tense) given Jericho into thy hand" In the natural, it certainly didn't look like that to Joshua. All he could 'see' was massive walls and chariots racing around the top of them! But God had said that He 'had'.. not was going to, deliver it into his hand, so Joshua chose to believe what God had said and the victory was his.. So I changed my prayer.. "Father, I thankyou that you give me understanding in all things! Thank you I see clearly where to go and what to do. (my mind still didn't have a clue) Thank you Holy Spirit for taking of the Lords and revealing it to me.." This went on for around 10-15 minutes. Just saying and agreeing with what the scriptures said. Then I stopped and said. "Lord, I have 3 ways to go.. and I choose this way. I will go down South and preach the Gospel" I packed up and drove home. On the way, the Lord suddenly said "Go to John's house" (a friend of mine) I was right near the turn off, so I went to his place, a couple of minutes away. When I got there, another friend of mine was there too. To cut a long story short, we ended up having a time of prayer before I left. During the prayer time, she stopped and said. "The Lord wants me to tell you something but it doesn't make any sense" I said "that's ok.. say it anyway!".. "No" she said "maybe it's not the Lord" so we carried on praying. After a few more minutes, she stopped again and said. "No, this IS the Lord and He wants me to tell you.. 'You see the way clearly!" She had no idea what had happened back at the church and the way I had chosen! ~ Well, then I shared with her what had happened and we were all blessed! You see, I was praying in unbelief.. God said, I knew what to do.. I said, I didn't have a clue.. When I got in line with what the Word of God said, I got answers and confirmation! I have found that He will always confirm what He has said. ANOTHER TIME:
"The Kingdom of God is not in meat and drink but in Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost" Another time came, when I knew it was time for me to move on from my home church and get my own building. I went to a local estate agents and looked for a building that would suit my needs. I sat there whilst he went through the buildings he had available. None of these interested me at all.. then suddenly, he said "I've just got this one come in" and my attention went up! "Let's go and have a look at these 2 buildings" Mike said. We went on our way to the the first one. I went in and whilst it 'looked' good, there was no peace or joy about it at all and I went straight back to his car. We then went to the next building. When I went in, I started to laugh! The joy of the Lord bubbled up and I 'knew' it was what the Lord had prepared for me. It was 'Right' I had 'Peace' and the 'Joy' came and I knew! THIRD TIME:
It started, when I just 'felt' that something wasn't right. No voices, just 'feeling' or 'impression' that I needed to find out what to do. So I acted upon ACTS13 and took some time out to 'minister to the Lord' I would go for walks in the evening with Him and just pray that "I would stand in all the complete and prefect will of God" Then I would just minister to Him. I would tell Him of my love for Him, thanking Him for what He had done for me and my family, worshipping Him and generally just having fellowship with Him. (especially in other tongues or in the Spirit) Well, this went on for a few weeks ~ Again.. nothing. (Note: If you say to God. "Lord, where do you want me to go?" and a voice answers back "China" ~ I doubt that is the Lord!) ~ So I kept at it, just 15-20 minute walks. THEN.. one evening a 'knowing' started to grow on the inside of me.. Not a voice, just a 'knowing' ~ Regardless of this, I thought.. "No. I NEED to REALLY know" so I kept ministering to Him but from that moment on, the 'knowing' grew and grew until one evening, I KNEW that I KNEW what His will was.. Heaven and Earth could have passed away right then but nothing would have moved me! ~ This produces an unshakable faith in what you are doing for the glory of God. Lack of this initial confidence, (which really is your foundation) is the reason of a lot of us get moved from what we are doing. We don't spend the time necessary ministering to Him. To 'know that we 'know' that we know' before we launch out into something.. If you will take the time to do it, when the going gets tough, you WON'T give up.. Trust this has helped you.. God Bless God Bless Do you know someone who would benefit from this article? Simply fill out their address below and send!
Waiting on the Lord: This is an Old Testament practice. Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit was only upon the Prophet, the Priest and the King. So if you wanted to know the will of God in a matter, you had to find out a Prophet of God and ask him what the will of God was in a certain matter. Also, the word 'wait' means 'to entwine (join) yourself with'.. not 'hang around until something happens' ~ There are a lot of examples of this .. BUT there is no scripture on seeking the will of God in this manner in the new covenant. I know many have done this and got results but there is a more excellent way.. The New Testament NEW TESTAMENT:
The New Testament example of this is found in the Book of Acts. The believers were now born of and filled with the Holy Spirit and could freely come into the Lord's presence, because of the Blood of Jesus Christ and seek Him for themselves. "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said.." Notice what the believers were doing.. They were 'ministering to' the Lord.. Not praying, or waiting.. but now as 'kings and priests unto God' They were spending time with Him.. The result of this, was that the Holy Spirit said "Separate unto Me Barnabas and Saul for the work, I have called them to do" They (Barnabas and Saul) received clear direction about the will of God for their lives.. We have a clear example to follow here in obtaining the will of God in our lives. Let's use it! MY EXPERIENCES:
During the past 25 years, there have been times when I REALLY needed to know the will of God.
Starting out in ministry, I had a bit of a dilemma.. I had no money! There was 3 things I could do.
1) I could go and get a job
2) I could go to the goldfields and look for some gold. (I was ok at prospecting and had done it before)
3) I could go down South and preach the Gospel.. I was down the front of the church during the day praying about what to do. I was doing the usual walking backwards and forwards like a caged lion and asking the Lord what to do.. Nothing! If God was even on the planet, I didn't know about it! (being honest here.. ok) I gave up after an hour or so and went up into the Sound room to record some cassettes from the morning service. As I did, this is what happened! Suddenly, large gold letters, about 4 inches high appeared to my right hand side and passed in front of me, disappearing to my left. I immediately knew that they were scriptures from the Word of God. They were.. "You have an anointing from the Holy One and know all things"
"The Lord give you understanding in all things"
"The anointing you have received, teaches you of all things and is truth.."
"All things that the Father has is Mine, when He is come He will take of Mine and reveal it to you" Then in all capitals and about 6 inches high, came the words "ALL THINGS" and with them came the understanding.. The Bible states that "out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established" Here was 4 scriptures.. all from the New Testament. I immediately went back down the front of the church and started to pray again. THIS time, I prayed in FAITH! You see, before I was praying in unbelief! I said "What do I do Lord?" ~ Yet the Word of God said "You have an anointing from the Holy One and know all things" Well, to be honest, I didn't know all things, let alone where to go.. BUT I took God at His Word.. He said I did, so I believed Him, despite what my mind was telling me.. (You see the Bible says.. "God Who gives life to the dead and calls those things that are not, as though they were..") When He spoke to Abraham about having a son, He said. "I HAVE (Past tense..not, I am going to) made thee a father of many nations" Well, he was about 90 years old and Sarah's time for having children had LONG gone.. BUT He believed what God had said.. and the son came along. Another example is God speaking to Joshua about taking the promised land. "See! I have (past tense) given Jericho into thy hand" In the natural, it certainly didn't look like that to Joshua. All he could 'see' was massive walls and chariots racing around the top of them! But God had said that He 'had'.. not was going to, deliver it into his hand, so Joshua chose to believe what God had said and the victory was his.. So I changed my prayer.. "Father, I thankyou that you give me understanding in all things! Thank you I see clearly where to go and what to do. (my mind still didn't have a clue) Thank you Holy Spirit for taking of the Lords and revealing it to me.." This went on for around 10-15 minutes. Just saying and agreeing with what the scriptures said. Then I stopped and said. "Lord, I have 3 ways to go.. and I choose this way. I will go down South and preach the Gospel" I packed up and drove home. On the way, the Lord suddenly said "Go to John's house" (a friend of mine) I was right near the turn off, so I went to his place, a couple of minutes away. When I got there, another friend of mine was there too. To cut a long story short, we ended up having a time of prayer before I left. During the prayer time, she stopped and said. "The Lord wants me to tell you something but it doesn't make any sense" I said "that's ok.. say it anyway!".. "No" she said "maybe it's not the Lord" so we carried on praying. After a few more minutes, she stopped again and said. "No, this IS the Lord and He wants me to tell you.. 'You see the way clearly!" She had no idea what had happened back at the church and the way I had chosen! ~ Well, then I shared with her what had happened and we were all blessed! You see, I was praying in unbelief.. God said, I knew what to do.. I said, I didn't have a clue.. When I got in line with what the Word of God said, I got answers and confirmation! I have found that He will always confirm what He has said. ANOTHER TIME:
"The Kingdom of God is not in meat and drink but in Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost" Another time came, when I knew it was time for me to move on from my home church and get my own building. I went to a local estate agents and looked for a building that would suit my needs. I sat there whilst he went through the buildings he had available. None of these interested me at all.. then suddenly, he said "I've just got this one come in" and my attention went up! "Let's go and have a look at these 2 buildings" Mike said. We went on our way to the the first one. I went in and whilst it 'looked' good, there was no peace or joy about it at all and I went straight back to his car. We then went to the next building. When I went in, I started to laugh! The joy of the Lord bubbled up and I 'knew' it was what the Lord had prepared for me. It was 'Right' I had 'Peace' and the 'Joy' came and I knew! THIRD TIME:
It started, when I just 'felt' that something wasn't right. No voices, just 'feeling' or 'impression' that I needed to find out what to do. So I acted upon ACTS13 and took some time out to 'minister to the Lord' I would go for walks in the evening with Him and just pray that "I would stand in all the complete and prefect will of God" Then I would just minister to Him. I would tell Him of my love for Him, thanking Him for what He had done for me and my family, worshipping Him and generally just having fellowship with Him. (especially in other tongues or in the Spirit) Well, this went on for a few weeks ~ Again.. nothing. (Note: If you say to God. "Lord, where do you want me to go?" and a voice answers back "China" ~ I doubt that is the Lord!) ~ So I kept at it, just 15-20 minute walks. THEN.. one evening a 'knowing' started to grow on the inside of me.. Not a voice, just a 'knowing' ~ Regardless of this, I thought.. "No. I NEED to REALLY know" so I kept ministering to Him but from that moment on, the 'knowing' grew and grew until one evening, I KNEW that I KNEW what His will was.. Heaven and Earth could have passed away right then but nothing would have moved me! ~ This produces an unshakable faith in what you are doing for the glory of God. Lack of this initial confidence, (which really is your foundation) is the reason of a lot of us get moved from what we are doing. We don't spend the time necessary ministering to Him. To 'know that we 'know' that we know' before we launch out into something.. If you will take the time to do it, when the going gets tough, you WON'T give up.. Trust this has helped you.. God Bless God Bless Do you know someone who would benefit from this article? Simply fill out their address below and send!