11/11/12 How to Know His Will!
Text: Proverbs
2:1-6 (NKJV)
1 My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within
you, 2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to
understanding; 3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice
for understanding, 4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for
hidden treasures; 5 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the
knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge
and understanding.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives
to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5
Intro:
God supplies: If you’re naked He can cloth you. If you’re hungry He can feed
you. If your cup is empty He can fill it… The list can go on and on and yet
there are many in our world that their soul is starving, the heart is naked and
their wondering in a wilderness of sin their life is empty.
It has been said, “God
loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” In watching average
Christians, one sometimes wonders if most have any idea about the truth of a
wonderful plan for their lives. How about the will of God for your life? Have
you found that wonderful plan, and are you living according to it?
The Blessings
of Wisdom: In ancient times, people often sought their fortunes by seeking
buried treasure. In our day, people might seek earthly treasure by playing the
stock market. The book of Proverbs calls upon us to search for wisdom as a
hidden treasure. The benefits of wisdom far outweigh what one can receive from
earthly riches. True wisdom is not merely intellectual knowledge but a
transformation of character.
Application: The reward of heeding wisdom. (Heeding
defined means: Paying attention)
The Word and its Wisdom can allow us to really
know His Will for our Life.
1. The Need to Know God’s Will:
I think we can all
agree that human experience shows us: many of us have messed up lives, mixed up
marriages and unhappy personalities. The Bible shows us: that which is perfect,
good, and acceptable, that which can be known. Have you ever wondered if you’re
in God’s directive will, or is it His permissive will?
If any of you lacks
wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously (kindly) and without
reproach (criticism), and it will be given to him’ and imagine that God simply
zaps us with the quality of wisdom when we ask him. Proverbs explains that God
grants wisdom by means of a process. In order to gain this treasure, you must
exert effort in digging deep for it. The word ‘if’ occurs three times here in
the present text, indicating specific conditions for the blessings that are
promised.
Does your soul thirst after knowledge? Some people are hard, like the
path in Jesus’ parable of the soils. God’s Word just bounces off them. Others
are like the good soil that held the seed fast and bore much fruit. In the
previous chapter, Wisdom pleaded with you to pay attention to her. Have you
heeded her cry? Do you treasure God’s Word in your soul? In 1849 thousands of
men were willing to leave their comfortable homes to travel to far-away
California, where they lived in tents and spent day after day in back-breaking labor,
all because they hoped to find a few nuggets of gold. O if we did that with the
word of God and to the teachings of scripture and preaching! Merely going
through the motions of religion will not make you wise. You must fully exert
yourself and dig deeply.
Do you actively memorize Scripture? In so doing, you
fill your mind, like a vault, with wisdom. Are you a good listener? To show up
in church sleepy or distracted shows a disrespectful attitude towards God and
his Word. The fool sleeps and daydreams in church. His halfhearted attitude
towards the Word of God contributes to the hardening of his heart.
“So we must
listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from
it.” Hebrews 2:1
There should be a need to know God’s will! Grasp His wisdom.
2..
The Finding of God’s Will: vs. 1-6
So what are these steps to knowing? Put a
priority on God’s Word. “Treasure my commands within you.” Hide it in safe
custody, the Word of God is the only source of revelation. Be sincerely open to
what God has for you: “incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to
understanding.” “Sharpen your ear”, “Turn your heart” you will see that this covers
the internal, intellectual, emotional aspects. Earnestly pray for God to reveal
it to you: “cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding.”
Earnestness goes beyond sincerity.
The passage speaks of “Cry” and “Lift your
voice” Sincerely seek it through every possible means: “search for her as for
hidden treasures.” Dig for it. We ought to proactively pursue wisdom. Like the
thousands that wait in lines for hours and possibly days at a nearby stadium
for the chance to audition on American Idol. Many will do virtually anything to
attain their goal of being a famous pop star. We see many others pursuing
financial fortunes with the same zeal. We should pursue wisdom with even
greater fervor.
Because of sin, we are mentally and morally blind. We need the
Holy Spirit to give us the light and sight of understanding. Without the
Spirit’s help, you can’t correctly apprehend God’s truth. Do you prayerfully
seek God’s help as you study the Bible and attend the preaching of the Word?
Plead with God to open your eyes that you might see wonderful things in his
Word. Just as a hungry baby insistently cries with a need that only the mother
can satisfy, so we should ‘like newborn babies long for the pure milk of the
word, that by it [we] may grow in respect to salvation’
“Like newborn babies,
you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience
of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment.” 1 Peter 2:2 (NLT)
Have you said in
your heart, ‘I really want to know God’? The fact that you desire wisdom is
evidence of his working in your life to help you gain wisdom.
“But the natural
man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1
Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)
If you haven’t figured it out by now finding God’s
wisdom is His will for you.
3. Hindrances to Knowing God’s Will:
There is the
problem with one’s self will. You do not really want to know His will as it
might conflict with your own. Don’t forget the indifference - do not really
care. I am waiting for a special moment, the perfect time or circumstances, yah
right! Desire for some “special feeling” This confuses the will of God, stress
on having to follow feeling rather than fact, allowing feeling to dominate. Plain
and simple it is failure to do what we already know of God’s will!
It is so
crucial that you find the will of the Lord! His will involves your salvation. “For
the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep
your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.” 1 Peter 3:10
(NLT)
“He is not willing that any should perish…” You must start at the
beginning by being sure you know His salvation.
Just a reminder PRAY for it! Just
as the gold miner had to use a pick to dig deep for the gold found in
California, so you must be prepared to dig deeply into God’s Word. Slow down
and meditate upon what you read. Use the tools God has given you to dig deeper
into the Scriptures.
This single-minded pursuit of wisdom is what James refers
to of his epistle. The double-minded man who says he wants wisdom but doesn’t
earnestly pursue it will not receive anything from the Lord. The person who
pursues wisdom wholeheartedly will be abundantly blessed.
James 1:6-8 (NKJV)
6 But
let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the
sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will
receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all
his ways.”
Conclusion: “Keep seeking wisdom that’s where you find His will” You
never ‘arrive’ when it comes to the practical knowledge of God’s Word. Keep
listening, praying, and pursuing. If you aren’t growing in wisdom, it is
probably because you have not been seeking and treasuring wisdom as you should.
Perhaps you have valued earthly things, which are like fool’s gold, above the
lasting treasures of God, which will bring you joy and success forever.
Real wisdom
only comes from God!
In : Sermon
Tags: "his will"
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