4 Steps to Knowing God’s Will (PART 2)
PART 2
(Click here to see other posts in this series as they’re posted)
Be Sure You’re In Fellowship With God!
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” John 10:27
If you want to know God’s will for your life, you must be in fellowship with God. In other words, if you aren’t listening, you won’t hear him! This is where we just do what we already know we are supposed to do as a Christian. It becomes not just a duty, but our deepest desire to know God and to hear his voice!
1. Get Into The Bible
“Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25b-27
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105
The best way to know what God wants for your life is to take his word for it! It is amazing to me how many well-intended Christians want to serve God, but they’ve never read the love-letter, instruction manual, and road map that he’s given them! Have you read it? Get into God’s Word and let it get into you! You will be amazed at how God will wash away things in your life that don’t matter, he’ll give you wisdom and guidance for the journey. Here are a couple of tips:
Find a regular time you can read. For me, it’s in the morning before I do anything else. It helps me to focus and start out my day with God’s word in my mind. Some might not be able to focus early on, so the evening works better for them. Whatever you do, make it a priority and don’t let other things draw you away from it!
Set a regular pace. You don’t have to read 100 chapters a day to be spiritual, but you should read something. I use a reading plan which lays out my daily reading each day to get through the Bible systematically.
Don’t read just to read. Read to understand. Read to be convicted. Read to know God. Read, asking God to show you something for today. He will, you just have to focus and look for it!
2. Find Time To Pray
“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray” Luke 11:1
Reading God’s word is how God speaks to us. Praying is how we speak to God. Cast your cares on him. You don’t have to use big, flowery words, just talk to him! He’s a person, and you can come to him as a dad. He wants to hear you. He longs for you to talk to him. Why do you talk to everybody else before talking to the one that cares the most? There’s much that could be said about prayer, but perhaps we’ll save that for another post. Learn to pray.
3. Get Around Other Believers
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:19-25
This is a lengthy passage, but I want you to see something. If you’re in God’s family, you have access to him! You can come with boldness! Because of this, you should come near him, you should hold fast to him, and you should get around others to help and be helped. It’s been said that nobody is an island. Your life affects somebody, and you are constantly affected by others. Some say that they can worship God on their own, and that’s true, but it’s not God’s purpose for you to live the Christian life alone. Get around others who will excite you, exhort you and encourage you. You need the church. The church needs you. In scripture, the church is often described as a body. You should find your place in the body.
4. Maintain An Attitude of Repentance
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1:7-10
When you accepted Christ as Savior, God took your account of sin and marked it “paid in full!” He then took your record of goodness, and wrote down all of the righteousness of Christ. So, eternally, before God, I am accepted through Christ. My sin isn’t written down anymore! (See 2 Corinthians 5:17-21). However, we still battle the sinful desires of the flesh. Sometimes, you will mess up. God still accepts you eternally, but by our sin we can hinder our relationship while here in this body. This might seem confusing, but think of it this way; our lives are like a lamp. We are meant to give light to a dark place, but if the lamp is dirty, our light doesn’t go very far. We can be bright on the inside, but with dirt, grime and crud caked up on the outside, we won’t be able to fulfill our purpose. This is why we ought to maintain an attitude of repentance. When we mess up, just get back up, asking God for help. He is a merciful and patient God. He is the God of second (and third and fourth and….) chances. Isn’t that great?
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So, to know God’s will, first you must be sure you’re in the family of God! Second, be sure you stay in fellowship with God. Stay tuned for Part 3.
4 Steps To Knowing God’s Will (PART 1)
As a young person, there was nothing I wanted more than to know what I was supposed to do with my life and how to do it. It was always something that was somewhat mystifying to me. Will I get a vision? Will I start shaking? Will I see a light? … The list goes on. Little did I know that God’s will isn’t some distant, hard-to-understand object to be desired, rather, it is something we can know, we can grasp, and we can live.
I think there are many people out there today that would claim to be Christian, but they still haven’t figured out the purpose God has for their lives. Maybe that’s you. Maybe you long to know how to be right in the middle of God’s will, but you’re not sure where to start. Over the next few days, I’d like to share a little of what I’ve learned in this area. I think this series of posts will be a help to you.
PART ONE
(Click here to see other posts in this series as they’re posted)
Be Sure You’re In The Family!
It is amazing to me how many people are religious but still “lost” according to the Bible. Consider what Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
You see, there are many things done in the “name of Jesus” by people who don’t even know Him! As one preacher put it, this is the hard way to Hell. Religion is hard work, but religion isn’t enough! So, just how can you know you’re saved? How can you be in the family?
1. Know Your Sinful Condition
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” Romans 3:10
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3: 23
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” Ezekiel 18:20
If we never see ourselves as sinners, we’ll never need to be saved. You must admit that you need a Savior before Jesus can save you. The truth is, all of us have done wrong.
2. Know the Consequence of Sin
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
So, the payment for sins, contrary to popular belief, isn’t works. Most believe that if they do more good than bad that God will let them into heaven. But the payment for sin, according to God’s word, is death. This “death” is also known as the second death, or Hell. That is what we deserve. To make sure you’re in the family of God, you MUST KNOW THIS! If you were to die today, and stand before God, would you be found innocent or guilty? Have you broken His law? The payment for breaking his law is death. Somebody has to pay this penalty.
3. Know that Christ died in your place
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” Galatians 3:13
“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
Christ is our only hope. You may have heard that he died on the cross, but why? He did it for you and me. He did it because it was the only way. Somebody had to die, and through his death, all of our sins were paid for. And now, through his resurrection we have victory over sin, hell and the grave. Only through Christ do we have a chance of Heaven, because HE is the only way, the truth and the life! (See John 14:6).
4. Repent and Believe on Christ
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
“And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31-32
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
So friend, you may have been playing a game all of your life… that all changes now. Make sure you’re in the family! Don’t put it off! Don’t let pride stop you! Repent and Believe on Christ. What does it mean to repent? It means a change of mind, or in other words, you turn from believing in your own goodness and works, your religion, a religious act, your church or your family, and you turn COMPLETELY to Christ. Believe on him. Don’t just believe IN him (that’s knowing about him), but believe ON him (that’s putting all of your confidence in him)!
What are you trusting in to get to you to Heaven? Be sure you’re in the family! Call on Christ today, accept Him as your only Savior, and he will adopt you into the family!
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” John 1:12
Once you’re “born again” (John 3:3-7), you can have complete peace that you’re in the family of God. We can be secure in our salvation, because it doesn’t depend on us to keep us saved. It depends completely on Jesus Christ and what he has already done for us! (See John 10:27-30). Once we’re in, we’re in. (See 1 John 5:13).
Are you in the Family? Are you saved? That is the first step to knowing God’s will.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series.
I Just Need To Say…
Thank you.
I was thinking today about all those of you that have invested us, and it really blows me away!
You have sacrificed time in praying for us regularly.
You have sacrificed finances and given so that we may go.
You have treated us more kindly than we deserve.
You have cared for us, loved us, helped us, kept in touch…
We are spoiled.
I feel like the most blessed person in the world.
Every minute, every dime, every thought and kind word given has helped us on our way to Colombia.
God has been doing a great work, and you’ve had a part!
Lives have been and will be eternally impacted because of you.
So, thank you!
Video Update – June 2013
Here is a quick video to let you know what is going on with our family this month as we journey to Colombia, South America to start churches and teach the Bible.
In this update:
- Deputation is almost finished!
- We lost a pregnancy, but we know that God has a plan in it
- Challenge about Colombia
Keep up with our story and find out more at http://www.bemagnified.org
Class, Camp, Celebration, & Challenge – A Machine Gun Update
Hey friends! There has been much going on lately in the Vance family household. God has been good (what’s new there?!) and we’ve been enjoying each minute. This post is simply to get you all up to speed on some amazing recent events… (I alliterated it for my preacher friends, so bear with me).
Class
The past week was both exciting and exhausting as I was privileged to teach a 14 hour modular class at the Our Generation Training Center on Evangelism & Leader Training in Catholic Cultures. God really blessed as we went through the Master Plan of World Evangelism and some of The Gospel According to Rome. I’d definitely recommend both of these books if you are serious about both learning how Jesus trained leaders to reach the world, and how to deliver the Gospel to those that are close yet still depend on works.
Camp
My family and I will leave Monday morning to spend a week with teens and college students from around the country at the OG Student Leadership Camp. I was at the very first camp that was held 9 years ago just before I spent 6 months in Peru preparing for the mission field. The camp helped me tremendously as I was able to get around missionaries that were getting the job done in reaching people and training men. It was encouraging to see how God was using other young men, and now I’m able to return on the other side of that equation. Please pray that God works in the lives of the many teens and singles that will be there. God has a plan for each of them. Pray that some are saved, some are called, and all would be surrendered to God’s will for their life!
Celebration
This Sunday our little Anabel turns 1-year-old! It’s crazy how time flys by. It seems like just last week that we brought her home from the delivery room. It seems like just yesterday she was starting treatment for her tumor (which is doing fantastic, by the way), and it seems like a few minutes ago she was an infant. Now she’s trying to talk, walk (she’s getting close!) and she’s growing up into a little lady. Wow… We joy in the fact that God has entrusted our children to us, and we take very seriously our responsibility to shepherd their hearts and guide them through their childhood years toward knowledge of, and commitment to, Christ.
Challenge
In our last prayer letter I mentioned that as of right now, it looks like we’ll be moving to Colombia in November. Well, that is becoming more of a reality each day! Our support continues to steadily rise (at 79% now!), and our setup fund needs are being met, little by little. We just received the girl’s passports this week and will be getting our religious visa for Colombia very soon. Here’s the challenge: Would you pray that everything goes smoothly in these last few months? There’s much to do, still some money to raise and lots of traveling to do on deputation between now and then. Secondly, would you pray that God would send more people to Colombia? The need is great. The laborers are few! If we were to plant a church for every 50,000 people, we would need at least 940 churches throughout the country! Maybe God would have you to come and help us.
We love y’all and would love to hear how things are going in your lives. What can we pray for you about? Keep your eyes on Jesus… He’s coming soon, we must be busy in the work he has left us to do. God bless!
The Vance Family 