Seeking Jesus First - July 5, 2023

Part Three - The will of God

When a person is faithful in the little things, God will give them more. This is a natural and spiritual truth. When we are faithful concerning the knowledge of God’s general will, His specific will becomes more and more clear.

First, let’s quickly give some attention to all of the chosen and called people who are written down in Scripture. God interrupted them while they were faithfully attending to what they believed they should be doing - even when they were wrong. He interrupted David while he was keeping sheep. He interrupted Elisha while he was plowing a field. He interrupted Samuel while he was serving Eli in the temple of God. He interrupted the disciple while they were working. He interrupted Saul while he was persecuting Christian Jews. There are so many examples where people were faithfully going about there daily business and God called them to specifically do something else.

Second, God wants us to know His will and has given us a teacher, a comforter and a guide who is just like Jesus. Holy Spirit will also tell us things that are to happen before they do. Think about the ways that Holy Spirit shows us God’s specific will to follow.

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:9–14, NKJV)

God wants us to be filled with the knowledge of His will.

Col. 1:9-14 is a mouthful and it is absolutely overflowing with revelation. We need to read it over and over again and break it apart and read it again. We need to draw arrows from cause to effect in the verse. Ex: “This produces that.” “Because this, that is possible.” Write the verses. Underline phrases. Draw arrows to other phrases that are linked. See how certain phrases are connected by definitions in other letters written by Paul under inspiration of Holy Spirit. Then apply them to you.

• What does having wisdom and spiritual understanding  empower us to do? Walk worthy of The LORD fully pleasing Him through our faith.
• What does having wisdom and spiritual understanding and walking by faith do for you? It makes us fruitful in every good work and increases our experience and intimacy with God.
• What does having wisdom and spiritual understanding, walking by faith and gaining experience and intimacy with God give you? Strength beyond human capability. Strength that is on par with God’s glorious power.
• What can we use this glorious and powerful strength to do? We can exercise joyful patience and hilarious perseverance during our struggles while we trust God for the fulfilling of His promises - our inheritance. We can reasons for gratitude in the midst of any trial.

Holy Spirit empowers us to do the general and known will of God. But wait, there’s more! Holy Spirit reveals the unknown will of God.

“Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:27–28, NKJV)

Holy Spirit is interceding for us according to the will of God. We already spoke about how Holy Spirit takes all that belongs to Christ and reveals it to us (See John 16:12-15).

“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,” (Ephesians 1:17–20, NKJV)

We have access to the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. Holy Spirit teaches us the specifics of identity. Holy Spirit causes our eyes to see what we could not see. He reveals the unseen and unknown to us, even the deep thoughts of God. Holy Spirit reveals the hope of what God calls each of us specifically to do. He reveals to us how to access the rich glory of heaven and share it on earth with the saints. Holy Spirit helps us to access the great power of God through faith. He gives us access to resurrection power.

We are not all called to the five fold ministry of church leadership. But we are all called as sons of God and we are all able to walk in this true identity to the same degree as Jesus Christ does. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14, NKJV) The Word of God reveals the general will. The Spirit of God reveals the specific will. “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect (or noon) day.” (Proverbs 4:18, NKJV)

It's important to note that we have a relationship with God so while He does go before us and make our crooked ways straight, He walks with us and speaks softly in our ear like a real friend - a friend whose voice we know.