Looking for God’s Will
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What are the common questions about knowing God's will?
We can become so preoccupied with the explicit will of God for our lives that we offend Him by resorting to techniques that the Old Testament would have considered magic and would have frowned upon with great disdain. And so what I want to do is look at legitimate ways that the Bible gives us and sets before us of discerning the will of God.
Have you ever wanted to know God's will for your life? Hi, I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and welcome to Renewing Your Mind. If you have, then stay with us as you'll hear a message from R.C. Sproul's classic series, Knowing God's Will. My wife and I are blessed to have four children. But with children, especially teenage and college-age children, come questions. What career should they pursue? What college should they attend?
How can personal experiences shape our understanding of God's will?
And perhaps soon, who should they marry? Perhaps you can relate, as a parent or as a young person, wrestling with these same questions. This series has been so helpful for me, not because Dr. Sproul answered all of my questions, but because he points us to the Bible and what we can know about discerning the will of God. This week's series is five messages, and they can be yours along with a copy of his book, Can I Know God's Will? When you give a donation in support of Renewing Your Mind at renewingyourmind.org. And it has been your financial support that has enabled the construction of this new Renewing Your Mind studio. So thank you. And if you're not watching on YouTube, be sure to head on over so that you can take a look.
Well, here's R.C. Sproul with his first message, Looking for God's Will.
How do you know the will of God for your life? I think I get that question more frequently than any other theological or biblical question. And I was thinking about this recently. I'd gone hunting in December. And in the middle of the day, I climbed up into a tree on a tree stand as we were hunting for buck. And if any of you have ever been buck hunting and sitting on a tree stand for any length of time, you know how uncomfortable that can be and how boring it can be. I enjoy it, but you have to concentrate fiercely, listen to every rustling of the grass and every breaking twig to be alert for the appearance and approach of a deer. But during my boredom on the tree stand, I started to think of an experience that a close friend of mine had several years ago.
He had finished his medical residency in one city in America, his surgical residency as he was a surgeon. And he was invited to stay in that city and to continue to work at the hospital where he had done his internship. And at the same time, he had received an invitation from a small group of doctors in Wisconsin to join them in their practice. And this man was a devout Christian, and he earnestly wanted to know where God wanted him to be and where God wanted him to serve. So he prayed about it and prayed about it. Couldn't come to a conclusion as to where he should be, and he happened to be deer hunting. And he was sitting in a tree stand, just like I was. And he was praying about this and still couldn't make up his mind.
And finally, he put out a fleece. He decided to put God to the test. And he said, Dear God, if you want me to go to Wisconsin, let a buck come into my view in the next five minutes. Sure enough, three minutes later, out of the thicket walked this magnificent buck.
What biblical principles can guide us in discerning God's will?
And my doctor friend was thrilled that God had so marvelously answered his prayer and confirmed to him that he should refuse the offer in Philadelphia and move. to Wisconsin to continue his medical career. Well, the end of the story is he moved to Wisconsin, and he's been there ever since. And as I was in my tree stand thinking about this, I thought, what a remarkable thing that this man's entire career, his life and the life of his family were radically changed by this fleece that he put out, which is a practice that I'm not all that comfortable with. But he desperately was trying to understand the will of God, and he considered this event as an expression or manifestation of extraordinary providence where God was saying to him or clarifying to him what God's will was for his life.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the common questions about knowing God's will?
0:00–1:01
2
How can personal experiences shape our understanding of God's will?
1:01–4:08
3
What biblical principles can guide us in discerning God's will?
4:08–7:14
4
How does prayer play a role in understanding God's guidance?
7:14–9:34
5
What are the dangers of using 'fleece' as a method to discern God's will?
9:34–11:14
6
How can we avoid misinterpreting signs in our spiritual journey?
11:14–12:50
7
What is the significance of vocation in understanding God's calling?
12:50–15:21
8
How can we practically apply biblical teachings to our life decisions?
15:21–26:13