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Locoponydirtman
Guest
God set the standards. It is we that are in the "little boxes" as it were.
Discerning the will of God
- Thread starter HopeinHim98
- Start date
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As Gods dear children …..
we have His interests at heart, and we know what His eternal purpose is, and we know what He is building.
And we talk to Him daily,
When I ask Him a question, He answers, when He doesn’t answer I don’t act, but seek prayer with fellow Christians.
On the odd occasion these days God will speak to me without me asking.
If I have no peace or liberty from God, I wait for His direction.
Great observation. Sure, God's Word is plain to us with a well-rounded education in the Bible, yet translating that over into our lives in this secular world today is still a challenge. My conscience and probably my sinful nature even more can lead me down a bad a path from time-to-time.
The Holy Spirit is there to guide us as well and when I'm following where He leads, there is peace. However, it's not like God forces/prompts us to make certain choices/decisions. That's part of having free will and hopefully being wise enough to take advantage and accept the gifts God offers to us, especially eternal life in His Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Hello @HopeinHim98, I've found this (former) radio broadcast (from Renewing Your Mind) to be helpful. There's a LOT to this topic, so this lecture focuses on just one or two parts of it (it spends as much time, or more, helping us understand the wrong ways to go about discovering God's will, and how to avoid them, as it does the best ways to find His will). It's about 20 minutes long, and you start it by clicking on the little black arrow below the bottom left side of the big green graphic, just FYI (I mention this because finding the way to begin listening to this lecture has proven to be problematic for some).
By itself, the lecture at the link above is free (or you can spend $3.20 and buy both it and the second lecture in the 2-part series on God's will as well, the second lecture having to do with God's will and your vocation). Both are by Dr. R. C. Sproul.
God bless you!!
~Deuteronomy
By itself, the lecture at the link above is free (or you can spend $3.20 and buy both it and the second lecture in the 2-part series on God's will as well, the second lecture having to do with God's will and your vocation). Both are by Dr. R. C. Sproul.
God bless you!!
~Deuteronomy
If you like the lecture above, and you'd like to hear even more from the same theologian (and you don't mind spending $8 for a 5-part series on God's will), then take a look at the link below. BTW, this 5-part series contains the lecture on God's will and your vocation, so if you buy this series there is no reason for you to buy the 2-part series that I mentioned to you in my last post.
~Deuteronomy
p.s. - you can download the series and/or stream it online.
~Deuteronomy
p.s. - you can download the series and/or stream it online.
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Locoponydirtman
Guest
Well you will/have received allot of advice which could make you even more confused. When GOD speaks is that His will? Then that bible what is it? Yeah His will. So many times....where do you think those desires come from? Look at Cor 13 look at the fruits of the spirit so you know how He works moves. He will never go against our will. Many times He will say nothing because in our heart we already made up our minds. Do you get a peace out it or not? KNOW He hears you KNOW He always answers. Know He will always back up what He says with His word. We should always say .. lord where is that written? Since He is the on that told us to always test the spirits He is so happy to share where He said it and why He said it.
Sorry were not puppets or slaves.. He came to give you life and give it more abundantly. So I would relax and just have faith knowing He leads.. LUKE 11 13..
Are you reading God's Word daily and praying all the time about your decisions? If so, God will make it clear so that you will know.
Hello again HopeinHim98, I just listened to this lecture again (it's been several years since I did so)................
...............and I was so impressed by it, particularly as a starting place to begin a more detailed study, that I thought that I should come back here and re-recommend it to you on that basis (as I believe that you will not only learn quite a bit from the lecture directly, but that it will also get you going on the right track as you begin to delve more deeply into this topic).
The only other thing that I recommend is this, if you choose to listen to the lecture, listen closely, as the lecturer, Dr. Sproul, says a number of very important things about this topic with an economy of words.
Praying for you!
God bless you!!
~Deuteronomy
p.s. - here is some practical advice (from Dr. Ferguson) that I have found to be consistently useful in my walk as a Christian, including (or perhaps particularly at) the times in my life when there is choice that needs to be made, but I am sure which one to make/which way to go. Remembering to follow the admonishment below has often been instrumental in helping me make the right choice in the end, but it also helps me stay clear of trouble/stay clear of making a wrong choice in the meantime
(trusting the Lord always does, yes? 
).
I'm going to try to listen to at least some of it tonight. Thanks so much for caring and for praying.Hello again HopeinHim98, I just listened to this lecture again (it's been several years since I did so)................
...............and I was so impressed by it, particularly as a starting place to begin a more detailed study, that I thought that I should come back here and re-recommend it to you on that basis (as I believe that you will not only learn quite a bit from the lecture directly, but that it will also get you going on the right track as you begin to delve more deeply into this topic).
The only other thing that I recommend is this, if you choose to listen to the lecture, listen closely, as the lecturer, Dr. Sproul, says a number of very important things about this topic with an economy of words.
Praying for you!
God bless you!!
~Deuteronomy
p.s. - here is some practical advice (from Dr. Ferguson) that I have found to be consistently useful in my walk as a Christian, including (or perhaps particularly at) the times in my life when there is choice that needs to be made, but I am sure which one to make/which way to go. Remembering to follow the admonishment below has often been instrumental in helping me make the right choice in the end, but it also helps me stay clear of trouble/stay clear of making a wrong choice in the meantime
I definitely seek God in His word and prayer when it comes to decisions.
I will give an example of something I went through recently. So I was planning to take a trip to another state to attend a friend's wedding. As it got closer to the time I had less and less peace about going, especially after praying specifically about it one night and really sensing God was leading me not to go. But I didn't feel like I had a great reason why. So I kept making my plans to go, asking God to confirm it to me if it was Him. Then the night before I was supposed to leave I specifically prayed that He would make someone else that was going to go with me uneasy about going as well. Then the next morning that person came to me and said they weren't sure they had peace about going. So I took that as confirmation and a direct answer from God and stayed, even though it was really disappointing to me and others.
But my in my struggle before (and even after) my decision, I questioned, "Am I just being too sensitive? Is it just me?" But after it seemed that God answered and confirmed it through someone else, I just couldn't go against it.
Whoops, sorry about the typos in the p.s. of my last post. I meant to say: "at the times in my life when there is A choice that needs to be made, but I am NOT sure which one to make".
I listened to this last night and it was a blessing. Thank you again.
I knew a pastor who used to teach that the Holy Spirit will direct us as to whether we should wear the blue tie or the red tie that day or go a certain route to work or church. I suppose there could have been an accident in the road ahead, but I finally realized that many of those decisions God leaves up to us. He allows many choices. The more I got to know the Father personally through His Word, the easier it was to discern His perfect will. There are some very important decisions that we definitely need His direction about. I could give a bunch of examples and Bible lessons on the subject now. For the sake of a brief post or two, it's a tough format to get into the details. This can go into many directions. One thing's for sure, God has protected me from people in my life who would have brought much suffering, even though I thought everything was Biblical at the time. To the best of my knowledge, I was following the Lord. There was someone else who was going to be a part of my life and was not.
Now, I am closer with God and He manifests Himself to me almost daily in some small way or another; probably to show He's with me and loves me so much. I'm ambitious, but very content and He spoils me with far more blessings... I don't deserve any of it. His clear direction is possible.
Thanks for sharing a little about your experience in this area.
Even things can be confusing for me sometimes, I trust God to lead. And I know He can even use our mistakes and it's not the end of the world if we happen to make a choice that's not ideal.
Meant to say, even when things can be confusing...lol