Knowing God's Will

This past Sunday, I launched our Knowing God's Will sermon series (I am borrowing heavily from a similar series by Andy Stanley). In our first week, we looked at the three different ways that "the will of God" is used in the Bible: (1) the Providential Will of God, (2) the Moral Will of God, and (3) the Personal Will of God.

The Providential Will of God is the stuff that God is going to do no matter what. It doesn't matter how much I pray or how obedient I am, this is the stuff that God has planned all along. The key is for me to ask God to help me understand what He is up to in the world, and more specifically, in Sandusky County. I need to see this world through God's lenses of love, holiness, and justice.

Secondly, the Moral Will of God is doing what God has already told me to do. This is all about knowing what the Bible has to say about the issues that I'm grappling with. If the Bible tells me to do something, I need to do it! I don't need to pray about it, I just need to be obedient!

Third, the Personal Will of God has to do with God's promise to make my paths straight as I continually acknowledge Him (am rivited and focused on Him) in all of the ways that He has already made clear (Proverbs 3:6). Andy Stanley says, "It is surrender to the KNOWN will of God that paves the way to discovery of the UNKNOWN will of God."

Here's the deal, I don't have to worry and get all anxious about my decisions, if I am (1) constantly putting myself in a position where I am genuinely concerned about God's providential will and (2) I'm being obedient to the stuff that God has already told me to do.