If the disciple wants to know the will of God and is committed to doing that will whatever it may be, God will guide him and show him His will. The following steps should guide him.
God has His perfect will for the disciple. From the very foundation of the world, He mapped out
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what you should be doing,
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where you should be doing it,
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why you should be doing it,
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when you should be doing it,
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with whom you should be doing it,
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how you should be doing it,
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for every second of your life.
God also wants to show you His plans for your life in detail. He says in His Word,
“I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8).
The Psalmist prayed,
“Make me to know thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation; for thee I wait all the day long” (Psalm 25:4-5).
If the disciple wants to know the will of God and is committed to doing that will whatever it may be, God will guide him and show him His will. The following steps should guide him. The disciple-maker should explain each to him in detail and work out with him how to find God’s will in a number of situations.
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Find out what the Bible says about the matter. What the Bible says about it is final. God’s will for you cannot contradict anything that He has said in His Word.
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If there is no clear instruction from the Bible, ask yourself what you sense deep down inside you, right in your spirit. The Holy Spirit will communicate God’s will to your spirit. If you have deep and continuous peace about the matter, then that is an indication that there is green light.
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What does your disciple-maker or spiritual leader say? The Bible says, “In the abundance of counsellors there is victory” (Proverbs 24:6). “What is the opinion of my friend? What are the opinions of my friends?” This will give you further indication.
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What do my circumstances say? God uses circumstances very often to guide His children. A flat tyre, an unexpected delay, a plane missed, wrong booking by the airways, failure in an examination, a promotion, etc, are all in the hands of God. If a person is walking in the will of God, all these circumstances, even though they may be created by the enemy, will be used by God for the disciple’s good. The Bible says, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). It does not say that everything will work for good but that God will work for good in everything. The thing may look very bad; it may actually be very bad, but God will work for good, even in that thing, for the disciple who loves him and is called according to His purpose. That is why the disciple who is in the centre of God’s will can and must thank God for everything. The Bible says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18). This is one of the things that the disciple knows is the will of God: thanksgiving in all circumstances. He should obey this.
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God will also guide through prophecy, interpretation of tongues, dreams, visions, angels, etc. However, no one should ask the Lord to send an angel or a vision, etc, to guide him. If the Lord wants to use any of these, He will use it. That is His sovereign will. He has given us the first four methods for continuous use.
The disciple-maker should help the disciple in all these matters. When the will of God is known, it must he done. To know the will of God and not to do it is to court disaster. It is also to place oneself in a condition in which the Lord may not reveal His will in the future.
God’s will should be sought about everything – the major issues and the minor ones. There are finally no major and no minor issues. There is just the perfect will of God. That should be sought, known and done.
With increasing time the disciple will know God’s will more readily and more instantaneously. This occurs with increasing brokenness and increasing release of the disciple’s spirit. It also comes with a closer walk with the Lord, greater and deeper consecration and obedience. There is certainly abundant scope for growth in the knowledge of the will of God for the disciple and the disciple-maker.
When the will of God has not yet been revealed, the disciple should continue to wait, instead of just using his mind to analyse things. His analysis could be correct and yet not be God’s will. Analyses are based on rational thinking. God is super-rational and His will may often be above all rational thinking and analyses. I am not, hereby, inviting you not to think. Think and think well, but know that God is bigger than your brain, and His plans for you may be more than your mind can fully grasp for the moment.