Craig Groeschel - Discovering God's Will for Your Life
Well, one of the most common questions that I’ve been asked throughout the years as a pastor is some version of this question. Uh, Craig, what is God’s will for my life? Some version. It usually appears when someone says something like, «Hey, um, I’m praying about should I take this job in a new city where I would make more money or does God want me to stay here where my friends are plugged into switch and we have a great community»?
How do I know what God wants? Or should I marry the person that I’m with? Like, he’s pretty good. Like, not bad, not great, but pretty good. Does God want pretty good, or does God have someone better for me? Should I marry this person or not? Uh, should I go to school close by where it’s a community college, it’s cheaper, I could live at home and save money, or should I go out of state to a bigger college, maybe get a better education, pay more money? It’s just so complicated and so confusing.
How many you ever just wish that when you’re praying about making a decision, God would just make it clear? Raise your hand. Online, you could just type in the comment section, «God, I wish you would make it clear». Like, speak audibly. Write it in the sky. Send a text message from heaven. Whatever it is, make it obvious, God. And if you’ve ever been there, like I want to just tell you right now, like sincerely, I get it. Um, especially in the early years when I was a brand new Christian, I was just terrified of making the wrong decision, missing God’s will. And I thought, if I make any wrong decision, God’s going to put me in this permanent spiritual penalty box, and I’m never going to enjoy his blessings and goodness.
And so, if you ever find yourself saying like, «God, what do you want from me? What’s next and what’s your will and how are you directing my steps»? My goal over the next four weeks is really to try to help you reframe the way that you may think about God’s will and I want to show you from his word I promise you God is not sitting in heaven playing some kind of cosmic game of hide and seek his will is not a specific dot on a map that you have to find if you miss it you completely blow it. His will is way bigger than that. Way more personal than that and way more freeing than that. Because at its core, God’s will is relational. God is a relational God who loves you.
And I want to show you over the next few weeks that knowing God’s will starts with knowing God’s heart. Knowing his will starts with knowing his heart. And the more you get to know his heart, the more you get to know him through his word, the more you experience him in community, the more you get sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, the more clearly you can discern his will. And so the title for today’s message is «discovering God’s will for your life». At all of our churches, would you join me in prayer?
Father, we worship you and praise you for every person baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And God, we thank you that you are loving Father. You’re our guide and our counselor. You’re the God who loves us and directs our steps. God, help us to get to know you, your heart. So first as we seek you and know you then God we could know your will, live your will and glorify you in all we do. We pray this in Jesus name. And everybody said amen.
Tap it amen in the comment section. Let’s let’s talk about God’s will. Um I’m going to teach a little bit more today than preach. It’s really hard cuz I kind of want to go hard, but I’m going to try to keep it kind of calm and tell you it may surprise you that when you look at the Bible, the Bible actually talks about what I would say kind of like four different aspects of God’s will or we could say four different layers that reveal his heart for you, his purpose for you, his will for you, his plan for you. And I want to show you these four different aspects of God’s will.
First, there’s what we’re going to call God’s sovereign will. This is his ultimate master plan. It’s going to happen and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Then there’s what’s called God’s moral will or his revealed will. This is his will for how you behave. It’s revealed in his word and it doesn’t change. Then there’s God’s permissive will. This is something that God may not directly cause, but God may allow it. You may not like it. You may not understand it, but God allows something in his permissive will. And then there’s what everybody wants, and that is God’s personal will. That is God’s specific designed will and plan for you.
And as you get to know God’s heart, you can get to know his specific personal will for your life. And if you understand these four different aspects of God’s will, it takes the pressure off. And instead of looking for that one dot on the map, instead you’re seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And then God adds everything else to your life. So what I want to do is I want to break those four down and talk about them very, very specifically. We’ll start with God’s sovereign will.
What is his sovereign will? God’s sovereign will is his unstoppable, unchangeable plan that directs all things toward his purpose. God’s is his big picture is God’s master plan that moves everything in creation toward his ultimate purpose. And you can see this in God’s word. I’ll show you a couple of verses. Scripture says this. God says in Isaiah 46, «Only I can tell you the future before it even happens». God says, «Everything I plan will come to pass». This is the sovereign big picture master plan will of God.
Proverbs 19:21 says this, «Many are the plans in a person’s heart. This is what I want and you want something different». And then I changed my mind. Why? Because I’m moody. many of the plans in a person’s heart, but it’s the Lord’s purpose. It’s his sovereign will that will prevail. And what’s really, really cool is you can see the sovereign will of God at work as you read through scripture all the way to the beginning. You see the sovereign will of God at work when God spoke and created the heavens and the earth.
And you see his sovereign will when he formed Adam out of the dust and he breathed life into all mankind. And then when creation rebelled against God in sin, it was the sovereign will of God that the word would become flesh in the person of Jesus. And Jesus would live without sin and give his life as the perfect sacrifice on the cross. And three days later, God by his sovereign will would raise his son from the dead so that anyone who calls on his name would be saved and made new. And it’s by the sovereign will of God that one day the trumpet of God will sound and the dead in Christ will rise. And one day before Jesus, every knee will bow. And every tongue will confess the lordship of the son of God, the living and risen Christ.
And that’s the sovereign will of God. Doesn’t matter how much you vote, what you do, what you don’t do, how good you are, how bad you are, you can’t stop it. And the sovereign will of God can’t be stopped by your bad decision or by a painful situation you never wanted or a moment of weakness when you do something that you wish you hadn’t done. And that’s why God’s sovereign plan, his overarching purpose will always prevail. Now, we do have an enemy. His name is Satan. Lucifer, the father of lies. And Satan fights against it, but he can’t stop it. In other words, the devil can mess with your plans, but he can’t stop God’s purpose in your life. It is a sovereign will of a good and a loving and an all powerful God.
So, we start with the sovereign will of God. Then there’s what we call the moral will of God or the revealed will of God. And the revealed will of God is God’s timeless truths revealed in his word for how we live. It’s the moral the revealed will of God through his word for how we live. Now, contrary to popular belief, God’s moral will doesn’t change as culture changes. It doesn’t bend with public opinion. God God’s moral will. It’s not a menu of options where you come any I like that part and I don’t like that and that was for the 70s but this is 2020 something and so that doesn’t apply anymore. No, God’s will is living out of true and is true always. His moral will is clear. It’s consistent and it is unchanging.
So if you say what’s God’s moral will for my life like how does God want you to live? What’s his will? I want to show you very very clearly what his will is. If you want to know what God’s will is for your life, his moral will for your life. His word tells you, get ready. You can write this down because this is his will for you. Scripture says this. 1 Thessalonians 4:3, God’s will for you is to be holy. That’s his will. His will is for you to be holy. The word in the Greek for holy is the word hagios and it means to be set apart. It means to be different. It means sacred or dedicated to God. God’s will for you is not for you to look like the sinful fallen world. Not to act like the sinful fallen world. Not to be driven by the values of the sinful and fallen world. But it’s to be set apart, to be different from, to be consecrated, to be sanctified, to be separated, to become like Jesus is to be different from this world.
So, let me just say lovingly because as your pastor, I want to both comfort you and sometimes convict you. And so, if it convicts you, let me step on your toes just a little bit. And if it doesn’t hurt, I’ll stomp on them. Cuz sometimes we all need a little stomping, don’t we? Elbow your neighbor who needs some stomping and say, «You need some stomping». Let me just say it this way. If God’s will is for you to be holy, if you behave like the sinful fallen world, talk like the sinful fallen world, spend your money like the people who live for the things of this world.
If you’re entertained by the same sinful stuff that entertains the fallen people of this world, if you have the same values as the people who don’t walk with Jesus, you are not following Jesus. Meaning like you’re not in God’s will. And the tension is this. Uh so many of us, we want God’s direction for our future, but we ignore his direction for how we live today. You’re like, «God, give me your will for who I marry». You know, I want to the snugglies and spiritual blessings and, you know, smell good perfume from heaven as we get married and kiss with our tongues for the rest of our life. I want your will for who I marry. But so many people call themselves Christians, but they don’t want to live God’s will for how you’re supposed to date.
Okay, I told you I’m coming for you. We we want God’s financial blessings in our life, but we don’t want to steward well what he’s given us or be generous when we have something. We could say it this way. We want the fruit without the faithfulness. We we want the blessings without the obedience. And the bottom line is this. Like it or not, you cannot walk in God’s will if you’re disobeying God’s word. Period. It’s his moral revealed living word for how we’re supposed to live.
So, let’s just keep it simple. Like, what’s God’s will for my life? If you want to know God’s will for your life, let’s just start by doing what he already said. What’s he told us to do? Really cool stuff. Like, love people like Jesus loved us. Even if they’re difficult to love, tell the truth. Even would it be more convenient to tell a lie. Give generously even if they take you for granted or don’t appreciate it. live wholeheartedly for Jesus even though they make fun of you and it’s very very different and and and and and they and you don’t fit in and they call you whatever they call you because you’re not living for the approval of this world but you’re living for the glory of God.
And let me just tell you right now, if you’re living what this word teaches, it’s not going to be easy. It’s never going to be easy, but it’s always going to be worth it. What do we have? We have God’s sovereign will. It’s his big picture divine plan. It’s the blueprint, the master plan for all of creation. You can’t change it. We’ve got God’s moral will. It’s his living word that tells us how we’re supposed to live.
The third thing we have is God’s permissive will. And this is the freedom that God gives us to make choices even when they’re not perfect. It’s the freedom that God gives us to make choices. It’s important for us us to understand, yes, God is sovereign, meaning he’s directing the course of everything in history, but he’s not controlling. In other words, God could, because he’s God, if he chose to force you to love him and obey him, he could force you to do what’s right and to love him. But if he forced you, it wouldn’t really be love or obedience.
And so because God wants to be loved and to love you, he gives us free will. And that means you have the freedom to choose to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Or you have the freedom to do what a lot of people do today and said, just forget God. I want to do my own thing. I don’t I don’t want to obey God. You you have the freedom to live according to the truth that sets you free. Or say, «No, I want to do whatever my selfish desires feel like doing. If it feels good, do it. It’s nobody else’s business. I mean, I’m not hurting anybody. I can do whatever I want besides it’s this way, and these are my desires. And so, if I desired, it must be God’s will».
No. No. God has a good will. He gives us permission to decide. And I’ll give you example from scripture. This was Paul. And Paul said this. He said, «Hey, you say I’m allowed to do anything». In other words, God God might permit you to do this, but let’s be really clear. Not everything is beneficial. In other words, will God give you the freedom to choose? He will. He’ll give you the freedom to choose. And you might say, «Can I eat Pop-Tarts for every meal for the rest of my life»? And God would say, «Yes, you can. But that would be dumb».
I don’t know if God would say dumb or not, but that’s what I’d say if I were God, and I’m not. So, be glad I’m not. But God gives us the freedom to choose. And the problem is, guess what? We don’t always choose wisely, do we? And that’s one of the many reasons why there’s so much pain in the world. In fact, that’s the very reason why some of us are hurting today. And the reason is sometimes because we do dumb things that catch up with us. And other times other people do bad and sinful things that impact us. And sometimes we’re just a victim of living in a fallen world that is yet to be fully redeemed by the return of Jesus. And because there’s sin and brokenness and people have the freedom to do wrong things, we end up experiencing pain.
The good news is, and this is really good news, that none of it is outside of God’s ability to redeem it. He may allow it and you may not like it and God can still redeem it. And you see examples in scripture in in the Old Testament, Genesis 37, if you know the story of Joseph, his brothers sold him into slavery. Is that what God wanted? I don’t think so, but God allowed it. And then he was later falsely accused and put into prison. Was that what God wanted? Probably not, but God allowed it. And then in prison, this weird series of events happened. He would interpret dreams. And long story short, he ended up getting promoted eventually to the second in charge of all of Egypt.
Did God want all that other stuff? It doesn’t seem like it, but God yet used it to bring him to this place. And later when the brothers came up, they’re like, «Oh my gosh. Oh no, there’s our brother. He’s going to be so mad». And Joseph looked on and said, «Oh, you don’t understand. All that stuff that happened that you did, what you meant for evil, God actually used for good». And it brings me comfort sometimes when I’m in the middle of a bad spot. Cuz sometimes I’m just like you. I’m like going, «God, why? I don’t want it. I don’t like it. I wouldn’t choose it. And God, I’m not happy with you right now».
And there may be times where I don’t know what God would say back, but maybe like going, «Hey, I didn’t choose that either, but I allowed it. I gave free will». So, you could choose to love me because I gave free will. Sometimes people do things that hurt or because of the sin in the world, sometimes you hurt. And I didn’t cause it, but I am so good. You can still experience me. experienced me in it and I can still use it for something that would matter in this world.
There’s God’s sovereign will. There’s God’s moral revealed will. There’s his permissive will. And then the one everybody gets excited about. And that’s God’s personal will. That is God’s unique and specific calling just for you. And what’s amazing is that God has a plan for every person. If you’ve been saved by Jesus, your sins have been forgiven. And you weren’t just saved from, you were saved for. Let me say it again. You weren’t just saved from, you were saved for. You weren’t just saved from your sins. You were, but you were also saved for a purpose to live your life in a way that serves people and honors God.
And scripture tells us very very clearly that we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus. The word handiwork is the word poema. It means like poetic statement or masterpiece. You’re you’re the handiwork the the brilliant creation of God created in Christ Jesus. Why? You’re not saved by good works, but you’re saved for good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do. Like literally, when you are saved by Jesus, on this very day, God may have a good work just for you. It may be to pray with the person next to you or take him for a meal afterwards or to be give them a word of encouragement.
Like literally, God will put people, places, things in your life, in your path because he gave you what you need to be a blessing to them. Before you were even born, he created you with the right gifts, the right talents, put you at this moment in history with specific people for you to love, for a a very real mission for you to fulfill, for lives for you to touch and impact and change. And here’s the great news. If God prepared good works for you to do, they’ve got your name on it and you are perfectly designed by God to meet those needs and be a blessing to other people. Let me show you what God says he’ll do for you. God says this. You want to know my will?
God says in Psalm 32:8, he says, «I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my loving eye on you». I’m going to say this again. God says, «I will instruct you. I will teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my loving eye on you». Let me say it again because you’re not nodding yet. Because when you get to know God’s heart, you’ll get to know his will. And this is what God says. Hey, you’re wondering like, I’ll show you is what he’s saying. I’ll instruct you and I’ll teach you. Like, who is Jesus? He’s the good shepherd. And the sheep know the shepherd’s voice.
So, he’ll teach you and instruct you because you know his voice. What is the role of the good shepherd? The good shepherd’s role is to do what to the sheep? Guide the sheep. I will guide you. I will instruct you. What’s your role? To follow. And the good news is you know his voice. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I’ll counsel you. Who is the Holy Spirit? He’s a counselor. He’s with you. He comforts you. He guides you. God, which way do I go? God will instruct you. He’ll teach you. He’ll counsel you with his loving eye on you. That’s how good he is. That’s how good he is. You want to know his will? He’ll teach you. He’ll instruct you. He’ll guide you with his loving eye on you. Let’s slow it down. We have covered a lot of ground.
So, what are we going to do with all this? Well, it seems like a lot, but I want to try to narrow it down and bring it into focus. What I’ve discovered in 29 years of leading this church is a very common problem that we as Christians make when it comes to God’s will. And I’ll tell you the problem. Here’s the problem. I see it all the time. Is we tend to over complicate God’s will and we underestimate God’s goodness. We over complicate his will and we underestimate his goodness. Oh, what’s your will? I don’t want to miss it. Oh, God. We Oh, God. And God is saying like, «I will instruct you. I will guide you. I will teach you with my loving eye on you».
And when you get to know God, and I didn’t understand this in my 20s, not even in my 30s. I started to understand at my 40s, but it took me walking with God for a long time. The more I got to know his heart, the better I was able to understand his will. And I want to show you looking back just how I see his divine plan on the things about my life that I wanted and the things about my life that I never would have chosen. We’ll play a little story and I’ll tell you the story of my life. In God’s sovereign will, he willed for me to be born in Houston, Texas on December 2nd in 1967. I was born into a very loving family, but my dad happened to be an alcoholic dad. Did God choose that for me or did God allow it? I think that was his permissive will.
I lived next door to a guy named Tom Shores who was a professional magician. And my mom, who’s in this service, encouraged me to go take magic lessons from the professional magician next door. And guess what? At the age of 12, I started doing professional magic shows. And you can see now that it actually trained me to be in front of people. And that helps you understand why I have what they call magic hands when I preach. My dad who was an alcoholic was um played minor league pro baseball. So I was groomed to be a pro baseball player. I was pretty good. Uh in the eighth grade we went to a batting cage and I broke my hand in the batting cage and tough pastor Craig got scared. I didn’t want to bat.
I took a season off and decided to play tennis kind of almost as a joke. I made the team and I ended up quitting baseball, staying with tennis, which took me to a little private university cuz I wasn’t that good. I played NIA. NIA stands for not NCAA. That’s what it stands for. And I played tennis for Oklahoma City University because I changed sports and went to do something different where I fell into a lot of sin. Did God cause me to fall into sin? No. I chose it and he allowed it. But he used it. And it was in my brokenness that I found new life in Christ was changed by reading a free Bible from the Gideonss completely transformed by the love of God. People called me overboard and introduced me to another girl they called overboard.
And that’s how I met Amy, the love of my life for all of these years. Together we started serving at First United Methodist Church. My pastor Nick invited me on to be a pastor. He taught me to preach and I preached a sermon and my dad heard a cassette tape of the sermon and gave his life to Christ and got free of his alcohol addiction by the power and the grace of God. And God started using the the ministry. So in 1996, Amy and I took a big step of faith and we started Life Church. And if you fast forward all the way to this day, this moment right now with you hearing God’s word, I look back and say wasn’t that complicated. God was really, really good because we wouldn’t be here doing this together if I wasn’t born in Houston, Texas to an alcoholic dad, lived next to a magician who helped me do magic, broke my hand, went to OCU, but got saved by Jesus.
And I look at all the things in my life that I wanted and all the things that I didn’t want, all the things that I liked and all the things that I didn’t understand. And they all had this unusual way of God directing me to this moment, his personal will for me to do the work that was prepared in advance for me to do to share God’s word with you to help build your faith. That you were made to overcome the temptation of the evil one and to live in victory for the glory of God. That you have divine gifts to make a difference and you have a divine purpose.
And so if you want to know his will, get to know his heart. Let’s wrap it up so you can understand. Really, really simple. We over complicate his will. We underestimate his goodness. What are we going to do? Very simply, here’s what we’re going to do. We are going to trust God’s sovereign will. Can’t stop it anyway. Might as well just embrace it. We’re going to obey God’s moral will. We’re going to accept because sometimes we don’t understand it, but we’re going to accept his permissive will and we’re going to walk in God’s personal will.
And if for a moment you’re worried about missing God’s will, remember what he says to you. He says this. He says, «I will instruct you. I will teach you. I will counsel you. My loving eye is on you. I will instruct you». God says, «I will teach you. I will counsel you. My loving eye is on you». Because God’s not playing games with your future. He’s not holding back or hiding his will. His purpose is so much bigger than your past. His plan is so much bigger than your mistakes. And as you get to know him through his word, through community, through fellowship, through worship, through prayer, to the Holy Spirit, as you get to know his heart, you can walk in his will.
So, Father, we pray that even today you’d reveal a little bit more of your heart to us. God, as we hear your word, build our faith as we’re in your presence. God, draw us close. And God, as we seek you, we put you first. We delight in you. Enjoy your presence, God. We know you’ll give us the desires of our heart.
So today, at all of our different churches, in the presence of a holy God, as we just we see his power, we see so many baptized, we see so many people coming to faith. He is here. He is good. He is holy. And he is speaking. Some of you, you may recognize you’re actually not walking in his moral will. What are you going to do? Just like repent. Repent. Turn from your sin. Cry out to him. «I’m sorry, God». When you do, he’ll forgive you. If you confess your sins, he’s faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. His word promises. Today at all of our churches, those of you online, I wonder how many would say, «I genuinely want to walk in the will of God».
Would you lift up your hands right now? Just I want to walk in the will of God. I hope it’s everybody. I do. I’m going to I’m going to ask it again cuz not everybody’s I got people just sitting there like looking around. How many of you like want to walk in the will of God? Lift up your hands. Type it in the comment section.
I want to honor God and his will. God, I thank you that you’re a loving God. That your son is the good shepherd who guides the sheep. Speak to us. We thank you that we know your voice. God, thank you that you will direct our steps, that you will guide us, that you will instruct us, that your will is too big for us to break with a mistake. And if we make a mistake, you’re so good. You’re working in all things still to bring about good because we love you, God, and we’re called according to your purpose. God, I pray that as a church, we would be different from this world. Help us, God, to be holy and set apart. Not to be holier than thou, but out of a pure desire to live like Jesus. God, in our life groups, I pray we would just discuss openly any area of our life that might be out of your will, any any place we’re walking in darkness, any place that we’re we’re conforming to this world, we just confess those sins to you and ask you to cleanse us and purify us. Have your perfect way in us, oh God. have your perfect way in us. God, make us different, holy, set apart for your kingdom and your name’s sake.
As you keep praying today, what is God’s will for you? His will is for you to be holy. His will is also this. God’s will, the Bible says, God’s will is that nobody should perish. That’s what the Bible says, that he’s patient because he doesn’t want anyone to perish. Um, there’s some of you right now if we could just sit down and talk honestly and I could just kind of ask you where you are with God. You’d say, «I’m not walking intimately with God». Might be a lot of reasons. You don’t know enough. You feel bad about something you’ve done.
Let me tell you about God’s sovereign will. He is so good. He sent his son Jesus, the son of God, perfect in every way without sin. Jesus did not come for the healthy. He came for the broken and the sick. He didn’t come for those already righteous. He came for sinners like me and like you. And in the sovereign will of God, Jesus gave his life on a cross. And in the sovereign will of God, God raised him from the dead three days later. So that anyone, including you, who calls on that name of Jesus, when you call on him, God forgives all of your sins and he makes you brand new. And there are those of you that are here today for this moment. God w and ordained this moment for you. This is him reaching out to you and you know you’re not walking with him and you know he’s reaching out to you.
So what do you do? You say yes to his grace. You say no to sin and you step away from it. You say «Jesus I give you my life by faith I surrender». And when you do he forgives all your sins and makes you brand new today and all of our churches and online those who say «that’s me. I’m ready. No more playing around. This day was ordained for me. I know I need him. I step away from my sin. I give my life to Jesus. I want to know him and serve him. Jesus, save me. Be the Lord of my life».
That’s your prayer. Lift your hands high right now. All over the place and say yes. Right back there. Right over there. God bless you guys over there as well. Oh my gosh. Up there. Tons of Oh, praise God in heaven. Praise God. Hands all over the place. Oh, hey, we’re going to have some more people baptized today. I can just feel it in my heart back here saying, «Yes, Jesus. I surrender. I surrender». Hey, stand to your feet, church, if you will. If you can’t stand to your feet all the place, Pastor Sam, come help me out here. If you wouldn’t mind, stand to your feet in a holy moment. The presence of God is in this place. The presence of God is in this place. Would you pray aloud? Pray.
Heavenly Father, forgive my sins. Jesus, save me. Be the Lord of my life. Be first in every way. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. So I could hear your voice. So you would direct my steps. so I could do your will on earth as it is in heaven. My life is not my own. I surrender it to you. Save me, change me, use me all for your glory. My life is not my own. I give it to you in Jesus' name.