Resource Details

THE DAWNING OF GOD'S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE
New Year's Weekend 2017
Buddy Owens

". . . Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God. . ."Romans 12:2 (GNB)

"Be made new in the attitude of your mind." Ephesians 4:23 (NIV)

Reading THE BIBLE is reading GOD'S MIND.

"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter until the full light of day." Proverbs 4:18 (NIV)

God's will DAWNS ON YOU.

God's call is not necessarily to a DESTINATION.

Rather, God's call is to a WAY OF LIFE.

"Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I WILL show you."   Genesis 12:1 (NIV)

"In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths."Proverbs 3:6 (NKJV)

The WAY is more important than the DESTINATION.

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"      Mark 8:36 (NIV)

ACTION PLAN:  Start the New Year by making a commitment to reading the Bible every day. Try starting with 10 minutes a day and go from there. For more on reading the Bible, take CLASS 201 at a Saddleback campus near you.

Look for SIGNPOSTS.

Travel LIGHT.

"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs."   Jonah 2:8 (NIV)

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." 1 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV)

Choose your TRAVELING COMPANIONS.

"Let us spur one another on toward love and good deeds."Hebrews 10:24

"Bad company corrupts good character." 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

Keep ASKING, SEEKING, AND KNOCKING.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

While you are waiting for God's SPECIFIC instructions, be sure you are following God's GENERAL instructions.

• What is God's will in hardship? "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV)

Question: Am I thankful or resentful?

• What is God's will when you are hurt by somebody? "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."  Matthew 5:44 (NIV)

Question: Am I holding any grudges or refusing to forgive?

• What is God's will for your mission in life? "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

Question: Am I prepared to tell my story?

• What is God's will in your daily interaction with people? "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."   Colossians 4:6 (NIV)

Question: Can people tell I'm a Christian just by hanging out with me?

• What is God's will for you in the world? "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."  Micah 6:8 (NIV)

Question: Am I living this way today?

• What is God's highest will for you? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength . . .  and love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:30-31

Question: Do I love God, my neighbor, and myself?

ACTION PLAN: Write down these points and questions listed above. Spend some time this week going through each of these, doing your best to answer the questions for yourself. Share these with a friend.

Hearing FROM God begins with the desire to hear FOR God.

The servant's question: "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"Joshua 5:14 (NIV)

The servant's prayer: ". . . Not my will, but yours be done."    Luke 22:42

"The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." 2 Chronicles 16:9a (NIV)

"Blessed are all who wait for him . . . You will hear a voice behindyou saying, 'This is the way, walk in it.'" Isaiah 30:18b, 21

The question of timing is God's to answer. But the question of faithfulness is entirely within your control.

ACTION PLAN: This Sunday, January 8th, is Super CLASS Sunday. Sign up for whichever CLASS you need to take next at Saddleback.com/CLASS. If you've taken them all, try going through them again.

ACTION PLAN:  Watch this message again sometime this week. Think through whether you have noticed any change in your way of thinking since the first time you heard it this past weekend.