Discovering and Doing the Will of God

By Professor P. V. Ntintili

Most people wish to enjoy a vibrant and intimate relationship with God but do not know how. They often admire and even envy biblical characters who walked with God in close proximity and talked with Him as a person would talk to another person; face-to-face. The biggest problem for most people is that they do not know how to hear the voice of God and thus the will of God eludes them. They know that God has a purpose for each person but they do not know how to access their purpose and to enjoy the good plans God has for them. This book unravels all these mysteries. The purpose of the book is to connect the readers with God and to teach them how to hear His voice and to walk and work with Him. It is to help them to discover God’s good and pleasant will and plans for their lives and to walk in the will of God for their lives. This is the secret of effectiveness, success and impact in life. This is a must for every person who desires to live an impactful, productive and meaningful life.

About the Author

Professor P V Ntintili is committed to serve the Body of Christ, to raise leaders, to train emerging and upcoming leaders, to mobilise and equip professionals for effective service in their respective fields of specialisation. His focus is to raise disciples who will be used as agents of transformation in the marketplace where God has sovereignly deployed them. He works for Fulfilling The Great Commission Missions which focuses its missionary outreach on the countries of Southern Africa. It focuses on both home and foreign missions. He is available to speak and to conduct training sessions for any church or group of people. His passion is discipleship, leadership training, youth outreach, particularly high school and university students, and rallying Christian professionals to rise up and be counted in society.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Professor P. V. Ntintili
• Release date: Jan 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463822937

Book preview

Discovering

and Doing the

Will of God

Discovering

and Doing the

Will of God

Professor P. V. Ntintili

Ph.D.; Th.D.

Copyright © 2018 Professor P. V. Ntintili

First edition 2018

Published by Professor P. V. Ntintili Publishing at Smashwords

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Author using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Edited by Kevin Turner for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: [e-mail]

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. Defining the Will of God

2. Categories of God’s Will

3. Important Dimensions of God’s Will

4. We are Created to do God’s Will

5. Enemies of God’s Will

6. Why is it Necessary to do the Will of God

7. The General Will of God

8. Clues for Knowing God’s Will

9. How to Discover God’s Will

10. Important Areas of God’s Will

11. Doing the Will of God

12. Christ Models the Doing of God’s Will

13. The Will of God and the Holy Spirit

14. The Will of God and Discipleship

15. The Correct Time to Discover God’s Will

16. God’s Word and God’s Will

17. What a Pity We Miss God’s Will

18. In All Your Ways Acknowledge Him

19. The Secret of Doing the Will of God

20. The Imperatives of God’s Will

Bibliography

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all those who have responded to God’s call to be missionaries in other countries, some of whom died and are buried in those foreign lands. It is particularly dedicated to five missionaries who were murdered in January 1956 in Auca, Ecuador. Jim Elliot was one of them. He was killed on January 8, 1956, after he had been there for two years and two months. He and his wife felt called to work among the Quichua or Quechua Indians of Ecuador. The other missionaries who were murdered with him were Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, Peter Fleming, and their pilot, Nate Saint. They were killed by the Huaorani people as they were attempting to contact the Waorani tribe. After the death of Jim Elliot, his wife, Elizabeth Elliot, and other missionaries began working among the Huaorani, where they continued evangelistic work. At the time Jim Elliot was killed, he was only 28 years old. He had one child, Valerie Elliot, who was 10 months old at the time of her father’s murder. After Jim Elliot was killed, his wife, Elizabeth continued her missionary work with the Quechua people for another eight years. Jim Elliot’s well known quotation is: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose. How true this is; it is based on what Christ actually said in Matt. 10:39; 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 17:33; and John 12:25. It is notable that this statement is found in all four gospels. All these missionaries discovered God’s will, embraced it for their lives, and all died in the will of God. My prayer is found in Num. 23:10b, which says, Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs! I want to live and die in the will of God just as Jim Elliot and the other four missionaries did.

Preface

We human beings often conduct ourselves as if we have created ourselves for our own ends, and as if we have no-one to account to. We seem totally oblivious to the fact that there is a Creator who brought us into existence and that we are accountable to Him. But the Bible tells us in many places that we have been created by God and we are answerable to Him. Rev. 4:11b says that God created all things and all things were created ‘for His pleasure.’ This includes human beings. Speaking of Israel, God says in Isa. 43:7, that (1) they are called by His name, and (2) they have been created for His glory. The Good News Bible says that Israel was created in order ‘to bring glory to God.’ Verse 21 says that Israel was created in order to ‘show forth’ His praises. What is said of Israel is true of humans in general. We have been created by God; He formed us. The reasons why He formed us was so that we might bring glory to Him and to demonstrate or show forth His praises.

We seem to be ignorant of who created us and why He created us. We did not create ourselves; we came into existence because of God’s creative act (Gen. 1:1; Isa. 40:26, 28; John 1:3; Acts 17:24; Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:16, 17; Heb. 1:2, 10). When God created us, He had a particular purpose for each one of us. The life of every living human being has meaning when he or she has discovered God’s particular purpose for his or her life, the reason for his or her existence. God has definite and specific plans for the life of every living human being. Jer. 29:11 speaks of the plans that He has for us, to give us a future. This means that there is no real future for any person who has not discovered God’s will for his or her life. The Bible says, in the NIV, that God has planned many things for us which cannot be recounted (Ps. 40:5).

What is astounding is that human beings are completely unaware that God has plans for their lives and these plans are connected with His will for each and every one of us. But we live to do what we want, the way we want to do it, and for as long as we want to do it. It never occurs to us that we should find out what the will of God is on several matters. It is sad that even Christians, who are supposed to know that there is something known as God’s will, do not bother to find out what God’s will is for their lives. As a result, we forfeit many great things that God has planned for us. The idea of discovering God’s will and aligning our lives to that will is foreign to most of us, both Christians and non-Christians.

Many Christians do not know how to discover God’s will and thus do not live according to His will. It would not be an exaggeration to say that more than eighty percent of Christians do not know how to discern God’s will and do not know how God speaks to people. Without knowing how God communicates with His people, how can we know what His will is for us? Prov. 3:5b exhorts us not ‘to lean our understanding.’ Verse 6 says, ‘in all your ways acknowledge Him’ and when you do, ‘he will make your paths straight.’ Verse 7a warns us against being ‘wise in our own eyes.’ The Message Bible renders Prov. 3:5b as Don’t try to figure out everything on your own. If you do not know how to consult God and how to hear Him when He speaks to you, you will be forced to figure out everything on your own. Verse 6 says, in The Message Bible, Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do.

This book is an attempt to share with readers how God speaks and how to actually discover His voice and guidance for your life. I hope it will help you.

Professor Prince Vuyani Ntintili

Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa

December 2018

Introduction

It is important for human beings to fully realise that they were created by God in order for them to do His will and to heed His commands. God, for His part, has faithfully provided for our needs and grants us protection, care and love. Paul reminded the people in Lystra what God has done for humanity. In Acts 14:17b, he states, He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy. God is looking to those who belong to Him to set the standard for all others in the area of doing God’s will. Our example in this is Christ. In Heb. 10:9, Christ says, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." In John 4:34, He said that doing the Father’s will was what sustained Him, like food sustains the body. In John 6:38, He says that He has come down from heaven not to do His will but the will of Him who sent Him. He told His disciples to pray that the Father’s will might be done on earth as it is done in heaven (Matt. 6:10). What He was implying was that those who must exemplify how to live by the will of God are His disciples. Just as He has exemplified to them how to do the will of God, His disciples must do the same for those who have not yet committed their lives to Christ. They must see from the disciples how to live by the will of God and the benefits that ensue from doing this.

It is not possible to know the will of God and to do it without constant conversation with God. He must tell us what His will is and, in some instances, He must actually prescribe how He wants His will to be executed. This requires an ability to accurately hear God when He speaks. The problem is that there are many voices that circulate on earth. Some are inner voices, while others are external voices. How then does one differentiate the voice of God from so many other voices in circulation? Christ says in John 10:27, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. His sheep are those who follow Him and His followers are called His disciples. This means that disciples are supposed to be acquainted with the voice of their Master. That is how they will be able to follow Him. The tragedy is that many disciples have not learned to decipher or decode the voice of their Master and, as a result, they stumble in their walk with the Lord. It is impossible to walk with the Lord and to please Him without the ability to detect His voice and to do His bidding at all times. The issue of doing the will of God is central to a Christian’s walk with God. How can two walk together unless they are agreed? (Amos 3:3). It is not possible.

In this book, I want to introduce the topic of discovering and doing the will of God. There are other books in circulation dealing with this important topic. But the Lord has impressed on my spirit to add my contribution on this critical topic. While adults may benefit from it, the book is primarily aimed at young people. If they could discover God’s will for their lives while they are young, and if they could commit themselves to doing the will of God without any deviation, they would experience God’s bountiful blessings and would obviate the catastrophes that result from straying from the will of God. We want to know that God’s will is expansive and there is no area that is exempted from it. We want to explore many dimensions of the will of God. My purpose here is not to teach people what the will of God is, but rather to teach them about the importance of actually doing the will of God. Christ is our example in this area and we are to be His example to others. May God help us to do His will and to help others to follow our example in doing it! Pray as you read this book, and may God grant you insight and revelation. Confirm the things you read here in the Word of God, the Bible.

Chapter 1

Defining the Will of God

I want to briefly discuss what the will of God is in this chapter. I will look at three important words that connote the idea of God’s will. First of all, the word ‘will’ means, among other definitions, ‘desire, wish, inclination, longing, determination, ambition, preference, bidding, command, dictate, instructions, yearning, want, resolve and longing.’ All these descriptions are very good and they shed some light on what the will of God entails. God’s will then is:

• What God’s desires to be done in heaven and on earth;

• It is the wish of God for all His creation;

• It is what expresses the inclination or leaning of God;

• It is what God had determined to do and wishes that His creation could follow Him in doing it;

• God’s will refers to God’s ambition. This means that we must get rid of our own ambitions and do His;

• God’s will is God’s preference, what He prefers to be done;

• God’s will is His bidding; it is what He is telling us to do;

• God’s will expresses His want, what He yearns or longs for;

• God’s will refers to His command or dictates; His will is not an expression of His opinion or suggestion, it is what He dictates, and He expects His dictates to be obeyed;

• God’s will is His instruction; sometimes He gives elaborate instructions that express what He wants to be done. We find examples of this in the Bible.

These synonyms of the word ‘will’ give us a clue to what God’s will involves. Not to heed or to do His will is to rebel and to disobey God. We see this in Genesis 3, and the consequences of not doing the will of God are shown here to be disastrous. While God’s will could be an umbrella or a canopy that shields us from many catastrophes, to disobey God’s will could expose us to many hazards in life.

One small booklet that I read, produced by Peace House Publications, defines God’s will as God’s intentions, God’s strong desire and God’s plan and purpose. You notice that this definition brings in the word intentions. It is what God intends to do and what he intends for us to do. It is not just His desire but rather His ‘strong desire.’ That is why one of the synonyms of the word ‘will’ is ‘yearning.’ To yearn for something is to strongly desire it. This definition also brings in the words ‘plan’ and ‘purpose,’ which I will discuss later in this chapter. This booklet continues to explain that God’s will means what God willed for you out of His inheritance; that portion of the will that God has written which belongs particularly to you as a child of God. God’s will is your own portion of inheritance in Christ. This introduces something that is very serious; it brings us to the notion of bequeathing. In this sense, to will something means to ‘give someone a share out of your estate as his or her inheritance.’ There is also this serious sense of the word will, what God has allocated to you as your inheritance in the kingdom of God. This obviously has an earthly dimension as well as a heavenly dimension. It is important for every saint or believer to know what his / her will or inheritance is.

Another writer defines the will of God as The intent and purpose of God, as revealed in the Scriptures. God’s will for His creation and His people is set out in the Law and the Prophets, which find their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. A central aspect of the will of God is that His people be faithful and obedient. This definition alludes to many important factors. As we have noted in the synonyms for the word ‘will,’ it brings in the idea of intention. His will is what God has intended. It also brings about something critical: namely the fact that the will of God is found or revealed in the Scriptures. This means that anyone who wishes to know the will of God must be acquainted with the Word of God. I will come back to this fact when I talk about how one can discover the will of God. Finally, this definition highlights the fact that the will of God is fulfilled in Christ. There are certain things that God has willed, which cannot be fulfilled apart from Christ. This makes Christ central to the will of God.

The will of God is what God would like you and me to do. This refers to God’s will for each person. I will say something more in Chapter Two when I discuss the ways in which the will of God is often categorised. It is enough for you to know that there are certain things that God would like you to do. The same applies to me. This becomes very important and it is the reason why everyone must seek to know God’s will for his or her life. There is no way you can fully please God without knowing His will for you specifically.

There are certain words that the Bible uses to describe God’s will. I will not refer to the Hebrew and the Greek usage of the English word ‘will.’ I will simply tell you what the translated meanings of these words are. The King James Version (KJV) uses the word ‘thought’ to connote the idea of will. For example, in Jer. 29:11 the KJV says, ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ saith the LORD, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.’ The will of God is what God has thought to do for the universe in general and for you and me in particular. It consoles me to know that God is actually thinking about me. The idea of bequeathing something to me shows that He has been thinking about me. Ps. 8:4 says that God is ‘mindful’ of man; this means that His mind is full of us. He is thinking good things about us. The New International Version (NIV) uses the word ‘plans’. In the same verse (Jer. 29:11) the NIV speaks of ‘the plans I have for you.’ Because He is thinking about me, God has made wonderful plans for me. If I do not know the will of God, I will not know the plans God has for me. Ps. 40:5 speaks of the ‘many things that God has planned for us.’ The Psalmist says that these things are too numerous to recount. This shows how critical it is for me to know the will of God in order to have a share in those things that God has planned for me. Another word that is used to describe God’s will is the word ‘purpose’. To purpose is to ‘resolve or to determine.’ Rom. 8:28-29 speaks of those things that God has purposed for us. Verse 28 says that God makes or orchestrates all things to work for good in order to realise what He has purposed for us. Verse 29 explains that what God has purposed and even predestined is that those He has called will be conformed to the image and likeness of His Son. Simply put, God’s will is that all those who are born again, become like Jesus. The Message Bible uses the word ‘intention’ to connote the idea of the will of God (see Isa. 42:21; Jer. 25:5; Rom. 8:29). The will of God refers to those things that God has intended for us. Another word that is used in the Bible is the word ‘counsel,’ which means advice, guidance, direction and warning. The will of God refers therefore to His advice and we need to be advised by God. It refers to His guidance; the will of God guides us in life and when we miss it, we fall into many pitfalls which we could have avoided. It also refers to God’s direction, and when we miss the will of God it means we are directionless. What is sobering is that the will of God also refers to the warnings that God gives to His people. There are several scriptures that speak of God’s counsel and they are quite instructive (Ps. 16:7; 33:11; 73:24; 107:11; Isa. 46:10-11; Jer. 23:18-22). The word ‘will’ also refers to ‘goodwill’ or/and ‘favour.’ For God to reveal His will to us, is to extend His goodwill and favour to us, and to spurn God’s will is to reject His goodwill and favour. This is scary to think, and yet this is what we do when we choose to do our own will and to throw away His will. We do this in many areas of our lives and this to our detriment. In the New Testament, the Bible uses the words eternal plans and purpose’ inclination and good pleasure." Stanford Reid says about this: The NT makes use of three principal words... God’s ‘eternal plan and purpose based on His deliberation’ (Luke 7:30; Acts 2:23; 4:28; 20:27; Eph. 1:11)... His ‘will according to his inclination.’ (Acts 22:14; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 1:9; 5:17; Col. 1:9); and... His ‘good pleasure’ and ‘delight’ (Luke 2:14; Eph. 1:5, 9; Phil. 2:13). I have already pointed out, in my general comments, that the word ‘will’ refers to the ‘plan’ and ‘purpose’ of God. God has planned great things for us and when we miss His will, we miss His plans and what He has, in grace, purposed for us. His plans are eternal; though executed in time and space. His will refers to His inclination. Inclination refers to His ‘leaning, liking, predisposition and preference.’ This is what God’s will means. His will also refers to His good pleasure. We were created to bring God pleasure and when we stray away from His will, we bring displeasure to God.

I have carefully described what exactly God’s will means, and yet I have not said all that could be said about it. The issue of God’s will features prominently in God’s Word. Those men and women who did exploits for God are those who aligned all they did with the will of God. Therefore they attracted God’s good pleasure and favour and God fully backed them in all they did. If you want to attract God’s pleasure and favour, endeavour to do His will. It was Mary who, when told that she was pregnant, even though she had not met a man, simply said, ‘Let it happen to me according to thy will.’ The Lord highly favoured her because she was the vehicle through which the Savour was brought into the world.

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of God’s will. While it is necessary for you to know what the will of God is, what is really needed is for you and me to actually do the will of God. God’s bountiful blessings are reserved for those who are committed to consistently doing God’s will. Such people have decided to work with God and not against God.