“God will never reveal to you His unrevealed will if you are not willing to do His revealed will.” God's mission is to save the world and His challenge to us is to be faithful to His mission to carry the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ to this lost and dying world. Jesus taught that we are to be faithful stewards of everything He has given us to accomplish His mission and that there are spiritual benefits we can possibly expect as individuals and as a church right now but most certainly in eternity.

I want to continue to talk about His mission, but more specifically how we can know that we are in His will as we plan our lives and plan the future here at MSBC. We especially want to make sure that we are in God's divine will moving forward together.

Let's read Romans 12:1-2.

Romans 12:1-2 (HCSB)

¹ Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Christians are always talking about wanting to know the will of God for their lives. They ask questions like, "who should I marry, should I purchase this house or property, should I attend this school, and many other questions. But what they really want to know is "how do I find God's will or direction for my life?"

But, God's will is not lost. We don’t have to discover it, but we do have to recognize it. He is also not going to reveal it to anyone else but you and His will for you will never be contrary to His Word. So, obviously His Word would be the best place to start, don’t you think?

There are several requirements of knowing God's will. Let’s talk about them. The first and most important requirement is that…

You must be Saved

To know His will you need to accept the salvation He offers.

2 Peter 3:9 (HCSB)

⁹ The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

The Lord does not want anyone to die and go to hell. If you and I are not for Christ, we are against Christ.

Romans 8:7-8 (HCSB)

⁷ For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so. ⁸ Those, who are in the flesh, cannot please God. So, if a person is not saved, that person is not in the will of God.

You must be Sanctified

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 (HCSB)

³ For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality, ⁴ so that each of you knows how to control his own body in sanctification and honor,

Sanctification means to make holy, pure, or set apart. Notice, Paul says the control of one’s body. When we read further in this passage, we see that God intends on us remaining pure. We are to be controlled by the Spirit, not the flesh. Remember, the flesh is hostile to God.

You must be Spirit-filled

Ephesians 5:17-18 (HCSB)

¹⁷ So don’t be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ And don’t get drunk with wine, which ⌊leads to⌋ reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit:

To be filled with the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit.  In verse 18 Paul tells us what being controlled by the Spirit is. Think about a person who is drunk. They often stumble and fumble because the wine that is filling them is controlling their body. This same thing is true with the Holy Spirit. When we are filled by the Holy Spirit, we are being controlled by the Holy Spirit.