How to Know the Will of God – John Piper

let's pray father in heaven we now behold our God high seated on a throne lifted up we behold our king and we say nothing can compare nothing can compare with you so come and I pray that one of the things you would do in this time is that in so revealing your glory through your word by your spirit people would get guidance for their lives there's some people in this room right now facing some really significant decisions and they didn't know that they were coming here to get that guidance and I pray that they would get it that you would stand forth from your word in such a way that when they walk out light would be on the path to be chosen bright attractive beautiful Christ dense light they would know when I pray for the rest of us Lord who may not have such a decision in front of us the millions of decisions we make in our lives they don't even enter the process of thought but just happen that they would be made pure godly Christ exalting so come I pray do those things and far more abundantly that I'm able to ask right now I ask in Jesus name Amen so if you have a Bible and you'd like to follow along with me we're going to look at a verse in Romans 12 and I'll read two verses namely the first two verses of the chapter Romans 12:1 and 2 we're going to talk about the will of God what it means how to find it what it means to have your mind renewed to find it that very familiar passage of Scripture I want to linger over with you for a while here so Romans 12 I'll read verses 1 and 2 and as you know 12 follows 1 to 11 it's not rocket science to figure that out and it begins with a glorious therefore I appeal to you therefore and therefore the wonders that he's calling us into in walking with Christ in a renewed way is built on massive theology in chapters 1 to 11 it doesn't get any bigger than Romans 1 to 11 doesn't get any deeper than Romans 1 to 11 and this is what it was all building toward new minds discerning the will of God lives of worship so let's read verses 1 and 2 I appeal to you therefore on the basis of Romans 1 to 11 and all the glories there and the pillars that sunk down into the bottomless foundations there I I appeal to you therefore brothers by those mercies the mercies of God that I've unfolded for 11 chapters I appeal to you present your bodies that is your whole bodily life your bodies are what you are around the world everywhere you go you're in your body so everywhere you go whatever you're doing that bodily existence presented as a living sacrifice it's not going to die goes up on the altar but it won't die so that it can't live it just dies so that it lives a different way as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God it is possible sinner Christian to live pleasing to God don't overstate the doctrine of just the justification of the ungodly it's a glorious doctrine don't make it cancel other scriptures they're people doing that today they are taking the doctrine of justification of the ungodly a beautiful Romans taught doctrine and and extrapolating from it you can't please God you can't be acceptable to God day by day all you can do is confess that you're ungodly and Bank on the righteousness of Jesus that's false you are called built on justification by faith alone accepted on the basis of the righteousness of Christ alone now to offer sacrifices to God in your body that please him that he smiles upon to this afternoon you can do something that pleases God you can make a phone call that pleases God you can speak a word of sweetness and kindness to your spouse that pleases God present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that attesting that you may prove or desert what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect and thus thus live a life of worship so the aim of these two verses is that all of life becomes worship right present your bodies your bodily life as a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship in other words the aim of all life the the aim of human life is that God in Christ be displayed as infinitely valuable right that's what life is for to live your life in such a way that by what you say what you think what you feel what you do with your arms and your lips and your eyes and your leg your hands will show he's more valuable than anything that's what worship is showing God's value supreme value over all other things so if you have a job do your job in a way that shows that Christ is supremely valuable and if you can't do that at your job either change jobs or do verse two better let's look at verse two now do not be conformed to this world but positively be transformed in the renewing of your mind so that something different happens at work that by testing you can discern the will of God that is good and acceptable and perfect and God begins to look valuable in your life to other people he looks valuable God looks valuable when I look at you God looks infinitely worthy when I look at you when I look at you it looks like you value God more than money it looks like you value God more than power it looks like you value God more than illicit sex so what's with you I want to know the reason for the hope that is in you you probably don't have to change jobs that would probably a mistake that's a wrong that's not going to solve the problem but verse two will solve the problem and that's what we're going to think about for a while here verse two is Paul's answer to the question how all of life becomes worship in verse one so don't just change your external behavior it says be renewed in the spirit in your minds be verse to the middle of verse be transformed by the renewal of your mind I get a step back and get a little Paul Paul theology in here so that being renewed it is understood in the context of what's really happened to you Christians if anyone is in Christ this is second Corinthians 5:17 he is a new creation okay that's just a rock-solid statement about you if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation so now the new gets renewed right I mean verse two of Romans 12 says be renewed in the spirit of your mind so you're already new now get new that's the Christian life right those of you who are familiar with the way Paul talks that's the way he talks for example first Corinthians 5:7 cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump of dough because you are really unleavened what a paradoxical way to talk right you are unleavened get the leaven out well if I'm unleavened I don't have leaven to get out yes you do unleavened you you are perfectly unleavened so get the leaven out that's the genius and the mystery of the Christian life that's what how justification and sanctification work right because I'm justified and seen as on leaven in Christ get the leaven out if you're not getting the leaven out that is the leaven of sin out of your life probably bearing witness that you're not justified by faith you're very content with your sin okay so when he says be renewed he doesn't mean like well get something good started in your life a miracle has happened in your life you are new you're a new creation in Christ and on that glorious confident basis rooted in Christ and His saving work for us now we have some work to do and we do it with joy and with confidence with children of God not trying to be children of God get into God's favor we're in his favor rock solid through faith in Christ but now we've got some renewing we got some renewing to do because this this old head of John Piper at age 69 Steel's got some renewing to do in that awful that's awful but that's true Colossians 3:10 you have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator you have already put on the new person you're a new person now you are being renewed okay so now you see the you see verse 2 in the context of your identity in Christ based on other things that Paul said and we're we're back at first too now and I want us to linger here do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that by testing you might discern that you might prove or approve that it's just a wonderful word there in Greek rock your mods owed it to to not just to know what something is but you'll prove it it's both ideas are there like that's the will of God I don't like it both of those are happening in this word here to prove what is the will of God means I detect it I discern it this is the way to go and I'm going there I like it that he's not saying I want you to know the will of God and snub your nose at it so it's not just know the will of God it's know it and approve it that's going on here in verse 2 so the first question I have is what is the will of God mean and this is review now and expansion from the weekend and for those of you who aren't there not a problem you will will catch on pretty quick to this what does the will of God mean because that's the goal here in verse two right so that you can discern what is the will of God what's that mean will of God and in the Bible there are these two big meanings of the will of God and we need to know which one is here which one does this verse mean when it comes to the will of God we need to know whether it's the will of God that is his sovereign will that always comes to pass without fail or whether it is the will of God which is his command to do what's right which is often disobeyed and doesn't come to pass and the Bible uses the term will of God both ways one of the biggest problems that distinction creates for us is that it appears then that God ordains to come to pass things that he disapproves up or put in another way he forbids that you do some things that he brings about or put it another way he commands some things that he hinders or to put it most paradoxically he wills some things that he does not will because they're two different meanings for his will now I want to show you that in the Bible and then will try to decide which one is meant in verse two and then we'll try to decide okay how do I get my mind renewed so I can go there so texts a few texts that show what I mean by the sovereign will of God main namely the wheel that always comes to pass no matter what let's take Matthew 26:39 where we're in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus is crying out to his father my my father if it is possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless not as I will but as you will because I mean as you will your will be done that means God's sovereign plan which is going to happen Jesus is going to die and Jesus in his human nature is simply saying in my human nature I don't I don't relish the thought of nails going through my hands tomorrow so if the plan could be adjusted that would please my flesh because I'm just an ordinary person who doesn't like nails in my hands that's not sin to talk like that but then he says your will be done meaning you've got a plan do your plan so the will of God is God's sovereign plan that he always executes the text that we looked at most in a focused way on the weekend was Acts chapter 4 verses 27 and 28 this one ought to be marked in your Bible because this text unlocks more light on the dark places of theological problems than many texts so acts 4 27 and 28 the church is praying in wonder to the sovereign God that has just ordained the death of his son and they pray like this acts 4:27 truly in this city Jerusalem there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both herod pontius pilate all the gentiles the peoples of israel to do what your hand and plan had predestined to take place so Herod did what God predestined to take place Pilate did what God predestined to take place the shouting crowds crucify him crucify him did what God predestined to take place and the soldier the Gentile soldiers who drove the nails did what God had predicted to take place and the sovereign will of God was accomplished at 9 o'clock on Friday morning and it was all sin right pilots expediency Herod's mockery the soldiers gambling for his clothes you're the son of God the hatred of the mobs stirred up by the Pharisees crucifying that's all sin and planned by God so that's why I said this text verses 27 and 28 is a light on a theological jungle of problems but woe you're saying that God's sovereign will that always comes to pass includes sin yes if God could not plan the murder of his son we could not be saved it's not like Jesus just jumped up on the cross and died and God said well I didn't know that is going to happen but I'll use it to save people that's heresy God planned it for you and it couldn't have happened without sin you don't kill the Son of God without sin okay so when I say one of the meanings of will of God is all that comes to pass that God ordains I mean it includes every thing a couple of other examples first Peter 3:17 says this it is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's will then for doing evil I think that one through that's first Peter 3:17 it is better for you to suffer for doing good so now you're at work and something is being discussed about a policy the policy in your mind is an evil policy it's a sinful policy it would involve you and other employees in sinning you know if you if you say something you're in big trouble could lose your job you're going to expose this manager as a he's a bad guy he's making a bad choice and if you say something he's going to be exposed he will put you down one way or the other you choose to do good you're gonna do good you speak truth and you get fired now put this text on that it is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's will so what does that mean that means when you spoke the manager who now is in trouble because you just exposed the evil of what was about to happen he could be hindered by God from firing you or he could look at this and say I permit you to fire him and he fires you God could just stop it he could just stop it and you don't lose your job and this says it is better to suffer for doing if that should be God's will now if he fires you did he do good no he's sinned and that was God's will that he sinned now you gotta have a category here unless you think I'm spiking I'm speaking here I feel like God is a sinner you got to have a category from the Bible that says God can ordain that sin come to pass without himself sinning God's not a sinner God's not evil God is holy just and true and good and in the way he governs and runs the world this text says if it's God's will that you suffer for doing good which always involves somebody sinning against you that's 1st Peter 3:17 Ephesians 1:11 is the most sweeping statement of all in this regard with sovereign will of God it says in him Ephesians 1:11 in him Christ we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things I take that literally who works all things according to the counsel of his will so will of God means all things God does all things he works all things according to the counsel of his will and you you know your Bibles you know texts like this extends to the details of all existence Matthew 10:29 not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from our Father in Heaven proverbs 16 33 the lot the dice are cast in the lab and every decision is from the Lord Reno Las Vegas Atlantic City every dice rolled God decides what turns up I believe that with all my heart that's that's not a problem for God he's that I play Scrabble with my wife we don't gamble but we reach our hand into the bag to pull out letters now do you pray at that moment I need a Z she's way ahead I totally believe God decides what letters come out in my hand I do pray and I thought through how I should pray it's a marriage issue I pray not let me win oh no no God knows who needs to win here my wife been playing Scrabble for 46 years if you tab it up all the games we'd probably tied right now it's amazing amazing so I pray for the kingdom and for the family whoever needs to win you know for humility or encouragement you know so I don't I don't try to pull rank on her and you know come on God no way that's how sovereign God is from the silliest little no Sparrow Falls no no letter comes out of the bag apart from God's who will so my answer to the question of what is will of God mean is that now I know one possibility I don't know the answer yet of what the meaning is in verse 2 I just know throughout the Bible will of God often means what he does and it always happens God is sovereign he decides what happens now there's another meaning for the term will of God the one that we used maybe more often and it is God's I call the first one the will of come the will of decree it said the will of decree what God decrees happens including all the bad things in the world not going to work it all for good the other meaning is the will of command for example Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 not everyone who says to me Lord Lord we'll enter the kingdom of heaven but the one who does the will of my father was that mean only those who do the will of my father enter my presence which means some don't and some do which means the will of God is done by something is not done by others which means this will of God doesn't have the same meaning as the first one because the first one is always done without fail and this one is disobeyed and not done so clearly will of God isn't the same here's another one 1st Thessalonians 4 3 this is the will of God your sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality have you know some of you have not which means you broke the will of God you disobeyed contradicted did not fulfill the will of God for your life the will of God for your life is sanctification abstain from all sexual immorality don't look at pornography is the will of God so last week dozens of you probably broke that will you contradicted it cancelled it it did not happen the will of God did not happen in your life because you looked first John 2:17 the world is passing away and all this desires but whoever does the will of God abides forever some do some don't therefore we have two meanings of the will of God in the Bible one is his sovereign will and one is his moral will will of command will of decree this one is always done he is sovereign this one is often not done and contradicted which one is meant in verse two of Romans 12 and before I show you the answer that I think is there let me come in on how precious it is to have these two truths you may think that's just interesting or not it's more than interesting it's precious let me try to explain why those two realities which are in the Bible God has a will of command thou shalt not kill and a sovereign will I ordained that my son be killed I ordained what I forbid that those two things are in the Bible corresponds to profound longings and needs that you have in moments of crisis and loss you you may not have thought this through but you experience it you do suppose you are you were abused as a child and it has born sad fruit for many years some uncle sexually abused you or a dad and somebody is trying to help you counsel with you you to work through the implications of that and somebody asks you you think that was the will of God now up until now I don't know what you would answer to that question but I have just now taken 15 minutes or so to to try to give you a structure of biblical thought to know how to answer that question in a way that not only corresponds with the reality of biblical truth but with deep needs of your soul right now the first need you have and I don't know which one comes first for you you might be you different but there two needs one is I need to believe God hates what and when he was looking at the abuser he was saying don't do that that is contrary to my will I command you not to do that he hates what he sees and will approve of judgment you need to believe that God is right there disapproving secondly you need to believe that God is sovereign so sovereign in that moment that he can turn everything for your glorious and everlasting God and if you try to solve the problem of God's sovereignty at the moment of crisis and push him so far out of that moment of causality so far to the edges you know what's gonna happen you will now be left with no God to help you deal with this and turn it for good he'll be useless you've just shoved him off and said you can't have anything to do with that your your will can't be involved in this your governance of the universe cannot oversee this I cannot have a God who in any way would ordain this this come to pass and you shoved him so far to the edge of the universe now in your pain for the rest of your life you're crying out to a God do miracles and you you've pushed him away if he if he can't govern that moment he can't govern the rest of your life and do the miracles you need for him to do so you need two things you need a God who disapproves of the ugliness and you need a God who ordains that all things come to pass and you're so sovereign he can take everything including that and work it for good and so if you try to say there's no sense in which the sovereign God will that you will lose God for the rest of your life so I think those two truths correspond to pretty profound needs that we all have you pick you may not be abused just maybe the loss of a loved one then maybe disease entering into your life it may be some painful relational conflict right now in marriage or with kids or with friends you just you're all in something and you need two things a God who can empathize with you as a high priest and hate sin hate sin the definition of sin is God hates it and says don't do it I forbid it and you need a God in that moment who is totally sovereign and governing all things so that even the sin being done against you is folded into His purposes for you and you can shine like the Sun some day even in spite of that loss that pain both of those are needs that I think God meets by being this kind of God so now we're in verse 2 and we're asking which is it the three verse two again do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God he wants you to know oh it is the will of God which is it and my answer is it is the will of command not the sovereign will of God he is not saying get your mind renewed so that you can discern what is going to happen tomorrow he's saying get your mind renewed so that you can discern what ought to happen tomorrow through your life see the difference he is telling us to look for his will of command God does I got a couple of reasons for why I think that number one in the Bible God is not bent on bringing you into an increasing awareness of his secret will for tomorrow he does not want you to know what's going to happen tomorrow what you need in order to discern what will happen tomorrow is not a renewed mind but a crystal ball there is no virtue in seeing tomorrow's events in a crystal ball witches do that Satan does that he's not eager for you to become an effective Satan who can predict the future that's not the point of verse two right I said I just hope we're on the same page here that the goal of verse two is not is not get a really effective gift of seances get a really effective gift of Zeus saying so that you can predict the tomorrow's give me a car accident or tomorrow you lose your job or tomorrow and he doesn't give a rip whether you know that stuff has nothing to do with how good you are how beautiful you are how new your mind is all you need is a crystal ball and some some tie-in with the devil to do that he wants your mind to be renewed not to know the sovereign will of God tomorrow but the moral will of God where's God want me to do what did he command me to do that's what he's after there are three stages now to the unfolding of the moral or the will of command the moral will of God the will of of command that when when you discern it it comes in three stages let me just lay these out real quickly for you so you can you can see how your obedience to verse two might look stage number one the will of command is revealed in the Bible decisively authoritative lis infallibly if you want to discern what is the will of God you start here it's a very thick book this version has 1,100 pages and page after page after page is helping us discern the moral will of God what does he prove of what does he delight in what is good acceptable and perfect in his view for you to do this afternoon so start here in fact it says in in 2nd Timothy 3:16 all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching for correction reproof for training in righteousness that the man of God may be a fully equipped for every good work ah every yes every in other words there's no good work that you have to have another book besides the Bible to cause you to know the Bible is sufficient to help you discern every good work which is why I say this is it this is the place I don't know what that was snow falling out of my mind so start there and ask the Lord for a renewed mind that is a mind that when it reads the Bible can see what it means I'd step one number two many things you must choose which are not described in the Bible as what you should do let me say that better you must choose to do many things where the Bible does not give you explicit instruction the Bible will not tell you what person to marry the Bible does not tell you which car to drive the bible does not tell you whether to own a home or rent a home the Bible doesn't tell you where to take a vacation doesn't tell you what phone plan to buy doesn't tell you which brand of orange used to drink and a thousand other choices that you must make the Bible is not explicit on so the second stage of discerning the will of command the more will of God is that you take the Bible and you you pray for a renewed mind that knows how to discern how all of the things that are revealed here when applied to orange juice will produce a godly decision house ownership car ownership person to marry job to have school to attend leisure activities to avoid or go to most of those decisions are not spelled out here which is why Romans 12:2 says do not be conformed to the world in the way it goes about those decisions but have your mind so renewed by this word that you discern which of those things would Accord with what is here o how that requires our written mine right because it's not simple like I'm gonna there's a verse that says you know Ford Ford not Chevrolet Ford it will not happen or electric car some of you might find that here here's a verse from about electric car maybe so step number two in penetrating through to the the will of God's command as it applies to the things where he didn't make it explicit is you got to have a new mind shaped by the rest of scripture so that when you come to those decisions there is a readiness to see and do the wheel and here's the third one and this one is the one we don't think about as much even though I'm an argue ninety five percent of your behavior is here mainly you do not pre meditate and decide to do ninety five percent of what you do you just do it most of your thoughts they're just there most of your feelings they're just there and most of your actions they're just there and a tiny handful you think about before you do them otherwise you'd go crazy right I mean at every moment like I'm gonna open the door should I open the door of my left hander my right here and pray about this discern the will of God something about right and left in the Bible sit is the right hand a surprise the best one to use you'd go crazy you couldn't live your life that way and that is how are you I'm just guessing ninety-five percent of your life so this afternoon you're probably going to make decisions about what half-dozen things that you're going to do I watch a ballgame might take a nap and you think I'm through think pros and cons and you do them the rest of your life and you can make hundreds and hundreds of actions between all the time you go to bed tonight they're just going to flow out of you flow out of you like Jesus said out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and you will give an account for every idle word and you didn't plan 95% of them now what's the implication of that most of my gestures most of my facial expressions most of my attitudes towards another person most of the words coming out of my mouth most of the things that I'm doing in the day I'm not even thinking about it I'm just doing what is the implication of that for proving what is the will of God in those and if you think oh but God doesn't have any will for things that we do spontaneously he only has a will for things that we we do decisively and I said that's ridiculous God says don't be proud God says don't be angry God says don't rejoice I mean do rejoice sorry well none of those God don't be anxious well are you gonna go out this afternoon and say here's an occasion where I could be anxious or not here's a couple of reasons why I shouldn't be here's couple reasons why I should be I think I won't be anxious or I think I be anxious here you just are anxious and you shouldn't be you see the implication of that the implication is we are told to do things all over the Bible that we would just do or don't do spontaneously so what's the implication the implication is verse two don't be conformed be renewed in your mind you've got to be a new person you can't just make new decisions because 95% of what you're doing you're doing spontaneously and if you're not a new person then out of the mouth the heart speaks wrong stuff and you are sad about that when we need to be changed so let's end by asking the question if those three steps like Bible application of the Bible consciously and then a transform mind that does 95 percent of its life unconsciously that is spontaneously how in the world do you become new that's a that's the rest of your life but here here's a few pointers and we'll be done number one visions 4:23 says be renewed in the spirit of your mind not just in your mind in the spirit of your mind and that is a work of the Holy Spirit and we are he's acting upon us it's a passive verb right be renewed in the spirit of your mind the mind doesn't just have thoughts there's a spirit of your mind a spirit that loves or hates what the will of God appears to be in the knowledge of the mind so we must be renewed not just that we have new thoughts but we feel differently about our thoughts titus 3:5 he saved us by washing of regeneration and renewal in the holy spirit so the second thing to say is not just do we need a new spirit in our minds the Holy Spirit is the one who works that and therefore number three we should cry out to God for the Holy Spirit David did psalm 51:10 created me a clean heart O God renew a right spirit within me God you come you come I need to be new so make me new so prayer is the pervasive activity of the Christian life which father of you has a son who asked him for bread would give him a snake or if he asked him for an egg would give him a scorpion if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit that's the version in the Gospel of Luke 11:13 he will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him and he doesn't mean the first time he just means over and over again we all need the Holy Spirit John Piper needs the Holy Spirit to do what love joy peace patience goodness think of those nine that those nine fruits all those nine fruits are the kind of thing that make me act spontaneously better right patience right if I'm a deeply patient person because the Holy Spirit is at work in me and you say something that irritates me I will spontaneously respond more kindly than if I'm an impatient person so what are you praying for for newness newness I need the Holy Spirit I need to be more loving more joyful more patient more kind more good more self-controlled work on me Holy Spirit take over and make me new new so that I don't just think right thoughts about the will of God I love the will of God so deeply that I spontaneously respond people in a godly way when I'm not even thinking about it that's how deeply we need to be renewed and the last thing I would say in closing is what is the Holy Spirit how does Holy Spirit do that it's not magic second Corinthians 3:18 we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord our being changed you could translate that or paraphrase it being renewed let's do that we are with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord that happens here in the gospel especially we all with unveiled face beholding the glory the beauty the radiance of the Lord are being renewed from one degree of glory to another that's how the Holy Spirit does it the Holy Spirit was sent into the world to magnify Jesus Christ off the pages of this book so that looking at Christ and his glory in his beauty we would be changed into his likeness so that when I turned out to live my afternoon there is a more natural free inner spontaneous doing of the will of God let's pray father in heaven oh how I long from my marriage my parenting my grandparenting my relationships with people I meet along the way how I longed not only to know some scripture text to apply but before I think at all I want to speak christ-like I want to feel christ-like and praying that now not only for me but for these friends I'm sure they feel the same way they would like for their default reactions before any premeditation to be holy we want to be change that deeply and so we ask you to pour out your Holy Spirit upon us once you stand for a closing benediction and I'll dismiss you the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace and everybody said

Channel: Desiring God

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Keywords: Desiring God, John Piper, God, Jesus Christ, Christianity, Christian Hedonism, How to Know the Will of God, God's Will, What is God's Will, Finding Direction, Renewed Mind, What is the Will of God

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Length: 52min 59sec (3179 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 05 2015