Finding the will of God is much easier when we are walking daily with God. In this sermon, Shawna Boren lays out what it looks like to start and continue that journey with God. She also helps educate us on proper texting.
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OTW
• Shawna Boren
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The past few weeks have seen an emphasis on knowing God’s will, not as situational will but as knowing God’s will for our identity. Out of knowing who we are in Jesus, God’s will naturally flows if we can develop a relationship and pay attention to it. We have to be firmly grounded in our identity of God’s children in order to flourish in doing God’s will.
This begins with a relationship with God. It is difficult, if not impossible, to walk with God and know our identity if we don’t have an active relationship with him. This relationship is not difficult. It simply requires that we spend time with God, in prayer and in “hanging out” time.
This journey with God begins with one small step, and it continues with a series of small steps. God’s word is a lamp that shines in front of us, but it doesn’t reveal the whole picture. Instead, we are giving enough light to take the first few steps, and then the light extends further as we take those steps. Only after taking a few steps many times can we look back and see the journey that God is taking us on.
This is similar to online bill pay. If you’ve ever paid a bill online, then you know that you can do a one-time payment or set up recurring payments. A relationship with God is similar to online bill pay. Sometimes, we go to God, and we want God to make a one-time payment. We want him to take care of the thing in front of us, and then we want to go on our way. However, God wants us to set up recurring payments where he can continually invest in our lives. When we allow God to do this, we begin a journey of small steps in relationship with him.
Vincent Van Gogh once said “Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” A series of small steps can lead to large results. This is how knowing our identity in Christ, and walking in that identity, can lead to Kingdom results. These small steps begin with prayer and simply following the small nudges that God sends our way. In this way, we bear fruit in every good work.
The trick in journeying with God is to concentrate on the step in front of us. When we take the first step, our momentum begins to build, and the next step becomes easier. While we take the small steps, we begin to cultivate our partnership and relationship with Jesus. He begins to lead us, and we begin to understand what the nudges from him feel like. We learn his voice. If we try to look too far down the road, we lose focus of where God is leading us. Focusing on the step in front of us keeps us focused on the lighted path.
Perseverance and endurance are needed on this journey with God. While your own strength may be sufficient for awhile, remember that there are people around you that can help you on this journey. Whether its people in your small group or someone that you simply confide and talk to, you should have people on your journey with you. Going it alone is going towards failure. When you stumble on the path or it seems like you don’t know where God is, these people can help you. Discernment and support are just a few of the benefits of having a good community of people around you on your journey with God.
Remember that you will not succeed on this journey if you rely on your natural ability. You are not successful in Christ because of your own efforts, but rather you are successful because you are a child of God. This identity that God gives you is your source of strength. In it, we realize the ways in which our father dances over us on our journey. We realize the ways he picks us up when we fall down. We realize that no matter our past, he is a lamp unto our feet on the path of life.
Don’t wait to take your first step. Take some time this week and really spend some time with God. If you feel a nudge to do some Kingdom work, then take a risk and jump in. There are plenty of ministry opportunities around Woodland Hills Church, but there are many opportunities and things that God wants to use you for in your everyday life and interactions. Take the first small step, for it will be a giant leap in your walk with God.
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: Calling, God's Will, Presence of God
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Focus Scripture:
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Colossians 1:9-12
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[a] so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[b] to share in the inheritance of his people in the kingdom of light.
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Many thanks for this wonderful message. I am based in London (UK), and I was really blessed with this sermon, thank you.
I think ‘waiting’ is such a challenge in a world as today when we expect everything to be done ‘yesterday’, I often think that God wants us to slow down and listen and be still – we/I can me so impatient. So, that’s my prayer for me and for the church.
God bless you,