Discerning God's Will

For those of you who were in our Sunday morning service, this past Sunday-July 27, here you will have an opportunity to use the points of the sermon and apply it to today's reading in Acts 21:1-16. From Acts 9, we learned that Paul was commissioned to carry the Gospel to the Gentiles first (see July 12 blog "Closed Doors"). But in today's reading we see him going back to Jerusalem despite warnings from others to do so. So the question is "What is God's will in this situation?" or as we stated Sunday, "How will Paul make a Godly decision, in this situation?" Let's apply Sunday's sermon points to answer this question.
1. Submit To God's Sovereign Will (James 4:13-16; Deut.29:29a)
Paul knew it was God's will to take this offering back to Jerusalem. Paul had devoted a good part of his third missionary journey to taking up a love gift for the Jews in Judea. Paul knew this would also help mend the fences between the Jew-Gentile division that had to be addressed back in ch.15. So, Paul knew it was in God's sovereign will to get this offering back to Jerusalem.
2. Submit To God's Moral Will (Deut.29:29b)
As we said Sunday, we make decisions in submission to the moral will of God. God's moral will is the abundant counsel of God that is given to us in Scriptures. In a word, it's obedience to all God commands us in His Word. If we're not willing to obey that which God has revealed to us in His Word, why should He reveal anything else to us? So, we must be in God's Word daily. Paul was a man in God's word daily. And I find no disobedience on his part in this passage.
3. Submit To Others (Phil.2:1-4)
Remember, Sunday we said that in making Godly decisions we must ask: "is this decision in the best interest of others?" "Will this decision hurt someone?" If it does, then it's probably not God's will. And in our test case here, Paul has the best interest of the Jews in Jerusalem in mind, even if it cost him his life.
4. Focus On Your Strengths (Sunday we referred to Acts 6)
Paul's strengths to witness to Jew and Gentile alike was brought out in the Acts 9 blog back on July 11. Go back and review. But not only that, Agabus came down from Judea and warned Paul in an illustrative way, that he would be bound in Jerusalem. Again, God had prepared Paul for this. Much of Paul's ministry was spent in chains. This would be no problem for Paul.
5. Seek Godly Counsel (Prov.11:14; 13:20; 15:22; 19:20; 20:18; 24:5-6)
In this passage, Paul was getting this whether he asked for it or not. They were repeatedly telling him, "Don't go Paul...don't go." But as we mentioned Sunday....#6
6. Listen To Your Heart
Ultimately the will of God is found in your heart, that is, a heart that is already submitted to the sovereign and moral will of God and is fully following Jesus. And Paul knew in his heart that he must go to Jerusalem, even if it cost him his life. He wanted to see the Jews and Gentiles reconciled in Christ, and this offering would be part of that process. He wanted to go to Rome, and in God's sovereign will, this would be the way he would get there: in chains from Jerusalem. And in the end, look what Paul's friends said, "The will of the Lord be done." 20:14. How often we are driven back on God like that when faced with a situation we cannot change. God knew that Nero needed to have the Gospel preached to him. And the only way that would happen is that God's preacher, Paul, go there in chains as a prisoner of the Department of Corrections of Rome. Yes, God's will is difficult to discern, but when we live by these six principles we gave out Sunday and through much prayer and seeking God's direction, He will show us each step of the way. May we, like Paul, never forget to ask that question he asked way back in Acts 9: "Lord, what do You want me to do?" (Acts 9:6).