Discover the will of God for you – Part 22

How Do We Know God’s Will? (Cont)

• You know the will of God through submission to the Spirit
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)
The moment a repenting sinner receives Christ by faith into his heart the Holy Spirit immediately does five things for him:
• He regenerates the believer, that is, He gives him a new nature (John 3:5,6; Titus 3:5).
• He baptises the believer into the body of Christ (1Cor. 12:13).
• He indwells the believer (Rom. 8:9; 1Cor. 6:19).
• He seals the believer (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).
• He fills the believer (Acts 2:4; 4:8;7:55;13:52).

All five of these ministries often occur at conversion. The fifth ministry, however, should be asked for as needed. See Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:16. Actually, the word control is a better term than fill in describing this fifth ministry. It does not mean that we get more of the Spirit, but rather that He gets more of us. The fifth ministry is lost when the believer either quenches (1Thess. 5:19) or grieves (Eph. 4:30) the Holy Spirit. The fifth ministry can be regained by following the command of 1John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

How can a Christian be certain that he is indeed controlled by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis? First, he must consecrate his body as a living sacrifice to the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12:1,2). Second, he must depend upon the Holy Spirit to convict him of sin (Psalms. 139:23,24;19:12-14). Finally, he must look to the Holy Spirit for divine power in serving Christ (Acts 1:8; Gal. 5:16,17; Eph. 3:16).

• You know the will of God through circumstances and counsel
“For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Prov 24:6)
While the Christian is to live above his circumstances, he is not to be unaware of them. God often works through circumstances in revealing His perfect will for us. Certainly, Paul’s wonderful statement, “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom 8:28) takes into account our circumstances. A number of biblical examples can be given to illustrate this:
• God directed Abraham to substitute a ram, whose horns had somehow become entangled in a thicket, for the life of Isaac (Gen 22:13).
• God arranged for Pharaoh’s daughter to be bathing in the river Nile at the exact time the baby Moses floated by in a little ark of bulrushes (Exod 2:1-10)
• Paul’s young nephew happened to overhear a plot to kill his famous uncle. He then reported it to the authorities, thus saving the apostle’s life (Acts 23:12-22).
• Email: mercyolumide2004@yahoo.co.uk. www.thebiblicalwomanhood.com. Mobile: +234 803 344 6614; +234 808 123 7987.