How Can I Know God’s Will? – Living Made New
How Can I Know God’s Will?
Together Church | Pastor Brandon & Pastor Britt
May 18, 2025 | Series: Living Made New
INTRODUCTION
Brandon
Great job leading us to honor and celebrate our graduates, Pastor Britt. What an exciting season for these individuals and their families.
Britt
I was honored to do it! There are certain moments in life where we know things are going to be different moving forward. Graduation is one of those moments.
Brandon
I’ve had the privilege of graduating three times (high school, college, and masters). I felt nervous and excited each time because I knew things were about to change.
Do you know what I remember wanting to know each time? “God, what is your will?”
Britt
That’s a huge question!
In the first two messages in this series, we’ve been talking about the HEART or DESIRE to live our lives surrendered in complete obedience to God’s will.
But having that heart is only half the equation. To live our lives surrendered in complete obedience to the will of God, we have to know what IS the will of God?!
Brandon
These graduates feel it right now! What’s next? Where does God want me to go from here? Should I pursue more education? What job should I get? Should I marry? Who should I marry? What about kids? What is God’s purpose for my life?
Britt
If we’ve been Made New, we want to Live Made New. But it’s impossible for us to live surrendered in complete obedience to the will of God if we don’t even know what God’s will is.
That’s why we’ll focus on this question today:
How Can I Know God’s Will?
Brandon
Let me start with some good news. God WANTS you to know His will! Sometimes, when we aren’t sure what God wants, we may think we’ve got to be some kind of ultra spiritual person to discern His will.
But God is not hiding His will from us. There’s no magic involved.
Britt
There’s no magic, but there is a plan! We discover God’s will as we spend time seeking God and getting to know Him. As we spend time with God, He transforms our minds so that we might know God and know His will for us.
Brandon
That’s exactly what God’s Word says in today’s passage. Let’s read it one more time…
Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Britt
According to this passage, knowing the will of God and the transformation of our minds go hand in hand. The more the Holy Spirit renews our minds the more we discover God’s will.
When your mind is renewed, you can start TESTING everything that comes your way! You gain this awesome ability to discern the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect to Him.
Brandon
When my mind is transformed, I start thinking and seeing things from God’s perspective. Knowing God’s will and the renewal of my mind runs on the same tracks.
That leads us to a very important question… how can my mind be transformed so that I can know God’s will?
Britt
Today, we will look at four powerful tools God has given us for the renewing of our mind. To know God’s will, our minds must be renewed through…
- God’s Word
- Prayer
- Discipleship Relationships
- Spiritual Authorities
BODY
Brandon
Let’s look at these together! To know God’s will, our minds must be renewed through…
- His Word
How do you get to know a person?
One important way is through their words!
Britt
We have the opportunity to know God through His word, The Bible. Every word of scripture was breathed by God! That means we can completely trust God’s Word when it tells us who God is, what He is like, and what His will is for our lives…
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Brandon
According to this passage, God can and will direct you through His Word. Specifically, this passage says God’s Word is profitable for…
- Teaching – forming beliefs, shaping worldview
- Reproof – showing us our faults
- Correction – bringing us back, straightening our path
- Training in Righteousness – teaching us what we do not know, helping us know what is right
God’s Word does this so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. In other words, we can know God and His will through God’s Word!
Britt
These truths about God’s Word should make us hungry for it. Believing we can know God and discover His will through His Word should motivate us to seek it out!
- Every day in time with Him.
- Every Sunday through the preaching of God’s Word.
- Every week in small group as we discuss the Word with other believers.
Brandon
The Bible is not some irrelevant book written a long time ago. The Bible contains the timeless, matchless Words of God! Every word of scripture has been breathed out by God and has power in our lives.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
God’s Word is living and active! It is profitable and effective. Through it, our minds are renewed so that we know who God is and have the ability to discern His will. That’s the first tool for the renewal of our minds.
Britt
Second, to know God’s will, our minds must be renewed through…
- Prayer
Jesus taught His disciples to begin praying like this…
Matthew 6:9-10
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus taught His disciples that prayer is a powerful tool for connecting us to God’s will. YOUR Kingdom come, YOUR WILL be done.
Brandon
Through prayer, our minds are renewed as we seek the will of God, not our own.
Most people don’t understand this powerful truth about prayer. Far too many Christians only pray when they want something from God. The Bible gives us permission to make requests to God through prayer!
But if that’s the only kind of prayers you’re praying, you’re missing out.
Prayer was not given as a tool for us to use to get God to do our will. God gave us the gift of prayer so that we could discover and experience His will in our lives!
Britt
This kind of prayer truly changes your life! There is incredible peace when you pray this way because it is through this prayer that God aligns your will to His will. This results in your thoughts and desires becoming like His thoughts and desires.
Brandon
Ultimately, God uses prayer to transform our minds so we might know His will. In Colossians, Paul says…
Colossians 1:9-10
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God
That’s powerful.
Britt
Through “prayer”, Paul wanted these believers to be filled with “the knowledge of God’s will”. Knowledge simply means “to know” something. Through prayer, we can grow in the knowledge of God and His will, gaining spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that we can “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him”. This comes as we get to know God, or INCREASE in the knowledge of Him!
Brandon
Prayer can help us be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. As we are filled with the knowledge of God’s will, because we are new creations in Christ, that will lead us to living made new – walking in a way that pleases God. God uses prayer to help us know His will!
That’s the second. The third tool God uses to renew our minds so we can know His will is…
- Discipleship Relationships
Britt
A discipleship relationship is a relationship where a more mature disciple of Jesus helps another disciple of Jesus learn to follow Him.
The best example of discipleship relationships in all of scripture is the relationship Jesus shared with His disciples.
Brandon
So much could be said about the brilliance of Jesus and His example in His discipleship relationships!
But our point right now is about answering one question – How did Jesus’ discipleship relationship help His disciples know God’s will?
The answer?
Jesus didn’t just teach these disciples in a classroom. He lived it out with His disciples in the context of real relationships. He invited them to follow Him, walk with Him, and learn from Him as they did life together.
Britt
In Mark 3:14, it says that Jesus “appointed twelve that they might be with Him and that He might send them out.” That’s the model! Be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and then live your life on mission with Jesus.
Through a discipleship relationship, the disciples were invited to not only learn through Jesus words, but to watch Jesus’ life. In relationship, Jesus taught them to listen to the Father, follow the Holy Spirit, and devote their lives to do God’s will.
Brandon
God wants our church to be full of discipleship relationships that look like Jesus! In these relationships, we can walk with someone, model what obedience looks like, and teach them how to seek God and follow God’s will in everyday life.
Discipleship is not a class; it’s a lifestyle. Jesus didn’t just give His disciples a curriculum—He gave them Himself. And through that relationship, they learned how to discover and follow the will of God for the rest of their lives.
Britt
God uses discipleship relationships to transform our minds and help us learn to know and do His will.
Finally, God transforms our minds so we can know His will through…
- Spiritual Authorities
God gives spiritual authorities in our lives to lead us and to help us know and do God’s will.
Brandon
Americans struggle with the concept of authority. Our culture and history celebrates revolts, rebellion, independence, and freedom. Like I said a couple weeks ago, our society views words like “obey”, “surrender”, and “submit” as dirty words.
Britt
But for those of us who follow Jesus, we see things from an entirely different perspective. For Jesus, submitting in completely obedience to the will of His Father brought Him great joy and delight.
Not only that, but we also have several examples of Jesus submitting to earthly authorities that God had established in His life!
- He submitted to His parents as a child
- He submitted to the civil authorities of Rome and paid taxes
- He submitted to the authority of the High Priest at His trial
Brandon
In all these ways and more, Jesus submitted to the authority of God and those authorities God had placed in His life… and we want to be like Him!
Like Jesus, we understand God has placed authorities in our lives to help us know Him and discover His will.
Hebrews 13:17
Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
Britt
Notice what this passage reveals!
God has established authorities in your life who are accountable to Him for the way they lead. God commands you to obey those authorities and be submissive to them. Why?
Not because it causes them grief when you don’t… but because when you do not obey them, you are at a disadvantage!
Brandon
God has given you wise spiritual leaders who take very seriously the care for your soul. These leaders include husbands, fathers, mothers, and the elders in your church.
When you obey them, that is to your advantage! They have been given by God to help you know and do God’s will. When you do not obey them, God says that is not profitable for YOU.
God uses spiritual authorities to reveal Himself and His will to us.
CONCLUSION
Britt
So, there you have it!
Living Made New means living your life completely surrendered in obedience to the will of God. But for that to happen, you must know God’s will.
Brandon
Romans 12 shows us that we learn to discern God’s will in every situation through the transforming of our minds. God wants our minds to be transformed so we can know His will! God has given us four tools to help transform our minds so that we can know His will…
- His Word
- Prayer
- Discipleship Relationships
- Spiritual Authorities
What does it look like when these tools are practically applied to the various situations we face in our lives? I know you’ve got a story!
How did these tools help you discover God’s will and follow it in a very important time and decision in your life?
BRITT – Marrying Lauren (PIC w/ four tools)
- God’s Word (the purpose of marriage, the kind of wife you should marry).
- Prayer (open to God’s leading, directing you away from wrong candidates you had an attraction towards, directing you to the right person).
- Discipleship Relationship (who was it in this season, or should this come first as you talk about Michael helping you learn to pray and study the Word?).
- Spiritual Authorities (talking to your parents, talking to Lauren’s parents, working with a pastor in pre-marital counseling to establish a biblical marriage covenant [and not just a legal licensed marriage]).
Through the Word, I knew what kind of woman to look for to marry (and what kind of woman to avoid). Through prayer, God guided my steps to find a wife who would live on mission for Jesus. Through discipleship, I learned how to be the kind of godly single man that would be attractive to a godly woman like Lauren. And through spiritual authorities (my parents and her parents), God helped lead me and confirm to me that Lauren was the right person to marry.
It’s kind of scary! Where would I be today if I had not known how to know God’s will? I had other attractions before Lauren. Marrying the wrong person can make life so miserable! I am so thankful that God made His will known to me in these four ways.
Brandon
What a story!
As I’m listening, here’s the irony…
These four tools God has given us to KNOW His will ARE ALSO HIS WILL FOR OUR LIVES! Because all four of these things help us know God – and it is God’s will for us to know Him.
INVITATION
Brandon
What about your life?
When believers are not following the will of God for their lives, I find it is generally for one of two reasons…
- Either you don’t know how to know God’s will
- OR you are resisting God’s will
If your reason is the first, this message has been great news for you today! You’ve discovered four ways God reveals His will to us (these four are like concentric circles that overlap with God guiding every part of the journey).
Not only have you learned four ways God reveals His will, but you’ve learned these four things ARE God’s will for your life because His will is for you to know Him more! And all four of these things are ways God has and will reveal Himself to you.
If the first one is you, would you step into God’s will by pursuing Him in these four ways? Make them all a great priority in your life!
But I believe there are some here today who know God’s will, but you have been resisting it in some area of your life…
- Maybe you’re living in sin?
- Maybe you know what He wants you to do but you haven’t obeyed?
- Maybe you are neglecting or resisting one of these four things we’ve talked about today?
Whatever it is, you know God’s will, but you’ve been resisting.
If that is you, could I remind you of this truth… God’s will is absolutely the best place for you to be.
- Britt’s story was a great reminder
- But what about when God’s will leads to suffering?
- Jesus had to suffer for the will of God to be accomplished in His life!
- He has been highly exalted by God above every other name
Do you know some area you’ve been resisting God’s will? Will you trust Him again right now, believing the best place you could be is right in the will of God?