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THE
BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?
EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?
GOD
- MAN
Is Jesus really God?
RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?
SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?
TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.
SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.
FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?
GUIDANCE
How does God guide?
REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.
BORN
AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?
SAVING
FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven
ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?
TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?
MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.
THE
CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the
new millennium.
PURPOSE
How
can I find a great purpose for living?
IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of
God.
SELF-ESTEEM
How
can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.
LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.
THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.
Grace
The importance of grace in the New Testament.
How does God guide?
There are many instances in the Bible of God guiding people. The way this occurs is varied: dreams, visions, the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the advice of others, or merely the turn of circumstances. In addition, there are clear statements and promises that God will guide his people, such as: "He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way" (Psalm 25:9) and "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you" (Psalm 32:8).
We are also told in the New Testament that one of the marks of true believers is that they do the will of God. Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). John says, "The world and its desires pass away, but the [person] who does the will of God lives forever" (1 John 2:17).
Jesus also said, "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own" (John 7:17). You will notice from this last verse that doing God's will is a matter of choice. It is not something that just happens whether I want it to happen or not. In the light of this emphasis in the Bible, the questions arise: How can we find God's will? How can we expect God to make it known to us? This booklet is an attempt to answer those questions.
Some initial considerations
It stands to reason that to know God's will we must first have a meaningful relationship with God. Becoming a Christian in the New Testament begins with being reconciled to God and entering into a personal relationship with him. Jesus made this possible by dying for us on the cross and paying the penalty for our sins. What he asks of us is to acknowledge our need of forgiveness and reconciliation, repent or turn to God, and accept Jesus as our Saviour and the Lord of our lives. When we trust him to forgive and accept us, and surrender to him as Lord, he comes in the person of the Holy Spirit to take up residence within us.
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"It
is significant that the greek verb 'to call' occurs about 150 times
in the New Testament"
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As the Holy Spirit is the one who both gives us the desire to do God's will and enables us to do it, then one of the chief evidences that we have indeed received the Holy Spirit, and been reconciled to God, is that we really want to do his will. Our motivation for this is the gratitude we experience for all that he has given us in Jesus. Guidance is something that grows out of our relationship with him. The better we know God, the better we will be able to discern his will.
It is significant that the Greek verb "to call" occurs about 150 times in the New Testament, and in most cases it is used of God calling human beings. God is "he who called you" (Galatians 5:8; 1 Peter 1:15) and we are "called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). He calls us first to be reconciled to him and then, being reconciled, to enjoy him in this life and the next, and to live a life that will prove worthy of that calling.
In order that we may have a balanced perspective on the subject of knowing God's will, I would suggest five basic principles.
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How does God guide?
Four guidelines for specific decisions
