Finding the Will of God
Hi Everyone,
Today I want to share about the will of God. There will come a time when each of us needs to know the will of God on some matter. We know that God is sovereign, and that his ways are best. The Lord says:
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
And Paul speaks of the will of God, reminding us to separate from the world’s values, and renew our minds with the word of God.
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. Romans 12:2
It is easy to see God’s will when there is a clear choice between two things, one which aligns with the will of God as clearly expressed in the Bible and the other that clearly goes against what the Bible teaches. This is an obvious, black and white decision. But where there are several choices, which all seem to be somewhat equal and all align with the Word of God to a degree, it is harder to discern the Lord’s will.
My first step in making a decision like this, is to sit on the floor, and seek God’s face in prayer. I know that he hears me, and I want to humble myself before him and just simply ask, “Lord’s what is your will? What should I do? Will you give me a vision or a word to show me what is best?
Then I sit and pray in the Spirit, waiting for a reply. Just two days ago, I was in such a place, having struggled with a serious decision for over several months. I initially believed that the Lord led me to a particular church, but now I had my doubts. So I was looking for direction. Was I to continue with this commitment, or was there a better place where I could put down my roots?
Almost twenty years ago, I was in a transition, leaving one church and going to another. I remember the Lord giving me a vision of the bottom of a foot, with roots growing out of its heel. I heard the Lord say, “Keep your roots short, I am moving you.”
I knew that it was a transition period for me, for I understood the Lord’s message clearly. Less than six months later, I was invited to go with an Evangelist who was to start a church.
Now I am at another crossroad where I have been searching to find a church. My eschatology and view of certain beliefs have changed since I have spent the last four years studying the Bible on my own, watching debates and teachings centered on eschatology, the study of last things. I have been studying the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah, the resurrection, the book of Revelation, and what the Lord has said about his “soon” coming. I have changed my position on the Lord’s coming so that I do not agree with most “Spirit filled” churches. I believe in fulfilled eschatology and at the same time I believe in the spiritual gifts, for I cannot deny what I have seen, heard and experienced in the Spirit, and by the Spirit.
Unfortunately it appears that the gifts and fulfilled eschatology are mutually exclusive. Those that believe in the gifts are generally “evangelical, charismatic, premillennial dispensationalists, believing in a bodily rapture, and a future cosmic collapse. And those that believe in fulfilled eschatology believe that the gifts have ceased, and that all prophecy concerning Christ and his return have all been accomplished with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. I believe that Christ’s coming was spiritual, coming in the clouds to close the Old Covenant Age and inaugurate the New Covenant.
I was hoping to find some agreement in the reformed churches, but they do not support either view. They generally believe that the gifts have ceased. And because they hold to the creeds that state that Jesus will come some time in the future, they deny all the historical evidence that demonstrates his return in the AD 70. They also do not acknowledge what the OT teaches and the statements of Christ in the gospels that also support Christ’s return, to destroy Jerusalem and its temple in judgment.
It seems that most churches cling to the creeds as if they were the word of God. But the creeds were created under the influence and political pressure of Constantine in the fourth century. By that time, the church was mostly non-Jews, and there was definitely a disconnect with the Hebrew meaning of the scriptures. Today, most Christians have no clue what actually happened in AD 70.
There are certainly issues or conflicts that would arise if I belonged to either of these groups. I really need a hybrid church. This seems like an impossible situation. So I have been seeking the Lord for his will in the matter.
So after praying for months about this dilemma, not feeling “right,” in any place, I asked the Lord, “What is most important– the gifts of the Spirit or the truth of fulfilled eschatology?” So, while in prayer this past Saturday, contemplating where I was to go, the Lord gave me five visions, and several passages of scripture as his answer.
The Visions
The Hand and a Man
In the first vision, I saw a hand lifting a man up from the ground, by his arm. This reminded me of a vision the Lord had given me about 25 years ago. In that vision, I was in the car with my daughter, in NYC. Everything was grey, a tremendous storm was in progress. The streets were flooded with sea water. The wind was whipping up waves that crashed at the base of the buildings. There was a traffic light hanging from a wire that spanned the width of the intersection. It was bobbing back and forth with the wind. The water on the street became deep, reaching the height of the car’s hood. I told my daughter, “We’ve got to get out of the car!”
Suddenly, we found ourselves at the base of a stone and dirt wall which was about 6 to7 feet in height. I laced my fingers together to form a step, to give her a boost up. A man suddenly appeared above us, at the edge of the wall. He took hold of her and lifted her up. Then he reached down with one arm, and grabbed my hand and pulled me up. I stood on my feet and looked at the man directly. I asked him, “Where can I go to get to higher ground?”
He replied, “You are where you are supposed to be.”
God was showing me by this new vision, that I am where I am supposed to be. So I thought, “The Lord knows best. He sees it all; he has a plan, and maybe I need to stay where I am.”
The Page of Writing
The next vision, which came only a few minutes after the first, was of a notebook page with a handwritten note that was turned so as to be perpendicular to the normal orientation. It was not easily read from this angle.
When I study or listen to a sermon, I take copious notes. When watching an expository teaching by a church online, which I truly enjoy, I will watch, and pause, write down notes, and quotes, references and Hebrew and Greek meanings of words, in order to take it all in. I have learned so much from such detailed study of the Word of God.
But with the church that I have been going to, I have not taken a single note. There is nothing I find worthwhile to write down. Now, I have benefitted by its simple messages, as I am sure others have. But it is very basic. However, I do find it difficult to sit and listen to teachings with which I do not agree. For 12 weeks, this church did a “deep dive,” into the book of Revelation. I tried to give the church a chance, so I stayed in the church, painfully waiting until they chose a different topic which came three months later. I still struggle with the loud music, and the AI presentation, and the worldly ambience and the focus on coffee and fun. I would much prefer an expository teaching of the word, rather than all the hoopla. What is important for me is that the word that comes from the pulpit is true, accurate, and interpreted so as to maintain its original meaning, to its original audience.
The Veil
I asked the Lord, why was the page turned so as to make it difficult to read? The Lord gave me another vision, I saw a veil of organza, in front of what seemed to be an open book. Organza is a sheer fabric slightly stiff and made of a synthetic fiber, which can sparkle. The veil was white and translucent, making the view softly clouded.
This vision immediately caused me to think of this passage of scripture:
Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, [the Law] came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness! Indeed, what was once glorious has no glory now in comparison to the glory that surpasses it. For if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which endures!
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away.
But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:7-18
Notice that Paul describes the Law, the Old Covenant, as “the ministry of death,” and “the ministry of condemnation.” It is described as “fading away,” and its glory as “nothing” in comparison to the New Covenant which has surpassed it. The veil that is spoken of is a spiritual veil that covers the minds and eyes of those who are not in Christ, for only in Christ can the veil be removed.
The veil in the vision is not the veil that covers the eyes of non-believers, but represents the closed mindedness of some believers that have invested their reputations, and their ministries in their own teachings, belief systems, doctrines and creeds. They are not willing to read and study scripture or any historical records that support an opposing view to their own. They do not want to hear or debate the arguments for fulfilled eschatology or any view concerning related topics, but try to shut down discussions by labeling them as “heresy.” In that way, they do not have to do a thing. They can be smug in their own thoughts and continue believing whatever they were taught.
So the notebook turned ninety degrees demonstrates that not everyone is willing to read and study for themselves, nor will they appreciate an alternate view. They have to be willing to turn the notebook themselves so as to read and understand. But for now there is a veil, that we must pray is removed, so that people will not simply trust what comes from the pulpit. Their trust should be in God and in his word. They should understand and take note of who it was written to, and what was the intended original meaning, and how the original audience would have received it.
For instance, the Book of Revelation was written to seven churches in the 1st century, not to us in the 21st century. When Jesus asked John to send a letter to Thyatira with a message that stated: “Only hold fast what you have, until I come,” it was meant to encourage them to keep the faith while they endured tremendous persecution and suffering for his name. His words “until I come,” indicated to them it would not be long before they would see him and experience his deliverance.
This statement the Lord made to the church would make no sense if the Lord’s idea of returning were not for 2000 plus years. They would feel betrayed for being asked to hold on, when he had no intention of coming right away.
How does this relate to God’s will in regards to my church dilemma? I believe that the Lord is showing me that the church that I am currently attending may never change their views. If this is the case, I asked the Lord, “Does it matter where I go?”
When I had left a church many years ago, I asked the Lord the same question. He told me, “It doesn’t matter.” The Lord will never leave me nor forsake me. Perhaps this is an exercise in futility. Perhaps it still does not matter. I belong to him and I will continue to be faithful regardless of the location where the Lord places me.
Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle by the farthest sea, even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”—even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You. Psalm 139:7-12
The Spoon and Small Bottle
In this vision, I saw an average size teaspoon filled with a dark substance that was thick and not super smooth. It was not runny or capable of being poured from the spoon into a tiny opening. The exercise would end in failure. The only way to get a thick substance like this into a tiny bottle would be with a pastry bag and a narrow piping tip.
So the spoon is the wrong instrument for the substance and the bottle. The spoon represents an instrument, a tool. But it is meant for a human sized mouth and not for the mouth of a small bottle. If I were to represent the spoon, and my desire is to share what I have with others, then they would have to have a large enough mouth to receive it. However the tiny bottle with a narrow opening represents people with a narrow mind. The substance was dark, and not smooth. I believe that it represents the the truth regarding “the day of the Lord,” which is God’s wrath and judgment coming upon Jerusalem. In the Bible, every time that the day of the Lord is mentioned, regardless of what city or nation is in focus, that day was a day of darkness and gloom.
Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? Amos 5:18-20
The idea of a future view of the Lord’s second coming is seen by the church as a day they look forward to. They think of it as a day when they can play the “get out of jail free” card. They want to escape the tribulation that is dark for everyone else but themselves. They are expecting a bodily rapture and a means of escape from the trials that were to come.
But that was never the Lord’s plan. When Jesus prayed to the Father on behalf of his disciples, he asked the Father to keep them, not to take them out of the world and away from their trials and difficulties.
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. John 17:14-18
The believers of the 1st century were to called to overcome. Jesus repeated this command to all seven churches to whom the Book of Revelation was addressed. Jesus promised them heavenly rewards for those who overcame their flesh and persevered even unto death.
The one who overcomes will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. Revelation 3:5
Yet, today, I have seen people excitedly longing for the day of the Lord to arrive. The movies portray such disasters that it thrills the audience, because they are reassured that they will never have to face such things. “We will be outta here before it gets too bad.” It seems that they worry only about the mark of the beast.
Whenever Christians talk about the event on the news, eventually someone will say, “This shows we are in the “last days.”
They speak of having pity for “the poor Jewish people who will go through the tribulation, for “that is how they will be saved.” They understand nothing.
There is only one gospel. The Jews do not have another gospel. There is only one way to heaven.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:15
Jesus warned the churches of the 1st century that they would have to endure great hardship and persecution. It was to be a trial. It was to be a testing of their faith, not an escape. There were only two churches that were told that they would be kept from the hour of trial. The Lord found the church at Philadelphia to be true to his name and having already suffered for his name’s sake, he declared that he would keep them from that hour.
“Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell on the earth. Revelation 3:10
Jesus warned his followers prior to his crucifixion, that those living in Judea and in Jerusalem were to flee the city when they saw the armies surrounding the city. They were to head for the mountains. This event took place in AD 66 when the Roman army surrounded Jerusalem, and then without explanation or reason they simply left for a month or two and then returned to begin the siege. This brief period allowed the Christians to leave Jerusalem and flee to the mountains as Jesus had told them years before. This event and all events pertaining to the destruction of Jerusalem were recorded by an eyewitness and a historian Josephus, in his book “The Jewish War.” He was a non-believing Jew, commissioned by Titus and Vespasian, who were the leaders of the Roman army, and who later became emperors of Rome.
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city. For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Luke 21:20-22
Notice the last sentence: For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
The Lord was coming to judge Jerusalem.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stone those sent to it! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. See, your house is left to you desolate. For you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Matthew 23:37-39
The Lord came to destroy the temple so that there would be no more animal sacrifices. He came to fulfill the law and the prophecies regarding the Messiah. Now that all is accomplished and all that was written has been fulfilled, we are living in the age that was to come: the age of the New Covenant.
But because the futurists are believing that God will put an end to natural death, and they are believing for a cosmic collapse, and a cubical city as the new Jerusalem, they fail to see the reality that the Lord’s plan had already been implemented. The Lord dwells with man because the Holy Spirit, God, dwells within the believer. It is spiritual death that has been destroyed, for the believer on earth is no longer separated from God, which is what spiritual death is. When we are born again, we are not dead. We are made alive in Christ, this is when we change in a twinkling of an eye. The past is gone, all things have become new. When we die a natural death we do not become separated from God, for we are still in his kingdom, but in a different realm -- the heavenly realm.
The Lord has established his kingdom in us, the church. We are the New Jerusalem, we are the Lord’s bride, we are members of his everlasting kingdom.
The futurists would have you believe that Jesus is coming in the future to rescue the Jewish people from some anti-Christ and from a one world government. This is not in the Bible. Following this line of thinking, if every believer on earth were to be raptured, there would be no one left who could share the gospel with 144,000 Jewish people so as to make of them evangelists who would then go and evangelize the world.
What is true is that the church was initially made up of Jews, and not long after, the Gentiles became believers as well. These two very different groups were join by the same Spirit, the Holy Spirit and became one.
It was the non-believing Jews of the Lord’s generation who became the persecutors of the believers called “The Way.” The Lord dissolved the Old Covenant with the non-believing Jews, and made his New Covenant with the believing Jews and the believing Gentiles. That is why Paul said that not all Israel is Israel.
It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.
For this is what the promise stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”
Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac. Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand, not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not! For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” Romans 9:6-15
What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory— including us, whom He has called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles? As He says in Hosea:
“I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,” and, it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
“Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out His sentence on the earth thoroughly and decisively.”
It is just as Isaiah foretold:
“Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. Romans 9:22-29
Therefore, the Church is the Israel of the New Covenant. There is only one covenant.
By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. Hebrews 8:13
This is now a reality. The Old Covenant has been revoked.
The Two Lines
In this vision there were two lines of text, each going from the left edge of the paper to the right edge. What was noted was that there was no more room to write. There were no margins and no space above or below.
What came to mind was Jesus’ summary of the Law. He condensed everything that was important into two commands.
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40
So the two lines would read:
You shall love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
What I believe that the Lord is showing us is that to know God’s will, we need to know what he desires above all things. Jesus declared what is most important in his summary of the Law - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. These two commands are guidelines for our life to please God.
The Lord’s Answer
Finally, the Lord’s answer came to me when I asked the Lord to reveal my motives, concerning the church that I was attending. I questioned the Lord: Am I hard hearted? Judgmental? Stubborn? Am I like a wall blocking your plan for my life? Am I like Jonah who doesn’t want to go to Nineveh because he doesn’t like Nineveh? Am I pursuing my likes and avoiding my dislikes, hoping that you will give your blessing to what I desire?
Then God showed me two passages:
“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
And then, God is good! I opened my Bible, asking him to show me what is true about my motives, and I could hardly believe it, but he gave me Jonah! Oh my! The Spirit was confirming that what I had considered to be true, was indeed! My Goodness!
Jonah, after resisting God’s will by going to Tarshish instead of Nineveh, finally went to the city and did what he was told to do: to proclaim God’s warning of the imminent destruction of Nineveh, if they did not repent of their ways. After proclaiming the impending judgment, he sat down.
Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.
But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?”
And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.”
And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” Jonah 4:5-11
We need to ask God to see our motives. Can we simply be content with whatever the Lord decides?
“If you love me you will obey my commands.” John 14:15-17
You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20
To know God’s Will
So, to know God’s will, we need to know him. We read his word to understand what is important to him. We see his heart and how he reacts to people and to situations. We observe the Old Testament prophets who spent time with him and have heard his voice. And we spend time in God’s presence. We pray with him as we walk along, as we sit and lie down. We ask him to help us see things as he does. We ask that he will share his thoughts with us. We ask him to move us as he is moved. We gain understanding and align ourselves with him, as we trust him and give him our concerns. When we desire him above all things, and place him first in our lives: above all people, above all commitments, above all circumstances, then we begin to know him and trust him. We don’t want our own way, but his way. Our decisions, we take to him, and wait upon him for his good counsel. He is faithful. And that is when we discover that we love him more than anything else in the world. And we surrender our wills to follow his.
Be blessed! Please share this post with all people, for everyone needs to know the Lord, and his will for us.
