The Right Question

We now have as many as 82 people enrolled in our Experiencing God emphasis. Wow! I believe God will bless richly those folks who embark upon this journey together. Moreover, I am convinced God Most High (El Elyon) will use what we learn together to clarify His vision, His values, and His purposes for His church.

One of the first and foundational lessons we will learn together this week is that we must learn to ask the right question. We tend to approach the Creator King with the wrong question: “God, what is Your will for my life?” I confess, I often ask this question – many times every day, in fact – without any thought to whether or not this is a valid or worthy question.

Perhaps many of you, like me, do not immediately recognize the subtle error in our thinking this question exposes. So, let me add some emphasis to the question: “God, what is Your will for my life?” Do you see it now? It is an error of focus.

When we ask, “God, what is Your will for my life?” we make more of ourselves than we should. We are, in effect, asking Father to show us only a part of His will or to limit His purposes to our lives. This approach requires God Almighty (El Shaddai) to accommodate His magnificent will to our personal agendas. When seen in that light, it seems to me like trying to capture and contain the Infinite in a Mason jar.

Frankly, I am at a place where I don’t think I truly want God to do my bidding. I have been reminded this week how unimaginative and short-sighted self-centeredness makes us. I find the notion distasteful. How tragic it would be if all the King of glory ever granted me were what I believed would make me happy or satisfied or even successful in His kingdom. Honestly, being the best I can be and doing the best I can do seems hollow when I dare to dream of a higher perspective, a God-centered view.

Here then is the right question: “God, what is Your will?” Our focus needs to be on God, not ourselves. Instead of asking God to minimize His purposes, we should ask Him to maximize our capacity to participate in His purposes. When we ask, “God, what is Your will?” we emphasize His sovereignty, His primacy, and His majesty. We come closer to approximating the truth of Scripture as well:

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail (Proverbs 19:21, New Living Translation).

I would rather, after all, God accommodate me to His big, prevailing purpose than insist He squeeze or reduce His will to fit into my limited plans. Wouldn’t you?

This Experiencing God project is far more than a plan to take as many people as we can through the same workbook exercises. This is much more than an attempt to give as many people as possible some sort of spiritual buzz. Our focus is not personal blessings or deeper Bible study or even to strengthen our connections in small groups. Our aim is to see what God is doing, to hear what God is saying, to declare His truth, and to align ourselves with Him so that He can do His will His way through us.

This project represents our submission to discover and pursue together God’s will. What we discern together from God over the next three months will determine our plans in the near and distant future as a church.

I believe God. I believe He is Who He says He is. I believe He can do what He says He can do. I believe I am who He says I am (not who I think I am or who other people say I am or even who “the accuser of the brethren” suggests I am). I also believe God has brought us together for some God-sized tasks. Furthermore, I believe He does not want us to accomplish these tasks for Him, but He wants to accomplish them through us. So, I believe our task is simply to align ourselves to His will, His work, and His ways.

To these ends, then, we are about to set sail. Beginning with the message this morning, for the next 13 weeks we will give God our attention as we learn and put into practice the following seven realities of Experiencing God:

1. God is always at work around you.

2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.

3. God invites you to join Him in His work.

4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.

5. God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.

6. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.

7. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob