John MacArthur - Found: Gods will: find the direction and purpose God wants for your life

FOUND: GODS WILL

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org.) Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain.)

LCCN 2012934188

ISBN 978-1-4347-0298-2

eISBN 978-0-7814-0360-3

1973, 2012 John MacArthur Jr.

First edition published under the title Gods Will Is Not Lost in 1973 John MacArthur Jr.

The Team: Alex Field, Amy Konyndyk, Jack Campbell, Karen Athen

Cover Design: Nick Lee

Cover Photo: Shutterstock

Third Edition 2012

Contents

Chapter 1

IS GOD A COSMIC KILLJOY?

As I travel around, one of the questions I am asked most often is How can a Christian know the will of God for his or her life? Most of us acknowledge that God has a plan for the life of every believer, but often we have trouble in finding just which way this plan goes at a particular juncture. There are plenty of books, pamphlets, and sermons addressing the problem, and yet the answers sometimes seem to elude even the most persistent searcher. My prayer is that this little book will help fill in some of the gaps in a fresh and practical way.

One may look for definite guidelines in this area but merely wind up with a variety of ideas. Some apparently think that Gods will is lost. At least they say they are searching for it! To them, God must appear to be a sort of divine Easter bunny who has stashed His will, like eggs, somewhere out of sight and sent us running through life, trying to find it. And He is up there saying, Youre getting warmer!

Others offer the suggestion that Gods will is to be found via a dramatic experience. Running down the street, you fall on a banana peel and land on a map of India. Immediately you say to the Lord, Thank You for that clear leading. I understand! India it is! Or there is always the voice from heaven or the vision in your dreams calling you to Chile.

Then there are those who are actually afraid of the will of God. I will never forget the athlete who came up to me at Hume Lake Camp and said, Im not sure I want to give my life to Jesus Christ because I am afraid of what He will make me do. He had the idea that God wants to take robust athletes, break both their legs, and make them play the flute. This implies that God is a kind of cosmic killjoy, stomping on everyones fun and raining on parades. People with this view actually fear the will of God as a severe way of life that will demand the sacrifice of their most treasured abilities or possessions.

Then there is the brass-ring mentality. Remember the old merry-go-rounds with the brass and iron rings? As the merry-go-round rotated, riders would reach for the rings that dangled from dispensers along the outside. If you grabbed the one brass ring among the numerous iron rings, you would win a prize. Some Christians see Gods will like that: its nice if you get the brass ring, but if you dont, just settle for an iron one. In other words, dont really run to winjust be in the race.

I have read in some sources that the will of God is nothing more than the fortuitous conjunction of circumstances and impulses.

And so the theories go on and on.

In the middle of this muddle we still ask, What is the will of God? Are there any concrete principles that may be simply stated and actually put into practice? I believe there are! That is the point of this whole book. Can you know what job to seek, what school to attend, what girl or guy to love, what decision to make in any given situation?

Yes. You no longer have to worry. The struggle is almost over, the search almost done.

Lets begin with a simple assumption. Since God has a will for us, He must want us to know it. If so, then we could expect Him to communicate it to us in the most obvious way. And how would that be? Through the Bible, His revelation. Therefore, I believe that what anyone needs to know about the will of God is clearly revealed in the pages of His Word. Gods will is, in fact, very explicit in Scripture.

As we look at some biblical principles in the following pages, be prepared for an unexpected and surprising conclusion that could change your life.

Chapter 2

THE CRUCIAL FIRST STEP

The will of God is no longer a problem for meand it need not be one for you either. Lets start at the beginning and see what God has to reveal to us through His Word.

The apostle Peter highlighted the concept of the will of God for us in 2 Peter 3:9. Throughout his second epistle, Peter warned about false prophets, whom he called springs without water and dogs returning to their vomit. Peter said that it is characteristic of these springs (which would seem to be sources of life-giving water but are not) or these dogs (who go back and lick up the vomit of their own once-forsaken sins) to deny two things. First, an apostate or false teacher denies the deity of Jesus Christ, denies the Master who bought them (2 Peter 2:1). The second thing that an apostate denies is the second coming of Christ (3:110). In mockery he says, Where is the promise of His coming? All of you fanatics are running around saying that Jesus is coming. Where is He? I dont see Him. He reasons on this basis: Since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. He says, Nothing will ever change, for it never has. I will never die. I never have. I couldnt possibly get cancer. I never had it before.

Peter would respond, You forgot about the flood. All things havent continued as they were. And they are not going to continue as they were! God is going to intervene in a great fiery judgment (2 Peter 3:10). The Lord is not slow about His promise (v. 9). In other words, just because we dont see God invading the world in judgment, it doesnt mean that He cant. It doesnt mean that He made a promise and wont keep it. His delay doesnt mean that He is either impotent or unfaithful but that He is long-suffering, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (v. 9).

This is the first thing about Gods will: He wants people to be saved. So much so that He stays His judgment. Paul said, This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:34).

It is Gods will that people be saved. If you are stumbling around in life and tossing up some periodic prayers to God but have never come on your knees to the foot of the cross and met Jesus Christ, then you are not even in the beginning of Gods will. God has no reason to reveal to you anything particular about your life because you have not met qualification number one: salvation.