Six Principles – Seed of Ideas by John MacArthur Jr.
 
This is the final discussion regarding finding God’s will. Get ready for an amazing insight.
 
Since God’s will is not lost, it is not something to be found. Rather, it is something to be experienced.
How, then, do we “find” (experience) God’s will?
 
We have looked at SIX PRINCIPLES to experiencing God’s will. 
 
They are: 
You Must Be SAVED; 
You Must Be SPIRIT-FILLED; 
You Must Be Living a SANCTIFIED Life; 
You Must Be Living A SUBMISSIVE Life;
You Must Be Willing To SUFFER.
 
IF THESE FIVE PRINCIPLES ARE OPERATING IN OUR LIFE (Saved, Spirit Filled, Sanctified, Submissive, Willing to Suffer), THEN THE SIXTH PRINCIPLE IS:
 
6. D O W H A T E V E R Y O U W A N T T O D O !
If you are living out the first five principles, you have canceled out the flesh. If you have canceled out the flesh, your desires will be in tune with God’s desires.
 
Proverbs 3:5-6 
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
 
Psalms 145:19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
 
Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
 
The will of God is within you. God gave you certain talents and spiritual gifts. His leading for your life will always be in tune with the you He made.
 
In Baptist life, we talk a lot about being “called” to ministry. How would anyone know if God had called them to be a pastor?
 
1 Timothy 3:1 (ESV) The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.
 
If we have our heart in tune with God’s heart, what we aspire to will match His heart.
 
When I first got to Seminary, I was talking to a seminary friend: 
Me: “Where is God leading you?”
Seminary Friend: “I feel God’s call for me to go to Africa.”
Me: “Africa, that’s the last place on earth I would ever want to go.”
SF: “How about you?”
Me: “I feel God is calling me to be a campus minister.”
SF: “The college campus, that’s the last place on earth I would ever want to go.”
 
You see, we both had a desire for how God would want to use us. And, we were both comfortable with that desire.
 
Why are we afraid to let God have His will?  Is it because we fear He is going to have us do something we wouldn’t want to do?
 
What if, when Kris was a child he came to me and said, “Dad, I’m going to do whatever you want me to do.”  Would I say, “Okay, Kris, go get all your toys pile them out in the back yard by the fire pit. Now bring me the can of gas so we can burn them all to the ground.” 
 
Sometimes, many think God is this way.  If we yield our life to His will, He will burn up all our “toys.”
 
I can promise you that even if God does take some things away from you, He will replace them with the blessing of His presence.  
 
There is no room for a martyr syndrome in following God. A martyr never has a martyr syndrome. Martyrs are people who have heard the call of God, ruled out the flesh in their life and are doing what they what they want to do at the time of their death.
 
Now remember, the overriding principle regarding God’s will is that we must be living in tune with the clearly revealed general will of God in Scripture before God will reveal His specific will for our personal life.
 
If you have ruled out the flesh, your desires will be in tune with God’s desires.
 
Now go and do whatever you want.