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InVerse, 2nd Quarter 2020: How to Know God’s Will for Your Life

Sebastien Braxton

Justin Kim

Israel Ramos

Callie Williams

11-First Things First

In former communist Albania, a certain sister did something for 46 years.

Find out what it is on this episode of Inverse.

Coming to you from Silver Spring, Maryland, welcome to Inverse, A Bible-based conversation on life principles, contemporary issues, and thought-provoking perspectives.

Now here's your host, Justin Kim, with Inverse.

You're on the studio here with all of us at Inverse, and we're studying the book of...

Actually, we're not studying a book this quarter.

We're looking at the topic of God's will.

We're looking at all these different aspects of where God has his will delineated in scripture for us, for our maximum happiness and blessings.

And on this week, we look at the topic of first things first.

So we're gonna go to Malachi chapter 3, and Callie, if you can pray for us before we read scripture.

Father in heaven, we thank you for the clarity you so kindly give us through your word.

I pray that as we read, that you'd send your Holy Spirit to open our eyes to change our hearts and may we walk with Jesus through this passage and through each day we pray in Jesus name amen amen amen and then Israel what's going on how are you good how are you yeah and so Sebastian can you read for us in chapter 3, verse 7-12?

The Bible says, Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from my ordinances, and have not kept them.

Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

But you said, In what way shall we return?

Yet you have robbed me, but you say, in what way have we robbed you?

You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation.

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.

And try me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

I mentioned my opener, there was a sister in Albania.

And for 46 years, I think she got converted to Christianity and she was convicted on the principle of stewardship on tithing and she was she set aside a tenth of her income and then what happened it is that the country closed and she has no access to the world church no access to other Christians so for 46 years she's just setting aside her income and she's putting it underneath her bed and she wasn't the most wealthy of persons and so you know the temptation is like maybe the Lord understands just kind of bar you but for 46 years she was faithful and God blessed her through the high times and the low times.

And when Albania opened up, I mean, she brought this shoe box and she opened it, a 46 years worth of tithe.

And that's an inspirational story of faithfulness.

So this is a topic, we're talking about the topic of tithe.

And the question is, Israel, What is tithe?

Not literally, but I mean, why does God do it?

So the God cannot use, you know, we're talking about God's will for your life.

So the tithe context is in the context of that, how to know God's will for your life.

God cannot use us if He does not have our hearts.

I mean, it's not like God doesn't use us because He's desperate or because I have some awesome talents that He really, really needs.

God uses us because we're willing to be used by Him and because we have a desire to be like Him.

That's why God uses us for ourselves, not really for Him.

So the thing is that God cannot use us unless we have hearts that are surrendered to Him.

And where your, you know, the Bible says where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

So how we use our funds, how we use our money, it's a clear indicator of where our heart is.

And where our heart is determines whether or not we can be used by God to accomplish His will in our lives.

Of all the topics in the Bible, God talks about finances the most.

More than even grace and love, crazily enough.

But that's not that God is is just wanting to know about our finances and getting it but we spend so much of our lives regarding finances regarding work that how we use the most of our time and our finances really impacts where our heart is.

Yeah, it's kind of what you're saying, but that God owns the cat on a thousand hills, so it's not like, man, I just, Yeah, like I have you, but I need some finances to like help curb this.

But yeah, just that finances really show more than that.

But really how we use our money indicates our core values.

And, you know, I've sometimes when I've been paying my tithe or doing offerings and I've been thinking sometimes as the money leaves my hands the Thought will cross my mind like what could I've used that money for?

Like if I'm especially if I'm saving for something like if I if I kept that I get what I wanted But it's like do I want to honor God or do I want my thing?

Like, well, I'll spend all day at church.

But I find that pulling on my heart because as you're saying, that's where we dedicate a lot of our time.

And that can often be the last almost holdout like it was for the rich young ruler.

So it's not the actual money amount but where what what what's the order of things?

And I remember even thinking when I was younger when I made much less money than I do now and I'm like man when I make more money you know of course it'll be easier to give because I have more but it's actually harder because then you're giving you're giving back not even giving away it's a very interesting comment you mentioned that the more that we have it's not easier it's not a matter of how much resources we have yeah It's always the percentages kind of always kind of stay the same and in the hierarchy of our values.

You always think just a little bit more but that's it also just I mean it opens up more things that we can do and it's a more responsibility to God.

You know it reminded me a book I had read about how this band, this famous rock band, had made all this money.

And when they set up a camera in England and they decided to just put a pile of money in the street and they literally set it on fire.

So you're like burning like actual cash, 1000000 dollars in cash.

And the interesting thing was that if people burn that money on prostitutes or on like expensive hotels, nobody's going to be upset about that.

But because this famous rock band burned actual liquid cash, people were upset because they're like, well, you know, what you could have done with the money.

And I feel like when it comes to giving our finances to God and allowing Him to lead us in how we spend our money, we have to get rid of the mindset of what I could have done with the money and focus on what God wants to do with the money.

It's like in this sense, God is saying, you need to surrender to me the possibilities and the potentialities of the future.

And I think money is ground 0 for faith and trust in God.

There's a lot of people that are willing to go to church but do not want to pay tithe, are not interested in sending what they believe is their money.

And in this sense, this is why I believe finances is so fundamental to our relationship with God and us allowing him to lead us.

They say each generation has a different interaction with money.

1 generation, the GI generation, was very, very economical and meticulous and they saved.

The next generation boomer comes in and they're splurging left and right and it's all about luxury.

Gen X is like they hate the world, they hate themselves, they hate money, they hate the construct of money and they just they're very X-y.

And then millennials perhaps because of the recession or whatnot, at least in North America, they're very sensitive with money.

And perhaps they may be thinking, why does God want to get into my finances?

And maybe even looking cynical, even at this show.

Sikhu Daco

01-All Your Heart

We have suns that go outward and black coals that go inward.

Which are you on this episode of Inverse?

We're in a studio here with my friends and we're talking about a new topic in the next 13 weeks.

We're very excited as we've been talking about all sorts of things from the universe and the relationships, but now we're focusing on God's will.

What is God's will for you, and how do we find out what it is?

So in the studio we have Callie, Siku, and our dear friend sometimes we have Sebastian.

Let's have a word of prayer and we'll get started.

Loving Father, we're so thankful that you have a desire to come close to us.

We pray that you would reveal truth to us from your word through the power of your Holy Spirit and that we can learn what your will is for our lives.

We're talking about a very important question of how do we know God's will.

And rather, we're going to get to the Bible, but let me ask you guys this.

How do you know whether something is God's will or not?

Let's just start a superficial question, and let's get a...

It's just watering the ground before we get a little bit deeper.

Sebastian, you're smirking like sunshine here.

For me, I always start with the word of God.

Because it's the clearest, most direct revelation of what his will is and so is mine.

Great, episode 1 and 2 are done, all right?

But I really do find that that's the first place I always like to check.

Is to say, whatever decision, whatever issue I'm dealing with, let me find a narrative, find a character that's potentially faced a similar crossroad as myself, and then go back and see what I can glean from that story in terms of how God led them.

Sometimes outside of things that are clearly delineated in the word of God, because there's lots of things that just aren't there for 1 reason or another, sometimes things prove to be the will of God.

So we're maybe not 100% sure, but like this makes the most sense, the providence is leading this way, and the Bible seems to be pointing this way, but I'm not sure.

But then kind of looking back, like that clearly was God.

I use the word Providence, which is a capital city in Rhode Island.

Since they took some really good ones, I'll say that sometimes I don't really want to know.

Sometimes I just kind of want to know if God will let my will be his.

Yeah, but just kind of train Like God, this is what I want to do and I just want to make sure that this is what you want for me Yeah, no, I I jive with it with Siku.

I agree But it's more like if I want something out then I I want to know what God's will is and then I'm very obedient I want to know but if I don't need anything I don't want it I really don't want to know more like I'm like that's it and then I'll just want to so for me the Daniel Bible is a great revelation that like in things that I wasn't seeking for when they're revealed or like Some are like wow and some are like yes It's a struggle so that just is true me I'm more of a sinner than Sebastian is.

Let's go to Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah 29 verse 11 through 14, Jeremiah 29, 14 and Callie, if you don't mind reading that for us, we appreciate it.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me and I will listen to you.

And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

I'll be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity.

I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I've driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

Okay, there's a couple parts in there that are very, very well known passages for in scripture.

From the group here, just what are observations?

My favorite part is that when God is speaking to them, he's speaking to people who are in captivity in verse 14.

And he says, I will do these things for you.

While they're in the midst of captivity, God says, I think good thoughts towards you.

And that's encouraging for me because even while you're in the midst of a difficult situation or while you're in the midst of a trial, while you're in the midst of that confusion, that God says that I have positive thoughts towards you and and I have good plans for your life in the midst of that so that's an encouragement to me yeah it's cool thing that in a previous segment that we were in in Daniel Daniel chapter 9 Daniel was studying this passage this passage and he goes into his prayer of like, look I'm a sinner along with everybody else and in verse 10, for thus says the Lord, after 70 years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word towards you and cause you to return to this place.

So he's like, yippee, 70 years is almost over.

And what do we gotta do to go back to, back home?

Jonathan Walter

02-Sources of God’s Will Part 1

Coming to you from Silver Spring, Maryland, welcome to Inverse, a Bible-based conversation on life principles, contemporary issues, and thought-provoking perspectives.

Now here's your host Justin Kim with Inverse.

We're in the studio here at Hope Channel with my friends.

We're looking at the will of God in this 13 week segment of a topic.

We're looking at 1 Kings 17 is our Bible verse and Jonathan, how's it going?

Father in heaven, we thank you so much that your will can be understood and known, and we pray that you will reveal your will today to us through your word.

And Callie, what did we talk about last week?

So we talked about the very first part of knowing God's will for our lives is to have a desire to do so, so much that it's all of our hearts.

And we talked about how that kind of, a lot of time it looks like our actions are matching our desire, not just like I wanna know, but like I'm actually gonna follow it.

And so, you know, sometimes we think the mystery is on God's end, but the mystery is really on our, the clog is on our end, not having a completely obedient heart, not a surrendered heart.

But once it's opened up, God is totally willing to reveal his will to us.

And so now this week, we're looking at the sources of God's will.

What are some ways that God has revealed himself throughout Bible history, Sebastian?

Well, I mean, 1 of the funniest ones has been God speaking through the donkey to Balaam, right?

Probably just that 1 account that I know of, unless you know others.

I'm sure there's more that we just didn't know.

And some people love their dogs, and the Lord has spoken through their dogs, which I would think is a possibility.

I mean, He has spoken directly through the burning bush to Moses.

And later on, then more face-to-face interaction with Moses.

Okay, again, the Rhode Island capital is here.

So let's actually break that down a little bit.

What do you mean by Providence to Joseph?

It sounds good, but just in case people might be confused.

What I mean is, so Joseph had completely dedicated his life to God and lived up to whatever he had in front of him, whether that was in Potiphar's house or he was in prison, and God opened and closed doors.

And he did, he served God the best way he knew how in every context.

So I don't think Joseph was working for Potiphar or in prison being like, man, I really want to be like second in power in this place.

He was just serving God like, oh, someone's sad.

So just wherever he was, he served and God opened and closed the door.

So life events and coincidences and just in the natural course of life and the things happening that are not of a normal nature.

And I do think it can sometimes get a little complicated because in the sense that God does allow free will and so things can happen that God isn't like, I want that to happen.

But at the end of the day, God is sovereign, and he can open and close all doors.

Well, I was just going to add that, you know, when you're taking the question of providence as a source of God's will, it can also get a little bit shaky, because how do you know it's actually providence and how do you know it's like just coincidence.

Right and so sometimes you're kind of like oh you know I was thinking about you know you know whether I should have another baby or not and then I get in the elevator and it's a woman who's pregnant and it's like oh is this like providence?

Like God telling me that, oh, you should have another child.

1 was like that, man, I am a sinner, and we are humans in a state of depravity.

We will never, ever know what God's will is.

So let's not even try, and let's just do our thing.

And God will understand, He'll just do whatever you gotta do.

The other side is like, God is everywhere.

And I just feel impressed, like I need to touch Jonathan, and that's God's will.

We start hearing voices, and God, it's somewhere in between those 2 extremes, yeah?

It's also why I think there is almost a hierarchy or an order in which we know God's will.

So today we're talking about the most important 1 that we should always talk about, which can I say it yet?

I would say it's the clearest way, the clearest way.

Yeah, so it's knowing God's will through his word, the Bible.

So I think sometimes we can say even contradicting things.

Like, the Bible is going this way, but this happened in my life.

03-Sources of God’s Will Part 2

God speaks to us using the Bible, but are there other ways that He speaks to us?

We'll find out in this episode of Inverse.

Coming to you from Silver Spring, Maryland, Welcome to Inverse, a Bible-based conversation on life principles, contemporary issues, and thought-provoking perspectives.

You're in the studio here with my friends and we are in the midst of a study on the will of God.

Last week, we looked at how God speaks to us using the Bible.

And this week, we're going to look at how God uses other means, other I don't know if the right word media mediums, but then mediums, you get into the other way, avenues, avenues, other methods, other other avenues.

So we'll have a word of prayer and we'll get started for today.

Thank you, Father in heaven, that you lead your people, not just as a corporate body of Christ, but also as individuals.

And so we pray that you will fulfill this promise for us now, that you would lead us and guide us in our study today.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me Your rod and your staff they comfort me You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you anoint my head with oil my cup runs over Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalms 23 is 1 of the most famous passages of scripture.

It's probably 1 of the Psalms that everyone knows, even though they might not be familiar with scripture.

And 1 part that really stands out to me is verse 2 and verse 3.

It says that he leads me, he leads me, where the famous hymn, he leadeth me, gets its lyrics from.

I wanna ask you all what are some elements in this psalm that why is God a shepherd and how does shepherd and how does this set us up for today's study?

I was looking at you, but I thought the first question over.

So 1 of the things that I love in Psalm 23 is the very first verse to say that David is so confident that he will never be in lack based upon who his shepherd is.

So when we deal with God leading us, we will never be in true need.

And so it may, or we may be in need temporarily, but not necessarily ultimately lacking.

And so to me, when you think about Jesus as a shepherd and myself as a sheep, sheep are myopic, they're short-sighted, they can't defend themselves, they can't provide for themselves.

And so it also reinforces that dependence upon God and the need to actually pursue God to know what His will is and to make sure that I'm actually following the shepherd.

I'm not following the wrong shepherd, I'm not following the shepherd that's gonna lead me in confusing ways.

And so who my shepherd is, is really the fundamental question of life.

Yeah, sheep are 1 animal that evolution has failed.

Every animal has been given some kind of defense mechanism, but the sheep has nothing.

It's not fast, it's not small, it's a medium size, it's really small, it's not strong, it's not fast, can't fly away.

It's just kind of like a Fried chicken with 4 legs sticking on the ground and everyone's just waiting.

Innately needs a shepherd to take care of it.

What I love about Psalm 23, how it starts is that the focus or the subject of the psalm is God.

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Series

InVerse, 2nd Quarter 2020: How to Know God’s Will for Your Life

09-Relationship Matters

Transcript

Description

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Parts

11-First Things First

27m

01-All Your Heart

27m

02-Sources of God’s Will Part 1

27m

03-Sources of God’s Will Part 2

27m

04-What’s Your Mission?

27m

05-Career or Calling?

27m

06-Lifestyle: Legalism or Liberalism

27m

07-Closer Than a Brother

27m

08-One to Two

27m

09-Relationship Matters

27m

10-Heritage of the Lord

27m

12-Which Church?

27m

13-Seek Ye First

27m

Sound Doctrine