Watch Your Life
Discerning God’s Will
“What’s God’s will for my life? What career, spouse, or ministry does God want for me?” If you’ve ever asked these questions, you don’t want to miss this final session where Pastor Colin teaches how to test and discern God’s will for our lives.
What are specific areas of your life in which you need to discern God’s will? (It could be in ministerial gifting, a relationship, a job, where to live, etc.)
Discerning God’s Will PDF Transcript
- How would you rate your past discerning of God’s will? What were your greatest challenges, and what provided the most clarity?
- Pastor Colin shared three ways we talk about God’s will:
1) God’s Secret Will
2) God’s Revealed Will
3) God’s Discerned Will. Why is it important to differentiate them?
- It is important to distinguish the three spheres of God’s will because we are called to respond to each of them in a distinct and different way. We cannot test what God has kept secret. We must not test what God has revealed. We can and should test what God calls us to discern.
- When it comes to the will of God, we need faith in what God has kept secret, obedience in what God has revealed, and wisdom in what God calls us to discern.
- Were any of the seven tests (Experience, Need, Opportunity, Circumstances, Counsel, Desire, and Gift) new to you? Did any encourage you or challenge you? Explain.
- Examining our desires are one way, not the only way, we can discern God’s will. How can we tell if our desires are sinful or not?
- The New Testament includes: Serving, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, showing mercy, faith, evangelism, pastor/teacher, and more. What gifts do you think God has given you? How can you use those gifts for God’s glory?
Respond to this teaching in prayer:
- Praise God for revealing Himself and much of His will to us!
- Confess how helpless you are to discern God’s will without His help and your failure to perfectly discern what He wants of you.
- Thank God for providing His Word, His people, and the tests Pastor Colin shared to discern His will!
- Ask God to grow your discernment skills and for Him to continually lead you to bear more fruit for Him.
Free Worksheet to Help You Discern God’s Will
Resources To Go Deeper:
- Article: How (Not) to Discover Your Spiritual Gifts by Dr. Thomas Schreiner
- Article: Trust God with the Spiritual Gift that He Gives by Kristen Wetherell
- Article: What Does It Mean to Pray ‘Your Will Be Done’? by Pastor Colin
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Do You Need Hope This Easter Season?
Watch the powerful story of the thief on the cross today
The thief’s story of salvation is one that begins, literally, on the brink of hell. The pain this man had experienced throughout his life fueled his hate for God, so much so that he detested the man hanging there on the cross beside him. But then, for the first time, he began to fear God.
If you’ve found yourself in a similar place, there is hope. Hope because heaven is real, hope because we have a Savior, and hope because all you have to do is accept Jesus’ invitation.
Listen NOW!
The HIKE Through the Bible podcast is now streaming! Join Pastor Colin for a leisurely hike through the entire Bible story. In every episode he reads a chapter from his new book HIKE Through the Bible and then discusses it with some friends.
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Do you want to understand the Bible story? 📖
Pastor Colin Smith’s upcoming event FLY THROUGH THE BIBLE, is a high-altitude exploration of the entire Bible story. This brief introduction to the Bible will help you grasp who God is, who you are, who Jesus is, and what He offers to you!
Coming to 4 cities this fall:
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Twin Cities, Minnesota
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Indianapolis, Indiana
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