The Steps To Unlocking God's Will

Text: Proverbs Chapt.3 vs 5-6

Our text is perhaps the most important passage in the Bible that addresses the issue of knowing God’s will. The text is striking in its simplicity. There is nothing difficult about it.

👉🏻 *It is so simple that the youngest believer can understand it,* and yet it is a *comfort to the oldest saint of God* .

👉🏻 It has been the *hope and encouragement of God’s people* across the centuries.

These words cling to the soul because *they speak to a great need we all feel—the need for guidance* . After all, there is no greater question than this: *Lord, what do you want me to do*? It is a *short course in knowing God’s will for your life.*

Applying this passage in your daily life will *make a profound difference when you face tough decisions.*

Most of us have known these verses for a long time. You may have sung these words in a chorus, or you may have memorized them years ago. *We’ve heard it so often that we’ve never stopped to think about what it means.*

When I studied these verses for the first time, I discovered that *five words unlock the message of this text.* These five words are the keys to unlocking the mystery of God’s will for your life.

🗝️ *First KEY* :

. _Rest all that you are upon all that God is_ - “ *Trust in the Lord with all your heart.* ”

It means “ *to rest your full weight on something.”* It’s what you do when you lie down on your bed every night. You lay your full weight on the bed because you know it will hold you up. *To trust in the Lord means ,to rest all that you are upon all that he is.*

🗝️ *Second key*

*Go all in* - “ *Trust in the Lord with all your heart.”* The word “heart” doesn’t refer to the organ that pumps blood throughout your body.

A divided heart has no focus.The *unfocused heart will never trust in the Lord,* and thus will never discover God’s will.

Let's pray a little

Father, I give you praise because you have not hidden your will from us, you have made your will plain to us .

Father! I need you to guide me in all things.*

ii. I submit totally to your guidance, *help me not to be deaf or blind to your leading* in Jesus name.

Father! I trust you, please teach me to rest my full wait on you, in Jesus name. Father! please grant that my heart will be totally focused on you, in Jesus name

Father ! please deliver me from every satanic agenda to lure my heart away from you*, in Jesus name.

NEXT STEP

👌🏽 *LEANING*:~

The Hebrew word was used for leaning is same as resting against a tree or a stone cliff. *You lean on something when you are not strong enough to stand alone.*

👌🏽 *UNDERSTANDING*:~ refers to the *mental processes* by which you *analyze a problem, break it down into its smaller parts, and then make a decision* about what you are going to do.

Early in the morning when you make a list of all the things you have to do that day, you *use your understanding to sort out your priorities.*

👉🏻It’s what you do on Sunday night when you map out the upcoming week,that’s understanding!

👉🏻You use it any time you plan your life or solve a problem.

👉🏻When you take the word “lean,” put it with the word “understanding” and add the negative, you get an idea like this:

👉🏻Use your brain, but *don’t think you are smart enough to figure out God’s will* on your own.

👉🏻Make your plans, but leave room for God.

Remember Proverbs 16 vs 9, “ *We make our own plans, but the LORD decides where we will go”* (CEV). Lean on the Lord,rest your weight on him.

*An admonition to know God deeply*

“In *all your ways acknowledge him.* ”

. You could translate this phrase by saying, “ *In all your ways know him.”* It means to

👉🏻know someone deeply and intimately.

👉🏻 It’s the kind of *knowing that comes with personal experience* . If he walked into the room, I would know who he is. If I heard his voice on TV, I would recognize it or if I saw his picture on the front page of the newspaper, I would know it is the President. Now, I don’t really know him. I can’t pick up the phone, call Aso rock, and say, “Mr. President, this is so and so calling, can we go out to lunch today? I can’t do that and even if I were to do it, it is very unlikely that I will be able to get to have a conversation with him. *Because I don’t know him personally and certainly I don’t know him intimately.*

Seen in that light we might translate our text this way: “ *know God,deeply,intimately and personally.*

When you know Him like that in every area of your life, *He will direct your paths* .”

Let's pray a little

Father! I give you praise, you are *the pillar of strength* to all your children and you are Fatherle enough to be leaned on.* Father! I cannot stand alone, please *teach me to ever lean upon you* and asen men, in Jesus name

Father ! please *enrich my life with understanding* regarding all the issues that may confront me in life, in Jesus name. Father ! in making my plans, please help me to *always make room for you*, in Jesus name.

Father ! please *grant me grace to know you more and more*

ii., Help me to know you deeply and

Iii. Cause me to *increase daily in my knowledge of you and your ways,* in Jesus name🙏

NEXT STEP

This is a statement of fact and it says,

👉🏻" *when you to know you’ll know* "

“ _He shall direct your paths.”

That’s a good translation,

The English Standard Version of the bible translates it this way: “ **He will make straight your paths"* (ESV) Imagine you are driving along a road that appears to be impassable. The road winds through the mountains and down into the swamps. As you travel on, you discover that portions of the road are filled with potholes, and in some places the road has apparently become a dead end.

*This is a description of the way of life, some parts are bumpy, some are filled with potholes and some sections appear to be going nowhere*

. Here is God’s message to you , *he takes personal responsibility to make your way smooth and straight* .

👉🏻 He will remove the obstacles if they need to be removed.

👉🏻He will fill in the potholes if they need to be filled.

👉🏻He will redirect the detour so that what seemed to be a dead end turns out to be the shortest way to reach your destination.

This however is the point of struggle for many people. The Bible says, *in all your ways know God intimately, know him deeply, know him personally.*

So often we skip this. When we get up in the morning, we say, “O God, help me. *I’m busy today. I’ve got so much to do.

📝 *Many of us go through life leaning almost completely on our own understanding. We like to be in control.*

📌🚷 This passage is a warning to all of us who make our plans and then say, “Here, God, stamp it with your blessing because I am going to go out and do it for you.” *God says,

✏️“I don’t work that way.

✏️ Know me first.

✏️Put me first in everything, including all your plans, all your thinking, and all your dreams.

✏️Put me first, and I will make your way straight.”

Do you want to know the secret of knowing the will of God? *Proverbs 3:5-6* tells us *the secret is a relationship with God*

*If you live according to Proverbs 3:5-6, you’ll end up in the right place.* That’s the promise of God to you.

Let's pray a little

I give you praise because *no matter how crooked my path is you are able to make it straight,* blessed be your name in Jesus name

I release myself totally unto you, please teach me to know you in all areas of my life in Jesus name. no matter how busy my schedule may appear to be, please teach me to always make room for you in my daily schedule, in Jesus name

Help me on a daily basis to commit time to knowing you more and deeply and intimately, in Jesus name.

In all my ways, in all my doing please *teach me to put you first in my plans,* and in all that I do,in Jesus name.

FINAL STEP

*We’re preoccupied on the decisions of life.* Should I go here? Should I go there? Should I live in Lagos or should I relocate to Abuja? I have many suitors whom should I marry? Should I take the job, or should I say no? Here is the teaching of Proverbs 3:5-6 in one sentence:

*God cares more about who you are than what and where you are* .

🍭The question is not where you are going to go, but what kind of person you are going to be wherever you go.

🍭The question is not, who should I marry, *but what kind of person am I going to be no matter whom I marry?**

While you are wrestling with the question of relocation, *God wants to know,*

We want specific direction. God says,

“ *In all your ways know me, and everything else will fall into place.* ”

Knowing God means: 👉🏻 *Using all your energies for him* -

📌Lord, here are my hands.

📌Lord, here are my *lips* .

📌Lord, here are

*eyes* .

📌Lord, here are my *ears* .

📌Lord, here are my *feet* .

👉🏻Knowing God means *taking all that you have and placing it at the disposal of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.*

📌God is able to remove the obstacles in front of you.

📌He is able to fill in the potholes and turn a dead end into a four-lane highway.

👉🏻 *God rewards those who show regard for him by leading them to the right end and removing all the obstacles along the way.*

The keys to unlocking God’s will;

🗝️Key #1: *Rest All That You Are on All That God Is.*

🗝️Key #2: *Go All In.*

🗝️Key #3: *Don’t Try to Figure It Out on Your* *Own*

🗝️Key #4: *Know God Deeply* !

🗝️Key #5: *When You Need to Know, You’ll Know* .

*Life is a mysterious journey,🚲🏎️🚗✈️🚀🚝 full of unexpected twists and turns.* The path ahead is a mystery to us all. *No one can say for sure what is around the next bend.* It may be a smooth road through a lovely valley, or we may discover the bridge is washed out, and we have to find a way to cross a deep river.

🍭Often the road will seem to disappear, or it may suddenly branch in three different directions, and we won’t know which way to go. *But there is One who knows the way* because *the past, present, and future are all the same to him, and the darkness is as the light of day.*

🍭 He knows the way we should go.

🍭He promised to direct your path, and he will do it. You can count on it. *Fear not therefore, child of God.* *The Lord will not leave you alone as you journey from earth to heaven.* Shalom

Let's pray a little.

I give you praise because you are well able to take care of the details of our lives, may your name be praised in Jesus name.

It is my desire to proof that I know you by using all that I have and all that I am to serve you, please help me to do so, in Jesus name. I place all that I have and all that I am at your disposal, please use it for your glory, in Jesus name

Help me on a daily basis to commit time to knowing you more deeply and intimately in Jesus name. in all my ways, in all my doing please teach me to put you first in my plans, and in all that I do,in Jesus name

Now, have you done your homework???

Text: Heb. 10:23-25

Are you ready for an adventure with God? That's a pretty loaded question, but one that we all need to ask.

When it comes to serving the Lord, our charity must begin from the home. Before we talk of loving others with the love of Jesus, we must love our spouses, our children with the love of Jesus. Before we talk of serving others, we must serve our spouses and serve our children. Before we create time for others – listening to them, counselling them, praying with them, we must first create time for our spouse and our children. This is very important.

Children are called to respect parents, wives are called to respect their husbands and husbands are commanded to love their wives like Jesus loves the church. All these elements work together to encourage us in the faith and create a solid foundation for ministry that happens outside the walls of our homes.

It will be hypocritical of us if we show so much Christian love to others and neglect our families or if we serve others and minister to others and neglect our families. This is the situation with many today who claim to be serving Christ. They are good Christians outside but they have a very bad Christian testimony in their home among their family members. They will readily spend hours in the church attending to the need of others, yet their children and their spouses are craving for their attention and company at home all to no avail. Some still have a lot of family members who are yet to be born again and they pay little attention to them, while they are busy going out on evangelism with church members to save others. They are yet to understand that their Christian service must first begin from Jerusalem and from there spread to Samaria and the uttermost part of the world (Acts 1: 8)

Are you loving your family? Do you serve your husband, wife or children like you would serve the person in need at church? These can be hard questions but if we get these right our houses can be lights shining in the darkness. Shalom

Our final prayer

I praise you because you are faithful; you are faithful to your word and to I am a product of your faithfulness. O Lord, you have called me for the sole purpose of living for you, living a life dedicated to pleasing you and others. Please grant me abundant grace to do so in Jesus name. Amen

Please help me to create time for my family, realizing that it is pointless to claim to love others when I do not love my families, let love for my be established in me in Jesus name. loving and serving my family is the number one ministry that you have committed into my hands, may I never fail in this assignment in Jesus name.

Lord, by your grace I will have and maintain a good Christian testimony in my home among my family members in Jesus name.