Knowing God’s Will – Part 4: Do

“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” – attributed to Saint Augustine

Once you’ve found a dream for serving God and decided what God’s will is, you need to take action, to “do”. Let’s look at Paul’s decision to go to Jerusalem to continue his dream of preaching the gospel. Summing Paul’s dream up in one verse:

Romans 15:20 (NIV)

20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.

In Acts 20, we find Paul heading to Jerusalem after his third missionary journey. He stops in Miletus near Epheus and sends for the Ephesian elders to talk with them on his way. He spent many years in Ephesus and wanted to see them one last time as he feels compelled to go to Jerusalem to continue his dream of preaching the Word of God to the whole world.

Paul’s goodbye (Acts 20:17-38) is a lesson in how to conduct our lives and relationships: humility, not hesitating to preach and serve all, compelled to go forward with his mission, having a completely clean conscience, having pure motives (didn’t covet their silver or gold or clothing). Paul and the Ephesian elders had such great relationships that all were in tears at his parting. As I prepare to part with friends and those I’ve served in Montgomery County, I wish I could fully say what Paul said to his close friends, but I’m far from Paul’s level of spiritual maturity – what an upward call for all of us in how we serve and in our relationships!

In Acts 21, Paul makes his way toward Jerusalem, visiting disciples along the way including Philip the evangelist whose daughters were prophets, then he reaches Caesarea and something unusual happens.

In verses 10-14, Agabus prophecies about what will happen to Paul. He binds his own hands and feet with Paul’s belt and tells him he will be bound like this in Jerusalem.  Imagine the scene: Agabus walking up and taking Paul’s belt from around his waist, then declaring Paul will be bound and handed over to the Gentiles, certainly understood to mean that Paul will be imprisoned and possibly killed. The disciples then plead with Paul to not go to Jerusalem, but Paul stands by his conviction and tells them he is ready to accept the consequences of his decision to go, even if it means death. Paul was completely convinced about fulfiling his dream and in his decision that it was God’s will to go to Jerusalem.

But was it wise for Paul to go knowing the prophecy and against the wishes of the disciples with him? Should he have taken time to reconsider? Maybe, but we need to consider that God had made it clear to him that he needed to go to Jerusalem.

Paul’s resolve and words to the disciples provide us with three areas to consider as we reach our decision on God’s will for our lives and go forward to do what God has called us to do:

• Conscience: ask God to guide your conscience and continue to seek to be obedient to all of God’s will. Paul had a clear conscience when he spoke to the Ephesian elders on all aspects of how he lived and worked among them. If we let God guide our conscience, we can better determine if we need to keep seeking His will or if we should firmly pursue our decision.
• Convictions: act on your convictions, even as others doubt, deny or destroy your dream. Paul was completely convinced of what he needed to do to fulfil God’s will in his life by going to Jerusalem. When others provided information about what could happen and tried to persuade him to change his mind, he stayed firm on his convictions. Whether it was the humanly logical way to act on his dream and decision or not, God was able to use his conviction to reach many through his testimony in Jerusalem and Rome and his letters while in prison before his death. God will either prevent us from acting on our convictions (see Paul being prevented from preaching the Word in the province of Asia in Acts 16) or use our convictions powerfully to accomplish His purposes.
• Consequences: accept any consequences of your decisions, including how God may change your plans. Paul knew that Agabus was fortelling that he would be bound and face death, but he was willing to accept any consequences for acting to fulfil the dream he had and decision he made to do God’s will in his life. We also need to accept that there may be consequences: family rejecting us, job loss, lifestyle changes to live on less resources, persecution, and yes maybe even death. However, we have a place in heaven waiting, so any consequences will seem small if only we can fulfil God’s will and live in victory for Him.

Discussion Questions:

• Do you need to clear your conscience on any issues, relationships? Seek to do this as soon as possible.
• What objections could you face to your convictions about pursuing your dream and decision to do God’s will?
• What consequences may occur if you follow your dream?