What is God’s Will for Your Life?

God’s Will is for You to Follow Him

We notice first in verse 16 that the eleven remaining disciples followed the direction of Jesus up the mountain. We don’t know specifically this was during the 40 days he spent on earth before His ascension but Jesus told them what to do and they followed it. I would imagine this wasn’t the easy thing to do.

Following Jesus means that we will follow Him up the mountain or down into the valley. It means that we will do what He asks of us no matter the cost. This is His will for you. It is a good will.

As we look to verse 17, we see also that

God’s Will is for You to Worship Him

This point is important to me because somewhere along the way we managed to get confused about worship. It is not beautiful melodies that makes us worship. It is not the right beat to tap our foot to. The disciples worshiped on that mountain because they saw a risen Savior. When we worship, it ought to be because of that and that alone.

But please keep in mind that worship is not solely for when the people of God gather together. Romans 12:1-2 says

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

In other words, worship Him in everything that you do!

But also notice that there were some who were there and doubted. Should we look down on them for their doubt? I would think not. We ought to look up to them because they worshiped in the midst of difficulty. There are no parameters around when the right time to worship is. When we ponder the miraculous works that were completed on the cross, we should worship, no matter what is going on in our lives.

Now, the next verse gives us some good context for the why of worship.

God’s Will is Right because of His authority

If you’re here and you’re a naysayer. You may not be fully bought in at this point. Why should I worship this Jesus? How does He deserve my praise? My answer to you would simply be that “The will of Jesus is right because He has been given ALL authority. Both here on earth as well as in heaven.

He walked this earth perfectly because of His authority. He surrendered Himself on the cross because of His authority. And He conquered the grave because of His authority.

So, you tell me why you shouldn’t give Him your all.

Verse 19 begins the part that so many of us know.

God’s will is for you to Go

We know that there was a concentration of Jesus followers in the area at this time but the will of God was that all men may come to know of the finishing work of Jesus on the cross. So, he tells them to go… to all nations.

Now, you may be afraid that I’m about to tell you that it's time to pack your bags and move across the world. That’s not quite what I’m about to tell you but listen closely. When was the last time you went to the grocery store and only saw people that talked like you and look like you?

The nations that Jesus told His disciples to go to have come to us! Hallelujah! But we still have a responsibility to them and to God’s will.

But don’t put your suitcases away just yet.

William Borden 1887, 1912 (Borden Condensed Milk, Eagle Brand)

The reason I’m telling you that story is because you may have every reason in the world to stay here. You’ve got it made and God has blessed you or maybe you’ve got significant responsibilities that you can’t imagine leaving behind because who will take care of those things?

If God is calling you to go, do it. Without reservations. Without any sort of retreat. And if it is God’s will, you’ll have no regrets.

Then, what happens when we go?

God’s will is for you to Make Disciples

You’ll notice that these are the disciples of Jesus who are told to go and make more disciples. This is the pattern that evangelism ought to follow. We make more disciples with the intention of those disciples also making more disciples.

We’ve got to get it out of our heads that these disciples were some magnificent me who set the standard far above what we could possibly reach. On the contrary, they were fishermen, tax collectors, and regular old Joes that simply wanted to do God’s bidding!

What then should these disciples do?

God’s will is that those disciples would be baptized

How does baptism play into God’s will? God desires that we would put on public display that our lives have been changed. That the old man has been buried and the new man has been raised with life everlasting. After a person confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord of their life, the work is not over!

These young disciples need to be taught. Who is going to teach them? You are! And they will teach the ones that come after them!

God’s will is that they would be taught

Once again, God’s word becomes transformational in the work of the kingdom! We need people to teach all ages. And we need this teaching to be robust! The senior saints need to have both good preaching and good, solid teaching often.

God’s Will is trustworthy because of His omnipresence

This sounds like a scary calling, doesn’t it? But it isn’t because we have been given the Holy Spirit. This last sentence of this passage reminds us of the comforting truth of Psalm 23. It reminds us that we have access to the same wisdom that Solomon wrote with in the Proverbs. And the very Holy Spirit that guided the pen of men like Luke, Paul, and John guides our lives today.

Follow Worship Trust in His authority Go Make Disciples Baptize Teach Trust in His presence.