Discerning The Will Of God by Apostle Joshua Selman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Three Kinds of People in Every Vision

In every church, in every ministry, and in every vision, there are three kinds of people:

1. General Participants — Well-wishers and fans who communicate goodwill toward the man of God and toward the vision. There is no commitment whatsoever, but they like the idea being proposed by that ministry. They celebrate from afar what God is doing and wish the vision and the visionary well.
2. Those Connected by Covenant Revelation — Members and those domiciled within that territory. There is a deeper level of commitment. They are very intentional about receiving. They are coming to be blessed, but they do not really see themselves as part of the vision necessarily. They just know they are principal beneficiaries of that vision. Their connection is largely only to receive.
3. Pillars — Usually the smallest group. Their participation is not just to receive. When you mention the name of the ministry, they will answer — because for them, they are active participants of that vision. They are committed not only to receive but to make everything possible for that vision to stand, to thrive, to remain.

The value that you derive from your life will not just depend on the job that you do. The relevance and even the fulfillment of your life will be derived principally from the degree to which your life participated actively in kingdom come. Nothing else will give you the kind of satisfaction that participating in this kingdom-come project provides — not money, not fame, not promotion, not education. None of them sustains the power to give you the fulfillment that comes from knowing you are actively a pillar in what God is doing.

Inheritance is for those who are in the family. Connected indeed by revelation from God. When you read Psalm 133:1 — Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity — it is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard the priest. In that state — that state of connectivity — anything that runs from the head, the hand starts rejoicing because it is going to reach it.

The church of God is a serious place where God makes men, builds men, trains men, releases people with power and fire. One word from God, accurately communicated and received by a heart full of faith, can change your life.

Discerning the Will of God

Ephesians 5:15–17 — See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

Not understanding what the will of God is is foolishness. It is lack of wisdom. When an individual finds themselves in a state where they are unable to understand and walk in the will of God for their life, the Bible says that is not a wise way to live.

Daniel 11:32 — And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries, but the people that do know their god shall be strong and they shall do exploits.

Not the people that know god — their God. That means it has to do with personal revelation. He has to be your God — not your neighbor's god, not your man of God's god, as wonderful as that is. He must become your God — a personal revelation and a personal encounter. The Bible promises that if you press to know God as your God: number one, you shall be strong — capacity, strength, stamina, empowerment; number two, you will do exploits — your life will never be average, you will become such a useful tool in the hands of God.

Two Things You Must Know About God

There are two principle dimensions of God — information about God — you must know:

1. His Nature — If you do not know the nature of God, the devil will deceive you and cheat you on many fronts. The Bible says the Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. That awareness about the nature of God will help you relate with God without fear. Even though he is a warrior, a lion, a mighty God, all of those fierce attributes are not turned against you. You should know that he is Father, that he loves you, that you are part of his family, that he is responsible over you. The nature of God gives you security. You cannot excel in life without a thorough understanding of the nature of God.

   Among the many things Jesus came to do was to correct our idea about God. The prophets who gave types and shadows in the Old Testament — some revealed what they wrote as humans based on their limitations, the bias of their encounters. When you study the Old Testament, you may not like everything you find there, because many renditions seem to suggest God does certain things. But Jesus came and said: watch me. Anything you see me do, anything you see me manifest — go back to your understanding about God and search there. So everything Jesus did not do in his earthly work is not captured within the character of God.

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Apostle Joshua Selman
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2. His Will — The people that do know their God — I am breaking that knowledge of God into two things you need to know to excel: his nature and his will. If you understand both, then indeed you are fortified with power and capacity and you are ready for exploits.

   You command power in this kingdom to the degree to which you understand and walk in the will of God.

   The administration of the power of God is not haphazard. Just because you are a Christian does not mean you will see the power of God at work in your life. The administration of the power of God and your forage of the kingdom is defined within the circumference of his will. Outside of the will of God, there is no guarantee for the power of God to work for you.

Colossians 4:12 — Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always laboring fervently for you in prayer, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. Not some — all the will of God. Because your victory, your relevance, your security is found in his will.

In this kingdom, your immunity is in the will of God. Your relevance is in the will of God. Your longevity is in the will of God.

If Satan really wants to attack you, here is how he attacks classically — he finds a way of drifting you away outside of the will of God. The moment Satan brings you out of the will of God, he does not need to fight you again. Your disalignment becomes a weapon against you.

Hebrews 10:36 — For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. The promise you receive is connected to your understanding and doing the will of God.

Hebrews 13:20–21 — Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will. On account of your determination to do the will of God, God will provide every machinery it takes. In his will, supply comes. In his will, help comes. If you are in his will, even a raven will be used to feed you. If you are in his will, even a fish will bring coin out of the water. The most important thing is that you are in his will.

John 4:34 — Jesus said: My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. My satisfaction, my relevance, is to do the will of him that sent me. Jesus came as an executor of the will of God. My assignment, my focus, my drive, my passion is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish it.

Matthew 6:10 — When you pray: thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

In Gethsemane — Luke 22:42 — Jesus prayed: Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.

Matthew 12:49–50 — He stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said: Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother. His definition of family is whoever is also with him in doing the will of his Father.

Every time you are found in a place or doing a thing that has not been commanded by God, Satan has legitimate access — because your fortification and your security is within the boundary of the will of God.

In Genesis, Satan continued to come to Adam through the serpent. But because Adam was at the epicenter of God's will — created and kept in the garden of God — Satan could not touch him. Satan's assignment was to cause Adam to deviate out of the will of God.

There are a class of spirits whose crime was that they did not keep their original estate — they did not stay within the jurisdiction apportioned for them. The power to do whatever you want to do is when you are within your jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of authority for a believer, the jurisdiction of power for a believer, is the will of God.

John 5:30 — I can of my own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge. Because my judgment is based on my hearing, I can stand on it. I seek not my will but the will of the Father that has sent me. So God can send you to a place that does not seem favorable, but because it is the will of God, you can stand there speaking to principalities and powers. Isaac was told to sow in a famine land — and that same year he received a hundredfold. Someone else can be in that same land and fail, because it was not in the will of God for them.

Jesus made sure that every moment of his life he would verify and verify that he was in the will of God. That is the reason behind his exploits and his results — not just that he was Jesus, but that he made sure every moment of his life he was operating within the will of God.

Four Keys to Discerning the Will of God

1. A Life of Total Surrender

   Luke 22:42 — Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.

   God is not going to waste his time revealing his will to you until he knows that your heart is already prepared to accept what he brings. There are many people who go to God in prayer not really to ask of the will of God — they are going with their will already prepared and forcing him to stamp it. You must be willing, your heart must be malleable, to say: Lord, I am coming to you frail in understanding. I do not know so much about my destiny. I can only stand to depend on your wisdom. It is in your light that I see light. Therefore, Lord, reveal your will.

   It is all right to have your plans. It is all right to have your desires. But when you come to God, you must be willing to set them aside and receive what he brings.

Father, grant me the grace to be connected in truth, and to be connected indeed by revelation. Lord, may I not miss out on what you are saying. Open my eyes, open my ears to hear. I obtain grace in the name of Jesus to not be casual with your presence. You have planted me by your Spirit. I submit to your wisdom to change me, to build me, to make me, to raise me, to heal me. I submit to your power, in the name of Jesus Christ.