youth group class

by  Toni Smothers 

God’s Will For Your Life
Part I

How many here today want to know God’s will for their life? Come on and raise your hands. Don’t be timid. (Wait for a response, but its pretty likely with a group of skittish kids, all you’ll probably get are some dead-pan expressions or some giggles.)

1. Isn’t there anyone here who wants to know for certain what God’s will for your life is?

2. Do you think God keeps this information hidden purposely? Does anyone have any idea what God’s will for his or her life is?

(First go with any discussion your questions might provoke. If nothing comes at you but blank stares, don’t be surprised. Just continue with:)

Well, when someone is really looking for God’s will for their life, they must be positioned for His will. In the book of Romans, in Chapter 12: verses 1-2, reveals the way to get in place for His grace.

(Have someone read that scripture for the group -I’ve found passing scripture reading card assignments first thing as the kids arrive to different youth is a very handy way to fit reading in quickly when the verses are needed. The card just says the book and verse to look up and then the card remains as the bookmark until the quote is needed.)

(Now the LEADER, not the youth who first read it, should repeat the reading with emphasis.)

“Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, present yourselves a living sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable, which is your spiritual act of worship. And do not be conformed any longer to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

From these verses, we see that three things position us for His will:

1. “Brothers” This word indicates a belonging to the family. Being a brother just naturally makes us think there are other siblings and parents, like anyone’s family.

2. Secondly. “Living Sacrifice” is a term that deals with salvation and the laying down of Christ for us and of our laying ourselves down for Him. We then allow Him to pick us up for His use. It has been said, “the problem with a living sacrifice is that it wants to get up off the altar.” In other words, we say one thing, but we do something entirely different. Being used by God and chosing His ways to govern our lives isn’t the most popular choice sometimes.

3. And third – the renewing of your mind is about your level of spiritually. We need to leave worldly thought behind. If we can empty our minds of fleshly temptations or intellectual thought that often can mislead us, then we can seek our answers to life’s problems in the spiritual realm and He will fill us with His wisdom.

When those three approaches to God become part of our daily walk with Him, God says that we “may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Without salvation, a servant spirit and a spiritual mind, we won’t be positioned to learn His will.

Ask yourself just how much you care about being positioned for God’s will. Are you passionate about it? Are you willing to do what He wants, even if that means you might have to do something completely different than what you would choose? These matters are very important things to consider, so I hope you’ll spend some time each day this week looking over this lesson and letting God speak to you about it.

Let’s Pray,
Father, help us to realize that we really do belong to a special family of believers. Teach us how to love each other no matter what mood we may be in or how we feel about being loving. Just show us that to love is a decision we consciously choose, as well as a commandment from you. Help us to grow up with less self-consciousness and more God-consciousness. Never let us forget what Christ did for us and teach us to be constantly grateful for our salvation. We want to walk closer to Jesus and learn from him what our purpose is. It is for your glory and in his precious name we pray.
Amen

God’s Will For Our Lives
Part II

Last week we talked about the necessity of being positioned for God’s will. The question I asked about passion is really important. We may think it would be kind of cool to know God’s specific will for our lives. It would be neat to know who we should date, or who the “right one” will be. Or it might be gratifying to know if we are taking the exact classes that God wants us to.
But are we passionately seeking answers for these issues. And, aren’t there even more important life choices to discover and examine?

If we listen to our Pastor and read the Bible, we will be able to get an understanding of God’s will, in general. We can get a non-specific idea of what God expects from all of His people. That’s certainly a start. So, to begin to really know God’s will for our lives specifically, we know that we need to begin by following God’s Word and by being faithful to what we know God wants in general. Any good concordance can tell you lots of verses to look up in your Bible that talk about God’s will for his people.

The reason I say this is because we can’t really expect God to reveal His SPECIFIC will when we still haven’t learned to live according to His GENERAL will.

Jesus said that He who is faithful with little will be given much. But he who cannot be faithful with little will lose even what he does have. In this example, the little is God’s general will and the much is His specific will.

God hasn’t hidden His will from us. What He wants from our lives is no great mystery. It’s pretty plain. Who can name some attributes that God wants his people to have?

(Wait for responses such as: love, obedience, holiness, forgiveness, faithfulness, etc) If you don’t get enough response read: Gal. 5:22
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”)

Okay, those are all the good ways we can treat each other and behave in general. Now measure your lives against the standard of God’s will. Do you follow God’s will in general? Until you do, and know that you do, you won’t be able to come anywhere close to finding out what his perfect plan and purpose for your life is . . . specifically!

We are his children and so we begin as youth, drinking milk, so to speak, and taking baby steps. There are goals and standards set for us to reach for. After a time, our knowledge of his Word increases and the time we spend in prayer and study draws us into a more personal relationship. As that relationship becomes more and more intimate, we recognize His special way of speaking to us. He will guide us through the Holy Spirit, the Bible, a specific sermon in church, or a confirming remark from something someone says, or an action done just at the right time, or any number of ways He chooses to communicate what He wants us to know or do.

So learning God’s plan and purpose for your life is as easy as asking Him and then as hard as actually wanting the answer and then waiting on His timing as he reveals it to us gradually over our lifetime.

Prayer:
Father, you are so awesome in your power and majesty and still somehow in our hearts we find your love feels just like that of an earthly father. You recreate, teach and nurture us and guide us every step of our way. Please help us keep so close to you by studying your Word and listening for your loving guidance that we are always aware of your presence and purpose in our lives. We just love you Lord and thank you for choosing us to follow you. We are so grateful to be able to offer this pray in the precious name of Jesus, our Lord and our Savior.
Amen